British in Iberia

“Gregor MacGregor, descendant of the ancient Kings of Scotland, follower of both orthodox and roman catholic faith is in possession of the country of Poyais (Mosquito Province in the northern region of America) due to a voluntary concession made by the local people.  He requests that His Majesty King Fernando VII of Spain and of the Indies acknowledges him as Prince of said region and Gregor MacGregor in turns pledges to acknowledge His Majesty as sovereign protector of the region.   In return for said protection he agrees to pay an annual tax, conditions of which will be stipulated by common agreement with an envoy of MacGregor who will address His Majesty with full authoritative power and who will be recognized by the French Government.”

In recognizing the King of Spain as protector of the territory of Poyais, Gregor MacGregor establishes the origin of sovereignty of the entire continent of America, since this country had never been part of any province which had previously belonged to His Majesty.

The case of Gregor MacGregor benefits the Royalist movement throughout America, giving encouragement to the Royalist leaders, attracting undecided voters and asserting themselves in the face of insurgents. 

When Poyais manages to enjoy peace and security and its Government is fully recognized, its population will doubtless rise, thanks to the rich resources provided by the fertile land for both agriculture and industry.

The country of Poyais as it stands at present has the sea as its border in the north, in the south it borders with the river San Juan and the lake of Nicaragua.  To the east it borders the sea and to the west, the river Aguarra, near Trujillo.

If His Majesty were to relinquish entirely the city and district of Trujillo, currently in dispute, tax would be increased.

If His Majesty were to add to this the province of Honduras, the tax could be increased to …….

It is clear that His Majesty the King of Spain has a significant interest in increasing the amount of land owned by the Prince of Poyais (Paris, 4th December, 1824. DeBray Valfresne).”

In our day-to-day life, it’s clear to us that when it comes to investing, it makes no difference at all if what we are investing in is, in fact, real or not.  We invest in shares, bonds, mutual funds and in other similar ways.  We are not frivolous in this area of the economy and we often cannot even work out exactly what these finances are.
If they really are something more than just an abstract concept, we don’t even know if the money we are earning really exists.  They are merely numbers which change on the computer screen.   At other times we invest in things equally tangible and real as others are conceptual.   We know that these things can exist and we are certain that we are surrounded by these very kinds of objects and goods.   However, this does not mean that the exact item in which we have invested really exists and if it does exist, nothing guarantees us that it is exactly as we have been told.  Even if it is, we probably don’t even care because the small details of what we are actually investing in are not important.  What matters is that we give money to someone and in exchange he gives us more money back.  All the rest is unimportant.

With his impressive imagination and the knowledge of how to make the most of other’s ambition, mixed in with some naivety, Gregor MacGregor, His Royal Highness Gregorio, arrived in London in 1821 with the intention of selling land, nobility titles and military commissions to British subjects in order to promote emigration to his “kingdom” and to stimulate movement, in his direction, within the uncontrolled finance sector of the time.   As political leader of Poyais, he raised a loan of 600,000 pounds with interest at 6% through the office of Sir John Perry, ex Mayor of London.  The issue was a success and the price of bonds rose.  In early 1823 around 200 colonists travelled to Poyais and instead of discovering the opulent, glamorous city offered by its leader, they found a pile of shacks surrounded by swamps and vicious natives,  as well as suffering, heat, hunger and fever.  Some of the settlers drowned trying to reach neighboring Belize.  Following these events, MacGregor fled to France with his earnings from the bonds.   As hope always springs eternal in the finance markets and in major investments, half a century later the land concessions and the debt certificates of Poyais could still be found in the bulging wallets of the businessmen who always swarm around the stock market, together with the bonds and shares of failed businesses.  Even today, the Poyais loan continues to be the only working capital loan to a fictitious country released onto the London stock exchange.

Poyais even had its own embassy in London and positions were held by well-known people who had never once even set foot in the country but who had full faith in its existence and status as a developing country, even after discovering the true story.

