Stonehenge Echoes with Compelling Mystery!

Stonehenge Echoes with Compelling Mystery!

Stonehenge has been an important gathering site for people going back over 9,000 years. The great stones were not always there, but other uprights were placed by various peoples who picked the strange spot for some reason or other. This compelling edifice, in its infancy and of wooden uprights, evolved to become something of great prominence and was known across mainland Europe. It attracted pilgrimages of peoples for thousands of years and was constantly worked upon during a period of many thousands of years B.C.

At first, the uprights were believed to have been made of wood, and as they rotted over the years the peoples tending the site would constantly maintain the uprights by replacing them etc. This was at a time when the peoples were evolving from nomadic hunters to more settled farming communities. Perhaps the great uprights acted like a magnet and drew outsiders towards them in some sort of wonder. This is still before the stones were put in place. We are talking of around 7,000 BC to about 3,000 BC roughly. A 4,000 year period when there were just wooden poles, (Skimmed tree trunks.) Constantly being changed or replaced due to required maintenance. As this circumstance continued, the local population would have found this an added and valuable source of commerce to go alongside their farming economy for word of these strange uprights had spread far and wide making the surrounding community more vibrant. We do not know what these wooden uprights were like, but they must have inspired some type of awe to keep the local people keen enough to maintain them. The significance of some type of calendar is obvious and very probable, but people of today who gather before the stones during the summer solstice are believed to have the significance of the stones around the wrong way. Many archaeologists and historians are of the opinion the winter solstice is the most important. Not the summer. Also, there must have been other reasons for such pilgrimages because people could do such structures in other places and have done for calendar and solstice purposes. 

   

As the site became more prominent, the organisation of people– Beaker people by this time – were able to organise large numbers of labourers to erect stones, replacing the wooden poles. These replacements were known as bluestone. The manpower and organisation of this would have been colossal and inspiring in such an age. The circles were erected anew with these bluestone. These were not the great sarsenstones, for they were still to come. However, this new bluestone construction would have given the site added awe. People from all over, including mainland Europe, came to the stones and some were laid to rest. Among the burial sites were the remains of peoples with various ailments and this has caused excavators to ponder the idea of the wood come stone circle to have some healing importance. It may be that such was believed from the very beginning when the uprights were still wooden. It may have also become a place of great gatherings for tribal Shaman from abroad. If healers or other types of Shaman felt compelled to be before the stones, others with ailments may have journeyed for such help and guidance.

A number of graves have been dug up around Stonehenge and with various abilities of carbon dating, archaeologists and other scientific surveyors have been able to date the time these bodies were laid to rest. One was of an archer who had his bones carbon dated to around the time when the sarsenstones were put in. His skeleton showed signs of a dreadful mouth abscess that would have caused excruciating pain. The condition was so severe that when it burst it made a small hole in the bone of his jaw just below his infected teeth. He was of high social standing and in the grave next to him was a younger man. Carbon dating suggested he was also closely related to the archer. Either a son or nephew. They examiners were also able to determine that these men were from the Alpine region of Europe or had spent some considerable time there.

Another skeleton was on a woman who had a slightly larger than normal back part of her skull. This was more of a defect that may have happened due to a difficult birth and did not seem to constitute an ailment in need of healing attention. This is because the woman had lived with the condition all of her life. However, some of the historians believed the lady may have been some type of healer because such people would often be thought to have a gift of healing. She could have been a sort of practitioner among many practices gathered about the Stonehenge area catering for the many peoples that came far and wide to the stones. One might imagine all sorts of industries growing amid the vibrant community of Beaker people. Perhaps other European migrants too, who might peddle their skills to the many visitors, especially a healer.

The bluestones would eventually be removed and replaced with the great sarsenstones (the ones we know of today) with a new inner circle of bluestones. This gave Stonehenge her final grand appearance with word of such grandeur continuing to ripple out across mainland Europe. Whatever, the true reasons, the Beaker People would enjoy great prestige from the grand edifice of Stonehenge. It had a brought about a vibrant society for many thousands of years before it fell into neglect and ruin. Another mystery that is equally compelling to historians and archaeologists.

