Book

It gives me a strange satisfaction to find that I have finished another book that sits on the pile in front of me.  That pile anyway is one less the other piles of books still to be read have not gone down much.  
I have always liked Henry Canova Vollam Morton in spite of his rather bullish nature.  I suspect that is a requirement in journalism and he got off to a good start not only by being the son of an editor but by announcing the scoop of Tutankhamen's tomb being opened before the 'Times' man who had the rights could do so.  He then became famous for his travel books, around London then England, Scotland and elsewhere.  In the 30's he travelled through the Holy Land, a much easier enterprise then than now as the British Mandate allowed travel across borders in a manner impossible today.  Having discovered books about Jesus and Paul sold well he then decided on a further expedition in the late 30's. 

'While I was travelling in the Holy Land...the desire grew on me to make a Christian pilgrimage from the Euphrates to the Nile, and into Sinai, and to tell the story of the Christian life of the Near East,'

It had nothing to do with making money, honest guv. 
I looked forward to this book as I love the ancient lands, especially those usually ignored in the far south of what is today Iraq, the ancient land of 'Sumer,' often classed as 'Babylonia.'   It was a book I wished to read years ago.

Landing at Alexandretta in French controlled Lebanon Morton travels to Aleppo the town today thrashed by civil war intending to visit once popular pilgrimage sites including the pillar upon which sat one Simon Stylites.  Simon early chose a severe form of asceticism which saw him barred from monastic life and he ended up sitting high up on his pillar apart from the world, continuing his austere life but constantly queried by people wishing answers to problems.  He remained there for 37 years.  I must say while many followed him or ventured into monastic or hermit style life I see no biblical reason for this and wonder about those who chose this life.  Morton appears fascinated by them and as he travels follows his normal routine of discovering historical connections with each place, some of these are intriguing and others just worrying!

   James Gordon

Continuing to Palmyra an ancient city made famous by ISIS destroying it Morton came upon a bus! 
Intrepid travellers who hitch a lift from a sheik (or claim to - he is a somewhat romantic writer) then discover a bus that just happens to have stopped to pick up passengers in Palmyra are doing very well I say. 
The Nairn Transport Company began in 1923 when a couple of New Zealanders who had served there during the war began a car service between Haifa and Beirut.  By the late thirties they were driving cars and then buses across the desert roads from Baghdad to Damascus.  The French and British authorities were delighted as many personnel were thus able to travel the vast distances in some degree of comfort, camels can be a bit slow.  
Half way across they stopped at Rutba Fort and eat an English dinner in an impeccable English dining room in the middle of the desert, this brought out the xenophobia in Morton!  The Empire had some advantages.
In Baghdad Morton again waxes lyrical about English influence on Iraq especially when he notices an 'English' bookshop.  What sort of 'English' bookshop would have the name 'MacKenzie' above the door escapes me.  It does appear British influence was stronger in Iraq that French influence in Syria, at least according to our author.
In Baghdad he watches from the window, lights out, of the Shia flagellantes as they pass by late at night.  The house belongs to Chaldean Christians, a type almost unknown now after years of needless war.  Morton is fascinated by the intricacies of these worshippers marching by slowly and as he does elsewhere goes into details we often see on our TV, if the news can show many dead alongside.

 M. Lubinski

 
From his hotel our hero takes a taxi to Babylon passing the noticeable railway station 'Babylon Halt.' 
Clambering over the then dusty mounds he appraises the mud brick remains and reminds the reader of the biblical history found in Jeremiah where in 586 BC the people of Judah were taken to Babylon.  The fact that Jews have been found in this are up to recent times speaks much of their ability to live alongside other faiths.  Since the Great War however Jews, and most Christians have fled this apart of the world leaving a huge Moslem space almost devoid of any other.  British, French and now US policy has done this and with Trump topping it off today by recognising Jerusalem as capital of Israel another step down may have occurred.  Jerusalem will never be like Babylon however it will suffer more warfare and terrorism, possibly sooner rather than later.   
This to me is the most interesting part of Morton's book.  Babylon then Ur of the Chaldees, again mud bricks and knowledgeable guides, mostly educated when assisting archaeologists in times past, and fascinating history all combined to make me wish to travel there today.  The ease Morton travelled in his day compared to now appeals but I suggest tourism might be possible but costly.

