“Believe you me Ann Boleyn, if I had known the consequences, I would have let her walk into the muddy puddle, would have served her right.“

Sir Walter Raleigh would have nodded his head to emphasise the remark, but he was holding it under his arm, as ghosts of the Tower of London were accustomed to do.

“Well at least it was something chivalrous that you were doing Walter. I lost my head just because I got married to a King. He said marry me and I will take you places. He did of course, to the Tower of London on the beheading block.”

Anne Boleyn was convinced that marrying into english royalty in the sixteenth century was a dangerous event and Walter Raleigh was in agreement.

“But tell me Walt, was the whole thing true about the cloak and the puddle or was it just a publicity stunt to earn a bit on the side?”

“Before we continue with our conversation, let us put our heads on our shoulders, then we can look at each other properly. I suppose when you come to think of it the Tudors were fault that we both lost our heads, you because of a husband that wanted to get married again and I happened to meet your daughter on a fateful day.”

“You mean Elizabeth. Who would have thought that she would have become Queen, but Henry did not have any sons that lived to carry the title of King. At least you went places Walter.”

“I suppose it was a publicity stunt. We had a heavy rainfall and I happened to be taking a walk near Hampton Court when a carriage pulled up. I naturally stopped to have a look and who climbed out but Queen Elizabeth I, your daughter.”

“She might have been my daughter, but Henry’s? I never really got to know her. Henry always asked from where she inherited the red hair. I didn’t live long enough to lose my head for that mistake, I lost it before. So carry on Walt.”

“Elizabeth was standing on the bottom step of the carriage and shaking her head at the wet puddle that she would have walked into. I happened to have my old cloak with me. I was on my way to buy a new one and would have thrown it away afterwards, so decided to do myself a favour and throw it on the muddy puddle. Queen Elizabeth stepped onto it and everyone started clapping and cheering. She looked in my direction and gave me a wink. That was the start on my ladder to success.”

“It didn’t end very successfully did it Walt.”

“Not really Anne, but bear in mind I had some good times with Elizabeth.”

“I always thought my daughter was known as the virgin queen.”

“She might have been known by that name, but just don’t believe everything in the history books. There are even some today that say the story about me throwing my cloak on the puddle was just made up. Of course, if it had been a new cloak, I would have had second thoughts.

The only reason I fell out of favour was because she met me on the stairs at the palace just as I was leaving the lady in waiting’s bedroom.”

“So that was why you were beheaded.”

“Well not immediately, but it was the start of my path to doom. You know I was in the Tower a few times, before they actually decided to remove my head on the block.”

“At least you are not alone Walt, there are many of us here. So let’s remove our heads and do a bit of haunting. You never know, we might be included again in one of those television programmes about the ghosts of the tower. Perhaps the next time it rains you could throw your cloak on a puddle and I will walk over it. That will be a sensation for the news.”

“Forget it Anne, this is a new cloak with gold embroidery. I only let people walk over my old cloaks.”

Hello Believers,

This is one of the mysteries that stays in my heart!!

Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County near the coast of North Carolina, United States.

About eight miles (12 km) long and two miles (3 km) wide, Roanoke Island lies between the mainland and the barrier islands, with Albemarle Sound on its north, Roanoke Sound at the northern end, and Wanchese CDP at the southern end. Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is on the island. There is a land area of 17.95 square miles (46.48 km²) and a population of 6,724 as of the 2000 census.

Located along U.S. Highway 64, a major highway from mainland North Carolina to the Outer Banks, Roanoke Island combines recreational and water features with historical sites and an outdoor theater to form one of the major tourist attractions of Dare County.

Roanoke Island is best known for its historical significance as the site of Sir Walter Raleigh’s attempt to establish a permanent English settlement with his Roanoke Colony in the late 16th century. The fate of the final group of colonists has yet to be ascertained, leading to the continuing interest in what became known as the “Lost Colony” for over 400 years. In the 21st century, even as archaeologists, historians and scientists continue to work to resolve the mystery, visitors come to see the longest-running outdoor theater production in America: “The Lost Colony.”

Roanoke Island is one of the three oldest surviving English place-names in the U.S. Along with the Chowan and Neuse rivers, it was named in 1584 by Captains Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe, sent by Sir Walter Raleigh.

Roanoke Island was the site of the sixteenth-century Roanoke Colony, the first English colony in the New World in what was then called Virginia, in honor of England’s ruling monarch, Queen Elizabeth I. Who was also known as the Virgin Queen, thus Virginia. There were two groups of settlers who attempted to establish a permanent settlement at Roanoke Island, and each failed. The first attempt in 1585 to establish the Roanoke Colony was headed by Ralph Lane after Sir Richard Grenville, who had transported the colonists to Virginia, returned to England for supplies as planned. Unfortunately for the colonists, who were desperately in need of supplies, Grenville’s return was delayed. As a result, when Sir Francis Drake put in at Roanoke after attacking the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, the entire population of the colony returned with Drake to England.

In 1587, the English again attempted to settle in Roanoke. John White, father of one of the colonists Eleanor Dare, and grandfather to the first English child born in the New World, Virginia Dare, left the colony to return to England for supplies that he felt would help the colonists to survive, expecting to return to Roanoke Island within three months. Instead, he found England at war with Spain, and all ships were confiscated for use of the war efforts. His return to Roanoke Island was delayed until 1590. When he finally returned, the colonists had disappeared. The only thing he found were the letters “CRO” carved into a nearby tree and the word “CROATOAN” carved into a fencepost. Before leaving the colony for England three years earlier, White left instructions with the colonists that if they were forced to abandon their settlement on Roanoke, that they were to carve out the name of the place where they were going and a Maltese cross under the carving if they left due to danger.

“CROATOAN” was the name of an island to the south (modern-day Hatteras Island), where a friendly native tribe was known to live, and it was thus reasonable to assume that the colonists had left the Roanoke settlement bound for that island. However, foul weather would keep White from venturing south to search on Croatoan for the colonists, and they returned to England. White would never return to the New World. The fate of the colony has never been authoritatively ascertained, and consequently it became known as “The Lost Colony”.