This “show” set up by MacGregor had a great script, great actors and was sold at a time that was ripe with ambition and speculation.   In addition, the scriptwriter, who was also the director, had the best producers of the time who were the governmental authorities of various countries.   He even managed to produce an “Official Guide to Poyais” written by Captain Thomas Strangeways who was none other than MacGregor himself in which he gave a detailed description of the history, geography, culture, natural resources and the economic plans of the country.  This was made available in his offices as a source of information for interested parties, just like the misleading promotional publicity of failed real estate promotions of the current day in which they stress the vast potential of the development and describe amazing leisure and social facilities.  These luxuries are the equivalent of those offered in the 19th century in Poyais, of mines and untapped deposits of gold and silver, extensive stretches of fertile soil ready to be developed.
 

Written by Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es

Sherry English Drunkenness.

The history of the wineskin is dissipated in the more mature. We found written evidence of its existence and with Homer's Odyssey, when his hero Ulysses giving the Cyclops Polyphemus drunk wine in the Bible, Noah inebriated by their children, in Cervantes' Don Quixote, the old gentleman and stabbing to death destroys the skins the innkeeper, and throughout the Golden Age of Spanish literature reviews are reproduced.

Lightweight, manageable, resilient, sensitive to nature, easy to use, waterproof, easy, aseptic, seductive, perfect design synthesis, the wineskin is both a legacy of the Spanish past and a free product requirements fashion that fascinates those who know enjoy the pleasures of life.

Francis Drake's enthusiasm for wine legend has it, there was a certain Francis Drake who worked as a loader at Jerez wineskins. He had a terrible row with Jose Melgarejo, who was a county in the city where he slapped her, and when he was cornered by his crew before the flight started to answer, since "the Spanish hatred grew in the person of the English privateer" .

It may be a legend or may be true that the famous English pirate Jerez graze in a warehouse, attracted by the rich broth of the earth.
Drake known for his service to his majesty of England, but also was an exporter and marketer of wines from Jerez, wines for which he had a great fondness, so his constant visits to the city.

This was due in large part to the entry into the markets of London of the three thousand boots Drake captured sherry in Cadiz in 1587.

Elizabeth I commissioned Sir Francis Drake, commanding a fleet that would have the mission to inspect the Spanish military orders, obstructing their supply, attack the fleet and if possible against the Spanish ports.

To this end, the queen became the order of Drake four ships of the Royal Navy: the Elizabeth Bonaventure, with Drake himself in command, the Golden Lyon, captained by William Burroughs, the Rainbow by Captain Bellingham, and the Dreadnought by Captain Thomas Fenner. Another 20 boats, armed merchant ships and pine trees, they joined the expedition. The costs of these ships were paid for by a group of businessmen in London, participating in profits in the same symmetry that have made their contributions to the fleet, the Queen, as owner of the four ships of the Royal Navy would receive half of the profits.

On April 12, 1587 English fleet sailed from Plymouth. Seven days after his departure, the queen sent to Drake repentance of the order that they should not be available to carry out any attack on the fleet and the Spanish ports. This message never reached the Drake because the ship was to deliver, forced by winds and tides, had to return to her dock without being able to reach him.

At the height of Galicia the fleet was scattered by a storm that lasted a week. After regrouping the fleet, they found two ships Netherlands who informed them that Cadiz was preparing a Spanish fleet of war ready to go to Lisbon.

On the evening of April 29 the British fleet entered the bay of Cadiz. At that time there were sixty ships in port (a type of sailing vessel) and several smaller boats. After the sighting, some twenty French ships present in the bay and other small boats sought shelter in Puerto Real and Puerto de Santa Maria, protected by sandbars that large ships could not penetrate.

Juan de Vega, mayor of Cadiz, sent word to Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, who arrived from Sanlúcar that same night to take over the defense of the place. Spanish galleys, in the absence of the Head of Castile under the command of Pedro de Acuna, came out to meet the English fleet, having to retreat to Cadiz to the English superiority. The posts on shore fired shells from the coast against the British fleet with little success, but managed to reject an attempted landing with boats in Depth, a small fortress, consisting of a tower with five guns gunship, which was the silent witness episode.

During the night of twenty-nine, all day and night following continued fighting in the bay. At dawn the first of May, the British withdrew, having destroyed some thirty] have also captured another 4 ships filled with supplies between these three thousand bottles of wine from Jerez.

