Mandela, Rugby and that match

p.s. - this looks good - had a tear in my eye remembering it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Ovkye6lac

and its based on this book -
http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Enemy-Nelson-Mandela-Nation/dp/1594201749

Book for December/January 2009/2010

Hi All
sorry for the delay in sending this. wont bother thanking myself for hosting the last meeting as that would be weird. In case you forgot the books for the next meeting are as follows -

The Lost City of Z by David Grann
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-City-Legendary-British-Explorers/dp/1847374360

and also (if you have enough time)

Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions that Changed the World by Ian Kershaw
Paperback version -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fateful-Choices-Decisions-Changed-1940-1941/dp/0141014180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260317364&sr=1-1

and the much nicer hardback version that looks much better and costs a similar amount -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fateful-Choices-Decisions-Changed-1940-1941/dp/0713997125/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260317364&sr=1-2

November Meeting Wed 25th

Next meeting is at Leslie's house 16 Ashdale Road, Terenure on Wed 25th next. DONT FORGET THE POEM... Brendan suggested we should all dig out a poem of some sort for this month so why not...

Time is 8.45 for 9. Leaving it at this slightly later time to allow people meet home commitments etc.

leslie

The Black Death and those fighting Irish...

Finished the Ziegler Black Death book. It is good and well researched, if a little chauvinistically focused on the UK.

Ireland does get a bit of one chapter but it focuses on the dreadful state of the place in the 14th century -

...(thanks to) the perpetual, ruinous civil war which ravaged the country in the 14th century as in almost every other century. The Black Death was no less painful to the Irish because they were accustomed to live in a state of even bloodier disorder than their neighbours across the Irish Sea but it should not be forgotten that a high proportion of their misfortunes would have arisen even though there had been no plague to help them forward.

Now I've just dug out an essay from Dr. J.F. Lydon, Lecky professor of history at TCD (published in The Course of Irish History Ed. TW Moody and FX Martin) and he doesn't mention any of this. I know who I believe.

Lydon explains how in the late 13th and 14th centuries the Gaelic chieftans had gradually been gaining back the land stolen from them by the Norman invaders but that this was a period of prosperity - e.g.: "prosperity meant leisure and the desire for an education" leading to schools and the founding of a university in Dublin 1320 (admittedly the plague and troubles late in the century were its undoing). The arrival of gallowglass mercenaries from Scotland had evened up the score and the gaelic chieftans could now match the Normans in battle and were gradually driving them back to the coast and to their castles.

According to Lydon the plague caused panic more among the Norman settlers, many of whom went home or fled to towns (all of which were under the control of the Normans). The 14thC was a period of Gaelic Revival and renewal not one of bloody wars and destitution.

There was "recurrent war... but it must be seen in its proper perspective. For most people in the colony, or for that matter in the Gaelic areas, the war was usually far away and never touched them."

The main war in the 14thC was the one caused by the arrival of Richard II in 1394 which only temporarily stemmed the gaelic revival.

feckin perfidious albion and her vassels telling lies about us again.

Weird Books

Maybe we could get some of these on the reading list for the Gentlemen’s Book Club
Spend 5 minutes browsing the site.

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/books/weird/index.shtml

My favourites are:

The big book of Lesbian Horse stories

The waterless toilet; Is it right for you ?

And who would be without a copy of

Do-it-yourself coffins: for pets and people.

Regards

Jeff

Lost City of Z

As mentioned below the book for this month is NOT the Lost City of Z. However it seems that a couple of people have already purchased it. Lets not put pressure on ourselves to read two books for next month so I propose that Lost City of Z is the book for October/November.

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco is another book mentioned at a previous meeting that could be added to our longlist... there was a great film made from this book starring James Garner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=863889

It was a great night Wednesday, really enjoyed it. Thursday morning, not so much.

Regarding the great meal debate, which was sparked by a mention of el Bulli restaurant, some of you might enjoy this:
http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2009/08/dinner_at_el_bu.html.

I think it does a good job of capturing the whole el Bulli experience (except for the going there with your gay boyfriend part), although rather than win any converts to the cause I suspect this will just deepen the
divisions;-)