I wonder what Dave Brock thinks of this version

WW- Echinops dead

Well not dead but dreaming. Like other perennials it knows that this too will pass

A bit of self indulgent great Britons blogging for 2010

Back in 2002 the BBC conducted a poll to find who were considered the 100 greatest Britons .Winston Churchill was voted the greatest ever. This came as no big surprise. The other 99 were a mix of the truly great, the definitely worthy and the utterly spurious.

1. Winston Churchill, (1874-1965), Prime Minister (1940-1945, 1951–1955)
2. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, (1806–1859), engineer, creator of Great Western Railway and other significant works
3. Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales (1981–1996), and mother of Princes William and Harry of Wales
4. Charles Darwin (1809–1882), naturalist, originator of the theory of evolution through natural selection and author of On the Origin of Species.
5. William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English poet and playwright, thought of by many as the greatest of all writers.
6. Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727), physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist.
7. Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603), monarch (reigned 1558-1603)
8. John Lennon (1940–1980), musician with The Beatles, philanthropist, peace activist, artist
9. Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758–1805), naval commander
10. Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), Lord Protector
11. Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922), polar explorer
12. Captain James Cook (1728–1779), explorer
13. Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (1857–1941), founder of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides
14. Alfred the Great (849?–899), King of Wessex, (reigned 871–899)
15. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), military commander, statesman and Prime Minister 1828–1830 and 1834
16. Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (born 1925), Prime Minister (1979–1990) 17. Michael Crawford (born 1942), actor and singer
18. Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819–1901), monarch (reigned 1837–1901)
19. Sir Paul McCartney (1942), musician with The Beatles, philanthropist, activist
20. Sir Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), biologist and pharmacologist, discoverer of penicillin
21. Alan Turing (1912–1954), pioneer of computing
22. Michael Faraday (1791–1867), scientist
23. Owain Glyndŵr (1359–1416), Prince of Wales
24. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (born 1926), reigning monarch (1952–present) 25. Professor Stephen Hawking (born 1942), theoretical physicist
26. William Tyndale (1494–1536), English translator of the Bible
27. Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928), suffragette
28. William Wilberforce (1759–1833), humanitarian
29. David Bowie (born 1947), musician
30. Guy Fawkes (1570–1606), English revolutionary.
31. Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire (1917–1992), aviator and charity organiser
32. Eric Morecambe (1926–1984), comedian
33. David Beckham (born 1975), footballer
34. Thomas Paine (1737–1809), political philosopher
35. Boudica (died c.60), leader of Celtic resistance to the Roman Empire
36. Sir Steve Redgrave (born 1962), Olympic rower
37. Saint Thomas More (1478–1535), English saint, lawyer and politician
38. William Blake (1757–1827), author/poet, painter and printer
39. John Harrison (1693–1776), clock designer
40. King Henry VIII of England (1491–1547), monarch (reigned 1509–1547)
41. Charles Dickens (1812–1870), author
42. Sir Frank Whittle (1907–1996), jet engine inventor
43. John Peel (1939–2004), broadcaster
44. John Logie Baird (1888–1946), television pioneer
45. Aneurin Bevan (1897–1960), Labour politician who oversaw the formation of the National Health Service
46. Boy George (born 1961), musician with Culture Club
47. Sir Douglas Bader (1910–1982), aviator and charity campaigner
48. Sir William Wallace (c.1270–1305), Guardian of Scotland
49. Sir Francis Drake (c.1540–1596), English naval commander
50. John Wesley (1703–1791), founder of Methodism
51. King Arthur, legendary Celtic monarch
52. Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), nurse and charity campaigner
53. T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) (1888–1935), Arabist and soldier
54. Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912), polar explorer 55. Enoch Powell (1912–1998), politician
56. Sir Cliff Richard (born 1940), musician
57. Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922), telephone pioneer
58. Freddie Mercury (1946–1991), musician with Queen
59. Dame Julie Andrews (born 1935), actress and singer
60. Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934), composer 61. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900–2002), Queen consort 62. George Harrison (1943–2001), musician with The Beatles
63. Sir David Attenborough (born 1926), broadcaster
64. James Connolly (1868–1916), the Scottish born leader of the Irish 1916 rising
65. George Stephenson (1781–1848), railway pioneer
66. Sir Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), comic actor and film director
67. Tony Blair (born 1953), Prime Minister (1997–2007)
68. William Caxton (c.1415~1422–c.1492), English printer
69. Bobby Moore (1941–1993), footballer and Captain of England 1966 World Cup winning team
70. Jane Austen (1775–1817), author
71. William Booth (1829–1912), founder of Salvation Army
72. King Henry V of England (1387–1422), monarch (reigned 1413–1422)
73. Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), occultist, writer, and social provocateur; founder of Thelema
74. Robert the Bruce (1274–1329), King of Scots
75. Bob Geldof (born 1951), Irish musician, philanthropist
76. The Unknown Warrior, soldier of the Great War
77. Robbie Williams (born 1974), musician and former member of Take That
78. Edward Jenner (1749–1823), pioneer of vaccination
79. David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George (1863–1945), Prime Minister (1916–1922)
80. Charles Babbage (1791–1871), mathematician and pioneer of computing
81. Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343–1400), English author
82. King Richard III of England (1452–1485), monarch (reigned 1483–1485)
83. J.K. Rowling (born 1965), author of the Harry Potter Series
84. James Watt (1736–1819), developer of the steam engine
85. Sir Richard Branson (born 1950), businessman and adventurer 86. Bono (born 1960), Irish musician - Singer for Rock Band U2, philanthropist 87. John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) (born 1956), musician
88. Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887–1976), military commander
89. Donald Campbell (1921–1967), water speed world record challenger
90. King Henry II of England (1133–1189), monarch (reigned 1154–1189)
91. James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), physicist
92. J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973), author and philologist
93. Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618), English explorer
94. King Edward I of England (1239–1307), monarch (reigned 1272–1307)
95. Sir Barnes Wallis (1887–1979), aviation technology pioneer
96. Richard Burton (1925–1984), actor
97. Tony Benn (born 1925), politician, formerly the 2nd Viscount Stangate
98. David Livingstone (1813–1873), missionary and explorer
99. Sir Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955), Internet pioneer and inventor of the World Wide Web
100. Marie Stopes (1880–1958), promoter of birth control

