caldrail

Ah but you see he wsn't a cook at all, but really the King of Weesex in hiding having been caught by suprise by his danish foes. Following this incident, he resolved not to let himself become preoccupied with failure. So, after being well and truly put in his place by the woman whose home he was staying in, he went on to restore Wessex to greatness, become King of England, and set England on its path to greatness which so upset the americans they felt it necessary to create their own 'kingdom'. Of course, since america was more dependent on Hershey bars than cakes for desert, it was impossible to upset the lady of the house and thus no american president has been whacked over the head by old women. Not that the security detail would ever allow the women close to the president until that broom had been checked for bugs.

Think about it. You're fighting an opponent in a professional bout, one on one, to strict rules whilst the referee looks on. You're not playing about - it might be entertainment but this is a real sword fight. Your opponent thrusts - you parry - he thrusts again - you have to use your shield to deflect it - and then while you're effectively blinded by your own shield and concentrating on the whereabouts of his sword....... Thats just an example, and I know it sort of suggests swordfighting is a bit like a game of tennis, but understand that combat is all about being quicker, stronger, sneakier than the other guy. Try it. Pick a fight with an experienced fighter. For him its easy because he doesn't need to think about it. He's practised his skill and acts instinctively, so if a gap presents itself he will exploit it. The same principle applies to the scissores.

Good grief Doc, if you want o post photos of cars at least post an interesting one... feeling sleepy... mondeo.... dull.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Exactly. Thats what the games organisers wanted - lots of minor wounds to heighten the drama of the fight. I do actually think this was counter-productive, because there added visual variety of these new weapons was useful for theatrical purposes, collecting wounds is going to slow the fight down. The scissores has a practical use, in that it forms a sort of 'arm-shield' for defence, and one that can catch an opponent unaware by virtue of the blade at the end. other than that I agree with your opinion.

Agreed. But his work is therefore a collection of stuff he'd heard of and approved. It isn't necessarily accurate and represents an idealistic view of the roman classic legions. Further, Vegetius never had any military experience himself if I remember right.

I like cars. Especially the fast ones. No, thats not right... I like fast cars. Especially the very fast ones. Yep, thats right. But not all of them. For various reasons, either the aesthetics, personal experience, or the revealing reviews of driving journalists, there are bound to be those I don't regard as worthy. Take the Lamborghini Gallardo for instance. Now italian supercars fire my blood yet last year one trundled past me in town. A white convertible owned by a local man and it looked simply awful. Certainly you noticed it - you couldn't fail to do that - but it looked cheap and boxy, there was none of the lamborghini WWOWWWWWWWW!!!! factor. I decided I didn't like it. As for driving one, erm, that might not happen tomorrow anyway.... A couple of days ago I wandered through a car park on my way to the local supermarket. And there it was. A slate grey (or perhaps unwashed black) Lamborghini Gallardo convertible and it looked sensational. WWOWWWWWWWW!!! Ok, for a moment I was twelve years old again. But isn't that what these cars are supposed to be about? And isn't it strange what a difference the colour made. White is currently a fashionable colour for sports cars (my rusting Eunos is, by strange coincidence), yet it just wasn't the colour for that Lambo. In dark paint, it looked menacing and evil and covered in saliva... oops, sorry about that, hope no-one noticed.... Such italianate pornography is what fires my blood. For me, driving a Ford Mondeo has got to be such a mind numbing experience. Even the name bores me, I mean, its the Ford Monday. Car names are daft aren't they? Vauxhall use names ending in 'ra'. Vectra.. Tigra... Makes them sound eciting doesn't it? At least Ford are more honest about their model names. Well, since ordinary cars are just too ordinary to bare, I shall wait until Ford produce the Frideo and hopefully that'll be worth driving. Rear wheel drive please Mr Ford. Don't like those silly hatchback things. This Weeks Red tape Another letter in the post... More proofs required... Oh good grief I've submitted this stuff twice already. Off to the bank, persuade them to copy the information - again - and represent it at the benefits office. "Ahhh... Mr Caldrail... We do need the previous months as well.." WHAT?!! Back to the bank then... I wonder if you can get free footwear from the government if you're unemployed. Or headache pills...

It gets worse doesn't it? Now the burmese government is turning the whole thing into a propaganda exercise and photo opportunities, whilst appropriating the aid that has got through. Its worse than Africa.

