caldrail

Its the human need to anthropomorphise everything. We give boats, cars, trains, and planes names and personalities (usually female I notice) and entertainment abounds in imagery of animals with human expressions, motives, and emotions. We know how to speak human - most of us are pretty lousy at speaking animal. Chimps unfortunately are very endearing creatures when young but they do tend to get aggressive in their mature years. Coupled with an upper body strength that dwarfs our own typical human being, its something to be wary of. Personally I agree with you Neph - dressing animals in human clothes isn't as cute or funny as some people think, but then there's a lot of people who like to laugh at others especially when the object of their mirth isn't aware of it.

A couple of years ago, I watched a tv news report about some idiot in New York who kept wild animals in his apartment. Amongst the exotic beasts was a full grown tiger. Hard to believe, but there it was, on screen. A policeman was lowered on ropes down the outside of the block to administer a tranquilizer dart through the window. Understandably, police were reluctant to enter the apartment with a live carnivorous cat in a hungry mood. The big cat charged at the window and scared the policeman witless, but it was darted and everything was happy ever after. In this instance camera was too far away. You could see the head appear at the window. You could even see the open jaws, but so far away, it was lacking the excitement the hanging policeman must have felt. Thing is, we all know how dangerous these cats are but we never see how dangerous they are. Sure, a wild-life program shows them strutting their stuff and taking down a herbivore effortlessly. It looks so bloodless and quick. I do remember one shot of a big cat tackling a warthog and discovering that not all herbivores are easily killed. In that incident, the cat was thrown into the air and decided a retreat was advisable. Yesterday, on one of those awful 'amazing video' programs, I saw something about tigers I didn't expect. A tigeress and her cubs had escaped from a zoo, and local rangers were searching on the backs of elephants for the cat that had killed cattle in the area. Her cubs had already been caught, leaving the mother frustrated and angry. The Rangers saw it but the cat went to ground in long grass. The elephant was spooked. It was unhappy about proceeding. Then the tiger appeared out of nowhere, coming out of the grass at a run, looking up at the rider and darting to the side to avoid the elephant. It was quickly in position for a leap at the rider who sat front of the cameraman. Almost right in front of the camera, it lifted twelve feet into the air to attack him. It dug its claws into the man's abdomen and bit his left hand severely before running off. Clearly it meant to pull the rider off the elephant and kill him. The footage was stunning. This was a full on attack by an angry tigress and the sheer power of it was very impressive. Wonderful animals, an endangered species we really ought to protect, but one you treat with a great deal of respect. Fat Cat of the Week Amongst the fat cats getting the squeeze in the economic downturn is a boss in the Royal Bank of Scotland, whose

Wow... My first ever proposition online... My aviators goggles are coming out the box as I speak... Hey, Lindbergh managed it

My lovely plumage is unruffled, thanks

Yesterday I made my way into town and to do so, I need to cross a busy road junction. There's a pedestrian crossing there so it isn't an onerous task. I approach the traffic light and looking to my right (We brits very sensibly drive on the left) a car was slowing down to turn left into the College car park just before the crossing. The van behind had nowhere to go. So taking the opportunity I strode across the road, with the traffic lights changing from red to flashing amber (Thats 'You can proceed if the crossing is clear') I heard a loud yell behind me. I think the unintelligible bellow said something like "Get out of the way!" seeing as the van swerved behind me and shot off down the road almost mounting the pavement in its eagerness to get past. Without doubt, it was a dubious manoever. Even if he had a clear signal, it was a pedestrian crossing and he had no legal right to force me out of the way. It was a close call. I was nearly an ex-Caldrail. If the man behind the wheel keeps on behaving like that, he'll be an ex-driver before long. Investment of the Week Goes to North Korea, whose starving population must be filled with joy at the prospect of seeing their nation launch a missile with a 4,200 mile range. Thats going to make their lives better isn't it?

