Today – Page 14 – General History

The origin of legends

‘Legend has it . . .’ and most of Man’s legends are thousands of years old. The Dragon, for instance, has been around for centuries, in art and tales told by men. Dragons do not exist, that we know for certain, and yet the fable of St. George and his Dragon gave us a patron saint of England who was not actually English, and the dragons appearing in heraldry for more than a thousand years. Did the idea of dragons, as huge lizards with wings and breathing fire come from Neanderthal (and imaginative) man finding fossils of the pterodactyl – which certainly existed – but hundred of millions of years ago. Perhaps the legendary Monster of Loch Ness is a subaqueous dragon. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-03T16:47:15+00:00 June 3rd, 2012|English History, English Language, History of the Cinema, Humour, Philosophy, Today, World History|0 Comments

Great Sauces: Bolognese

Take chicken or calves’ liver or some raw minced beefsteak, one large onion, olive oil, one level tablespoon of white flour, one third of a litre of recently made stock, a bouquet garni consisting of your favourite herbs, one teaspoon of tomato purée (or if you prefer raw tomato pulp with no skin), two large cloves of garlic (you don’t like garlic? Oh dear, what shall we do? Stop cooking? Live at the North Pole? No: FORGET the Mediterranean diet), and one table spoon of dry sherry. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-01T11:25:43+00:00 June 1st, 2012|History of haute cuisine, Italian History, Today|0 Comments

The EU? Nothing but a big bully

In Greece the 1967 coup d’état drove King Constantine of the Hellenes and his family first to Rome, and then the comparatively Arcadian peace of London, where his British royal cousins took him in. He was all right, but Greece was not. A regiment of crypto-socialist colonels threw out the Greek monarchy. It became known as ‘The Regime of the Colonels’. The fragile monarchy itself was abolished in 1973.

A civilian republic was set up in 1974. In the 1981 general election Andreas Papandreu was the first real socialist to become Prime Minister, and he was in office until 1989, which gave plenty of time and licence to politicians, bankers and other members of the ruling classes to establish themselves in the seats of power and privilege they craved. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-30T10:02:29+00:00 May 30th, 2012|Greek History, Today, US History|0 Comments

History of the Cinema: the first ‘Casino Royale’

David Niven and a catapult / flixist.com

During the 1960s, determined producers Charlie Feldman and Jerry Bresler set out on a saga that left even Hollywood astonished. They wanted to film the first of the Ian Fleming Bond books, Casino Royale, but they were contractually unable to use the actual story. Therefore they decided to make a spoof Bond film years before Roger Moore actually starred in a whole series of them. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-28T07:15:27+00:00 May 28th, 2012|History of the Cinema, Today, US History|0 Comments

Great Sauces: Béarnaise

This sauce goes marvellously well with any good cut of red meat, such as fillet, sirloin, entrecôte, rump and T-bone. But it is also superb with rich kinds of grilled (not boiled) fish, such as turbot or salmon. Some people like it with shell-fish. I don’t. It is similar to Hollandaise, but considerably thicker and sharper in taste. Here is how you make it: (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-27T16:24:32+00:00 May 27th, 2012|French History, History of haute cuisine, Spanish History, Today|0 Comments

History of the Cinema: ‘The Wild Geese’

A scene with a crossbow from The Wild Geese / gamand fishmag.gov.uk

In 1978 ‘the last gentleman producer’ Euan Lloyd made one of the funniest films on record. It was not meant to be funny. The theme was well-tried; a group of retired ex-mercenaries (convicts, special servicemen, cops, gangsters etc.) are rounded up by the star and persuaded to stage one more robbery (war, racetrack heist, bank hold-up etc.). The Dirty Dozen, The Sting, The Wild Bunch are good examples of this style of film.

The Wild Geese was special because Mr Lloyd had gathered to his bosom a group of popular ancients of British Cinema. They were supposed to be old buddies from some kind of SAS-type special force. The problem is that the word ‘old’ is too appropriate. The audience in the cinema in which I had chosen to watch this masterpiece howled with laughter as the methusalehs donned military uniform plus ill-fitting berets and started with a training session in the countryside that would have killed the lot of them in one morning. Starting with the stars, here is the casting list: (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-22T10:17:18+00:00 May 22nd, 2012|History of the Cinema, Humour, Today, US History, World History|1 Comment

Romanticism

From the late 18th to the middle of the 19th century there was an almost radical revolt against simple reasoning, the sciences, all authority and most traditions, against order and discipline, which overcame (and to a certain extent subdued) Western civilisation. This was the sweeping movement of Romanticism.

It meant social, political and moral reform, yes, but manifested itself above all in the arts; one could claim that the two major extremes of art are Classicism and Romanticism. Subsequent movements are generally regarded as being associated with one or the other. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-20T16:05:07+00:00 May 20th, 2012|Czech History, English History, English Language, French History, German History, Philosophy, Russian history, Spanish History, Today, World History|1 Comment

Sicily & the ‘Sicilian Vespers’

Sicily is the biggest island in the Mediterranean Sea, in the southernmost part of Italy, opposite ‘the toe of the boot’. The island is separated from the Calabrian mainland by the Strait of Messina, which is only two miles wide. Most of the island is mountainous, with permanently snow-capped volcanic Etna dominating everything.

Wide plains are found in the south, though the region is still hilly in parts. Here vineyards, olive and almond trees are in abundance, though agriculture is difficult due to extremes of heat, damp and cold. To the north are the volcanic islands of Ustica and the Liparis, as well as Stromboli, the most continuously active volcano in Europe. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-19T10:45:36+00:00 May 19th, 2012|Italian History, Spanish History, Today, US History, World History|0 Comments

The History and making of great Sauces: Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise, however you like to spell it, is at least two hundred and fifty years old. It is said to have been invented by The Duc de Richelieu’s cook in 1736, while the good duke was busy besieging the English at Port Mahon on the island of Minorca – and I cannot for the life of me see why not. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-18T20:32:06+00:00 May 18th, 2012|French History, Spanish History, Today|0 Comments

The Queen of Spain, and Gibraltar

Word has it that Sophia, Queen of Spain and sister to the exiled King of Greece, has been advised not to go to London to join the British royal family in celebrating Elizabeth II’s sixty years on the throne of Great Britain. The reasons given are political. The essential word has nine letters – Gibraltar.

Here we see a badly mixed cocktail; three parts of royal connection (and very old friendship), plus one part of squabble do not gel into an acceptable and creamy mix. Queen Sophia is Greek, descended from the Danish royal family as well as Queen Victoria. The King of Spain’s grandmother was English. When a group of radically-inclined colonels threw their crowned King Constantine out of his own palace and confiscated his possessions (not very many, but Mother Frederika had left something) the young man and his family went immediately to London, where they have been domiciled to all intents and purposes every since. Doña Sophia is and always has been very close to her exiled brother. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-17T08:11:24+00:00 May 17th, 2012|English History, Spanish History, Today, World History|2 Comments