Just crying out for a caption.... [grin]

Just Finished Reading: Britain After Rome – The Fall and Rise 400 to 1070 by Robin Fleming (FP: 2010) [366pp] 

It was a long time coming but it was still a shock when the last legions left Britain around AD410. Trouble within the Empire with enemies both foreign and domestic meant that more and more often units were withdrawn from the edges of the known world never to return. Britainnia was on its own. Her problem was less enemies on the borders but trade across the narrow sea to Gaul and beyond. With the legions gone trade fell off a cliff. With trans-imperial trade now practically non-existent local industries and manufactures struggled without a local economy to support them. Before long internal trade collapsed and with it any urban areas designed primarily around trade and administration. Towns became strange ruins to future generations, mined for stone or other resources and, generally, shunned by all but the most curious. Life continued much as it had done before the Occupation and slowly, very slowly, micro-kingdoms sprang into being often headed by old families who harked back to the glory of Rome or those who could organise the local population for building or defence. 

In the centuries that followed, some micro-kingdoms grew absorbing the less able or unlucky neighbours and eventually became powers covering significant parts of England. Adaptive to change, coping with foreign immigrants, traders, raiders and invasions they finally faced their greatest threat in the Vikings. Initially losing whole swathes of the country to the Norsemen, the centuries long struggle saw first an accommodation and then an assimilation under a single English monarch. The economy, at first struggling under numerous assaults, became one of the strongest in Europe and a magnet for anyone willing to chance his arm (and often his head) on taking control of such a rich prize. Eventually a foreign invader succeeded and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Obviously, there’s no way that I’m going to sketch 600+ years of history in a few paragraphs so I’m not even going to try. Despite the dearth of documents during the early part of ex-Roman British history there’s still a lot we can tell about the conditions people lived in. Once Christianity is re-established and written records start showing up in relative abundance we can tell a lot more. Ironically this was the least interesting part of the narrative as I honestly don’t have any significant interest in early ecclesiastical history. To be honest I did skim a bit of the chapters discussing it.  

This was, quite deliberately, a history focused on the people digging in the dirt rather than the people wearing silk and eating eels – or as much as it can be considering that dirt diggers tend to leave rather less to study than the castle dwellers. But there are graves, always graves. Often the most interesting bits (for me anyway) were discussions of burials and grave goods – and most especially (in the last chapter most of all) the analysis of the people’s health conditions determined by skeletal evidence. I was quite astounded to read of areas were around 25% of children never made it to their 2nd birthday and in others where 40% of women were dead by their 25th year. It must have been a strange, sad, place with so many motherless children and so many parents still grieving (no doubt) over lost sons and daughters. Such grim statistics hardly changed – at least at the shallow end of the social economy until the 19th century. How lucky we are to live in the age of anti-biotics and enough food to eat. 

Despite being a rather slow read at times (more me than the author I think!) this was an interesting look into a period of Britain’s history I know very little about. I shall, no doubt, be returning to this era to see how much I can flesh out my pre-1066 knowledge further. Recommended. 

The John Connor Bookshelf 

One of the things I couldn’t help noticing in the otherwise (often) excellent ‘Sarah Connor Chronicles’ was the attitude and behaviour of John Connor himself. Played in this instance by Thomas Dekker he’s moody, brooding and unhappy with his destined role as the saviour of mankind. Over the two series he (slowly) 'gets' just how important he is and finally starts to put his back into things – just as the series was cancelled. 

Despite the fact that he spent most of the show in High School you almost never saw him with a book in his hand (so, maybe pretty realistic in that sense) but what was worse – in my opinion – was that he spent ZERO time actually studying for his future role. Now, personally, once I’d actually accepted that, through no fault of my own, my future was already laid out in front of me and that I was going to save humanity from extinction at the hands of our own technology, I’d most probably want to do a half decent, rather than a half assed job in that regard. 

