Westie

Don't forget that the vast majority of the "action" and characterisation takes place at officer level.... Being aloft is no place for an officer in normal times, and definitely not when being cleared for action. I would suggest these injuries are among the nameless wounded that we hear of after each battle sequence.

A diminished mental capacity was no preclusion to inheriting the title. However, it should be noted that many problems that come with diminished mental capacity were poorly treated.... so the situation either didn't last or did not occur. That said, the result of one such issue is the legendary "monster of glamis", where the true heir was hidden away bcuase of his deformities, imprisoned and only taken for walks on nights with no moon. The Lost prince is a slightly different case.... Prince John was only 5th in line to the throne with 4 elder brothers (one of whom was the present Queen's father). He was hidden away until he was 12 or so when a seizure killed him, but he was exceptionally well cared for and he was granted all his titular rights.

Cavendish is a younger son of the Duke. If he were the elder son, he would hold his Father's most senior subsidiary title as his own. In the case of the Duke of Devonshire (who I think is Cavendish's father - it would ring true given the Surname) the Eldest son would be "Marquess of Hartington" (or somtimes the "Earl of Burlington"). Cavendish, merely being "Lord Frederick Cavendish" is a lesser (2nd or lower) son. That said, in the Order or Precedence of Great Britain, he would until recently have ranked before Granger. However now Granger is a peer in his own right, he ranks first in the social order.

This is strictly a 3 day cleanse. It is recommended by a medical doctor,and he points out that 10 apples is still less than the recommended calorie intake for a day. They are high in none soluable fibre and so help clear the intestines. Morover, while fructose is sugar, it is harder to break down and absorption is lower. I am following this with a quite strict meal plan, so I dont see a problem for three days. HOWEVER, I would NEVER do more than that. 7 day, 2 week "cleanses" can be dangerous. There is one in particular - a water cleanse - that I think is completely irresponsible. Also not that the purpose of this 3 days is NOT weight loss. That is a long term goal. My purpose this weekend is "detox and cleanout".

I reserve gold stars quite tightly I'm afraid..... thanks everyone for their comments. I have a plan, which is quite rigid that hopefully will work.... but its great to be able to get feedback and thoughts West

So in my last blog, I mentioned that I was having some health issues. One of the ways this manifests itself is with pain in the knees, hip, back and neck. As you can imagine, this makes it very painful to complete a range of day to day activities. Another thing this does is prevent me from exercising. Being overweight only makes things worse. Anyway, as "conventional" medicines have failed to help, I have been looking at a number of other treatments - for example last year I spent £500 on acupuncture, which actually really helped (to the point that if I didn't have it, I don't think I would be able to walk much now). It also introduced me to a massage oil that even now when I'm in pain, offers an almost immediate relief. One of the things I have learned in my research is the importance of diet. One of the things I have done is to radically change the things that I eat. We have found that not only is this healthier, but in fact it is also cheaper. Sure, I have had to cut out tomatoes, potatoes, steak (all beef), pork and virtually all sugar caffeine and white flour products - but its been really great fun crating recipes for creative and varied meals under the new plan. Which brings me to the subject of this blog; the Three Day Apple Cleanse. Because I have had major stomach problems for years - which I stupidly did not address - the function of my whole digestive system is impaired. One of the ways to "kick start" a fix of this is a gentle nutritional clean-out and start over. I was recommended to try the "3 day apple cleanse" of which you can find a number of examples just through google - but basically, for 3 days you eat nothing but apples and lots of water to flush out your system. On the third day you break the regime with a large pro-biotic yogourt to replace lost enzymes. As I might have mentioned before, I often work from home on Fridays, and so yesterday I started this cleanse with a recommended warm water spiked with the juice of a whole lemon - then nothing but apples and water. Let me tell you - it was damn difficult!!! I was told that I would start to feel like I had a mild 'flu, and to be honest thats exactly how it felt. I was hungry, but th thought of more apples repulsed me. Through the night I was dizzy (and the room was spinning as if I were drunk) - but I mad it through to this morning and felt much much better. I have the rest of the day to go, plus tomorrow until around 7pm (Uk time). This is much harder than I imagined (Paya and I both tried it in April but only lasted a day - this time I'm doing it alone), but surprisingly this morning I can already feel some benefit. It also helps that on this occasion I have radically changed my diet beforehand. Yesterday there were no cravings for sugar or caffeine because they had already been cut out. Anyhow, the hope is that this little cleanse will "kick start" my long term recovery. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a quick fix and don't expect it to be. I know there are major targets to go: Lose 20-30kg in Weight (long term) Slowly increase my movement and exercise Long term diet change Move off my "prescription" pills onto natural alternatives where possible The last bullet point is a major one for me. The "side effects" of the prescriptions are not good, and I want to minimise these as much as possible. Thanks again to anyone who read the ramble all the way through! West

