Last night on TCM I watched 'The Lion in Winter' and 'Anne of 1000 Days'.  I find British history as depicted in these films, and others, so fascinating.  I never tire of watching them.

I pity British school kids who have to learn this history which extends much further back (did King Arthur really exist?) than our own history here in the US.  We just have to study about a few dozen presidents but British kids have to know all about the Marys and Edwards and Elizabeths and Henrys and Charleses and Annes ad infinitum.

But I guess there are only a few principals you have learn about.  The ones that made history.

And while we learn about the westward expansion you learn about colonization in places like New Zealand and Australia and South Africa and Canada and India.  The days when the sun never set on the British Empire and Britania ruled the waves.  Such a rich history!

After watching movies about English Royalty I find myself looking things up on Google to find out what happened next.  

Noel

 

 

I guess because its so rich. There's a lot to be fascinated about. 🙂 

And its not just history, British architecture is fascinating too. In the Orkney Islands there's a Neolithic structure still standing, from 3700BC. In Kent there's an old Roman lighthouse still standing and all manner of other ancient structures. 

In the Channel Islands where I'm located there's a structure older than the pyramids, called La Hougue Bie. Its 2000 years older than the pyramids.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_buildings_in_the_United_Kingdom

We've had our fair share of inventors and famous scientists too. 

https://www.srgtalent.com/blog/greatest-british-scientists

Interesting that 3 of the 7 greatest scientists on the list were women.  

Martin, have you ever visited Hadrian's Wall?  Or the Antonine Wall?  I wish that a trip to Britain had been a part of my life.  Those two walls are something I've always wanted to see.

I did make it to Australia for a few weeks when I was still in the Air Force.  I filled in for a guy for three weeks while he was on emergency leave from our station in Alice Springs.  I did get to visit 'The Rock".

Noel

 

On 11/3/2022 at 10:46 AM, birdguy said:

I pity British school kids who have to learn this history which extends much further back (did King Arthur really exist?)

Yeah I love that period of history.

It's possible some ex-Roman legionaries retired from service of the Domain of Soissons, and went to England in the 480's, but we may never know.  The Franks under Clovis defeated Syragrius who ruled in Soissons around that time, so it's a plausible "King Arthur" theory.   It's a shame we don't have better records of that period in England...408 to 600.  I mean pretty much in 390-410 AD there is an existing Roman list of military units showing the Britannia units, and then very little well known history until the Gregorian mission around 595-600.

I got this from Wiki.  There is a rich mix of cultures and people clashing with each other in the time of Arthur and beyond.

• British, Romano-British and Britons – the inhabitants of Britain following the end of Roman rule in the early 5th century.
• Angles, Saxons and Jutes – the Germanic peoples who migrated from continental Europe and settled, initially in the south and east of the island, from the 5th century.
• Anglo-Saxons – the collective term for the Germanic settlers, first coined in the late 8th century. It came into general use in the 10th century.
• Vikings – the invaders from Scandinavia who between the 8th and 11th centuries raided much of western Europe, including the British Isles.
• Danes – the Vikings who mounted a full-scale invasion in the 860s and then settled across much of what is now northern and eastern England.
• English – refers both to the Anglo-Saxons (the first people to call themselves ‘English’ or ‘Angli’) and later to all settlers in England, including Danes, particularly after the emergence of a unified kingdom of England in the 10th century.

It looks like a melting pot of people from Northern Europe.

Doesn't the current royal family have German ties?

Noel

On 11/3/2022 at 3:46 PM, birdguy said:

did King Arthur really exist?)

No. Although people in Cornwall would have you believe otherwise

23 minutes ago, Ron Attwood said:

No. Although people in Cornwall would have you believe otherwise

"Would you like one of these very expensive pasties with your King Arthur, Sir?"

http://www.tintagelweb.co.uk/Tintagel Plane Crash.htm

Phew!  It just missed King Arthur's Terrace.  I wonder if they threw the book at this pilot?

