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Category Archives: The Naval Chronicle
Spring and Port Wine
… is the name of a play and then a film about Bolton, in northern England. However, I’m borrowing the title because I’ve just spent a few spring days in (O)Porto, where the wine comes from. My Portuguese vocabulary has … Continue reading
Posted in Art and architecture, Biography, Gardening, History, The Naval Chronicle, Travel and Exploration
Tagged botanical gardens, Charles Napier, Porto, Portugal
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A List of Books Published in 1814
There’s been a general re-examination this year of the monumental events of 1914, but I thought I’d go back another century and see what was published in 1814 – at the time of the realignment of European politics, borders and … Continue reading
A Treatise on the Scurvy
First of all, what does the word mean? It started off as an adjective in the 1540s, meaning ‘covered with scabs’, and is apparently related to ‘scurf’, as in dandruff. Juliet’s Nurse helpfully calls someone ‘Scurvy knave! I am none … Continue reading
Posted in Biography, Medicine, The Naval Chronicle, Travel and Exploration
Tagged James Lind, Royal Navy, scurvy
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My Day Out
Another excursion from the provinces to London this weekend. A beautiful sunny day in which to crowd into the dark underbelly of the British Museum and stand in a stifling queue to see ‘Vikings: Life and Legend’. I’m fully aware … Continue reading
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