 
For me the book descends into a rather boring read once Morton arrives in Egypt.  While there are some interesting episodes, such as taking a ferry which turns out to be a sinking small boat that slowly struggles to get anywhere, for the most part his many, oh so many descriptions of Coptic Churches, monasteries and their monks and the tales of so called 'saints' from the distant past did not dwell well with me.
The flamboyant Coptic ceremonies may well go back into the distant past, well until about the 400's and hermits and monks may well consider they are seeking salvation by their lifestyles but to me there was a sad outlook for them at that time.  I am not convinced God calls people to live like this, I am not one for fancy outfits or bejewelled clergy and I have no need to live on the hard black bread these monks lived on, the Coptic clergy appeared better fed.  
His visit to Mount Sinai was interesting and the monk with him also and the questions as to whether this is the mount or not is intriguing.  However we do not know for sure and if we did we would worship the mountain not the God!  This was a problem in the middle East in many places, saints are worshipped not the risen Christ.

St Sebastian Catacomb

At least in Rome our man found plenty of interest down in the five hundred miles of catacombs that lie there.  It is possible many famous early Christians mentioned in the letters of Paul may lie there, though it is not possible to be sure.  Certainly the history, the need to hide for the authorities (a bit like it is becoming today) and the sheer adventure of wandering in the near dark at that time through such places was enlivening the book.
Less so his adoration of the pope in all his splendour canonising saints.  The description reveals a side to Morton his womanising nature would find surprising.  Possibly it was ceremony he liked and the connection to history, that connection to history cannot be but joy to the bright mind, however while he knew his scripture we wonder how well he obeyed it no matter how many times he gets VIP seats in the Vatican.

The history from a man in the 1930's is always worth a look.  His fascination for ceremony much less so as is his fawning over 'saints' from the past.  Anyone who becomes a Christian becomes a 'saint' it merely indicates they are 'set apart for God' and not someone with a record of miracles once he is dead!  Morton's history is interesting, his writing style also.  Beginning with the transport and description of the area his book, divided into chapters within chapters, then visits something, description follows and the last small chapter describes the end of day or plan for moving on.
It is easy to understand how his columns in the London press became popular, it is easy to understand why his books still sell today, it is less easy to understand his thinking.  After writing a book on South Africa he moved there with his second wife and his diaries reveal the somewhat fascist ideas he held, his womanising and the flaws in his character.  What however I dwell on is the books he left these describe his world very well a world that no longer exists but is so close to us still today.
 

 

H.V.Morton

Satire...

It is almost Christmas and in spite of everything Trump is still in charge.
Near war with North Korea, loss of a senior director every week, at war with FBI because they know about him, friendship with Putin, tweets to upset someone daily indeed hourly and playing golf rather than work.
It is even more surprising no one has tried to shoot him yet in gun rich, shoot first America.  Surely some nutter with a telescopic sight would have tried by now?  Maybe they know he will inwardly collapse soon enough.

Of course my Christmas card list is complete  it is just that I found the need to buy four more cards today as someone appeared who was not there yesterday.  I must be finished now, some have begun to arrive at the destinations thereby inflicting guilt on those who have not yet begun to start their Xmas list.
Good O!

Christmas Market

Having spent time yesterday sorting the gift and Christmas cards I was somewhat irritated to discover another niece hiding in the hills.  This meant I had once again to trudge needlessly into Tesco earlyish this morning, passing the few brave souls setting out their stalls for the Christmas Saturday sales, and rush round Tesco accidentally spending another £10 on things forgotten or just wanted this morning.  On the way I posted three more cards and have now half completed the job that I usually have completed by the 1st of December to everyone's annoyance.   Then I discovered I need some more cards as the ones I have will not do for the folks awaiting.

My neighbours surviving flowers, three at least, are holding up well considering it is December and she has spent more on the bottle than on them this year.  Only once did the ambulance call this year...

After breakfast I sauntered round the town looking at the completed stalls and in the town centre I found this Pixi (?) blowing up balloons and twisting them into shapes for the kids.  One of life's simple yet easily destroyed pleasures that has delighted kids since balloons were invented.  The rubber balloon was invented it appears in 1824 by Michael Faraday when experimenting with hydrogen gas however a man named Thomas Hancock developed what we now know as balloons.  
In days of yore pigs bladders and cat intestines were used to make a balloon of sorts, good luck to you I say!

