Just Finished Reading: The Shortest History of Europe by John Hirst (FP: 2012)

It is, of course, an impossible task – to write a history of Europe from Greco-Roman times to the end of WW2 in less than 200 pages. Wisely the author of this interesting little work doesn’t try. Instead he concentrates on highlights, themes and a broad brush approach to history. By and large the thrust is chronological but with a twist – or in this case a spiral as the narrative winds back on itself to fill in detail or expand a theme.

After given a very quick overview of the continents history the book circles back to some of the foundations of European culture and history looking at how invasions from Germany (that will be), the Vikings and the East shaped the political landscape and echoed down the ages. Politics is a big theme here, with the fall and shattering of the Roman Empire and the set-up of wannabe absolute monarchs none of whom managed to hold on to much territory or to exert much influence for too long or over too much to have a decided impact on the flow of things – a theme repeated at the end of the book where the power and innovation of a fractured Europe is compared to a generally side-lined China which, on the face of it, should have been the world conquering power that Europe turned out to be. It was the lack of power exhibited by Kings that led to the rise of Merchants and petty powers within kingdoms which eventually gave rise to capitalism, democracy, party politics, class conflict and much else besides.

Mixed in with all of this is a tale of languages – from Rome (again) as well as from Germany which gave rise to the Romance languages of continental Europe and the world language now known as English. Of course not only did England give its language to the world but was also the home of the Industrial Revolution which changed everything. Why in England and not in France or Germany – never mind China? It’s an interesting question to which the author gives an interesting answer (which was new to me at least). Lastly the author turns his attention to the world wars – essentially the same war with a 20 year pause in the middle – and gives a good account of the tragedy.

Adapted from a series of lectures designed for undergraduates who had little prior knowledge of Europe this was a breeze of a read with some interesting viewpoints and overview of the geographical area that most interests me. Short, obviously, but a good introduction especially for those with scant knowledge of the cradle of western culture, science and industrialisation. One other book has been produced in this series (which I already have) and I hope they produce more. 

Cartoon Time.

For those tricky to get shots........

To Sleep, perchance………………..

It was almost a running joke in my early household. Not only could I sleep just about anywhere in my early years but I could seemingly sleep for truly extraordinary periods – my record in my mid-teens was 16 hours. My mother often remarked than once asleep a nuclear bomb going off outside wouldn’t wake me – to which I always said: Good! I always thought sleep was good, it was my happy place, cosy, warm, almost floating. Loved it……

Throughout my 20’s, through University and my early working life I had no real sleep issues. The odd illness might have kept me up – especially a blocked nose during colds – but generally my sleep was good, very good. Then, as I got older, I began to get the odd short bout of insomnia. Usually the cause was work or personal issues. Sometimes my mind/brain simply wouldn’t shut down or shut up and thoughts circled endlessly squawking at me. But such things passed quickly as I dealt with problems or the dealt with themselves. Later still I lost sleep during my long-term (for me!) relationship though not in a good way. I’ve never really learnt to cope with sleeping with someone else in the bed. I move around too much and part of my brain keeps alert to the possibility of accidently kicking them or pushing them on to the floor. I think it took around 3 months for my brain to relax enough so I didn’t ‘wake up’ exhausted with only the lightest of sleep achieved.

In my 40’s and now in my late 50’s things can, from time to time, get pretty bad. My periodic insomnia occurs more often and without any apparent cause. My stress levels are generally very low (indeed I tend to be the calmest person in my team for years on end) and I’m pretty good at not bringing work worries home with me. But, from time to time, I can drag myself to bed literally exhausted and the second my head hits the pillow – bam, I’m fully awake! It’s bizarre. I’m physical drained and can barely function yet my brain is 100% ready to get on with the day – despite the fact that it’s 3:30AM. I can feel it coming a day or so ahead of time – almost like migraine sufferers can feel the precursor of the dreaded flux hit them (being a sufferer in the past – touch wood – I know that feeling well) so am generally prepared for on average 3 mostly sleepless nights. Rarely it lasts longer than that – then I crash and sleep 10 hours before getting back to my normal 6-7 hours on a ‘school night’ and 8 hours at the weekend. But where this bout used to happen maybe once or twice a year it’s now happening somewhere between four to six times. I think it’s seasonal too. I surprised myself this summer (the surprising thing is, of course, that we had a summer) by sleeping like a baby during the hottest nights since 1910 (jointly held with 4 other years so not completely exceptional) rather than suffering with the heat. Whilst other people seemed to flag through lack of sleep I actually felt positively refreshed. Odd. Equally odd is that in winter I have a very natural tendency to hibernate but, annoyingly, far too often find it difficult to get off to sleep.

