ATLAS

October 8, 2023

Άτλας – Atlas

Origin:

The name of a Titan, a race of deities in Greek mythology. There were 12 in all, the children of Uranus and Gaia.

Story:

Atlas was a Titan, who according to Greek mythology was doomed to support the heavens on his shoulders for eternity, as a punishment by Zeus. He is synonymous with endurance, and instructed man in the art of Astronomy, vital to help sailors navigate, and farmers plant their crops.

The term Atlas has been used to describe a book of maps since the 16th century when the Flemish mapmaker Mercator published his work and dedicated it to the mythological Titan, whom he regarded as the first great geographer.

The Atlantic Ocean actually means the Sea of Atlas, as he was thought to stand in the far west of the known world. The mysterious continent of Atlantis, believed to lie to the west of the Pillars of Hercules – The Straits of Gibraltar – was swallowed up by the sea after a great earthquake.

See also:

Titanic, Astronomy, Synonym, Geography

ATMOSPHERE

October 8, 2023

Ατμόσφαιρα – Atmosphera

Origin:

From the Greek Atmos meaning vapour and sphaira, meaning ball or globe.

Story:

Used in its modern sense since the 17th century, to mean the gases surrounding the planet. The Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 78.1 % Nitrogen and 20.9 % Oxygen and 0.93 % Argon.

The term was coined by Willibrord Snell van Royen, a Dutch Astronomer and Mathematician who in 1621 invented the Law of Refraction which is basic to modern geometrical optics and the creation of lenses. He was actually 600 years too late as the concept had already been pondered by the mathematician Ibn Sahl, a Persian mathematician who himself was s student of the works of Ptolemy

There are five layers of atmosphere – from inner to outer – Troposphere (turning or mixing), Stratosphere (layered), Mesosphere (middle), Thermosphere (heat) and (Outside) Exosphere. Together they protect us from harmful rays from the Sun and regulate temperatures.

See also:

Sphere, Planet, Mathematics, Nitrogen, Oxygen

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ATOM

October 8, 2023

Άτομο - Atomo

Origin:

The Greek prefix ‘a’ meaning not, and temnein, to cut – so ‘Uncuttable, Indivisible.’

Story:

Coined by the philosopher Leucippus of Miletus and his pupil Democritus around 400 BC who believed that all matter could be reduced to small particles called Atoms, too small to be seen.

The big questions was, is a single atom of water still water or simply a component of water, unrecognisable as water. This differed from the theories of Plato and Aristotle who believed all things could be divided into Air, Earth, Fire and Water. Plato even wanted to burn all of Democritus’s books.

Revived as a concept by a 15th century alchemist and poet at the court of the English king Edward IV who mentioned it in one of his poetic works. As an idea it caught on in subsequent centuries and in 1803 John Dalton published his atomic theory and the periodic table.

The whole concept was superseded by subatomic research in the late 19th century, culminating in Rutherford discovering that atoms have an internal structure, namely Protons, Neutrons and Electrons.

Of course, nowadays we know that even protons and neutrons can be subdivided into Quarks and Gluons which are the smallest things physicists can measure - So far.

The word Quark by the way is totally made-up, allegedly by the nuclear physicists Murray Gell-Mann. He found the word in Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce who claimed he had heard the word on a visit to a German farmer’s market referring to curd cheese. Gell-mann suggested its actually meaning was the ‘cry of a gull’ and suggested perhaps it should be pronounced so that it rhymes with bark. Quarks exist in six flavours, grouped in pairs – namely ‘Up and Down,’ ‘Strange and Charm,’ and ‘Top and Bottom.’

See also:

Atomic, Platonic, Physics, Proton, Electron, Neutron

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Surf and Turf

October 8, 2023

I like free things.

Seaweed is free.

I’m afraid of seaweed.

OK so the task in hand is to somehow marry those three contradictions and my first foray into the wonderful world of shoreline foraging seems to have been a great success.

Naturally enough - since I don’t intend to poison myself - I did a lot of research beforehand. By research I mean a swift perusal of Wikipedia and asking ‘friends that know these things’ what I should be careful of.

I was given the following advice ….

“Don’t pick any seaweed near a sewage waste pipe.”

“Don’t harvest seaweed if it’s too far up the beach (dogs).”

“The bright green stuff that looks like spinach/lettuce is nice.'“

And so I found myself this afternoon on one of Falmouth’s beaches, enjoying the ambience, the tide out and ….. swatches of bright green seaweed everywhere. Closer inpection and it looked like spinach or lettuce. Later checking confirmed it was Ulva, Sea Lettuce of Laver. Result.

Gathered, water squeezed out, and into my pocket (mental note, always carry a plastic bag in future.)