 
Food for the hungry (I didn't note the prices but a later stall was selling pies at £4 each!

A pub in the high Street!  We don't have many of them do we...

I saw a sign saying "£6 a Tankard" and wondering what they meant by 'Tankard' I wandered on.

Down the far end someone was singing "It'll be lonely this Christmas" and listening to him I knew why.  He was someone famous using the Elvis song to get a Christmas pension, he will succeed but not near me.

Naturally with so many kids out for the great Christmas switch on (apart from the High Street there is a technical problem) someone would be on hand to offer them a delight for a small sum of gold.  There were many wandering around holding bright shaped things that Gran and Granddad (mostly granddad) had paid for.  I never got one.

Nowhere near as many stall as last year, clearly some did not pay well, but one or two kids things still arrived.  

On the main stage something from 'Heart FM' was singing very loudly and in a very high voice "What about Looove, What about Loooooeeeoove" over and over again.  On her fortieth repetition, I did not notice any verses in between, it crossed my mind of an explanation as to why she was not receiving the 'Loooove' she desired.  As she finished many in the audience applauded.  I remain unclear whether this was because of the singing or because she ceased singing.  'Heart FM Essex' is not a station I listen to as I have a musical ear and I do not wish it damaged.
Such events fill a gap in small towns and please the few decent shops that remain.  I wandered of to buy a few more cards and then into Sainsburys for the chips I forgot this morning and left them to it. 
I expect similar stalls next week will be out and possibly with Christmas lights up everywhere, but I probably will not notice...
 

Ready for Xmas?

Well that's that almost finished.  
I bought several gift cards from Tesco, all major stores do a wide variety of these things nowadays, and gave myself a shock when she asked for the bill!  Seven I bought and once I got home I realised I had forgotten a niece.  Typical!  
So having already obtained cards I began the ordeal of sifting through and posting right card in right card to right niece or whoever.  It was there I realised I was a niece short.  They all look the same don't they?
This palaver in the shop slowed down the checkout (on a Friday) but I gave them some cheer when I informed them that this was my Christmas buying finished, I know better now once I had checked the list.  The sorting cards took all afternoon and I managed to get to the postbox before the 5:30 collection only to find it is now 4pm.  They never told me!  Anyhow five cards are away in the box and the rest will go on Monday.  I never post cards in a box on a Friday or Saturday evening as when a postman I often found an assortment of strange things in the box on Friday or Monday mornings, they were not always pleasant.  However too late now and I may have read that box incorrectly, I often do.
There are still a few odds and ends to sort, a few cards and a few wee things but otherwise the bulk is done and I now sit back and sneer at others over my efficiency.
I have no friends.

Cold

To cold to write....


 

There's a Moose Loose

I enjoyed a packet of cheese and onion crisps the other night.  These are things I rarely eat now but I was glad to have a few packets lying around in the box where I kept the new very large bag of Sainsburys tea and all the packets of seed for the bird feeders.
Yesterday evening I went for a second packet and too my surprise the bag was burst.  Not only burst but so were four of the other packets.  Someone had got into this box that sat happily for months at the side of the fridge.  On inspection the mealworm bird seed was bitten into also with several packs of that chewed.  A mouse has intruded on my solitude and eaten my resources.

It is a long time since a mouse was found in my house.  Around twenty years ago I was on the phone when one ran across the floor near my feet.  This was a surprise and he never returned, I long ago discovered that food left out attracts mice.   When in my Swiss Cottage slum the skirting boards were a good distance from the floor and a mouse found his way into my unprotected foodstuffs.  I suspect he and many other mice fed well in that place, I learned my lesson.
In Bayswater I also had a lesson in faith taught me by a mouse.  In the back door hovel that wherein I dwelt a mouse appeared happy to chomp in my rubbish bin.  I put prayer to work and soon he disappeared.  However I knew that faith would accept he had gone but later I found myself looking to see if he had returned.  I realised if I did that he would but I continued to check and so he returned.  Several times he came out squeaking at me and rummaging in the bin.  He ran back to his hole and always looked at me as if to say "This is your fault!"  I accepted my fault and got to like the beast but one day I retuned home, lesson learnt and found him sadly dead.  I missed him. 