OK, sure he had some training from Sarah and, a little later from Derek Reese (Kyle’s brother) in things like weapon use, handling of explosives and basic small unit guerilla tactics but that’s only going to take him so far. It might make him a competent, even a good, fighter but it's not going to make him a ‘great military leader’ that people would follow into the fire – even with his apparent spooky foreknowledge of future events. No, he needs training in other things too – logistics, strategy, command and so on, with a large dose of military history to give him some theoretical depth to any future decisions – large or small. In other words, he really needs to hit the books a LOT more than you see him doing on screen. I mean, he can’t spend all of his time being grumpy and mooning over his very own pet cyborg, Cameron. 

Being the (somewhat) strange kind of person who thinks about such things, I’ve created a label (logically called ‘Connor’) that might be useful to all John wannabies out there. The way AI research and drone technology is going we’re going to need you guys (and girls!) to stand up and start reading for the future of humanity. Oh, and if anyone has mad tech skills, I’d look at upgrading the anti-drone EM weapons to something that can disable a robot from Boston Dynamics at 500+ metres. I think there’s going to be a growing demand for that sort of thing.... Although I’m not going to be focusing on this as a future topic no doubt I’ll be reading books I consider useful to the Human Resistance, so keep any eye on the Connor label to see if it upticks.  

Good Luck. You’ll need it.  

Happy Birthday: Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot (born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B. is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she is one of the best known symbols of the sexual revolution. Although she withdrew from the entertainment industry in 1973, she remains a major pop culture icon. She has acted in 47 films, performed in several musicals, and recorded more than 60 songs. She was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1985.

Born and raised in Paris, Bardot was an aspiring ballerina during her childhood. She started her acting career in 1952 and achieved international recognition in 1957 for her role in And God Created Woman (1956), catching the attention of many French intellectuals and earning her the nickname "sex kitten". She was the subject of philosopher Simone de Beauvoir's 1959 essay The Lolita Syndrome, which described her as a "locomotive of women's history" and built upon existentialist themes to declare her the most liberated woman of France. She won a 1961 David di Donatello Best Foreign Actress Award for her work in The Truth (1960). Bardot later starred in Jean-Luc Godard's film Le Mépris (1963). For her role in Louis Malle's film Viva Maria! (1965), she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress. French President Charles de Gaulle called Bardot "the French export as important as Renault cars".

Being a nominal Catholic, my parents sent us all to Church of England schools which meant almost no religious content in our teaching schedule. We did have compulsorily Religious Studies - which periodically changed its name to reflect current policy - but very little actual religion was taught. We did say the Lord's Prayer each morning in assembly but I'm guessing that the vast majority of people, like me, said it automatically or mumbled it under their breath. Not sure exactly what schools do these days. I think they 'celebrate' all religions and at least feature all major religious holidays. What effect that has on the school population I'm not sure.  

Just Finished Reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (FP: 1891) [349pp] 

Beautiful. It was the only word Lord Henry Wotton could use to describe Dorian Gray. He was both entranced and saddened by it. He knew that both youth and beauty, so prized, so precious and so sought after were also ephemeral. They passed almost before they were recognised for what they are: priceless. Watching the talented artist Basil Hallward paint his masterpiece, his portrait of Dorian Gray, Lord Wotton could only imagine how the real Dorian would age and yet his portrait remain untouched by time and experience. Dorian was equally struck by the juxtaposition of eternal art and ephemeral life himself and wished with all of his soul that their positions be reversed.... 

Obviously, I’ve been aware of this classic novel for as long as I can remember. It’s hard be unaware of a novel that’s been adapted for the movie screen 11 times since 1910 plus the countless TV adaptations and interpretations. So, I thought it was about high time that I finally read the book which had been sitting in a pile of classic texts in my house for several decades at least. It was, as you might imagine, a strange one. 