Later, in 1880’s, a man living in North Carolina wrote about what the Natives looked like there. He wrote he noticed some had “fair skin and light eyes and hair, with Anglo bone structure.” These are not found among Native Americans normally, so some believe that the Roanoke colonists assimilated into the Croatoan Indian tribe.

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Sherbourne
Today (26.08.09) was my day off and I had the great fortune to go to Sherbourne. Although it was raining I had a lovely time walking round this delightful market town in Dorset.
Sherbourne is an historic and interesting town, and its name is derived from the ‘clear stream’, which attracted not only the earliest Saxon settlers but also the owners of the Romano-British sites along the stream. Sherbourne’s streets contain many old houses including ‘The Julian’ and the half-timbered ‘Abbeylands’.

Sherbourne is situated in the north-west of Dorset with a population of just over 9,000. It lies on the northern slopes of the beautiful Yeo Valley (where we get our yoghurt from), surrounded by wooded hillsides and green pastures. Dominated by its golden-coloured abbey, the town has a number of buildings of architectural note.

Within the town the narrow streets are lined with old grey stone buildings interspersed with early timber-framed, gable-ended houses and local Harn stone structures.
Sherbourne’s name comes from the Saxon ‘Scir burn’ meaning a clear brook or stream. Settled from Roman times, Sherbourne was the gateway to rich lands lying to the west of the dense forest of Penselwood with water meadows, gentle slopes over biscuit-coloured stone and chalk down-lands. The Romans valued the pastures.
The Saxons sought safety here from the invading Danes, and already in 705 a Saxon cathedral was founded by Aldheim, who was appointed the first bishop of the see of Western Wessex. Alfred the Great may well have been schooled in the Cathedral here where his brothers Ethelbert and Ethelbald are buried. (I did the Alfred The Great tour in Winchester in 2003).

In 998 the Cathedral became a Benedictine Abbey and it is the teaching ethic of the monks that became a feature of the town from that time on. 500 years later, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the monastic buildings became Edward VI’s Sherbourne School.

Walking past the Lavatorium that on this particular day provided shelter from the rain, I turned right and walked through under a marvellous ancient archway, heavily decorated, and there before my eyes was the Abbey. (The Lavatorium, originally a washing place for the monks, was moved out of the Monastic cloisters in the mid-16th century and renamed the Conduit. It is now a Sherbourne icon situated in The Parade).

Sherbourne Abbey.
The is the finest building in Dorset with it’s glorious fan vaulting.
St Aldheim, new bishop of the West Saxons, chose the ‘place of the clear stream’ as the site of his cathedral.
Two Saxon kings are buried here; for over 800 years the chanting of Benedictine monks filled the air. Thomas Wyatt, Tudor courtier and poet has his grave here; Sir Walter Raleigh worshipped here. The See (or Diocese) of Sherbourne was created in AD705.
Sherbourne Abbey a splendid building, ornately decorated on the outside and fabulous on the inside, is approached via The Parade from the main road Cheap Street, that runs steeply downhill through the town. The Abbey reveals its splendour slowly as you approach and presides majestically over a beautiful square and ancient buildings. I took shelter from the rain and spent a happy half hour wandering around looking at the wonderful stained glass windows, the glorious fan vaulting of the ceiling, which soars heavenward, leaving you feeling quite small. There are some fabulous statues, heraldry, animals and symbols that fill the abbey to the brim. The Abbey is renowned for its bells – the heaviest peal of eight bells in the world. The organ is quite fabulous and towers towards the ceiling

In the early 1400s the monks of Sherbourne Abbey wrote and illuminated the Sherbourne Missal, the largest and most lavishly decorated English medieval service book to survive from the Middle Ages.
Sir John Horsey was the man who bought the Abbey estates from the Crown at the time of the Reformation. The massive release of monastic lands led to many a rich merchant acquiring a great country estate at a knock-down price and contributed to the rise of a gentry class in England. There is an effigy of Sir John and his son.
For more info see www.sherbourneabbey.com
Besides the Abbey there are 7 other places of worship.

Directly next to the Abbey and on the right is St Johns Almshouse: the Almshouse has provided shelter and care for the people of Sherbourne for over 500 years. It is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist and was built between 1440 and 1445. The building is just fabulous, lovely arches, old cobbled paving, lattice windows, stone-carved features on the walls, and currently: massive hanging baskets overflowing with glorious flowers. There is an old-fashioned bell-pull at the ornately carved front door, which when tugged on can be heard pealing on the other side of the door. Fantastic. I only pulled it once! J

The Sherbourne museum, centrally located between the Market Place and the Abbey, is just beyond the old stone archway I mentioned earlier and bears further investigation at a later stage. I am going to go back in a few days time and have a proper walk about, could not do much this time around coz of the rain. As with the Abbey the building is constructed of lovely yellow stone blocks (Ham Stone). www.sherbournemuseum.co.uk

Although Sherbourne was not an important German target during World War 2, the town did suffer an air raid on 30th September.

The town centre is a wonderful mix of architecture. I am going to have to brush up on my knowledge so I know which is which. I do know there are some Tudor and Elizabethan; lovely sloping roofs, interesting chimneys and narrow streets lined with old grey stone buildings interspersed with early timber-framed, gable-ended houses. The main road is lined with an interesting mix of antique shops, art galleries, speciality shops and boutiques amongst others. The Post Office is built with the same yellow coloured stone as the abbey and looks lovely. Sherbourne is a Royal Horticultural Society gold class winner and the floral displays make a pleasing vista of stunning blooms and colours; wonderful to look at. I strolled around the award winning Paddock Garden a tranquil oasis of colours and smells. I managed to get some really great photos, they only problem is that they look like I took them from under the sea! The rain got in everywhere and within half and hour I was soaked thru. I did have a brolly, but trying to carry a brolly in windy rain and take photos is impossible. I gave up and just got wet. J The camera survived none the worse for wear, as did I!

Looking at the map now I can see that I only covered a very tiny art of the town. Definitely have to go back and explore further. From the town I drove to see Sherbourne Castle.

(Entrevista en Levante, por Alicia Toledo) 

El conocimiento que se tiene hoy en día de éstas sociedades secretas está muy condicionado por la literatura y el cine de consumo. ¿Hasta qué punto su imagen está influida, deformada…?