Kosmo, we all self doubt and blame ourselves when things don't work out. We regret decisions and actions, and so forth. You just have to find something that keeps you going. After all, with all this movement in the heavens, one has to keep up

You know it's a funny thing. Women always say that middle aged men are weighed down with emotional baggage and you know what? We are. The reason is partly biological. Us blokes go off the boil a little and get steadily lukewarm as we realise out fragile bodies aren't coping with the demands we desperately want them to. Instead, we have to claim we're getting steadily cooler but you just know you're not convincing anyone. It's getting harder to keep hold of the harem. The aggressive young males are circling. The females aren't impressed any more. The second reason is cultural. For a long time now British managers have increasingly concentrated on image, one of the least useful american imports to our country. Even as old as I am, employers have for many years tried to treat me as a malleable teenager and force me to become something that I'm clearly not and seriously haven't any understanding of. Conformity is declared to be good for business. Yet it never actually makes any difference. It's simply a means by which a boss enforces his control over his minions by expecting them to wear the right shirts, display the right badge on the bonnet, and say all the buzzwords that make your line manager go all gooey in your presence. It is, to all intents and purposes, a mild form of slavery, and we declared that illegal in 1833. It struck me last night how hopeless my situation seems. Now I'm over forty and thus too old to be useful in the workplace, finding a job has become an exercise in endurance, not to mention morale. Britain is wobbling at the knees and jobs are vanishing fast. Job Centers have told the government they can't cope with the ever increasing numbers of highly skilled ex-employees on their books. There's talk of a major motor manufacturer closing a factory in a few days time if no government assistance is forthcoming, and that could just as easily be Swindon as Sunderland or Cowley. It doesn't look good does it? I'm getting older, poorer, balder, bogged down, and ever more solitary as people realise I can't afford to socialise. My horizons have shrunk to the point where the edge of the world is now down the road. Heck, this world can be a cruel place. What happened to that determined young man defying all reason and going on the road with rock bands, driving fast cars, flying aeroplanes, wandering around the wilderness of foreign countries? I look around my home and wonder if I'll be sat on a park bench in five years time. No, I won't succumb to depression or cheap flights to Thailand. Watch out world , here comes Caldrail.... Again. Sigh. I'm slowly turning into Grampa Simpson. Well at least I've had a few years practise... False Alarm of the Week This poverty is a pain in the backside. So I've decided to get rich quick, and that means a march up the hill to the newsagent to by a lotto ticket. Six numbers is all it takes and I can finally afford my tax bill (at least until Gordon Brown realises I've won money). Later that night, staring slack-jawed at another mindless BBC gameshow they hide the Lotto draw within, I pick up my ticket to unbounded wealth. Come on come on... Oh someone stop that second rate gameshow host... For some reason the fact they were using 'Guinevere', one of the Lotto selection machines, wasn't hugely significant to me. I don't care about this rubbish. Just tell me the nummbers for crying out loud. God they like smiling. Aha! First number...Yes! Brill, but don't get cocky Caldrail... Second number... Yes! A cold sweat starts to form... Third number.... NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Sigh. Now I'm left with Mrs Smith standing confused in front of a TV camera searching her vacant brain for the multiple choice answer that will land her the star prize. I know how she feels. The gameshow host would confuse me. Must... reach... tv...remote... starting to enjoy... gameshow....

Now that I disagree with. He may have subdued the gauls, but it was the Roman administration as a whole that made it a loyal province afterward and that wasn't Caesars doing. Plus, the Gauls were something less than the fearless warrior of old and without leaders as capable as Vercongetorix, weren't willing to rebel. But then, eventually they did. The Gallic Empire for instance, and though I accept the Gauls had little choice in the matter, they didn't protest at the rebel leadership.

After my daily stint at the library it was time to pop down to the supermarket for a few items to keep my stomach from rumbling. The street was busy as usual - Ooh look, there's that woman sat at the cafe opposite, staring at me again. Either she's an investigator for the Department of Work and Pensions (Ridiculous but these fantasies make my day so interesting) or she's stalking me (I'm going to find boiled bunnies in my flat before long - I just know it). It might just be I got up this morning on autopilot and put my trousers on back to front. Nope. My trousers are the right way round. Nor has she followed me. She must have noticed the crowds of people wandering aimlessly around town and decided shhopping was a lost cause. Why does everyone else in the world amble around shopping malls? Why do they always change direction or stop in doorways? Do they know I'm behind them? I should have been born with headlights. Full beam lady, move over. Entering my local Supermarket I spot the newspaper rack with a headline - Is This Atlantis?. Huh? I instantly gravitate toward the rack and begin to read. The security guard is standing there watching me with folded arms. He's one of my fans too. Oh okay, I'll buy the paper. I wander down the aisle reading the story. At the bottom of the sea three and a half miles down and six hundred and twenty miles east of Africa, a rectangular grid the size of Wales is clearly visible on the computer graphics. Trouble is, the artcle appeared in the Sun newspaper. I do not believe I actually bought it. I am now officially a Sun Reader. Good grief, I've sunk to a new low. Poseidon must be planning to flood Rushey Platt as I speak. Funny thing is, the oceanographer who's getting very excited about this is saying it must be man made and resembles Milton Keynes in layout. Now we know what is really causing Global Warming. The motor car is innocent. Unusual Person of the Week Whilst in the queue at the check-out I spotted the Worlds First Inflatable Woman. I kid you not. She really did look like someone who's had a bicycle pump inserted and used to inflate her to bouncy castle proportions. I half expected her to drift helplessly out the door, but I guess thats why she was in the supermarket, selecting and purchasing ballast. Of course, it's wrong to poke fun at others. So in a sudden wave of public spirit, I check to make sure there's no sharp objects that might cause her to deflate.

