21st October

Truly great events spawn truly great quotations. Here are three from October 21st 1805, the day the British fleet under Horatio Nelson trounced the Franco-Spanish ships of Admiral Villeneuve at Trafalgar and saved England from invasion.

'England expects that every man shall do his duty.'
This was the coded message sent by a flag signalling system to the entire fleet by Nelson. He wanted to send 'England confides [trusts]' but they hadn't got that in the code book. It was the only cock-up the fleet made that day.

'Now, gentlemen, let us do something today which the world may talk of hereafter.'
Admiral Collingwood who led a column that smashed the enemy line (Nelson led the other).

'I do not say the French will not come; I only say they will not come by sea.'
Sorry, I can't remember whose this is, but it was a speech to the House of Commons, soon after Trafalgar.

In other news ...
Katsushika Hokusai was born today in 1760. Nobody, nobody does waves better (except Teasy-Weasey - and if you remember him, it's time for your cocoa).