sandrewn

Happy Anniversary, it was your stories that drew me to this wonderful site, thank you. It is your ninth and my first, darn it Heinz, I mean Mark, I'll just never ketchup ( ) to you.

I speculate that ' Valiant ' is a red herring. It looked more like a frigate. Now, ' that's rusty nails ' is of interest. A rusty nail , is an excellant drink: two shots of Scotch Whiskey, one shot of Drambuie (real men don't use ice) and for scurvy's sake a twist of lemon skin / with no white (white would make it bitter), oh and stir with a finger, sticks are for kids.. Slainte mhor a h-uile la a chi's nach fhaic. or Rusty nails could also be the result to a frigate that caught fire and was doused with sea water (corrosive stuff that). Said frigate then had to go in for extensive and lengthy repairs (a year or two ?). Can anyone guess its name ?

What a great way to start the week off. I don't suppose you would be so kind as to share the name with us, my good sir.

So I take it that a peer with a seat in the House of Lords could not also have a seat in Parliament. Cavendish however had a courstesy title and no seat in the House of Lords, thus he could hold a seat in Parliament. I wonder how many courtesy titled Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts or Barons held or stood for seats in Parliament. As only the eldest son (and his eldest son, etc) of a Duke, Marquess or Earl could be given one of his Father's subsidiary titles. I assume that the staff at Brentwood took to calling George's eldest son, Lord Ryde, due only to their fondness of him and not as a requirement and/or entitlement.

Whole grey mullet need the guts, scales and gills removed. Fillets also require pin-boning but (once scaled) the soft skin is usually left intact. Grey mullet has a distinctive, almost earthy flavour that is not universally loved. This earthiness can be reduced by the addition of robust and lightly acidulated sauces, dressings and marinades featuring lemon, white wine vinegar, capers and garlic. Grey mullet roe is a delicacy smoked and is traditionally used in taramasalata. I have tried them, not bad, but the cook did not properly pin bone the one I had and I almost choked on it. Oh, hold on a sec, you weren't referring to an actual mullet were you. Ricky, you (and some others) might find this interesting. These were the four major (sea) battles that Nelson was involved in or with. Two we have experienced to date. Hopefully that will also happen with the those yet to come. Note if you will, how Nelsons' 'Coat of Arms' changes and developes after each victory and elevation. http://www.whitelionsociety.co.uk/gallery/st-vincent.html http://www.whitelionsociety.co.uk/gallery/nile.html http://www.whitelionsociety.co.uk/gallery/copenhagen.html http://www.whitelionsociety.co.uk/gallery/trafalgar.html Westie, with reference to Preston and Haverleigh, I still haven't been able to find any historical ruminations on either one (so far). Sandrewn

I hope that Peter Chartley makes it back from the Far East, that would go far in making Georges' enforced wait for an exchange bearable. Ok, I'll fess up. The real reason for this post was to see if I change colours, if so, cool, green is my favourite colour. If not I'll just keep posting along in blue, my next favourite colour.

With the exception of the Duke of Suffolk (extinct), like the Earl of Bridgemont all seem to be fictitious. I can not even find a town of Haverleigh, the now named Barony. The others are scattered on/or near the coasts of the England (the two new ). I can find no reason for their being chosen (so far). I can find no reference to lands or on estate that comes with the Dukedom, will he have to build a county residence for himself. Will he take on the heraldic symbols of the prior Duke? Or does he get to create his own and keep his Bridgemont Blue? Not, I guess important questions, but to me interesting ones.

Georges' very first words in book one of this series were " I won't let you down Father ". His last words in Odyssey (at least to himself could have been " I kept my promise, I haven't let you down Father ". You can almost visualize a young George learning to play the flute just to please his Father. Well done and thank you Mark.

The sun has finally set on our 'Odyssey'. And what an ending it was. Georges' Father created a Duke, a life long dream. George himself being given special precedence to sit beside his Father to the Kings' right. His love for Caroline fully realized. Yet knowing he has a crew (well at least 100 men) also waitng for his next command. It is with a tear that darkness descends upon us, but as is in life (and as you have told us) there will be a dawn with a new adventure for our hero and that gives us cause to smile. Thank you Mark for every thing and of that yet to come.

As am I. Mean while the following are of persons and/or events from Odyssey. 1799 - 5 August - Admiral Howe dies. - 14 December - President Washington dies. 1800 - 2 July & 1 August - Acts of union 1800 to unite the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland. 1801 - 19 March - Ambrosio O'Higgins, Spanish Viceroy of Peru and Governor of Chile dies. - 2 April - Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson acts as he did at St Vincent. - 19 May - Nelson is created a Viscount. 1802 - 4 July - Just an interesting note. West Point opens. 1803 - 23 January - ( I like stout) Arthur Guinness dies. 1804 - 12 July - Alexander Hamilton from wounds in a duel.

Yes indeed, a great chapter. Two more old questions I thought of besides the one Ricky asked about Mr. Humphreys. What about his new Baronial house on the Isle of Wight and will George make good his promise to Calvert on the equal share of the prize money? Now begins my vigil of devotion ( and twiddling of thumbs).

