[warne] english tactics help him set up whitewash

I’ve stayed out of this until now. Haven’t I stayed out of it, printing ne’er a word, leaving it all to Normblog and The Tin Drummer? Now they’ve gone one step too far, the stupid, inept English travelling cricket circus.

ENGLAND has made another error in judgement. And, as with other miscalculations on this tour, it will come at a cost. The move by England's fieldsmen, most notably Paul Collingwood, to sledge Shane Warne at the crease during his final Test was folly of the highest order. Already motivated to perform well in his farewell to international cricket, Warne's resolve was stiffened further by the barbs fired by Collingwood, resulting in an innings that all but broke the resolve of the tourists and primed Australia for a series whitewash.

That’s the Aussie point of view although, to be fair, Tim de Lisle sees it a little differently. However, none of that excuses what has been a weak, ill-organized and badly thought out campaign which threatens to brand this team the worst in England’s history. They won the Ashes not so long ago. Can this team only play at home and against the old foe?

[mary celeste] just the facts, ma’am

Part 1 below concerns events up to, including and after the event and considerable effort has been made to expunge all descriptive adjectives and speculative comments from the record of events.

Part 2 though, is highly speculative and lists theories, official and no, of what could have occurred. I have to admit that after two years of reading now, I’m as baffled as when I started. Based on the evidence below and on any other evidence you may yourself know of, what’s your theory?

The 101-foot, 282 ton brigantine Mary Celeste, was built in 1860, the maiden venture of a consortium of pioneer shipbuilders at the shipyards of Joshua Dewis on Spencer's Island, Nova Scotia. She was originally christened Amazon and was launched in 1861, the year that saw the start of the American Civil War.

Her first skipper, a Scot named Robert McLellan, fell ill and died. Then John Nutting Parker assumed command and skippered the Amazon's maiden voyage, but she ran into a fishing weir off Maine, received a large gash in her hull and had to go to the shipyards for repair. While she was there a fire broke out amidships, bringing Captain Parker's command to an end.

Amazon's first Atlantic crossing went without mishap until she entered the Straits of Dover and collided with a brig. The brig sank, Amazon again went for repairs, and her third skipper went to seek another command.

Following the necessary repairs and the appointment of a new captain, Amazon returned to America, and she ran aground off Cow Bay, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

She was pulled off the rocks and repaired, but appears to have passed from one owner to another, several of whom seem to have gone bankrupt and none of whom derived any good from their contact with the ship. She eventually passed into the hands of J.H. Winchester and Co., a consortium of New York shipowners.

By this time the Amazon had been enlarged, flew the Stars and Stripes, was named Mary Celeste. According to testimony, just prior to this trip, she had been purchased at a salvage auction in New York for $2,600 and rebuilt for $14,000. Her rebuilt condition was confirmed by the crew of the Dei Gratia later when they said, "Her hull appeared to be nearly new."

The latest captain of Mary Celeste was a stern, puritan New Englander named Benjamin Spooner Briggs. He was born at Wareham, Massachusetts, on 24th April 1835, the second of five sons born to Captain Nathan Briggs and his wife Sophia.

Continued here …

[sailing record] 14 year old crosses atlantic

A 14-year-old British schoolboy today became the youngest person to sail the Atlantic single-handed, arriving in the Caribbean after setting off from Gibraltar just over six weeks ago. Michael Perham, from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, sailed into Nelson's Dockyard on the Caribbean island of Antigua at 10am (2pm UK time), and was escorted into dock by a flotilla of boats.

Now, as a fellow sailor [still count myself current], this is more than astounding. I began sailing about 8 but only sailed single-handed at 12. By 14 I’d graduated to bigger boats but this was all bay sailing. I didn’t try a trek until I was 23. But to get a 28 foot keeler across the Atlantic – this is more astounding than I can say and quite frankly, it’s hard to believe he didn’t have total backup e.g. some other boats alongside or near him.

Having said that, John Prescott is right in that it’s an extension of the British Maritime Tradition and there are some august personages on that list. Amazingly well done to the lad!

[sensitivity] of testimonials and insults

The Golden Greek made the point: I'd actually been toying with the idea of dropping the testimonials from my sidebar at some point - feeling that they shout "me me me" a bit too loudly.

I would suggest that this is a retrograde step. Of course, when a blogger emblazons eulogies in his header, they do have a habit of convincing people, that's undoubtedly true. Maybe I should write: 'James Higham knows Voodoo economics' or 'Make him a Life Peer - fast'. Then I'll make up some name for the ones who said them, e.g. Hugh Jensen [Houston Times] or Nitwan Purlwan [Lhasa Chronicle] and no one's ever going to bother to check.

No, the solution seems to be this: perhaps if a blogger were to run a special page, linked from the sidebar, in which all testimonials and negative comments were listed together, maybe in chronological order, as and when they come up and with brutal honesty, this would give people a better view of us. For example, Cityunslicker said : "ill-informed" amongst the positives and that's good - it's more convincing.

Which brings me to what would insult us and what wouldn't. People have generally found that it's hard to insult me - 'balding git' does nothing, 'opinionated bore' is a compliment and I thrive on 'curmudgeon'. I was called a 'bastard' and immediately thanked the girl and looked on her more kindly after that. It's not everyday one is complimented in the heat of battle.

Perhaps if it's something we really value and have worked for and it's dismissed, that would hurt. Stand by for a moment whilst I try it. 'Woeful traffic.' Nope. 'No one's interested in your crappy little blog' [from Australia]. That's getting warmer. 'Tosser.' Nope, getting cold again.

Wonder how you'd feel insulted.

[anna and liz] vital questions in the wee hours

Thought this was cute until I saw at what time they were posting:

Anna said...

When is twelfth night? And why is there an 'f' in twelfth? 2:30 AM

Liz said...

January 6th. Because there's a V in twelve. 4:45 AM

Anna said...

I know there's a V in twelve, but that still doesn't make sense. January 6th - Saturday? Yuck. I hate taking down the decorations. Is Harvey using his ramp yet? 5:15 AM

Now I’d like to meet these two girls.

[soft on crime] only 1% lead to conviction

Central News reports that: Just one crime in every hundred now leads to the offender being caught, charged and punished by the courts, latest statistics reveal. The Home Office's own figures showed crime on the rise last year and more criminals being caught by police, yet the numbers being sent before the court dropped sharply by eight per cent year-on-year. Opposition critics blamed the dramatic rise in the use of "summary justice" - instant fines or cautions and warnings handed out by the police.

I have the solution, people.