Tag: Royal Navy

Books I’ve read – 7

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Five months! Now, where has that time gone since I last posted about books. But at least I have been reading. Here’s another three…

A very interesting book that explains the background, origin and battles fought over earlier centuries that today allows us to simply pick up a jar of Nutmeg, Cinnamon or many other spices without having any inkling of the history of the contents.

This another book that benefits from the use of the Web. Well, at least in my case. So much extra info to be read about as you work through this book.

Packed full of notes, a great Bibliography, lots of illustrations and an excellent index, this book will take you on a great journey of exploration into the history of just why Spice’s meant so much then and still do today.

Many of us like mushrooms and as part of the Fungi family, this book opens up a whole new world about how fungi are interconnected and how that affects just about everything we touch, smell and see.

I’m pretty sure I did not know much about Fungi, apart from those you ate or saw growing on a rotting log on the country walk. However, but this book has certainly changed that.

With over 20 pages of notes, some great illustrations, an extensive bibliography, this book takes some reading, but in the end you get to know just what’s under that mushroom you have just picked!

Amazingly, I purchased this book in 2016 and then somehow it disappeared into a box in my study till rediscovered during a tidy up earlier this year!

I served in the Royal Navy for nearly 16 years and apart from a short stint (four days on loan to fix some equipment) submarines we definitely not for me.

This book (all 835 pages!) is a great read and amongst the many subjects it covers, it is also a great way to find out about the Perisher, or Submarine Command Course to give it its official title. All potential Submarine Captains must pass it first time, if you don’t, you’re out! Surprisingly, there is some thinking about changing that.

Books I’ve read – 4

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More of what I have been reading since returning to physical books.

What a great book! It’s really two books in one. Not only covering one of the worst winters the UK experienced in my lifetime, but also a well-documented history of the many social/political changes happening in the UK during the early 60’s including the emergence of the ‘Swinging Sixties‘, the start of the Mersey Beat sound through The Beatles and of course many others.

Some other highlights of the book included revisiting the Profumo scandal and of course, as I found out through internet searches, the author‘s family connection to Sissinghurst – which is worth a separate post – which I have visited a few times. Great anecdotes.

We lived in Plymouth at the time of the ‘Big Freeze‘ (Video) and as a 13-year-old I did not mind at all that the buses could not negotiate the hills to take us to and from school, Extra holidays!! Though, I do remember my father taking us on a trip to Okehampton to see some relatives during one of the easier driving days of the time. My mother was not amused!

I have read a number of Max Hastings books over the year, I read this one last year after watching Ken Burns and Lynn Novick‘s excellent and must watch documentary about Vietnam.

A very detailed book that did add to my already reasonable knowledge about the conflict from the many other books that I have read including – In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, We Were Soldiers Once…And Young, A Bright Shining Lie – and definitely a book to keep for future reference. I especially like the collections of images and maps that helped to understand what happened.

However, I cannot get over Max Hastings not sacking Boris Johnson when he was his boss at the Daily Telegraph newspaper. Perhaps if he had, we might have been spared his atrocious attempt at being UK Prime Minister.

Another book that I read a while ago but came up in a recent conversation. This book, written by Alan Turing‘s nephew Dermot Turing, covers the often overlooked work that Polish Code-Breakers did in the early days of trying to break the Enigma cipher machine codes used by the Nazi Germany during World War Two. It’s a very interesting read and add more detail to that part of history.

History is also a funny thing; early on while serving in the Royal Navy through the various jobs I did, I came across some (then classified) machines that were used for manually encrypting communications much like the Enigma did. It was part of the job to look after them – maintenance etc. Though, there was not a lot you could do in reality. You did what you did with them and really did not think too much about it, as it was just like any other piece of equipment, be it radio transmitters or radar systems.

Imagine my surprise when in 1974 a book called The Ultra Secret: The Inside Story of Operation Ultra, Bletchley Park and Enigma by F. W. Winterbotham was published as the first book in English that suddenly divulged what until then had been the secret world of World War Two cryptography. I then suddenly realised that I had been working on one of the successors of the Enigma, the Adonis/SEC/KL-7!

Some Navy News

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In another excellent in-depth report, the Navy Lookout delves into the Royal Navy surface fleet’s future. Seems that there will be a lot of potential influences over the coming years, one hopes that any future change of government is not going to affect those too much. As always, the article’s comments also add extra value to the story.

That said, world-conflicts can also change that direction as well.

It seems that the end has finally arrived for RFA Diligence a forward repair ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary with the announcement that is it finally to be scrapped after no suitable buyers came forward.

Seems a bit of a waste, but there again I suppose those MOD (N) guys must know what they are doing!

It caught my eye… 6-2024

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Amazingly, the list of cities around the world that are literally sinking is increasing dramatically. This is due to a number of reasons, mainly related to Environmental changes that are affecting the ground on which have been built over the years of their existence.

In a recent report, The World Economic Forum cited 11 cities that could entirely disappear by 2100. It’s not a problem confined to one area, it seems to be a world-wide problem from Bangladesh to Egypt and Houston, USA. The USA is also covered more deeply in this Newsweek report using data from NASA images.