I’ve said before that I’m not really a morning person and people think I exaggerate when I tell them how bad I am. I say that the zombies in the Walking Dead series are based on my behaviour for the first 45 minutes after I get out of bed. I most definitely do NOT wake quickly. My body is reasonably OK but my brain…. Well, to say it functions slowly doesn’t really give you any idea of how little functionality I get from it until I’ve been technically awake for at least an hour. Naturally I don’t always get the luxury of spending an hour getting things together. Years ago I was picked up at the crack of dawn and driven to a meeting point (McDonalds naturally) to go on a bowling trip. When I got out of the car, after only a 15 minute trip from my house, I almost threw up because my brain couldn’t work out why I wasn’t still in bed. Luckily with retirement just around the corner I should get plenty of opportunity to catch up on my sleep without the damned alarm clock waking me u at an ungodly hour. I’m looking forward to that very much indeed…. 

Cartoon Time.

Cat Darts..........

Emails while commuting 'should count as work'

By Sean Coughlan for BBC News

30 August 2018

Commuters are so regularly using travel time for work emails that their journeys should be counted as part of the working day, researchers say. Wider access to wi-fi on trains and the spread of mobile phones has extended the working day, a study from the University of the West of England says. The study examined 5,000 rail passengers on commuter routes into London as wi-fi became more available. "I am a busy mum and I rely on that time," one commuter told researchers. "It's really important to my sanity that I can get work done on the train," she said, on the Aylesbury to London route.

The study, to be presented at the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday, found that 54% of commuters using the train's wi-fi were sending work emails. Others were using their own mobile phone connections for work emails. Those on the way to work were catching up with emails sent ahead of the coming day - while those on the return journey were finishing off work not completed during regular working hours. "Its dead time in a way, so what it allows me to do is finish stuff and not work in the evenings," said a commuter on the London to Birmingham route. The study examined the impact of free wi-fi being upgraded on the London to Birmingham and London to Aylesbury routes. It showed that as internet access improved it had the effective consequence of extending working hours, using laptops and mobile phones.

For commuting parents, it was also seen as a "transition", where they switched roles from being part of a family to a working environment. There were other commuters who liked the "buffer" of being able to work when travelling. "The majority of the time it's an option for me to, you know, clear the decks for the day, relax and put work behind me more than anything else," said a passenger on the London to Birmingham route. But the findings raise questions about the work-life balance - and whether it is healthy to stretch out the working day with people routinely answering emails beyond office hours. If the journey has become part of work, should it also be recognised as part of working hours?

Researcher Dr Juliet Jain said smartphones and mobile internet access had caused a "blurring of boundaries" between work and home life - and this now applied to the journey to work. "How do we count that time? Do workplace cultures need to change?" she asked. Instead of technology giving people more flexibility over working, the study showed that people were working extra hours on top of their time in the office. "There's a real challenge in deciding what constitutes work," said Dr Jain, from the university's Centre for Transport and Society. Counting the journey as work could "ease commuter pressure on peak hours" travel, she said, allowing more staggered travel times. But Dr Jain said it would also mean that employers would want "more surveillance and accountability" for how commuters were spending that time before arriving at their desks. Business leaders recognised the difficulties of setting boundaries around such work emails and mobile technology - and warned it could damage productivity if work became too pervasive. "This increasing flexibility has the potential to radically shift the work-life balance for the better - but it also leaves open the door to stress and lower productivity," said Jamie Kerr, of the Institute of Directors. "With the concept of clocking on and clocking off no longer straightforward, defining where leisure begins and work ends will be vital for both employers and individuals, as well as a complex task for regulators." Matthew Percival, the CBI's head of employment, said: "A common-sense approach is needed, giving individuals the tools to manage their work-life balance."