No, its not being bypassed, I'm pointing it out to you. Incidentially, could you please inform us where you're getting these lists of command titles and procedures? There are people out there using this site for study and wouldn't like to see them marked down because they read duff information.

Possibly so, but so what? You're assuming every commander has read it? You're assuming every commander is therefore inspired to conduct warfare in the same way as Rome? I can assure you they don't. Nor for that matter, is Vegetius's work an exact description of what went on. He was writing about legions that had come and gone long before his time, and was describing the ideal example of how legionary warfare was conducted. The reality, as always, fell short of that. Furthermore, whilst it apparently provided inspiration for some commanders, thats still no guarantee they ordered their troops the same way, since they were far more likely to follow the fashions and tactics of the time. The people inspired by this work didn't simply adopt everything they read, they studied and used what they thought was appropriate to their day. If you care to look, you will find warfare has changed considerably since Vegetius's time, and troops are not ordered and used the same way anymore. They liked it did they? Thats nice. Well, perhaps that might also be because there simply wasn't any other document of this sort available to them. Today there is, and even at bargain prices you can pick up titles in the bookstore equally as erudite as Vegetius's efforts. Because his work survived. Plenty of other peoples didn't, and the fact his work was a best seller for a long time doesn't mean it was accurate nor erudite.

Ahh.. well... if the american revolution is so significant, then... 1 - The burning of the cakes by Alfred the Great - a significant moment in his career which subsequently led to the domination of Wessex, then to the kingdom of England, which developed into an empire controlling 25% of the world, which also led to the creation of one of the great current empires in america. 2 - The invention of the sailing ship, which made the american empire possible. 3 - The discovery that smoking tobacco turned you into a macho gun slinging hero, and thus underpinned the american empire. 4 - Coca-cola, without which the american empire would have died of thirst 5 - Great Britain, without whom America would have nothing to fight for. Oh boy... Am I going to regret this post...

Well, the demand for performance means that eventually hybrids will include sports models, and in theory the performance potential from an electric motor will ouitclass that of an internal combustion engine - its just that so far once you've done the quarter mile in six seconds you run out of juice... Will people ever learn? No. The burmese government didn't listen because it lives with its head in the sand and is too concerned with enforcing its rule. In any case, living smart is only smart in someones opinion. I could buy a hybrid and feel very smug, yet still die when a tree falls on it in strong winds.

There's some variation in interpretation, and the scissores was one of a number of gladiatorial classes (I don't know any of the others) introduced toward the late empire when arena combat was in decline. It was therefore an effort to breathe life into a dying genre (pun intended). Notice that these late gladiatorial classes were intended for show. The purpose was no longer for two men to entor into a professional bout and fight until one man surrendered, collapsed, or died. It was now entirely spectacle, and the general idea was for two men to slug it out causing each small wounds rather than a quick clean thrust to end it. Personally, I suspect the increased visible bloodiness of later times did little to preserve the industry, since by that time fewer people were interested - the old excitement of gladiatorial combat was gone - and in any case the influence of christianity was making itself felt which introduced the idea that shedding blood was wrong.

my time line in reference to my reply to PP was early republic. before Rome possess any province PP - The habits of discipline and drill were already present. The 'militia' form of army worked because it was the accepted roman way, that they all needed to be ready to defend Rome. From childhood men would have been raised with this idea, and no doubt older men were only too keen to instill this attitude and some practice with weapons to prepare them for manhood. RW - The hoplite formations are not the same as the hastatii/principes/triarii formation of the consular legions. Consular legions did not form as phalanxes and instead formed as traditional three manipular line which you described. You seem to be confused between the two.