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, is the only word remaining, that no one has used to describe any of the prior and even more so this latest chapter of yours. I and I am sure many others reread your chapters for pure enjoyment, while waiting for the next to come. You appear to have done the same, but with the intent of dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's. Every question I had saved up has been answered. Masterfully done and all questions about Spencer have been put to rest. I also, await with both anticipation and dread the final chapter. Mark,thank you ever so much.

And so say all of us, oh damn I can't carry a tune so just go to ( click on ) Now Ricky, calm down it is only snow (really only slightly chilled water droplets). To help put a smile on your face go to ( click on ). At least one or two of these should brighten up your day (it did mine). Oh, and Mark no.3 is all yours. Cheers.

Yes, but based on all of the ships Granger has commanded it would fit right in. 1. Aurore - caught fire and sunk 2. Commerce de Marseille - ended up anchored permanently 3. Intrepid - hit a reef and sunk 4. Belvidera - badly burnt and out of action indefinitely for major repairs 5. Bacchante - on the rocks with back broken My first thought was that HMS Forlorn Hope would be a go with his track record. Now, I think that HMS Endeavour or Enterprise would be a good fit. A purposeful or industrious undertaking (especially one that requires effort and boldness). An apt description our hero to date.

disks? What ever you've got I'm sure there is a pill for it. In the mean time I will just ask Scottie to beam you up and hold you in the buffers until the next book starts. That way when you rematerialize, you can enjoy the last two chapters and get right into the new offering what ever it is called. Wait, centexhairysub may need help also (weak heart you know), Scottie make that two to go please.

Just checking to see if posting here still works, yup I guess so. The silence in this forum is deafening. To pass the time I have been looking for a theme song for the series, this is the best one that I found to date. As to whom he is referring too, you can assume Caroline or just make a long list. ▶ The Last Farewell ~ Roger Whittaker - YouTube

You are filling in the gaps and answering the questions we had, most pleasing (really, really), just don't stop. Arthurs' mysterious comment of meeting soon with other things to discuss, hmm? Then Cavendishs' last words 'The Guild', what does he know, who does he know of? These are things George really needs to find out about to be able to defend himself and his family. A truly grand chapter, thank you. Sadly you have given us a timing for the end (2 chapters). Thinking positively, this just means looking forward to a book 7 in the Bridgemont series. Thanks again.

Just wanted to make sure that this forum was still working, I guess it is. Who ever said silence is golden, is full of horse doo doo. I'm wondering if it is a secondment, in which case Cavendish would still be a Lt in the navy. Or has he resigned it?

All that was said before me, times ten. I wonder how long he will be able to keep the crew at the Abbey safe from the press. Thanks again for that wonderful chapter.

Well, fancy that! Who would of thought (not me obviously) that my on going quest for the answer as to how that darn rating system worked, was right there. Oh so cleverly hidden away under a reference, called of all things ' Rating System of The Royal Navy ', ouch. Thank you Mark for taking pity on me. Note to Self: 1 - get one tall cap with dunce printed on it. 2 - take time out from twiddling thumbs. 3 - get a chair 4 - go sit in corner 5 - put on dunce's cap 6 - think about doing the obvious in the future 7 - afterwards put away chair 8 - keep cap handy somewhere (just in case) 9 - go back to twiddling thumbs

While taking a break from twiddling by thumbs, I came across this, The British Navy 1793 - 1802. It gives alot of background and a better understanding of the times. With the added bonus of making the 'Intermission' pass more easily. http://www.napoleon.org/en/reading_room/articles/files/british_navy_17921802.asp#ancre9

I would start by apologizing for leading you all to Faultytwin.com. Now as bit of distraction during our series intermission, I have found that there were indeed ships in His Majesty's navy, named HMS Intrepid, HMS Belvidera and HMS Bacchante. Note, that the description of this Belvidera's guns (36) just adds to my ongoing confusion of the rating system. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Intrepid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Belvidera_(1809) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Bacchante_(1876)

Well, we knew the end was nigh and now we also know a bit delayed. So to help fill the void I wandered the net and found this comic strip, I think it is from the U.K. Just keep pressing the foreward button to see more. See how long it takes before you feel the urge to delete it. It really doesn't get any better. The odd one did get a chuckle. Faultytwin.com - One man, no brain in comic strip form

I think he would serve at His Majesty's pleasure (an indeterminate length of time) and there was a stipend, George mentioned it. I feel like Ebenezer and the Spirit of Christmas Future (Westie) of things that may come to pass, has just visited us. Now I wonder. If we were to all chip in and send Mark a friggin great big turkey, might we effect George's future propects (hint, hint). It really was a great chapter, thank you again.

Keep in mind that when they cleared for action, all the partitions were taken down and Granger's stuff was stored below so as not to add to any shrapnel. His planter boxes thus become the two stern most guns of the gun deck, port and starboard. This must of irritated LeFavre to no end. It was not mentioned if on Bacchante there were guns in his cabin. Regardless, his stuff would still have been stored below for the same reasons.