Ephemera
(literally; printed matter of passing interest)

There is only a little to do with sailing here.......

Quotations

"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being 
in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned..… 
A man in a jail has more room, better food and commonly better company".
-Samuel Johnson (1709-84)

"Not all who wander are lost"
-J. R. R. Tolkien

"Quaerendo Invenietis" (By seeking, you will discover)
-Johann Sebastian Bach

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time"
-T. S. Eliot

"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half as much worth doing as simply messing about in boats"
-The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Graham

"There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea"
-Joseph Conrad

"The purpose of a yacht is to give pleasure":
-Patrick Ellam

"Sailing on a sunny day, with a fresh breeze blowing…..
is the nearest thing to heaven anyone will ever get on this earth"
-HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne on board the Royal Yacht "Britannia")

Definition of cruising: "Maintaining your boat in exotic places"

"Men and ships rot in port"-Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson (1758-1805)  

"Grab a chance and you'll never be sorry for a might have been"
-Captain John Walker R.N. (Retired)

"Measure twice, cut once"
-My old carpentry instructor

"When you come to a fork in the road, take  it"
-Yogi Berra (baseball player)

"Fel Temp Reparatio" (Let the good times return)
-Inscription on a coin of Constantine

"Happiness is the only good.
The place to be happy is here.
The time to be happy is now.
The way to be happy is to make others so"
-Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899)

Mediterranean Winds

In the South of France  the North Wind is called the Mistral as it whistles down the valley of the Rhone into the Gulf of Lyons.
In Greece and Turkey it's the Meltemi (Meltem).  Then there is the Bora in Yugoslavia, a cold northerly wind blowing into the Adriatic Sea. 
In Palma Bay in the island of Mallorca the afternoon wind from the South is called the Arbat.
In The Strait of Gibraltar you get the Levanter (from the east). 
Etesian, a refreshing northerly summer wind of the Mediterranean, especially over the Aegean Sea.
Zephyros is the ancient Greek name for the west wind
Euros is The Greek name for the rainy, stormy southeast wind.
Leveche is a warm wind from the south in Spain coming from the Sahara. Called a Sirocco in other parts of the Mediterranean.
Maestro A northwesterly wind with fine weather which blows, especially in summer, in the Adriatic.  Aso found on the coasts of Corsica and Sardinia.
Tramontana. A northeasterly or northerly winter wind off the west coast of Italy.

An alphabetic (or crossword) Magic Square

The square reads "rotas opera tenet arepo sator", which means "he who guides the plough sows the seed'.   Another translation is "The Creator (or Saviour) holds the working of the spheres in his hands."  
As you can see, the square is symmetrical and can be read left to right, right to left, upwards or downwards.  It has always fascinated me.   It was found on household objects, on walls, and  above doorways.  The Romans believed that the square had magical properties, and that making it visible would ward off evil spirits.

Thanks to Simon Singh (author of  The Code Book and Fermat's Last Theorem) for the graphic.

A numerical magic square 

is a consecutive set of numbers beginning with 1 and arranged in a square in such a way that the rows, columns and main diagonals all add up to the same total.

In this one they add up to 15.  In China this square is called a lo-shu and worn as a charm.

There is one known as the "Durer" square (from this artist's famous engraving)

Here

Palindromes

A palindrome is a word that reads the same backwards as forwards. The most famous palindrome is probably "Madam, I'm Adam."   Perhaps the second-most famous is "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama!   (The creation of the Panama canal).  This link will take you to many more!

History of the English Kings and Queens in Rhyme

First William the Norman, then William his son;
Then Henry and Stephen, Henry, Richard and John;
Then Henry the third, Edwards one, two and three;
Second Richard, three Henrys, two Edwards I see;
Then Richard the third, if rightly I guess;
Two Henrys, sixth Edward, Queen Mary, Queen Bess;
Then Jamie of Scotland, and Charles whom they slew;
Then came the Commonwealth, then Charles and James two;
Then William and Mary ascended the throne;
They were followed by Anne, who ruled all alone;
Along came four Georges, William fourth in their train;
And then came Victoria, a long useful reign;
Then Edward the seventh, and George the fifth too;
And now, for a while we can stop,
Glad, aren't you?

The Descent of Victoria from William of Normandy

Chronologically and genealogically, beginning with Queen Victoria's coronation, 28th June 1833, and tracing her ancestry to William of the House of Normandy, who was crowned on Christmas Day, 1066

Victoria is the daughter of Edward the Duke of Kent, son of George III, the son of Frederick Prince of Wales, son of George II, son of George I, the son of Sophia Electress of Hanover, daughter of Elizabeth Queen of Bohemia, daughter of James I, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, the daughter of James V of Scotland, son of James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor, the daughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, son of Margaret Beaufort, daughter of John Beaufort Duke of Somerset, son of John Beaufort Earl of Somerset, son of John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster, fourth son of Edward III, son of Edward II, son of Edward I, son of Henry III, the son of John, the son of Henry II, son of Matilda, daughter of Henry I, fourth son of William of Normandy.

Also retrace to Henry VIII (through the House of York), Elizabeth (queen of Henry VII) who was daughter of Edward IV, son of Richard (Duke of York), son of Anne Mortimer, daughter of Roger Mortimer, son of Edmund and Philippa, daughter of Lionel (Duke of Clarence), third son of Edward III. There are - from him on - Edward II, Edward I, Henry III, etc. family of the Plantagenets.

"History of the English in Rhyme".  Previous to the Norman family, there was a long Saxon line, beginning with Egbert, son of Alchmund Prince of Wessex; about 800 A.D.

(The above found as old yellowed newspaper clippings in a book  bought at an estate sale)

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II is the daughter of George VI, the son of George V, the son of Edward VII, the son of Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Virtues and Sins

THE FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES
Fortitude, Good Temper, Justice, Prudence

THE SEVEN VIRTUES
Charity, Faith, Fortitude, Hope, Justice, Prudence, Temperance

THE TWELVE VIRTUES
Chastity, Charity, Faith, Gentleness, Goodness, Joy, Long Suffering, Love, Mildness, Modesty, Patience, Peace

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
Anger, Covetousness, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth

Phobias  
(Skip Phobias - there's lots of them!)

Now you have persevered to the bottom of this page you are rewarded with this image of a Hudson Straight Eight two door coupe. 

A similar automobile was imported into England by Ian's parents
just prior to World War II. It must have caused quite a stir
in the leafy lanes of Buckinghamshire!

(Found at http://hometown.aol.com/ArmySFCRet/homepage1.html - many thanks!

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