Showing posts with label Lyon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lyon. Show all posts

Saturday 31 August 2013

More Yanks!




As I began my second breakfast earlier this morning Julie rang in the usual panic from the Museum. Encouragingly all the volunteers are falling like flies, the plague is removing them steadily and my bulk was required.  Just as well I was around as there was only she and I to deal with the visitors.  The usual crowd of eager kids passed through, one or two enquiries, and another party of Yanks.  Julie is the woman running the shop, arranging workshops and chatting to people, she is not the woman to answer historical questions.  I am not sure if she knows who won the war, I would enquire but she might ask "Who came second?"  So she dumps such things on me to seek information.  Luckily I read about the 'Lyon,' a wee while ago and luckily once again we had a descendant of one who sailed from here, this time in 1640.  A glance at the wee blue book revealed a man with the right name and this couple were delighted to find information re their man.  That made my day!   Apparently he has been doing the web search thing and was delighted to be here in this backwater.  All his life, well much of his adult life, he has wondered about the area his kin came from, now he can go home, with a bag full of books, and send years reading about them.  
We get two kinds of Yanks.  The type seeking their ancestors, it appears around eight million descend from the puritans who sailed away from here on those boats, nothing else to do I suppose, or the type who once occupied the many airfields around here, and are now returning the wife they bought then!  

 UST

President Obama, the man that made the USA acceptable after the insane years of George W Bush, has taken on the mantle handed down to him by the position the USA finds itself in as the 'major power.'  Major Powers have been here before.  They may not have had nuclear weapons, submarines or aircraft, but the need to patrol the world and get involved everywhere for reasons of 'self defence' or 'strategic interests,' does not vary.  On occasion this can lead to destruction. Had the major Empires refused to act after the Archduke was shot in 1914 the war may never have happened, the world would be a different place and the empires might exist yet.  Obama insists that for moral reasons the USA must send missiles (pronounced 'missiles) into a foreign power.  Since Thursday when we knew some 250 deaths has occurred the USA have managed to get their friends in the media to believe that in fact well over a thousand have died this way, yet still without offering proof.  Evidence that would stand up in court has not been shown, the main question being if such weapons are in use, who uses them?  We know Assad has the capability, so does the CIA!  We also know the Turks have found Al Queda with Sarin in their border, and they were none too pleased about this.  There is no doubt some vile happening occur in Syria but the rule of thumb in the middle east is it's not 'who is the good guy, both are bad!' 

We cannot avoid the terrible things done here, but who started this conflict?  Rebels fighting Assad, pad for bu Sunni Saudi and Quater.  Who backs them?  Us and UK etc.  Why did this begin?  To get at Iran through the back door and we care nought for the Arabs that die!  No wonder young Muslims are confused!  Why demand action when Chemical Weapons are used yet no action when 100,000 die from 'normal' weapons?  Why worry about Syria when thousand sare dying in Darfur and we have forgotten that war.  30,000 have crossed into Chad recently but little is said on the news here, why?  

I am chortling at the thought that America's 'oldest ally,' France, the home of the cheese eating surrender monkeys, is now the most important part of the US allies, even though they don't want your films because they are not in French.  The willing President Hollande, who has a lower popularity rating than Cameron, is now offering his men to the Americans.  Jolly good show old bean!  He will not go himself obviously, one of his concubines might want him.  The 'special relationship' that the media hark on about, that only existed between Roosevelt and Churchill, and then Roosevelt dumped him for Stalin, has never been that important.  Britain's place in the world is not lessened by France become the er, poodle of the US, the opposite in fact.  The UK can hold its head high.  Something the dogs ensure you cannot do on Paris streets I am informed.


Another Saturday, this meant rushing from the museum to get home in time to watch Dundee United v Celtic.  Gladly I watched this as the stream I picked up had no commentators, once someone pushed the pug in and Ian (I support the OF) Crocker began to spout I considered the game less worthy.  At three I lay on my bed listening to the Heart of Midlothian playing up at Inverness, as always making a worthy attempt against a team top of the league.  We lost but I am not downhearted.  Now I am choosing to watch Mother well v Killie or maybe the Aberdeen v St Johnstone game, all this in a days work. 


Friday 16 August 2013

The 'Lyon.'



The magnificent model of the one hundred ton ship the 'Lyon' is housed in the museum in a brightly lit glass case.  This is because in 1632 a large group of individuals from this area with 'Puritan' sympathies joined this ship for a crossing to the New World.  
This afternoon a young couple from somewhere in the USA wandered shyly around the museum, when I enquired as to their opinion the man informed us one of his ancestors had originated in this area.  I indicated a small book which contained names of those who travelled and left them to peruse this.  He discovered two mentions of what turns out to be an illustrious ancestor indeed! How about that!  Here we were confronted with a descendant of and East Anglian who had emigrated 382 years before.  A strange but enjoyable sensation that history lovers will understand.  
Naturally he wished to buy the inexpensive book, well two actually as we are good salesmen and the folks back home in the USA need to read about this man!  Of such small occurrences does life become worthwhile.  Especially as the two girls on duty had no idea about the 'Lyon,' being mostly concerned with the shop side of things.  This is what makes it worthwhile for me.

Stephen hart, their ancestor, sailed indeed on the 'Lyon,' but not in 1632.  His journey began on August the 23rd 1631 with the experienced Ships Master, William Pierce in command.  Pierce had made this journey several times in his ship, a very good ship at that, and had sympathies with the Puritans types aboard.  The voyage across the Atlantic, late in the year, took 72 days, arriving in Nantasket on November the 2nd 1631.  How glad were they to touch land?     
The ship carried 'about' 60 passengers, most on the list headed for a place called 'Cambridge.' However passenger lists appear to mention only half this number.  It is possible only the 'important' people were listed, or the list concerned only those from Essex.  It could also be that servants names were not listed, which shows how egalitarian some Puritans could be!     

The trip could indeed be hazardous and uncomfortable.  The 'Lyon' was a better ship than many and quite a few of those on these trips could afford any cabins or luxury on offer.  All to often however hard tack biscuits and salt beef, if it was beef, was all that was available.  As the current may well send you further back at the end of the day than you were at the beginning and winds tend to make their own minds up passage could be tedious and physically wearing. Water was taken aboard but could lose its benefits after a while due to the containers so most people probably drank beer instead.  Cooking, by braziers, was often dangerous and so cold lunch was the order of the day, not really enjoyable on a mobile ship in October.  Of course any storms tossing the ship about would not encourage hunger but let's not bring that up here.  Sickness was a problem, in a crowded vessel any illness would spread through the ship, both passengers and crew suffering.  
However once on land home awaited.  That is if you could get to it wherever it was.  If food was available, transport, probably walking, and once settled in the winter snows would welcome the weary traveller with freezing cold, storms and more sickness.  It is not a surprise to discover so many did not survive.  
At least you could worship as you desired, unless the others disagreed and you had to move on.......

As for Stephen, he survived the voyage, most appear to have done on that trip, and settled in what was a colony of England at that time, loyal to the King.  His story has been researched Here or Here


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