Rediscovering unwritten Languages | - Win Scut - hypothesis on analysing place names to get dating evidence. They noticed that some place names didn't correspond e.g. they incorporated the word island whilst now they are a hill etc. And then by studying changes in geography he was able to pinpoint when their actual situation more fitted their name. They were able to pinpoint ages when a lake existed before Roman times, but had dried up completely by the time the Romans arrived e.g when am Roman road was constructed across an ancient lakebed. So he hypothesised that if names reflected the Pre-Roman situation then the place name must come from the language in use from before. So we can compile a dictionary of these ancient words.
- Furthermore they noticed the place names in the South East were completely different from those use in the West Coast. So they hypothesised there were 2 different languages and came to the conclusion that this meant that the population of Pre-Roman Britain didn't originate from one source no instead there were 2 different groups of people with 2 different origins.
| want an archaelogical experience holiday ? Silchester
- BBC Inside Out (south edition) If you want an archaelogical experience holiday people volunteer every year at the Silchester Roman City ruins (which also have bronze age village which lines up with the solstice claiming to make the site Britains oldest village)
| Interesting reconstructed Village Museum
I just happened to catch a bit about The Weald and Downland Open Air Museum :over 45 historic houses and agricultural buildings near Chichester.
- Also Linlithgow Castle £5.20 - looks a good place to visit
- Also Industrial Revlations showed 2 pieces of Industrial heritage near London worth visiting : Crossness Sewage Pumps is impressive and Kew Pumping Station
- Lacock Village is a whole preserved cottage village owned by the National Trust near the Avon (near Bath)
| Really Interesting Folly Park
- HAWKSTONE PARK, I saw it on the Countrytracks TV programme. It looked pretty good.
- with its well hidden pathways, concealed grottos, secret tunnels and magical collection of follies is truly unique. It is a forgotten masterpiece; originally one of the most visited landscapes in Britain and now the only Grade I landscape in Shropshire. Sir Roland Hill started it all in the 18th century. 15 miles of paths You can see dramatic cliffs and rocks, towers, monuments, tunnels, passageways, precipice rocks, paths, rustic `sofas', romantic secret valleys. It takes around three hours to complete.
- Hotel Website has a good pdf map and info sheet - 6 quid entry fee It's between Shrewsbury and Stoke
| Excavating abandoned US WW2 equipment
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- fascinating story of people excavating abandoned US WW2 equipment on BBC TV Inside Out ( East) 11/1/10
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Jewish Religion, but Semite Genes
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- Joe Scholmo wrote a book about modern Jews not being genetically Jewish cos the ancient Jews were much more evangelical than people used to think so 1000+ years ago many Spanish, Greek, Eastern European people were converted to Judaism.
- I would say there are 2 words
- Jewish - people who have religion
- Semite - people whose ancestors came from the Holy Land so this would include many Jews, Palestinian, Druze etc.
| RI - Christmas Lectures
- Basically she explained how most plants are loaded with poisons as a protection against being eaten; hence why chocolate is poisonous to dogs. Fortunately humans have evolved stomach systems to deal with poisons which kill insects etc. And of course
cooking helps neutralise plant poisons. (an interesting addition to that idea to RAW FOOD diet fashion ... See oold essay.
| - Idea : book of British Mistakes
- We learn how to do things, but we should also study how not to do things.. we can learn a lot from studying the errors of the past
- e.g.1 Babbage ballsed up the worlds first computer
- Hehad the fantastic idea for a mechanical computer. It would have really helped the British Empire as there were many errors in mathematical tables so ships sank and heavy weapons couldn't be accurately aimed etc.
- He made a model and was giving 2 battleships worth of funding, but then he ballsed up the execution.
- He fell out with the only technician who could build it
- He redesigned it to be be bigger and better
- the result was he never finished it and the governement refused further money - and the first computer came 80 years later.
- from a Jeremy Clarkson prog "Inventions That Changed the World"
- e.g.2 Colossus computer was kept secret so US took the world computer market
- During the war a Post office engineer designed and built the fantastic Colossus computer, but after the war government decided to stop financing the developments, but made the whole thing "never existed". So the UK got way behind in developing computers as the US took the lead.
| Cyclists should be on the pavement when it's safer
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- Highwaycode
- Uses the word "should" to advise and "must" to quote the law. It clearly says "Cyclists should not ride on the pavement" ... So when I am on the A15 with a line of juggernauts held up behind me I shouldn't move onto the pavement which is empty for 10Km ? No, of course it's better and safer for me to be out of the way on the pavement .. The law is an ass !
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a Stew Green Opinion
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