 

 

27 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

I wonder if they threw the book at this pilot?

It sounds as if they did:

Per eyewitness report: "I used to work with the unfortunate pilot of this Hunter. The engine went to full idle as a result of a fault in the fuel metering unit. He trimmed the aircraft, pointing it out to sea, ejected and then watched the Hunter turn round and fly back inland! Sadly he messed up his back (thanks to the old bang seat) and was then messed about about endlessly by the MoD. They really couldn't see the irony in making him unfit for flying but refusing to compensate him!

As I recall, the engine fault was caused by a stray blob of grease blocking the venturi that compensated for altitude. The engine assumed it was now in the outer atmosphere and cut the fuel flow to, well, not very much"

I find it fascinating too. The amount of bad stuff though is incredible. Cheers.

On 11/3/2022 at 10:46 AM, birdguy said:

Last night on TCM I watched 'The Lion in Winter' and 'Anne of 1000 Days'.  I find British history as depicted in these films, and others, so fascinating.

You should watch the series The Last Kingdom and Vikings on Netflix and maybe other channels.  They're fictional, but also based on some of the known history of the Norse in England after the Romans left.  The period of history lasting a few hundred years following the Roman exodus is unfortunately not well documented, but there are some written accounts plus archaeological evidence.

Just a fun fact: the word "town" and the suffix "ton" as in Bridgeton, comes from the Norse word "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "farmstead".  Much of the Eastern UK was occupied by the Norse for centuries.  The suffix "burg", "burgh", and "borough" come from the Saxon word "burh" meaning "fort".  The burhs were erected by Alfred the Great, king of Saxony, to defend against the Norse invaders.

Anyway, cool stuff.  I love ancient and medieval history.

Dave

im more worried about the future of this once beautiful country.  I had a crew member turn up to work the other day at LHR with 2 broken fingers taped/splinted together. 

When asked "You cant operate like that, why didnt you call in sick?" she replied  "Im a single mum, I need the flight allowance money to pay my electric bill when it comes in Jan, and im too embrassed to ask my family for money, please let me operate"

Truely heartbreaking, this country is knackered.  We sent her home in tears.

Edited November 6, 20223 yr by fluffyflops

I think the entire world is facing that Fluffyflops.

Noel

7 hours ago, fluffyflops said:

im more worried about the future of this once beautiful country.

It is sad to watch a country, including my own, gradually decline and decay.  It is almost as if a country gets so prosperous and successful that some universal force intervenes and causes those in charge, and much of society in general, to do things that will ultimately destroy their happy existence.

The folks in charge have failed us on every front for several decades, often enriching themselves in the process.  Yet somehow people have long ignored, tolerated, or just accepted this sad state of affairs.

The good news is that history demonstrates that the People can indeed turn things around.  Unfortunately, things usually have to get pretty bad before that happens.

I remain hopeful.

Dave

A lot of things are based on UK history navigation is one, and this year something important.

All of the norths are about to align over Britain • The Register

15 hours ago, dave2013 said:

You should watch the series The Last Kingdom and Vikings on Netflix and maybe other channels.  They're fictional, but also based on some of the known history of the Norse in England after the Romans left.  The period of history lasting a few hundred years following the Roman exodus is unfortunately not well documented, but there are some written accounts plus archaeological evidence.

Just a fun fact: the word "town" and the suffix "ton" as in Bridgeton, comes from the Norse word "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "farmstead".  Much of the Eastern UK was occupied by the Norse for centuries.  The suffix "burg", "burgh", and "borough" come from the Saxon word "burh" meaning "fort".  The burhs were erected by Alfred the Great, king of Saxony, to defend against the Norse invaders.

Anyway, cool stuff.  I love ancient and medieval history.

Dave

I've heard "chester" comes from the Latin "castrum" (fort).  Place names like "Dorchester" and "Leicester"