Terry Lloyd's Blog, page 52
October 5, 2015
Blood.
Mankind has a fascination with blood. Blood, without it where would we be? Of course we associate blood with life, but it is more than that. Historically blood has been at the heart of many turning points for man and his plights to do better, live stronger and longer.
Over the years it was a common medical belief that blood could be the cause for many illnesses. It became the practice to treat ill patients with leeches and simply allow the patient to bleed so called unnecessary blood. At that time the choice was limited and one generally had to follow medical advice. Unfortunately for George Washington the first American president he followed what his medical advisor told him and after a large volume of blood was let within a ten hour period he died. The treatment was to cure an infection of the throat. Of course there have been numerous successful results of blood letting but the process does lead one to question how blood has been linked to so many illnesses and medical practices over the years.
After several visits to the local hospital both as a visitor and a patient the importance of blood has become clear to me. Blood and information on how this vital substance is linked to the well being of the patient has really came home to me because blood is something on which we rely whole heartedly. Just by analysing blood vital information for the correct treatment of patients can easily be ascertained. Blood work can provide the early detection of many medical problems, illnesses can be diagnosed, prognosis can be made and lives can be saved.
Blood has long been a cause for wonder and investigations. I understand how two thousand years ago it was written that blood should not be transferred from one person to another, obvious reasons at the time dictated that medical procedure had to be according to knowledge and belief. Blood groups were not fully understood and the consequence of this type of practice very likely would have been fatal.
I am alive today because of a correct assessment of my blood and a following insertion of two stents to relieve a blockage in one of the arteries in my heart. I always had an appreciation of the job that blood was doing in my body but I have to say that because of what happened to me I now think about that well thought of red substance quite differently.
Blood is what has a bearing on life and how we view it has long shaped our thoughts of the wider implications on ourselves, in society and the cultures that we construct. Blood is what links us to many beliefs about the physical and more spiritual side of life. It is odd to think that the blood we carry with us is the same precursor to so much thought and evaluation. Blood is what has been an incentive for medical procedures, theoretical thought and ideas on what life means.
Over the years it was a common medical belief that blood could be the cause for many illnesses. It became the practice to treat ill patients with leeches and simply allow the patient to bleed so called unnecessary blood. At that time the choice was limited and one generally had to follow medical advice. Unfortunately for George Washington the first American president he followed what his medical advisor told him and after a large volume of blood was let within a ten hour period he died. The treatment was to cure an infection of the throat. Of course there have been numerous successful results of blood letting but the process does lead one to question how blood has been linked to so many illnesses and medical practices over the years.
After several visits to the local hospital both as a visitor and a patient the importance of blood has become clear to me. Blood and information on how this vital substance is linked to the well being of the patient has really came home to me because blood is something on which we rely whole heartedly. Just by analysing blood vital information for the correct treatment of patients can easily be ascertained. Blood work can provide the early detection of many medical problems, illnesses can be diagnosed, prognosis can be made and lives can be saved.
Blood has long been a cause for wonder and investigations. I understand how two thousand years ago it was written that blood should not be transferred from one person to another, obvious reasons at the time dictated that medical procedure had to be according to knowledge and belief. Blood groups were not fully understood and the consequence of this type of practice very likely would have been fatal.
I am alive today because of a correct assessment of my blood and a following insertion of two stents to relieve a blockage in one of the arteries in my heart. I always had an appreciation of the job that blood was doing in my body but I have to say that because of what happened to me I now think about that well thought of red substance quite differently.
Blood is what has a bearing on life and how we view it has long shaped our thoughts of the wider implications on ourselves, in society and the cultures that we construct. Blood is what links us to many beliefs about the physical and more spiritual side of life. It is odd to think that the blood we carry with us is the same precursor to so much thought and evaluation. Blood is what has been an incentive for medical procedures, theoretical thought and ideas on what life means.
September 28, 2015
Memories.
What do memories mean to you? For me my memories are linked with my childhood. My Grandmother's house was in a very small village called Marks Tey which was in the county of Essex in the United Kingdom. I went to the local school for a time and one of the first things I was asked was “Where do you come from?” I was born in Colliers Wood within outer London and lived in Mitcham Surrey so I had a sort of London accent. I had a tendency to adopt new accents and within minutes of meeting someone with a different accent my own linguistic abilities would adapt. It could get quite embarrassing with people wrongly thinking that I was imitating them but in reality it was an unconscious habit that regularly occurred.
My other Grandmother lived in Liverpool and I was sent for a short holiday there as a boy. I arrived in Lime Street railway station and joined with one of my relations, as we were sitting on a bus suddenly it seemed as if I had been transported to a different country. Two ladies were chatting in high pitched voices and I cold not understand a single word they were saying. I thought something had gone wrong with my hearing but on meeting my Grandmother the first thing she said was “Would ya like a j'm batee?” I replied “pardon” and from then on I was forever saying pardon as the sentences were short and I was struggling to make sense of what had been said. It is funny how we rely on accents and become familiar with the ways that we know.