My first impression was that it was going to be a long, slow read as nothing much happened for the first 50+ pages. Back in my callow youth I might have DNF’d it at that point. Today, being slightly more mature, I soldiered on – not that it took a great deal of effort to keep turning pages. Part of the reason is that the entire book is *heavily* sprinkled with the authors witticisms – and if there’s one thing that Wilde has in SPADES is wit. I found myself more than once laughing very loudly at a comment or aside – mostly from Lord Wotton who was, no doubt, a stand-in for the author himself. Mostly the biting commentary was at the expense of Victorian society, morality or hypocrisy but a fair few were just simply misogynistic. The book also dripped with homo-eroticism from the outset. Although there was nothing explicit in the text you really didn’t have to read very much between the lines to know what Wotton was thinking/feeling about Dorian or what might have been going on between them. Apparently earlier versions of the text were ‘edited’ to tone down the homo-erotic nature of the book but this was clearly the unabridged version. If I didn’t already know that Wilde was gay before reading his novel, I’d certainly have no doubt now. 

Although ‘billed’ as a horror classic, there’s very little here that would disturb a modern reader. It’s definitely creepy at times – especially as the painting begins to change over the years – but nothing that will keep anyone but the most sensitive soul awake at night. After the rather slow start it did turn out to be an interesting read on several levels – not least the philosophical one – and I actually ended up quite enjoying it. I’ve been a fan of Wilde’s aphorisms for some years now and recognised more than a few in the text. Overall, I was impressed by the style, story and execution throughout and I’m looking forward to reading more from and about this most intriguing Victorian. Recommended. 

Happy World Cassowary Day!

Just Finished Reading: Echolands – A Journey in Search of Boudica by Duncan Mackay (FP: 2023) [306pp] 

It all started with the Welsh, and an overzealous Roman commander. It ended with death, destruction and a revolt that might have ended to occupation of Britannia. The commander of the province at the ends of the world, Suetonius Paulinus, was campaigning (AKA exterminating) in Wales subduing the local population that had been causing so much trouble in the past. To do so with the maximum of effort he wanted his rear to be secure and to assure this he directed his subordinate to disarm the local tribes. One of these tribes, the Iceni, had been willing clients to Rome for some time and they expected to be treated as such. To demand their weapons, as if they couldn’t be trusted, was an insult too far. Swords were drawn, words were said and, as night follows day, blood flowed. What was worse is that the queen, Boudica (which means Victory) was whipped and her daughters raped – or at least according to later accounts. Whatever actually happened, it was enough for the Iceni and their allies to hold an urgent meeting to decide how to respond. The decision was to fight – to kill every Roman, man, woman and child they found and to burn everything Roman to the ground. The Iceni were warriors of their word and they fell upon the Roman occupiers like ravening wolves. Cities burnt, including London, thousands died and the IX Legion was destroyed to a man – with only its commander and a handful of cavalry able to save the eagle from capture. Only weeks later, when Paulinus return from his campaigning did a final battle take place where, this time, the Iceni fell in their thousands and the revolt was brutally ended. But it was a close-run thing and even the Emperor, Nero, apparently considered giving up Britannia as a lost cause. 

I’ve long had a ‘thing’ for the Boudica story (or Boadicea as I wrongly knew her growing up). I think I might have heard the full story early in school during a history lesson. I do wonder if the teacher, in the 1970’s, was the same one who turned me on to the story of Hereward. It’s entirely possible. They were a radical bunch back then! It is a great story though – despite the fact that we only really know about it from the Roman viewpoint and a good chunk of that evidence is questionable to a degree. There’s plenty of physical evidence – including the Boudican layer of destruction visible in digs across England’s southern plain. What we don’t know are where some of the notable battles took place – including the ambush and destruction of the IX Legion and the final battle itself.  

That’s one of the things the author went looking for in this highly engaging and highly entertaining narrative. I was honestly hooked! I really liked the way he tried to get inside the heads of the main players but was also more than happy to point out what we don’t know and probably will never know about the events surrounding the revolt itself. I also really liked the authors sense of humour most obvious from his chapter headings. I particularly liked the one covering the initial Roman invasion of Britain called ‘The Egle Has Landed’. Brilliant! If you’ve ever wondered exactly who Boudica was and why she was held in such high regard for so long – although apparently there are some who are trying to label her as a war criminal or worse – this is definitely the book for you. One last thing, below is an image of the statue of Boudica and her two daughters in London. Whenever I’m there I always try to visit the area and admire the artwork and the woman herself. She’s still one of my all-time historical heroes and I can’t help but wonder what things would’ve been like if she had succeeded in throwing the Romans back into the sea.... 