This one definitely caught my eye, having been in the Navy I always like to keep up to date with any changes that are happening, this one is significant.

With HMS Vengeance having just returned from its epic 201-day mission under the sea, this Technical Briefing from Navy Lookout just shows how the underwater threat has changed over recent years. It is going to change further and faster as more nations deploy their own submarines. If you’re interested in this aspect of our defence, it’s worth a read, including the comments.

2nd May 2024 and local elections are looming. But could it also be a snap General Election? Make sure that you have done everything you need to obtain your Voter ID.

The Electoral Commission has full information about this. There is a deadline to obtain a valid Voter ID, it’s 24th April 2024. Don’t delay.

It caught my eye… 4-2024

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Australia has been in the news quite a bit recently as it continues to experience very high summer temperatures.

I have also just finished watching a BBC iPlayer catch-up program called “The Australian Wars”, which deals with the conquest of Australia by the incoming colonial settlers and the battles that took place as they displaced the First Nations Indigenous Australians.

It’s a very interesting up to date (2022) and alarming documentary and a depressing reflection on British colonialism that has lasted much longer than you would think. Only recently, Australians voted in an historic referendum when all six states voted No to a proposal to amend the constitution to recognise First Nations people and create a body for them to advise the government.

Here we go again…

More problems for the Royal Navy as the HMS Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier has had to suddenly withdraw from NATO’s Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise.

It does make you wonder if we, the taxpayers, are really getting value for money in our latest purchases for the Royal Navy.

It seems that it is suffering from similar issues that the HMS Prince of Wales suffered from and were only resolved by dry-docking in Scotland. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen this time.

Good news or the lack of it on all the news channels tends to get pushed to the end of newscasts and sometimes treated ‘time-fillers’.

Well, here’s a site that claims to have a ‘1,000 Bits of Good News You May Have Missed in 2023′. Some interesting snippets from its site include:

It caught my eye… 3-2024

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Physician Associates (PA’s) seem to be a big topic in the mainstream media at the moment, with some questions being asked about the potential of replacing doctors.

Various arguments for and against have also been put forward to about PA’s being used to fill the shortfall in recruitment of new trainee doctors.

There is still some confusion about their role in the wider medical environment. However, an article about PA’s and their roles at the Reading NHS Foundation Trust makes for interesting reading.

News this week indicates that the search for missing sailor Simon Parkes, who disappeared 31 years ago in Gibraltar while serving on HMS Illustrious, has restarted as Police investigate a car park in Gibraltar.

The investigation into Simon Parkes disappearance has also been linked to serial killer Allan Grimson who was serving on HMS Illustrious as a Petty Officer at the same time. He was subsequently jailed for the murder of two other men, one of which was also a sailor serving on HMS Edinburgh at the time of his death. Let’s hope this mystery is cleared up finally.

It seems from figures emerging that 2023 was a very hot year indeed. The UK according to various researchers had its second-hottest year on record.

Reports from around the world back up the ongoing warming of the planet and shows no sign of abating. For example, meteorologists in Australia have already warning about massive increases in temperatures across a lot of the country for this week.

It seems, from various sources, that if we have not already passed it; we are certainly close to passing the point of no return for more massive changes in the Earth’s climate.

The Royal Navy—What’s happening?

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I have come across a number of recent articles discussing the current state of the Royal Navy. You can find access to the various news items below, which cover lack of manpower and early retirement of ships.

    Finally, this from the Navy Lookout site, which I think has a pretty good handle on the current situation in the Royal Navy.

    It’s sad to see an organisation where I spent many of my formative years in such a mess. I’m not sure what the solutions are to boost recruitment so that we can keep more ships manned. However, I certainly think that politicians of all parties have a lot to answer for their actions (or lack of) over the past number of years.

    It caught my eye… 5

    MikeLeave a comment

    We first of all it seems that other stuff catching my eye has kept me away from this blog again for two long!! Where does time go?

    A combination of more work on the Allotment; with the very strange weather over the last few months so there has been a lot of catching up to do. Including finishing off my new shed (a lockdown project) albeit the roof is still to on – shortage of roofing materials – and of course lots of planting.

    So what has caught my ‘eye’ over the past few months…

    World Wide Micro-Chip Shortage – Integrated Circuits or ‘Micro-Chips’ are in everything today from Toasters and Doorbells to the latest Games Consoles, Washing Machines, Smartphones and many other devices. Without ‘Micro-Chips’ the world as we know it today could and probably would not exist. So it is concerning that there is now a world-wide shortage of them.

    The reasons vary from the COVID Pandemic slowing down demand in sectors such as Motor Vehicles and yet from a surge in demand for Games Consoles over the last 18 months. Unfortunately the manufacture of Micro-Chips can’t be switched on an off quickly, factories need to bring their production lines, costing hundreds of millions of dollar up speed as and when demands require and that takes time. These issues along with the fires at Renesas in March this year and at AKM late last year will put a big strain on the market and of course increase prices. Let’s hope were not going to see a shortage for too long.