And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take the mick. Then, shalt thou count your ratifiers to three. No more. No less. 'Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. 'Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. 'Five is right out. 'Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then, lobbest thou thy funny stuff towards thy audience, who, being naughty in My sight, shall giggle.'

Last night the tv news news waited to show Barack Obama live as he gave a speech about his stimulus package to revive the flagging economy. The audience, which seemed to composed mostly of photographers whose trigger fingers couldn't resist taking photo's of the empty podium, needed to be entertained whilst they waited for the presidents appearance. So a recording of a brass band played over the speakers. It happened to be the theme tune to Monty Python. I had this image of the US Department of Ridiculous Ambulation arriving in suits and shades, twisting their legs in impossible sequences as the assumed they position on the stage. "And now for something completely different..." Says another as the President takes the stage. The CIA guards go into a song and dance routine... We're on guard with the C.I.A. We sleep all night. We work all day. Security Heavies : He's on guard with the C.I.A. He sleeps all night and he works all day. I shoot my gun. I wear my shades. I go to the lavatory. On Wednesdays I go shoppin' To save my great country. Mounties: He shoots his gun. He wears his shades. He goes to the lavatory. On Wednesdays he goes shopping To save our great country. I look so cool. Can't help myself. I like to taunt the press. I put on women's clothing And hang out in a dress. Security Heavies : He looks so cool. Can't help himself. He likes to taunt the press. He puts on women's clothing And hangs out in a dress?! I stand on guard. I wear high heels, Suspendies, and a bra. I wish I'd been a girlie, Just like my dear Mama Security Heavies : He stands on guard. He wears high heels, Suspendies, and a bra?! "Right" Says Obama, "Thats enough of that! I wish to register a complaint." (The owner does not respond.) Mr. Obama: 'Ello, Miss? Owner: What do you mean "miss"? Mr Obama: I'm sorry, I have a cold. I wish to make a complaint! Owner: We're closin' for lunch. Mr. Obama: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this President what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very audience hall. Owner: Oh yes, the, uh, the Texas Blue...What's, uh...What's wrong with it? Mr. Obama: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it! Owner: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting. Mr Obama Look, matey, I know a dead President when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now. Owner: No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable guy, the Texas Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage! Mr Obama The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead. Owner: Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting! Mr Obama All right then, if he's restin', I'll wake him up! (shouting at the cage) 'Ello, Mister Bush! I've got a lovely fresh cow for you if you show... (owner hits the cage) Owner: There, he moved! Mr Obama No, he didn't, that was you hitting the cage! Owner: I never!! Mr Obama Yes, you did! Owner: I never, never did anything... Mr Obama (yelling and hitting the cage repeatedly) 'ELLO GEORGE!!!!! Testing! Testing! Testing! Testing! This is your nine o'clock alarm call! (Takes President out of the cage and thumps its head on the counter. Throws it up in the air and watches it plummet to the floor.) Mr. Obama: Now that's what I call a dead President. Owner: No, no.....No, 'e's stunned! Mr Obama STUNNED?!? Owner: Yeah! You stunned him, just as he was wakin' up! Texas Blues stun easily, major. Mr Obama Um...now look...now look, mate, I've definitely 'ad enough of this. That President is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it not 'alf an hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it bein' tired and shagged out following a prolonged cattle drive. Owner: Well, he's...he's, ah...probably pining for the desert. Mr Obama PININ' for the DESERT?!?!?!? What kind of talk is that?, look, why did he fall flat on his back the moment I got 'im home? Owner: The Texas Blue prefers keepin' on it's back! Remarkable guy, id'nit, squire? Lovely plumage! Mr Obama Look, I took the liberty of examining that President when I got it home, and I discovered the only reason that it had been sitting on its perch in the first place was that it had been NAILED there. (pause) Owner: Well, o'course it was nailed there! If I hadn't nailed that bird down, it would have nuzzled up to those bars, bent 'em apart with its beak, and VOOM! Feeweeweewee! Mr Obama "VOOM"?!? Mate, this bird wouldn't "voom" if you put four million volts through it! 'E's bleedin' demised! Owner: No no! 'E's pining! Mr Obama 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This President is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-President!! (pause) Owner: Well, I'd better replace it, then. (he takes a quick peek behind the counter) Sorry squire, I've had a look 'round the back of the shop, and uh, we're right out of Presidents. Mr Obama I see. I see, I get the picture. Owner: I got a slug. (pause) Mr Obama Pray, does it talk? Owner: Nnnnot really. Mr Obama WELL IT'S HARDLY A BLOODY REPLACEMENT, IS IT?!!???!!? Owner: N-no, I guess not. (gets ashamed, looks at his feet) Mr Obama Well. (pause) Owner: (quietly) D'you.... d'you want to come back to my place? Mr Obama (looks around) Yeah, all right, sure. Book of the Week Today, as I climbed the stairs toward the upper floors of the library, I spotted a book on the quick-read shelves. Yoganetics it was called. Is it just me, or can you too imagine rows of robots contorting their metallic bodies whilst a harsh monotone voice says "Hommmmmmmmm".