It always cracks me up when people equate 'Socialism' with Stalinist Russia. As if Norway is the same as North Korea or Sweden is indistinguishable from the Soviet Union. Socialism comes in a host of 'flavours' some, inevitably, more palatable than others - not helped by the fact that states can *call* themselves Socialist when they're nothing of the sort. Of course any non-Stalinist socialist state will be redefined as not being socialist at all because it calls the original wildly wide disparaging comment into question... But that's what passes for rational debate these days....  

I think that should read 'Project 2025'....

Not that I want to give the Orange Clown any oxygen... But this is both funny and clever. Not a bad tune either...

Happy Birthday: Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, history, popular science, satire, biography, and autobiography. Wells' science fiction novels are so well regarded that he has been called the "father of science fiction".

In addition to his fame as a writer, he was prominent in his lifetime as a forward-looking, even prophetic social critic who devoted his literary talents to the development of a progressive vision on a global scale. As a futurist, he wrote a number of utopian works and foresaw the advent of aircraft, tanks, space travel, nuclear weapons, satellite television and something resembling the World Wide Web. His science fiction imagined time travel, alien invasion, invisibility and biological engineering before these subjects were common in the genre. Brian Aldiss referred to Wells as the "Shakespeare of science fiction", while Charles Fort called him a "wild talent".

Wells rendered his works convincing by instilling commonplace detail alongside a single extraordinary assumption per work – dubbed "Wells's law" – leading Joseph Conrad to hail him in 1898 with "O Realist of the Fantastic!". His most notable science fiction works include The Time Machine (1895), which was his first novel, The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), the military science fiction The War in the Air (1907), and the dystopian When the Sleeper Wakes (1910). Novels of social realism such as Kipps (1905) and The History of Mr Polly (1910), which describe lower-middle-class English life, led to the suggestion that he was a worthy successor to Charles Dickens, but Wells described a range of social strata and even attempted, in Tono-Bungay (1909), a diagnosis of English society as a whole. Wells was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times.

[H G Wells was a HUGE part of my early SF reading and I think I've read most of his early works at least once. War of the Worlds is still one of my all time favourite novels. I intend to re-read at least a few of them from next year, plus I'll see if I can get around to reading some more of his non-SF work.]

Just Finished Reading: The Thirty-Nine Steps (FP: 1915) and The Power House (FP: 1916) by John Buchan [304pp] 

Richard Hanny was bored with London. He had decided to leave the capital and try his luck elsewhere in the Empire, South Africa maybe or Australia. Somewhere, he hoped, with a little more going for it. Maybe he hadn’t heard the warning of being careful with his wishes? Returning to his flat late at night he found a mysterious man waiting for him, a man with a strange story of foreign agents and threats to England. He told a good story and Hanny believed him – at least up to a point. The confirmation came at the point of a knife. Not one aimed at Hanny himself, but one buried in the chest of his recent guest. Going to the police was hardly an option although a body in his flat might interest them a little too much for comfort. There was really only one thing he could do – leave London, evade the police and find out exactly what he had just gotten himself involved in. Maybe then he could take the evidence to the police or the authorities and they wouldn’t lock him up for a hundred years, or worse! He just had to stay alive long enough to do so. Challenge accepted. 

