My place

Birthdays

Rene Descartes 1596 - Philosopher, "I think, therefore I am"

Andrew Marvell 1621 - Poet

Read more!

The resent events in Iran and the implications do not board well for world piece it is a pity that there always seems to be a dictator of one or other nation threatening world piece. Mean while in Southern Africa Mad Bob Magabe is doing his best to kill his fellow countrymen by starvation and regular beatings. I took a drive through one of the local townships here in my home city last Sunday and it was remarkable how medieval the whole situation of these poor country men seemed to be for there were mothers with children on there backs others selling half a sheep’s head to passers by out to buy there Sunday lunch from a street vendor of course the smell of slaughtered cattle pervaded every thing I even noticed in one of the shops recently in a meat tray the remains of a cow head skin and horns in there awesome beauty. For one of the leading countries in Africa South Africa still has a long way to go before it catches up with first world countries.

Read more!

Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry August 19, 1743 - December 8, 1793 mistress of Louis XV the illegitimate daughter of Anne Bécu, who was variously reported as a seamstress or a cook. Her father was possibly Jean Baptiste Gormand of Vaubernier, a friar Her beauty came to the attention of Jean du Barry, a nobleman, in 1763. He made her his mistress and helped establish her career as a courtesan in the highest circles of Parisian society, enabling her to take several wealthy men as her benefactors. Finally rising to become the mistress of the king of France she lived the high life until the revolution her last words shortly before the guillotine neatly sliced of her head were “You are going to hurt me, please don't hurt me, just one more moment, I beg you!"

Today we received the reports for the first term of schooling here in South Africa the two youngest daughters Rebecca 12 and Jessica 10 both got very good marks. Becky has a learning disorder but despite this she managed to pull of some very good marks I am proud of all three of my daughters but this was the best news I could have got this whole week. I have been suffering with some strange illnesses lately so it really brightened my day.

Arthur Fits-Higham had not always been a man of property; his early life had in fact been one of a wanderer over seas. His birth had come about because of a dalliance between Sir Edward Higham and a kitchen maid. The elder sons of Sir Edward had been good strong stout lads who had gone to serve under the Duke of Palermo against the rebels of the Dutch Netherlands and had the unfortunate luck to have been blown to pieces by a piece of bad artillery which had literally blown up in there face.

Read more!

There is nothing which excites the hearts and imagination of men then the sight of an old sailing vessel in its full glory with sails unfurled and fully extended to catch the wind there great wooden foreparts breaking the waves as they race across the oceans in there splendor. In there time the ocean going vessels of the past depleted vast tracts of land in Europe and Asia of all trees. One might consider the age of sail to be a thing of the past however.

The age of the sailing ship might yet make a come back with the ever increasing demands for oil and coal raising it is quite possible that in the foreseeable future the oceans of the world might once more see the return of sailing ships.

The real question is what these vessels will look like as we have made so many improvements and advances in comfort to ocean going vessels the possibility that the sailing ships of the future might be very different in design and looks from the sailing ships of the past.

It is possible that the hulls of these vessels will be made of fiberglass or even steel which in itself will change the look and design of the vessel considerably the old sailing ships had fat bellies in which they carried cargo the look of the new age of sailing might be a lot sleeker and remind on of the great ships if the second half of the 19th century like the Cutty Sark

These vessels might also have a certain amount of nuclear power, the masts might be made not of wood but high masts of light weight steel which will carry the great sails made of synthetics

I lift my glass to the new age of sail