I have lived in the inner city now for just over two years.
It has taken the 24 months to adjust to the lifestyle in the new surroundings after 17 years or so of having resided in a cosy suburban environment. There it was a case of having to jump in the car to get to anything and anywhere but now everything is on my doorstep and within only a short walk.
That can be a good thing but also has it's downside in particular the temptation to nip out on an evening and purchase sweets, crisps and a beverage generally to order of those at home. Such is the convenience that this can be done easily within a typical commercial break in the TV schedule.
As a consequence of my persistent shopping habits I am at last regarded as a local regular by the staff at the Tesco Express Store which is the nearest (3 minutes) shop and this even allowing for their frequent change in personnel and rosters which means someone different at the checkout almost on an hourly basis.
The shop is one of the smaller neighbourhood retail outlets of that Multinational Corporation and although stocking most everyday consumer requirements I do have to, on occasion, go slightly farther afield if they have sold out of a key ingredient or the promotion on two for one chocolate bars has ended.
Less than a minute from Tesco is the Islam Supermarket in a former Kwik-Save premises.
Where Tesco can satisfy my very British urges for snacks and drinks the aisles at Islam appeal to my exotic and impulsive side. Best buys are the basmati rice at £1.99 for a 2kg bag, coconut milk (tinned), large bunches of fresh coriander, fragrant sticks of lemon grass, ugly but moist ginger root and the juiciest limes I have ever come across. All of the foregoing make for our regular saturday tea of thai curry which is a real treat just before settling in for the likes of Strictly, Dr Who and the usual chat show rounds. The weekend visit has made my face known to the Islam staff and so I am regarded as a regular there as well.
My portfolio of local traders also includes the traditionally English corner chip shop, the Indian newsagents, Polish delicatessen, Turkish Pizza parlour, Kurdish mini-market and Latvian hand-car wash.
Something is, however, missing and I have only just come to realise what it is.
I am well looked after for food and provisions but what is absent is being a regular at a public house.
I was too young and busy to contemplate this when at the old house and as I said, the suburban location meant having to drive to a pub which defeated the whole ethos of having a relaxing drink without worrying about blood-alcohol levels with every sip of a pint or pinot.
There are 9 pubs within a 5 minute walk radius of my house which is, in my reckoning, the maximum range that anyone should have to endure where a pub is concerned.
Based on external appearances alone I can disregard four hostelries in the catchment. A scruffy, unkempt exterior does not augur well for a tidy, hygienic and safe internal environment. The reputations of a further two pubs for fighting, drug culture and frequent Police raids led me to pass these over for my patronage. One rather smart pub, sophisticated looking was reputed to be a pick up place for gay men and so I found myself walking quickly past after a brief reconnaissance and did not look back.
The two now shortlisted, by default, could not be more different.
One is food orientated and is well frequented, seemingly enjoying an all day long trade from morning coffee to light lunches, to afternoon cream teas, early diner menu and on to an evening bistro and wine bar.
A lone male would only really be accepted for the coffee morning. There would be sideways looks and much muttering on the later sittings from well to do ladies dining, OAP's resting and nattering, families eating together and the smart,young and affluent night shift.
Not for me this brash new world of the reinvented pub grub, cocktail hour and those on a Tinder date.
That just leaves the one pub where I could possibly nurse a pint for an hour, one evening in the week with anonymity If I choose or ,following a suitable period of induction, participate in a conversation and that way become accepted as a regular.
I am thinking about going tonight for the first time......wish me luck.
Sunday, 15 November 2015
Friday, 13 November 2015
To Boldly Go.......or not.
My index finger hovers over the 'BOOKING' button on the website of Virgin Galactic. My hesitation is justified for many, many reasons but principally because I do not have the $20,000 US as a deposit nor do I have any vague possibility of raising the balance of $180,000 US should there be an opportunity to progress from the stand-by status or what Virgin Galactic call a Voyager Astronaut to the all-fired-up-and- ready-to-go role of Pioneer Astronaut.
The latter is the fully paid up position with a pre-scheduled flight time and therefore a deadline to let as many family members, friends, neighbours, work colleagues and strangers in the street know that you are soon and actually to be elevated to a most exclusive club of those who have been into space. One successful or rather financially able candidate put the one upmanship into context in that out of 6 billion and counting inhabitants on the surface of earth ( as at 10.51am on July 1st 2012) he is looking forward to being one of six such well resourced civilian travellers on the Virgin Galactic Spaceship able to look down and experience whatever feeling there may be linked to that action be it pride, superiority, awe or, with all sincere hope, a bit of humility.
I went through that stage, when considerably younger, of wanting to be an astronaut, specifically a NASA Apollo version. The grainy, and on our TV, black and white images of the moon landings really caught my imagination. As a child at age 7 the nearest I could get to my dream, and at any time subsequently was tipping over the metal climbing frame in the back garden so that it resembled a rocket and particularly so if you squinted through a makeshift lunar helmet made of cardboard and Mother's tin foil.
The astronauts were the household names and heroes of the age and although only perhaps in their late 20's or early 30's they looked much older with their severe crew cuts and smart, sharp uniforms covered in flight badges.
There was a gradual change in the background and qualifications of those selected for the NASA programme from the first intake of all American military to those of a multi-national scientific discipline. I was likely to be neither even with hard work, application and good results.
I feel therefore a bit aggrieved and envious that it is now possible to buy into that exclusive and illustrious club. My indignation is heightened by the thought of accountants, lawyers, real estate magnates, IT Entrepreneurs and not necessarily the great and the good becoming astronauts and having another form of self promotion with which to bore others around the dinner table or at the country club.
Another reason for not pressing the 'BOOKING' button is the small print or rather the polite smalltalk of the very glossy brochure which can be downloaded from the Virgin Galactic web site. There are apparently social implications in becoming a new style astronaut, not in the rounds of schools and colleges in motivational speaking but in the possibility of being personally invited to the residences of the founder of the Virgin Empire in a selection of world capitals, time zones and environments.
The button, although innocent and unobtrusive, may in fact be a cynical link to establishing credit worthiness, personal wealth, political sympathies and connections in the ruling and elitist echelons of world society. It may even indicate if you are an existing customer of the many tentacled organisation or if not you can expect a broadband sales person to contact you shortly.
Of course, there will be those thrust unwillingly into the project under an obligation to a loved one for what constitutes a very, very generous gift on the occasion of a birthday, anniversary or to mark something personally significant . A bit different to a day at the race track in fast cars or a session of pampering at a health spa.
The composition of the 6 guests per flight could and I would hope be extremely varied. Under the significant stresses both mentally and physically associated with escaping and re-entering the gravitational pull of the earth, Mach 4 travel sickness, and getting your head around being a distance of up to 361,000 feet above your home, however much these factors are not mentioned in the brochure, I would hope that lifelong friendships and relationships would be formed for the good of mankind. The true Pioneering spirit may still be found and not in the stubs of a well thumbed cheque book.