[We’ve recently gone fully ‘agile’ at work and everyone now has a work laptop and a mobile phone. Naturally the bosses have nice mobiles but we all got the same laptops. Not long after all that started I noticed a trend – especially with our managers. They started sending e-mails at odd hours and at weekends to ‘get ahead of things’ and ‘set balls rolling for the next day’ in other words working for free. Even I felt the pull after working from home one day. I had the idea to check my e-mails over the weekend to get a ‘heads-up’ on what was waiting for me on Monday morning. I actually got within about a metre of my laptop before I stopped myself. Now, when I leave the office, my laptop and phone stay in the office safely locked away. I certainly don’t mind being expected to work if I’m being payed for it but conversely if I’m working I expect to get payed. Working for nothing in the (often vain) hope of being noticed or getting a bonus or whatever else is a sucker’s game. It’s just another method of not so subtle exploitation. If I was told in a job that I’d be expected to work un-payed overtime I’d be looking for another job pronto. When people say that their commute is ‘dead time’ it just shows how brain washed they are. It may be an ‘opportunity’ to work but it’s also an equal opportunity to think, to read, to sleep, to chat to your fellow passengers you probably see every day. You know, do human, non-work related stuff. Because I bet you that the two or more extra hours ‘at work’ each day won’t help your stress levels, your relationships or your bank balance.] 

Heavy reading............

Just Finished Reading: Amiens 1918 by Gregory Blaxland (FP: 1968)

Everyone knew it was coming. With the collapse of the Eastern Front due to the Russian Revolution whole armies of German soldiers where making their way across central Europe to reinforce the Western Front. But this was not simply a shoring up of German defences – the Americans were coming and the clock was ticking loudly. If German could not act soon it would be only a matter of time before the power of the emergent US military would crush them. They needed to attack – now. The Allied forces knew this and they had a pretty good idea where the hammer would fall. Aerial reconnaissance and the testimony of captured soldiers made that very clear. So the British, their colonial allies and the French reinforced their front lines, dug their defences deeper and started to prepare a mobile reserve force available quickly to respond to any potential breakthrough. Then, as preparations continued, all hell broke loose.

It was like nothing ever seen before. In a war used to massive bombardments this one surprised everyone with its ferocity. Also as soon as it had begun it was over and as dazed Allied soldiers began to wonder why the shelling had stopped the enemy were amongst them. Using new tactics and light weapons German Stormtroopers made their way through the weakest points in the defences, cut communication lines and isolated pockets of resistance before moving on, cutting deeper into the Allied lines. Mobile warfare, it seemed, has returned to France after years of stalemate. As much as the Allies prepared they had not prepared for this. In the first hours of the attack entire Allied units were annihilated where they stood and the rest fell back – only to be outflanked and forced to fall back again and again. Every heroic stand only slowed the enemy momentum but never stopped it. Counter attacks were repulsed, headquarters overrun, phone lines cut, and fuel depots destroyed minutes before the enemy arrived. It was chaos. The German plan was to drive the British to the coast to protect their precious ports and to force the French to protect their beloved Paris. If they managed to do so the Allies would be split and the tantalising possibility of victory rather than a negotiated peace could almost be seen – shimmering in the near distance.

Orders were issued – not another yard given to the enemy. It was tried and it failed or was ignored and the retreat continued. The Germans meanwhile were frustrated. Although unheard of progress had been made and thousands of Allied soldiers killed or captured the Allied lines had not broken. Wherever the German forces pushed Allied soldiers were ahead of them. In limited numbers in makeshift defences but they were there nevertheless and after weeks of relentless fighting both sides were exhausted. But this is what the Allies also knew – that they did not need to defeat the German onslaught, they just needed to survive it. If it failed then the war was won in this year – 1918 – not the following year as most of the Allies expected. Slowly at first and then with mounting realisation the German advance slowed and stopped. Attacks elsewhere were initially equally successful but quickly stopped too. Finally it was over.

But the new status quo could not be allowed to last for long. The British alongside their Australian, Canadian and South African allies counterattacked and push the weary German forces back and back again. Tanks in ever increasing numbers were thrown into the fight and greatly assisted in attack after attack despite increasing loses. Even the first tank vs tank battle took place – a clear sign of things to come. But once the German forces began falling back they never moved forward again. In a matter of weeks they were back at their starting lines and retreating further towards home and Fatherland. The end of the war was now only a matter of time.

Coincidentally, because I don’t actually plan my reading this well, it was the 100 anniversary of Amiens just recently. It was a pivotal stand which helped turn the war from defeat into victory. After Amiens the Germans only moved back – not forward. Told with real verve and passion this was an exciting blow by blow account of how the Allies survived a massive onslaught which could have possibly ended the war in Germany’s favour in 1918 producing a potentially very different world. More on this time and the consequences of WW1 to come. 

Cartoon Time.