Forex Exchange

by Debra Brown I recently ran across a statement about mint placed in straw bedding. How pleasant, I thought! It reminded me of having lain in a pile of fresh-smelling straw in a friend's barn in childhood, listening to the rain hitting the metal roof. In this day of foam mattresses- though I must say mine is quite welcoming- we have gotten away from the sounds and smells of nature. And that means we've gotten away from the negative ions that rolling in the hay kicked up. I've read that there was less insomnia in a time when a person was 'grounded' electrically by sleeping on natural bedding- even on skins on the ground- and wearing cotton nightclothes rather than polyester. The things we've done to ourselves! (I'm not complaining- I love my bed.) The earliest beds were piles of straw, leaves or simply animal skins on the ground. These things were plentiful and easy enough to come by. They could be replaced regularly as needed. In time, large bags (tick)...

Postcard 1910 by Lauren Gilbert           New Year’s Eve…  This is the day when most of us look back at the old year passing away, celebrating the good things that happened, mourning our losses, and generally taking stock.  We also look forward to the new year approaching, preparing to shake off the dust and move forward.  Parties and celebrations are the order of the day, a happy way to speed the old year out and the New Year in.  Many traditions are involved in the New Year’s celebration, and one of these is the singing of “Auld Lang Syne.”   Robert Burns            The lyrics of “Auld Lang Syne” are attributed to Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).  However, this is a much older song than we really know.  Variations of “Auld Lang Syne” abound.  Over the years, as is the way with many traditional songs, the lyrics and melodies have varied to suit the...

The giveaway for this week is The Journal of a Georgian Gentleman, by Mike Rendell. Please click HERE to read more about the book. You may comment on this post to enter the drawing for a paperback copy to be shipped within the US. Be sure to leave your contact information!

by Tim Vicary The first person brought before the court was a woman. She was seventy years old, partially deaf, and possibly senile. The charge was high treason, for which the penalty was death. Her name was Alice Lyle. The judge was the Lord Chief Justice of England, the newly ennobled George, First Baron Jeffreys of Wem. In 1685 Jeffreys was 40 years old and had been England’s top judge for 2 years. He was a highly intelligent, ambitious man, renowned for his energy, hatred of criminals, and ferocious skill in cross-examination. He was also a sick man, suffering from a kidney stone. He frequently sipped what was thought to be brandy during trials, leading to accusations that he was drunk. This may have been true, but if so the brandy was probably medicinal, to dull the extreme pain he was suffering. And like most people in chronic pain, he was often in a filthy temper, searching for a scapegoat to vent his fury on. If that was so, he had been given the perfect opportunity.   Earl...

by Arthur Russell Sir Roger Mortimer After the defeat of Edward Bruce at Faughart in Ireland in October 1318, Sir Roger Mortimer’s reputation as an effective soldier and administrator made him a vital ally of King Edward II. The King was facing a resurgence of rebellion from his barons mostly arising from the activities of his latest favourite, Sir Hugh Despenser, his closest adviser. Established laws and agreements were being set aside to endow Despenser’s family with lands and titles as Despenser took over roles the King was too lazy or unwilling to perform himself. The pattern for this been set a decade earlier with a former Royal favourite, Piers Gaveston. The difference from Mortimer’s point of view was that while Gaveston had been his mentor and friend, Despenser was a mortal enemy arising from an old Marchland dispute in which Despenser’s grandfather was killed by Mortimer’s grandfather. This meant that Mortimer had to be careful. The King might appreciate his talents but s...

by J.A. Beard "Not so large, I dare say, as many people suppose. I do not mean to complain, however; it is undoubtedly a comfortable one, and I hope, will in time be better. The inclosure of Norland Common, now carrying on, is a most serious drain. And then I have made a little purchase within this half year -- East Kingham Farm, you must remember the place, where old Gibson used to live. The land was so very desirable for me in every respect, so immediately adjoining my own property, that I felt it my duty to buy it. I could not have answered it to my conscience to let it fall into any other hands. A man must pay for his convenience, and it has cost me a vast deal of money." -- John Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility , Chapter 33 Mr. Dashwood's comments don't initially seem to be all that important in the grander discussion of the nature of socio-economic disparity and economic realignment in Georgian and Regency England. His off-hand mention of "the inclosure of N...

by Regina Jeffers The German scholar, Albertus Magnus, is generally credited with the discovery of arsenic in or about 1250. All sorts of poisons have been used since the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Greeks had a fondness for water hemlock, a plant in the carrot family, not the evergreen family. Plato celebrated the use of hemlock in his description of the death of Socrates. Beginning with the Roman Empire forward, arsenic became the preferred poison. There are some references to the use of arsenic as far back as the 4 th Century B.C., but Magnus perfected the compound in the 1200s. A metallic arsenic is mentioned in the writings of Paracelsus, a physician-alchemist in the late Middle Ages, who is often referred to a the “Father of Modern Toxicology.” In the first century, Dioscorides, a Greek physician at the court of the Roman Emperor Nero, offers a brief listing of the advantages of arsenic for sinister uses: no odor or taste when mixed with food/drink and its la...