I had no intention of striking up a friendship with another mouse today.  I remember that the first one that arrived here appeared when the flat downstairs was vacant and once again the downstairs flat, much improved, is vacant and the mice are not getting fed by the previous owners crumbs so he is up here looking for mine.  Poor lad he will not be happy as I heard him this afternoon and chased him away, hoovered all around and have ensured he will find nothing here next time.   While I am happy not having anyone making noise below I am sure a decent sort would ensure mice don't run free.  I suspect that in Australia and Costa Rica such things are minor pests while dirty great beasts hover daily but in this freezing cold country mice and rats are one of the biggest pests round here.  
Not counting politicans that is... 

 

Tuesday Waffle

Trudging wearily home from the museum I wandered through town watching the men struggling to put up the towns Christmas decorations.  The big switch on off lights is Saturday and I am glad to see they have not erected the feeble decorations too soon.  I believe in Denmark such things are banned until December and so they ought to be.  These would have been arranged earlier but problems arose from people forgetting to order the things and not arranging for the road to be blocked on the Saturday hence they are being erected today.  Council jobsworth not worth their jobs it appears.
Another Christmas and how many will appreciate why it exists?

However I am happy to report the building was busy today with Christmas browsers and some even parting with money.  The exhibition is not too busy as people are preparing for the rush.  Hopefully it will be better in January.  Three women did arrive, kids also, and the three of them chatted happily in the shop making more noise than some football crowds I have known.  The few men who later appeared were quiet, mostly because they had no idea what they were looking for!   Making tea was however difficult,  the kettles would not work.  It took me ages to realise the sockets were blown.  So it looks like a fuse or worse for those.  I found another and had my tea, just in time to leave.  Too busy to make it earlier.

The worst part of this time of the year is that few care about history.  They are so busy preparing for Christmas any history is put aside.  This is unfortunate as the desire to talk about something interesting is replaced by telling folks where they might find things we do not stock.  It was also very interesting that nobody mentioned Harry and his bird we are all paying for.  The media, even during the night, was full of him and her and today they wax lyrical about where they will be married, I care much...
However the row over the Brexit papers not being disclosed to parliament may indeed bring it all crashing down, if the House plays its cards properly.  By telling the House there were papers and then offering redacted versions off them and now claiming there were no papers someone is telling lies.  Hopefully it all falls apart by Christmas.  
Now a report Korea has launched a rocket for Christmas might take Harry off the front page while we watch Trump bellowing from a golf course about some nutter with nuclear weapons, oh the irony!

Finally from Russia a story. 
Alexander 'Sasha' Chechik sent 'selfie's' to his friends while holding a hand grenade having taken the pin OUT!  He sent several pictures to his friends and one asked "Are you OK?" And got "Depends on what OK is in your understanding?" as an answer.  Moments later the grenade went off.
Now some 'experts,' and I use that word loosely, tell us if the lever is held the grenade will not go off, but many different types of grenade are out there and this is Russia so who knows where this came from.  The police claim it was an accident and not a suicide, either way it was effective.   Men do not live as long as women and this man gives some indication for the reason for this.  A sad story but with a degree of humour also. 

Hindered

I was going to write a post but found nothing on the news bar these two whoever they are.  The 'Daily Mail' is excited, a special pull-out tomorrow, I doubt it will be excited enough to pay for the cost of running them.
Why are news services worldwide so interested in this story?
And his dad does not have ginger hair...
And what a time to take Brexit of the news....

November Christmas

The usual Christmas shopping situation is upon us.  While 'Black Friday' that US commercial greed inspired day is behind us and noted as something of a damp squib there is the real requirement to shop for gifts for him, her and that lot!  The shopping centre encouraged this with Reindeer once again in spite of some rather dreary opposition for some.
'People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA) called upon the two main shopping centres which were showing reindeer to cease this practice in a letter to the centres.

The letter said: “When used as holiday props, they're denied the opportunity to engage in natural behaviour, such as roaming freely across vast open ranges as they would in their native habitat.
“The practice of taking them on the road, confining them to pens, and treating them as mere Christmas decorations is unacceptable.
“We don't want our kids to grow up thinking that animals exist merely for our entertainment.
“Ending the use of reindeer would do nothing to diminish children's sense of magic during the festive period.
“For the animals, though, it would make a world of difference.”

