The state of the captain's list is such....

[anteros_lmc]

*waves* This week I have had the very great pleasure of having nodbear to stay all week! How lucky am I?! :D It's been a pretty hectic week what with work, school run and Scottish Gas deciding that this would be a good week to dig up and replace the gas pipes outside my house. However we've made good progress with our navyboy research and despite the best efforts of the gas board, have managed to write two conference submission abstracts. We've also been going through copies of letters from the Pellew archive at the Caird Library and have been greatly moved by the many deeply felt condolence letters sent to Fleetwood Pellew on his father's death. On a lighter note we have been highly entertained by the myriad and eloquent ways that Lord Spencer found to so "no" to Pellew's various requests to promote deserving mids and lieutenants. nodbear refers to this as "Lord Spencer's 10 ways to tell Edward Pellew to sod off". This is one fo our favorites:

The state of the captain's list is such to preclude my being able as yet to flatter myself with the possibility of complying with your wishes......

Or in other words "No I can't promote Mr McVicar just now so bugger off."

Elsewhere, we also came across the fabulously named Dowager Lady Page Turner. Isn't that splendid?! XD

Oh and we have spent some time studying original plans of the Indefatigable and can now tell you that the officer's cabins were roughly 10 x 4 1/2 feet (eglantine_br take note :) and that Pellew's cabin was just under 800 square feet!

On Thursday we were also had the pleasure of meeting esteven who was over to visit the Cochrane exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. We took her on a tour of AoS landmarks in Glasgow (Dundas Street, Cochrane Street, St Vincent Street, George Square, and the statues of Wellington (with his traditional traffic cone head gear) and General Sir John Moore.) We also had a splendid lunch in Cafe Gandolfi where I introduced both nodbear and esteven to the joys of Stornoway black pudding. Mmmmm yum.

It hasn't all been fun and games though. This morning we were sorry to see Wales get defeated by France in the Rugby World Cup semi final. In terms of allegiance, the Celtic Fringe won out over the Auld Alliance and partner, daughter and I joined nodbear in shouting for Wales. Alas to no avail :'(

Never mind, tomorrow it's our turn to go to Edinburgh to see the Cochrane exhibition. Huzzah!

Comments

[shezzawatto.livejournal.com]

Glad you're having such a great time.
Love to all.
As for the World Cup - well, not something I usually follow avidly, but proud nevertheless at our lot being in the finals. Happy to jump on any winning bandwagon!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

We had a lovely week! nodbear has now gone home and I am tidying up the piles of naval history books that seem to have accumulated in every room of the house :}

Sorry your guys have gone the way of the Welsh. At least they can commiserate with each other in the third place playoff!

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Wow! You got so much done, I'm amazed you found time to breathe in between. It sounds like a fantastic week. And if two conference papers come out of it, then the wider world will benefit as well. Fabulous.

Is "The state of the captain's list" in Lord Spencer's letter a complaint about the length? (ie Pellew wants so many people promoted that it's an impossible task). Or does he have a specific objection to the McVicar you mentioned?

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

We'll be very lucky to get two papers accepted as it's a relatively small conference. Hopefully we'll get one accepted though. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Pellew wants so many people promoted that it's an impossible task
Spot on! Pellew wrote to Spencer twice asking for McVicar to be made lieutenant and then when he was subsequently promoted and moved to another vessel, Pellew promptly wrote back to Spencer and basically said "Now he's a lieutenant can I have him back please?" XD You've got to admire the guy's cheek!

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

The state of the captain's list is such to preclude my being able as yet to flatter myself with the possibility of complying with your wishes

Oh for the chance to use that!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

You could use it next time the smaller Mylodons want to go shopping....

"The state of your parents finances is such to preclude my being able as yet to flatter myself with the possibility of complying with your wishes"

;D

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Tee hee. They see right through that, though - they read our account books!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

nodbear and I are beginning to suspect that there was a standard Admiralty phrase book of "ways to say 'no' to uppity captains and indispensable admirals" ;)

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

I am imagining the Lindsay/Pellew face reading this.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Btw we carefully calculated the scale of the Indy ship plans and used that to measure out the cabin size relative to my living room. You could definitely get two lieutenants in there. (In the cabin I mean, sadly not my living room ...)

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

I wish they were in my living room! They would find it very snug. My whole apt is not 1000 sq feet. And there are 4 humans, a dog and a cat.

I could fit two lieutenants-- really!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Your apartment is about the same size as the great cabin of the Indy! You don't have four cannons sticking out the windows do you?!

I could fit two lieutenants-- really!
It might be a really tight squeeze. You'd have to snuggle up really close together.... Can I come and join you?

[esteven]

Have the greatest of times at the exhibition! I asked them if it was possible to buy a copy of the large label booklet because it gives some good information and quotes. They were unable to find out and I gave them about an hour on Friday morning. ;/

The pleasure was entirely on my side. :D

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

Another glorious moment of Pellew chutzpah and Spencer elegant nay-saying is EP' suggestion that in order to offre the equivalent of promotion to the entire crew but without them having to part from one another the Indy could be re reated as a 4th rate and not a 5th.
Its a great - and totally daft - idea(imagine the queue that would form)
and Spencer replies that he cannot break the tradition of the way ships are rated - adding however that were he to brak protocol for nayone there is no one for whom he would rather do it than Sir Edward and the Indy - nice compliment = but still NO !

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

That is such a wonderful story isn't it?! It's just soooooo Pellew :D How much would you pay to have been a fly on the wall when Spencer opened that letter?!