Horace de Vera Cole and the Dreadnaught

Horace de Vera Cole and the  Dreadnaught

A very good hoax is something the British enjoy. And, in 1910, Horace de Vera Cole and a small group of friends carried out an incredible hoax. They made fun of the great Royal Navy.

As it so happened, an Abyssinian prince was paying a visit to England. This was an excellent chance for the prank loving Horace. And, very soon, he and his fun group of friends, which included Virginia Woolf and 2 other members of the Bloomsbury group, were perfecting a plan.

With the help of a university drama club, the group produced some unimaginably very good costumes; and, the makeup was brilliant too. The group then went on their way.

After having cleverly tricked British Railways into providing a VIP luxury coach for the journey, the group travelled down to Weymouth which lay on the coast. And, there, moored in great splendor was HMS Dreadnaught. A fine British battle ship.

The captain and crew had been informed in advance of the Abyssinian visit. A very realistic Foreign Office telegram had been sent. The Dreadnaught was ready and waiting. The Abyssinian prince and his delegation were whistled on board and saluted. A tour of the ship and a very fine lunch then went without saying. And, before disembarking, the Abyssinian prince bestowed an Abyssinian medal of honor on the captain. A traditional Abyssinian thank you.

The party that night was a party that London never forgot. The Dreadnaught Hoax, as it had become known, was the talk of the town. Everyone thought it was funny. And, the fun carried on until morning. But, then, came a knock on the door!

It was the navy. The group was arrested and taken back down to Weymouth. This time third class not VIP. There was the Dreadnaught. It was waiting for them. The group was marched back on board. This time to a different kind of whistling. The captain was not very happy.

Each member of the group, except Virginia Woolf, was made to bend over and given three symbolic whips on the buttocks.  And all to the very hearty cheers of the crew. But, of course, this wasn't the end of the story.

The captain and officers of the Dreadnaught invited Horace de Vera Cole and his friends for a wonderful lunch. The Dreadnaught had been cleverly tricked. The Royal Navy, too, enjoy very good pranks, and, of course, are very good losers. All very good fun and all very British.

Horace de Vera Cole and the Dreadnaught

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Paradise Back - Rebecca HUGHES

 

Paradise Back

One summer morning, Rebecca walked into her garden. It was a beautiful day. Sunshine, blue skies, colours and song. But, something was wrong. Paradise was hurting. No buzzing to be heard. 12 bees were all Rebecca could find. A tragedy. Something had to be done.

So shocked was Rebecca that she set about becoming a bee keeper. She would bring back the bees.

Rebecca started reading books, going on courses, watching videos, and, most importantly, getting to know other liked minded people. Rebecca found no shortage of help. Bee keepers are passionate people.

And, then, one day, came Rebecca's first hive and her very first swarm. This was a very special day. Friends in their thousands moved into her garden. And, these thousands of friends very quickly took over.

And, now, all these years later, there's a very big buzz in the air. And, the bees are happy as well. Rebecca has turned a very large part of her garden into a bed of wild flower beauty. Wild flowers make wonderful honey.

And, Rebecca has not only honey, she has wax and propolis, too. All wonderful natural gifts. Gifts that give light, heal, and keep hunger away. And, what could be better than a nice honey sandwich and a nice glass of mead?

And, at the end of each day, Rebecca goes into her garden and says thank you. Her very many very little friends do a wonderful job. Paradise is no longer hurting. Rebecca has brought back the bees. The days of only 12 bees are long, long ago.

Rebecca Hughes – Paradise Back.

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Opposites - An Essay

Opposites

Some thinking that is totally opposite from all that you have ever believed in –

by Nigel A.JAMES

Everything, everyone believes,has an opposite. Black is the opposite of white and days and nights are opposites, too. And, so on, and so on. But, the one thing that nobody knows is that the opposite is true! There are, in fact, no opposites at all!

This may come as a very big surprise to you, but, it is only a question of logic, or, if you prefer, a matter of pure common sense. At first sight, you will want to believe that the opposite of what I’m about to say is the truth; but, because there are, as we have already established, no opposites at all, the opposite is in fact true. It's all a question of balance.