Uninformed? RW, the quote above is from someone who knew a great deal more than you. Sneering will get you nowhere. Yes, Caesar commanded a number of legions. Yes, so did Antony. Yes, so did Augustus. So whats your objection? Shall I tell you? You see the romans as a formal army in the modern fashion. You are unable to divorce yourself from what you know and understand, which is modern practice. The roman way of doing things was different. Caesar, Antony, and Augustus may have commanded large armies, but those armies were nothing more than a gathering of independent legions. There were absolutely no umbrella formations - no defined armies, no corps, divisions, or brigades, nothing of that sort in any way whatsoever. The modern regimental system uses umbrella formations to control a number of regiments which are specialist, a factor more important in modern mechanised warfare than ever before. In Caesars time a legion was a one-size-fits-all military formation for the purpose of conducting a campaign. They were all pretty much identical, could operate independently, and the troops were loyal to their commander rather than the nation state. Further, the quote refers largely to a period of history before the Caesars time, including the hoplite army which as you've so carefully detailed yourself, was composed of troops raised in the greek hoplite fashion. Those hoplites weren't professional soldiers at all. There was no formal training or requirement to serve in peacetime. They were simply ordinary citizens called up to fight when necessary, using arms and armour they could affford or obtain. So why can't you provide references or documentary evidence for your assertions?

The problem these days is that our awareness of the enviroment has almost religious overtones, that if you speak against the enviromental gospel you get burned at the stake, whether the gospel is correct or not. Our own government has jumped on the enviromental bandwagon eagerly in its quest to redistribute everybodies wealth into public servants mortgages. The simple fact is the earth is a dynamic system far more powerful than we are, and as much as caring for the enviroment is laudable, its highly unlikely that driving hybrid bubble cars is going to suddenly prevent any changes in climate. Its already happening - and like any other species on earth, we either adapt or perish when the changes hit us. Incidentially, last nights news carried a report that as many as 100,000 people have been killed in that cyclone. Its getting difficult to visualise what it must have been like.

A startling reminder that roman cleanliness wasn't enough to defeat the usual unhealthiness of urban life in former times.

The quote from Josephus describes roman soldiers of the Jewish War in the 1st century AD, it does not apply to men raised as a citizens army (almost a militia) two or three hundred years before. Thje reforms of Marius were very far reaching - for the first time Rome had a professional army and a structured training program. The training involved with the consular legions was nothing like that. Men were expected to be warriors anyway (they were Romans for crying out loud ) and the level of military skill was not the same as post-marian legions. There is no guarantee any training took place at all in consular legions, that was the decision of the commander and if he was satisfied his men were up to it or he couldn't be bothered with such activity, or because the situation was pressing and no time was available, then training wasn't included. Its important to realise that the consular legions were not armies raised professionally, with ordinary citizens turned into trained soldiers as would happen later. Instead, they were citizens called upon to fight for Rome. Further, the belligerent nature of the roman culture of this time shouldn't be ignored. Whilst the consular legion was effectively an amateur army, the people in it were used to the culture of fighting and were acquainted with weaponry anyway, and the older experienced men may well have taught by example as mch as lecture to their neophyte youngsters amongst them, so the new citizen warrior was learning y example as much as anything.

The huge storm in Burma has left as many as ten thousand people dead. Its hard to understand the scale of disasters like this. Even the secretive burmese government has felt it has no choice but to ask for foreign assistance. No doubt many people are pointing fingers and blaming Global Warming etc etc. Its as well to point that terrible storms have happened before, its just that the modern media make us so much more aware of what happens around the world now and that given we only live for a short time, so much of what has happened in the past is something we're not often aware of. We've certainly been made aware of this one. I'm thinking in terms of something like the change in british climate in 1314-15. Previous to that was the Medieval Warm Period, a time when agriculture could have done better if the agricultural system hadn't been held back by tax and the manorial system. But in 1314 it all changed. The summers were exceptionally wet and the winters hard. Starvation became commonplace. Doesn't this all sound familiar? Our recent summers have been wet also, the flooding exacerbated by settlements in flood plains and little opportunity for rainwater to soak away where great swathes of concrete and asphalt cover the ground. Since the black death spread from India thirty years later and reduced the population of europe by 3/4, lets hope the similarities aren't too close Important Reminder Its Compost Awareness Week next week. Make sure you know where your compost is, and use your compost responsibly. As long as compost levels are properly controlled, we can offset our Compost Footprint and escape the worst of Global Composting. Log-On of the Week BJ, our new all-singing and dancing Lord mayor of London, has succesfully logged on to his PC in his new office. Way to go B. Keep up the good work.

No, but it might get miffed and roll away...