While I stayed with my Grandmother I played with my young cousins and there was an instance that could have had terrible consequences but for some good fortune. At the back of the house was a field and for fun we decided to dig a hole but not content with that over several days a tunnel was formed stretching deeper into the field. The grown ups were unaware of what was taking place. The tunnel was dark and stuffy and we took turns at digging the clay from the face of the tunnel. Overnight there was a violent storm and torrential rain which lasted all day. As soon as we could we went to view our precious hole only to see a muddy pool and the roof of the tunnel had sunk to leave a water filled trench. It is only as a grown up I can visualise the tragic situation that could have taken place if any of us had been in that tunnel when it collapsed.
Often memories include that of what your parents recollect and I recall a story that regularly made us smile. My Father met my Mother as a lodger in their house and after a tiring day at work he often arrived home went up to his room and did not put the light on but took a leap to land on his bed. Unknown to him on one occasion my Grandmother had been spring cleaning and after an almighty crash and some unrepeatable words he discovered his bed had been moved. On another occasion my Grandmother who was an energetic person liked things to be done efficiently and she had became impatient after repeatedly asking my Father to repair the dining table that had one leg shorter than the others. On returning from work one day my Father was confronted by my Grandmother saw in hand who was seeing to the table. Unfortunately she was having trouble getting the table level so she had kept on sawing different legs, it was that when she was finished the dining table had become a coffee-table and a huge heap of wood chips and sawdust.
Memories are the pieces of the people we love that we carry in our hearts. The funny, sad, wistful, happy and loved links to the past. I keep my memories where I know they belong and that is in my heart. Memories make the past and recollections shape the person I am now.
My other Grandmother lived in Liverpool and I was sent for a short holiday there as a boy. I arrived in Lime Street railway station and joined with one of my relations, as we were sitting on a bus suddenly it seemed as if I had been transported to a different country. Two ladies were chatting in high pitched voices and I cold not understand a single word they were saying. I thought something had gone wrong with my hearing but on meeting my Grandmother the first thing she said was “Would ya like a j'm batee?” I replied “pardon” and from then on I was forever saying pardon as the sentences were short and I was struggling to make sense of what had been said. It is funny how we rely on accents and become familiar with the ways that we know.
While I stayed with my Grandmother I played with my young cousins and there was an instance that could have had terrible consequences but for some good fortune. At the back of the house was a field and for fun we decided to dig a hole but not content with that over several days a tunnel was formed stretching deeper into the field. The grown ups were unaware of what was taking place. The tunnel was dark and stuffy and we took turns at digging the clay from the face of the tunnel. Overnight there was a violent storm and torrential rain which lasted all day. As soon as we could we went to view our precious hole only to see a muddy pool and the roof of the tunnel had sunk to leave a water filled trench. It is only as a grown up I can visualise the tragic situation that could have taken place if any of us had been in that tunnel when it collapsed.
Often memories include that of what your parents recollect and I recall a story that regularly made us smile. My Father met my Mother as a lodger in their house and after a tiring day at work he often arrived home went up to his room and did not put the light on but took a leap to land on his bed. Unknown to him on one occasion my Grandmother had been spring cleaning and after an almighty crash and some unrepeatable words he discovered his bed had been moved. On another occasion my Grandmother who was an energetic person liked things to be done efficiently and she had became impatient after repeatedly asking my Father to repair the dining table that had one leg shorter than the others. On returning from work one day my Father was confronted by my Grandmother saw in hand who was seeing to the table. Unfortunately she was having trouble getting the table level so she had kept on sawing different legs, it was that when she was finished the dining table had become a coffee-table and a huge heap of wood chips and sawdust.
Memories are the pieces of the people we love that we carry in our hearts. The funny, sad, wistful, happy and loved links to the past. I keep my memories where I know they belong and that is in my heart. Memories make the past and recollections shape the person I am now.
September 21, 2015
Paranormal Childhood.
It is only when I have the time to recollect unusual past events that this phenomenon came to mind. I was a young boy staying with my Grandmother in her end terrace three bedroom house when standing at the top of the stairs in a sort of day dream I closed my eyes and felt a floating sensation and opened my eyes to find myself at the bottom of the stairs. I didn’t tell anybody about the event until much, much later I mentioned it to my Mother who told me that at a different house she had been through a similar experience as a child. If this was not enough later on in my life my wife also confirmed this sort of experience had happened to her when she had been little. I am not someone who easily believes or accepts things but I have to state that this one odd but seemingly correlated experience left me questioning what could have happened. I began wondering could it be that children unknown to them have a period of time when paranormal powers are within their grasp.
A little bit further on in age one of the momentous experiences that happened to me was in my teens when I had just started work and on a winter's darkened evening I was returning home on my bicycle. For some reason although nearly home I turned to travel in the opposite direction. I was a teenager and had sudden spurts of energy without thinking through the consequences. Maybe I careered down the hill and lost control because the only recollection I have is being in hospital over two weeks later. For one split second the possible end of my life depended on many facts. A car had hit the rear of my bicycle and I had been catapulted into the air and landed several feet on my front, my nose and face was a mass of blood.
What is interesting was the degree of unconsciousness I experienced. First was the awful part for my Mother and friends wondering would I wake up and regain cogitative thinking or spend the rest of my life mentally dormant. I lay in the bed as if in a deep sleep for hour after hour. I had suffered only superficial skin grazes but my nose forever would be a little bent to one side. What really worried the doctor was a deep wound to my base of the back that had just missed damaging my spine. When my Mother asked when I would regain conciseness all the Doctor could say was “All we can do is wait and pray.”