There was a news report last night highlighting the numbers of teenagers displaying erotic photographs of themselves on websites at their own volition. It ain't healthy. I wish you good luck on your search for a decent bloke. I have a suspicion though that, women being women, you might get a little bored when you find him. In my exerience women like violent or caddish blokes because a - They're more confident/interesting to be with, b - because there's a safety factor in being with dominant men, and c - they tend to be wealthier. I know this to be true. When I bought my first italianate sportscar all those years ago, I suddenly got interest from the ladies. Not because they liked the car (they didn't, it was a body part extender as far as they were concerned) but because it suggested I had money. Eventually they noticed my trainers were grubbier than most peoples and wandered off with someone else.

Over the weekend we had that inevitable media circus that is Valentines Day. I have to be honest, the search for lurve was quiet this year, and as far as I'm aware there wasn't much on tv apart from the usual late-night adverts for mobile phone fantasies. Yes, there were some groups of drunken girls squealing at every suprise as they do. A group of adolescents chanting and beating their chests in a display intended to impress us with their manliness. Heard it all before lads. Sorry. For some people, it isn't a fantasy. In the news lately is a 15 year old girl who has been made pregnant by her 13 year old partner. If that wasn't bad enough, two more 13 year old boys have stepped forward and claimed they are the father. One gets the impression the girl isn't entirely virtuous (she claims there's no-one else), or that the boys are trying to compete for status. For them I suspect its all a bit of a fun thing. It will be until the bills stack up and the kid keeps on crying. There's been comment before about how teen magazines encourage their readers to dip their toe in the adult world, that such behaviour is normal, admirable, and whats wrong with you if you can't? A part of me thinks these magazines should pay toward the upkeep of their lurve child. Mission of the Week In Norway people are rushing to store 100,000 species of crop seeds from potential extinction. Is it just me, or is it the fact these species (most of which were created by us anyway) are no longer commercially grown just a small pointer to Darwins Theory of Evolution? Survival of the fittest. If Kellogs doesn't make cornflakes from it, it's going to die out. So come on Norway, stop storing these seed packets like rabid collectors and start making lots of breakfast cereals.

The disgruntlement was far less accentuated than in the late Republic (never mind imperial sensibilities). Serving as a legionary was considered as a public duty back then - but also one that rewarded the ex-warrior with civic integrity. I accept there must have been those who weren't keen on going to war (there always is) but their numbers were minimal untila fter the Marian Reforms. When that occured, it was a matter of vocational choice, a volunteer system, not a matter of conscription. The similar principle has occured in modern times as army recruitment has changed from draft in times of national emergency, to National Service, and to the modern volunteer service, with increasing anti-war sentiment. As for the voting side of things, I can't say, but I can well imagine a Roman politican thinking in that manner.