The latter is the fully paid up position with a pre-scheduled flight time and therefore a deadline to let as many family members, friends, neighbours, work colleagues and strangers in the street know that you are soon and actually to be elevated to a most exclusive club of those who have been into space. One successful or rather financially able candidate put the one upmanship into context in that out of 6 billion and counting inhabitants on the surface of earth ( as at 10.51am on July 1st 2012) he is looking forward to being one of six such well resourced civilian travellers on the Virgin Galactic Spaceship able to look down and experience whatever feeling there may be linked to that action be it pride, superiority, awe or, with all sincere hope, a bit of humility.
I went through that stage, when considerably younger, of wanting to be an astronaut, specifically a NASA Apollo version. The grainy, and on our TV, black and white images of the moon landings really caught my imagination. As a child at age 7 the nearest I could get to my dream, and at any time subsequently was tipping over the metal climbing frame in the back garden so that it resembled a rocket and particularly so if you squinted through a makeshift lunar helmet made of cardboard and Mother's tin foil.
The astronauts were the household names and heroes of the age and although only perhaps in their late 20's or early 30's they looked much older with their severe crew cuts and smart, sharp uniforms covered in flight badges.
There was a gradual change in the background and qualifications of those selected for the NASA programme from the first intake of all American military to those of a multi-national scientific discipline. I was likely to be neither even with hard work, application and good results.
I feel therefore a bit aggrieved and envious that it is now possible to buy into that exclusive and illustrious club. My indignation is heightened by the thought of accountants, lawyers, real estate magnates, IT Entrepreneurs and not necessarily the great and the good becoming astronauts and having another form of self promotion with which to bore others around the dinner table or at the country club.
Another reason for not pressing the 'BOOKING' button is the small print or rather the polite smalltalk of the very glossy brochure which can be downloaded from the Virgin Galactic web site. There are apparently social implications in becoming a new style astronaut, not in the rounds of schools and colleges in motivational speaking but in the possibility of being personally invited to the residences of the founder of the Virgin Empire in a selection of world capitals, time zones and environments.
The button, although innocent and unobtrusive, may in fact be a cynical link to establishing credit worthiness, personal wealth, political sympathies and connections in the ruling and elitist echelons of world society. It may even indicate if you are an existing customer of the many tentacled organisation or if not you can expect a broadband sales person to contact you shortly.
Of course, there will be those thrust unwillingly into the project under an obligation to a loved one for what constitutes a very, very generous gift on the occasion of a birthday, anniversary or to mark something personally significant . A bit different to a day at the race track in fast cars or a session of pampering at a health spa.
The composition of the 6 guests per flight could and I would hope be extremely varied. Under the significant stresses both mentally and physically associated with escaping and re-entering the gravitational pull of the earth, Mach 4 travel sickness, and getting your head around being a distance of up to 361,000 feet above your home, however much these factors are not mentioned in the brochure, I would hope that lifelong friendships and relationships would be formed for the good of mankind. The true Pioneering spirit may still be found and not in the stubs of a well thumbed cheque book.
Thursday, 12 November 2015
A Day out in 1898
It was a grand affair.
The Annual Show of the Leicestershire Agricultural Society over wednesday and thursday the 27th and 28th of July 1898 took place on the showground site in the quadrant of Victoria Park Road and London Road. The grassed open space is still there today which is quite remarkable given pressures on such areas from urban and suburban growth.
I acquired the official Programme and Catalogue of Entries for the event some years ago and having just retrieved it from safe storage have for the first time studied it in detail.
It is a thick bound booklet which must have taken some considerable time to collate and produce and all for the price of a shilling. As with similar events there will have been a reliance on sponsorship and advertising revenues and the front and rear covers and bound spine have wordage for Grand and Upright Pianos including the Victory Model at 30 Guineas cash or 18'9" per month hire purchase, Epp's Cocoa and not forgetting the equestrian followers of the Show, a full back page for Ellimans Royal Embrocation.
The high and mighty and the great and the good all seem to be on the official guest list with the Duke and Duchess of Rutland as the presidential party as well as other nobility and those in civil and local government service.
The agenda for the two days is extensive with 12 hours plus per day for the judging of livestock and produce and concluding with a Grand Display of Fireworks by the well known Brock and Co of Crystal Palace.
As well as the sound of the thronging crowds there was also the accompaniment of the band of the Leicestershire Regiment playing popular marches, dance selections and classics.
The star attractions were however the animals and the skills and crafts of rural folk whose way of life had already changed significantly up to 1898 but with more to come.
Horses were prominent with judging classes for Hunters, both geldings and mares, representing the breeding interests of the upper classes through to working animals such as Hacks, the huge Shires, cart horses and ponies. Prizes were awarded for driving of pairs, tandem teams, singles and in show jumping in the main exhibition arena.
Cattle followed in the order of the programme with shorthorns, dairy breeds, jerseys and bulls.
Amongst the sheep breeds were Lincolns, Shropshires, ewes, rams , theaves and lambs either long wool or short wool.
Pigs also featured from boars to breeding sows.
Large tented areas were dedicated to traditional produce and must have been difficult to keep cool in the height of the summer. Cheeses, butter making, bees and honey all had strong competition for much sought after rosettes and cash prizes.
One of the largest categories was for poultry and the list of breeds shows a great variety with many possibly rare or extinct today. Dorkings, game, minorcas, black spanish, langshans, orpingtons,wyandottes, hamburghs, bantams, indian game, cochins, brahmas, plymouth rocks, aylesbury and peking ducks, rouen ducks, turkeys, geese and pigeons. The latter group covered carriers, pigmy pouters, dragons, tumblers, tipplers, fantails,short billed frilled, antwerp, magpies and homers.
Rabbits were also well represented with lop eared, belgian hares, dutch and silver greys.
Being a nation of dog lovers there was Kennel Club supervision of the dog judging classes mainly of hardy, working breeds such as fox terriers, wire haired terriers and sheep dogs.
The most interesting listings were for servants and labourers. A prize of £2 which in current money would be around £250 was to be awarded to "The shepherd belonging to the same master or mistress who shall rear the greatest number of wooled lambs, have the least loss of ewes and serves a flock not less than fifty".
A similar bounty was on offer for "The single man or woman not possessed of property who has lived the longest time and is still living in a farm house with the same masters or on the same farm as a farming servant". The winner, a Priscilla Herbert had served 8 years, 8 months and 2 weeks.
Farm labourers were similarly adjudged with a William Jackson having been in service for over 50 years to the same master without intermission and without parish relief except in sickness. He was however trumped by Thomas Stafford at 63 years service in the farm servant category.
The public attending the Show will have been drawn by the prospect of a good couple of days out and there was plenty for the town dwellers to enjoy as well as those from the agricultural community.
Many retailers and manufacturers had display stands with jewellers, umbrellas and canes, bicycles, tailors, clock makers, footwear, furnishings and furniture removals, smoking requisites, glass and china, books and stationery, sheet music, farm ciders, perambulators and even a wheeled carriage for the upwardly mobile.
