Syce

 

Syce

This puzzle provides 26 potential words. Each word must have at least 4 letters in it, and must include the central letter, in this case 'Y'.

I work on a Polygon puzzle each morning and when I have exhausted my vocabulary, I look at the solution. Sometimes, the words are so obvious that I wonder how I’ve managed to be blind to them. At many other times, unknown words crop up and ‘syce’ is one that appeared recently.

A syce holding two carriage horses

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

It is pronounced as spelt, and is an archaic Urdu term for a groom. A syce was a servant, notably in India, during British colonial rule in the seventeenth century, whose responsibilities included feeding, grooming, and saddling horses, and driving carriages. It was in use before the advent of the car, at a time when horse transport was common.

When cars later became more available, syce developed to mean chauffeur, a driver of the ‘horseless carriage.’

Conscious sedation

 

Conscious sedation

The local hospitals are playing catch-up, and some non-urgent procedures are being conducted at weekends. Thus, I received the following from Barry on Sunday afternoon.

‘I’m having conscious sedation and not general anaesthetic. Thing is, I’m not sure I’ll be able to see any difference between being normal and conscious sedation.’

There are many responses to that, most of them rude.

I thought I understood what was meant by ‘conscious sedation’ but looked it up anyway. The most concise explanation follows:  

‘Conscious sedation is a combination of medicines to help you relax (a sedative) and to block pain (an anaesthetic) during a medical or dental procedure. You will probably stay awake, but may not be able to speak.

Conscious sedation lets you recover quickly and return to your everyday activities soon after your procedure.’

The bit I highlighted in red made me smile. Barry is a talker and always has been. When he was three years old and travelling by sea to India with his mother and baby brother, he had to share a cabin with another mother and children. He chattered about everything, until the other mother said, in exasperation, ‘Can’t you keep your boy quiet?’

The answer, of course, was that she couldn’t, and he continued to jabber. The only time he was truly silenced was when he was ten years old, and his father died suddenly. Such was the shock that he withdrew completely and didn’t speak for six months.

This character trait has been reproduced in spades in our youngest grandson, Jack, who will be six years old in November. From the moment he wakes until he finally falls asleep, many hours later, Jack talks. When he’s not commenting on current events, he’s asking questions. He is very entertaining.

Salt

 

Salt

      Salt being transporte by camel train on Lake Assale (Karum) in Ethiopia                                  2017

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

‘Salt is like good humour, and nearly everything is better for a pinch of it.’ Louisa May Alcott (1832 – 1888)

Before the advent of industrialisation, the procuring of salt in the immense quantities required for food preservation was labour-intensive and expensive.

                    Salt farmers harvesting salt in Thailand 2011

                            Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Iron Age Britons produced salt through evaporation, boiling salt water in clay pots over open fires.  Later, Romans boiled larger volumes of water in large lead-lined pans.  Salt routes existed from pre-historic times to move salt from the point of production to areas requiring it.

In the Middle Ages (5^th to 15^th centuries) roads were built to transport salt. Some of them are still in existence. The Old Salt Route (Alte Salzstraße) in Northern Germany was a mediaeval trade route between the salt mines of Lüneburg in the north and Lübeck on the Baltic Sea coast. Another famous salt road is the Via Salaria which carried Roman salt from Ostia to other parts of Italy.

            Salt harvesting, Lake Bumbunga, South Australia, late 1940s

                             Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Droitwich Salt Way was a trade route to the south-east of England. Brine bubbled up from the ground naturally and the salt content was twenty times greater than in sea water. The Salt Way was used from the Iron Age and throughout the Roman and mediaeval periods. Today it is a public footpath between Droitwich Spa and Blisworth in Northamptonshire.

Badwater Salt Flats, Death Valley, California, 2020

  Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Historically, salt was an important and very valuable commodity and it production was strictly regulated. In the 6^th century Moorish merchants traded one ounce of salt for one ounce of gold and in Africa, cakes of salt were used as currency.

                              Salt field worker, Slovenia, 2009

                             Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

 Salt taxes have caused unrest across the world. In France the oppressive tax, or gabelle, on salt caused resentment and was one of the causes of the French Revolution (1789 – 1799) The gabelle was abolished in 1790 but reinstated by Napoleon in 1806 to raise money for his military campaigns. It was eventually abolished in 1945.