William Shakespeare mentions sherrish as known in the late sixteenth century, more than fifty times and in eight of his plays, and its flagship character the most fond Falstaff tasting it. In his famous soliloquy, the second part of Henry IV, just uttering: "If a thousand children had first human principle I would teach would be to abjure all insipid drinks and dedicate themselves entirely in sherry.

His passion for sherry was shared by his friends and contemporaries, many famous writers in the court of the Queen Elizabeth I, as John Fletcher, Francis Beaumont, John Donne, Robert Herrick and Michael Drayton, who used to drink at the Mermaid Tavern or the Board's Head, London. Ben Johnson, I called sherry "Sack? You said but now it should be ee'n Sherry "

By Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by Costaluzlawyers

Lord Charles Howard and the Holy Grail Gallego.

The Holy Grail was in the Castillo de Corbiere, home of the Fisher King. (The Cry of Merlin the Wise)

"It's so dark all that concerns the well-known legends about the Holy Grail, although the studies done by consecrated persons in Ireland, England, France and Germany to investigate the origins and sources of his history, that have reached deep altered and corrupted in our times, in the transformations that have suffered in the course of centuries, moving from one country to another, in an age of profound ignorance, and especially suffering the Celtic and Germanic civilizations clash of the advanced and overwhelming Roman civilization, imposed with the sword and the extermination of all people who were not resigned to live as slaves. "

The seventeenth century was the century that has perpetuated the name of Spain for two facts: Velázquez painted his pictures and Cervantes published his famous book Don Quixote. Certainly in the spring of that year he met the light the first part of the episodes of the ingenious gentleman of La Mancha. That highlights the inconsistencies that are reproduced in the Spanish soul, unique and vigorous mass of idealism and love of reality, love contradictory misfit almost idealism.

 Chapter religious and under treatment, the discrepancies between the two kingdoms created a serious obstacle to any negotiations. Spain was seen in the hand of the papacy. Despite attempts by Philip III, to achieve greater tolerance towards Catholicism in England, the negotiations at this point suffered continuous delays. An offer that, again, was strengthened with the ratification of the Anglo Spanish (Somerset) peace in Valladolid in 1605. It was not easy, however, change soon a long line of repression against the English Catholics, and contained the large literature of the period. The Gunpowder Plot, or Gunpowder Plot against the English crown, discovered in November 1605, would result in a new crackdown by adopting a series of stringent measures by the Parliament against the English Catholics, also called " recusants. Also declared as he came seeking freedom of conscience with regard to the merchants and businessmen English inhabitants in the Iberian peninsula, which were the subject of relentless hunting Inquisition.

In order to ratify the Treaty of Peace signed at Somerset House, moved from England to Spain a diplomatic delegation led by British ambassador Lord Admiral Charles Howard, first Earl of Nottingham who was to the Spanish Court in late May 1605. The British traveled aboard the ship "The Bear" docked at the port of La Coruna and were received by local authorities. From there they continued their journey through Betanzos, Villalba, Lugo, Triacastela came to O Cebreiro.

In a palloza (hut there) set out to lunch while a civilian Chantada served them wine and gave them a mushroom-shaped cheese while humming a song with a strange letter in the Galician of the time: Oh sacred Caldeiro never deixou, eu I hope that life, oh, so high (Oh holy cauldron that never left, oh so high I hope life). Howard had it translated what he said the villager and immediately had him bring "the kettle", sheltering at that moment to take it with longing, longing to be glimpsed in his manner, but do not spend one second when the Galician peasant told him that had happened to the Catholic Queen with "pot" which would have deterred the English ordering the same thing as the Queen, but first take a huge gulp, like a breath of air, the chalice that held the wine, dripping the thick and crimson liquid on his beard.