And if the list were up to me? I'm not hugely patriotic in the sense of gratuitous flag waving and yearning for the Roast Beef of old England but I was born, raised and educated here. This is where I am from , despite a very un-British name and origins, and probably where I will stay (although I do fancy relocating to SW Ireland at some stage). Britain has a rich history which ha thrown up many great people (as well as many shameful incidents we would do well to stare in the face and learn from). Anyway I digress...

Personally I would have struck out anyone living. Most of them will never have any real claim to such a list anyway. I would also drop a lot of people I consider spurious. I know that I am being utterly subjective but this is my blog so it's my rules, however capricious! So here goes.

Diana goes because she was only famous for marrying an adulterous shit who will become our next monarch unless the Queen lives to 177 (Something I would not rule out!). The same basically goes for the Queen Mother, not that George VI was an adulterous shit...

Lennon, Harrison and McCartney go because I consider the Beatles hideously overrated. The same goes for Eric Morecambe, Freddie Mercury, Charlie Chaplin and Richard Burton for that matter... oh and JRR Tolkein (I hated LOTR)

Glydnwr, Fawkes, Wallace, Boudicca and Connolly go because they were failures. The same goes for Scott (Shackleton stays on the basis that he came home alive) and Richard III.

Peel just played records. I loved his show but then I loved Andy Pandy when I was four and wouldn't want to see Andy Pandy on the list.

Enoch Powell.. now where do I start!

Bader may have overcome great adversity but he was a nasty piece of work

King Arthur goes on the basis that he did not exist as such

Aleister Crowley was an excellent mountain climber but he was mainly a drug addled lout

The Unknown Warrior is a symbol who may have done great things in life for all we know.