There must have been as wide a range of approaches as we get today. Sure, there was a trwend toward the 'body beautiful' especially by imperial times, but I imagine some people paid lip service to the idea of looking after their bodies and you got those who abused it terribly. I'm thinking in terms of the excessive behaviour of roman socialising in some circles, and I also suspect that for many poorer romans, the caring of the body was not a priority compared to ensuring food, drink, and a roof over their heads.

That pretty much says the same as me.

Or better still, are these 'legiones Urbana' the four legions raised as an emergency measure (and therefore unique) during 217/216 BC? The phrase Legiones Urbana appears to be a designation of imperial formations. The Roman armies for a long period consisted entirely of what we might term militia. Every citizen was, to a certain extent, trained to arms during a fixed period of his life; he was, at all times, liable to be called upon to serve; but the legion in which he was enrolled was disbanded as soon as the special service for which it had been levied, was performed; and although these calls were frequent in the early ages of the kingdom and the commonwealth, when the enemies of the republic were almost at the gates, yet a few months, or more frequently, a few weeks or even days, sufficed to decide the fortunes of the campaign. The Roman annalists assure us that a Roman army had never wintered in the field, until more than three centuries after the foundation of the city, when the blockade of Veii required the constant presence of the besiegers... ...Hence, for upwards of seven centuries, there was no such thing as the military profession, and no man considered himself as a soldier in contradistinction to other callings. Every individual knew that he was bound as a member of the body politic to perform certain duties; but these duties were performed without distinction by all - at least by all whose stake in the prosperity of their country was considered sufficient to insure their zeal in defending it; and each man, when his share of this obligation was discharged, returned to take his place in society, and to pursue his ordinary avocations. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D

Have you seen that Tom Hanks movie about being marooned? Its a lonely vigil, here in my safe warm cave on Washout Island. Every day I do little else than send messages in bottles hoping an employer will come across it and send a boat to bring me back to civilisation. One bottle came back on the morning tide with a note inside saying - You haven't done the first bit. Oh? Whats that? Light signal fires? Jump up and down at passing aeroplanes yelling very loudly? Becoming intimately familiar with a football? I've seen some rejections in my time but good grief if these guys don't want me to work for them, why didn't they just send a letter saying Sorry, no chance Mate like everybody else? Confession of the Week Yes its true. I did. I attended a school reunion for the class of '78. After thirty years its incredible how life has aged and changed some people, yet how a handful seem immune to the ravages of time. One guy I recognised instantly walked in out of a time warp. It was peculiar how the relationships with some of my former schoolmates has survived - we got talking as if thirty years hadn't happened. Sadly, for some it had, and inevitanbly there were those with personal tragedies. It does make you realise that maybe life hasn't been so bad, so I guess its back to sending messages in a bottle with renewed vigour and long meaningful conversations with a football.

Where you live matters. So does your occupation. Thankfully as a warehouseman I'm considered amongst the safest drivers Its all down to the law of averages. If you're the slowest, safest, least accident prone driver ever born, if you drive a car regarded as risky you get hammered. Cars like the Ford Cosworth were regularly attracting quotes of

Its an interesting idea, but there's no reason to suppose the armies of the early and mid republic trained as a matter of course. There's no doubt that some training did occur. marius did not really introduce anything new in his reforms - what he did was formalise and standardise what was already going on on an ad hoc basis in legions already. Thats the important point. Training was not standardised before Marius, that it was done informally and only if the commander thought it desirable. Its easy to fall back on what we know and assume that training is as necessary for soldiering as it is today - well, strictly speaking it is - but back then fighting wasn't unusual, it was part of roman culture and had been right from the start. Whereas today recruits are given intensive training not only to learn and practice military skills until its second nature, but also to change the mindset of the recruit into someone who will perform willingly as a soldier as opposed to the reluctant civilian. For the romans, this change of mindset was hardly necessary. Arguably, the usage of weapons required training as much as today, and again I would agree it would have been desirable, yet the use of weapons wasn't something so alien back then, and remember today the average person rarely becomes familiar with military hardware or its effects. Also the idea of a citizens army is something that assumes the average citizen is a potential warrior. Apart from the amateurism that this naturally entails, you really shouldn't ignore the aggressive nature of mediterranean culture. I'm curious about these legiones urbana. Since under etruscan tradition each city would raise its own forces as an independent defensive army, something the romans adopted themselves, are these leghiones additional troops or the 'army of Rome' itself?