Here’s the problem: the tropical year, the time it takes the Earth to go through a complete cycle of seasons, is 365.2422 days long (to four-decimal accuracy). If every calendar year were 365 days long, then the missing 0.2422 days would add up from year to year, each year starting a little earlier relative to … Continue reading February 30th
Tag Archives: History
Mike Loades: Swords and Swordsmen
This is a gorgeous book. Pen & Sword have done Mike Loades proud with the production values—it’s nicely laid out, beautifully illustrated, and has a deeply satisfactory heft to it. Even if you don’t recognize his name, Loades may be familiar to you if you watch the occasional historical documentary. I most recently caught sight … Continue reading Mike Loades: Swords and Swordsmen
Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh
… and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 ɡəʊld Gold: The most precious metal, characterized by its yellow colour The word gold comes to English through the Germanic languages, and its origin can be traced all the way back to a Proto-Indo-European root … Continue reading Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh
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Mad Rush For Gold In Frozen North: Supplement
You’ll perhaps recall that when I finally got around to reading Arthur Arnold Dietz’s book, Mad Rush For Gold In Frozen North, I was a little bemused to discover it was a pretty obvious fake (at least in parts) given its widely accepted status as one of the classics of Gold Rush memoirs. My original … Continue reading Mad Rush For Gold In Frozen North: Supplement
Arthur Arnold Dietz: Mad Rush For Gold In Frozen North
Good title, eh? (And yes, I’ve written it correctly, with no articles—it does seem as if the author telegraphed the title to his publishers.) In 1914, when he published this memoir of the Klondike Gold Rush, Dietz was a physical director at the YMCA in Los Angeles, as well as being a “playground director” in … Continue reading Arthur Arnold Dietz: Mad Rush For Gold In Frozen North
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Angela Gannon & George Geddes: St Kilda – The Last and Outermost Isle
Angela Gannon and George Geddes were archaeologists with the (now-defunct) Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Both have worked on the islands of St Kilda (Geddes lived there for six months), so they’re well qualified to write this book. St Kilda is that island group you can never quite see on … Continue reading Angela Gannon & George Geddes: St Kilda – The Last and Outermost Isle
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The Lost World of Loch Mullardoch
I awoke to the shrilling of greenshank and the loud piping of oyster-catchers. My holiday had indeed started. Not a breath of wind stirred and the green hills around me were overdrawn by a grey line of settled clouds. There was no knowing what the day would bring forth, so I had a leisurely breakfast, … Continue reading The Lost World of Loch Mullardoch