This leaves 46 of the original 100

1. Winston Churchill, (1874-1965), Prime Minister (1940-1945, 1951–1955)
2. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, (1806–1859), engineer, creator of Great Western Railway and other significant works
4. Charles Darwin (1809–1882), naturalist, originator of the theory of evolution through natural selection and author of On the Origin of Species.
5. William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English poet and playwright, thought of by many as the greatest of all writers.
6. Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727), physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist.
7. Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603), monarch (reigned 1558-1603)
9. Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758–1805), naval commander
10. Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), Lord Protector
11. Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922), polar explorer
12. Captain James Cook (1728–1779), explorer
13. Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (1857–1941), founder of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides
14. Alfred the Great (849?–899), King of Wessex, (reigned 871–899)
15. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), military commander, statesman and Prime Minister 1828–1830 and 1834
18. Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819–1901), monarch (reigned 1837–1901)
20. Sir Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), biologist and pharmacologist, discoverer of penicillin
21. Alan Turing (1912–1954), pioneer of computing
22. Michael Faraday (1791–1867), scientist
26. William Tyndale (1494–1536), English translator of the Bible
27. Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928), suffragette
28. William Wilberforce (1759–1833), humanitarian
31. Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire (1917–1992), aviator and charity organiser
34. Thomas Paine (1737–1809), political philosopher
37. Saint Thomas More (1478–1535), English saint, lawyer and politician
38. William Blake (1757–1827), author/poet, painter and printer
39. John Harrison (1693–1776), clock designer
40. King Henry VIII of England (1491–1547), monarch (reigned 1509–1547)
41. Charles Dickens (1812–1870), author
42. Sir Frank Whittle (1907–1996), jet engine inventor
44. John Logie Baird (1888–1946), television pioneer
45. Aneurin Bevan (1897–1960), Labour politician who oversaw the formation of the National Health Service
49. Sir Francis Drake (c.1540–1596), English naval commander
50. John Wesley (1703–1791), founder of Methodism
52. Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), nurse and charity campaigner
53. T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) (1888–1935), Arabist and soldier
57. Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922), telephone pioneer
65. George Stephenson (1781–1848), railway pioneer
68. William Caxton (c.1415~1422–c.1492), English printer
69. Bobby Moore (1941–1993), footballer and Captain of England 1966 World Cup winning team
70. Jane Austen (1775–1817), author
71. William Booth (1829–1912), founder of Salvation Army
72. King Henry V of England (1387–1422), monarch (reigned 1413–1422)
74. Robert the Bruce (1274–1329), King of Scots
78. Edward Jenner (1749–1823), pioneer of vaccination
79. David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George (1863–1945), Prime Minister (1916–1922)
80. Charles Babbage (1791–1871), mathematician and pioneer of computing
81. Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343–1400), English author
84. James Watt (1736–1819), developer of the steam engine
88. Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887–1976), military commander
89. Donald Campbell (1921–1967), water speed world record challenger
90. King Henry II of England (1133–1189), monarch (reigned 1154–1189)
91. James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), physicist
93. Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618), English explorer
94. King Edward I of England (1239–1307), monarch (reigned 1272–1307)
95. Sir Barnes Wallis (1887–1979), aviation technology pioneer
98. David Livingstone (1813–1873), missionary and explorer
100. Marie Stopes (1880–1958), promoter of birth control

So who to add to bring the list back to 100?

Interestingly there are relatively few military figure on the list despite a highly imperialist and expansionist past...

To start things off there are a number of other military figures that deserve to make the list. among the great Britons, Here are a few who have a claim.

Robert Blake, the Cromwellian naval commander
John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough
Thomas Cochrane, the 10th earl of Dundonald
Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood
Field Marshall William Slim

I will do posts later on as to why I think they deserve such an accolade

I know it's self indulgent but this is one of the things I plan to play with off and on over 2010. I would be interested who my readers would add to a list of great Britons, or Canadians, Germans, Romanians, Americans or wherever you are from!

Fuchsia after frost and snow

Being a post for the benefit of Madames Nevin and Claudia, and Herr Jeating

Both Nevin and Sean have chosen to see in the New Year in the company of Father Ted, Father Dougal, Father Jack, Mrs Doyle and a host of supporting characters that made up one of the funniest comedies ever to grace to tv screen.

In response to requests from Nevin, Sean and from Claudia I present to the world a detail from my Father Jack mug, which features all of his favourite sayings. Not shown are pictures of Father Hackettt in all of his, err, pulchritude.

The first plane in Antarctica

Australian researchers have found the remains of the first plane taken to Antarctica, in 1912, have been found by Australian researchers. Taken to Antarctica in 1912 the Mawson's Huts Foundation had been searching for the plane for three years. It was last seen in the mid-1970s, and it was only rediscovered on New Year's Day.

Australian polar explorer and geologist Douglas Mawson (later knighted) led two expeditions to Antarctica in the early 1900s, on the first one bringing a single-propeller Vickers REP aeroplane.

