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England's tsunami of 1607...



An account of an early natural disaster and the effect it had on the West of England and Wales

The world was horrified by the tsunami that struck Asia several years ago. To most of us, it was the first time we’d heard the word, the first time such a terrifying incident could strike out of the blue, without warning.

An Account from England and Wales:

But it has happened before, many centuries ago near the Bristol Channel in England. The following is based on an account in The Gentleman’s Magazine of 1762, printed in response to a report of a disastrous storm near Quesnoy, France. It quotes extensively from a pamphlet in the Harleian library which was written soon after the event in 1607. It is worth quoting in detail:

“On Tuesday January 27 about 9 in the morning, ‘the sunne being fayrly and bryghtly spred,’ huge and mighty hills of water were seen in the elements, tumbling one over another in such sort as if the greatest mountains in the world had overwhelmed the low vallies, to the inexpressible astonishment and terror of the spectators, who, at first, mistaking it for a great mist, or fog, did not on the sudden prepare to make their escape from it; but on its nearer approach, which came on with such swiftness as it was verily thought the fowls of the air could not fly so fast; they perceived that it was the violence of the waters of the raging seas, which seemed to have broken their bounds, and were pouring in to deluge the whole land, and then happy were they that could fly the fastest. But as violent and swift were the huge waves, and they pursuing one another with such rapidity that in less than 5 hours space, most part of the countries on the Severn’s banks were laid under water, and many hundreds of men, women, and children, perished in the floods. From the hills might be seen herds of cattle, and flocks of sheep, with husbandmen labouring in the fields, all swept away together, and swallowed up in one dreadful inundation. Houses, barns, ricks of corn and hay, were all involved in the common ruin. Many who were rich in the morning were beggars before noon, and several perished in endeavouring to save their effects

Read more at Suite101: England's Tsunami of 1607 http://www.suite101.com/content/tea-for-invisibility-a294678#ixzz1Hqcs2UQs

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Polynesians fear 20 metre tsunami from Mururoa  atoll...






French scientist warns that part of radioactive Mururoa atoll could break off and trigger a tsunami...


The president of French Polynesia has asked France to send scientists to assess the risk that the Mururoa atoll, which was used as a nuclear bomb test site for 30 years, could collapse into the Pacific Ocean and unleash a tsunami 20 metres high on the surrounding islands.

Polynesians have been watching the events in Japan - caused by a 10-metre high tsunami - with mounting alarm. The fear that part of the Mururoa atoll might collapse into the sea is not new. Back in 1997, one year after the final, highly controversial, nuclear test, an official report referred to the risk.

Now locals have seized on an admission by a French nuclear safety official, Marcel Jurien de la Graviere, that "the possibility of a collapse of part of the Mururoa atoll cannot be ruled out".

President Gaston Tong Sang writes in his letter to his opposite number Nicolas Sarkozy that there is disquiet among French Polynesians, who fear not only a 20-metre high tsunami washing over their islands, but also the release of radioactive material which has so far been entombed in the atoll. De la Graviere suggested that people on nearby Tureia atoll could be exposed to radiation 300 times the level in France.

Meanwhile, locals have told ABC News that there are places on Mururoa atoll where the road has sunk two metres below sea level and that there are huge cracks in the coral.

Tong Sang wants Paris to set up an alarm system, although its usefulness would be questionable given that Tureia has a maximum elevation of a few metres and is only 70 miles away from Mururoa.



Read more: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/76504,news-comment,news-politics,french-polynesians-fear-20-metre-tsunami-from-nuclear-mururoa-atoll#ixzz1HlWupe5X

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Absinthe  -  "The Green Fairy"  -  named for its emerald colour and its ability to make your head swirl.



Does this alcoholic beverage deserve its reputation? Personally I have never tried it; in my younger days I was not into liqueurs, preferring to drink brown and golden brown ales and lagers in my journeys and  youthful  socialising. But, however, there were plenty around who did, and enjoyed it, it has been widely claimed. And Absinthe does have its very old reputation; does it indeed warrant this? Does it deserve its reputation to make your head swirl after drinking its emerald green contents? Has any alcoholic beverage attracted as much conjecture as Absinthe?


New Zealand is, according to a recent claim, one of the few countries in the world where Absinthe is sold across the counter without any regulation or other restraint. Bartenders here are using it in cocktails and it is also available to take home from most liquor stores as well.


This is apparently remarkable because some brands contain quantities of thujone, a derivative of the leaves and flowers of the wormwood plant from the Mediterranean with a reputation  as a 'psychotic convulsant'  (described in a number of books and stories over the years) dating back to an earlier time when science and medicines were a great deal different than their modern varieties.