After several days and as my wounds were healing I began to have uncoordinated movement, the nurses were talking to me but I was not able to respond with any conscious thought. I had an insatiable thirst for glass after glass of orange juice. Again day after day there was no alteration in my condition until after over two weeks although as if in a dream I could see a misty woman’s face and I could hear a tiny voice saying my name. I tried to answer but my thoughts and words were disconnected, it was after a long time that I heard my own voice.
************
That was the first night and in the hospital as the main lights were dimmed for sleep my adventure began. I recall having closed my eyes and having felt an unusual lightness, even with my eyes closed I seemed to be looking down at myself laying in the bed. I was able to move and just under the ceiling I moved down the ward passing over sleeping patients until I reached the nurses station where one nurse was sipping her warm night time drink.
This ability only lasted a couple of nights but it was oddly reminiscent of that floating incident of my earlier childhood. I seemed to be aware of things going on outside and far from my bed. It was a note worthy occasion in my life, something left experienced but unexplained. It was something that was only to disappear just as fast as it had arrived. Experiences left unexplained.
A little bit further on in age one of the momentous experiences that happened to me was in my teens when I had just started work and on a winter's darkened evening I was returning home on my bicycle. For some reason although nearly home I turned to travel in the opposite direction. I was a teenager and had sudden spurts of energy without thinking through the consequences. Maybe I careered down the hill and lost control because the only recollection I have is being in hospital over two weeks later. For one split second the possible end of my life depended on many facts. A car had hit the rear of my bicycle and I had been catapulted into the air and landed several feet on my front, my nose and face was a mass of blood.
What is interesting was the degree of unconsciousness I experienced. First was the awful part for my Mother and friends wondering would I wake up and regain cogitative thinking or spend the rest of my life mentally dormant. I lay in the bed as if in a deep sleep for hour after hour. I had suffered only superficial skin grazes but my nose forever would be a little bent to one side. What really worried the doctor was a deep wound to my base of the back that had just missed damaging my spine. When my Mother asked when I would regain conciseness all the Doctor could say was “All we can do is wait and pray.”
After several days and as my wounds were healing I began to have uncoordinated movement, the nurses were talking to me but I was not able to respond with any conscious thought. I had an insatiable thirst for glass after glass of orange juice. Again day after day there was no alteration in my condition until after over two weeks although as if in a dream I could see a misty woman’s face and I could hear a tiny voice saying my name. I tried to answer but my thoughts and words were disconnected, it was after a long time that I heard my own voice.
************
That was the first night and in the hospital as the main lights were dimmed for sleep my adventure began. I recall having closed my eyes and having felt an unusual lightness, even with my eyes closed I seemed to be looking down at myself laying in the bed. I was able to move and just under the ceiling I moved down the ward passing over sleeping patients until I reached the nurses station where one nurse was sipping her warm night time drink.
This ability only lasted a couple of nights but it was oddly reminiscent of that floating incident of my earlier childhood. I seemed to be aware of things going on outside and far from my bed. It was a note worthy occasion in my life, something left experienced but unexplained. It was something that was only to disappear just as fast as it had arrived. Experiences left unexplained.
September 14, 2015
Nightmares.
For a period in my childhood I suffered from reoccurring nightmares. I do not know what caused them but in everyday seemingly nice activities such as visiting Madame Tussauds or watching the big screen film of Alice in Wonderland this would be a vehicle to channel my thoughts into the most horrific scenes. I saw a big screen period film that featured a bedroom scene of the heroine pulling the white bed sheets back to reveal a bloody decapitated human head. Talking of heads I can still feel the sudden shock of a dead face with one eye suddenly appearing from a jagged hole in a boat out of the film Jaws. Two of the most horrific feelings do not have a pre story but concern the finality of life. In the first of these feelings I am convinced Armageddon has just happened. I can't breath and wake up covered in sweat my heart pounding and reason it was only a dream. In the second feeling I have something in my throat and before I can swallow I visualise a glass bulb full of blood that explodes leaving me gasping for air and again I am covered in sweat heart pounding with a headache terrified of going off to sleep.
Pandora’s box for me is the fascination of Cosmology and the question is, where are we? I dream of what are we resting our conscious sense of reality on and as in something like The Truman Story are we suddenly going to reach a solid brick wall that is the boundary of existence.
The truly scary mightmare is being lost, for me it is more powerful than all the horror film scenarios. In this personally constructed fear I am searching for my identity.
“You did it!”
“Did What?”
“Killed your Mother.”
“What are you talking about?”
The detective picked up a large coloured photograph and held it in front of my face. I stared at a prone lady with curly red hair and a Roman nose, she looked unfamiliar to me and was laying on her back. I had never seen the lady before in my life. With a sense of relief I said the obvious “She's not my mother.”
“Really.”
The detective put down the photo and held up a mirror that reflected the face of a young man with bright curly red hair and a Roman nose exactly the same as the lady had in the photo.
This truly is the beginning of my nightmare...
Pandora’s box for me is the fascination of Cosmology and the question is, where are we? I dream of what are we resting our conscious sense of reality on and as in something like The Truman Story are we suddenly going to reach a solid brick wall that is the boundary of existence.