The great sarsenstones may not have been about for that long during Stonehenge’s active life compared to the other constructions before. Eventually the grand stone circle fell into ruin and alongside; the vibrant society that had sprang up with it also perished. What caused this dystopia? Who knows what brought about such a circumstance? Maybe Druidism destroyed it, because no one knows when that religion started? Was the religion going during the time of the stones? Or was it evolving when the stones fell into neglect and the peoples abandoned the place?

By the time the Romans came to Britain, Stonehenge was already a decaying monument with a forgotten history, but the compelling allure of the stones still draws people from across the world. We continue to ask questions, but it seems when we find answers, there are new questions to be answered.

Druids Will Be Out in Force at Stonehenge for Summer Solstice.

The Druids will be out in force to celebrate the summer solstice today. I've seen this once when I went to a rock festival in the field next door in 1979. The druids were in among the stones, conducting some sort of ceremony. The always flock to the stone rings scattered around in various parts of the country to commemorate summer and winter solstice. What bearing they have upon the druid priests of old is hard to say. They  were wiped out and the religion was all but destroyed during the 400 years of Roman rule. This new druid following was resurrected a few centuries back. Some say they were cultists, but perhaps all religions are cultists. Who knows. I would not think they follow ancient druid traditions apart from the worship of trees and what not. Still it makes for a colourful spectacle and druidism has spread to other parts of the planet. USA, Canada and Australia all have their groups and they all keep in touch with one another. 

Celtic Music - Dark Compelling Spirit Rituals

This is dark, mystical, yet beautiful. It reminds me of the woodlands and obscure nooks and crannies around the Isles, where things of old still echo through vision and smell. Places that are perhaps the same before the Romans came. Today we can only find the places in our imagination, yet musical pieces like this allow the listener to see the raw beauty within the mind's eye. I wonder if such beauty, from the past, still retains a biological programme within our DNA. Is there something about it the past that sounds familiar to us.

    

Did Saxons Destroy King Arthur's Kingdom When he Died?

I believe the legend of King Arthur comes from fact - he once existed, but I'm not sure if it was during the Dark Ages because Roman culture Britons would have been literate after four hundred years of speaking Latin. It does not seem feasible that Angle, Saxon, and Jutish kings were known of from the supposedly pagan English times, yet the learned Celtic Britons have no substantial record of the real King Arthur, the Arthur knights, the Arthur sword, Merlin the wizard, and of course the round table. I   am no long sure of King Arthur of Cornwall and his queen, Guinevere living during the Dark Ages. After all, these were the ones who could put pen to paper at this time.

I have recently become sceptical of this mass migration of Anglo-Saxon tribes suddenly arriving in Britain when the Romans abandoned the Isle. I have seen documentaries where Saxon sites have been dug up and DNA samples of bones suggest Britons predominantly living in Saxon sites. This throws so many things into confusion and even the evolving of English language, from Frisian or what Dutch people speak.

Some historians of language think it was adopted with heavy British (ancient Welsh) influence. How this was explained was a little beyond me, but there seems to be a general agreement that pagan English tribes were already in the south east of Britain or speaking such a dialect when Rome still ruled. Were these people Christian because by this time Romans and Britons were? Names of Teutonic Gods would suggest that there was a pagan belief, but not the old British Druid system of religion. Therefore this Teutonic religion must have been imported. There are so many unanswered questions especially skeletons of Saxon settlements being mainly Briton in DNA testing.

However, as said previously, much of the DNA is still Celtic British. I wonder if Arthur and his legend were old even during these times - a folk tale back then and perhaps Saxons, Angles and Jutes replaced Romans as the enemy of Arthur's kingdom. I honestly think this mythical king of Celtic Britons was around before, English language or pagan English tribes were in Britain.

Perhaps Angles, Saxons, and Jutes speaking a strange tongue and believing in an un-Christian religion would have found themselves ostracised by Romanised Britons who were literate in Latin. Why write off these people yet not Arthur? I think he would be much more chronicled if he lived in the Dark Ages.

This is the reason I did not mention such a British Celtic King by name in the novel Saxon Quest. I think two cultures clashed in Dark Age Britain, but I can't commit to there being a King Arthur of this time. I believe he goes much further back.

