<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T H E B O S U N ' S C H R O N I C L E <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> S T O P P R E S S - Loads of goodies on offer this month - 50 free KYDDs for American Shipmates and a chance to win one of ten special British philately presentation packs of the world's great liners. Good luck! Welcome aboard the world of Thomas Kydd VOL. 4, ISSUE 3, April 2004 1 NEWS & VIEWS 2 ASK JULIAN 3 BOOKSHELF 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 FEATURE 6 ACCUL TO ZOLL 7 CONTEST 8 NEW ON THE WEB ==================== 1 NEWS & VIEWS --- publishing happenings, diary events, Shipmates ahoy! --- + American paperback edition of "Seaflower" Echoing Scribner's new-look design of "Mutiny" that we announced last month, the US paperback edition of "Seaflower" is out now. ISBN 0 7432 1463 3. + Free "KYDD for a Friend" Following Hodder & Stoughton's popular offer to UK Shipmates a few months back, Scribner has donated paperback copies of KYDD for American Shipmates. The idea is that you nominate a friend who you would like to introduce to the series, and we'll send out a paperback copy of the book on your behalf. Just email the Bosun with the name and address of your friend. The first 50 out of the hat April 26 will be the winners - and we'll let the lucky entrants know so they can tell their friends to watch the mailbox! (The offer is restricted to postal addresses in Continental USA.) + Cutty Sark Julian was invited aboard the famous Greenwich-based clipper "Cutty Sark" last month to record a radio programme for the BBC on food at sea. A selection of typical dishes (Lobscouse, Dog's Body and Figgy Dowdy) that sailors would have eaten at sea were cooked in the Cutty Sark galley and served during the programme - all washed down with grog. Lobscouse is a hearty stew made from fresh or salted meat, vegetables, liberal seasoning - and thickened with grain such as barley, or crushed ships' biscuits. The dish ("Lapskaus" in Norwegian, "Lob Saws" in Welsh etc.)is found in many countries around the world, both at sea and ashore. Residents of the sea port of Liverpool are known as "Scousers" - sailors who settled there no doubt wanted their wives to recreate one of their favourite sea dishes. Sailors have always had colourful names for food. Dog's Body is boiled pease pudding with diced salt pork. Julian recalls when he was at sea that anything with tomatoes was called "Train Smash"! Figgy Dowdy was a great Sunday treat - a boiled pudding studded with raisins. Julian particularly liked the Figgy Dowdy, but the Bosun preferred the spicy Lobscouse! Details of the programme (along with recipes) can be found on the BBC Radio 4 website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme_20040314.shtml + World Book Day Julian entertained 30 youngsters with tales of the sea on World Book Day, March 4 http://www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=458&Artic leID=754747 + Nelson bi-centennial With the approach of the bi-centenary of Lord Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar, many special events are planned. We'll highlight these as more details come to hand. In London in October there's a series of lectures about the cultural significance of Britain's greatest and most enduring maritime hero. "Rediscovering Nelson" Oct 5-28, 2004. Tickets and further details available from Mrs Janet Norton. Email: research@nmm.ac.uk + Shipmates ahoy Husband and wife Shipmates Kath and Barry Trenwith live in Adelaide, South Australia ("a pleasant ten minute walk from the seashore") and enjoy fishing for whiting, garfish, squid and snook in their little 15 foot cruiser. They are looking forward to spending some time with their son in remote Arnhemland in the Northern Territory later in the year. He also enjoys fishing - but has warned them but that while the fish are bountiful "so are the crocodiles"! Kath and Barry have read many nautical adventure fiction books and were particularly pleased when a naval friend introduced them to Kydd and Renzi. The Bosun is curious who gets to read each new book first! + Shipmate author Shipmate Ron Morris has written "The Indomitable Beatie", a biography of Beatrice Fry, a fascinating woman who ran "Mercury" sea training school from 1885 to 1946. The book is out this month, published by Sutton. ISBN 07509 37106 In the early twentieth century Britain needed at least 10,000 boys to receive pre-sea training for the Royal and Merchant Navies. T.S. "Mercury" was one of over 30 such establishments founded during the Victorian period.