The landed classes will have been intent on showing off their spending power and there was an abundance of exhibitors covering every aspect of estate, farm and country house life seeking to sell their goods and services in a two day jamboree.
Implements were displayed for a full working dairy, ploughing and cultivation, powered machines and horse drawn, harvesting and vegetable processing, seeds and fertilisers, temporary and permanent sheds and structures, livestock medicines and treatments, sheep dip, feedstuffs, guns, rat poisons, bulk timber and horse rugs.
Perhaps a visitor from the Leicester of 1898 may well be bemused and confused by what passes for an Agricultural Show today but they are still well attended and form an important annual event for many.
The Annual Show of the Leicestershire Agricultural Society over wednesday and thursday the 27th and 28th of July 1898 took place on the showground site in the quadrant of Victoria Park Road and London Road. The grassed open space is still there today which is quite remarkable given pressures on such areas from urban and suburban growth.
I acquired the official Programme and Catalogue of Entries for the event some years ago and having just retrieved it from safe storage have for the first time studied it in detail.
It is a thick bound booklet which must have taken some considerable time to collate and produce and all for the price of a shilling. As with similar events there will have been a reliance on sponsorship and advertising revenues and the front and rear covers and bound spine have wordage for Grand and Upright Pianos including the Victory Model at 30 Guineas cash or 18'9" per month hire purchase, Epp's Cocoa and not forgetting the equestrian followers of the Show, a full back page for Ellimans Royal Embrocation.
The high and mighty and the great and the good all seem to be on the official guest list with the Duke and Duchess of Rutland as the presidential party as well as other nobility and those in civil and local government service.
The agenda for the two days is extensive with 12 hours plus per day for the judging of livestock and produce and concluding with a Grand Display of Fireworks by the well known Brock and Co of Crystal Palace.
As well as the sound of the thronging crowds there was also the accompaniment of the band of the Leicestershire Regiment playing popular marches, dance selections and classics.
The star attractions were however the animals and the skills and crafts of rural folk whose way of life had already changed significantly up to 1898 but with more to come.
Horses were prominent with judging classes for Hunters, both geldings and mares, representing the breeding interests of the upper classes through to working animals such as Hacks, the huge Shires, cart horses and ponies. Prizes were awarded for driving of pairs, tandem teams, singles and in show jumping in the main exhibition arena.
Cattle followed in the order of the programme with shorthorns, dairy breeds, jerseys and bulls.
Amongst the sheep breeds were Lincolns, Shropshires, ewes, rams , theaves and lambs either long wool or short wool.
Pigs also featured from boars to breeding sows.
Large tented areas were dedicated to traditional produce and must have been difficult to keep cool in the height of the summer. Cheeses, butter making, bees and honey all had strong competition for much sought after rosettes and cash prizes.
One of the largest categories was for poultry and the list of breeds shows a great variety with many possibly rare or extinct today. Dorkings, game, minorcas, black spanish, langshans, orpingtons,wyandottes, hamburghs, bantams, indian game, cochins, brahmas, plymouth rocks, aylesbury and peking ducks, rouen ducks, turkeys, geese and pigeons. The latter group covered carriers, pigmy pouters, dragons, tumblers, tipplers, fantails,short billed frilled, antwerp, magpies and homers.
Rabbits were also well represented with lop eared, belgian hares, dutch and silver greys.
Being a nation of dog lovers there was Kennel Club supervision of the dog judging classes mainly of hardy, working breeds such as fox terriers, wire haired terriers and sheep dogs.
The most interesting listings were for servants and labourers. A prize of £2 which in current money would be around £250 was to be awarded to "The shepherd belonging to the same master or mistress who shall rear the greatest number of wooled lambs, have the least loss of ewes and serves a flock not less than fifty".
A similar bounty was on offer for "The single man or woman not possessed of property who has lived the longest time and is still living in a farm house with the same masters or on the same farm as a farming servant". The winner, a Priscilla Herbert had served 8 years, 8 months and 2 weeks.
Farm labourers were similarly adjudged with a William Jackson having been in service for over 50 years to the same master without intermission and without parish relief except in sickness. He was however trumped by Thomas Stafford at 63 years service in the farm servant category.
The public attending the Show will have been drawn by the prospect of a good couple of days out and there was plenty for the town dwellers to enjoy as well as those from the agricultural community.
Many retailers and manufacturers had display stands with jewellers, umbrellas and canes, bicycles, tailors, clock makers, footwear, furnishings and furniture removals, smoking requisites, glass and china, books and stationery, sheet music, farm ciders, perambulators and even a wheeled carriage for the upwardly mobile.
The landed classes will have been intent on showing off their spending power and there was an abundance of exhibitors covering every aspect of estate, farm and country house life seeking to sell their goods and services in a two day jamboree.
Implements were displayed for a full working dairy, ploughing and cultivation, powered machines and horse drawn, harvesting and vegetable processing, seeds and fertilisers, temporary and permanent sheds and structures, livestock medicines and treatments, sheep dip, feedstuffs, guns, rat poisons, bulk timber and horse rugs.
Perhaps a visitor from the Leicester of 1898 may well be bemused and confused by what passes for an Agricultural Show today but they are still well attended and form an important annual event for many.
Wednesday, 11 November 2015
Roy Chapman Andrews; Indiana or not?
Over the last two days of writing I have speculated about two personalities who I feel have been the real life influence behind the fictional movie character of Indiana Jones. There are, I accept, many more candidates to my two front runners and some may champion them and be able to put forward a good and convincing case for their favourite.
In this blog I will document the life and times of the second of my two choices and leave it to you to make up your mind between them.
Roy Chapman Andrews was born in Wisconsin, USA in 1884 and even in his earliest years he expressed an interest in being an explorer.
He grew up in an interesting era of discovery of previously unknown and uncharted parts of the world, its flora, fauna, archaeology and hidden secrets. He took a job as a taxidermist and with his savings he arrived in New York City in 1906 determined to work at the Museum of Natural History. There were no formal appointments to be had but Andrews took on a cleaning job on the premises just to be there
His determination was beyond question and he progressed to the collecting team which gave him free rein to travel the globe in search of exhibits. After securing superb specimens of marine mammals for the Museum he wrote about them in academic journals and earned a Masters Degree from Columbia University.
In 1909 he travelled to the Dutch East Indies to observe and collect native species not just of marine life but also reptiles and insects. There was danger on the jungle trails and Andrews had to contend with giant pythons and venomous snakes but proved he could survive being a good handler of rifle and pistol.
In the 1920's he developed a new interest in fossils and he persuaded the Museum of Natural History to support an expedition to Outer Mongolia where Andrews was convinced that there were fantastic opportunities to excavate the remains of dinosaurs in what was one of the cradles of natural life and human development.
Mongolia was a vast and sparsely inhabited region dominated by the Gobi Desert, a parched and sunblistered area of shifting sands with overnight freezing temperatures. The idea of an expedition had its sceptics but members of the expedition were amassed covering a wide range of disciplines and specialities including cartographers and zoologists.