I’ve had this copy (an old hardback published heaven knows when) for a few decades at least so, along with some of the other classics I’ve read recently, thought it was about time I actually read it. I’ve seen the movie adaptations multiple times and have enjoyed them, most especially the 1959 version starring Kenneth More although the 1935 version with Robert Donat had its charms too. Both films play a great deal with the narrative so it turned out that most of the plot was actually new to me. My first surprise was just how short it was at a mere 170pp – so much less of a novel and much more of a reasonably long novella. Apart from the tension early on most of the story seemed to consist of a hare and hounds chase across Scotland sprinkled with improbable escapes and lucky meetings. My particular favourite was when the baddies locked Hanny in a room – presumably prior to his death – that contained blasting caps and high explosives. Luckily, Hanny was an ex-mining engineer.....!! Despite a rather thin narrative together with the improbably lucky coincidences and meetings, this was still quite entertaining although the mystery and the ending were both rather lacklustre. Reasonable 

The second novella, ‘The Power House’, had much in common with ‘The 39 Steps’ – professional out of his depth, secret organisation up to no good, government agencies at a loss and a threat to the realm. Interestingly though, this story was, in my opinion at least, better than its more famous counterpart. 

The story is told by the main character – an English barrister and Member of Parliament – during an evening chat after some duck hunting with friends and was in response to the assertion that said barrister was lucky enough to lead a dull safe life. Not so, apparently. The story involved the sudden disappearance of an acquaintance and the search by a friend for him. Wanting to help in any way he can the barrister/MP starts making enquiries and finds himself becoming entangled in an international conspiracy that puts his life in danger. The plot was, I found, much tighter and more focused that that of ‘39 Steps’ despite having much the same overall theme. The barrister himself was rounded and believable as was his plethora of contacts in London both high – ambassadors, police commissioners and civil servants – and low – petty criminals he’d dealt with in court. I also really liked his belligerent Yorkshire MP friend (from the opposition party) who was always up for a fight. He was often very funny and was a nice touch. The mystery itself was well handled and the ending equally believable. Overall, it was very nicely done. Why this novella isn’t the one we’re all familiar with rather than ‘39 Steps’ is beyond me. Recommended if you can find it in print.  

Just Finished Reading: The Romans Who Shaped Britain by Sam Moorhead and David Stuttard (FP: 2012) [251pp] 

It may have been true, but it was certainly a piece of significant propaganda as well as a shot at personal aggrandisement. When Julius Ceaser was fighting in Gaul he pointed at Britain as a haven for trouble makers, a haven that needed to be tamed, to be brought to heel. The only way to do that was to invade – which he did with a relatively small force in 55BC achieving little more than a ‘photo-op’. He returned with a much larger force the following year achieving his limited war aims and essentially put the locals on notice that the Roman Empire was watching and would be back. Then... Nothing. 

Only after around 100 years in AD43 under Emperor Claudius did a full invasion and occupation get underway. Resistance was, at first, significant – at least amongst some of the Britannic tribes but Rome, being Rome, dealt with any signs of opposition in their usual brutally methodical manner. In this case at least resistance was, generally, useless. With each passing year the Empire pressed north and west towards what is now Scotland and Wales. Both future countries proved far more difficult to subdue than first thought although Wales eventually fell after many years of warfare. Scotland proved a somewhat tougher nut to crack – or simply too expensive for minimal gain – and a series of walls were built to contain any possible threat. But not all was well (or peaceful) in Britannia.  

In AD60 the Roman’s pushed too far. With a heavy hand they turned a compliant ally into an implacable enemy. The Iceni queen Boudica rose in revolt to avenge her husband, her daughters and herself against an oppressive regime. This was no idle threat. Tens of thousands reached for their swords and shouted ‘Death to Rome’. The city of Colchester went down in blood and flame followed by London. The 9th Legion was ambushed on the way to intercept Boudica’s army and destroyed. Rearmed and reinvigorated who could stand against them? Returning from the Druid heartland of Anglesey the Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, did just that with appalling consequences and the revolt bled out in an English field. The death toll was truly staggering with the Romans and their allies losing around 80,000 and the Celtic tribes considerably more. Although Emperor Nero considered abandoning Britain the defeat of Boudica led to Roman consolidation in the south and a confirmed presence in the rest of the country for centuries to come. 