(Julian attended TS "Indefatigable".) We'd love to hear from Shipmates who attended a sea training school. ===================== 2 ASK JULIAN --- a forum for Shipmates' questions --- Two, this month: Joseph Ress recalls his time in the US Navy and the term "Jack of the Dust" for the man whose duty it was to issue stores and rations. He wonders whether the term came via the Royal Navy. Julian replies: "Yes, in Kydd's day 'Jack Dusty' ('Jack o'-the-dust') was a junior rate under the purser. His name came from the fact that he was often covered in flour dust from working in the bread room. Jack Dusty was also assigned the task of maintaining the book-keeping for the ship's rum store. To this day, members of the Supply division in the Royal Navy are called 'Jack Dusty'." --- Another American Shipmate, Joseph Collins, asks: "What is the difference between the UK First Editions and US First Editions of your books?" Julian replies: "Apart from the physical appearance of the books - size and the differences in cover design to suit different audiences, it is a matter of timing. The books come out in the UK first, published by Hodder & Stoughton, and then are published in the US by Scribner. To identify a First Edition you need to look on the number line - and if there is a "1" there, (not necessarily the first number) you're looking at a First Edition. The number line is generally on the page with the details of the publisher. Scribner also has a descriptive line that states "First Scribner Edition [year]. For anyone interested in learning more about First Editions there are a number of useful publications: + 'Firsts: the Book Collectors' Magazine' (The March/April issues had an excellent two-part feature on the nautical fiction genre, with a special page devoted to my books.) http://www.firsts.com/Subscriptions.html + 'The Book Collector' http://www.thebookcollector.co.uk + 'Rare Book Review' www.rarebookreview.com There are also many excellent specialist booksellers who are happy to look out First Editions for collectors." ==================== 3 BOOKSHELF --- books, magazines and journals about the sea --- The Age of Sail - The International Annual of the Historic Sailing Ship Vol. 2. by Nicholas Tracy Last month we mentioned the first volume in "The Age of Sail Annual"; the second volume is also available and, like the first, contains fascinating material. ISBN: 0-85177-949-2 ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS --- what today's English owes to Jack Tar --- Cuts no ice If we say that something "cuts no ice" it means that it has made little or no impression. The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. Wooden ships could not make much progress in pack ice! ==================== 5 FEATURE What's in a name? Thomas Paine Kydd When Julian began writing, finding names for all the wonderful characters that would populate his books posed quite a challenge. Many of the names of minor characters eventually came from an eighteenth century graveyard Julian near where he was living in Guildford. But for some time, while he knew what sort of person his hero was, he didn't have a name for him. The surname came first, Kydd, a good eighteenth century name, with a strong feel to it. But the first names? Inspiration struck when he began thinking about Kydd's parents, and what sort of people they were. Julian postulated that they had heard Thomas Paine give a talk, a year or so before he emigrated to America in 1774, and like many, admired him as an original thinker, ahead of his time. Walter and Fanny Kydd decided to name their son after him. For Julian, naming his hero "Tom" was also a tribute to his great uncle Tom Clay, who sailed before the mast in the "Cutty Sark" and was the only member of his family to have any connection with the sea. --- And rounding off our features on Pets at Sea (Jan and Feb issues) - here's the story of Oscar, who may well be the luckiest ship's cat who ever lived... This plucky feline was found floating on a plank amidst the wreckage of the "Bismarck" on May 21, 1941 by the crew of HMS "Cossack" (who also named him). He was the 116th survivor of a tragedy that claimed 1,977 seamen's lives. Oscar adapted well to his new home until tragedy struck again; Cossack was sunk on October 24, 1941. He was picked up by another Royal Navy destroyer and taken to Gibraltar where he settled down for a time. But the sea beckoned again and he joined the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal". Within three weeks, the ship was torpedoed and a bedraggled Oscar once again was pulled from the sea, ending up back in Gibraltar. There, he took up residence in the office of the Captain of the Port, (By now he was seen as a Jonah and not surprisingly, offers to return to sea were not hugely forthcoming.) He saw out the end of his days in style in the dockyard, though, as somewhat of a celebrity. ==================== 6 ANTI-GUGGLER TO ZOLL --- an 18th C sailors' glossary --- All the words we will bring you in this section were familiar aboard ship in the age of sail. +Bunters Skilled sailors on the yard who gathered in the bunt (the mid-section of a square sail) when furling sails. ==================== 7 CONTEST Congratulations to last month's winner, John Terence, in Scotland, who correctly identified five female characters in the series. + Nautical stamps Win a presentation pack of classic ocean liners stamps. Just email the Bosun with the answer to this question: Which liner makes her inaugural transatlantic voyage this month? First ten correct entries out of the hat at the end of the month win! The stamps are issued April 13. www.royalmail.com =================== 8 NEW ON THE WEB We've added a link about Lord Cuthbert Collingwood, one of Nelson's famous Band of Brothers, and a distinguished century naval officer of consummate valour and skill. Fittingly, his final resting place is close to Nelson in St Paul's Cathedral. www.JulianStockwin.com >Olla>Links>Sea Heroes =================== Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Back issues of the newsletter downloadable from the website ++