A fleet of American made Dodge vehicles were shipped out as the main transport along with a locally assembled caravan of 125 camels to carry food and supplies. It was to be a 5 year expedition in that part of Asia using Peking for wintering, rest and relaxation.
Political instability and civil unrest were rife in Mongolia from Chinese influence and also in the upheaval in the wake of the Russian Revolution.
Fossil finds were quick to follow and in 1922 the first big discovery was the full skeleton of a kind of giant rhinoceros from the ice age. In its living years the monster will have stood seventeen feet high and twenty four feet long. Andrews hunch was proving to be founded in fact. Shipped back to New York the remains were celebrated as one of the greatest events in the history of paleontology...or at least to date.
His most famous find came in the following year. What was at first thought to be just a natural rock formation upon investigation was found to be fossilised eggs and shell fragments. The rocks cradling the find were Cretaceous and yet this period had been thought to have little bird life and so the only explanation was that they were dinosaur eggs. Excavation revealed the body of a small toothless dinosaur later named oviraptor on top of the nest site and intial speculation was that it was attempting to steal the eggs attributed to a protoceratops. Fifty years of research later scientists realised that the oviraptor was in fact guarding the eggs as a parent or sibling.
Many fossils were just close to the surface in the absence of any previous human activity but others were embedded in cliffs and on the edges of steep slopes. There was also a concentration of poisonous vipers on the dig sites and these were a constant peril to the expedition members. In one confrontation some forty seven snakes were killed and the site was abandoned.
Samples of Mongolian finds were sent back to America from the great stock of fossils took some time to be examined in detail. One unidentified reptile skull after 2 years of examination was excitedly reported as a mammal which in the age of the dinosaurs was extremely rare and indeed thought to have become extinct but could now be seen to be distant ancestors of living species of the current era.
Over seven momentous days several more mammal skulls were found with Andrews calling that week the most valuable seven days in the whole history of Paleontology.
This work was continuing against a backdrop of unrest in Mongolia, so much so that it was necessary to mount a machine gun on one of the vehicles. Flying the Stars and Stripes did usually give safe passage through local incidents but in 1926 the expedition returning to Peking were heavily fired upon by Chinese troops and fortunately escaped any injuries.
The Chinese authorities became increasingly suspicious that national treasures were being stolen and the post revolutionary Russians accused him of spying. Planned returns had to be cancelled for two years before Andrews managed to get back to Inner Mongolia but only for the collected specimens to be impounded. It took six weeks of negotiations for them to be released.
In 1930 there was success with the discovery of a fossil graveyard of mastodons and other notable remains of the prehistoric era.
From scrubbing floors at the Museum of Natural History Andrews career path led him to became Director some 32 years later in recognition of his great contribution to his scientific speciality. Even today the Gobi fossils are still providing a wealth of information and data and current Museum teams are welcomed by the Mongolian government to further the great legacy of Roy Chapman Andrews.
Source document; Virtual Exploration Society 2001
In this blog I will document the life and times of the second of my two choices and leave it to you to make up your mind between them.
Roy Chapman Andrews was born in Wisconsin, USA in 1884 and even in his earliest years he expressed an interest in being an explorer.
He grew up in an interesting era of discovery of previously unknown and uncharted parts of the world, its flora, fauna, archaeology and hidden secrets. He took a job as a taxidermist and with his savings he arrived in New York City in 1906 determined to work at the Museum of Natural History. There were no formal appointments to be had but Andrews took on a cleaning job on the premises just to be there
His determination was beyond question and he progressed to the collecting team which gave him free rein to travel the globe in search of exhibits. After securing superb specimens of marine mammals for the Museum he wrote about them in academic journals and earned a Masters Degree from Columbia University.
In 1909 he travelled to the Dutch East Indies to observe and collect native species not just of marine life but also reptiles and insects. There was danger on the jungle trails and Andrews had to contend with giant pythons and venomous snakes but proved he could survive being a good handler of rifle and pistol.
In the 1920's he developed a new interest in fossils and he persuaded the Museum of Natural History to support an expedition to Outer Mongolia where Andrews was convinced that there were fantastic opportunities to excavate the remains of dinosaurs in what was one of the cradles of natural life and human development.
Mongolia was a vast and sparsely inhabited region dominated by the Gobi Desert, a parched and sunblistered area of shifting sands with overnight freezing temperatures. The idea of an expedition had its sceptics but members of the expedition were amassed covering a wide range of disciplines and specialities including cartographers and zoologists.
A fleet of American made Dodge vehicles were shipped out as the main transport along with a locally assembled caravan of 125 camels to carry food and supplies. It was to be a 5 year expedition in that part of Asia using Peking for wintering, rest and relaxation.
Political instability and civil unrest were rife in Mongolia from Chinese influence and also in the upheaval in the wake of the Russian Revolution.
Fossil finds were quick to follow and in 1922 the first big discovery was the full skeleton of a kind of giant rhinoceros from the ice age. In its living years the monster will have stood seventeen feet high and twenty four feet long. Andrews hunch was proving to be founded in fact. Shipped back to New York the remains were celebrated as one of the greatest events in the history of paleontology...or at least to date.
His most famous find came in the following year. What was at first thought to be just a natural rock formation upon investigation was found to be fossilised eggs and shell fragments. The rocks cradling the find were Cretaceous and yet this period had been thought to have little bird life and so the only explanation was that they were dinosaur eggs. Excavation revealed the body of a small toothless dinosaur later named oviraptor on top of the nest site and intial speculation was that it was attempting to steal the eggs attributed to a protoceratops. Fifty years of research later scientists realised that the oviraptor was in fact guarding the eggs as a parent or sibling.
Many fossils were just close to the surface in the absence of any previous human activity but others were embedded in cliffs and on the edges of steep slopes. There was also a concentration of poisonous vipers on the dig sites and these were a constant peril to the expedition members. In one confrontation some forty seven snakes were killed and the site was abandoned.
Samples of Mongolian finds were sent back to America from the great stock of fossils took some time to be examined in detail. One unidentified reptile skull after 2 years of examination was excitedly reported as a mammal which in the age of the dinosaurs was extremely rare and indeed thought to have become extinct but could now be seen to be distant ancestors of living species of the current era.
Over seven momentous days several more mammal skulls were found with Andrews calling that week the most valuable seven days in the whole history of Paleontology.
This work was continuing against a backdrop of unrest in Mongolia, so much so that it was necessary to mount a machine gun on one of the vehicles. Flying the Stars and Stripes did usually give safe passage through local incidents but in 1926 the expedition returning to Peking were heavily fired upon by Chinese troops and fortunately escaped any injuries.
The Chinese authorities became increasingly suspicious that national treasures were being stolen and the post revolutionary Russians accused him of spying. Planned returns had to be cancelled for two years before Andrews managed to get back to Inner Mongolia but only for the collected specimens to be impounded. It took six weeks of negotiations for them to be released.
