“I am the epitome of the twentieth-century cosmopolitan, but I should have been  born an explorer in the time of Magellan.”  (From My Wicked Wicked Ways, by Errol Flynn 1959).  Your correspondents, having recently spent time in the Orkney, Peterhead, the North Atlantic, the North Sea, Lowestoft, Grimsby, Burnham on Crouch, and now in Chapel Hill, North Carolina,  are truly cosmopolitan.

With heightened savior faire, doors have been opened, insights made, confidences shared – widely.  Yes, you dear reader, are the beneficiaries of this selfless search for truth and knowledge.

So in Passive Complicity this past week we have brought you a smorgasbord of essential information and insight, beginning with a profound reassessment of naval engagements in the first and second world wars.  The piece titled Commemorative Scuttle looks at the role of Krupps in establishing the German High Seas Fleet and finishes with a moving commemoration of its scuttling in 1919

Our next piece looked at the commodification of history and the damage that can do in contrast with a contextual and accessible historic site in the Rousay Island, Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland.   The Ruins of Rousay

The blog then took a sophisticated gastronomic turn with a piece from Cecil appealingly titled “Pudding”

From there Quentin relayed a poignant tale of his daughter’s 13th Birthday…”she’d tired of themed birthdays, witnessed the escalating arms race in lolly bags, was bored to death with The Zone, a shopping mall inspired miasma of electronic games and paint ball……….”  Read more in Camping at 13

Film reviewers Dave Strappon and Margo Promenhance reviewed the 1947 film “A Bush Chrismas”  discussing its relevance to today’s society, and finding much to recommend it.   See images to left.
If you think that the bilaterally supported policies followed by the federal government in relation to indigenous affairs and remote health in particular are not counterproductive and racist then reading the Musical Dispatch from the Front and following the link to Olga Havnen’s powerful paper may cause a rethink.  The Publishers urge you to read this paper, discuss it, and disseminate it widely.

And relentless we are too.  we finish the week with William Blake’s 1794 poem “London” of which our poetry editor has this to say, “You can tell through this poem how much Blake detested the endless exploitation  of men, women and children and the endless, needless deaths.”  Read the poem and Ira Maine’s comments here

Regards

Cecil and Quentin
Chapel Hill, North Carolina