Well do the old reputations stack up today! Will it make you blind and mad, as I have read? There is no evidence to support any assertation or claim that modern Absinthe  resembles the rudimentary drink from the past. Recent studies have found small ineffectual doses of thujone may accumulate in the body  and produce, over time, minor toxicity.  While this might explain Absinthe's alleged reputation for producing  a heady buzz, any light- headedness  is more likely to be a reaction to over-indulgence of a highly alcoholic beverage that contains a myriad of unfamiliar herbs and flavourings. What a let down! So it was just a case of going on an Absinthe bender? The modern variety perhaps, but like many of the old alcoholic drinks with reputations emanating from  the dark and distant past -  the Scotch and Irish whiskies for instance -  the old Absinthe may well have lived up to its history.

While the modern form of Absinthe has been variously attributed to apothecaries in Switzerland and France,   tonics in the manner of Absinthe have existed for thousands of years. Pythagoras and Hippocrates   reportedly recommended wormword elixirs for a variety of ailments and were  included in medicine chests of doctors in many places for centuries. Even that ubiquitous  Vicks VapoRub that many of us have in our own medicine cupboards today, is claimed to contain small quantities of thujone.   

Thujone can be reportedly found in other modern alcoholic drinks today, such as Vermouth, Chartreuse and Benedictine. In fact Vermouth, made from using flower heads from Wormword, takes its name from the German' wermuth'  . Wormwood is also popular  as flavouring for branvin, an alcoholic drink made from potatoes in Sweden. 

This is not the end of the wormwood or Absinthe story, just a pause here. I hope you enjoyed the information in my story; I enjoyed researching and  writing it. Absinthe, the emerald 'green fairy'  may swirl a few more Kiwi  heads yet.       

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A FOOTBALLER'S LIES ALMOST CREATED AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT BETWEEN NEW ZEALAND AND FRANCE...


You wouldn't believe it, but a French rugby player's lies after the recent rugby test in Wellington nearly created another international incident between NZ and France. The first was in the 1980's when French frogmen blew up the Greenpeace "Rainbow Warrior" vessel in Auckland, with the loss of one life:

France apologises for Bastareaud:

PM Key receives letter from French PM Fillon apologising for Mathieu Bastareaud who claimed he had been attacked in Wellington.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has apologised to John Key over the Mathieu Bastareaud affair.

In a letter to the Prime Minister he condemns the lies of the rugby player, who claimed he had been attacked in Wellington. Mr Fillon went on to say rugby has always helped the two nations develop mutual respect and he hopes the incident does not damage that.

"The French team's tour of New Zealand was marked by the unjustifiable behaviour of one its players. Through his false statements, as a result of which you had to intervene publicly, he seriously tainted the image of your country and its people.

"You may be assured that I deplore this incident. Our two countries share the culture of rugby. This sport has always enabled our two nations to come together and share a mutual respect. I hope that these sentiments will prevail after this regrettable affair.

"Like all rugby fans, I am delighted that your country is organising the next World Cup in 2011."

Paris correspondent Catherine Field says Mr Fillon's move is highly unusual.

"It might be quite normal in New Zealand for a prime minister to have to know a lot about rugby and to have to talk off the bat about it, but for France to actually intervene like this, is extraordinary."

Bastareaud claimed he had been attacked by up to five men outside the team's hotel in Wellington after France was defeated 14-10 in the second Test against the All Blacks. However, when police found evidence that he had suffered the facial injuries after returning to his hotel in the early hours of June 21, the centre changed his version of events and said he had hit his head on a bedside table after drinking too much. He said he invented the story about being attacked because he was scared of being taken off the French team.

His club said Bastareaud was on holiday in the French West Indies but he was admitted to hospital after trying to take his life by jumping into the Seine.

Amazing but its true!

Lying Basteraud

A SPECIAL GIFT TO THE ALL BLACKS FROM THEIR MAIN SPONSORS - ADIDAS


A special gift from Adidas and the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) will make sure the All Blacks stay connected to their homeland at a purely grass roots level for the World Cup in France this year.

The NZRU and Adidas are in the process of cutting a piece of turf from dozens of grounds around the country.

Soil from the turf will help to make up the gift that the team will take to France in August.

Adidas NZ marketing manager Craig Waugh said the idea behind the campaign was that the 1072 All Blacks to date were "Of This Earth".

"The turf we are collecting from clubs around the country will cover the rugby grounds on which every All Black has played," Craig said.

"We'll then be creating a very special gift to send along to France with the All Blacks when they contest the World Cup."

NZRU marketing manager Fraser Holland said turf would be collected from major stadiums like Eden Park, Waikato Stadium and Carisbrook, as well as small provincial grounds like Southbridge, the home ground to first five-eighths Dan Carter, and Opunake Beach, home to prop Carl Hayman.