tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post4116932782090607636..comments2024-03-27T09:27:33.931+00:00Comments on Idiotic Hat: A Day Like Any Other DayMike C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11279776665185060446noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post-16894362601843881562013-01-07T14:06:08.726+00:002013-01-07T14:06:08.726+00:00Comparing Patrick O'Brian to Ian Fleming is a ...Comparing Patrick O'Brian to Ian Fleming is a bit unfair - he did a really good job of bringing the Napoleonic era (at least at sea) to life, and "Post Captain" is an affectionate homage to Austen. <br /><br />In terms of historical novels, I really enjoyed Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" which at least lay some of the groundwork to the Civil War. <br /><br />Neal Stephenson deals with the aftermath of the Civil War in entertaining if nerdy fashion in The Baroque Cycle. Gustaf Eriksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01771769400101430487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post-36641629661846529912012-12-27T14:35:31.865+00:002012-12-27T14:35:31.865+00:00Freedom? That's just some people talking...
...Freedom? That's just some people talking...<br /><br /> http://intensiveactivity.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/universal-jobmatch-for-jobseekers/#UniversalJobMatch<br /><br />Anyone care to speculate on the "manifest destiny" of the poor of this country?<br /><br />PS Happy New Solar Year to all.Zouk Delorshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07983226210415857258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post-88742327695918014402012-12-25T22:39:24.664+00:002012-12-25T22:39:24.664+00:00Gavin,
I think in Scotland in general Christmas h...Gavin,<br /><br />I think in Scotland in general Christmas has never been much of a deal, compared to Hogmanay, though this may be largely to do with a Presbyterian disapproval of Christmas as a papist affair.<br /><br />It's quite amusing watching Scots reinvent a Norse paganism in places like Edinburgh and Glasgow, with fire festivals, etc., at New Year -- lots of fun, but pretty specious.<br /><br />MikeMike C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11279776665185060446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post-67722144309534156152012-12-25T20:43:28.280+00:002012-12-25T20:43:28.280+00:00Christmas has been almost a "day like any oth...Christmas has been almost a "day like any other day" in parts of the United Kingdom in living memory. My maternal Grandmother who was from South Yorkshire married my Grandfather in mid 1945 and moved to the Scottish Borders his home. She still recounts with how she was horrified to learn that you only got a half day holiday on Christmas Day, so that you could attend church, before heading to work in the mills. I don't know for sure but this might have been a hangover from the long history of strict Presbyterian sects in the area - but that wouldn't explain the two days of debuachery that heralded the new year a few days later. Gavin McLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14630089445696518084noreply@blogger.com