Why Mary Rose Ship of War Sank - Henry VIII & England's Tragic Pride



The Mary Rose



England was a land of virtual irrelevance during the 15^th century and was no more than a fringe island on the edge of Europe – a small nation that had spent years fighting a civil war of the Roses between House York and House Lancaster. This finally ended with the death of Richard III in battle and the accession of Henry VII of the Tudor dynasty. During this turbulent time, England had neglected her navy and had only constructed six ships for the crown in a period of eighty-seven years. The new king, Henry VII maintained a precarious peace with the dominant powers of Europe and managed to keep the island nation free from trouble allowing England a small time to establish breathing space and rebuild. At least, begin to rebuild.

Midship Section of Mary Rose

When Henry VII died his second son – became King Henry VIII. His first son, Arthur had died before ascending to kingship. Arthur had briefly married the Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon. In this day and age, Spain was the super power of the world and France challenging for dominance too. Because Henry VIII wanted to join a powerful Spanish alliance against France, he decided to marry his late brother’s wife Catherine of Aragon – he was six years her junior. By doing this, Henry the VIII had made a powerful enemy of France but had many strong allies including the Holy Roman emperor Maximillian alongside the superpower of Spain. Little England was trying to punch above her weight, but for those who dare; sometimes things work out. This did in the long run but in twisted ways that none designed or could have predicted at the time.   

Henry VIII had received the start of a navy from his father Henry VII, but early into his new alliance with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, his small country decided to start by showing ambitions to the navy. England had two large warships to boast of and they were the Regent and the Sovereign. Henry VIII decided to add two more substantial battleships of the day. One was called the Peter while the other would be the Mary Rose. After this, more ships were started and the beginnings of a Royal Navy ensued.

Inside Part of Mary Rose

The grand warship ‘Mary Rose’ was launched in the summer of 1511. She went to London and received adulation in a grand ceremony as she was towed up the River Thames. The glorious array of flags and streamers must have been a colourful sight to behold as citizens of London flocked to see the modern battleship. For the times, this ship was a real state of the art building and engineering, lovingly crafted from fine English oak and craftsmen who were very proud of the profession and able to work for the grand king and country.

Some people believe the name ‘Mary Rose’ came from Henry VIII sister, Mary Tudor and the Rose of the Tudors. However, eminent historians say that it was the fashion throughout Europe to name ships from everyday common Christian names. England was trying to play alongside the big boys of Europe now and tried to emulate them in all ways.

For twenty-five years the ship patrolled and did her national duties taking part in actions against the national enemies of France and Scotland. She had castle style protection at the stern and bow with a lower mid-ship section. She would have looked resplendent in this day and was brought back into dock for a major rebuilding and enhancement programme in 1536. She was to be upgraded from a 500-ton vessel to 700 tonnes. After this, the Mary Rose continued in her duties against the main enemies until a fateful day in 1545 when the grand ship of war took a lead to attack a French invasion fleet.

Before this battle, the grand ship had performed admirably during the first and second French Wars – this was the third French war when Mary Rose was to meet her fate.

The Mary Rose lay on the Solent bed for many years.

As the Mary Rose went into action, a Flemish eye witness had his version of events written down. He saw the Mary Rose fire all one side of her guns as the battle began – a salvo. Then as the grand ship manoeuvred to present her opposite side of guns, she was caught by a strong breeze which caused the vessel to extravagantly heel to her starboard side, where many of the lower deck gun ports were still open. These were water tight when shut, but during the confusion of the battle they remained open and were, of course, in use. The sudden intake of water caused the ship to heel further over to her broadside as the weight of the water intake caught the mighty ship off balance. All people on board would have been flung about. Heavy guns and other bulk items would have broken from their fastenings and slide starboard too, causing more weight on this starboard side. Men would have been crushed and killed during the horrendous twist of fate. Those that escaped being crushed would have been struggling in a blind panic as their world, inside the ship, turned upside down. It was all over, very quickly, as the Mary Rose capsized and sank in the Solent off of the Isle of Weight and from a crew of four hundred and more; only thirty-five men survived the capsizing of the Mary Rose. The vice Admiral George Carew went down with his ship and crew as well.