Will can manage "conflict" perfectly well without Tony. For references, just re read paternity

Yet within 8 years in the Story, he will be Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons in Grenville's "ministry of all the talents"

To put in context the journey that Granger has ahead of him, we must consider that India as a country really did not exist. There were areas of direct company rule, but also many princely states that were subject to British Authority, but in many respects completely independent states. The journey would be long and dangerous - India did not hav railways at this time, and roads were dirt tracks. Horses were available but struggled in the climate. Elephants were used too as transport, but this could actually be fairly slow. After they leave India, they can either go through the Holy Land (Palestine), or Egypt. Egypt was part of the Ottoman empire at the time, but I suspect that Mr Arbour is actually doing what I had previously commented in this forum would not be possible.... Granger is almost certainly going to be in Egypt for the Napoleonic Invasion and will more than likely rejoin Nelson in August 1798 for the Battle of the Nile. By my reckoning Bacchante should reach England (assuming good winds) by October, meaning Granger will be on hand to capture his own ship using some of Nelson's victorious fleet.

Sounds like a proper night out.... change pub to the local Con (servative) club or RAF club and you're on!

In my industry, where touch screens are endemic, its a pretty exceptional product. Wouldn't like to use it without a touch screen, but I suspect its just a learning curve. I would say that it seems to have made computers more accessible for everyone, which is very good news. I will tell you this though, the change to the operating system is progress. Those that hark back to the desktop and start button are afraid of change. It's what makes you old and in turn will make th latest technologies out of your reach. I guarantee in 5 years time, everyone will use the modern UI (Metro ) and almost nobody will miss the start button...

So my blog is woefully neglected at the moment, which seems an opportune time to give an update on what's going on with me. Especially since this weekend has been particularly lazy - though I did find the time to rearrange my kitchen. Firstly, on the work front, things are somewhat stressful. I work in quite a dynamic industry - IT Project/Programme Management - and in particular I work in a small subset of the industry that is very VERY fast paced and demanding. Travel is now more and more frequent - In the next 2 months I will be traveling to 3 different countries (plus one for personal reasons) plus I suspect a little more domestic travel as well. I'm enjoying it, but at the same time people and processes frustrate me in the extreme. On the home front, there is a mix of good and bad. The good - obviously - is that I thank my lucky stars every day to have found Paya here at GA, and that we managed to move together (in his case over 1000 miles to be with me). The bad is that I have some health issues that although not major, are very long term and are take some adjusting to. I have had, for example, to make a radical change to my diet in order to lessen some of the symptoms. I wont go into too much detail, but some of the treatments are very unpleasant too - and since the major benefits of this regime wont be felt for 6 months or so, it makes it hard to commit to. We have both made a conscious effort to make more of living in London. We have some of the best museums, art galleries and attractions in the world, and many of them are free to visit. Others, you can get really good deals by purchasing an annual membership. A couples membership for Historic Royal Palaces allows unlimited entry to the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace and the Banqueting House. It costs only £61 and if we only visit each one ONCE, it saves us over £100. Merging both work and home then, working in the City of London has a certain "lifestyle" attachment. A lot of "business" is done in bars and restaurants. In 2 weeks time I shall be in Belgrade, where there will in all probability b a whole week of hard drinking and excessive eating - none of which is in line with the doctor's recommendations. I have a plan to cope - which is to order none alcoholic drinks on the sly and order as healthy options from the menu as possible - however a lot of my willpower comes from Paya. Without him there, I really think I could slip up and do some damage. I need to be very careful. In terms of my online life - I still haven't managed to engage fully back into the community here. That's not through unwillingness - it's through a combination of boredom and lack of time. The soapbox had many ills (and probably more negatives than positives in many ways) but one thing it did was to keep me engaged and interested here. I need to find something to hold my interest I guess - anyone got an idea? Otherwise, I'm pretty content. Over the past weeks I have immersed myself in some history books which has been a lot of fun. For those that do not know, I have a passion for history in general but British History in particular, and also have a strong interest in heraldry. That has brought me to researching again my family tree, which I have mentioned before is documented as far back as 900 AD (we were once a prominent family - LONG ago - which makes such documentation easier). I think I may have found a link through a church in Normandy that can take that record back slightly further - but I will need time to verify it. Anyway, if you've got to the end of my ramblings without falling asleep - you get a gold star. Thanks for Reading West