The truly scary mightmare is being lost, for me it is more powerful than all the horror film scenarios. In this personally constructed fear I am searching for my identity.
“You did it!”
“Did What?”
“Killed your Mother.”
“What are you talking about?”
The detective picked up a large coloured photograph and held it in front of my face. I stared at a prone lady with curly red hair and a Roman nose, she looked unfamiliar to me and was laying on her back. I had never seen the lady before in my life. With a sense of relief I said the obvious “She's not my mother.”
“Really.”
The detective put down the photo and held up a mirror that reflected the face of a young man with bright curly red hair and a Roman nose exactly the same as the lady had in the photo.
This truly is the beginning of my nightmare...
September 7, 2015
A Dip into the Unknown.
It is said that there are many mysteries in life and even possibly in the time thereafter. Have you wondered about reports and stories of communication with the departed? My Father in his early life did have a gift so I am told by my Mother. She was present when his appearance would alter and he spoke with a different voice. He relayed the thoughts and feelings of departed spirits. Unfortunately for me I would have liked to witness these events but my Father suffered a major accident at work that left him too weak to undergo the strain involved in physical demonstration and for the rest of his life he had permanent disabilities.
To my great disappointment I do not have the ability to traverse and perceive the hidden world but unknown to me until later when my daughter was to be born I was to have quite a shock. It was as she grew that my daughter started talking about individuals who were no longer with us physically and she began to refer to seeing departed characters. For my wife and I it was certainly a shock but the events did remind my of my own Father's experiences. This was the only referenced perspective I had to relate to, in listening to my daughter I have to say that every time she would dip into the unknown there was a lot of interesting experiences to be had and each time it seemed that I had yet more to find out.
On a school excursion to a historical ruin my daughter had a conversation with one of the departed former residents. Funny anecdotes built a personalised overview of the blank four walls we had walked through and all of a sudden we had leant about the secret doors which led to many hidden a life story. Later in class she was able to give highly detailed information about the building and the way of life. Teachers seemed amazed but intrigued by it. This ability for my daughter become unique as in a later school English lesson in a debate about a Shakespeare quote my daughter had a direct line of communication to the author and with authority stated information which the teacher verified but believed only few knew. In an interview at Oxford the interviewer lost track of time as my daughter could relay the feelings and emotions of so many of the authors they discussed. Now my daughter writes a web page that not only gives inspiration, she also writes and illustrates stories for young children.
Belief is something personal but I am sure more good is done by having an open mind as to what possibilities may be.
To my great disappointment I do not have the ability to traverse and perceive the hidden world but unknown to me until later when my daughter was to be born I was to have quite a shock. It was as she grew that my daughter started talking about individuals who were no longer with us physically and she began to refer to seeing departed characters. For my wife and I it was certainly a shock but the events did remind my of my own Father's experiences. This was the only referenced perspective I had to relate to, in listening to my daughter I have to say that every time she would dip into the unknown there was a lot of interesting experiences to be had and each time it seemed that I had yet more to find out.
On a school excursion to a historical ruin my daughter had a conversation with one of the departed former residents. Funny anecdotes built a personalised overview of the blank four walls we had walked through and all of a sudden we had leant about the secret doors which led to many hidden a life story. Later in class she was able to give highly detailed information about the building and the way of life. Teachers seemed amazed but intrigued by it. This ability for my daughter become unique as in a later school English lesson in a debate about a Shakespeare quote my daughter had a direct line of communication to the author and with authority stated information which the teacher verified but believed only few knew. In an interview at Oxford the interviewer lost track of time as my daughter could relay the feelings and emotions of so many of the authors they discussed. Now my daughter writes a web page that not only gives inspiration, she also writes and illustrates stories for young children.
Belief is something personal but I am sure more good is done by having an open mind as to what possibilities may be.
A Dip into the Unknown.
It is said that there are many mysteries in life and even possibly in the time thereafter. Have you wondered about reports and stories of communication with the departed? My Father in his early life did have a gift so I am told by my Mother. She was present when his appearance would alter and he spoke with a different voice. He relayed the thoughts and feelings of departed spirits. Unfortunately for me I would have liked to witness these events but my Father suffered a major accident at work that left him too weak to undergo the strain involved in physical demonstration and for the rest of his life he had permanent disabilities.
To my great disappointment I do not have the ability to traverse and perceive the hidden world but unknown to me until later when my daughter was to be born I was to have quite a shock. It was as she grew that my daughter started talking about individuals who were no longer with us physically and she began to refer to seeing departed characters. For my wife and I it was certainly a shock but the events did remind my of my own Father's experiences. This was the only referenced perspective I had to relate to, in listening to my daughter I have to say that every time she would dip into the unknown there was a lot of interesting experiences to be had and each time it seemed that I had yet more to find out.
On a school excursion to a historical ruin my daughter had a conversation with one of the departed former residents. Funny anecdotes built a personalised overview of the blank four walls we had walked through and all of a sudden we had leant about the secret doors which led to many hidden a life story. Later in class she was able to give highly detailed information about the building and the way of life. Teachers seemed amazed but intrigued by it. This ability for my daughter become unique as in a later school English lesson in a debate about a Shakespeare quote my daughter had a direct line of communication to the author and with authority stated information which the teacher verified but believed only few knew. In an interview at Oxford the interviewer lost track of time as my daughter could relay the feelings and emotions of so many of the authors they discussed. Now my daughter writes a web page that not only gives inspiration, she also writes and illustrates stories for young children.