There's an area of land that I know reasonably well. It's farmland behind Coate Water, a nature reserve and an area of natural beauty. Unfortunately it's become contentious because developers have noticed how close it is to the M4 motorway and so good for business. There''s a plan to let a university build there, and of course, no developer in his right mind would build a university five miles out of town in the countryside without a housing estate next door to sell to people who can't afford mortgages now they've lost their jobs. Hey, at least one of the worst hospitals in Britain is next door, so the locals can inbreed in safety. Best of all, a planning enquiry has hardly begun before we've discovered the sale of the land (worth a stunning

Ancient armies got quite big anyway as it became necessary to overwhelm the other side. The existence of roads does not, in itself, prvide enough supply for a large army, it merely facilitates the arrival of it. In any case, the majoirty of armies weren't supplied from central locations. Instead, they were foraging locally. Example 1 - Hannibal, on invading Italy, had no supply base there nor was he receiving supply by sea. He therefore foraged in enemy territory without any regard of the existing road systemn whatsoever. This was in fact a major reason behind his strategy of movement, and part of the reason he ultimately failed to force the Romans to surrender. Example 2 - The Goths, after their crossing of the Danube, rebelled, defeated a hastily roused Roman army under Lupicinus and Maximus, and ravaged the local area, threatening Constantinople (Famously making the excuse "We do not fight walls"). Toward the climax at Adrianople, the raiding policy of Sebastian (and the slaughter of Goths by an advance column of elite legionaries at the River Maritza) had forced the Goths to forage in strength. On the day of the battle in ad378, As much as a third of their forces were absent in this manner and their discreet arrival was a major suprise for the Roman attackers. No, they didn't. They had by tradition an annual militia of two legions each headed by one of the consuls. This was a fixed size of armed men available to Rome and was considered enough in the early days when fighting with their neighbours was a small scale affair. Once the campaigning went further abroad it became necessary to keep the legions in place for the campaign rather than until winter, and thus showed the advantages of a standing army. Marius enacted the change toward permanence which provided legions during peace-time, an innovation that previously hadn't existed. They defeated thiose enemies at considerable cost in casualties and relied on wearing Hannibals forces down by attrition. The Romans were pushing poorly trained levies into the field whilst Hannibal could not replace his own losses. The Romans had every reason to believe that the traditional two-legion annual militia was not meeting their needs. Yes, they could have, but they didn't. Remember social status was extremely important to the Romans and at that stage the recruitment of the poor was not regarded as worthwhile. They couldn't afford to arm themselves and had little reason (not being landowners) to fight for Rome. The innovation of Marius, based on his own experience of hurried levies of poorer people, was to enfranchise the poor citizens by creating standing legions that equipped their men at the expense of the state, although the men did pay for their gear still, this time by stoppages in pay. Those worksghops didn't exist back then. The system of fabricae was something the late empire concerned itself with and was a major burden to the state. But by then the poor citizens had been encouraged and enabled. The Romans didn't like mercenaries - Carthaginians relied on large scale mercenary employment but the problem there is that mercenaries are notoriously fickle, and therefore expensive. The Romans were usually cautious in warfare, they certainly preffered generals who were, and the unreliability of mercenaries wouldn't suit them. Auxillaries were kept loyal by bringing them into the Roman system and rewarding them with such things as citizenship on retirement. They were therefore second class troops rather than paid fighters. There were occaisions where losses from barbarians were substantial. The Varian disaster of AD9 destroyed three legions completely. Two thirds of Valens army at Adrianople were slaughtered. I'm sure there are other examples.

It is worth emphasising. I'm not confused however, I just consider the wall, the parallel road, and the vallae as part of the same system, a controlled frontier with politically unstable territory either side.

Gallic = Gaulish. They were also called Galatians occaisionally (Gauls who settled in Galatia, Asia Minor, though there were greeks there too). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galatia just out of interest.

Hadrian was taking advantage of a natural escarpment and insisted in certain features, such as a gate every mile even when it opens onto a cliff. The actual terrain wasn't considered by him, and if any Roman engineers mentioned I daresay they got put straight. In other words, they were expected to build the wall as ordered. Actually they didn't, because as we know the scale of the wall reduced during construcion. Some sections of the wall are smaller than the foundations. As a no-go zone... difficult to say. The Wall was a security barrier certainly and the road alongside used by the military for patrols, but then all Roman roads were built for military and adminstration purposes, not civilian use, yet they still travelled on the road without problem. Also, there were Romano-British settlements along the wall which must have communicated with one another? Also, the wall is not a military fortification, but a civil security barrier. The gates were there to allow the public passage through it, a sort of customs barrier in the ancient world so that the locals couldn't smuggle weapons or avoid taxation.

