Beachcombed 47 May 1, 2014
Author: Beach Combing | in : Beachcombed , trackback
Dear Reader,
This has been a month of extraordinary strains. Mrs B is now – trumpet blares – just at the end of her first trimester of her third pregnancy and she has AWFUL pregnancies. I sometimes wonder whether we are the only family where the arrival of the baby means that we have more time to relax: certainly ecstasy at pregnancy has been replaced by the never-ending nausea/saliva/fainting etc etc. University work is winding down and this has just given me some time to take up the slack at home though I’m temperamentally ill-suited to too much domestic bliss. Just to make things slightly more complicated I’m going to visit the UK in the next days with my daughters. It will end in tears, of course…
As to Strange History I have limped by with some reserve posts. I have also been a very poor correspondent and the list of replies here are fewer and shorter than I would have liked. Apologies to all. On site there has been some stasis after eight weeks of revolution but the links page has remained throughout, something vindicated by the number who use it and send in links. As always I owe a huge debt to Wade, Chris W., Amanda, Andy, Ricardo and Chris S who have such a rare genius for picking these things up! Mauro also has helped and set up a Facebook account: see top page link. Having thanked them I turn now to the ten thousand most important words this month: though because of the problems alluded to above it is actually rather less than the normal number. Enjoy May!
Beach
Flag Over Reichstag: JJ writes in with some extra info from Andrew Roberts.
The Ranties: Benny has a solution for the word Ranties – any opinions?
King of the Scottish Gypsies: Neil H delves into a possible theatrical source for the idea of the beggars king.
Vienna to Baltic in Roman Times: ANL offers up an interesting source from Tacitus.
Shakespeare in the Wye: Chris from Haunted Ohio Books has sent in some curious pieces, one showing Owen connecting Shakespeare to an aircraft.
Turkish in Cambodia! Norm writes with a marital solution.
Luckiest Survivor of WW2: Mike Dash gives several rival candidates.
Burning Libraries: Mauro C and ML add some other fires to the list.
John Farkas, Fire Boy: Filip writes in with a translation from Polish that shed some more light.
Was Hitler Jewish: Nathaniel sends a brilliant rewriting of Hitler’s career from Geekhis Khan!
Canaanite Quisling: KMH writes about chronology.
Flirty Fishing: KMH notes Christianity’s difficult relationship with sex and Invisible gives some practical examples.
Offa’s Dyke: Mike Dash again making an interesting Chinese comparison.
Semen and Espionage: LTM writes on the advantages of urine.
Nessie as a Biker: Hob Goblin sent a link with photographs.
A Year Long Dance: Chris from Haunted Ohio Books writes in with a possible inspiration in Robert Mannyng.
Britain and Pearl Harbor: Ozzie-in-Honolulu with a bit of common sense on the general knowledge that something was coming; SM notes how the Japanese were underestimated by everyone.
Hague Death: Louis gives some inside Dutch knowledge supplemented by Ashley’s Korean knowledge.
American Civil War: A Nice War James H gives three reasons why the country moved on. Nathaniel recalls loyalist ancestors. KHM recalls some pretty awful killings in my nice war.
Birds and Migration: JTM writes in with some ornithological legends.
Oregon Oral Transmission: Mike Dash again with another legend for Crater Lake.
