centexhairysub

Well, I am doing this from my phone so any grammar or mis-spelled words must be forgiven; i am out of pocket and away from civilization for a couple of weeks... I really enjoyed the latest chapter, not only was JP still the narrator but we got to see Claremont again. I have always enjoyed the visits back to Claremont like JP and unlike Stef. I am amazed at what they have been able to do for the town. I thought that Will and JP's conversation was very telling as was JP and Claire's at the end. I was glad to see Gathan and Kristen again and hope we get to spend a chapter or two in Claremont.

While I was dissapointed in so many during and after this dinner, nothing was more important that who the narrator was; JP is the CAP series. Much like you, Mark, it was as if an old friend was visiting and the feeling of nostalgia and happiness worked it's spell over everything else.

This latest chapter was one filled with thought and remembering those we have lost during this series. I have decided to try and be a little more like Granger and try to remember Travers with a smile rather than a tear. Travers was the first person in the series that I really really liked, yes, even before I liked Granger himself. I am starting to think that even with the writ from the King and Privy Council that Granger may find his dislodging of Maidstone more troublesome than anyone believed possible. This conspiracy against the Crown, for that is what it is, makes this a dangerous situation all the way around. I sort of hope we see a few people hanging in the Pacific before Granger leaves like the mutineers at the Nore. Maidstone's money might save him in London but will it from Granger's sense of right and wrong? I had sort of assumed that Granger would leave Bertie in charge but after the letter from Lammert, I don't think this is likely. I do have to wonder where he will find a replacement in the middle of the Pacific... I can't wait to see how this develops. I wonder how Somers would feel about being Governor?

Okay, I have been a big backer of Will for sometime but I can't disagree more with this... Claire has been the one adult that has consistently been there for him no matter what; as much or even more than Stef... She stood my him after his rampage in Malibu, the situation in Oslo, and everything else. You don't ever really see Isidore, hint hint Mark, so you don't know how close she is or isn't to him. I grew up in a family at least similar to this and I can tell you that the party list is basically set year after year. There maybe a few people added or removed because of marriages, divorces, deaths, etc. but the list really doesn't change much from year to year. I doubt very seriously that Isidore ever knew about the fight that Darius had with the one guy, it wasn't really ever discussed except among the younger generations; and we don't know what she knew or didn't know about the issue with Eric and Will. Plus, Will did not want the police involved and took no steps to involve either his family or Eric's in the aftermath. Why would Isidore or even Claire know that he gave a damn if Eric came or didn't come. If Will didn't make a big deal about the fight, then why should anybody else??? Now, after saying all of that; I think the families should have been invited with a call from either Isidore or Claire depending who was closer to the family saying that because of recent issues, maybe the son's should not be at the party this year... I have much more of an issue with Noah being removed from the list that Will submitted, escpecially since there was only two people; but I lay the blame for that primarily at the feet of Marie. I do agree that Claire should have asked a few more questions such as why Noah made Marie so uncomfortable but with 700 plus guest and a party that takes months to plan; how much discussion is given to each guest??? As someone that has read the series from the beginning; I don't believe that Claire has ever done anything to show that she gives a damn about anyone else's social standing or how much money they have or don't have. I think Claire's reaction at the dinner showed that Marie had probably lied to her and told her that she had apologized to Will and I think it was clear that she had told JP and Stef that Marie had done so. I think this is one of the reasons that Claire was so upset, not at Will but at Marie... Now, I do find it hard to believe that Claire would not have questioned Marie on why Will would invite someone that Marie was uncomfortable being around, this didn't ring true to me but I don't find it unusual that if your daughter/granddaughter came to you and asked someone be excluded from a party because they made them uncomfortable that they would be removed from the invitation list. If you don't understand that then you don't have or care for a child. Your first reaction is always going to be to protect the child. What I find unusual here is that Claire didn't delve more into the issue with Marie or talk to Will about it. Claire and Will have developed a very close relationship over the years and I find it strange that there would not have been more questions about this from Claire's side. As I stated earlier, it isn't like the two guys that got into a fight with Darius and Will were suddently added to the list; they and their families have been coming for decades. You don't disinvite a family that has been friends or more for decades because of a fight between the kids, even if it turned physical. You might ask that the young men involved not come this year til hard feelings fade but you don't just dump the families over a kid's fight... Will recovered emotionally and mentally from the fight fairly quickly and even seemed to understand that Eric had a point even if he should have punched his boyfriend not Will. Will was much more upset afterward at Marie for letting Eric know than he ever seemed to be at Eric. The issue here is much more Marie lying to Claire and probably Isidore and her behaviour with Will than either Claire's or Isidore's behaviour. While I agree that Will is much more in the right here than anyone else, his refusal to see the shades of grey involved show that while his maturity level has soared, he can still be a child in so many ways....