I dropped down to the library this morning... Whaddaya mean you thought I might?.... anyway, I turned up a little earlier than normal and although the foyer was open, the rest of the building was closed off with a folding door. The security guards religiously open this barrier three minutes after opening time, every day. This morning it seems even that task was too onerous. No guard was in sight. Eventually a pair of librarirans bravely decided to open for business. They went into the small room to find the keys (a sure sign they hadn't clue what to do) and emerged to insert the key into the door, which remained resolutely locked. "You've broken it" I said. (You can tell I was in that sort of mood can't you?) "Yes" Said the librarian struggling to free the door from its latch, "I have". Sigh. Its going to be one of those days. One Of Those Days Of The Week At last! They managed to get the door open. A veritable rush of frustrated internet browsers surged forward and up the stairs. When I dusted myself off and chose a PC, I discover they were all switched off. Erm... Excuse me?... Are you going to switch these PC's on? "Oh dear" Said the librarian, "I thought it was a bit quiet." No kidding.

Both. He saw the changes as introducing more efficient training and deployment, plus the opportunity for the poorest men of Rome to undertake military service, plus the availability of permanent standing legions in an enviroment of conflict inflation.

Up to a point thats correct. However, right from the start, wealth became a fundamental marker of Roman status, and people being social animals, the social status amongst the herd, once the means is established, becomes a major motivation. That doesn't mean the setup is necessary, rather its become the accepted norm. An important point to realise is that the decrease in incentive with increased wealth really only manifested itself after the Marian Reforms. These changes allowed the poorest men of Roman society opportunities for a military career - something that wasn't so easy in earlier times, if for nothing else than their inability to purchase equipment, as you say, but also that ever present status associated with it. A poor man attempting to serve alongside others in the eraly Republic wasn't going to be well accepted. And incidentially, since human beings are by nature somewhat less than noble, there would always be those who obtained their equipment without the need for purchase. The early legions were no more than a militia. They were gathered from citizens in order to protect the land they owned. Roman society, although essentially urban in later centuries, had rural origins. Certainly they relied on men of independent means, but actually this wasn't about whether they could afford gear, although it must be conceded that they graded themselves according to the equipment they carried into battle, but about their property and the income derived from it. The land they owned was considered to give a motivation for service, to defend their farms against enemy aggression. I don't the Roman sense of loss of virtue at all ironic. I think they were very aware of the falling standards and decay of public morality in the late Republic (I know some disagree with me). The upshot of my reply is societal changes may arise from necessity, they also do so from opportunity, and human instinct always leads people to exploit situations for their own comfort.

The reforms of Marius are usually looked upon as a big step forward in military terms. In some respects they were. It turned Rome's annual/campaign militia into a permanent standing army. Thing is though, this change reflects the needs of the time. Warfare was becoming more protracted and the older levy system wasn't suitable any more. The adoption of the pilum for instance was an attempt to blend the utility of the first two ranks of the older militia system. Instead of two rankls, one with javelin, the next with sword, he decided that one rank equipped with both was more adaptable. One important fact to realise is that Marius based his reforms on his own experience. Having been called upon to raise a legion and not being able to levy experienced triarii, he instead decided to opt out of the traditional three tier system and instead recruited and trained swordsmen which he needed promptly. This wasn't unusual to Marius. Other generals had previously found similar difficulties in maintaining the traditional structure of a legion for no other reason than the constant recruitment that was occuring. So, in other words, in his reforms he formalised trends and changes already existing in the Roman legions by that time. There's no doubt that the reforms of Marius were an important step forward. Unwieldy traditional procedures were swept away in one go. A new professional army (in terms of vocation, not ability) extended the recruitment pool even further than Rome already had available, as now the poor had access to service whereas military service had once been a privilege of Roman citizenship and wealth. The standardisation of the Roman legion is also notable but again this was based on what already existed, a system known to the Romans and well tried over centuries. Therefore, the reforms of Marius were not a complete change as is sometimes suggested, but an evolution, a 'maturing', of the former system.