-No cabe duda de que, en efecto, la imagen de las sociedades secretas que se suele tener está muy distorsionada. No es extraño, puesto que la idea de que bajo nuestra aparente anodina sociedad cotidiana se esconda una sociedad secreta es uno de los argumentos más interesantes para el cine o la literatura.

El cine y las novelas contribuyen a dotar de un aura de misterio a estas sociedades…pero ¿hasta qué punto son éstas misteriosas?

- No todas las sociedades secretas son tan misteriosas como parece. Aunque suene como una perogrullada, para quienes pertenecen a algunas de ellas a veces hay poco secreto y no existe mucha diferencia con una empresa o una oficina cualquiera. Sin embargo, también es cierto que algunas sociedades secretas sí tienen una bien ganada aura de misterio, como los rosacruces, los asesinos del Viejo de la Montaña, los Clubs del Fuego Infernal o la Escuela de la Noche, de Walter Raleigh, a la que tal vez perteneció Shakespeare.

-Era su objetivo poner un poco de luz en todo esto?

Sí, uno de mis objetivos al escribir el libro era investigar la verdadera historia de las sociedades secretas, no dejándome llevar por la infinidad de falsas historias que circulan. Como digo en el libro, quizá la mía no sea la única posible historia verdadera de las sociedades secretas, pero, al menos, no se puede sumar a las mil y una historias falsas.

-Y sin embargo, ¿querer explicar la verdadera historia de algo que se anuncia como secreto no es, en cierta manera, una paradoja?

Sí que lo es, y esa era mi intención, ya que soy muy aficionado a las paradojas, porque creo que esconden más verdad de lo que parece. Es obvio que sólo se puede contar lo que se ha llegado a saber de las diversas sociedades secretas que aparecen en el libro. Y así lo he hecho: he intentado contar lo que se sabe, sin inventarme lo que no se sabe. Cuando una teoría u opinión resulta dudosa lo indico siempre en el libro.

-El libro mantiene un claro tono erudito y, al mismo tiempo, la escritura es muy clara en todo momento, directa, compartiendo dudas y buscando complicidades. ¿Ha sido complicado este equilibrio entre la erudición y la difusión?

No. Quizá porque este es el estilo en el que más me gusta escribir, una especie de ensayo riguroso pero al mismo tiempo ligero y ameno, recuperando el sentido original de la palabra ensayo, tal como lo entendía Michel de Montaigne: un ensayo es un intento, una investigación, no un tratado o un libro de texto.

-¿Cuál es la razón de ser de una sociedad secreta? La esencia?

Una de las cosas que he intentado mostrar en el libro es que, en contra de las explicaciones simplistas, cada sociedad secreta tiene orígenes, objetivos, métodos y secretos diferentes. En cada caso he intentado desentrañar un poco ese secreto, descubrir cuál era el conocimiento que realmente poseían, que muchas veces no coincide con aquel del que presumían.

-¿Y qué hay del conocimiento secreto que se supone que buscan todas éstas sociedades?

Como he dicho, cada sociedad buscaba o guardaba diferentes secretos. En el caso de los masones medievales se trataba de técnicas de construcción; en el de los templarios, aparte de otras cosas, de una concepción económica que en cierto modo anticipó el capitalismo. Otras sociedades secretas intentaban trasmitir un saber espiritual o una tradición religiosa, como los cátaros.

-¿Qué objetivos persigue una sociedad secreta? ¿Comparten objetivos comunes entre ellas?

No es frecuente que las sociedades secretas compartan objetivos, excepto en el caso de las revolucionarias, como los carbonarios, los comuneros o los masones de España e Italia, de las que no hablo en el libro. Sí es cierto que hay semejanzas entre algunas, como la de los rosacruces y los modernos masones, y tal vez entre los templarios y los asesinos. Lo que sucede más a menudo es que unas y otras sociedades secretas se enfrenten entre sí.

-Y sobre las motivaciones para entrar en ellas. ¿Difieren en cada caso o se pueden extraer rasgos comunes?

Existen algunos rasgos comunes entre quienes ingresan en una sociedad secreta, como el deseo de llevar una vida emocional y espiritualmente más intensa; o la intención de relacionarse con personas de un círculo social al que normalmente no podrían acceder.

-¿En qué contexto surge una sociedad secreta, por alguna inconformidad, necesidades espirituales no resueltas o por la necesidad humana de sentirse diferente?

Por todo ello, y también por la represión y la prohibición, que a lo largo de la historia han hecho que muchas personas tuvieran que ocultar su religión, su ideología o su manera de pensar acerca de ciertas cuestiones.

-Como fundador de la Sociedad Decepcionista ¿A quién le cerrarías las puertas?

Hace tiempo que la Sociedad Decepcionista no se reúne, lo que parece una confirmación de su primera ley: que todo es decepcionante. La segunda ley asegura que, si no fuera todo decepcionante, eso sería una conclusión decepcionante para la Sociedad Decepcionista, lo que probaría la primera ley. Lamentablemente, creo que las puertas de la Sociedad Decepcionista  no volverán a abrirse.

-¿Podría dar unas pinceladas del abanico de sociedades secretas que han existido  a lo largo de la historia? ¿Han existido todas ellas o algunas son mero fruto de la fantasía?
En mi libro, para no escribir más de mil páginas (me quedé cerca de las 400) tuve que prescindir de muchas sociedades secretas, como las conspirativas o las criminales (Mafia, Ku Klux Klan, etcétera). Me limité a la esencia de las sociedades secretas: aquellas que presumen de poseer un saber oculto. A pesar de ello, me ocupo de decenas de sociedades, entre las que se puede mencionar: los magos persas, los pitagóricos, los druidas, los sicarios, zelotes, terapeutas y esenios judíos; los cristianos en tanto que sociedad secreta, los mitraístas, los asesinos, los cátaros, los templarios, algunas sociedades secretas nazis, los masones medievales y los modernos, los cabalistas, los rosacruces, los clubs del Fuego Infernal y otras extravagantes sociedades secretas inglesas, como  los Demoniacos, los Gormogones o el Club de los Bistecs; o la Golden Dawn o Aurora Dorada, a la que pertenecía Aleister Crowley, el llamado “hombre más málvado del siglo XX”. Casi todas las que aparecen en el libro han existido, aunque acerca de algunas de ellas se duda todavía, como en el caso de los fascinantes e influyentes rosacruces.

