Sasha Clarkson

Annotations and comments

Sasha Clarkson has posted 752 annotations/comments since 16 February 2013.

Comments

Second Reading

About Tuesday 9 June 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

The oldest number system still in use today is the Sumerian/Babylonian 'sexagesimal' system, based on 60, which has the advantage of divisibility by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,10, 12, 15, 20, and 30. Hence many useful fractions can be expressed in terms of exact numbers of 'minutes' (from 'pars minuta prima', meaning "first small part"), and seconds ((from 'pars minuta secunda', meaning "second small part").

This is the basis of both our measurement of time, and of angles. In the days before caclulators trigonometric functions were tabulated in terms of degrees and minutes for everyday use. Astronomers made made regular use of "seconds of arc" to measure apparent distances between heavenly bodies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex…

If you want to understand the term 'parsec' used by some SF writers, it's explained below :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min…

About Saturday 6 June 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"It was *that* that annoyed me" would be not uncommon idiom in parts of the UK - especially the north, meaning "it was that *which* annoyed me."

'that' and 'which' are interchangeable in usage sometimes :)

About Saturday 6 June 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"I bet that's supposed to read 'But that what pleased ..."

Sorry to be contrary Sarah, but actually I doubt it :)
If in doubt, what I do is insert a different word to see how it sounds/looks: eg "but she that pleased me most...", which would read better than "but she what pleased me most..."

About Friday 5 June 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Hi Sarah,

As a Elizabeth's companion, Ashwell would certainly expect and be expected to accompany her mistress to Brampton. If you can't bear the suspense, it might be worth a sneak peek into the future to see whether she did or not ;)

(I confess - I did! :D )
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…

About Friday 5 June 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

There's no indication that "Elizabeth was suspicious of Sam and Ashwell": there's no sign of the symptomatic Pepysian drooling which, I'm sure, Elizabeth was usually quick to catch on to.

I'd say that the "discontent" in the coach is the echo of Sam's jealousy of Pembleton yesterday. Elizabeth is certainly getting fed up of Ashwell, who is probably too independent and accomplished to be properly subservient as a companion. Elizabeth, perhaps insecure but proud in her own status, is not good at peaceful relations with other women in the household, or the neighbourhood. She certainly would NOT want Ashwell with her on a trip to her parents.

It's difficult to say how impoverished the St Michels really were. The work by Patrick Delaforce is fictional of course; however, £20 per annum was not absolute poverty, but not very much if one had pretensions to higher social status.

About Wednesday 3 June 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

According to historian Pauline Gregg, Charles I reached 5 foot 4 inches tall.

Of course, Monty Python tells a different story:
"The most interesting thing about Charles I is that he was 5'6" tall at the beginning of his reign, but only 4'8" tall at the end of it ...."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D…

About Tuesday 2 June 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"the more of the Cavaliers are put in, the less of discipline hath followed in the fleet"

A recurring theme: the Cavaliers are the masters now , and some hot-heads want revenge and more rewards. But it should be recalled that the Cavaliers lost the civil war, and were allowed back into power only because the Commonwealth/Protectorate men could not agree on institutions of stable government, nor the personnel therein. Wiser heads in the Restoration government want to keep the previous regime's talent on-side, and avoid stoking resentment in the country.

The constant worries about plots and insurrection reflect the fact that the security and longevity of the new regime is far from assured. Its main asset is what allowed it to come to power: the lack of any obvious alternative.

About Sunday 31 May 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

As has been regularly observed in these annotations, corporal punishment was an everyday part of life in Pepys' day, and indeed for most of British and European history. The Penal system reflected this.

https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/s…

Sam was in the King's service rather than in a trade, but Will's status was very similar to that of an apprentice living in the house of his master. "Excessive chastisement" was cause for the Lord Mayor's court to terminate an apprenticeship, but the term shows that some sort of chastisement was the norm. So Sam will not have been feeling guilty merely for hitting Will: indeed he felt that Will had neglected his duties., The "second time ever" is a comment the Will had been very diligent up to now. The relationship between Sam and Will will changes soon, but their lifelong friendship post diary tells its own story. We must judge people by the standards of their own day, if at all.

An extreme case of (alleged) excessive punishment which came before the Mayor's court in 1695 is given in the link below:

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/th…

About Cock (The Strand)

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

The Cock Tavern was actually in Fleet Street, the continuation of The Strand in the City of London. The border between the two streets is by the Royal Courts of Justice, east of St Clement Dane's church. In the 1880, the pub was moved to the other side of the road. I frequented it occasionally during the 1970s, when I was a student at KCL on the Strand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_…

About Friday 29 May 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"... sent them with Creed to see the German Princess ..."