... Or Cebreiro facendo stops to view or e doar or sanctuary milagre onde os remains are gardes. Isabella wanted to weigh a relic or Court, but as mules Cebreiro deixe leading padiola rexeitou continue to súa viaxe, indo de volta para os strive two homes. Isabel took as a divine relic vontade permaneceu Cebreiro not, returning ..
(In 1486 the Catholic Monarchs pilgrimage to Santiago, making stops in O Cebreiro to see the miracle and donate the shrine where the remains are stored. Isabella wanted to take the relic to the Court, but leave the mules Cebreiro leading the royal litter refused to continue their journey by going back to the efforts of the footmen. The Queen deciphered this as a divine desire that the relic remained in the Cebreiro, returning)

Until a few days OR Cebreiro was a village consisting of thatched huts called "pallozas" where its inhabitants live under the same roof in company stock, there plenty. The cabin is built palloza prehistoric origin and consists of a circular house without a foundation, all straw and supported on a wooden mast that governs from the center.

The religious idea of objects with extraordinary possessions existed long before Christianity. The allegory tells how the Irish Celtic Dagda King, King's successor Lugo, monarchs predecessors on arrival in Ireland of the children of Breogán, had a cauldron with the property to raise the dead.

This legend was taken by poets British a hundred years later with the Matter of Britain or King Arthur's adventures. The Chimera has the Holy Grail was the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper, and then Joseph of Arimathea collected in this cup the blood of Christ after his torment. Subsequently the Grail was transported by ship and then hidden. According to the stories of the Matter of Britain, King Arthur and his knights would transit through their lives searching for the holy grail.

The miracle of Cebreiro especially important is the Galician Arthurian connection with the Matter of Britain. As a pagan symbol, the host that descends to the chalice represents the sun before he died at sea, where the land ends. In the old Atlantic and Indo-European religions, the creator sun succumbs at sea and was taken by boat to the end of the Universe, to return to return from the dead the day after. Sunset at sea is the host who plunges into the cup, Galicia is a historical representation, a form of land end of the world, Costa da Morte (Galicia) The Holy Grail is the historical Galician Flag now National Emblem, and also a symbol of Cornwall.
 

The Celtic peoples are characterized by the importance of oral tradition, especially living in Ireland, Brittany and Galicia. Direct relationship with the Breton Cycle are the legends of San Amaro, St. Brendan and other seekers of Paradise, Tales from the Imrama, stories composed in Ireland from the VIIth century, reminding us of trips made under such conditions the characters of the epic Celtic Tristan, Galahad ...

The memory of King Arthur is still present in names and legends like Antela Lagoon, under which there lies submerged King, accompanied by his knights, delighted in the form of insects, awaiting the day when Arthur wakes from sleep.

Merlin the druid Galicia remains in its long shadow, three parishes are named Galicia in the Sierra de O Careón, in the mountains of Orre, and Chantada. It retains a significant popular saying "You know more than Merlin." Children of Galicia say he had heard about Merlin and the old from his village reminded them that Merlin was a man who knew a lot." Alvaro Cunqueiro for his part wrote the famous tales and Family Merlin Merlin conjuring tales that he told her an old maid small.
Cebreiro with his miracle Wagner provided the theme for the composition of Parsifal.

Thus the country of Parsifal is Galicia, the indestructible temple situated in the mountain is the sanctuary of the Grail Cebreiro and mysterious: the Goblet of Cebreiro

The church of Santa Maria A Real Cebreiro O is the oldest church in the Camino de Santiago, built in the mid-ninth century by Benedictine monks. Despite the various alterations, still retains some of its detail Romanesque, basilica with three naves covered wooden armature that terminate in rectangular apses. Outside, the tower falls and external walls, all of granite slabs of slate.

Inside the Miracle took place for the Holy Grail, a miracle that was released by the Benedictine P. Yepes in his "Chronicle of San Benito general, this meant that in the early fourteenth century, a neighbor Barxamaior, half a league of Cebreiro , a day of terrible storm, broke through the snow wearing his faith as he could came to the church at the time that the monk was devoting a chunk of bread and some wine. This disbelief at his approach, he exclaims: 'What is this other, with a storm so big and so tired to see a bit of bread and wine'. At that time, bread was holding turned into the flesh of Christ and wine into his blood causing the Miracle of the Holy Grail, which is mentioned in the Bulls of Innocent VIII in the year 1486 and of Alexander VI, 1496

Today we can look at the chapel of the Holy Miracle with the paten and the chalice, symbol of Galicia and present in his shield, XII century Romanesque art. The mausoleums which are buried the protagonists of the miracle and a Romanesque carving of the Virgen del Siglo XII.

By Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es

Franco is “slow in mind and movement” and Serrano Súñer is “quick as a dagger in both words and actions”.

An archetypal English gentleman in his methods, his representation and his sartorial elegance, and with a style that saw him always dressed in perfectly-fitting tailored suits, Samuel Gurney Hoare (1880-1959) was an outstanding politician and exemplary diplomat.  He was a shining example of how someone with homely looks could use the way they dressed to make themselves an icon of their time, such as Fred Astaire and Adolphe Menjou.   Between 1931 and 1938, this emphatic MP of the Conservative party held the positions of Minister of Education, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary.  With his strong conservative leanings and beliefs, he held a very accommodating attitude towards the totalitarian regimes of Italy and Germany.    So, when the Italian army invaded Ethiopia, his silent response meant that he was removed from his position as Foreign Secretary, a situation which was repeated in the Home Office as a direct result of his consent and resulting support of the Munich Agreement.

During the spring of 1940, Samuel Hoare was chosen by Her Majesty’s British Government to take on the role of heading their Embassy in Madrid, as Great Britain and her allies felt the situation in Spain was of pivotal importance.  Hoare was not simply a gifted diplomat, but he was also an indisputable and positive politician, one of the heroes of the British Conservative Party and, in some aspects, a rival to Churchill.  He had spent 30 years in the House of Commons and many times had been the Secretary of State for Air, First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for India, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Lord Privy Seal in the War Cabinet and, in reference to his diplomatic activity, he was in charge of a special mission in Russia during the build up to the Revolution.

For these reasons, Churchill chose to elect Hoare as the Ambassador to Madrid during these critical times for Great Britain, when France was defeated and Spain was replacing its neutrality with uprising and deciding to send its Blue Division to fight on the Russian Front.  Hoare labored tirelessly so that Spain, where he was keeping up healthy relations, did not turn against his country.  His outstanding work earned him the highest awards, as well as the honorary title of Order of the British Empire. 

However, without a doubt, the most memorable of this British hero’s actions, was that of organizing the exchange of German and British prisoners in the port of Barcelona.

On the 26th October, 1943, under the auspices of the Spanish Red Cross, the German boat “Aquileia” was moored in Barcelona’s harbor.   In its hold were 1083 British and Commonwealth prisoners, 410 were sick and injured and of those, 50 in a serious state.   The first to disembark were the Australian prisoners from the Ambulance Division, after them the Scottish, English, South Africans, Australians, and Kiwis, most of them captured on the North African Front. 

At the same time, the carrier “Cuba” sailing under the British flag began to offload 1061 German prisoners, virtually all of which were from the Afrika Korps.  In the harbor, overseeing the operations were Sir Samuel Hoare and his German counterpart, Doctor Dieckhoff.   Both were accompanied by their respective entourages and their wives and the German also had the company of a group from the National Socialist Party of Barcelona and pupils from the German schools in the city.   The wife of the German ambassador gave the German prisoners a bag with handkerchiefs, wine, oil and dried fruit whilst the British prisoners received cigarettes, alcohol and biscuits from their fellow countrymen in Barcelona.  Also witness to the exchange, were the Spanish General Moscardó, Delegate to the International Red Cross, Doctor Arbenz, and various Spanish officials of the period.

 After doing a roll-call, the newly-saved prisoners were taken to their respective ships, with shouts of joy, songs and crusade hymns.  As a form of restraint, it was organized so that the prisoners did not see each other in the harbor.  Everything had been vigorously rehearsed so as to avoid a potentially fatal meeting.

The second trading of prisoners took place on Spanish soil in February of 1944 in Irún, when 36 injured and mutilated British and American were handed over.  Later, on the 17th May, 1944, the second part of the trade was completed this time again in Barcelona.  The Germans handed over 1021 prisoners in exchange for 833, amongst which was Division General Hans Kramer.