-¿Existen conexiones probadas entre las sociedades secretas de la Antigüedad o la Edad Media y las modernas?

Muy pocas. Una que es evidente e indiscutible es la que une a los masones medievales y los modernos masones.

-¿Se esconde la estafa en el caso de algunas sociedades secretas? ¿Cómo es que hay gente que cree ciegamente en lo que se le dice y se dejan timar de esta manera?

El secreto siempre puede favorecer la estafa, ya sea en una sociedad secreta o en un contrato bajo mano entre un alcalde y un constructor. Sí es cierto que muchos estafadores o aventureros se han servido de la influencia obtenida al ingresar en ciertas  sociedades secretas. En el libro me ocupo de algunos célebres farsantes, como Casanova, el Conde de Saint Germain o Cagliostro, hacia los que confieso que siento mucha simpatía. Pero no sé por qué la gente se deja engañar, a veces por trucos verdaderamente burdos, pero es evidente que sucede bastante a menudo.

-En su libro habla de la relación entre el cristianismo primitivo y éste tipo de sociedades e incluso de qué Jesucristo pudo pertenecer a una de ellas…
Se ha discutido mucho acerca de la relación que pudo mantener Jesucristo (en caso de haber existido, claro) con alguna sociedad secreta judía. Es muy posible que varios discípulos de Jesús fueran sicarios, una especie de grupo terrorista enfrentado a Roma, como el propio Judas (“Iscariote quizá deriva de “Sicariote”). Pero también se ha señalado que Jesucristo, por su pacifismo, parece estar más cerca de los esenios.

-¿Qué aportan las sociedades secretas a la vida pública?

Algunas de ellas han sido bastante influyentes en determinados momentos, como en el caso de los masones y la Constitución de los Estados Unidos. También fueron influyentes los asesinos, los templarios y los rosacruces (incluso aunque, en este último caso, no sea seguro que hayan existido). En muchos momentos las sociedades secretas han sido más permisivas que la sociedad dominante y han dado un ejemplo de tolerancia, pero no siempre.

-¿Internet es una herramienta a favor o en contra del hermetismo de estas sociedades?

Un buen investigador que use Internet y vaya más allá de los cien primeros resultados de una búsqueda en Google, podrá encontrar casi todos los secretos que muchas sociedades han mantenido ocultos durante siglos. Además, ahora en casi todo el mundo, exceptuando China y bastantes países musulmanes, son legales casi todas las sociedades secretas. Muchas de ellas también practican una política de puertas abiertas y trasparencia. A pesar de todo ello, existen ahora más sociedades secretas que nunca y la afiliación crece, en parte debido precisamente a Internet y a fenómenos como el de El código Da Vinci, que a pesar de atacar al Opus Dei, lo hizo más popular y contribuyó a que aumentaran las solicitudes para ingresar.

- Las paradojas del guionista. Reglas y excepciones en la práctica del guión (Alba Editorial) es su último libro. ¿La idea era desmontar los tópicos que rodean el mundo del guión?

En realidad Las paradojas es el libro anterior. En él, como en La verdadera historia de las sociedades secretas, intenté exponer de manera rigurosa las diversas teorías acerca del guión. Aunque tengo opiniones personales acerca de casi cualquier asunto, me gusta dejar al lector espacio suficiente para que pueda pensar por sí mismo y, por ello, explico lo mejor que puedo las normas para escribir un buen guión, pero también muestro las paradojas con las que un guionista acaba encontrándose tarde o temprano. En mi opinión, el guionista no debe huir de ellas, sino disfrutar y aprender con ellas. Aprender a vivir en medio de la paradoja.

(Este texto son las respuestas a Alicia, no el publicado en Levante)

In other words : Risk your life and dare to die.

This was the personal maxim of Don Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, conde de Gondomar (1567-1626)

Gondomar

Gondomar was a diplomat and, from 1613 to 1622, the Spanish ambassador in England where he was alarmingly good at causing trouble. From his arrival – when he sailed into Portsmouth harbour and refused to strike the Spanish colours on board. To his departure – when he played a key role in the ill-fated adventure of Buckingham and Charles, Prince of Wales otherwise known as The Spanish Match.

A recent foray of mine into the Historical Collections of the Private Passages of State brought another of Gondomar’s infamous deeds to light.

Gondomar contrives the death of Sir Walter Rawleigh, an Enemy of Spain.

The Conde Gondomar, an active subtil Instrument, to serve his Masters ends, neglected no occasion tending thereunto, which he mainly shewed in the particular of Sir Walter Rawleigh, wherein he put forth all his strength to destroy him, being one of the last Sea-Commanders then living, bred under Queen Elizabeth, and by her flesh’d in Spanish Bloud and ruine.

He did first under-work his Voyage to Guienna, which seemed to threaten loss and danger to the spreading power of Spain in the West-Indies; and after his return with misfortune, he pursued him to death. In the beginning of the King’s Reign, this Gentleman, with others, was arraigned and condemned for treason; ’twas a dark kind of treason, and the vail is still upon it. The King had ground enough to shew mercy, which some of that condemned party obtained.

After many years imprisonment, Sir Water Rawleigh, desirous of liberty and action, propounded an American Voyage, upon the assurance of gaining a Mine of Gold in Guienna. The King hearkned to him, and gave him power to set forth Ships and Men for that service; but commanded him upon his Allegiance, to give under his hand, the number of his Men, the burden and strength of his Ships, together with the Country and River which he was to enter.

Sir Walter Raleigh

All this was done, and came so timely to Gondomar’s knowledge, that advertisement was sent to Spain, and thence to the Indies, before this English Fleet departed out of the Thames. The Action proved unfortunate, and the Mine was inaccessible: the Spaniards at St. Thomas opposed their passage up the River, and this engaged them to assault the Town, which they took, sacked, and burnt.

