19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 8
May 20th, 1809. We are at sea again – on a merchant ship, Pride of Scunthorpe, under the command of Jonas Swigger, a jovial captain who was more than happy to take us bears and [more…]
History
19th Century
Milestones in Nineteenth Century Firearms Development, Part Five
Introduction By inducing a projectile to spin around its own axis its flight is stabilised and accuracy and range are vastly improved. Rifling a barrel by cutting spiral grooves in a variety of forms and [more…]
20th Century
A History of Pop Music – 1971
Featured song: Slade: Cuz I Love You This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they stopped making it. [more…]
19th Century
Milestones in Nineteenth Century Firearms Development, Part Four
Introduction Every month my gun club holds a guest day when members can bring along friends and family to ‘have a go’ with their firearms. Maybe it’s because we were raised on a diet of [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 7
May 6th, 1809 We are part of a regular army again, pressing on to confront the French. I must confess that my old bones are aching from the furious pace of our advance. Jem is [more…]
20th Century
A History of Pop Music – 1970
Featured song: Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge over troubled water This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they [more…]
19th Century
Milestones in Nineteenth Century Firearms Development, Part Three
Introduction Although the flintlock ignition system was technically advanced for its time, it wasn’t without its shortcomings. Flintlocks require careful setting-up and constant maintenance and adjustment to be reliable. They also have a relatively slow [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 6
March 2nd, 1809. We are back in Portugal at last. It has been a circuitous journey across ridges and valleys, avoiding the French troops on the lower ground, but we have managed it without any [more…]
20th Century
A History of Pop Music – 1969
Featured song: The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they stopped [more…]