Salvaged part of hull in Portsmouth museum

This terrible event rocked the entire nation and the great battleship lay on the seabed for hundreds of years until she was raised by scientists in 1982 after being re-discovered in 1971. Many of her artefacts and much of her hull are on display at the Portsmouth naval museum today.

Scientists working on Hull Preservation

Tour de France -stage seven win for Brits Sky Team.

Chris Froome wins 'King of the Mountains' red dotted shirt

I sat spell bound by the fitness and energy of all the participants in the Tour de France bike race in this stage seven - Tomblaine to La Planches des Belles Filles. It was up a huge mountain pass - a gruelling uphill slog all the way by super fit bike riding athletes - each individual was super fit. I felt exhausted just watching it. There is a Team Sky - a Brit professional road racing bicycle team. As this race went on I was gripped, hoping Bradley Wiggins would steal enough points to go into an over all lead in the competition.

Then in the final sprint GB rider Chris Froome stole the show with a finishing burst that earned him the red polka jersey for 'King of the Moutains' point accumulation. Bradley Wiggins came third gaining enough point to wear the yellow over leading jersey. 

Bradley Wiggins wins overall lead up to stage seven of Tour de France and wears the yellow jersey during the next stage of the race.

Retro British Motor Car - Austin 7 Built 1929

Austin 7 built 1929

As Carole and I was walking back to Leigh-on-Sea from Chalkwell in Essex, UK; this little gem of a car pulled up beside us and out jumped the driver who had been giving the car plenty of TLC for a number of years. He said it was his Austin 7 and it was made in 1929. He was taking it to a car show. Obviously, it is a good old retro Brit car so why not have it here on the Retro Brit blog. You don't see such splendid machines every day unless you are the gentleman that owns such a grand little car. 

UK 1960s Deacade - Dusty Springfield - i only want to be with you (V.RARE) 60s

 

 

 

 

Dusty Springfield had a TV show in the 1960s and I can remember that my mother had several of her LPs. This was one of her favourites and I could remember my mother singing it often when she was pottering about the house. Again - kind memories from a time when I thought all grown ups were extremely clever. I think I realised they were not when I became one. It suddenly dawned on me one day. However, that was in about the year 1981 when I turned 20, so I cling to the more infantile view I had of the 1960s. Every thing was great and being British was champion. I used to feel sorry for people that were not British as a kid. Such was the conviction of my little kiddie vanity... :) 

H.M.S. Jervis Bay - Heroic Final and Valiant Moment - MV San Demetrio.

The Merchant ship, H.M.S. Jervis Bay had been taken over by the Royal Navy at the outbreak of war in 1939. This ship had been hastily converted with vintage guns from 1898 - seven 6in guns and two 3in guns. She had become a convoy escort during the last few months prior to November 1940 when this brave ship would charge into legend with an act of supreme bravery.

The event took place on 5th November 1940. The Captain of H.M.S. Jervis Bay made a heroic decision and sacrifice to protect a convoy of merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean. Captain Edward Fegan ordered the convoy, his ship was escorting, to scatter when they came up against the German pocket Battleship Admiral Scheer. What followed was an act of bravery by Captain Fegan and his crew that was remarkable because all knew that their converted armed merchant cruiser was outgunned against such a formidable enemy. The merchant convoy, escorted by H.M.S. Jervis Bay, held valuable cargo bound for Britain from Canada and USA. With the safety of this in mind; H.M.S. Jervis Bay charged at AdmiralScheer diverting the pocket Battleship's attention away from the thirty seven Merchant ships. The crew of Jervis Bay were under no illusions as to what would happen when their Captain ordered the attack against a superior German pocket Battleship.

The hastily converted Jervis Bay attacked with her inferior and out ranged guns, fighting against the 28 cm guns of Admiral Scheer. Never the less, the crew of Jervis Bay stubbornly attacked with their guns blazing away. They fought for twenty two minutes as their ship was blown and torn apart – reduced to a burning hulk. Captain Fegan was reported to have had his arm shattered and his bridge blown from under him, yet still he remained, trying to keep his guns firing. He went down with the ship.

The Admiral Scheer was able to sink five more of the Allied convoy's Merchant ships, before the rest could scatter.