Belief is something personal but I am sure more good is done by having an open mind as to what possibilities may be.
To my great disappointment I do not have the ability to traverse and perceive the hidden world but unknown to me until later when my daughter was to be born I was to have quite a shock. It was as she grew that my daughter started talking about individuals who were no longer with us physically and she began to refer to seeing departed characters. For my wife and I it was certainly a shock but the events did remind my of my own Father's experiences. This was the only referenced perspective I had to relate to, in listening to my daughter I have to say that every time she would dip into the unknown there was a lot of interesting experiences to be had and each time it seemed that I had yet more to find out.
On a school excursion to a historical ruin my daughter had a conversation with one of the departed former residents. Funny anecdotes built a personalised overview of the blank four walls we had walked through and all of a sudden we had leant about the secret doors which led to many hidden a life story. Later in class she was able to give highly detailed information about the building and the way of life. Teachers seemed amazed but intrigued by it. This ability for my daughter become unique as in a later school English lesson in a debate about a Shakespeare quote my daughter had a direct line of communication to the author and with authority stated information which the teacher verified but believed only few knew. In an interview at Oxford the interviewer lost track of time as my daughter could relay the feelings and emotions of so many of the authors they discussed. Now my daughter writes a web page that not only gives inspiration, she also writes and illustrates stories for young children.
Belief is something personal but I am sure more good is done by having an open mind as to what possibilities may be.
August 31, 2015
Nightmarish Nursery Themes.
Have you ever looked back at your early days when your Mum would tell you a story before you would drift off to sleep? I did and I was shocked at the recollection of what content Nursery stories had for young children. The implications of those lovely jovial stories or those bedtime narrations were far from what the tone or intentions implied. Thinking about the tales I heard in my childhood helped me to realise the scope of the stories and although I am sure they were no different to those being told to any other at that age I did think about what those stories were meant to do. What is my point? The stories covered themes of robbery, violence and murder. Take Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack decides to rob a giant and on his getaway kills the giant. The Pied Piper of Hamelin when short changed by the Mayor steals away all the town's children save one who pined for his lost comrades. In another gruesome story intended for children a family visits a zoo only for young Sam their son to be eaten by a lion. I remember a poem and story by Hilaire Belloc. Rebecca was a precocious child who liked to slam doors until she came to an untimely end. A little girl told untruths shouting fire until one day when there was a fire nobody believed her and left her to her fate.
Even the most innocuous tale like Little Red Riding Hood contains the demise of a grandmother eaten by a wolf that in turn is chopped up by a woodsman. But enough of stories, I remember going to school and in the playground we formed a ring and sang “a pocket full of poses, atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down.” It all seemed nice enough except that the game refers to the Black Death that wiped out half the population of England. Maybe I should try another game. “Oranges and Lemons the bells of St Clemens here comes the executioner to chop off your head. Chop, chop, chop.” Of course the historical meaning was of no importance to us at that age you could be shot die and carry on playing. Although one has to ask why were so many of these toddler's tales so horrific in the sentiment they conveyed?
There is a more sombre aspect to this subject as in the two Great World Wars little more than children would falsify their age and eagerly sign up to take part in what they were told would be a short war that would be over by Christmas. I wonder if they could ever imagine what would happen to them as well as the physical and psychological trauma they would experience? So many would not get up to carry on playing.
Even the most innocuous tale like Little Red Riding Hood contains the demise of a grandmother eaten by a wolf that in turn is chopped up by a woodsman. But enough of stories, I remember going to school and in the playground we formed a ring and sang “a pocket full of poses, atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down.” It all seemed nice enough except that the game refers to the Black Death that wiped out half the population of England. Maybe I should try another game. “Oranges and Lemons the bells of St Clemens here comes the executioner to chop off your head. Chop, chop, chop.” Of course the historical meaning was of no importance to us at that age you could be shot die and carry on playing. Although one has to ask why were so many of these toddler's tales so horrific in the sentiment they conveyed?
There is a more sombre aspect to this subject as in the two Great World Wars little more than children would falsify their age and eagerly sign up to take part in what they were told would be a short war that would be over by Christmas. I wonder if they could ever imagine what would happen to them as well as the physical and psychological trauma they would experience? So many would not get up to carry on playing.
August 24, 2015
Did you know?
England has a long and eventful history. One of the outstanding events in the Tudor reign was the great fire of London. It occurred in the early hours of the second of September 1666. In a baker's shop situated in an aptly named pudding lane a small fire started but with a combination of a strong wind and wooden houses crowded together one third of London would perish in the inferno that ensued.
It took fifty years to rebuild London in amongst this time an individual called Sir Christopher Wren designed St Paul's Cathedral as well as fifty one other churches. Five different churches have been built on the site of St Paul's Cathedral of which the first was in six hundred and four. Other notable buildings designed by Sir Christopher Wren are the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and the façade of Hampton Court.