Meanwhile, in India during the British Raj, 1858 – 1947, the British Government had a monopoly on salt production and distribution. It was heavily taxed and became a substantial source of revenue for Britain.  Indians considered the tax unjust and repressive.  

                     Sifto Salt Mine, Goderich, Ontario, Canada, 2018

 Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In 1930 Mahatma Gandhi led a march to the coast at Dandi to protest against the ban on Indians making or selling salt. When he reached the coast after 23 days, he violated the law by making salt at the seashore. Thereafter, people across the country followed Gandhi’s example and began producing their own salt. Gandhi’s march became known as the Salt March or Salt Satyagraha and was an important turning point in the struggle for independence.

                            National Salt Satyagraha Memorial, 2020

 Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

There is a mistaken belief that Roman soldiers were paid in salt rather than money. They were certainly issued with salt as part of their recompense but it was not their only payment. Salarium (salt ration) is the origin of the word ‘salary’.

 Himalayan salt, 2020

 Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

There are many beliefs and superstitions associated with salt, the commonest probably being that it is bad luck to spill salt. The ancient Sumerians negated it by throwing a pinch of the spilled salt over their left shoulder. The ritual spread to the Egyptians, the Assyrians and later, the Greeks. It reflected how much salt is valued.

In the later Christian tradition, spilling salt was thought to be an invitation to the Devil to enter your life and cause havoc. The Devil lurks behind one’s left shoulder, waiting for a way in. Tossing a pinch of salt directed it into the Devil’s eyes, making him blind and powerless. Some people believed that throwing salt over one’s shoulder was an act of purification and healing.

Nowadays, people do it ‘for luck’ without thinking of the deeper meaning behind the act.

A man ‘not worth his salt’ is a person considered unreliable or untrustworthy, whereas a man described as ‘the salt of the earth’ is dependable and worthy. In mediaeval times, when salt was a precious commodity, it was placed at the centre of the dining table. The nobles would sit ‘above the salt’, nearest the most important diners, and those of lesser, more ignominious rank would be seated ‘below the salt’.

                                    Rock salt, central Poland, 2014
                             Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The ancient Greeks and Romans believed salt was sacred and used it in religious ceremonies and sacrifices. Salt is also used in Shintoism as a purifier and Buddhists use salt to ward off evil. Judeo-Christian traditions used salt to purify and to finalise contracts.

However, salt could be used in a destructive way. An ancient military practice involved ‘salting the earth. Salt was spread on the sites of razed cities by their conquerors. It was a curse to prevent repopulation and meant that no crops could be grown. It was an act designed to reinforce the victor’s power and his desire to eradicate his enemies.

                                        Rock salt, Pakistan, 2017
                             Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Finally, if you’re advised to take something ‘with a pinch of salt’, it’s a warning that what you’re being told may not be entirely believable. It is not clear how the phrase originated but some have credited Pliny the Elder with it. When engaged in writing the first encyclopaedia, he included a cure for poison, in which one ingredient was a grain of salt. Over time, the grain grew into a pinch.

ABC Wednesday N is for Nelson, Napoleon and the Battle of the Nile

Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson by Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1800

National Maritime Museum

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay and in French as the Bataille d'Aboukir) took place on August 1^st – 3^rd, 1798, east of Alexandria off the coast of Egypt in the Mediterranean. The French Fleet of 17 carried 1,196 guns. The British Fleet of 14 had 1,012 guns.

Battle of the Nile, August 1st, 1798 byThomas Whitcombe (1816) 

National Maritime Museum

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

It was a major naval battle fought between the British and French fleets and proved to be a resounding success for Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s intention was to invade Egypt in a bid to force Britain out of the French Revolutionary Wars, support Tipu Sultan of Mysore in his fight with the British in India and re-establish French influence in India. Naturally, the British government and the East India Company were greatly alarmed at this prospect. The French fleet was pursued by the British across the Mediterranean for more than two months but Napoleon was able to capture Malta and then land his army in Egypt.

