Let's hear it for the Women of Mumbles Head - or at least, somewhere nearby. 212 years ago today, a French Frigate landed at Fishguard in Pembrokeshire.I should perhaps remind you of the following -
- We were at war with France at the time.
- The frigate's captain thought Wales was Ireland.
- He was supposed to be linking up with a rebellion that had already failed weeks before.
That said, his men were mean, armed and determined to carry out a bit of rape and pillage which have been soldiers' R&R for centuries. Along the beach they saw people advancing with red coats and black headgear and said (to themselves and each other) 'Merde! C'est l'Infanterie de l'Angleterre!' (S**t! British squaddies!). They were wrong in fact because these were Welsh fishwives in their traditional red shawls and black hats. They were far more terrifying than the regular army and the French ran for it. The Pembrokeshire Yeomanry (that's part time cavalry to you, Eight Tee Tea) waited until the coast was clear (literally) then galloped up with lots of cries of 'Huzzah!' and had the battle honour 'Fishguard' put on their accoutrements (that's bits and bobs to you, Twelve Aitch Why).
In other news ...
Jethro Tull died today in 1741. Nothing whatever to do with the 'music' industry, this was the guy who brought you such literary classics as
Horse-Howing Husbandry (he was a stickler for alliteration) and
Essay on the Principles of Tillage and Vegetation. Tull was not just a theorist, however; his horse-hoe really worked, as did his seed drill which planted seeds in neat rows, making a nonsense of the parable of the sower and ensuring that every seed planted actually grew. What was the response of farm labourers whose work was cut dramatically and whose families could now eat properly? They went on the rampage and smashed up Tull's machinery.
Ingrates!