As the flaming H.M.S. Jervis Bay sunk, sixty five survivors managed to abandon the ship. They were picked up by a neutral Swedish Ship. The other brave 190 crew perished with H.M.S. Jervis Bay as the vessel went down to the bottom of the Atlantic. 

The dreadful sacrifice was not lost on British people. The vital cargo of the Atlantic convoy was the nation's lifeline. At this time of 1940, Britain was fighting for survival and her fate rested upon a knife edge. These bold acts were common in the Battle of the Atlantic as Britain and her allies desperately tried to keep their war effort alive.

MV San Demetrio

MV San Demetrio

From this dreadful attack came another incident of remarkable bravery. MV San Demetrio was one of the Merchant ships attacked by Admiral Scheer after HMS Jervis Bay went down fighting. MV San Demetrio was full of aviation fuel. The German shells that struck her had caused crippling damage and the merchant ship was burning furiously. The crew were ordered to abandon ship as it would be only a matter of time before the flamable cargo ignited. As the lifeboats left the burning vessel the survivors probably expected further shells from the German pocket Battleship.

Her crew sat in lifeboats waiting and knowing the same fate would befall San Demetrio as had HMS Jervis Bay. They were bobbing up and down upon the waves, expecting the worse. But it never came.

Amazingly, the Admiral Scheer turned her attention upon other ships of the scattering convoy. Maybe the crew of the German ship thought other vessels deserved priority attention and the San Demetrio could burn and blow without further help from them. It made sense when other merchants could be sunk.

Later, the San Demetrio crew were able to return and board the stricken Merchant ship. What had been a raging inferno had suddenly abatied. They ran about the decks and managed to quench the various fires still burning aboard the vessel. To everyone’s amazement the stricken San Demetrio was still afloat and able to make way through the sea. 

The attentive crew painstakingly nursed the damaged vessel over the following days and managed to limp the stricken ship back to the UK. She received a rapturous welcome home and the story of this heroism was noted. A movie was made about the ship and its crew. It is called; "San Demetrio London."

Sadly, the San Demetrio would be sunk at a later stage in the Battle of the Atlantic by U-boat in 1942.

Veto Britain - David Cameron - Germany's European Union

I’m no politician or economist; just an ordinary worker – a cleaner, in fact, and British – an ‘ordinary Joe’ who is part of the electorate of UK. Like many Brits, I’m not anti-European and deep down I’m sure there must be something good about being in the European Union. After all, it is best to be friends and well connected with our neighbours like France and Germany or any of the other European nations.

When I listen to our own politicians they talk of the trade links being good and progressive for the UK. We pay huge sums of money into the Union. I think it amounts to the third biggest contribution behind Germany and France. However, France gets more back then the UK so I would also argue that ours is the second largest contribution. Again, if this is so; fair enough, we are after all in this Union of European nations, which were once called a ‘Common Market.’

I, as a Brit and only a humble cleaner, don’t see this Common Market thing anymore. It is now the European Union and I can’t remember when it changed. I am now reading things like fiscal Union, when European politicians speak, and federal Europe was being used a few years prior to this. As much as I like other EU nations, I’m reluctant to want to be more integrated with Germany pulling the purse strings. I’m not having a cheap pop at Germany or France (who seem to be agreeing with everything Germany wants at the moment) but I’m worried for my United Kingdom and why should I feel selfish because Britain will not renegotiate this new treaty on stronger fiscal union?

I can understand why Germany wants to adopt these hard austerity measures against the failing southern nations of the Euro Union, but why must the UK be forced to adopt these measures when the UK took the precaution of not joining the Euro currency when it was brought in by most Euro nations? The Euro currency had one level playing field that was spear headed by Germany – a great nation that in this day and age has made great and progressive strides in industry and commerce plus lots of other great things that a humble cleaner might not even think of. This great nation of Germany had inflation that is un-noticeable (say .025%) or something less. I’m inventing the low figure but I’m certain experts know it was low.

The other southern European nation were offered to join the Euro money club with larger inflation due to borrowing (say 25% or more) Was Germany expecting these nations to level out alongside their great economic performance or did they think they could always ride the storm? Were Germany and France honestly this naive? They must have realised they were adopting another nations inflation. Am I, the humble Brit cleaner, getting something wrong here? Is it me who doesn’t see the wood for the trees?