This implies that Elizabeth and Ashwell went to the Theatre with Sam and Creed. Just a reminder that, as the diary was only intended for Sam's own eyes, much of daily life is not recorded, as it would not need to be. Mention of the event would jog the rest of the memory.

About Friday 29 May 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

The Cock Tavern was actually in Fleet Street, the continuation of The Strand in the City of London. The border between the two streets is by the Royal Courts of Justice, east of St Clement Dane's church. In the 1880, the pub was moved to the other side of the road. I frequented it occasionally during the 1970s, when I was a student at KCL on the Strand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_…

About Tuesday 26 May 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Good point JayW!

Whatever his intentions, whatever games are being played, Pembleton is merely a casual employee, so Ashwell, as a live-in lady's companion to his employer, is of superior social status, and entitled to due respect therefore.

About Monday 25 May 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Two pounds and five shillings to cousin Sarah: a substantial sum: it's not so long ago that his entire income was but £50 per annum.

Sam doesn't mind helping out a deserving relative, but doesn't want it to become a regular commitment.

About Sunday 24 May 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Elizabeth as a feminist role model? To make proper sense of this question requires a Marxist-style analysis: feminism did not arise in a vacuum, but in the context of more than two centuries of struggle by various disadvantaged groups in society. Arguably the origin of these struggles was in the Protestant Reformation and the Civil War. Indeed in Restoration times there were already some women who would set a shining example for future generations. One remarkable example was Margaret Fell, "mother of Quakerism", who amongst other things, argued for women's right to preach.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar…

What about Elizabeth? The late Gloriana might perhaps have been a proto-feminist, but not Mrs Pepys. Undoubtedly she has spirit and a mind of her own, but for her own ends and not as a member of the sisterhood.

1) There's no evidence she wants to earn her own living, or acquire skills which would give her comparable status to her husband. In that sense, Ashwell, having already had an incipient career as a teacher, would be a much more appropriate proto-feminist role model. Lady Penn, currently managing the family estates in Ireland, might be another.

2) She treats the household's female employees with very little consideration, and generally gets on poorly with other women apart from a chosen few. Not only does she alienate the Lady Battens, mother and daughter, she will only have her sister in law Pall in the house with the status of a servant. Elizabeth has no compunction about turning poor drunken Susan out onto the street, rather than helping her find some dignity and independence! Admittedly there are sensible selfish reasons for all this, but there's no solidarity with the fellow oppressed half of humanity.

Like a lesser and probably more scrupulous Lady Castlemaine, Elizabeth is a willing female member of the ruling class: her main concerns are to make sure she gets her share of the spoils: and an increasing share as her husband's wealth and status improve.

This is observation and not criticism: being educated in a convent, Elizabeth would inevitably have a limited outlook and socially conservative attitudes. But Sam who has perforce seen far more of the world, regularly displays far more compassion, concern and awareness for the problems of the less fortunate than does his wife.

About Susan (a, Pepys' cookmaid)

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

I think there was only one Susan Sarah :)

When she leaves the second time on 24th May 1663,, Sam comments "it seems Susan ... is since she went from me taught to drink," - a reference to her previous employment. When she returns for the third - and last - time, Sam records "Susan beginning to have her drunken tricks, and put us in mind of her old faults".

About Monday 25 May 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Occasionally, I heard the word "fundament" being used humorously as a child, and filed it away for future use.

There's an English expression of contempt for another's competence: "He doesn't know his a**e from his elbow." This could be paraphrased as "He can't distinguish between his fundament and his funny-bone."

About Monday 25 May 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"I am rather surprised that Mrs Pepys has to empty the chamber pots herself."

Remember that "idle slut" Susan, "distracted" with being having taught to drink, was "turned out of doors", ie sacked, by Elizabeth yesterday.

About Friday 22 May 1663

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

The tides around the British coast are very complex, depending on the season, the phase of the moon, and whether the moon is near perigee or apogee. A super moon is when a new or a full moon coincides with perigee. the moon's closest approach to Earth in its elliptical cycle.

The tidal ranges are also huge, compared with most places: up to 50 feet, almost as high as in the Bay of Fundy. Here is a link to a picture, compiled from several from the Admiralty website, of a tide graph for my local Port, Tenby, for an entire lunar cycle, the central peak coinciding with a supermoon. The range here can be from as little as 6 feet, to over 30 feet.

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.…

The UK Admiralty website will show the tides for the next seven days for any registered port in the world if you click on a little yellow dot in the picture.

http://www.ukho.gov.uk/easytide/E…

The tidal range of the Thames near Seething Lane, next to the Tower of London can be up to about 22 feet.