There is a time when ‘principles’ become not a good thing but an obsession. Like jealousy or revenge, stubborn adherence to ‘principles’ taken to a point where they are self-harming can erode the mind. This old man does not sound deranged but as he calmly gives his testimony, he does sound profoundly broken and angry.… Continue reading “He had no debt, no creditor”
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Sailing too close to the wind
Eupion Oil is slippery stuff. It’s one of many hydrocarbons bearing classical sounding names that they could so easily be diaphanously-clad minor spirits partying with old Zeus disguised as a bull. Not wishing to sound like a Tom Lehrer tribute band, but aside from Eupion there’s kerosene, naphtha, propane and toluene. Ethane, methane, heptyne and… Continue reading Sailing too close to the wind
Climate change by any other name
Global warming started early — 1869 in fact — but our foolhardy ancestors denied the obvious signs of climate change…
Feelin’ alright? Not Feelin’ too Good Myself
Ailments can so easily be politicised. Where there is any kind of pain or suffering, weasel politicians smelling blood gravitate to the scene like the hyenas you always knew they were. It was so back in history when the British confected a case for conflict over the detached organ of an unfortunate sea captain and… Continue reading Feelin’ alright? Not Feelin’ too Good Myself
This time it’s the gabby cabby
By coincidence another cab-related case from 1862 that I just had to share. This time it seems as if the boot is on the other foot. There is more than a hint of irony that after driving like a crazy and not knowing the way to King’s Cross, Sam Simmons started abusing poor Mr Keith… Continue reading This time it’s the gabby cabby
It’s the rich wot gets the pleasure
And the poor knew their place. This is the story from the Bow St Magistrate’s Court in 1862. It’s the tale of a cheapo toff who was embarrassed when a short-changed cabby chased him and shouted at him in the street for underpaying. Using his position in society the man turned the tables on the… Continue reading It’s the rich wot gets the pleasure
Let them eat paint!
Around the end of the Napoleonic War, there was a rich gentleman on business in the West Country. As he was rich, he stayed in a nice hotel. He liked a snack for his supper if he arrived back from business late in the evening . He particularly liked the local cheese known as Double… Continue reading Let them eat paint!
“Man of God, there is death in the pot!”
Ever wondered how an old timey cup of coffee tasted? What was it really like to take that first sip, on a day some hundreds of years before intensive farming methods, fancy new coffee plant varieties, modern methods of drying, roasting, grinding and so on? Well, wonder no more. Was it wonderful, like nothing you’ve… Continue reading “Man of God, there is death in the pot!”