Back home and …. what to do with it? Recipes online a bit dull.

Fried up some garlic and chopped bacon. Added the Ulva. Added to pasta and topped with a chopped boiled egg and some feta-style cheese. Topped with some Seaweed crisped up in the Air Fryer - spritzed occasionally with olive oil.

Delicious. That in-your-face smell of the sea.

Sorted.

Cake on the Beach - Discuss

October 8, 2023

I’ve always had a very ambivalent attitude towards food on the beach.

Perhaps if I recount the experiences I have had over the (many) years, you’ll understand where I am going with this. I think the common denominator is - it’s never quite successful.

First - let’s get Ice Cream out of the way first. OK on the prom. Watch out for seagulls which can turn a beautiful sunny day into a horror movie within seconds. Also .. and I think this was a common problem in North Wales … when the wind picks up, so does the sand. And Sand + Ice Cream is a no no.

A picnic basket - creates an appointment to eat. So any fun you might have been having making sand castles, paddling or making moats had to end, to allow the corporate family mastication to take place. Whereas now, baskets can be cornucopias of fine foods, ours consisted of sodden spam and tomato or soggy salmon sandwiches on white bread, wrapped in clingfilm to ensure maximum disintegration. Not good.

In the seventies, my mother discovered Tupperware by post. I recall we had a set of stackable trays, which could be prefilled with … cold roast chicken pieces and salad (which in those days was tomato, cucumber, egg, onion and lettuce. Perhaps a dab of salad cream if you were lucky.) OK in principle, but they became a spectacle to passers by. So what should have been a relaxed eating event, became a performance or worse, a comedy show.

Later came barbecues. Sand problem again unless you erect a wind break. But also the danger of smoking out the other beach revellers. You could make yourself very unpopular indeed.

More recently, I’ve favoured a more rustic arrangement with some doorstep bread, selection of cheeses and meats, crisps… and perhaps a cheeky glass of wine or beer. Then a nap.

And then there’s CAKE.

OK so … a very pleasant amble to Castle Beach in Falmouth to soak up the Autumnal bonus sunshine. I stopped for a coffee… and was faced with a very tempting array of cakes.

I’m just note sure Cakes and Beaches go together. But i can’t put my finger on why not. These days I eat cakes in every dwindling amounts. Not because I don’t like them, but more because a ‘couldn’t eat a whole one’ regulator kicks in. I did buy a piece of Polenta Cake… but I took it home and am eating it in stages. If I had eaten it there and then, I fear I would have just found a place to bask, on the rocks, and would have felt full, fallen asleep and woken to find my shoes floating off into the Atlantic.

That’s not the feeling I want on the beach these days. I want to feel enlivened inhaling copious amounts of ozone, feeling the sand between my toes, and generally feeling all is well with the world.

Discuss.

It's All Greek

October 8, 2023

In a typical English dictionary, it’s believed that about 5% of the words are directly borrowed from Greek, and another 25% indirectly.

150,000 words in Modern English originate in some way from the Greek language.

Finding the stories behind the words we use every day.

EAT Wales

October 8, 2023

SWPER CHWAREL

A Welsh Cookbook

A voyage of discovery through the food of Wales, exploring the variety inspired by its agriculture, its natural world, industry and its hearths.

EAT Corfu

October 8, 2023

A CORFU COOKBOOK

Corfu has one of the most fascinating and sustainable cuisines in Europe drawing on its Corfiot, Greek, Venetian, British, and Ottoman traditions to create a joyous culinary journey.

SEE RECIPES

The Unforgotten Spy

October 8, 2023

THE UNFORGOTTEN SPY

The past is never really over.

Harry Edwards knows he’s forgotten something. What he doesn’t realise is just how much, and how he has become involved in a race against time to bury a deadly secret for good.

The Little Red Thread

October 8, 2023

THE LITTLE RED THREAD

Maybe confession isn’t always good for the soul.

The body of a foreigner is discovered in a shallow grave in an unofficial burial ground in Beijing. A Chinese Millennial presents himself as the killer and demands justice be served. Just one problem. He’s innocent.

Quarry

October 8, 2023

QUARRY

Pursued like prey but who is the hunter?

A surreal supernatural mystery in 15 parts set along the North Wales coast. Loner Sam Griffin is surprised when a body fished out of Porth Madryn docks is identified as him. He soon realises that his life is in grave danger.

Narrated by Rob Jones

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FOOTPRINTS: Mao Donglai

October 4, 2023

C.S.Lewis - Not a Tame Lion

October 4, 2023

One of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century, C. S. Lewis bridged literature, philosophy, and religion. He taught at Oxford and Cambridge, all the while communicating in a clear, winsome manner that ordinary men and women could comprehend.

See details on Amazon/Audible