Quite how PETA think reindeer reared in Kent and raised to meet children would survive in the 'vast open ranges ... in their native habitat' is not made clear.  These are not animals reared in the wild and in the wild they are herded by 'Laps' up there in Lapland who would probably be eating them for Christmas not allowing kids to feed them!  'Lapland,' stretching across the northern tip of Norway, Sweden and Finland, probably taking in bots of Russia also is indeed a vast open range but one that is full of snow and cold wind.  I suspect the animals are better off here.
A Poll in the local paper found just over 50% of the readers agreed with PETA, one wonders how many were female?  One wonders also whether they are all vegans?  

The beasts themselves spent their time stuffing anything given them down their throats much to the kids delight.  The big one was clearly happy in his work content to meet the crowds and eat carrot offered.  These do not look like badly treated animals and give the kids a taste of the delusional Christmas we shove down their throats.  Next week there will be no animals I guess as the town puts on the Christmas lights - if they have been put up by then that is.  The museum will be open for gifts and I suspect I will hide in my bed.  Bah Humbug!
 

I took this just to see the extent of his antlers.  I suspect these will drop off at one point like stags and end up on someone's wall as a trophy.  Not mine however. 

Look up!

For many years I have been a believer in 'looking up.'  This is because whatever is happening on the ground around at the moment the sky above continues on its daily routine.  The sun rises and makes its slow way across the sky brightening and warming the land.  (Those living in Edinburgh will no doubt find this difficult to believe)  Had we been born in Egypt we would notice this daily except every 16 to 20 years when excessive rain will fall and change our lives for a week or so and this sunshine would affect us in ways I cannot explain having been brought up under a gray misty cloud!
Today I noticed the bright blue sky smeared with distant white cloud high above stretching for miles across the heavens.  The starkness of the trees minus their covering of leaves against the bright blue was a notable feature for me.
High in the branches of the trees starlings chirped and argued with one another happily as is their way, unseen behind the blue stars and planets continued their daily journey hidden to us, and while we fought to the death for bargains in overcrowded shops the world continued to turn and those of us not seeking bargains smirked to one another at the thought.  
Whatever small issues we have the world keeps turning.

ISIS in an effort to prove they are still alive and kicking have attacked a mosque containing many of an Islamic creed they despise.  The attack, featuring around 40 gunmen, killed at least 250 and wounded many more.  The Egyptian Sinai has been dangerous for many years and I suspect the army will now be sent in with great force and little consideration for human rights to deal effectively with the problem.  This will be a long hard battle with consequences unknown and a great many will suffer.
Some cynical types would claim that the Bush/Blair needless attack, inspired by Rumsfeld and Cheney, was the originator of much of the trouble in the middle east, they might be right.  Maybe it is better to say they failed to handle the situation correctly or with any understanding of the area in which they operated so confidently and allowed such a situation to develop.  Now ISIS have been forced out of Iraq we will see them rising, possibly for only a short time, here there and everywhere for the next few years.  The west has failed the middle east and we will feel the effects.

 
Zimbabwe now has a new president informing them of the need to 'engage the world' (That is 'borrow money') and 'remove corruption' (Not counting his) and 'create jobs' for the young (Fat chance).  We look to see whether a politicians promises will bring about a better nation or whether the usual suspects continue to line their pockets and leave the people to suffer.  It s to be hoped the people this time make a stand and find changes that benefit them all and not just a few.  Interesting to see most of those in charge are well aged and the nation mostly young, how will that work?

Panic they say in Oxford Street as claims of gunshots are heard.  The brave Londoners run for cover!
"No shots" say the police.
Could it be the brave Londoners are panicking?  Tsk!

Searching Again

@BraintreeMuseum

To keep me awake the museum have ordered me to find an Italian Prisoner of War, or at least details regarding his stay here for a visitor.  This I find is not an easy task!  You might expect a list of such people to be located in some archive but this it appears is unlikely.  The Red Cross appears to have more chance of providing an answer to individuals seeking individuals than the UK government.  