1 - Yes he did, and he tried to exercise gubernatorial authority without that seal for which he could be tried in a military court and everything kept under wraps 2 - Bertie followed the law, yes, which is an honourable undertaking 3 - Bertie's dealings as governor were authorised by the company and by the Prime Minister (the letters from Pitt) 4 - The Government does not want its complicity to come out, and therefore executing maidstone for (1) would be an excellent way to avoid this. Bertie can be relied on to keep quiet for his family's honour and by being allowed to keep his share of the rewards. 5 - Yes, he stole papers. He stole military intelligence. Classify him as a spy and again, court martial him, and the public will never know the details 6 - Yes he must - but his honour is not dependent on it. In doing so, he would gain much in the King's eyes 7 - I've addressed these above. Bertie needs no punishment because his actions were sanctioned, and the documents prove so. Maidstone CAN be punished without the facts coming out. 8 - Yes 9 - Yes, but of course in my view, Maidstone will lose his life.

Thats exactly my point. He had invalid credentials, and tried to usurp a military position. There are a number of offences that would place a civillian under the jurisdiction of the military. This and "arson in a Navy dockyard" are two offences I can think of that would do it.

I disagree. By presenting himself with credentials as Governor, he subjects himself to military law, in trying to usurp a military position (as governor technically is). He could be subject to court martial on a ship, hung from the yardarm and the trial notes sealed by the admiralty (as military trials could be suppressed).

Unfortunately, in Britain at the time, Form took precedence over substance. The ends would never justify the means. Just look at the lengths Jarvis went to in order to cover up the fact that Nelson disobeyed orders.... regardless of his actions winning the battle

Well, I haven't posted in a while, so I will give all my current thoughts here. Firstly, it was exceptionally rare of someone who survived fever not to make a full recovery - there is no reason why this would end his career in the navy. Secondly, it is important to note that Granger is still Captain of his ship until a new captain in "read in". That can only happen in England, since the ship is not attached to a fleet, and her captain has not died. It is important to note that in the absence of a body, it would take 7 years for Granger to be declared legally dead in Britain. Without a certification of death from Amboyna or a body in England, or witnessed death on the ship, Granger will remain "alive". Note though that in reality Bertie did not have the authority to Order the ship home. In fact, he has made a grave legal error that will land him in trouble later on. Granger had not been "formally received" and remained under admiralty orders. Moreover, even if he had been received, it is likely that his orders would have specifically precluded being under the governor's orders, given the nature of his mission. Anyway, until Granger either recovered or died, the ship would effectively remain under admiralty orders. To Usurp the admiralty is treason.

I think you have confused the Duke of Clarance (who is in the Brotherhood along with Granger) with Prince William of Gloucester who was screwing Caroline....