Written by Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es

In Cedeira (Galicia, Spain) there is a monument which pays tribute to Leslie Howard, at A Capelada, near San Andrés de Teixido, the very spot where his plane crashed down on route back to the UK after two months in Spain and Portugal.

On the 1st June, 1943, after a short trip to Spain and Portugal, Leslie Howard took a civilian flight from the Lisboan airport of Portela to fly to the English aerodrome at Whitchurch.   The actor and his friend, Alfred Chenhalls had changed the date of their return flight to the UK to enable them to attend the premiere of his film, “The First of the Few”.  Chenhalls, who bore a striking resemblance to Winston Churchill, was a well-known accountant in London who managed the economic interests of various figures in the world of cinema and music, including those of Howard himself.  Some days later, they very cautiously boarded a Douglas DC3 twin-engine called “Ibis”.  The journey was very dangerous as they found themselves in the midst of an area of high activity of the German Luftwaffe fighter planes based in France.  When the “Ibis”, which was marked as a civilian aircraft, reached the Bay of Biscay, it was approached and destroyed by a squadron of Junkers.  The plane, in which Leslie Howard was travelling, accompanied by Kenneth Stonehouse and his wife, who also died, was crewed by Dutch airmen.  Stonehouse, 33 years old and from South Africa, was the Reuters correspondent in Washington who was flying back to London.  His disappearance was tragic news for his colleagues in Fleet Street.  He had left London to go to Washington to work as Chief Editor of Reuters but in the last few days had returned to London in order to become a war correspondent for the same agency.  The final passenger travelling in the plane was Wilfred Israel, a Jewish businessman born in London who arranged escape networks for refugees.   Many people had blacklisted him with the Nazis and various analysts have suspected that Israel was the Junker’s target.

Israel House originated in 1815 when Nathan Israel set up a small second-hand shop in the Molkenmarkt in Berlin.   This soon gained worldwide notoriety, not only for wholesale and retail, but also in the field of exports where it held an enviable position in Germany.   In 1925, Kaufhaus N. Israel started its own business school whose qualifications were recognized by the State.  The business was passed down from father to son until it reached the hands of Wilfred and Herbert.

The company was contracted to supply hospitals, hotels, theatres, military establishments and other public and private organizations.  The company worked exclusively with its own capital and did not believe in either loans or mortgages. 

On the 1st April, 1933 it was cut off and boycotted along with all other Jewish organizations.   In 1938 the business was sold to Emil Köster AG and in 1939 the aryanizing of Israel House came to a head and the business re-opened under the name of Das Haus im Zentrum.

Before and during the Second World War, Wilfred was renowned activist and helped thousands of Jews escape from Nazi tyranny.   On the 26th March, 1943 he left London for Lisbon where he spent two months looking into the Jewish situation in the Iberian Peninsula.  During the Second World War, the fascist regimes in Spain and Portugal sympathized with Nazi Germany but still refused to hand over its Jews to the Nazis.  By the end of his stay, Wilfred Israel had found over 1,500 Jewish refugees living in Spain, for many of which he organized their permission to travel to Palestine.   Before board the “Ibis” plane, he had presented a major proposition to the British Government to help Jewish refugees in Spain.

These deaths have always been shrouded in the mysteries of the fog of the Galician coast.  In amongst the fog circulated many different surprising rumors, such as that of the German spies having mistaken Howard’s friend, Chenhalls, with Churchill, who at that time, according to some sources, would secretly fly in civilian airplanes to avoid detection. 

Another explanation was that in 1943 Britain needed Howard for a special mission in the Iberian Peninsula.  He had always been reluctant to make this visit.  Perhaps his reticence was due to the fact that, in spite of Portugal’s neutrality and the non-aggression of the Spanish, the Germans dominated without any restraint in this area.  In addition, Howard was a gloomy man who tended to let himself be led by his instincts and had commented on more than one occasion to his close friends and family that he didn’t have a “good feeling” about this trip.  However, he was finally won over on the insistence of the Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden.  We will never know if the objective for the shooting-down of this plane by the Nazis was  Churchill, in the body of Chenhalls,  Leslie Howard for being a British secret agent, or Wilfred Israel for his contribution to the escape of refugees.  Or perhaps it was all three.
 

