On this day in 1878, James Whistler (he of the Mother) sued the art critic John Ruskin in a libel action because Ruskin accused Whistler of 'flinging a pot of paint in the public's face'. Whistler got one farthing (that is a quarter of an old penny or one nine hundred and sixtieth of a pound to you, young reader) but that's not the point. Why did anybody listen to anything Ruskin said? After all, he was astonished to find that women had pubic hair and thought that J M W Turner was a halfway decent painter. I should add here that my lovely wife is somewhat of a fan of JMWT and so if she sees this it may turn out to be my very last blog. Fortunately for me, I didn't realize her fondness for the man until she had moved in and it was too late - her Fighting Temeraire tea towel came as a bit of a shock at the time though, I don't mind telling you.
In other news ...
It was a grim day for the British army 133 years ago today when the 24th Foot was wiped out by a force of Zulu Impis at Isandlwana. This was one of the worst defeats on record of a British force and modern attempts to explain it away include a) the Zulus were cheating because they took drugs to hype them up b) the British couldn't open their ammunition boxes because they were short of screwdrivers c) the smoke from their Lee Enfield rifles blinded them. The real reason was two-fold - a) the Zulus outnumbered the British three to one and b) the British commander, Lord Chelmsford, was an idiot.
'Nuff said.
For those disappointed that my computer skills seem to be worsening, then I would remind you that the bullet points of some days ago were by way of being a fluke. A's and B's were good enough for my old grandpappy and they are good enough for me.