Thousands of such men arrived here after being captured, or surrendering in droves, in North Africa during the early part of that campaign.  Only the hardened Mussolini Fascists were keen to continue the war and cause upset in POW camps, most just wanted to go home and get back on with drinking wine and leering at women.

Once the Italians had left the war a vast number of Italians were allowed to roam comparatively free around the nation or at least near to the camp.  In our case it is clear they were moved out as German POW's moved in, I met one a couple of years ago and listened to his story.  

In our case it appears the local man with a lorry trundled out on special petrol coupons to carry the Italians to various farms round about where they kept themselves fit by seeding, ploughing or harvesting or one of the million or two other jobs available on the farm in those days.  In summer this could be very pleasant indeed especially if 'Land Girls' were also working there, in winter however this would be hard and often unpleasant work, freezing cold, handling beets and turnips by hand, small food allowance and cold berths back home in the camp.  Often I suppose not much different for many from the land they had left but for city dwellers this would be a hard life.

Anyway so far I have discovered little, the museum has less, and I cannot trace official lists.  That may be resolved by the Red Cross but it will not be resolved by official channels.

I am back off to sleep... 

   

Our History Mate

The exhibition goes over the 60's 70's and 80's, three dramatic decades for those who lived through them all, not always enjoyably it must be said.  The 60's were the best musically, so much invention and wonderful stuff from the USA west coast in particular.  On top of that the attitudes were very different, at least at face value level, at heart human beings never change.  The Hippy days if peace and love were a delusion but an enjoyable one, however for most they were hidden behind a veil of drugs that brought many an early death.
The 60's brought the Vietnam war among other things and while the 'West' enjoyed material prosperity (I got £5/10/- a week in '66) some 50 million were being killed in the 'Cold War' in Africa, Central and South America, South Eats Asia and elsewhere.  We were protected by 'M.A.D (Mutually Assured Destruction) and several million men spread across western Europe. A few thousand nuclear bombs kept some awake but not all of us.

Fashions changed somewhat and it is noticeable how many women donated aged dresses for the exhibition and not one man!  I suspect some men are still wearing things bought in the eighties, I would be but they appear to have shrunk in the wash.  I doubt my flares would fit and I seem to lack the desire to wear such these days.  80's fashion, like its music, was vile!  Men with permed hair and rolled up sleeves singing puerile songs did not do anything for me especially as we were faced with the totalitarian Thatcher regime.  Today Thatchers daughter lack both her brain and her heart and few would have expected that to be possible.  The 70's began well and for me was the worst decade of all however this changed near the end when God began to really do things in my life.  The music died around 1974 and was replaced by 'Abba!'  Platitudes, empty ballads and glitter ruled the radio waves, not in my house. 

There was of course two wars at this time, the Falklands war that generated much attention and the IRA Provos shooting people in the back in Northern Ireland generating the UVF and others to offer needless reprisals.  The UK got fed up with this war and wished it would go away especially on the occasions the IRA set off bombs around the UK.  London however (apart from me) did not panic in a manner we see today re Islamic terrorists.  We handled the Irish problem far better than the Islamic one I say.  
The Falklands saw as needless a war as can be imagined.  While ruining their country the military Junta decided to avert attention with a landing on the 'Malvinas.'  They lost around 3000 dead we around 3 billion pounds and a hundred or so men.  One or two ships went down and all in all the whole thing was ridiculous.  How easily wars can be begun for wrong reasons, how difficult to finish and how often those responsible walk away scot free.  Are you listening Mr Blair?

  
The Beatles are not what they were, I wonder if they have not been eating right?

The thing to have in the 70's for young men and no doubt a lot of females was a 'Chopper' bike.  These American styled bikes were popular but too flashy for me.  I had to use my sisters bike years before and others obtained what they could and added 'Cowhorn' Handlebars to their junk bikes.  I think I would rather have one of those than the 'Chopper.'
At the time I used the bus or a proper bike I now remember, cycling to London for a cheap holiday.  Ha! 

I know you girls all dressed like this when at work.

Mary Quant came along at the right time and changed fashion in the 60's.  Born in 1934 she became famous in the 60's with mini skirts, which I noticed occasionally, and other things I didn't.  She, unlike so many, married a husband and was still with him when he died in 1990.   At 83 she does not design much today I would think.