The French fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay, its commander believing it to be in a strong defensive position. Nelson’s fleet arrived on August 1^st and he ordered an immediate assault. As his ships drew near the French line they divided into separate forces. One division sailed between the French ships and the Egyptian shore and the other took on the seaward side. The French commander, Admiral Brueys d’Aigalliers, had mistakenly believed that the British would not attack, it being then near sunset and late in the day to engage in battle. Trapped in crossfire, the French suffered a fearsome few hours of fighting.

They had taken advantage of being at anchor to conduct refits and took a long time to bring the batteries on land into action, set about as they were with stores and equipment from the ships. The French flagship, the Orient, had been in the process of repainting and highly flammable paint and turpentine were stored on deck. During the fighting these caught fire and the ship exploded at 10:00 pm watched by Nelson on his flagship Vanguard. 

Admiral Brueys died of his wounds before the explosion and the captain, Commodore Casabianca, was blown up with his ten-year-old son. Desperate efforts were made by both French and English ships to pick up survivors, but only 70 crew were saved. The great quantity of valuables looted from Malta by Napoleon was lost. The French ships to the rear of the line tried to sail out of the bay but of the seventeen ships engaged, only four managed to break free. Of the rest, four were destroyed and nine captured, two of which fought on the British side at Trafalgar.

Following the defeat at Aboukir Bay, Napoleon left his army to fend for itself and returned to France. Any risk to Britain’s claim to India was averted and other European countries were encouraged to resist France. Nelson was hailed as a hero throughout Europe (though not in France!) and was created Baron Nelson.

During the battle Nelson ordered British colours to be flown from Vanguard’s rigging in six different positions so that at no time would there be an absence of colours, regardless of how much rigging was destroyed. Afterwards he ordered all his ships to conduct thanksgiving services. The captured atheist French revolutionary officers were impressed by the piety and discipline of the British crews.

ABC Wednesday is brought to you by the Noble Denise Nesbitt and her Noteworthy team. Please click here to see more Ns.

April A to Z blogging challenge Ink

This challenge is inspired and initiated by Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out.

The Chinese are credited with discovering and developing the first forms of ink. Made from a combination of pine smoke soot and lamp oil mixed with gelatine made from donkey skin and musk, it was used to blacken the surfaces of raised hieroglyphics carved in stone. The first known use of ink dates from around the 18^th century BC.

In India, ink developed and used since the 4^th century BC was made from burnt bones and tar. Other ancient cultures devised inks using natural colours from berries, plants and minerals.

By 400 AD a basic formula for ink was created and remained in use for centuries. It was a composition of iron salts, gallnuts, tannin and a thickener. It was known as iron gall ink. When first used the ink was bluish-black, soon deepening to black and fading after years to the brown colour familiar from old documents.

From the 20^th century onwards ink production became an industrial process.

Today it is possible to buy a huge range of inks in many splendid colours. For example, Noodler’s inks are produced in a variety of vibrant colours and for the most important documents, when recording must be preserved at all costs, waterproof/bulletproof inks are guaranteed to be permanent. The ink bonds with the celluloid in paper and, once dry, cannot be removed with water, acid, alcohol, solvents, bleach. It will not fade and will be as sharp as the day it was used. It is said that the ink will outlast the paper it is written on! 

ABC Wednesday I is for India

Thanks go to Denise Nesbitt and her Indefatigable team who organise and host this meme each week. To see what other players have posted please click here.
Barry and I have spent many hours recently compiling memory books for my mother-in-law, Dorothy. The albums contain a little information, including names for each photograph, to jog her memory. We hope they will stimulate her failing memory and help her to remember happy moments. Some of her fondest memories are of India, where she lived  with her husband and children for three years after the war.  

Dorothy with Trevor and Barry, New Delhi, India

Barry with his father, mother and younger brother 

A copy of 'The Onlooker' from September 1946

A page from 'The Onlooker' with the following caption.

Her Highness Rani Sahiba Kusum Kumari of Mandi, who was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal in the Birthday Honours list for outstanding social services.

Dorothy and her family were in India when Gandhi was assassinated on 30th January 1948. She saw the crowds passing by on the road below her flat.