I came back from the library yesterday morning having trawled throught the various job sites and discovering how evrywhere else in Britain has vacancies. Walking up the hill, I couldn't help notice an electricity company van parked beside our local transformer. Wait. Don't tell me. There's been another power cut... It seems I was correct. Everything in the house, including the heating, the cooker, the fridge, the lights - all the usual electrical stuff that makes survival comfortable - was off. At least the electricity company was here already, so I'll show some patience and wait for it all to come back on. And the Electric Company said "Let there be electricity", and there was. Great stuff. Now lets switch the PC on, catch up with the days news, and Phuttt. Oh brilliant. The power's off again. Looks like one of those days. I rang the electric company and with a little reminder of the previous power cuts she dutifully promised to get the supply back on by two o'clock. Only an hour to wait. With twenty minutes to go before their self-imposed deadline, the van was back and shortly afterward... Bing! Everything switched back on. Sigh in relief. Hug my computer like a long lost friend and get back to my usual pottering around. Now then, I need to make some notes about.. Phuttt! Once again my PC deflates like a limp balloon, fading to black. Patience, Caldrail, patience... It only took the man five minutes to restore power this time. Bing! Ohhh-kay. Now lets try to get these notes in order. So if... Phuttt! Oh come on! You cannot be serious. This time the man from the electric company knocked on my door and told me that the underground power line was faulty and that they needed to switch the power off until they located where the fault was. We had a conversation about electrical faults and clearly he wasn't convinced the workmen could do much with the ice still present up the hill, but the power should be back on in a day or two. A day or two? Heck. Better be prepared then. A drop or two of anti-freeze in the toilet, defrost the fridge before it floods the kitchen (which it does anyway as I struggle to catch the ice shards in the gloom), and prepare for a very cold morning start. In the late evening the power returned, with a cluster of vans up the road, lights flashing, working into the night in horrible sleet and wind. It's been something of a stark reminder of how dependent we are on electricity. A darkened house with no light, heat, or means to cook food, in the grip of some of the worst winter weather we've seen in twenty years. And to be honest, I had it easy compared to some peoples struggle elsewhere in Britain. Doomladen Prediction of the Week Firstly, now that sunny weather has returned to our wet and slushy land, we have the prospect of flooding to look forward to as heavy snow thaws out. Better than that though, one Minister of Parliament is now saying the recession will be the worst for a hundred years. Don't you just love politicians? On the one hand, Ed Balls has made this doomladen prediction, whilst baroness Vadera claims she can see 'green shots of recovery'. Sorry dear. Mr Balls has just pruned them. I start to wonder if the government are actually working together, and whether they have any clue at all what's going on or what to do about it. Not that I would dare criticise our hard working prime minister. Must be so hard coming up with all those slogans. Ooops. Looks like I'll have to make a public apology or be banned by the BBC.

Right then. The pavement is covered with undulating ice an inch thick. It's slippery, dangerous, and I'm fed up of risking my neck on it. So I retrieved my trusty spade from its burial place and got to work. I dug up a narrow path something like fifity to seventy yards long. Some pedestrians merely strode past me without a word, but three actually said thank you. I suspect an asian woman would have been number four but talking to strange caucasian shovel-wielders in the street isn't part of their culture, even if she knew any english. I'd dug up the worst of the ice on the hillside pavement and that was enough, so I went back indoors and waited for the inevitable backstrain to make itself felt. Now get this. In the meantime, one of my neighbours, incensed that I 'd had the temerity to even consider clearing ice along 'their' pavement, threw a load of snow from their front yard on the cleared path and stamped it down to create fresh ice. My faith is Swindon is restored. It really is populated by anti-social neanderthals. A Dog's Life Once again a young child is mauled by family pets. In this case, tragically, the child died. It's all very horrific but when you boil it all down, you have a pampered pet suddenly having to come second place to a screaming annoying infant. Eventually the dogs lose their temper, and since they have teeth and children are not too capable of fighting dogs.... The result is a media headline and a family tragedy. Fido is still at heart what he was born to be and the squabble over pack status is done. I think we forget that at our peril. If you allow a dog status and privilege , it doesn't like losing them. Unfortunately, most of us aren't too good at communicating with dogs even though they often warn us aboiut how they feel. Worse still, we forget that their fluffy pet image is only skin deep.