Gondomar hereat incensed, with a violent importunity demanded the reparation of this wrong: And the Spanish Faction urged, that this irruption might make a breach both of the Match and Peace with Spain. The kings fears kindled his wrath; he disavowed the action, and to prevent the like for the future, put forth a severe Proclamation.

Hereupon the storm of Passion ceased, and Rawleigh knowing nothing, but that he might appear in England with safety, put in at Plimouth, and was no sooner landed, but, by secret intimation, understanding his danger, sought to escape beyond-Sea, but was taken in the attempt, brought to London, and recommitted to the Tower; and at length his life was offered up a Sacrifice for Spain; but not upon such grounds as the Ambassador had designed; for he desired a Judgment upon the pretended breach of Peace, that by this occasion he might slily gain from the English an acknowledgment of his Master’s Right in those Places and hereafter both stop their mouths, and quench their heat and valour.

But the late Voyage was not brought in question, only his former condemnation was revived; his Arraignment at Winchester many years before was now laid open, and he at the Kings Bench demanded, why Execution should not be done upon him according to the Sentence therein pronounced. Rawleigh answered, “That the ” Kings late Commission gave him a new life and vigour: For he that ” hath power over the lives of others, ought to be Master of his own.

This Plea was not accepted, but the former Judgment took place, and accordingly he lost his Head upon a Scaffold erected in the Old Palace at at Westminster.

The names listed above are members of the Franklin/Starnes, CAP Goliath Team committed to the extermination of the Task Force for the Homeless. They will have to wait a little longer for homeless people to be without water at the Peachtree-Pine shelter. The next payment of $5,338.90 is due on July 25. By nothing short of a miracle, the $8,400 due on July 16 was paid. A minister wrote a personal check of $1000. A business person sent $2000. A committed young woman raised $2500 from her Buckhead neighbors. A prominant church through the diligence of its senior minister electronically mailed $5000 to the city’s Department of Water Mismanagement. An additional $1000 came through the Task Force’s PayPal. Incidentally, four donors were Task Force staff who have not been paid for the last three months.

The first time the city turned off the water at Peachtree-Pine was the first week of December 2008, Christmas season. Central Atlanta Progress’s David E. Wardell upon hearing that the water had been cut off, exclaimed, “Great news!” Wardell sets the tone for Team Goliath. To a person the team members are giddy knowing 550 homeless people have no water to drink. CAP contradicts itself in its philosophy of panhandling when it gives us permission to give a bottle of water, never money, of course. Sadness, yea moans, rippled through city hall when word came that the water would NOT be turned off on July 16. The bankrupt city needs every dollar it can steal; however, more than stealing its greatest thrill for Team Goliath is witholding water from thirsty homeless people. These leaders fulfill Isaiah 32.6, “For the fool speaks folly…the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water.” Why Bonnie Ware, the memo writer was seen to wipe a tear as she groaned, “And those nasty people will use our water to flush; it’s just outrageous.”

Recent developments reveal Shirley Franklin and Debi Starnes to be pawns on CAP’s chess board. They are the cupbearers of Central Atlanta Progress who in turn obey the good ole boy power structure that has ruled Georgia and Atlanta since Sherman did his thing. The chilling truth that the sickness of the Franklin/Starnes yoke (and they are sick) when gone will be replaced by other cupbearers. A sweet irony: the Task Force has gumpteen deep throats in the bowels of City Hall. Oodles of city workers even right there under Rachet Rob’s nose deplore the actions of their own department, the Department of Water Mismanagement. Words of encouragement like “We’re pulling for you.” come regularly from city workers.

The word “cupbearer” brings to mind a scene in literature that clarifies the city’s oppressing the poor. Mark Twain depicted Elizabeth I’s court in a piece he called, “1601.” This satirical piece is narrated by the Queen’s cupbearer. Believing himself to be of noble blood, the cupbearer is appalled that the Queen has invited low-lifes to gather in the court. These undesireables are writers, actors, swashbucklers such as Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Francis Bacon and Walter Raleigh. Members of the court are worthies such as the Duchess of Bilgewater and Lady Alice Dilberry.

The cupbearer voices his repulsion: “I being her majesty’s cupbearer, had no choice but to remain and behold rank forgotten, and the high having conversation with the low as though they were on equal terms. And the world will hear of this great scandal.”

The cupbearer in Twain’s “1601″ makes everything clear. CAP’s initiating the plan to turn off the water at a shelter on Peachtree Street is not about water. It’s about the Duchess of Bilgewater. It’s cupbearer philosophy. It’s about CAP exclusionism. It’s about the high loathing the low. It’s about plantation thinking assessing the fact that 550 African-American males have a Peachtree Street address. Throw in “homeless males” and appears the perfect storm. This CAP zeal is about the privileged never having to stoop for the unwanted. Could we not safely add to Rachet Rob “I’ll turn your water off” Hunter the title of the Duke of Bilgewater. God rest you Mark Twain. How you would love Team Goliath.

Picture by Gary

Sir Walter Raleigh tried to modernise the 12th century Old Castle but decided to build a new home on the site of the hunting lodge in the deer park. He erected his new house in 1594, which he called “Sherborne Lodge” to distinguish it from the Old Castle. Sir Walter lived in the house for little more than ten years

