J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

Dave Mac,
I've often been called a twit, but I've never been a twitterer, whatever that is.

Ally

Snowb4ndit,
No-one really knows if King Arthur was real, or mythical. I went to a lecture about him, once, and his Welsh connections. Sir Gawain is supposed to be buried in a village not far from here, under his Welsh name, of Gwalchmai.

The King Arthur that we generally read about, was probably made up by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who seems to have created his ancestry etc. without any real evidence. But the oral traditions about Arthur go back a very long way. And one of the earliest written accounts of the Arthurian legends are in the Welsh Mabinogion stories. Unfortunately, no-one has been able to accurately date these stories, except to say that they are of a very early date.

I think most Arthurian historians agree that he was probably a warrior prince living during the post Roman era, fighting the Saxon invaders.

As to whether he was Cornish or Welsh - I don't think there was much difference at the time, and in any case no-one really knows. As I understand it, Britain wasn't divided the way it is now, and they used the Irish sea as a roadway (because it was easier than travelling through the forests and marshes etc.). So, the Welsh, Irish, and Cornish peoples were all closely related to each other.

Their ancient languages are also said to be related to each other (and Breton I believe). The Welsh language is generally acknowledged to be the oldest surviving language in Europe, (and my poor kids have had to learn it at school!).

I think the red dragon was a symbol of the ancient Welsh people's fight against the invading Saxons.

Arthurian legend is a most interesting, but very complex subject, concerning which I know very little.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A533341

Ally

Well,
That's 2 more than me - and I thought I was pretty well read :roll:

No, wait a minute, I have heard of The big Issue - I just haven't read one.

Ally

I'm afraid I don't get the point. What is it for - the new Twitter link?

I am totally confused.

Ally

I may well be wrong,
But - I don't think the GPS will measure the diagonal distance skied, only the horizontal distance. We (i.e. farmers) have had a lot of difficulty with having our field areas measured correctly by satellite, especially if they are on hills.

Ally

You know,
It's a very odd thing, but everyone seems to be reading a different book. And what's even more odd, is that out of all the books everyone's reading, I've only ever heard of one of the author's before - Tino's Conrad book.

I tried to read a Conrad book once, when I was young, and decided it was completely impossible to read. It's like there are so many 'big' words in it that you completely lose the story - the words replace the plot. And yet, I managed to read Anna Karenina several times, plus various other classics.

Am I the only person who hasn't heard of these books/authors before? Are the majority of them modern books (I have been living in a cave for the last 30 years)?

Ally

And charge a toll for you to cross it :wink:,

Ally

Tony,
If it's so pretty, why don't you put that flag up then?

But you'd better be quick before Admin wipes it off because I dare say he'd say it was 'off piste', although come to think of it, this whole thread is off piste.

Ally