A chapter filled with introspection and thought. Any mention of Travers always brings a little tear to my eye but like Granger, I will try to smile now instead of feeling low. I always thought Travers was the best fo men... The issues with Maidstone appear to be larger than we thought, I am starting to think that even with the letter from the King and Privy Council that Granger may have more trouble with Maidstone than he anticipates. I am sort of hoping we have a rash of hangings before Granger gets out of the Pacific... Well, I was expecting Granger to leave Bertie in control but after what his grandfather wrote, I have to wonder if that will happen. If he doesn't he will have to find someone else to replace him and Maidstone; I wonder how Somers would feel about being Govenor? The British use of opium to open up China trade is one of the most nefarious actions in history. It was the cause of untold misery and even a couple of wars.

You don't give your seat in the House of Lords to someone in proxy, not even your vote. If you miss a vote, you just miss a vote. As an Earl, Granger's father has a seat in the House of Lords. Cavendish is an elected member of the House of Commons. Cavendish's father has a seat in the House of Lords and he may as well one day but you can't sit in both, at least that is my understanding... Westie, are you around??? Is this right???

Okay, after spending the day thinking about just about nothing but this chapter; I have come to the conclusion that the most important thing about it was the invocation of Tonto... She fought for the high school in Claremont to be desegregated and worked her whole life to ensure that those without a voice were given one; she would be horrified by Marie's actions... I am going to give Isidore a pass becaue I believe that as Tim said, she probably wasn't really aware of the issues involved with who was or wasn't on the list. I am not even sure that she would have been aware of the two fights that were referred to in enough detail to know the others involved. We just don't see her enough to know what she knew or thought. Plus, as I noted earlier, tradition is very big for her and to remove people that have been invited this party for generations would be a really big deal. I am going to give Claire a partial pass for now as well... It is obvious that Marie lied to both her and Jack about apologizing to Will. It is also obvious that she did not understand the reason that Marie was asking them to keep Noah off the list; and how petty and self serving it was to do so. I am going to fault Claire at least to some extent about keeping the other boys on the list however. It would have been easy to invite the parents but not the children, even if an explanation had to be given... Once again, I am going to mention tradition. Claire is very like both JP and Isidore and tradition is important to both of them. She might not have wanted to rock the boat and strike families from the list when Will did not even press charges or even make that big of a deal about the fight itself. Will was much more upset afterward about Marie's behaviour then Eric's. Plus, I don't even remember the fight with Darius being discussed except among the younger generation, did Claire even know about it??? Marie surely did and once again, I am going to put her in the crosshairs. The main issue that I think is really at the core is Will's assertion that the family is snobbish or elitist... I am not sure that is really a fair declaration to make. The family is wealthy beyond the level that almost everyone they come in contact with is, plus their social and political connections correspond to that level of wealth; doesn't that automatically seperate them somewhat from everyone else? We have seen indications that the family has worked over the years to keep each generation connected to reality in small ways but when you have access to enough money to fly to Rome, or have a fight with the family and hop on a private jet to Malibu to get away, or give your Mother's new girlfriend a $ 50,000 pick up; how reality based can your world be??? Now, I am not disagreeing with Will, I think the fact Noah was left off the list was inexcusable and arguably Eric being kept on the list was equally so but was elitism really at play or was it more adherence to tradition and a mother protecting her child from discomfort? I have to wonder if Claire even asked why Marie wanted Noah kept from the party; I have a feeling that Claire is about to be questioning Marie on a lot more issues... Several others have mentioned and I will second the lack of time Claire and Jack have spent in helping Claremont, even I mentioned it but what is her connection there? Yes, she did spend some summers and holidays there when she was very young but she never lived there. She was born in Chicago and then moved to Palo Alto when very young. Tonto moved for all intense and purposes to Escorial when Claire was still fairly young as well. Her only connection to Claremont was the occassional trip to see Marie Crampton, Mamman, who died when Claire was in her early 20's. We never saw Claire really going back to Claremont much... Brad has more of a connection because of Robbie and his family but Claire doesn't have that personal connection to the place. Now, she of course owes JP enough loyalty that she should want to help, but what has happened behind the veil that we aren't aware of? I don't think that Tonto would have as much of an issue with Claire as with Marie. Tonto, with one exception that I can think of for which she heartily aplogized, always supported family above all. She took in her grandchildren and others when she was well past the age to do so because that was the right thing to do. She even let go of them when that was the right thing to do. I am not sure what the deal is with Marie, we really haven't seen enough of her to know; but Tonto would have done slapped some sense into her or sent her to a military school for her actions... Keep up the great work Mark, I need something to keep my blood flowing and the CAP and Bridgemont series both work wonders for that...