The history and people of Éochaill

Saints and Scoundrels • Duellists, Sailors, Soldiers, Spies

Pirates, Rebels and Witches

The Déisi Mumhain and the Druids • the Norwegians under Sigtrygg • the raid by Torlough O’Connor, father of the last High King of Ireland • the Black Death • the river Blackwater • Marc Isambard Brunel and Isambard Kingdom Brunel in Youghal • Saint Budoc • Isaac Butt, MP for Youghal • cinema pioneers the Horgan Brothers • cinema pioneer Liam O’Leary • the making of Moby Dick • the making of Barry Lyndon • Civil War in Youghal (including exclusive photographs) • the Clock Gate • Dominic Collins – hanged, drawn and quartered • Saint Coran and the fate of his monastery • County Youghal • Oliver Cromwell • Abraham Dowdney, US Congressman • Duellists – “the gentlemen of Youghal are so quarrelsome that they never walk the streets without a case of pistols” • Eloping • Famine “death by starvation”• FitzGerald – the Desmond dynasty and rebellions • Garrison – Lord Edward FitzGerald, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington and James Connolly in Youghal • Groynes – the breakwaters built by Shaik Rahmatullah al-Farooq • Anna Haslam and the birth of feminism • the story of Capel Island • Knights Templar • David Lewis – swindler extraordinaire • the story of the Lighthouse • Molana Abbey, its founder and its fate • Séamus Murphy and his work in Youghal • Florence Newton – the “witch” of Youghal, the last witch-trial in Ireland • Peter O’Neill, transportation survivor • Pirates – centuries of buccaneers based in Youghal • Punishment – mutilation and humiliation • Sherlock Holmes and Youghal of the CID • James Joyce in Youghal • Walter Raleigh • Sampson Towgood Roche • Skullduggery – the fate of Saint Declan’s skull • Smithereens – the fate of the frigate Duncannon • Train – the Cork and Youghal Railway “a model of mismanagement” • Yew – the disappearance of the woods • Value, vice and virginity • Mike Walsh, US Congressman • Treasure trove • Youghal in song • Zombie – raising the dead.

Illustrated throughout

with more than fifty illustrations and exclusive photographs

Available to buy on eBay.ie

Ok, I have returned from my absence. This afternoon I want to shift my thoughts to specific people who have shown tremendous feats of longevity in history. I always tend to either eat or drink while on the computer, probably not too wise, but it’s my way of multi-tasking, I suppose. Today it is lightly steamed veggies seasoned with a very small amount of olive oil, garlic, pepper, and kelp flakes. Not extremely cooked, but just enough to make the crunch of the carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and baby onions palatable and slightly juicy. My beverage of choice today is my own blend. A type of Chai with Rooibos instead of regular tea. I just added to the Rooibos (Red Bush) some ground Ginger, ground Cardamom, ground Cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg – and Almond Extract of course.

So, our first guest to the show today lived for over 140 years. Katherine FitzGerald, Countess of Desmond. Katherine, or Catherine, was born sometime around 1365 in Waterford, Ireland. Her parents, it is claimed, were Sir John FitzGerald, second Lord of Decies, and Ellen FitzGibbon, daughter of the “White Knight”. She married first in the time of King Edward IV. Edward IV reigned in England from 1461-1470 and again from 1471-1483. She is said to have danced with King Richard III (reigned 1483-1485), the last King before the house of Tudor put an end to the Wars of the Roses.

According to Wikipedia, one can notice her death date of 1604, but it is known she was alive in 1614, but had died by 1617, so perhaps this is a common error. Here is what we know of her from her contemporaries:

Sir Walter Raleigh, in his History of the World, 1614, says:

“I my self knew the old Countess of Desmond, of Iuchiquin in Munster, who lived in the year 1589, and many years since; who was married in Edward the Fourths’s time, and held her joynture from all the Earles of Desmond since then; and that this is true all the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Munster can witnesse.”

Fynes Moryson in his Itinerary, 1617, wrote:

“In our time the Irish Countess of Desmond lived to the age of about 140 yeere, being able to goe on foote foure or five miles to the market towne, and using weekly so to doe in her last yeeres; and not many yeeres before she had all her teeth renewed.”

Countess of Desmond

Sir Francis Bacon, my favorite natural philosopher – who coined the phrase “knowledge is power” wrote in 1623:

“The Irish, especially the wild Irish, even at this day live very long; certainly they report that within these few years the Countess of Desmond lived to a hundred and fourty years of age, and bred teeth three times.”

The Archbishop James Ussher, famous for his Annals of the World, a history that puts together Biblical history and secular world history together in a concise, contreversial, young-earth chronology, also wrote about the Countess, but did not add many more details to her life.

In 1640, Robert Sydney, Earl of Leicester, wrote:

“The old Countess of Desmond was a married woman in Ed. IV’s time, of England, and lived till towards the end of Q. Elizabeth, so as she must needs be near 140 years old. She had a new sett of teeth not long afore her death, and might have lived much longer had she not met with a kind of violent death; for she would needs climb a nut tree, to gather nuts,; so falling down she hurt her thigh, which brought a fever, and that fever brought death. This my cousin Walter FitzWilliam told me.

“This old lady, Mr. Harriot told me, came to petition the Queen; and, landing at Bristol, she came on foot to London, being then so old that her daughter was decrepit, and not able to come with her, but was brought in a little cart, their poverty not allowing means for better provision; and as I remeber, Sir Walter Raleigh in some part of his story speaks of her, and saith that he saw her in England in Anno 1589.

“Her death was strange and remarkable, as her long life was, having seen the death of so many descended of her, and both her own and her husband’s house ruined in the rebellions and wars.”

The last account I bring to the readers attention is one in 1689 by Sir William Temple:

“…A Countess of Desmond, married out of England in Edward IV’s time, and who lived far in King James’s reign, and was counted to have died some years above a hundred and forty; at which age she came from Bristol to London to beg some relief at Court, having long been very poor by the reuin of that Irish family into which she was married.”

Based on the above evidence and some digging in The Dublin Review of 1862, the picture I put together of her last days is this:

In 1589 Sir Walter Raleigh met the Countess while in Ireland. Then, either late in Queen Elizabeth I’s reign or in King James I’s reign, she came to court to petition help from the crown on account of the ruin of her family estate. Then in about 1614, after a visit to the Royal Court (again?), she fell while picking nuts from a tree, and died later on, as a result.

Amazing for someone near 140 years old, to still be able to walk 4-5 miles into town daily. Also, interestingly she grew one or possibly two new sets of teeth in her advanced age. This is a trait also recorded in other people who live well beyond 100, such as those in South America.

Amazing story. What are your thoughts? Personally I think her spare diet (not eating a lot), not discussed here was a major factor. Also she was active and did much walking right up until the end. She ate nuts, though in some places it says she was picking cherries or another fruit off of a tree, so she ate fruit. Any thoughts as to what may have contributed to her longevity?