Mark hinted that there will be a lot of narrators across the whole of this story. He might not have too many options

A very simplistic - and inaccurate - way of looking at it. Opium use in China was widespread and popular since the mid 1400's. Addiction was thought to be similar to tobacco right up until the 20th Century. The East India company, at th request of the british government, circumvented a ban in china in order to offset the balance of trade. While it fed a black market, it did not CREATE that market. Nor did it FORCE it upon th chinese. The ban - and the subsequent opium wars - were almost exclusively to do with trade and balance of payments (i.e. economic reasons) as opposed to medical or ethical ones. This was true on both sides - both Chinese and British.

I actually think that some of you are making entirely too big a deal about removing Noah from the list. If your daughter came to you and said "This guy really creeps me out, and I'd really rather he not be there", you are going to listen. If your daughter then clams up and wont tell you more, you might make a mental note to watch out for it in future, or maybe talk to the guys parents. What you might NOT do, is talk to the boy's best friend about it (who happens to be your nephew). I think it's got blown out of proportion. However, after hearing the REAL reasons, maybe Claire should have had the decency to agree that he should be reinstated. Maybe both Claire and her mother were just a little too defensive of the guys who assaulted Will and Darius (- by the way, I think Will should press charges now to teach these guys what SERIOUS embarrassment is like). I don't think Claire is a bad person. She seems a little shallow, but where it counts she comes down on the right side (remember her appearance in Clairmont to help Gathen's sister - whose name escapes me?). I certainly don't think Isadore a bad grandmother. I think she probably finds it more effective to leave heavy involvement to JP. It also must be said that we have been told time and again that her suite of rooms is tucked well out of the way, so that she isn't disturbed by night-time antics of her over-sexed household. Guys - there is certainly a lot to whine and complain about here. But let's be reasonable and not jump off at the deep end huh? Most of you are painting at least someone as the devil incarnate, and it's quite frankly more over-the-top than the ceremonial removing of signet rings by Will and JJ.

Calvert will be treated as a Captain of his own vessel. Granger is a captain of his vessel, but he will receive the 1/8th share due to the Admiral (as he is under admiralty orders). Calvert and Granger agreed to share the prize money equally, so it will first be split between the ships, and then into 1/8th shares. Note that while Granger keeps HIS admirals share, Calvert has to surrender his to Granger (as h is under Granger's Orders). So in fact, of the total prize money, Granger will receive 4/16th's in total (1/4), whereas Calvert will receive half of that. Shares are divided based on the actual rank at the time of capture. Note that while whoever commands a ship is always a "captain" (while in command even if the rank is not held), officers of "acting" ranks do not get bumped up. If thy die later in the voyage, their share is supposed to be paid to their estate.

Essentially you are correct. Granger will have a leave of absence from the house while at sea. Lord Cavendish is an MP, but will cease to be so if he inherits his father's title (immediately upon his father's death, assuming he is the eldest son). He could feasibly be called to the house of Lords early using an instrument called a "writ of acceleration". This is an obscure instrument that would most likely be used in order to relieve Cavendish of his seat in the House of Commons. Since many constituencies were controlled by 10 or fewer voters, it was possible for schemes to be hatched to essentially "take" a seat through corrupt means. Edit to add - the fact that we refer to him as "Lord Cavendish" indicates that he is in fact a second son, as the heir would use a subsidiary title

John Company - The British East India Company - was at this time in terminal decline. Increasingly reliant on Parliament for help, it is unlikely that a man so shrewd as The Earl of Bridgemont would invest too heavily in the company. And indeed, the Government held a controlling interest which was unassailable. Moreover, the debts of the company were a staggering £15m (close to £1bn in today's money). I think that it would be incredibly unlikely that the Earl would get involved in his Son's finances again - especially after the debacle with Freddie and Davina trying to con him.

We can also assume that Maidstone does not have access to anywhere near as much ready cash as the man he is trying to replace, and incumbency is always a stronger position to be in. If Bertie chooses not to recognise his own replacement, Maidstone can only fall back on promissory notes - i.e. a promise to pay from his accounts in London. Remember, nobody owes him anything out there, and more importantly John Company is not popular - especially among its own employees. They may decide to stay loyal to their King. If I were to make a guess, I would suggest that Granger will walk into an unholy mess when he arrives out there....