Okay, I have to admit I know very little about the matter of the prize money, so I have a few questions... Okay, since they were sent at the behest of the government, wouldn't this make it tied to the Admiralty and make the Captain eligible for 3/8's? Calvert really isn't a Captain or even a Commander, but just a Lieutenant that was given command over a prize ship; so does he share in the Captain's share or is he in with the rest of the Senior Wardroom Officers? The 1,200,000 reals would have been worth about 360,000 pounds at the time. This would mean that Granger and or Calvert would split about 135,000 pounds. I think Granger should get it all but... Then the about 45,000 pounds among the Senior Wardroom Officers, and then the breakdown goes from there... My next question is that since they captured the Santa Clarita and they had to transfer over officers and men to work it some were obviously bumped up. Like Gatling is now acting Lt, so does he and the others get the share based on where they are when the voyage started, the capture took place, or when the voyage ends? Plus, you know they are going to lose a few people between now and the end of the voyage to fighting, disease, and accidents; what happens to their share? If they don't survive, does it go to next of kin or do they lose out on their share? Kingsdale probably just got enough to pay his place out of debt and fix it up really nice, especially if he will let Caroline help him and invest what he gets the right way....

Marie is much more screwed up than I ever suspected. I am going to lay most of the blame at her feet. I am most shocked by Claire though, because I can't believe she let Marie put something like this over on her. Marie lied to both her parents about apologizing to Will and then lied about Noah at least in part. Claire must have a real blind spot about her kids, but I have to wonder how much longer that will last. Claire has always been so open to everyone, she was an early champion of Mouse and others. I understand Isidore a little more, tradition has always played a huge part in her life; this would make it harder for her to just drop people that have been invited for years. Plus, Isidore may not have been fully aware of all the issues surrounding those that were added or left off the list; she may have just relied on Marie's comments and left it at that... JP is going to realize that while Will was out of line with his tone; the message he was delievering was spot on... Brad, Robbie, Darius, Will, and even JJ have been back and forth to Claremont and have been the ones to stand by JP's work at getting the town back on it's feet. Claire's only recent return that I can remember was when she returned to deal with the issue of Ella's parentage. Will invoking Tonto may stir the spirit world. Everyone might want to be a little more concerned then they are...

Jaded is such a perfect choice... Great pick....

Okay, what the hell is going on???? I can see that Marie is playing games and probably striking back at Will but Claire has always been evenhanded. If you go all the way back to Be Rad, she has always been someone that was open to everyone; she was a big supporter of Mouse, etc... I have a hard time believing that Marie could put something totally over on her mother so I just don't get it... It is clear that Marie lied to both her parents about apologizing to Will. I understand Isidore a little more, tradition has always played a huge role in her life; so someone that has been a guess for years could not just be dropped but even then, mention of just the parents not the children would have been appropriate. Yikes, for a chapter that began on such an up note, the end was a real crash and burn...

A new chapter is up and well, it was just great to spend part of my evening with Granger... I have missed him so much, it was like an old friend coming for supper. I really thought that Granger was able to come up with an idea that covered all the bases for what they are trying to do; plus it even will help out the Vicery, never a bad thing to make a friend of someone in that position even if they are enemies at the moment. I can't wait to see the look on everyone's face when they return to England with that amount of treasure... I was really dissapointed in how Calvert's men are acting, well all except Gaitling. I can't believe even greed would cause true gentlemen to act that way... I guess Calvert could advise them that Granger was willing to let them have their capture and he would keep his, see how they like that... I do hope they find the Vulture on the way over and they get to hang a few people, I don't suppose we could be lucky enough for Maidstone to be aboard... Plus, I guess it will be more fun for him to be in place and for him to believe he has everything under control when Granger shows up with his letter of authority from the King and the Privy Council... I can't wait to see his reaction; we may get to find out how the color puce looks on a human face. Can't wait for the next installment, keep up the great work Mark...