Aconteceu de novo. Mais um dos incríveis sonhos recorrentes relacionados ao surfe. O argumento é sempre o mesmo. Estou em uma praia desconhecido que reúne elementos de praias que eu já conheço (Essa lembrava a praia Mole, de Santa Catarina). Estou sempre com amigos. O mar está aparentemente bom. Aí, chega a minha hora de surfar e estranhas coisas acontecem. Ou perco a cordinha da prancha. Ou começa a ventar. Ou as ondas diminuem consideravelmente. Ou não consigo entrar nas ondas. Dessa vez, foi um pouquinho diferente. Vamos lá.

Estava no mar junto com o Bruno, meu irmão. Era um campeonato de ondas grandes na Austrália, na praia de Raleigh Heads (?). A pontuação era dada por insanidade. O drop (descida da onda, em ’surfês’) mais radical ganhava mais pontos. Lembro que era a última onda e que a praia não tinha muitas belezas naturais. Era uma praia de tombo, o máximo que consegui lembrar e anotar em meio à madrugada (atendendo a um chamado do faminto Vicente).

Então, veio a minha onda. Era grande. ‘Botei para baixo’ numa massa de água considerável (só de lembrar já dá medo!). Então, coloquei os pés na prancha e joguei algo lá de cima nas costas de alguém que estava na frente, remando para pegar a onda no meu lugar. Desci a onda, caí e levei uma “vaca” e tanto. (“Vaca”, em surfês, quer dizer um caldo bem dado.) Lembro de rolar na areia junto com a espuma branca da onda, até raspar na areia. Levantei e levei a pontuação. Fiquei em terceiro lugar, com 900 e poucos pontos, atrás de alguém com 970 e do campeão com mais de 1000 pontos. Mas ainda não havia acabado a competição. Em seguida, o Vicente chamou. Antes da última onda.

Com certeza, esse sonho daria uma sessão de terapia (se eu não tivesse me dado em alta depois de um ano! Podia ter uma ‘fast terapia’. Tipo: uma sessão só para desvendar sonhos como esse).

Acabei de procurar Raleigh na wikipedia. Raleigh é o nome de uma praia na… Austrália. Raleigh também é uma grafia encontrada para Rayleigh Wave, um tipo de onda sísmica, observada em terremotos. Raleigh é ainda o sobrenome de um escritor inglês (Walter), que era poeta, soldado, cortesão e explorador. Caramba, alguém aí tem o telefone de um psicólogo?!? Pelo menos uma coisa eu entendo desses sonhos: preciso surfar mais!

Una década atrás, Cate Blanchett, una joven y relativamente poco conocida actriz australiana, se apropió de la férrea personalidad de Isabel I, la reina que marcó la división religiosa de Inglaterra a mediados del siglo XVI. Producida de manera independiente, Elizabeth ganó varios premios internacionales y se convirtió en un éxito casi inmediato sobre la base de la fascinante y legendaria presencia de la “reina virgen”, la dirección del británico de origen paquistaní Shekhar Kapur y la desmesurada capacidad interpretativa de Blanchett. Personaje, director y actriz regresan con Elizabeth, la edad de oro, una secuela que intenta repetir del éxito de la antecesora. Lamentablemente lo hace sólo parcialmente.

La acción se inicia en 1585 en una Inglaterra gobernada por una protestante y con la mitad de una población que aún profesa la fe católica. El Papa había declarado una guerra santa contra Isabel I mientras Felipe II de España, conductor del el imperio más poderoso de entonces, estaba decidido a asesinar y sustituir a la reina virgen por su prima María Estuardo, reina de Escocia, fervorosamente católica. El complot falla y el monarca español opta por lanzar su legendaria Armada Invencible para acabar con la Inglaterra protestante. No obstante, sorpresivamente, las fuerzas navales de Isabel I destrozaron la flota de Felipe II. La gran victoria significó su consolidación en el trono. La soberana inglesa estaba en lo que se llamó su época dorada. Este es el escenario histórico donde se desarrolla Elizabeth, la edad de oro. A partir de estos elementos se levanta un guión con bastantes licencias que combina la política de Estado, las conspiraciones palaciegas y una especie de triángulo amoroso entre Isabel I, una mujer que según la historia tenía 52 años en aquel momento, sir Walter Raleigh, que apenas cruzaba la treintena, y una de las jóvenes damas de la corte, con quien el político y marino inglés tuvo una hija. Con estos elementos William Nicholson y Michael Hirst pretendieron escribir una especie de historia épica con rasgos románticos que, por sobre todas las cosas, debería dejar muy bien parada a la hija de Enrique VIII y Ana Bolena.

Sin embargo, esta Isabel I parece más un personaje de ficción que de la realidad histórica. Al comienzo del film la reina virgen ya está consolidada en el trono, aunque los sectores católicos siguen siendo una amenaza para su vida y para la subsistencia del Estado. El guión trata de mostrar a la reina como una elocuente defensora de la libertad de fe, mientras que presenta a Felipe II como “la voz sibilina del mal”. Este planteamiento esquemático deriva en un maniqueísmo excesivo que resta credibilidad a la historia, más allá del manejo de cierta espectacularidad sentimental y patriota. Mientras tanto se construye otra línea dramática con la aparición de Walter Raleigh, quien regresa del Nuevo Mundo y lleva, entre otros presentes, el tabaco y las papas a la Corte inglesa, producto de su actividad como pirata contra la Corona española. Guapo, galante y arrojado, se convierte en el objetivo afectivo y sexual de una reina que es aún famosa por su virginidad. Pero Raleigh se fija en una de sus cortesanas, en una especie de sublimación de los deseos de la monarca. En cambio, la relación de Estado que Isabel I establece con su consejero sir Francis Walsingham, a todas luces más importante desde el punto de vista político e histórico, es apenas mostrada como una intriga de palacio. Un desequilibrio que parece originarse en las ambiciones comerciales de esta coproducción entre el Reino Unido y Francia.

El principal problema de Elizabeth, la edad de oro reside en su afán magnificente para narrar una suerte de epopeya mítica para los ingleses, al menos para los que creen en la monarquía. La puesta en escena de Shekhar Kapur es grandilocuente, excesiva, sin mesura, de gran belleza plástica, pero más atenta a lo formal que a la importancia de lo narrado. Las actuaciones de Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush (Walsingham), Clive Owen (Raleigh) y Abbie Cornich (la chica de la corte) poseen fortalezas expresivas evidentes y plausibles que, no obstante, son insuficientes apara elevar el nivel de ligereza del film.