    What’s happen to the weather? – Clearly there is much more emerging proof that the climate/weather is changing and speed of it is gathering pace. Looking at the some of the weather over the last three months here in the UK, I am not surprised.

    No we are told that the stratosphere is shrinking!! In a very worrying report, and contains some very stark comments that we all need to be very concerned about.

    The UK Building Cladding Issue – How can a UK government utterly abandon a sector of society who through no fault of their own are placed in a situation not of their making that will leave them completely financially ruined. Does the government seem to care about ordinary people wanting to have a safe roof over their head, it would seem not!

    In a recent decision by the government, an amount of money has been provided that falls far short of what is required to basically fix an issue that is completely the responsibility of the builders of high-rise properties. Clearly the current UK government is more interested in helping their business ‘buddies’ than the ordinary folk of the country.

    The Royal Navy Ventures East – As part of Boris Johnson boastful Global Britain the UK’s Carrier Strike Group has begun an overseas deployment scheduled to last some seven months. With a number of nations making up the task group and a number of stops envisaged along the way, this will be a first for the UK in so much as the size of the fleet and massive logistics support involved.

    With a proposed transit of the South China Sea, it will be a diplomatically tricky road that the Royal Navy has to tread showing China that the South China Seas are still considered ‘International Waters’ by the west. Of course, it has always been that way in the past, until China has grown to be the international power that it is today. I suspect that UK Task force may meet up with the latest USA Task Force transiting the waters.

    I remember my very first trip with the Royal Navy on board HMS Devonshire as we spent just over a year on a journey that took us from Portsmouth to Tokyo and back, however, that’s a story for another post!!

    UK Defence, Review. 2021

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    There has been a lot of talk over the last few weeks about the publication of the latest UK Defence Review – 2021 (the UK Gov. View) and where it is trying to position the UK in a Post-Brexit world.

    Some of the highlights include a reduction in the size of the standing UK Army, increased spending on ‘Cyber-Tools’ and a potential increase in the size of the UK’s Nuclear Deterrent; i.e. more bombs!

    I have always continued to have an interest in the Royal Navy having served in it for close on 18 years, so it is a big part of my early life. They seem to have come out of it quite well when it is all said and done. Two new carriers to continue albeit with a possible change to the number of aircraft – though I still think we did not need them – but without, in my opinion enough support/protection vessels to protect them during fleet operations.

    I tend to think that these will be used as ‘boys-toys’ by the current government and in-particular Boris Johnson and a way of flying a flag under the pretence that we are ‘as big as were 100 years ago’. That time has long passed!

    Whatever the final outcome, there are still many differing views on how well the UK will emerge under the latest Defence review.

    Here’s a selection of recent commentary…

    It caught my eye this week… 3

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    Sarah Everard - A tragedy that has released a tsunami of grief and serious concern for the safety of women in general. Statistics released by the ONS have also shown just how unsafe the UK appears to be for women. The figures are appalling and in all honesty make me think we are looking at epidemic of violence visited on women. 

Clearly education by parents and the state is failing in the teaching of the basic principals of teaching everyone to respect one another especially how men behave towards women - though one publication has another view.

    Special focus of course has been on the Police (who will always be caught in the middle of many disputes) and the London Met in particular with some disturbing figures released by the Observer newspaper. Clearly deeper vetting of new recruits needs to be carried out- though there must be a general societal problem if the background character of some of the recruits is as reported, I think some very serious charges need to be put to this type of people.

    Boris Johnson – “an unrepentant and inveterate liar”. Not my words but those the France Ambassador to the UK 2014-2017 uses in her new book about her job. Based on my reading of the man, I think I would agree.

    Promoted beyond his own level of incompetence, I sure that history will not have a very good word to say about this man who believes that he should be Prime Minister as a right, but has no idea how to carry that role out.

    Vaccine Wars - This ongoing saga seems to be showing no end with various ‘cat-calls’ between the EU and the Tory Government. Clearly someone in the EU does not understand Contract Law and clearly the UK Government wants to get one over on the EU.

Based on the latest articles, it’s not going away; while the ‘Third-World’ looks on in dismay as two of the richest areas in the world have a fight over what!!!!

    The Royal Navy - Having been in the Navy for close on 18 years, it’s a subject that I follow and the latest news that HMS Queen Elizabeth (the new aircraft carrier) will definitely be cruising through the South China Seas sometime later this year is worrying.

Yes, we have to deal with China’s expansion. However, ‘sending’ in the Navy to me seems overkill at this moment, particularly as we still seem not to have a fully home-grown protection flotilla of our own. Yes, there will be other Navy’s ‘helping’ out, but this seems more about ‘Johnson’ and his bragging rights than real diplomatic negotiations.

There again Johnson's track record on this has always been suspect, take the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and the ’Johnson’ gaff that left her in an Iranian jail for so long.

    Mars Tracking – Out and about on Mars! Space probes always fascinate me. Here’s some more images from The Perseverance Rover.

    P. S. I have no idea what is wrong with WordPress today!!!! I tried for over an hour to get the formatting correct, but it defeated me today!!!!