Written by Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es

Who is Mercedes Gleitze?

The first of us all, men and women, to swim across the Strait. It was in 1928. Nobody had done it before. He commented in an interview today to a swimmer ready to cross the Strait of Gibraltar from Tarifa (Cádiz).

Tangier, December 6, 1927: On board the steamer "Slamat" arrived at the port of Tangier mercedes Gleitze Miss Hudson and Miss Millie it intended to swim the Strait of Gibraltar crossing. Both swimmers had left the same train from Waterloo Station had arrived on the same ship after their stay at the hotel, but did not look, did not speak. Miss Gleitze stubbornly followed him not to speak to her rival. British swimmers Gleitze Miss and Miss Hudson were irreconcilable opponents to date, only united in their purpose of crossing the Strait of Gibraltar swim.

Diciembre ten of 1927 by finally reached an agreement during a luncheon arranged. Miss Gleitze told journalists that his only attempt for pursuing a charitable purpose entertained the project of building in London a shelter for five hundred needy and also for the same purpose, had hired a film company to film the journey, that Miss Gleitze wanted to be very rugged and had much excitement in the sale facility.

At present this test is and is considered one of the most difficult to overcome, due to the many winds, caused by the junction of two seas. The British Mercedes Gleitze (November 1900 Brighton, February 9, 1981 † London) was the first person who got through our Straits, on 5 April 1928 (Holy Thursday) was his third attempt. He achieved his goal but not before, after a superhuman effort, fighting the elements, reaching the African coast up to Punta Cruces. The woman spent 12 hours and 50 minutes to link the two shores of the Strait, finishing the test in the vicinity of the coast of Ceuta,

Some journalists from the "Mundo Deportivo" Barcelona had the power esuerte interview days before his prowess. This was:

Shortly before leaving Cadiz told us that the way to Tarifa was graceful, so lavish in its landscape as fastidious about the state of the road. Tarifa is one of those people hiding in the curves of the road, once there we showed the residence of Miss Gleitze who was none other that "Villanueva catering cottage facing the sea, whitewashed balnco and withdrawal from the madding crowd. "The swimmer" as they called Miss Gleitze there, we are told is resting, while accompanying us to our room a kind cross between "master" and fisherman who talk warmly towards Mercedes does things that men do not."

The filmmakers of sporting prowess unfortunately true that time were "butch" was not the case of Miss Gleitze, who was shy, with eyes dazed and with that air of naivete with which we see the Spanish to English, healthy and strong; extremely strong, fair and contrary to the fashion of those days hair was not cut but had two long braids gathered over the ears. In our questions we answered simply and bluntly, but with surprise by showing him a copy of the paper where we work, believing that there were no newspapers in Spain specialized in sports, in our conversation it felt loose and happy to speak with a sports journalist swimming without this is surprising. In Tarifa was lonely, nobody advised, no one trained only received massages a guy from the Military Hospital.

With twenty-seven years had left behind his profession as a typist encouraged by the reward of crossing the Channel for five hundred pounds offered by the News of the World "to cross the Channel in fifteen hours and a quarter, money used not only in his own benefit but in the interest of a foundation for a nursing home. In swimming he found a strong source of income for their old age. He was also editor of a journal of physical education and propaganda in philanthropic Westmisnter Belgrave Road 75. And sporting swimmnig belonged to Brighton Club.

The jurisdiction of the English press made the "Daily Express" offered another prize money for the swimmer to cross the Strait of Gibraltar which meant the chain of evidence that he took part in the Mercedes and that had become almost a profession; although she was considered an amateur conviction, travel expenses, training and accommodation were funded in Tarifa by the Sports Club of Gibraltar Rock is bursting to help her.

When you tried? Saturday. And, if you can not cross? I'll stay here and I'll try again and again until it succeeds because if I do have a very important offer from the United States.

The style "crawl" it was very tiring for hiking, so I used the "stroke perst stroke" that could withstand the long hours.

