Trafalgar Day

[Grumpybear]

Some of the French thought they won Trafalgar. A few years ago I saw a huge contemporary print of the battle in an antique sh in Morlaix. The title read:

"Grand Battaille a Mer. Heros Anglais Tue.".

Napoleon could have taught Alistair Campbell a thing or two!

As for the Germans, they rebuilt their economy using Marshall Plan money. As winners, we got more dollars than the Germans, but the Attlee government chose to spend them on the running costs of the NHS instead of rebuilding factories, railways etc.

 

[Old Troll]

Old Troll

What about a good old pagan holiday date like the summer solstice on 22nd June? It also ties in nicely with the date of Bannockburn.

 

[avole]

Some of the French thought they won Trafalgar. A few years ago I saw a huge contemporary print of the battle in an antique sh in Morlaix. The title read:

"Grand Battaille a Mer. Heros Anglais Tue.".

Napoleon could have taught Alistair Campbell a thing or two!

As for the Germans, they rebuilt their economy using Marshall Plan money. As winners, we got more dollars than the Germans, but the Attlee government chose to spend them on the running costs of the NHS instead of rebuilding factories, railways etc.

You're right about one thing. Napoleon was a great speech writer and speech maker. If you look at his speeches, especially those addressed to the Italians, you begin to understand just how brilliant the man was.

In Attlee's defence, the voters were in full agreement with him. Also, whereas the rail infrastructure was shattered in France and Germany, it wasn't in Britain, so there was no urgent need to rebuild. That's why the railway network is still so poor compared to France and Germany now. It still runs on the same lines, and with the same restriction, as it has more-or-less from Victorian days.

 

[Ubergeekian]

I think that trying to re-evaluate the little Corsican is something that other European countries do in the light of their history. For me, saying that Napolean brought good things to the world is like saying that Mussolini made the trains run on time or that Hitler was an effective leader.

So what did Napoleon do that was actually bad?

 

[Twister_Ken]

So what did Napoleon do that was actually bad?

Mega-death.

 

[mcframe]

What about a good old pagan holiday date like the summer solstice on 22nd June? It also ties in nicely with the date of Bannockburn.

When I mentioned Beltane & Lammas, I was alluding to the cross-quarter days at the start and end of summer....

 

[mcframe]

Not god, but festivals. Beltane was the Celtic equivalent of May Day and Lammas (Loaf Mass) was an Anglo-Saxon harvest festival at the beginning of August - corresponding to the Celtic Lughnasa. Now much beloved by grubby young people with trust funds and piercings who like to play at being pagans.

Cross-quarter or term days - like the Martinmas, Candlemas & Whistun terms at any decent university?

Oh, hang on, I see what you mean ;->

 

[Ubergeekian]

Cross-quarter or term days - like the Martinmas, Candlemas & Whistun terms at any decent university?

Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity, dear boy.

 

[Whiskey Bravo]

Quite frankly I'd do away with Bank Holidays altogether and give every worker [except bankers, who should be made to work harder for their bonus] an extra week to be taken whenever they wish.

This would eliminate all the extra travel problems and mooring difficulties, etc. caused by everybody having the same day off, it would keep businesses open, prevent those in the holiday trade charging excessive rates at Bank Holidays and most people, I feel, would rather have a longer break. If not, they could still take the extra week as individual days.

The only exception would be Christmas Day, which should still be a statutory holiday. As for Boxing Day, it seems more and more people use it purely for demented shopping, spreading that out would be a benefit.

 

[Bru]

I remember Brigid

Blimey, you're older than I thought

I've got a work colleague (lovely bloke) who's deeply and totally uncritically Christian and I've had quite a lot of fun with him about the Christians stealing all the Pagan festivals and Gods - he takes it in the spirit in which it's intended and we have a good laugh I hasten to add

PS. Whether Lammas was actually a pagan festival is debatable although Beltane probably was originally but it's very hard to dig down through all the neo-pagan b*llsh*t and most of our best evidence for pre-Christian pagan practices are from Roman texts and they are often suspected of being propaganda written by the victors rather than accurate descriptions of what actually went on

 

[Bru]

Quite frankly I'd do away with Bank Holidays altogether and give every worker [except bankers, who should be made to work harder for their bonus] an extra week to be taken whenever they wish.

For many of us, like me and the DLW, this is already the case since the development of the (appalling) 24/7 society we now live in. The DLW does get Christmas day off (I don't) but other than that they are normal working days as far as we're concerned

There is, by the way, no legal right to have bank holidays off and it's only been since 2009 that (effectively) the relevant number of days has had to be included in holiday entitlement. Have to say I didn't know this myself until recently when I found I'd been swizzled out of an extra weeks holiday for nearly two years!

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Probably the worst thing we ever did was to defeat Napoleon. Set the country back decades, and cemented us in our belief in our island fortress.

If Napoleon we'd have had decent education, an excellent legal system, good roads and, of course, much better cuisine.

Nonsense. All we have ever had from the French is the black death, French pox and underarm hair on women. And none of those are what you would want in a civilised society.

 

[maxi77]

Quite frankly I'd do away with Bank Holidays altogether and give every worker [except bankers, who should be made to work harder for their bonus] an extra week to be taken whenever they wish.

This would eliminate all the extra travel problems and mooring difficulties, etc. caused by everybody having the same day off, it would keep businesses open, prevent those in the holiday trade charging excessive rates at Bank Holidays and most people, I feel, would rather have a longer break. If not, they could still take the extra week as individual days.

The only exception would be Christmas Day, which should still be a statutory holiday. As for Boxing Day, it seems more and more people use it purely for demented shopping, spreading that out would be a benefit.

This was the system used by the company I worked for, and is very commom in Scotland mainly as we have fewer bank holidays and have local holidays instead.

 

[mcframe]

Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity, dear boy.

Err, a huge "LOL", as I understand the yoof of today might say ;-)