In 1930 there was success with the discovery of a fossil graveyard of mastodons and other notable remains of the prehistoric era.
From scrubbing floors at the Museum of Natural History Andrews career path led him to became Director some 32 years later in recognition of his great contribution to his scientific speciality. Even today the Gobi fossils are still providing a wealth of information and data and current Museum teams are welcomed by the Mongolian government to further the great legacy of Roy Chapman Andrews.
Source document; Virtual Exploration Society 2001
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
Fawcett; The Case for Indiana Jones
In yesterday's writing I put forward the names of two personalities who have at some time been considered as the real life influence behind the fictional movie character of Indiana Jones.
There are, I accept, many more candidates and some may champion their particular favourite and be able to put forward a good and convincing case.
Over the next two blogs I will document the life and times of my two choices and leave it to you to make up your mind.
If you are a firm believer that Indiana is just a pure concoction of the fertile mind and consciousness of George Lucas solely, then just leave the room and go and make a cup of tea or have a lie down until we are finished.
Bring forward Percy Fawcett, or using his British Army Rank, Colonel Percy Fawcett.
He was born in 1867 in Devon, England and then, in 1925, whilst on an expedition in South America, vanished without a trace.
His fate remains an enduring mystery.
Fawcett's first experience of the continent where he would later disappear was in 1906 when the President of the Royal Geographical Society requested that he took on a neutral role to map the national borders in South America. Nations emerging from colonial influence towards self determination in the new century were becoming aware of the potential wealth of their natural resources from timber to rubber, minerals to precious metals,oil and livestock rearing.
The lack of well defined borders could be a catalyst to all out conflict between neighbouring countries and only a third party with no apparent vested interests could be trusted with the job of providing accurate and definitive mapping. Large tracts of land were blank on what passed for existing maps because there had been no compulsion for exploration and recording the landscape.
The landlocked Bolivia shared an expansive stretch of its eastern periphery with the vast Brazil in which there were equally extensive forests of rubber trees. Upscaling of motor car production in the United States and Europe created a massive demand for rubber and a previously low output and largely local market for the natural material suddenly became a major growth industry.
The risk of a war over the rubber plantations would impact on the commercial operations in the richer nations and could not be allowed to happen.
What were Fawcett's qualities that brought him to the attention of the Royal Geographical Society?
Aged 19 he served in the Royal Artillery including in what is now Sri Lanka before undertaking secret service work in North Africa. He became bored however with the military life although the discipline and skills in that period will have served him well in future roles, in particular his retraining as a cartographical surveyor.
Bolivia was a major test for Fawcett with adverse climate, terrain, environment, oxygen depletion at altitude ,risk of disease and elements of hostile inhabitants. In the central mountainous region of Bolivia life was hard and up to fifty percent of the population succumbed to a premature death from disease and also alcohol abuse from depression inducing surroundings and prospects. Lawlessness was another contributing factor to the hardships with many similarities with the American Wild West from some 50 or so years earlier.
Fawcett was appalled by the treatment of the native Indian tribes. Slavery was illegal but the owners of the rubber plantations, mainly of European descent, would regularly make raids and capture indians for their operations. There was an understandable undercurrent of mistrust and hatred for such outsiders, a category that Fawcett, unwittingly found himself.
He was determined to act with compassion and understanding although he was warned about becoming a victim to hostile actions. Army experience gave him the confidence to continue on his mapping commission in spite of the element of danger. A week up the Heath River saw Fawcett and his canoe expedition fired upon with arrows and conventional verbal overtures of peaceful intentions were ignored. Amidst the obvious peril one of Fawcett's group started to play his accordion and was accompanied by the singing of "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do" and "Onward Christian Soldiers" which brought about a cessation of the aggression. Gifts were exchanged on that occasion but there would be a bit of a stand off because of the deep rooted animosity held by the Indians for foreigners. One of Fawcett's group was found on a later expedition riddled with 42 arrows.
The wilderness was not only rich in resources but also wildlife, largely unrestrained by development or harmful human influence. Fawcett himself escaped death when a large, poisonous spider climbed into his sleeping bag in a jungle camp. Vampire bats called for protective nets over sleeping hammocks but did not give full protection from bites and bloodsucking.
One story of the bravery of the Colonel was when under attack by a rogue wild bull. Separated from the safety of his party and unarmed, Fawcett was reputed to have stared the animal into a hypnotic trance before escaping.
Snakes were also a constant hazard from venomous bites and constriction such as from an anaconda. One example of that species was killed after attacking the river party and was found to measure over sixty feet long and with a girth of one foot. A tobacco pouch carried by one of Fawcett's companions saved his life when it absorbed the cerration of snake fangs rather than break the skin and cause a long agonising death.
The terrain threw up high peaks, deep valleys and white water rapids. Caution was essential in making a river crossing not only from the strong currents but also the attention of flesh eating piranha fish. Even the act of washing hands in the shallows risked a danger of fingers being severed by razor sharp jaws.
Precipitous waterfalls could loom up around an as yet uncharted bend in a river and one such feature caught Fawcett's raft by surprise with much equipment being lost but all of the group surviving miraculously.
On another expedition up the Rio Verde river Fawcett was forced to abandon his boats and progress on foot. In stripping out excess weight it was necessary to leave and bury equipment and his war-chest of 60 gold sovereigns , then worth about £300 but in todays money inflated to over £32,000.
This trove was reported to have been found many years later and called the Verde Treasure and such was the rumour and speculation surrounding the discovery that the buried money was now reported at a modern day equivalent of £32 million pounds. Fawcett however must have been much amused as he himself had returned and retrieved the coins soon after burying them.
That trek on foot with reduced food and supplies nearly caused starvation and death and Fawcett had to find the quickest route out of the wilderness to find food. This involved traversing a hill range of strange flat topped forested plateau completely cut off from the jungle. When later described to the author Conan Doyle this phenomena was used in his novel The Lost World (published 1912).
It took twenty days without food before Fawcett drew again on his military training and with a freakishly impossible long range rifle shot he killed a deer which was greedily consumed giving strength to endure a further six days walk to civilisation.
After serving in the 1914-1918 war the Colonel did raise finance through newspaper and commercial sponsorship to return to South America with a renewed interest in the Archaeology of the continent.
He became convinced of the existence of a Lost City which he named "Z" in the Brazilian hinterlands and made careful plans for a small scale expedition including his son, Jack.
Even in the mid 1920's there was a menacing danger in what remained as uncharted territory and Fawcett gave instructions that if he failed to return then no rescue mission to endanger others should be arranged.
Perhaps that was an inkling of fate.
After sending news of starting into unknown territory the group disappeared, never to be seen again.
Rescue expeditions were mounted but with no trace found.
Intriguing reports of sightings flourished in the usual conspiracy theory climate when a celebrity goes missing including his living as chief of a tribe of cannibals. It was as though the jungle had closed in to suffocate or protect Fawcett.