Sir Douglas Mawson

Mawson's dream of staging the first human flight over the Antarctic ice cap, less than a decade after the Wright brothers made the first powered flight, was shattered even before his expedition sailed. The plane crashed in a demonstration flight in October 1911. No one was hurt, but the wings were damaged. With no time for repairs, Mawson removed the wings and took the rest of the plane to use as a flightless "air tractor".

The 1911-14 Australian Antarctic Expedition used the plane to tow gear on to the ice in preparation for sledging journeys. But the plane's engine could not withstand the extreme cold and it was eventually abandoned.

Okay so it never flew in Antarctica. It was a shame the plane got totalled before it reached Antarctica but given that the engine could not handle the cold I fear that it would have come to a sticky end had it arrived intact. Still the article has given me a name to research. I know virtually nothing about Mawson so I will have to find out more about his explorations. It would seem that he has been overshadowed, in the UK at least, by the likes of Scott and Shackleton.

A circular Ark

Flood myths appear to be pretty universal, so it was not just Noah or Gilgamesh who built boats and saved the world’s fauna (what happened to the flora underwater is not addressed). It was therefore interesting to read this article in today’s Grauniad regarding the translation of a Babylonian clay tablet which describes another one of the world’s flood stories.

The tablet tells the story of the ark, the vessel that saved one virtuous man, his family and the animals from god's watery wrath. The ark was not the huge vessel made of gopher wood (and twice the size of the USS Nimitz... probably) but a giant circular reed raft.

The tablet, aged about 3,700 years, was found somewhere in the Middle East by Leonard Simmons, a largely self-educated Londoner who indulged his passion for history while serving in the RAF from 1945 to 1948. The relic was passed to his son Douglas, who took it to Irving Finkel,a British Museum expert, who translated its 60 lines of neat cuneiform script.

Although tablets describing the flood story are commonplace this one was the first to describe the vessel's shape. "In all the images ever made people assumed the ark was, in effect, an ocean-going boat, with a pointed stem and stern for riding the waves – so that is how they portrayed it," said Finkel. "But the ark didn't have to go anywhere, it just had to float, and the instructions are for a type of craft which they knew very well. It's still sometimes used in Iran and Iraq today, a type of round coracle which they would have known exactly how to use to transport animals across a river or floods."

Not the Babylonian Ark

Finkel's research throws light on the familiar Mesopotamian story, which became the account in Genesis, in the Old Testament, of Noah and the ark that saved his menagerie from the waters which drowned every other living thing on earth.

In his translation, the god who has decided to spare one just man speaks to Atram-Hasis, a Sumerian king who lived before the flood and who is the Noah figure in earlier versions of the ark story. "Wall, wall! Reed wall, reed wall! Atram-Hasis, pay heed to my advice, that you may live forever! Destroy your house, build a boat; despise possessions And save life! Draw out the boat that you will built with a circular design; Let its length and breadth be the same."
The tablet goes on to command the use of plaited palm fibre, waterproofed with bitumen, before the construction of cabins for the people and wild animals. It ends with the dramatic command of Atram-Hasis to the unfortunate boat builder whom he leaves behind to meet his fate, about sealing up the door once everyone else is safely inside: "When I shall have gone into the boat, Caulk the frame of the door!"

Despite its unique status, Simmons' tablet – which has been dated to around 1,700 BC and is only a few centuries younger than the oldest known account – was very nearly overlooked.
"When my dad eventually came home, he shipped a whole tea chest of this kind of stuff home – seals, tablets, bits of pottery," said Douglas. "He would have picked them up in bazaars, or when people knew he was interested in this sort of thing, they would have brought them to him and earned a few bob."

This is truly fascinating stuff. I don’t for a second believe in the literal truth of Genesis or Gilgamesh, I am sure that they were inspired by real events – not a universal flood sent down by a God who desperately needed anger management classes but perhaps a memory of events following the Ice Age or simply local floods turned into legend.

One thing I do hope is that the ark of Atram-Hasis fared better than Russian attempts to create a circular battleship in the 19th century:

The Novgorod, not the most successful vessel ever launched

Happy Birthday

Wishing my father a happy 84th birthday

Three from the Hoodoo Gurus

Great stuff from an under rated Australian band.. under rated in the UK anyway. Their debut Stoneage Romeos is one of my all time favourite albms

Song for a New Year II

Tim Blake's New Jerusalem. This is a song I have loved ever since seeing him perform this with Hawkwind at the Electric Ballroom Camden over 30 years ago