Westie

We met right here on GA. Back then it was a smaller community here, and we were both online here almost every day. These days I don't get to visit more than every couple of months or so. We did a "long distance" thing that meant visiting each other in our respective countries every 6-8 weeks, but that was incredibly hard. Not only was it difficult in terms of distance and time, but also it was incredibly expensive to buy flights and hotels etc. I got a job in London in 2012 (in time to see the olympics!!) and we moved here. Things were hard at first because Paya had come to London just as the worst of the job market hit post recession. It took a long time to settle into our lives here and really start to build a future. We came through all that though, and we've built a fun life for ourselves. We travel a lot (london is a great base for that) and we both have awesome work opportunities. Finally after 8 years together (at the time) we got married last year. We are about to celebrate 9 years together.

So, I would imagine that many members here wont remember who I am. i've not been active for a while because... well, life gets in the way sometimes doesn't it? 8 Years ago last week, I started a relationship right here on GA. I met Paya right here, and our friendship blossomed into something more. I was in the UK, he was in the Czech Republic. We had a long distance relationship for 2 years, before finally moving to London together 6 years ago. This is just a quick stop by to where it all began, to announce that yesterday - We got Married. Yes, another GA wedding. We were lucky enough that our friends from GA, Bleu and Jian, were at our ceremony as guests - I told them they were our GA ambassadors for the day. Now... not to rush away, but a honeymoon awaits. All the best. West

To add to this, by 1799 there were 106 admirals of the Royal Navy. Even if they were of an aristocratic background, with a large and varied aristocracy (which had it's own social levels within it), it is unlikely that Caroline would have met all of them. Especially since, if you were a Northern admiral, you might never spend time in London - as shore leave would require you to travel to the North of England to spend time with family there. There was a 'northern court' of aristocracy that rarely made it to London or spent any time with the royal family. I would argue that Caroline and George are now *so* exalted, that there is a lower rung of aristocracy, never mind admirals, that would struggle to get an audience with the Grangers.

And it's really excellent Glad to have you back! :-)

I'm sure he's just busy. I had mail from him as recent as the 27th June. Going quiet for a few weeks isn't unusual if work gets in the way.

Not at all. He is in this instance a made up character (I think). Prince Genarro (1 n, 2 r) - our character - has no entry that I can find in any of my usual sources. That said, Prince Gennaro Bourbon-Two Sicilies (note 2 n, 1 r in the spelling of the first name), can refer to two people. The first is the eighth child of King Ferdinand (the King we meet in the story). He dies aged 8 of Smallpox, and for historical reasons would more usually be referred to as Prince Gennaro of Naples and Sicily. The second is Prince Genarro, son of Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta - who was a grandchild of our King Ferdinand and died in 1944. I would suggest he is a composite character that has no place in real history, but has been created to fit in with the overall era. Additionally, I think he was a convenient plot device at the time, but there is little evidence he plays a significant part in the story. I would suggest that as the junior midshipman, we will see very little interaction between him and the captain - as indeed we rarely do with the other midshipmen. Regardless, as Chapter 42 saw the ship transfer to Calvert - headed to St Helena - and the only officer to leave was Clifton, I suspect the Prince will be off stage for some time.

Hey, this is all good news, When we met you in London last year, there seemed to be a disconnect between you and your Ex; maybe it was one you weren't aware of yet, or maybe you were. You seemed like a confident guy, constantly having to restrain himself. You could see a huge amount of excitement in your eyes at being in London and seeing something new. But then I see you here and occasionally on facebook and you're like a man set free. Goals, dreams, that are yours and yours alone. Shared with your loved ones, but chosen by you. I really hope things continue to get better and better for you. West

Good things some to those who.... wait

Hmmmm.... Patience men. Like Granger, sometimes we will spend weeks becalmed on an ocean like glass, but eventually the wind will blow... Usually just in time to fight off and escape a bunch of xebecs...

We should start at the beginning. Not yet mentioned: Bob Jensen in chapter 19 of CAP, Fritz in Chapter 33 of CAP.

Ha!! I've been so busy with work lately (spending an increasing amount of time over on your side of the pond) that I got worried I was neglecting the beta reading. So I logged on to my emails with trepidation, imagining all sorts of gentle or not so gentle ribbing - only to find the only messages were for baldness cures and penis enlargements. Oh, and an interesting email from a Nigerian prince that apparently is going to make me millions....

I always find that some of the earlier stories still stand up quite well on their own. I am about to fly out to Montreal (from the UK) and usually make sure I have a couple of the old stories as ebooks for the flight. Whenever Mark takes a break, I often find myself reading the old books to get my fix.

Well, its a smooth read - but the de facto authority on English Manners is of course Debretts. Unless you are looking specifically at the aristocracy, in which case you reach for Burke's. I agree though that this is eminently more accessible - debretts books are obscenely expensive.

Ahhh, so in that context, to set "all" plain sails is to set the entire suite of "ordinary" sails on the ship. Most of the time, a ship would be under limited sail, because depending on the wind a larger sail can actually cause more resistance/drag, than it benefits from being set.

I'm not sure which common phrase you are referring to here - as there are two similar. "all plain sailing" and "all [under] plain sail". I will answer both here - but I suspect you mean the second one. I will explain that one last though, because the meaning logically follows from the first. The origin of the phrase "plain sailing" actually does not relate to the "sails" of a ship as such. While we now know the word "plain" to mean "ordinary" and "Plane" to mean a flat surface, up until the mid 1800s spelling was not considered too big of a deal, so "plain" and "plane" were used interchangeably. Anyone who has read Queen Victoria's letters for example will tell you that even at the apex of society, it was quite acceptable to spell a word 3 different ways in the same letter. "Plain" sailing actually uses both these meanings... that the sailing was "plane" - flat, without incident, calm. it was also "plain" - ordinary, nothing amiss, nothing untoward. Now, when a ship was "under plain sails", it takes a similar meaning as above - "ordinary". Plain Sails are the daily working sails of a ship, as opposed to sails that one might use for ceremonial purposes. It was in fact a point of pride in the navy that the British has "plain" sails - the French usually had pristine sails on their ships, which of course was taken to mean that they spent more time in harbour than doing any real "sailing". Hope that helps!