In 1996 a search with modern technology set out to find out what had happened but hostile native indians detained and threatened the investigators and when released they were deprived of $30,000 of equipment.
Whether the Indians did this out of a legendary respect for Fawcett or as a highly opportunistic money making venture is another aspect of the mystery.
(Source document; Virtual Exploration Society 1998)
There are, I accept, many more candidates and some may champion their particular favourite and be able to put forward a good and convincing case.
Over the next two blogs I will document the life and times of my two choices and leave it to you to make up your mind.
If you are a firm believer that Indiana is just a pure concoction of the fertile mind and consciousness of George Lucas solely, then just leave the room and go and make a cup of tea or have a lie down until we are finished.
Bring forward Percy Fawcett, or using his British Army Rank, Colonel Percy Fawcett.
He was born in 1867 in Devon, England and then, in 1925, whilst on an expedition in South America, vanished without a trace.
His fate remains an enduring mystery.
Fawcett's first experience of the continent where he would later disappear was in 1906 when the President of the Royal Geographical Society requested that he took on a neutral role to map the national borders in South America. Nations emerging from colonial influence towards self determination in the new century were becoming aware of the potential wealth of their natural resources from timber to rubber, minerals to precious metals,oil and livestock rearing.
The lack of well defined borders could be a catalyst to all out conflict between neighbouring countries and only a third party with no apparent vested interests could be trusted with the job of providing accurate and definitive mapping. Large tracts of land were blank on what passed for existing maps because there had been no compulsion for exploration and recording the landscape.
The landlocked Bolivia shared an expansive stretch of its eastern periphery with the vast Brazil in which there were equally extensive forests of rubber trees. Upscaling of motor car production in the United States and Europe created a massive demand for rubber and a previously low output and largely local market for the natural material suddenly became a major growth industry.
The risk of a war over the rubber plantations would impact on the commercial operations in the richer nations and could not be allowed to happen.
What were Fawcett's qualities that brought him to the attention of the Royal Geographical Society?
Aged 19 he served in the Royal Artillery including in what is now Sri Lanka before undertaking secret service work in North Africa. He became bored however with the military life although the discipline and skills in that period will have served him well in future roles, in particular his retraining as a cartographical surveyor.
Bolivia was a major test for Fawcett with adverse climate, terrain, environment, oxygen depletion at altitude ,risk of disease and elements of hostile inhabitants. In the central mountainous region of Bolivia life was hard and up to fifty percent of the population succumbed to a premature death from disease and also alcohol abuse from depression inducing surroundings and prospects. Lawlessness was another contributing factor to the hardships with many similarities with the American Wild West from some 50 or so years earlier.
Fawcett was appalled by the treatment of the native Indian tribes. Slavery was illegal but the owners of the rubber plantations, mainly of European descent, would regularly make raids and capture indians for their operations. There was an understandable undercurrent of mistrust and hatred for such outsiders, a category that Fawcett, unwittingly found himself.
He was determined to act with compassion and understanding although he was warned about becoming a victim to hostile actions. Army experience gave him the confidence to continue on his mapping commission in spite of the element of danger. A week up the Heath River saw Fawcett and his canoe expedition fired upon with arrows and conventional verbal overtures of peaceful intentions were ignored. Amidst the obvious peril one of Fawcett's group started to play his accordion and was accompanied by the singing of "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do" and "Onward Christian Soldiers" which brought about a cessation of the aggression. Gifts were exchanged on that occasion but there would be a bit of a stand off because of the deep rooted animosity held by the Indians for foreigners. One of Fawcett's group was found on a later expedition riddled with 42 arrows.
The wilderness was not only rich in resources but also wildlife, largely unrestrained by development or harmful human influence. Fawcett himself escaped death when a large, poisonous spider climbed into his sleeping bag in a jungle camp. Vampire bats called for protective nets over sleeping hammocks but did not give full protection from bites and bloodsucking.
One story of the bravery of the Colonel was when under attack by a rogue wild bull. Separated from the safety of his party and unarmed, Fawcett was reputed to have stared the animal into a hypnotic trance before escaping.
Snakes were also a constant hazard from venomous bites and constriction such as from an anaconda. One example of that species was killed after attacking the river party and was found to measure over sixty feet long and with a girth of one foot. A tobacco pouch carried by one of Fawcett's companions saved his life when it absorbed the cerration of snake fangs rather than break the skin and cause a long agonising death.
The terrain threw up high peaks, deep valleys and white water rapids. Caution was essential in making a river crossing not only from the strong currents but also the attention of flesh eating piranha fish. Even the act of washing hands in the shallows risked a danger of fingers being severed by razor sharp jaws.
Precipitous waterfalls could loom up around an as yet uncharted bend in a river and one such feature caught Fawcett's raft by surprise with much equipment being lost but all of the group surviving miraculously.
On another expedition up the Rio Verde river Fawcett was forced to abandon his boats and progress on foot. In stripping out excess weight it was necessary to leave and bury equipment and his war-chest of 60 gold sovereigns , then worth about £300 but in todays money inflated to over £32,000.
This trove was reported to have been found many years later and called the Verde Treasure and such was the rumour and speculation surrounding the discovery that the buried money was now reported at a modern day equivalent of £32 million pounds. Fawcett however must have been much amused as he himself had returned and retrieved the coins soon after burying them.
That trek on foot with reduced food and supplies nearly caused starvation and death and Fawcett had to find the quickest route out of the wilderness to find food. This involved traversing a hill range of strange flat topped forested plateau completely cut off from the jungle. When later described to the author Conan Doyle this phenomena was used in his novel The Lost World (published 1912).
It took twenty days without food before Fawcett drew again on his military training and with a freakishly impossible long range rifle shot he killed a deer which was greedily consumed giving strength to endure a further six days walk to civilisation.
After serving in the 1914-1918 war the Colonel did raise finance through newspaper and commercial sponsorship to return to South America with a renewed interest in the Archaeology of the continent.
He became convinced of the existence of a Lost City which he named "Z" in the Brazilian hinterlands and made careful plans for a small scale expedition including his son, Jack.
Even in the mid 1920's there was a menacing danger in what remained as uncharted territory and Fawcett gave instructions that if he failed to return then no rescue mission to endanger others should be arranged.
Perhaps that was an inkling of fate.
After sending news of starting into unknown territory the group disappeared, never to be seen again.
Rescue expeditions were mounted but with no trace found.
Intriguing reports of sightings flourished in the usual conspiracy theory climate when a celebrity goes missing including his living as chief of a tribe of cannibals. It was as though the jungle had closed in to suffocate or protect Fawcett.
In 1996 a search with modern technology set out to find out what had happened but hostile native indians detained and threatened the investigators and when released they were deprived of $30,000 of equipment.
Whether the Indians did this out of a legendary respect for Fawcett or as a highly opportunistic money making venture is another aspect of the mystery.
(Source document; Virtual Exploration Society 1998)
Monday, 9 November 2015
Indiana Who?