A balance is a very important thing for everybody. It is a thing that everyone needs, and, the reason for this is really quite simple: man is a very unbalanced creature; and, in order to be balanced, he needs, and he strives for, what is commonly known as a “balanced life”.

So, what is a balanced life? A so-called balanced life consists of 2 basic factors, and everything else depends upon these. The first is the state of waking and sleeping; and, the second is working and leisure. These are the states that everyone needs in order to live. But, if you were to say that these two points are, in reality, really 4 opposites, you would be wrong. The state of being asleep and the state of being awake are nothing more than simple extensions of themselves. The same rule applies for working and leisure. Working and leisure are no opposites at all.

And, night isn't the opposite of day. it is the same as day. Night automatically turns into day, and, a little later, it turns back again into its original state, and the same thing goes for day. Both are exactly the same thing. The only question being, what turns into what? And, what was there to begin with?

Black and white are two more very good examples of the non-existence of opposites. Both could be each other, it all depends upon light. A white wall always becomes black when a day reaches its end, and a black wall (if it isn’t really black but white) becomes white when it gets light again! Again both are simply extensions of each other In fact, black is the colour that every other colour becomes, too.

Hot and cold are also the same. Cold happens when hot stops existing, and heat starts when cold is heated up. Both – therefore - are the same thing in a different state. You can prove this by adding cold water to your bath if the water's too hot to begin with!

Opposites do not exist, if they were to, they could only happen in the same thing or the same person, and this is totally impossible. You can have a clever man and you can have a stupid man, they are two different people. A man who is now educated used to be uneducated. Being educated follows being non-educated; no one can be both.

So, what about men and women? They say that opposites attract! This is not true! It is the things that people have in common which bring people together. And, what happens when a man and a woman become a pair? They become a unit. Not just any sort of normal unit, but, two individual halves. Two individual halves? No, not at all! A unit is a whole and, a whole has no differences. Or, does it? Maybe, yes! Maybe, opposites do exist, after all!

And, maybe you are the opposite of yourself? This is very often true! How often have you done something that you would never ever do? Is being the opposite of yourself really the opposite of yourself or your genuine you?

To conclude, I feel compelled to say that the only opposites that really exist are those of an entirely abstract nature. Cold is only the opposite of hot because it is seen as such, whereas cold and heat are two relative matters that rely purely on the individuals understanding of what these two states really are. What about cold and freezing? And, what is big for an ant is - more-than-likely - to be very small for us! It’s only a question of perspectives and questioning. And, whatever you believe, there will always be someone who thinks that you are the opposite of them!

                                                 Listen to Opposites on Talk 49 World

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nj. 2010/2021

Lisl Fischer - The Day of the Jackal - A remarkable story!

  

The Day of the Jackal

Having a garden is a wonderful thing. And, gardens are not only great for the spirit, they are spots of creation as well. Wonderful team work. Man and nature working together.

And, in Vienna, Lisl Fischer has a wonderful garden. A corner of heaven on earth. And, it is here that nature comes calling. Trees, plants, and beauty come in on the wind, and, nocturnal guests include foxes, bats, badgers, and cats, and many more, too. But, the strangest of all came early one morning.

It was just after six. A fine summer's morning. Lisl was out in her garden. All of a sudden, Lissl felt something behind her. A presence. Very, very slowly, Lisl turned round. A jackal. And, it was looking at her. The jackal, a wonderful animal with its spots and light yellow stripes. And, Lisl and the jackal just stared at each other. Mesmerized. Neither moved. And then, in a flash, the jackal was gone. Lisl was very relieved. She had been just a little bit scared.

But, from where had the jackal arrived? Lissl phoned up the zoo. No jackals had escaped. But, what they told her was interesting. Because of the climate change, Jackals were now spreading out across Europe. Lisl can expect more jackals in future!

But, the real mystery remains. How had the jackal found Lisl's garden? Lisl's garden is in one of the busiest corners of town. Between Lisl's and the hills are not only two busy roads, but a railway as well. The jackal had been lucky and Lisl had been lucky as well!

Lisl's day of the jackal. A beautiful guest if only for just a short while.

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