ELIZABETH, LA EDAD DE ORO (“Elizabeth, the gholden age”), Reino Unido y Francia, 2007. Dirección: Shekhar Kapur. Guión: William Nicholson y Michael Hirst. Producción: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner y Jonathan Cavendish. Fotografía: Remi Adefarasin. Montaje: Jill Bilcock. Música: Craig Armstrong y A.R. Rahman. Dirección de arte: Guy Hendrix Dyas. Elenco: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth I de Inglaterra), Geoffrey Rush (sir Francis Walsingham), Clive Owen (sir Walter Raleigh), Abbie Cornish (Bess Throckmorton), Samantha Morton (María Estuardo), Jordi Mollà (Felipe II), Rhys Ifans (Robert Reston). Distribución: The Walt Disney Company.

el camino de santiago de compostela – foto di katrencik

“Ma il vero amore e’ un fuoco duraturo, che brucia per sempre nella mente
Mai malato, mai vecchio, mai morto
che non si volge mai altrove”

Questi gli ultimi versi di una delle poesie elisabettiane di un navigatore, esploratore, poeta del cinquecento.
Il mondo riscopre il passato, mescolando, in modo spesso improbabile, Walter Raleigh e il pop.
La poesia non ha un luogo, né uno strumento definito, potremmo obiettare a quella che può sembrare una frase saccente.
Ma nessuno oggi conosce Walter Raleigh.
A Cambridge in un testo d’esame, in una dispensa come la chiameremmo noi reduci dalle università italiane in cui alle dispense spesso veniva dato più valore dei manuali, si propone un confronto di poesia, fra l’elisabettiano e le canzoni folk o pop dei nostri tempi.
E le canzoni scelte oltre alla deliziosa Boots of Spanish Leather di Dylan, una inquieta ballata per vecchi e saggi , una storia di due amanti, di un bivio, e del mare aperto, e la struggente Fine and Mellow di Billie Holiday, ecco comparire la Winehouse:
“…tutte le nostre questioni futili
noi beffati dalle divinità
e adesso il fotogramma finale è che
l’amore è un gioco a perdere…”

Esame di critica pratica.

I got a letter on a lonesome day,
It was from her ship a-sailin’,
Saying I don’t know when I’ll be comin’ back again,
It depends on how I’m a-feelin’.

Well, if you, my love, must think that-a-way,
I’m sure your mind is roamin’.
I’m sure your heart is not with me,
But with the country to where you’re goin’.

So take heed, take heed of the western wind,
Take heed of the stormy weather.
And yes, there’s something you can send back to me,
Spanish boots of Spanish leather. (Bob Dylan)

Mi sento di chiudere così, perché quando sembra tutto sia finito, troviamo sempre qualcosa per cui valga la pena di aspettare.

(E.)

P.S. per chi volesse fare un salto su LIBMAG, c’è un mio articolo sui ponti, veri e virtuali.

Sherborne Castle is a 16th-century Tudor mansion southeast of Sherborne. The old castle was built as the fortified palace of Roger de Caen, Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England, and still belonged to the church in the late 16th century. After passing through Sherborne on the way to Plymouth, Sir Walter Raleigh fell in love with the castle, and Queen Elizabeth relinquished the estate, leasing it to Raleigh in 1592. Rather than refurbish the old castle, Raleigh decided to construct a new mansion in the grounds on the site of an existing hunting lodge. The new house, a four-story, rectangular building was completed in 1594 and named Sherborne Lodge.

OK.  Let’s switch tracks.  Modern politics is so depressing, and I’m sure we all need a metaphysical pick-me-up after thinking about Iran-Israel.

I recently got two great art books for my birthday, and when I tell you that one of them was full of Victorian nudes, but that it’s the other one I’m most excited about, you’ll have some idea of how good it is!

I’m talking about the best book I’ve ever seen on the art of Sir Edward Everett Millais.  The book is simply entitled “Millais,” by Jason Rosenfeld and Alison Smith.  (Get it here, at an amazing price, from Amazon.) 

Millais first came to my attention because he created some remarkable works of historical art.  My favorite of these is Huguenot Lovers, which depicts an intimate moment during the St.Bartholomew’s Day massacre of the religious civil wars in France.  The French Protestants, known as “Huguenots,” were to be massacred this day, by order of the royal family.  Catholics were to be safely identified by the white armbands they wore. 

In Millais’s depiction of a great conflict of values related to this episode, a woman attempts to fasten a white band onto the arm of her lover, who, while embracing her, prevents her from doing so. 

In the words of the poet, Richard Lovelace, “I could not love thee, Dear, so much, Loved I not Honour more.“

Also worth a look: John Everett Milais, Beyond the Pre-Raphaelist Brotherhood.  It’s has a more limited thesis, and does not offer the same comprehensive presentation as the Rosenfeld-Smith book, but it’s still nice.  Also, if you can find it, Sir John Everett Millais by Geoffroy Millais has been a happy component of my collection.  It’s older, so the reproductions are not quite as sharp, however.

 

For more information about Millais, you can also take in a post I wrote about another one of his works, The Boyhood of Sir Walter Raleigh over at HistoryAtOurHouse.  

This artist is fighting for a place in my top five favorite painters of all time!  Find out why, by picking up the amazing Rosenfeld-Smith book!

Discovery of the large, rich, and beautiful Empire of Guiana
An Electronic Edition

Sir Walter Raleigh 1560-1621

Original Source: Sir Walter Raleigh, “The Discovery of Guiana.” In Voyages and travels : ancient and modern, with introductions, notes and illustrations. New York : P. F. Collier and son, [c1910] The Harvard classics, ed. by C. W. Ellot, vol. XXXIII

Full Colophon Information

“Life”

What is our life? A play of passion,

Our mirth the music of division

Our mother’s wombs the tiring-houses be,

Where we are dressed for this short comedy.

Heaven the judicious sharp spectator is,

That sits and marks still who doth act amiss.

Our graves that hide us from the setting sun

Are like drawn curtains when the play is done.

Thus march we, playing, to our latest rest,

Only we die in earnest, that’s no jest.

-Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618)