In between the years 1910 to 1913 Captain Robert Falcon Scott led his second attempt at an expedition to arrive at the South Pole, he had aimed to be the first to achieve this and while his trip was to serve as an important historical event it was not in the way one would expect. It was Roald Amundsen and his team who had the distinction of being the fist to arrive at the South Pole. On the return journey Captain Scott and two of his companions succumbed to the cold and lack of food. They left diaries accounting the conditions and the emotional drama which moved the public to consider Captain Scott and his men to be fallen heroes and in a way they have forever made their mark in history. Captain Scott and his men did make interesting discoveries of vegetation and plants that proved the South Pole has moved and was once a warm place. The public gave generously to a collection for their surviving relatives.
The Suez canal is 101 miles long and connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, it was opened in
1869 after taking ten years to construct. It is an important way of reducing travel time and had a significant effect on trade in the following years of its construction. Unfortunately it has been
a centre of controversy over its use and ownership, a company called the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company at a cost of 100 million dollars had originally financed it but Egypt the country in where it is situated felt the income should go to building the Aswan high dam. Shortly after the canal was built Egypt in 1875 under pressure of debt was forced to sell shares in the company to the United Kingdom. After several years of dispute the canal now can be used by all vessels and it is notable as a vitally situated travel means for many people.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the milestones in medicine such as Dr Edward Jenner who if he had not developed vaccination a great many people would not have survived the virulent diseases that raged all over the world.
In 1928 while working in his lab the then to become Sir Alexander Fleming noticed in a Petri dish a green substance that had appeared from a contaminated test, this he named Penicillin and it was to become the first Antibiotic.
On the 17th December 1903 the Wright brothers made the first powered flight for humans. The Wright brothers approached the problem facing early attempts at flight by concentrating on
control of the craft and using a small engine. They used a wind tunnel and practised controlling the craft before risking an attempt at real flying.
As a young boy I remember my older brother's launch of a model jet powered plane that at first soared uncontrollably up into the sky only to hurtle down with significant damage. At that time
I didn't know about the Wright brothers but thinking about it they definitely had a point.
It took fifty years to rebuild London in amongst this time an individual called Sir Christopher Wren designed St Paul's Cathedral as well as fifty one other churches. Five different churches have been built on the site of St Paul's Cathedral of which the first was in six hundred and four. Other notable buildings designed by Sir Christopher Wren are the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and the façade of Hampton Court.
In between the years 1910 to 1913 Captain Robert Falcon Scott led his second attempt at an expedition to arrive at the South Pole, he had aimed to be the first to achieve this and while his trip was to serve as an important historical event it was not in the way one would expect. It was Roald Amundsen and his team who had the distinction of being the fist to arrive at the South Pole. On the return journey Captain Scott and two of his companions succumbed to the cold and lack of food. They left diaries accounting the conditions and the emotional drama which moved the public to consider Captain Scott and his men to be fallen heroes and in a way they have forever made their mark in history. Captain Scott and his men did make interesting discoveries of vegetation and plants that proved the South Pole has moved and was once a warm place. The public gave generously to a collection for their surviving relatives.
The Suez canal is 101 miles long and connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, it was opened in
1869 after taking ten years to construct. It is an important way of reducing travel time and had a significant effect on trade in the following years of its construction. Unfortunately it has been
a centre of controversy over its use and ownership, a company called the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company at a cost of 100 million dollars had originally financed it but Egypt the country in where it is situated felt the income should go to building the Aswan high dam. Shortly after the canal was built Egypt in 1875 under pressure of debt was forced to sell shares in the company to the United Kingdom. After several years of dispute the canal now can be used by all vessels and it is notable as a vitally situated travel means for many people.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the milestones in medicine such as Dr Edward Jenner who if he had not developed vaccination a great many people would not have survived the virulent diseases that raged all over the world.
In 1928 while working in his lab the then to become Sir Alexander Fleming noticed in a Petri dish a green substance that had appeared from a contaminated test, this he named Penicillin and it was to become the first Antibiotic.
On the 17th December 1903 the Wright brothers made the first powered flight for humans. The Wright brothers approached the problem facing early attempts at flight by concentrating on
control of the craft and using a small engine. They used a wind tunnel and practised controlling the craft before risking an attempt at real flying.
As a young boy I remember my older brother's launch of a model jet powered plane that at first soared uncontrollably up into the sky only to hurtle down with significant damage. At that time
I didn't know about the Wright brothers but thinking about it they definitely had a point.
August 17, 2015
Belief.
Some beliefs may have some practical common sense behind them such as not walking under a ladder, but will you really have bad luck for seven years if you break a mirror? Do we make the prediction true by having a selective memory of what people say and reinforce bad things while ignoring the good. Although it's nice to have an analytical thought about beliefs I can not ignore the power they have to influence my everyday actions and I don't believe I am alone as through the ages military and political leaders have respected and observed certain practices because of the belief system behind them. It is reported that Constantine the Great ordered crosses to be placed on his soldiers' shields to reinforce their beliefs and by so doing they were noted in a practical sense to be better soldiers.
Belief is a very powerful force, it is said that when a witch doctor says a victim will die they do indeed die and after post-mortem there can be no found medical reason for their death. Apart from horseshoes for good luck and a notoriously black coloured cat crossing your path a more bizarre belief is that bird droppings are supposed to bring you good fortunes. Salt is used in different ways as well as a pinch of spilt salt thrown over your left shoulder to deflect negativity.
