This has got to be one of the most all time greats of the 70s decade. They really don't make them like this anymore. It brings back wonderful feelings of nostalgia when I listen to wonderful sounds like this from Love Unlimited with this class song;
There are a multitude of great artistic impressions of HMS Thunder Child's confrontation with three Martian tripods. Many of them are very dramatic indeed. I always imagined HMS Thunder Child looking like HMS Thunderer of the Devastation class Victorian battleship.
Artists of science fiction always enjoy their own personel take on the final moments of Thunder Child's brave charge!
When I travel around the coastline, I imagine tripod Martian fighting machines out of rusting construction from times gone by. Some of the old edifices grab my imagination and I try to turn old sea platforms into Martian tripods from my mind's eye.
The fist ever stone built bridge of London's many bridges was way back in 1176. It was undertaken by a Norman called Peter de Colechurch. England had been occupied by the French speaking Norman overlords for one hundred and ten years by this time. The Norman dynasty was firmly established by now. This new bridge took 33 years to build and sat upon twenty great arches that went into the river. There were even water wheels put upon the sides of the arches for grinding of grain. Shops and wear houses began to spring up.
London Bridge of 1600 was very heavy maintenance as the river flow constantly eroded the thick pillars. It was constantly collapsing in parts and being rebuilt. Hence the nursery rhyme of: London Bridge is Falling Down. It was a great shame because the bridge was often a hive of activity with the market upon it. It was full of hustle and bustle. Above is a computer image of the bridge which I found on Twitter.
This London Bridge survived so many trials and tribulations - even the Great Fire of London in 1666, although the bridge was left much weakened by the event. This bridge was finally demolished in 1831 because a new London Bridge was built during the 1820s. This 1820s bridge was dismantled brick by brick in the 1960s and transported to Lake Havasu in Arizona USA.
I wonder if the old bridge demolished in 1833 with all its history might have been maintained in this day and age. I'm sure that there would have been better ways to preserve such a monument and perhaps it would have been more valued by heratige trusts. One can only wonder.
I would suppose many of us would like to go back in time and take a walk over that bridge during the Elizabethan era. It is also important not to confuse London Bridge with Tower Bridge by the Tower of London.
Great Steampunk adventure set in an alternative British Empire with advanced steam driven machinery and airships. We follow the adventures of Captain Folkestone and his Martian accomplice, Sergeant Felix Hand. The British Empire is policing colonies on Mars and Venus in the year of 1882. It's a wonderful weird and wacky adventure of a retro sci-fi world from our past. An alternative British Empire in a bizarre space age. The image of Victorian machinery (iron and steam) in a space age dreamed of by people with futuristic imaginations of the late 19th and early 20th Century. H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burrows type Sci-Fi. A story of ancient Dark Gods known to Martians and Venusians from their entwined pasts yet not to Humans who are new comers building empires and colonies upon both planets. The restless natives of these colonised worlds are resurrecting taboo old Gods. Those that must not be spoken of. Their aim (The Dark Gods) to destroy the alternative British Empire of 1882 and bring vengeance upon humanity. Only the dashing Captain Folkestone and Sergeant Hand can thwart the evil as they travel on a quest from Mars to Venus following leads where humanoid and reptillian Venusians dwell. Plus some work back on Earth, in London, by Scotland Yard’s Chief Inspector Ethan Slaughter as he searches among London's immigrant population of Chinese, Laskers, Martians and Venusian workers in a quest for secrets of the Dark Gods too.
Great adventure for all fans of Steampunk Sci-Fi where even Victorian London's back streets are awash with inter-planetary multi-cutralism. The whole story moves well with its wonderful alternative Victorian feel combined with retro steampowered machinery from a mythical, dreamed of, age.
During World War II Japan desperately sought ways to bring her war effort to the American coastline. She wanted to bomb the United States and hoped it would make the USA more weary of engaging the Japanese Empire deep in the Pacific.
Japan needed to employ stealth to penetrate the US Navy with substantial forces to attack the mainland. The nation's scientific engineers came up with a remarkable plan to build giant submarines capable of carrying aircraft. The many obstacles that the huge designs had to overcome were immense because the vessel needed to carry three planes plus bomb loads under the sea before surfacing off of the west coast of the USA and launching air strikes upon major US cities.
For such an audacious plan the Japanese wanted 18 giant submarines. Admiral Isoroko Yamamoto wanted more but due to raw materials required for such he venture, he could only commission 18. As the building work went on, Japan was losing the race against time as US forces battled their way across the Pacific invading one island after another getting ever closer to Japan.
At first the Japanese planned to attack the west coast then go around the Cape Horn and cruise up to the east coast of USA to attack Washington, Miami and New York. This ambition became less likely as the US began to edge closer to Japan. Again the amount of giant Subs for commission diminished as did the goals of Japan's war effort against the USA.
A new agenda was thought up with just two of the giant aircraft carrier subs. An attack on the Panama Canal. However, even this plan was abandoned as the US forces attacked Okinawa. With two giant subs - the I - 400 and the I - 401 the grand vessels decided upon an attack of the American fleet staging area at sea, where the US Navy was waiting to attack the next parts of Japan's mainland.
The giant subs set out upon their mission in the summer of 1945. Before they could get to their destination and launch the six meagre aircraft upon the American fleet, Japan had been attacked with atomic bombs. The order to cease hostilities came over the radio. The final mission was aborted and upon return back to Japan both giant subs fell into US hands.
Both these giant subs were destroyed in spring of 1946 off of Pearl Harbour. The USA wished to sink the giant subs with her secrets to evade inspection from the Soviet Union. The Cold War was beginning and thus ended the brief wonder of the giant aircraft carrier submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Below is a great YouTube documentary of the giant aircraft carrier subs.
This song was on the album; Night at the Opera. One of my favourite Queen albums, but then... they were all rather good. :D I think this came out around 1975. It was the album that converted me to Queen.
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.