When the Romans finally left early in the 5th century, they left a partially Romanised province largely unable to stand on its own feet. For centuries it had been a place of some value but always at a cost. It was one of the most heavily garrisoned provinces in the Empire and seemed to be a regular producer of troublesome Emperor ‘wannabies’ safely far from the centre of things. 

This was a very good overview/introduction to Roman Britain. I was aware of the rough outline of things (back in my day they taught this sort of thing in History class) so it was nice to fill in some detail. There is much, at least on the surface, to admire about the Romans but it was gratifying to see then get their assess handed to them on more than one occasion by the Brits (even though the ‘British’ didn’t actually exist at that time), the Welsh and the Scots (ditto and ditto). Naturally I was drawn particularly to Boudica (or Boadicea as I knew her growing up – yes, I’m THAT old) so there’s more to follow on that amazing woman and hero of mine for many years. Definitely worth a read and recommended to anyone wanting a firm foundation to this most interesting slice of Britain's early history. 

Happy Birthday: Walter Marvin Koenig (born September 14, 1936) is an American actor and screenwriter. He began acting professionally in the mid-1960s and quickly rose to prominence for his supporting role as Ensign Pavel Chekov in Star Trek: The Original Series (1967–1969). He went on to reprise this role in all six original-cast Star Trek films, and later voiced President Anton Chekov in Star Trek: Picard (2023). He has also acted in several other series and films including Goodbye, Raggedy Ann (1971), The Questor Tapes (1974), and Babylon 5 (1993). In addition to his acting career, Koenig has made a career in writing as well and is known for working on Land of the Lost (1974), Family (1976), What Really Happened to the Class of '65? (1977) and The Powers of Matthew Star (1982).

After Chekov, Koenig had a recurring role as Psi Cop Alfred Bester (pictured above) on the television series Babylon 5. He was a "Special Guest Star" in twelve episodes and, at the end of the third season, the production company applied for an Emmy nomination on his behalf. He was slated to play Bester on the spin-off series Crusade, but the series was cancelled before his episode was filmed. The character name of "Alfred Bester" was an homage to the science-fiction writer of the same name.

Just Finished Reading: Menace of the Machine – The Rise of AI in Classic Science Fiction edited by Mike Ashley (FP: 2019) [347pp] 

I have long been interested in the interaction between man and machine as well as both real and fictional developments in robotics and Artificial Intelligence. This collection – part of the British Library Science Fiction Classics series – shows just how far back people have been thinking about such things. LONG before they came even close to reality authors have wondered and speculated just how relationships will unfold between us and our inventions – most especially when those inventions are designed specifically to either mimic us or perform tasks and activities that we had always done for ourselves. What happens when ALL useful work is undertaken by machines? What happens generations later when, for whatever reason, the machine stops or turns on us? These and other questions are speculated about between these pages. 

The early stories, as you might imagine, poke fun at machine assistants, maids, cooks and servants from an upper-class perspective such as Ely’s Automatic Housemaid (1899) by Elizabeth Bellamy although around the same time trouble was already being predicted in The Discontented Machine (1894) by Adeline Knapp. Harsher trouble still came in the form of Moxon’s Monster (1899) by Ambrose Bierce. 

Although I’d read it several times before, one of the highlights of this collection was the classic The Machine Stops (1909) by E M Forster where mankind’s complete dependence on technology is his ultimate undoing. The dangerous side of technology that continues to work is pointed out to great effect in A Logic Named Joe (1946) by Will F Jenkins ably predicting the power of unrestricted access to ‘The Internet’. 

Of course, being me, I was most captivated by stories of machine uprisings and revolts against their human overlords. A re-read of Rex (1934) by Hal Vincent was as chilling as always and I really enjoyed the last story in the set Dial F for Frankenstein (1965) by Artur C Clarke that I must have read before (probably) but had no recollection of.  

Overall, this was a most enjoyable romp through various iterations of the robot apocalypse sprinkled with warnings of our ever-growing dependence on our machine creations. Recommended to all AI geeks and acolytes of John Connor – leader of the Human Resistance.     

Happy World Dolphin Day!