I think Tim is right about this. I am pretty sure that I remember that Roger was winning some awards for his wine before his death and I can't see JP or Stef letting the winery wither away after his death. If anything, I would think they worked to keep it growing and achieving as a way to honor Roger's memory...

Oh, the sweet sweet joy of an evening with Granger; I have so longed for this moment... I so enjoyed his bravado and brashness but was truly overcome with his wit and charm. I cannot imagine a better way to spend the evening. I can say that I am suprised that the men under Calvert would act the way they did, even greed has it's limits and I can say I felt very dissapointed in them one and all, except for Gaitling, of course. I thought that Granger was able to come up with a way to justify the situation perfectly. It will cover all the basis and even be a benefit to the Viceroy as well. I do hope they run into the Vulture and get to hang everyone involved, maybe Maidstone will still be aboard but I doubt we get that lucky. This is going to be a great trip through the Pacific, can't wait to see what the next issue is that Granger has to overcome.

God, I loved all the music of the 60's and early 70's... The Petual Clark song was just a perfect fit....

Luckily, Granger has a letter from the King and Privy council giving him extrodinary powers in naming the new or keeping the old governor in place. He may walk into a mess but he will be the one with the real POWER in the situation. I can't wait to see how he chooses to use it.

Well, I said once, long ago in one of the forums that I had to wonder if all of the stories were not just in JP's mind and he was in a coma from the accident coming back from Columbus all those years ago... Okay, on with the latest chapter. I really like how both Will and Brad handled themselves in the latest chapter. I thought they set and held the tone just right. Will seems to be the best in tune with how Jeanine and Hank are but Brad seems to be really trying as well. I don't think you have seen signs of such domestic bliss since JP and Isidore in the condo in Chicago or maybe early at Escorial. It is almost jarring to have two people acting like such a normal couple... I continued to be really suprised by how Tony is acting and how Will is dealing with his behaviour. I can see all kinds of problems ahead some of their own making and others like icebergs just under the service waiting to sink their relationship. Not sure how that is going to turn out, but doubt it will be with a death on the rafting trip like some have suggested... I do see Hurricane Dana causing problems for quite a while, she is going to blow, then take some time and reform, and then blow again...

Really enjoyed this chapter, maybe more so because of the warning... I thought Will and Brad both played their actions just right. It was interesting to see how much more casual Jeanine and Hank are then the rest of the family. Tribeca was really right in ground zero. This is just placing everyone that much closer to the coming danger, bad Mark... Oh wait, what is this, I see Hurricane Dana approaching...

Damn, inflation is a bitch....

I am so not into Team Whomever... I thought the whole chapter was sort of sweet, really not like a Arbour chapter at all... LOL... I just knew the boyfriend was going to be Berto, but then I think most people at least suspected that was coming. I thought that Will handled the situation really well. I was a little suprised that Tony didn't get a little more bent out of shape than he did but that blow up could be one pole dance away... I have to think that at least Tony's mother has some idea that her son might be gay... After all, she did marry and live with Sam; she had to pick up some residual level of gaydar. I am not sure his coming out to his family will be as big of a deal as coming out to the rest of world for him. I am not sure how the situation with Dana will resolve itself. I have trouble seeing it come off smoothly. Plus, it isn't like Tony and Will can run around letting everyone know about the relationship; Tony would be on a one way ticket to sex offender registery if they did... Not sure where you are taking us, Mark, but always there for the ride...

Great choices, the " Hanging by a Moment " was such a perfect fit for that moment...

Great chapter, Berto wasn't much of a suprise but Tony actually admitting that he was gay was... Will and Tony will not be able to be open with anyone outside of the family really. The age difference would make it very dangerous for anyone to know, especially Dana, the legal ramifications for Tony could and would be very stiff. Italian mothers are very perceptive, I have to wonder how much Tony's mother already knows or guesses...

I think it was discussed in Poor Man's Son but I would have to read back to make sure; Stef helped Tony's family after Sam died. He took some life insurance and maybe some money that he and JP supplied and turned it into enough to keep the family very comfortable and secure. I don't know that they have any stock in the Schulter/Crampton business but they have enough money thanks to Stef and JP to be more than taken care of. This was discussed when Stef and Gathan went to visit the family in St Louis. Gathan or someone was wondering about the warm welcome they got, especially Stef in relation to the relationship that JP and Stef both had to Sam and how he died....

All great choices, especially the Andrea Bocelli, he has such a magnificient voice...

God help us, does that make Will the Kristen Stewart of the piece??? Please NO....