To cross your fingers for good luck is a very popular action although cross fingers can be used to protect a person from the consequence of a white falsehood. I remember as a child crossing my fingers and calling veins to make myself immune from being tagged.
I have left last one of the more popular beliefs and that is the fear of Friday the thirteenth. I tried to find the original beginning of why this came about and came across the idea that Judas was the thirteenth disciple and Jesus was crucified on the Friday. Some hotels do not have a thirteenth floor or even have a room thirteen.
With my wife I ran a post office for many years, while I was at home having lunch a short distance from the post office, one afternoon an incident occurred. In front of the counter to one side were several card stands and a customer and his wife were quietly looking at the cards. My wife looked up as a tall man came up to the counter and produced a gun. He pointed it at her and said “Give me the money.” What followed next was totally unexpected as it is thought that the robber had not seen the customers due to their position behind the card stand. It is quite interesting to note how many things went wrong for that one man and how for the robber it was a true example of what it meant to be a victim of a predicted date. I say this for this incident occurred on nothing other than Friday the thirteenth. The male customer thought the gun man was some sort of set up or practical joke and stepped up to the robber. He started to inspect the gun. The robber taken by surprise realised his woolly hat needed to be pulled down a little and with one free hand he valiantly tugged at it. The customer's wife had at that time joined her husband to see what was going on. The gun man must have felt a bit overwhelmed as the customers were approaching him right and left. Both husband and wife thinking that it was a joke had not taken the incident at all as he may have expected. The husband actually pointed at the gun and asked the robber “Ay, what's all this then?” Actions not going according to plan, it seemed that without another word the robber turned and in response to what the customer had said ran out of the post office empty handed. Of course my wife very shaken called the police and let me know what had happened. The couple who realised that the incident had been a true robbery attempt were visibly shocked and it has to be said that it was one very unfortunate Friday the thirteenth for the robber.
Beliefs can influence our opinions and actions, of this there is no doubt, but as to how the originated saying came about and how it comes into practice can vary according to the situation. Do you have a belief that influences what you do? A little practical act for a fortunate outcome, or for protection? You may rely on it or think it something that you only do to humour other people but when it comes down to it do you believe in your belief?
Belief is a very powerful force, it is said that when a witch doctor says a victim will die they do indeed die and after post-mortem there can be no found medical reason for their death. Apart from horseshoes for good luck and a notoriously black coloured cat crossing your path a more bizarre belief is that bird droppings are supposed to bring you good fortunes. Salt is used in different ways as well as a pinch of spilt salt thrown over your left shoulder to deflect negativity.
To cross your fingers for good luck is a very popular action although cross fingers can be used to protect a person from the consequence of a white falsehood. I remember as a child crossing my fingers and calling veins to make myself immune from being tagged.
I have left last one of the more popular beliefs and that is the fear of Friday the thirteenth. I tried to find the original beginning of why this came about and came across the idea that Judas was the thirteenth disciple and Jesus was crucified on the Friday. Some hotels do not have a thirteenth floor or even have a room thirteen.
With my wife I ran a post office for many years, while I was at home having lunch a short distance from the post office, one afternoon an incident occurred. In front of the counter to one side were several card stands and a customer and his wife were quietly looking at the cards. My wife looked up as a tall man came up to the counter and produced a gun. He pointed it at her and said “Give me the money.” What followed next was totally unexpected as it is thought that the robber had not seen the customers due to their position behind the card stand. It is quite interesting to note how many things went wrong for that one man and how for the robber it was a true example of what it meant to be a victim of a predicted date. I say this for this incident occurred on nothing other than Friday the thirteenth. The male customer thought the gun man was some sort of set up or practical joke and stepped up to the robber. He started to inspect the gun. The robber taken by surprise realised his woolly hat needed to be pulled down a little and with one free hand he valiantly tugged at it. The customer's wife had at that time joined her husband to see what was going on. The gun man must have felt a bit overwhelmed as the customers were approaching him right and left. Both husband and wife thinking that it was a joke had not taken the incident at all as he may have expected. The husband actually pointed at the gun and asked the robber “Ay, what's all this then?” Actions not going according to plan, it seemed that without another word the robber turned and in response to what the customer had said ran out of the post office empty handed. Of course my wife very shaken called the police and let me know what had happened. The couple who realised that the incident had been a true robbery attempt were visibly shocked and it has to be said that it was one very unfortunate Friday the thirteenth for the robber.
Beliefs can influence our opinions and actions, of this there is no doubt, but as to how the originated saying came about and how it comes into practice can vary according to the situation. Do you have a belief that influences what you do? A little practical act for a fortunate outcome, or for protection? You may rely on it or think it something that you only do to humour other people but when it comes down to it do you believe in your belief?
August 10, 2015
Exceptional Sayings.
