Hello. Remember me? I haven't quite fallen off the edge of the internet ( Read more... )

Earlier this week nodbear and I were in Portsmouth to do our research seminar at the National Museum of the Royal Navy. We've presented several conference papers already on various aspects of our research but this was our first opportunity to present a broad overview of all nineteen* of the Indefatigable's young gentlemen. The start of our presentation ( Read more... )

I'm trying to write part of a book chapter about Indefatigable midshipman Henry Hart. As well as having a long and successful naval career, Hart was knighted for his diplomatic services, which included a mission to the Imam of Muscat in Zanzibar.

All I can think of though is "Off to Zanzibar to meet the Zanzibarbarians!" *headdesk* I'm never ( Read more... )

Tonight marks the anniversary of the Droits de L’Homme engagement when Captains Sir Edward Pellew and Robert Carthew Reynolds in the frigates Indefatigable and Amazon took on Commodore Raymond de Lacrosse’s 74 gun ship of the line, Les Droits de L’Homme, and ran her into the surf off Hodierne Bay.


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I’m just home from an immensely fun trip to Exeter with the lovely nodbear where we spent three days at Devon Records Office going through the Pellew archive with a fine tooth comb. Needless to say we were in our element and discovered all sorts of little gems which we’ll be spamming you with for months to come. The archive proved to be so entertaining ( Read more... )

Cross posting this from nodbear's journal ( Read more... )

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Overheard in Glasgow this weekend....

Daughter: What are you and nodbear doing?
Me: We're writing a conference paper.
Daughter: What's it about?
Me: Guess.
Daughter: Sailors.
Me: Right first time!
Daughter: You two are going to turn into sailors one day...

One final bit of spam from Portsmouth for the time being... nodbear and I were rather chuffed to find this in the conference pack for the Port Towns Conference :)


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Better late than never, a wee report from the Port Towns and Urban Cultures conference. Needless to say we had a whale of a time! It was the first time that I'd been to Portsmouth so the night we arrived nodbear gave me a grand tour of the historic landmarks around the town, culminating with dinner at Gunwharf Quay. The weather was glorious and it was ( Read more... )