The 24th June & 24th July
My Little Gnudren,
Old Gnu writes this blog to you on the 24th day of the month. Mr. W. Shakespeare tells us that Julius Caesar was warned to “Beware of the Ides of March”. Old Gnu exhorts you to be aware of the many lessons that are to be learnt from the 24th day of the month. We must take note if we are to avoid mistakes from the past. On the 24th June1509 Henry VIII was crowned King of England.
Henry had a good clear out. Much that was beautiful was destroyed. But here is one item that escaped his vandalism:
If this book hadn’t survived Henry VIII’s clear out we wouldn’t have known about the music of a number of composers in pre-reformation England. Also we would have very little of the music of John Browne a composer of sublime choral music. [No! He isn’t the John Brown whose body lies a mouldering in the grave.]
On the 24thJune 1947, pilot Ken Arnold spotted Flying Saucers over Mount Rainer.
Old Gnu doesn’t consider anything remarkable about the latter. Saucers flew for many decades before Mr. Arnold spotted them. Old Gnu is minded that even in a humble kitchen saucers can fly, given the right atmospheric conditions and a high enough temperature. Old Gnu speaks from observation, not experience. Not one saucer has flown in his 47 years of life with Mrs. Gnu.
Talking of saucers naturally leads on to the 24th June 1128. There must have been family dissension in the kitchen when Afonso I of Portugal defeated the army of his mother, Theresa. Although, to be fair, by this time they were so angry with each other, we cannot be sure they were sharing the same kitchen. Although the pictures below suggest the contrary. This is Theresa [below]. She is wielding a saucer, about to fly: and also a cudgel in her right hand.
But her son Afonso I (below) it seems is on the ready to retaliate with his saucer and a menacingly sharp kitchen knife. Temperatures must have run very high!
Afonso’s mother, Theresa, is not to be confused with Mother Theresa who didn’t use flying saucers, military force or money to feed and care for the dying of the streets of Calcutta. I guess she was doing this on a number of 24ths of every month, but these dates are not listed on the On This Day website – a serious omission.
On the 24th July 1567 Mary Queen of Scots abdicated and was replaced by her one year old son, James VI [he accidentally turned out to be James I].
[a wise decision maker!]
She must have been overwhelmed by the brilliance of her young toddler, who must have shown remarkable political and administrative prowess at a very early age. Historians consider this a wise decision. Once he became James the First of England and Scotland, and was out of nappies, he was accused of never returning to Scotland again. Bad boy! He left behind the notion of The Divine Right of Kings and a beheaded son who thought the same way.
On the 24th July1911 – Hiram Bingham III discovered Machu Picchu, “The Lost City of the Incas” as he called it. Who exactly had lost it, we do not know. Some people think Mr. Bingham had lost it.
Mr. Bingham was the most unlikely looking of archaeologists. He was also a Senator, and Governor of Connecticut. Although a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee investigated and condemned some of his financial dealings, no action was taken against him. But Senator Bingham retaliated by labelling the subcommittee’s inquiry a partisan witch hunt. This led to resolution of censure! Is this sort of behaviour a becoming a common phenomenon?
A positive side of Mr. Bingham’s legacy is that CAFE DIRECT has used the exotic name of Machu Picchu to brand one of their more expensive blends. But the archaeologists who inform Mr. Waki Pedia tell us on good authority that the Machu Picchuans grew mostly potatoes and corn in the 12 acres available for cultivation. These don’t make good coffee. Most of what they ate and drank was imported from the surrounding valleys. There was no such thing as coffee beans from Machu Picchu. But, boy! Doesn’t Machu Picchu Blend coffee taste heavenly! And now, devotees of Machu Picchu blend, beware!
What is astounding in this Amazon advert is that the price of a used and a new packet of Machu Picchu coffee is the same! And Amazon have closed in on us: they are only selling some things on Prime – which will cost you an additional £7.99 a month for Prime Membership. This seems astonishingly greedy on their part, and a ridiculous price for a used bag of coffee. But one must not judge. Perhaps they are giving away their profits to feed the poor, like the non-saucer wielding Mother Theresa. Granted that in the first offer [above] they say that 4 in the pack of 6 are used and one assumes 2 are new. Even so, they confess that this is a “zero” promotion using their not so marvellous App. Old Gnu would have given it a mark considerably below zero.
And finally on the 24th July 1764 the 8 year old Mozart left London – not something James the First was noted for. Young Mozart headed for Kent, taking his father and sibling with him. And did those feet in ancient times walk upon England’s pleasant fields?
We can’t be certain, but Mozart Jnr’s certainly did.
Mozart Jnr left these shores by September 1765. But despite his short life he left many beautiful things behind that have inspired people for over 200 years. He has withstood the assaults of film makers, the massacring of his music by authentic/period instrument performers, academics, and has inspired people on their deathbeds. Mahler, for one. He has been the subject of Associated Board grade 6 music exams and has provided the signature tune of “Brain of Britain”. What more could a man ask!
Vetus Pater Gnu
Musicorum et Theologia
Turris LA
XXIV Mensis Iulii MMXX