Perhaps I’m being too British – selfish and biased, but I honestly think David Cameron, our British Prime Minister, got it right when he walked away from the revised treaty that Germany UNDERSTANDERBLY wants. David Cameron wants his British government to adopt its own regulations towards our London banking industry, and as a Brit I do know what happens when money restrictions are put upon big business corporations. In the seventies when we Brits overtaxed them; they left and went somewhere else. Inflation was ripe and Europe called us the ‘Sick Man of Europe’. Again, this was probably true at the time.

Along came a real butt buster of a Prime Minister called Margaret Thatcher. She grabbed Britain by the scruff of the neck and really kicked our arses for years during the eighties decade. Christ do I remember some of her medicine. At the time I cursed this woman and her Conservative party, but she got inflation down and got the country up and running to some degree of decency. I hate to admit it, but she did and it leaves a bitter pill in my throat to admit she got some things right. After going through all of that, I remember feeling relieved when the UK did not want to join the Euro currency club. It was not a problem with Germany or France or the northern European countries, but I could not see the same efforts brought to bare against Italian, Greek or Spanish inflation by these respective nations. Even though, I'm a cleaner, I'm sure we were wise not to enter the Euro even when it marginalised us (UK) as a consequence.

When the economic strife came, because of the US economy, it reflected on all and the Euro has been badly hit. When British banks like the Royal Bank of Scotland and Northern Rock were in danger of going under; they were bailed out by British tax payers. We did not like this but we reluctantly went with our elected government and stabilised these banks. No burden was put on the EU. We brought in measures against big rewards for failure among big economic institutions, but these rewards remain for success and rightly so. We control this and do not want this dangerous European legislation that might drive these institutions abroad. Even though Britain is not involved in the Euro and remains better equipped to deal with the recession then most of the other European countries, we were still prepared to help, but we wanted concessions to protect our London banking industry. Europe must UNDERSTAND this.

It was the European Union that was intransigent and not the British before David Cameron used his veto. We can’t afford to adopt this legislation and would be very foolish to consider it. We control our own finance and think in terms of a Common Market. What is wrong with that? We are prepared to help but will not have this fiscal Union that will put us in Europe with Germany pulling the purse strings. I’m not being anti-German, but we don’t need that nation’s strong guidance like other countries in the EU do.

Now we have a situation in Britain where the Euro-phobics are gaining ground for us to leave the EU. This would be a great shame, but I’m beginning to see that sadly they could be right. When other European nations catch a cold; they want to bury themselves in Europe – we want to distance ourselves and sought it out.

We are marginalised in Europe by our own choice concerning currency and fiscal Union, but we still like the old Common Market aspect. You (the EU) could get help, but we (UK) don’t want your stringent regulations concerning our London institutions. Europe is pushing Britain out into the cold and it is the fault of Germany UNDERSTANDABLY wanting it her own way with the purse strings, because she has to concerning the Eurozone members. However, for none Eurozone members, who still retain their safe three star ratings and their own finances; Germany might not get what she wants on this front and she might need to throw the odd bone. The trouble in the Eurozone was Germany and France having ill-deserved confidence concerning other Eurozone countries’ abilities to level out and control borrowing. Also other non-Eurozone nations might reflect on this matter more before March and the next meeting.

Sadly, most Brits are delighted by David Cameron's veto because they think it might lead to a referendum on us leaving the EU altogether. They think this is an opportunity in that direction. I’m hoping it would not come to this, but how long will Britain stay in the cold before she looks in on herself? The UK will not conform with German led Eurozone Europe on this and I think the cross roads is fast approaching. I don't think there is a way out and perhaps there might come an amicable parting of the ways in the near future.

Kraftwerk - Retro German Band

Kraftwerk means power plant or power station and the name is synonymous with the very influential Retro German band. Their strictly electronic style started in the 1970s. They are regarded as pioneers of the late seventies and early eighties electronic music movements. Kraftwerk had a great presentation style that accompanied their music, almost like un-dead, yet something ultra clean and almost sterile. It does not sound complimentary, I know, but there still remains something evocative about their simple lyrics and their germ-free appearance – something pristine and self-assured still won through and captivated people all over the world.