One of my all time favourite fictional characters is that played by Harrison Ford ,namely Henry Walton Jones Junior in the Indiana Jones movies.
The character first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, to be followed by Temple of Doom in 1984, The Last Crusade in 1989 and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008.
Alongside the more widely known films , the character is also featured in a series depicting his youthful adventures and encounters with historic characters, novels, comics, video games, and other media.
Jones is an interesting character with a stark contrast between bookish and starchy University Professor in his day-job and a swashbuckling and fearless searcher and protector of great antiquities in his spare time (or on legitimate projects funded mostly by evil benefactors)
In the series of blockbuster films Indy has encountered a Nazi quest to exploit the Ark of The Covenant, a secretive and ruthless Indian Cult, yet another Nazi initiative to obtain the Holy Grail and a Russian Plot to harness alien super-powers.
It is good entertainment blending the ingredients of hard fact with a good dollop of fantasy and typical of its creator George Lucas who sought to emulate the comic book and action figures from his own childhood.
Reaching far into his formative years Lucas has said that Indiana Jones is modelled after the strong-jawed heroes of the saturday picture house matinees and fantasy comic publications that he and his long time collaborator Steven Spielberg enjoyed in their respective formative years .
Rider Haggards' safari guide/big game hunter Allan Quartermain of King Solomon's Mines , who dates back to 1885, is a potential role model for the Jones legend.
The two movie moguls first discussed the Indiana Jones project in Hawaii around the time of the release of the first Star Wars film. Spielberg is reported to have told Lucas how he wanted his next project to be something fun, like an 007 James Bond film (this would later be referenced when they cast veteran Sean Connery as Henry Jones, Sr.in The last Crusade).
According to sources, Lucas responded to the effect that he had something "even better,"or that he'd "got that beat.".
Another of the possible influences for Indiana Jones often mentioned is Professor Challenger created by Conan Doyle in 1912 for his novel, The Lost World. Challenger was based on Doyle's physiology professor, Sir William Rutherford, an adventuring academic, albeit a zoologist/anthropologist unlike Jones' own discipline.
Our hero was originally named Indiana Smith, after an Alaskan Malamute dog called Indiana that Lucas owned in the 1970s. Spielberg disliked the name Smith, and Lucas casually suggested Jones as an alternative. The Last Crusade script references the name's origin, with Jones's father revealing his son's birth name to be Henry and explaining that "we named the dog Indiana", much to his son's embarrassment.
However, as with most larger than life personalities there has been speculation that they may have been based on actual individuals. In the case of Jones, many names have been put forward from all walks of life where academia may have overlapped with some sort of adventurism or pioneering.
These have included an Italian Circus Strongman, German Archaeologist and even the British soldier and enigma TE Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia.
In the case of Indiana Jones I feel that there are only really two main candidates, Percy Fawcett and Roy Chapman Andrews..........(to be continued)
The character first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, to be followed by Temple of Doom in 1984, The Last Crusade in 1989 and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008.
Alongside the more widely known films , the character is also featured in a series depicting his youthful adventures and encounters with historic characters, novels, comics, video games, and other media.
Jones is an interesting character with a stark contrast between bookish and starchy University Professor in his day-job and a swashbuckling and fearless searcher and protector of great antiquities in his spare time (or on legitimate projects funded mostly by evil benefactors)
In the series of blockbuster films Indy has encountered a Nazi quest to exploit the Ark of The Covenant, a secretive and ruthless Indian Cult, yet another Nazi initiative to obtain the Holy Grail and a Russian Plot to harness alien super-powers.
It is good entertainment blending the ingredients of hard fact with a good dollop of fantasy and typical of its creator George Lucas who sought to emulate the comic book and action figures from his own childhood.
Reaching far into his formative years Lucas has said that Indiana Jones is modelled after the strong-jawed heroes of the saturday picture house matinees and fantasy comic publications that he and his long time collaborator Steven Spielberg enjoyed in their respective formative years .
Rider Haggards' safari guide/big game hunter Allan Quartermain of King Solomon's Mines , who dates back to 1885, is a potential role model for the Jones legend.
The two movie moguls first discussed the Indiana Jones project in Hawaii around the time of the release of the first Star Wars film. Spielberg is reported to have told Lucas how he wanted his next project to be something fun, like an 007 James Bond film (this would later be referenced when they cast veteran Sean Connery as Henry Jones, Sr.in The last Crusade).
According to sources, Lucas responded to the effect that he had something "even better,"or that he'd "got that beat.".
Another of the possible influences for Indiana Jones often mentioned is Professor Challenger created by Conan Doyle in 1912 for his novel, The Lost World. Challenger was based on Doyle's physiology professor, Sir William Rutherford, an adventuring academic, albeit a zoologist/anthropologist unlike Jones' own discipline.
Our hero was originally named Indiana Smith, after an Alaskan Malamute dog called Indiana that Lucas owned in the 1970s. Spielberg disliked the name Smith, and Lucas casually suggested Jones as an alternative. The Last Crusade script references the name's origin, with Jones's father revealing his son's birth name to be Henry and explaining that "we named the dog Indiana", much to his son's embarrassment.
However, as with most larger than life personalities there has been speculation that they may have been based on actual individuals. In the case of Jones, many names have been put forward from all walks of life where academia may have overlapped with some sort of adventurism or pioneering.
These have included an Italian Circus Strongman, German Archaeologist and even the British soldier and enigma TE Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia.
In the case of Indiana Jones I feel that there are only really two main candidates, Percy Fawcett and Roy Chapman Andrews..........(to be continued)
Sunday, 8 November 2015
Play Nice
We all have those moments of deep reflection about past events in our lives.
I have written before on how a sound, smell, touch or taste can transport us back to a specific moment, even if that memory has not been foremost in our mind for decades. I of course refer to happy and joyous reminiscences and not tragic or melancholy ones.
In my own life, whilst I may not be able to remember everything that I did yesterday, I can with clarity experience distinct sensations from early childhood. These invariably revolve around the fact that I was allowed to just play by my parents and amongst my four sisters and brothers.
The importance of play especially in the period of seven to eight months up to the age of five cannot be over-emphasised in the development of the brain and, as I discussed in yesterdays blog "PS I Love You", in establishing empathy with others.
I was perfectly happy in my pre-school years and could spend hour upon hour drawing a road network on a big sheet of brown paper on which to drive my toy cars or in the safety of my parents back garden making a landscape out of mud and twigs for warfare by mini 00 scale soldiers.
In group play as an under 10, I was part of a large neighbourhood gang, in the loosest non threatening form for a "gang", ranging about on bikes, on foot in formation like a Roman patrol or in crudely fashioned soap-box carts. Play was a good thing and as children there was no right or wrong way to play. Empathy was the strongest outcome of the play and that meant that we all got on, well generally as much as competing kids can.
My own home environment permitted play as it was a safe and loving place with doting parents and no real worries, or at least that we should be bothered with.