The shores of England over many years have been the scene for exceptional statements from such infamous individuals as Julius Caesar who notably stated “I came, I saw, I conquered.” There have been emotional pledges, historical declarations and important moral building moments of oration which have arguably altered life as we know it and gone on to save lives. The words that have made history have also intrigued me as without them we may have had a vastly different life to the one we have now. Impacting on society, cultures and world wars there have been leading figures who have been able to grip the hearts and minds of a nation based on their chosen phrases. From Roman rebellions to Sir Winston Churchill's notable “We shall fight them on the beaches. We will never surrender.” These speeches have their own place in history. Winston Churchill was one such orator who could bring about tears of emotion to tears of laughter with his witty quips, in a lighter vain it is reported that Lady Astor said to Churchill once “Winston, if I were your wife I'd put poison in your tea.” Churchill's reply was “Nancy, if I were your husband I'd drink it.” Churchill was not only a great prime minister, his speeches had the power to inspire belief and hope at a crucial time and later he gave praise for the heroic RAF with these words “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
It is not only men who claim distinction in the war of words as Queen Elizabeth I rallied her supporters with the noted statement “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.”
In 1938 a jubilant Neville Chamberlain held aloft a single piece of paper stating “this is peace in Our time.” The document was the Munich agreement signed by Adolph Hitler. A short time later the United kingdom stood on the threshold of war. In a radio broadcast to the nation these words were said by Neville Chamberlain...
“I am speaking to you from the cabinet room at no 10 Downing Street. This morning the British Ambassador handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that this country is at war with Germany.”
A visitor to England in March 1931 spoke quietly but passionately to factory workers who had suffered loss of work because of India's own ability to weave fabric. They complained they only could work half a week but Mahatma Gandhi pointed out that in India workers there had no work and therefore no food. The English factory workers responded by cheering this bare foot sparsely clad symbol of India's efforts in self determination and development. Mahatma Gandhi advocated in India non violent protest at British rule that eventually lead to the independence of India in 1948.
Outside of England Martin Luther King spoke of having a dream of freedom. He stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Abraham Lincoln himself is credited with saving the Union of the United States of America after the civil war and was the 16th elected president. His second inaugural speech covered the need for reconciliation without malice and highlighted by quotes from the bible how people should behave. He stressed the evil of slavery and pondered the negativity of war, he suggested that the horror of war could be some sort of retribution. Could it have been these words that precipitated his own assassination as among the audience were the conspirators that later would act against him. It is reported that Lincoln had a premonition of the shooting in the theatre which was to take his life but that did not alter his actions or belief in human rights.
Admiral Lord Nelson was an individual who is known for being able to capture the essence of strength in the human spirit. In one battle the combined force of Spanish and French war ships totalled thirty three facing the British Twenty seven. Nelson ordered a message to be displayed “England expects every man to do his duty.” At the completion of the battle twenty two Spanish and French vessels had been destroyed without the loss of one British Ship. The joy of victory was overshadowed by Nelson's own death after a French sniper had recognised the distinctive uniform of Lord Nelson and his bullet had struck him in the lower spine. There is much controversy over Lord Nelson's final words but certainty in the fact that as a leader his words went on to inspire many notable historical acts.
It is an ironic thought that so many champions of peace, justice and good will should have suffered at the hands of violent acts. These individuals who with words achieved in captivating their audience, in guiding their fellow man to make history and in inspiring the notable events of many nations.
It is not only men who claim distinction in the war of words as Queen Elizabeth I rallied her supporters with the noted statement “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.”
In 1938 a jubilant Neville Chamberlain held aloft a single piece of paper stating “this is peace in Our time.” The document was the Munich agreement signed by Adolph Hitler. A short time later the United kingdom stood on the threshold of war. In a radio broadcast to the nation these words were said by Neville Chamberlain...
“I am speaking to you from the cabinet room at no 10 Downing Street. This morning the British Ambassador handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that this country is at war with Germany.”
A visitor to England in March 1931 spoke quietly but passionately to factory workers who had suffered loss of work because of India's own ability to weave fabric. They complained they only could work half a week but Mahatma Gandhi pointed out that in India workers there had no work and therefore no food. The English factory workers responded by cheering this bare foot sparsely clad symbol of India's efforts in self determination and development. Mahatma Gandhi advocated in India non violent protest at British rule that eventually lead to the independence of India in 1948.
Outside of England Martin Luther King spoke of having a dream of freedom. He stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Abraham Lincoln himself is credited with saving the Union of the United States of America after the civil war and was the 16th elected president. His second inaugural speech covered the need for reconciliation without malice and highlighted by quotes from the bible how people should behave. He stressed the evil of slavery and pondered the negativity of war, he suggested that the horror of war could be some sort of retribution. Could it have been these words that precipitated his own assassination as among the audience were the conspirators that later would act against him. It is reported that Lincoln had a premonition of the shooting in the theatre which was to take his life but that did not alter his actions or belief in human rights.
Admiral Lord Nelson was an individual who is known for being able to capture the essence of strength in the human spirit. In one battle the combined force of Spanish and French war ships totalled thirty three facing the British Twenty seven. Nelson ordered a message to be displayed “England expects every man to do his duty.” At the completion of the battle twenty two Spanish and French vessels had been destroyed without the loss of one British Ship. The joy of victory was overshadowed by Nelson's own death after a French sniper had recognised the distinctive uniform of Lord Nelson and his bullet had struck him in the lower spine. There is much controversy over Lord Nelson's final words but certainty in the fact that as a leader his words went on to inspire many notable historical acts.
It is an ironic thought that so many champions of peace, justice and good will should have suffered at the hands of violent acts. These individuals who with words achieved in captivating their audience, in guiding their fellow man to make history and in inspiring the notable events of many nations.
