Rereading Patrick O'Brian "Master and Commander" (and the rest)

Off message but recently I have started re-reading the Patrick O'Brian, historical novels about fictional 19th century Royal Navy sailors Aubrey & Maturin. I have finished the first novel (out of 20 and there is a unfinished 21st) and are now enjoying the 2nd, "Post Captain". 

As someone who enjoys messing about on a river but has been known to get sea sick on a modern cruise ship, I do not know why these novels appeal to me so much (reread every decade or so). There was a "John Gray" who served on the HMS Victory during the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, but he is not a known relative. 

People may have seen the 2003 film "Master and Commander" staring Russell Crowe, which was based on the novels and which I did enjoy. 

In the historic naval museum in Portsmouth dockyard they have as an exhibit, what is thought to be an actual surviving sail from HMS Victory and the battle in 1805, which appears to be clearly torn in part by enemy cannon balls. In past visits to this museum to see this sail, they used to play in a light show, very loudly some of the battle scene music used in the film "Master and Commander". It givens you a sense of the terrible noise, confusion, fear and carnage of the actual battle. 

Don't read the novels for the history and humour without an understanding of how awful the real life battles must have been. 

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard 2018

Off message but last month as a birthday treat I went with Gill for a weekend in Portsmouth to visit once again its Historic Navy Dockside. It is well worth a visit if anyone is interested or curious about our naval history.

Many years ago I read all the fictional novels by Patrick O'Brian on the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic wars, so it is always a treat to visit HMS Victory (top of collage) which fought in the decisive Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Battleships at the time were floating gun platforms and needed a huge crew to fight the guns. By visiting the ship you can see for yourself the crowded, wet and dangerous living conditions of 850 sailors on board. It must have been dreadful with the pain dulled by the daily half pint ration of strong rum (or 8 pints of beer in home waters).

You can buy a ticket that gives you (nearly) unlimited access to the dockyard for a year. As well as HMS Victory, there is the Victorian Battleship HMS Warrior (see spectacular sunset photos bottom centre and right of collage) and the First World War Gun ship M33 (which fought in Gallippi). You also have access to the National Royal Navy museum, Royal Navy Submarine Museum, the Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower as well as a number of other attractions aimed at children and families.

Unfortunately the Tudor Battleship "The Mary Rose" is no longer part of the "all in deal" and you will have to pay extra to visit. 

One highlight included is a free 45 minute boating tour around the Port of Portsmouth during which you can see modern day Royal Naval Warships. The new Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was not in port but the modern Destroyer, HMS Diamond D34 was in the docks (see picture left of college).

When HMS Victory was built in 1762 it cost £63,176 and 3 shillings,[the equivalent of £7.92 million today). HMS Diamond alone cost the UK around £1 billion.  I have to say that I tried to work out how many homeless and overcrowded families we could house in Newham with £1 billion.

Portsmouth is lovely with plenty of things to do if you or your partner are not historically minded included a number of good value restaurants in Southsea. 

Weald Country Park Walk (avoiding "Plonkers Lane")

Off message but this was a lovely 5.5 mile,  Essex pathfinder walk only 30 minutes by car from Forest Gate, London. I have been silently suffering for the last week with the "dreaded lurgy" (aka as "Man flu") so did not feel up to a full London Loop walk

The Park itself was busy being a Bank Holiday. There is a cafe and you could hand feed young deer in an enclosure for only 50p. There was also a fresh organic bread, pie and cake stall.

Outside the County park boundaries, the walk was quiet and all very lush and green apart from the commonplace white spring blossom on trees and hedges. The fields were dominated by bright yellow buttercups. It would also have been a marvellous place to visit a few weeks ago when the bluebells were in season and full bloom.

This is a very much a walk of ancient paths and lanes. We walked along what was once a medieval pilgrim's route to Canterbury and went near Day's Lane, which believe it or not used to be called "Plonkers Lane" (no comment Rodney).

A famous former resident of the local village, South Weald, was ruthless naval hero, John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent. If like me, you are a fan of the historical novelist, Patrick O'Brien, you will know all about this real life former Sea Lord.

You end up back in the forest of the Country park.  We stopped for lunch at two benches overlooking a gorgeous country vista. A couple were sitting at the bench next to us with two dogs. The women asked if I minded taking their picture, sitting on the bench, since they had commissioned it in honour of her husband's late parents.

I said with pleasure and took the pictures. I remarked that my family had also sponsored a bench in the countryside to remember my own Dad.

While flowers and gravestones are very important to people, I think that commissioning a bench somewhere beautiful and special in memory of your loved ones is far more meaningful. It is obviously though a matter of personal choice. 

Sauerkraut

Off message – but I am very fond of this dish especially with cold meats. I am also a huge fan of the author Patrick O’Brian and his Aubrey-Maturin novels.

I really envy anyone who has not yet read any of his works and who has just obtained a copy of the first of the series “Master and Commander”. Enjoy!

I think I am right that former Tory minister William Waldengrave famously described the 20 novel series as cocaine for intellectuals. Obviously not referring to me.

By co-incidence I find today that 19th Century British sailors did not conquer the scourge of scurvy during this time by drinking lime with their rum. Instead what enabled the British Empire to sail and fight in all Seven Seas in relative good health was the consumption of vitamin rich and long shelf life Sauerkraut!