Scarabin

As regards Sherlock Holmes, I still think that if he's not some freakish genius whose methods are far above his contemporaries, then it's just not a Sherlock Holmes story. Saw the concluding episode of "Prisoners of war" (second series) last night. Perhaps a bit anti-climactic but at least it signals a third series? :D

I favour religious moderation because I am scared of "group-think" whether due to political correctness or herd mentality. It does not have to be due to either but all too often it seems to be. "Group-think" is my understanding of group psychology where a group pressures its individual members into holding uniform views. :rolleyes:

Happy new year. Obviously the test doesn't work if you live outside US. :D

Thanks mikeh, Fully reciprocate your sentiments but still find your logic puzzling. :D

Thanks. I was thinking of Elementary. Will watch for Intelligence. :D

This is the season for tolerance. Mikeh once lectured us on the need for intolerance of tolerance. Perhaps we could ponder the need for tolerance of intolerance? :D

Merry Christmas and goodwill to all. Although it's summer here, the weather is cold and wet. :D

Is not "Intelligence" Sherlock Holmes in modern dress? If so I did watch one episode, but for me SH must have the Victorian milieu. Up against modern police procedure it seems silly. :D

Perhaps TV series rely too much on ending every episode with a cliffhanger and that's why the final episode flops? Farewelled Homeland 3 & The Killing 3 without too much heartburning. Prisoners of War 2 still has 2 episodes to go but the weaknesses are beginning to show. Oh well, I guess being mystified is more exciting than resolving improbable plots. What will be the next hit? :D

Agree, but spare some blame for W: is 4NT worthwhile with 0 aces, and could he not try 5NT instead of 6H? :D

Bouches du Rhone, my favourite wine. I now suffer too much reflux to drink but I used to love this and my tum tolerated it. :D

A last word, and probably the last word, on esoterica (since I always knew this bird might not fly.) Did you know that the tune Napoleon used to whistle, "Marlbruck sén va-t-en guerre", has come down to us as "For he's a jolly good fellow". Makes him seem almost human,somehow. I am pretty sure I got this from Barbara Tuchman. :D

The trouble with esoterica is that it's a very loose definition. I do not know if this really fits. David Chandler,the historian, frequently quotes Puysegur as a contemporary authority on Marlburian warfare, and says his great merit is that he describes warfare as it is/was not as he thought it should be. He also records that Puysegur gave very bad advice & information to other French leaders, particularly at Oudenarde. I think of this sort of snippet as esoterica but maybe this is idiosyncratic? :D

Thanks. I think they were chat messages but it's OK now. :D

Someone sent me 3 or 4 messages/emails commenting on my views re great commanders and while reading them I seem to have clumsily got rid of them. Any suggestions how to recover these? :D

Apologies, I never queried the celibacy angle. The early 1950's were a gentler time and it would have seemed rude. Add to this, we did not have the internet then and starting inquiries at home would have raised eyebrows. It's possible also that memory has faded over the years and it may have been an uncle,etc? Some Irish stories are like parables: they don't stand up to close scrutiny. :D

Sorry but I can't resist saying I always thought that was Ireland's national motto! A possible alternative is: "At the first sign of crisis the Irish drop to their knees, either to pray or to shoot". :D

Taking up Mikeh's point I suspect history is even more biased in divided countries like Ireland where I was born. However in Ireland you get to meet the other half and discover they are not hydra-headed monsters. I was born in northern Ireland and educated in the south. The first girl I dated explained to me why she would never introduce me to her father: her great grandfather was the catholic bishop of Armagh and had been hanged on his own front door. I came across an Irish historian Carty? who detailed all the atrocities that happened there, giving names of the participants. On the subject of esoterica (or exotica, that's close enough) I wonder if there are any wargamers who still believe in the genius of great commanders. Trying to reproduce great victories surely will convince almost anyone that victories are more likely to be due to better training,tactics,weapons or discipline than to flashes of genius. Of course I am ignoring the value of surprise. :D

I saw a Danish movie about this with Mads Mikklesen as the doctor. I cannot remember the title. :D

Correct. Actually her lover was Philip Cristophe Konigsmark. He was Jon Karl's younger brother and was at school in London at the time of Thynne's murder. What amazes me is that I learned English history without learning that a woman who should have been queen of England spent her life under "house arrest" in Germany! :D

My only question is whether there are any other posters who share my interest in the scuttlebutt of history: ie the sort of history that is not covered in the schoolbooks? To continue, Jon Karl had a brother,Philip Cristophe Konigsmark, who was the lover of King George 1's wife, Sophia Dorothea, before George became king of Britain, and who was murdered, probably on George's orders. He also had a sister,Aurora, mother of France's Marshal Saxe. Ah well, perhaps the detritus of history is the most interesting bit! :D

Regard this as experimental since,by definition, it should not attract any replies! And yet,bridge itself is esoteric. Anyhow my particular interest is the minutiae of history: the forgotten footnotes that don't appear in mainstream histories. If it were not fiction, Dashiell Hammett's description of the provenance of the maltese falcon would be the perfect example. Here's another which is true, if little known, history. In February 1682, Thomas Thynne was shot dead in the Haymarket,London, while "taking the air in his coach". Jon Karl von Konigsmark and three followers were apprehended and tried. The three followers were steadfast in admitting to and shouldering the blame for the murder,maintaining that Konigsmark knew nothing about it. They were hanged (in the haymarket as the scene of the crime) and Konigsmark was acquitted. It seems that the quartet arrived in England intent on murder about 3 weeks before and tried to leave the country immediately after the murder. There is a transcript of the trial in State Trials, Antonia Fraser gives a factual account in "The weaker vessel", A.E.W. Mason gave a fictionalised account in "Konigsmark",Allan Marshall refers to it briefly in "Intelligence & espionage in the reign of Charles II", and I saw a TV documentary on the lines of "you be the judge" which featured it. There are 2 schools of thought: either it was a political assassination and the Duke of Monmouth may have been the target,he was in Thynne's coach earlier, or it was a struggle over an heiress, Lady Elizabeth Percy. Jon Karl fancied her, he was not the sort of man to actually be in love, and Thynne bribed her impecunious guardian into allowing him(Thynne) to marry Lady Elizabeth. She fled his house immediately after the wedding. Whatever the truth may be there is general agreement the trial had a political element and the judge steered the jury toward acquitting Konigsmark. :D

I enjoyed "The well-diggers daughter": a French movie with quiet charm and dignity, and an impish sense of humour. :D

Been watching "The white queen", a British TV series based fairly closely on the war of the roses. We're a bit behind you - I think your series ended in August - but it's enjoyable. :D

We're on homeland season 3 but presumably you meant that :D