I grew up in momentous times with the threat of Nuclear conflict in the Cold War and although I knew about such things I was protected from the stress of worrying over it. My mother and father lived near an airbase in the 1960's with frequent take off and landing activity linked to some world crisis of other being a constant reminder of potential peril. Even in the 1980's I remember my mother having a letter published in a regional newspaper about the damage being done to young minds and aspirations because of the hype and panic arising from the distribution of "Protect and Survive" or in layman's terms the leaflet in which the UK Government suggested what its citizens must do in the event of a nuclear attack.
We could as easily have become depressed by this impending nuclear holocaust but myself and my siblings were allowed to play. The opposite of play is not, as you may think, work but depression.
I have been fascinated by reading about a psychological project carried out in the 1960's where the subjects studied were imprisoned killers.
The first one interviewed , Charles Whitman, attained notoriety by carrying out sniper shootings at a US University which at that time was the largest mass killing of its type in that nation. His had been a violent childhood with abusive father, access to weapons and a bi-polar condition. Neighbours and those in the community who had known his family told the research team that they had never, ever seen the young Whitman engaging in free play. His father had beaten him for attempting to go out to play and had forced him to play piano at the age of 4. His tutors throughout his schooling saw him as a quiet and withdrawn student who had to be encouraged to play and participate with his peers.
In further unprecedented access to 26 jailed killers the research found a similarity in circumstances that had existed in their formative years to prevent play.
This lack of interaction meant that the social skill of empathy had not developed and with devastating consequences for the victims and perpetrators. It is now the consensus in medical science and psychology that a lack of play in those crucial formative years affects the development of the brain.
In the state of play the frontal lobe of the human brain somehow becomes unhooked and is unfettered in making associations with other parts of the brain in a glorious symphonic existence. There are benefits in mood uplift, health and well-being and overall happiness.
Where animal brains have been studied in more detail the act of play has been seen to chemically light up the whole spectrum of functions in a riot of technicolour.
Play can also be an aid to survival in stressful situations.
A study of rats involved two control groups. One group was permitted to just behave in a typically inquisitive rat like manner whilst the other was suppressed and contained. When confronted with a cat odour soaked blanket the normal rats investigated and, sensing the danger, fled. They had obviously learned from their experience for another time. The restrained group just stayed where they were, none the wiser and died.
We should therefore, as adults, not overlook the importance of play and playfulness even though we may feel that our seniority, social standing and the respect from others depends on a certain expectation and standard of behaviour. We may feel that as humans we are too civilised to recognise our base instincts around play. Other mammals place a great emphasis on play as it allows the exploration of options, introduces novelty and newness, promotes thought and an ability to adapt and above all it is fun.
It is time to accept that we are designed to play over our lifetime so whatever your age, go and find that frisbee, retrieve that bouncy ball, toe-poke that football , fire up the Play Station and get on with it,
(inspired by the TED Lecture on Play and the work of Stuart Brown)
I have written before on how a sound, smell, touch or taste can transport us back to a specific moment, even if that memory has not been foremost in our mind for decades. I of course refer to happy and joyous reminiscences and not tragic or melancholy ones.
In my own life, whilst I may not be able to remember everything that I did yesterday, I can with clarity experience distinct sensations from early childhood. These invariably revolve around the fact that I was allowed to just play by my parents and amongst my four sisters and brothers.
The importance of play especially in the period of seven to eight months up to the age of five cannot be over-emphasised in the development of the brain and, as I discussed in yesterdays blog "PS I Love You", in establishing empathy with others.
I was perfectly happy in my pre-school years and could spend hour upon hour drawing a road network on a big sheet of brown paper on which to drive my toy cars or in the safety of my parents back garden making a landscape out of mud and twigs for warfare by mini 00 scale soldiers.
In group play as an under 10, I was part of a large neighbourhood gang, in the loosest non threatening form for a "gang", ranging about on bikes, on foot in formation like a Roman patrol or in crudely fashioned soap-box carts. Play was a good thing and as children there was no right or wrong way to play. Empathy was the strongest outcome of the play and that meant that we all got on, well generally as much as competing kids can.
My own home environment permitted play as it was a safe and loving place with doting parents and no real worries, or at least that we should be bothered with.
I grew up in momentous times with the threat of Nuclear conflict in the Cold War and although I knew about such things I was protected from the stress of worrying over it. My mother and father lived near an airbase in the 1960's with frequent take off and landing activity linked to some world crisis of other being a constant reminder of potential peril. Even in the 1980's I remember my mother having a letter published in a regional newspaper about the damage being done to young minds and aspirations because of the hype and panic arising from the distribution of "Protect and Survive" or in layman's terms the leaflet in which the UK Government suggested what its citizens must do in the event of a nuclear attack.
We could as easily have become depressed by this impending nuclear holocaust but myself and my siblings were allowed to play. The opposite of play is not, as you may think, work but depression.
I have been fascinated by reading about a psychological project carried out in the 1960's where the subjects studied were imprisoned killers.
The first one interviewed , Charles Whitman, attained notoriety by carrying out sniper shootings at a US University which at that time was the largest mass killing of its type in that nation. His had been a violent childhood with abusive father, access to weapons and a bi-polar condition. Neighbours and those in the community who had known his family told the research team that they had never, ever seen the young Whitman engaging in free play. His father had beaten him for attempting to go out to play and had forced him to play piano at the age of 4. His tutors throughout his schooling saw him as a quiet and withdrawn student who had to be encouraged to play and participate with his peers.
In further unprecedented access to 26 jailed killers the research found a similarity in circumstances that had existed in their formative years to prevent play.
This lack of interaction meant that the social skill of empathy had not developed and with devastating consequences for the victims and perpetrators. It is now the consensus in medical science and psychology that a lack of play in those crucial formative years affects the development of the brain.
In the state of play the frontal lobe of the human brain somehow becomes unhooked and is unfettered in making associations with other parts of the brain in a glorious symphonic existence. There are benefits in mood uplift, health and well-being and overall happiness.
Where animal brains have been studied in more detail the act of play has been seen to chemically light up the whole spectrum of functions in a riot of technicolour.
Play can also be an aid to survival in stressful situations.
A study of rats involved two control groups. One group was permitted to just behave in a typically inquisitive rat like manner whilst the other was suppressed and contained. When confronted with a cat odour soaked blanket the normal rats investigated and, sensing the danger, fled. They had obviously learned from their experience for another time. The restrained group just stayed where they were, none the wiser and died.
We should therefore, as adults, not overlook the importance of play and playfulness even though we may feel that our seniority, social standing and the respect from others depends on a certain expectation and standard of behaviour. We may feel that as humans we are too civilised to recognise our base instincts around play. Other mammals place a great emphasis on play as it allows the exploration of options, introduces novelty and newness, promotes thought and an ability to adapt and above all it is fun.
It is time to accept that we are designed to play over our lifetime so whatever your age, go and find that frisbee, retrieve that bouncy ball, toe-poke that football , fire up the Play Station and get on with it,
(inspired by the TED Lecture on Play and the work of Stuart Brown)
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