He left the Island of the Doves of Tarifa on Day 5 to 8 hours fifty minutes vessels, escorted by numerous guests and journalists, he managed to play punta leona 21 hours twenty minutes. Miss Gleitze on arrival back to Tarifa was received by the people and authorities taxed such a great welcome. Mercedes taught the cheering that a handful of sand and pebbles on the African soil, while leaving it embraced by everyone who claimed,

The first crossing was made on men July 22, 1948 being the Peruvian Daniel Carpio Maciotti which links to Tarifa to Punta Cruces (Morocco) and made the journey in 9 hours and 20 minutes, according to official data.

Written by Jesús Castro.
Translated by Rachael Harrison.
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“No-one with any common sense can deny that the elements are controlled by witches and, at will, they can send down sleet, rain, storms, thunder and lightning.  This simple little old lady tosses a flint towards the West over her left shoulder, or throws some sand into the sea, or dips her broomstick into the water and flicks it into the air around her, or digs a hole in the ground, fills it with water then stirs it up with her finger, or boils pig hairs, or places some sticks across a riverbed where no water ever flows, or buries sage leaves until they rot away.  According to the witches and confirmed by writers, all these are methods by which witches can conjure up storms and rain. (Reginal Scott, Discoverie of Witchcraft).

One version of the story of the shipwreck of the Serpent is provided by the writer Ramón Allegue in his book, Mar Tenebroso (The Sinister Sea).  According to the author, the English government needed to send a substantial amount of money to its colonial army and to appoint new sub-officials to secure the release of the crews of other boats in South Africa.  In this mission, due to its invaluable cargo, the Serpent was to be protected by the Lapwing.  Well established in the high society back at home and seeing the profitability of the job, the British wreckers (those who salvaged the wrecks of boats) advised their Galician counterparts.    So the Galicians turned off the light in the Vilán lighthouse so that the Serpent crashed into Boi.  The sea was so rough that not even the wreckers could reach the wreck of the ship.  When it could no longer see the Serpent, the Lapwing, which was a few kilometers ahead, turned around.   After the disaster occurred, the Mac Mahon stayed in the area around the wreckage of the ship.  The Lapwing returned with another ship, the Sunfly, and they managed to salvage a chest full of gold coins.  Several days later, on realizing that there was another chest, the Lapwing returned once again to Camariñas.  The secretive nature of the British government meant that few people knew about the two chests and, with the second one not having been found,  the people of Camariñas felt justified in visiting the shipwreck. 

On the 11th February, 1890, onboard the English canonship, Lapwing, a survivor of the Serpent,  made his way into La Coruña. He was called Burton and was on his was from Camariñas and he told the following story:

On the night of the shipwreck the Serpent was sailing along, uneventfully, at half speed, or approximately 14 miles per hour.  We had left Plymouth at two o’clock on Saturday afternoon and we were making our way to Cape Finisterre.  The sea was terrible and the waves were crashing down over the leeward side (the side of the boat which is protected from the wind), which in turn pushed us towards the coast.  The disaster took place in an inlet formed by Cape Trece and Cape Villano and just like the middle line of a capital E, at the bottom of the inlet the reefs form a shallow area called Punta del Boi at about half a mile from land and about three miles from Cape Villano.

It was a terrible night, it was pouring with rain and mist was settling along the coast.  The force of the waves was so strong that it turned the ship around, forcing it towards the coast, and towards the place where the disaster came about – Laja de Buey reef was the name given to it in the ship’s log.  Due to the thick fog, the Serpent could not make out the lighthouse at Cape Villano and on passing close to Cape Trece, this is the place where the ship ran aground.  The ship did not sink, but lodged itself on the rocks, where it remained for 45 minutes, during which time the crew managed to climb up on deck which was constantly being battered by the turbulent sea. 

The great blow was just terrifying.  Because of the storm and as the boat was sailing in such treacherous conditions, due to the strength of the wind,  the commanding officer was positioned at the bridge.  I was on watch so I was on deck and a further 80 or so crewmembers were close by at various positions on deck. 

As soon as we felt the impact, the commanding officer, Commander Harry Leith Ross, official veteran of the Royal Navy after joining in 1862, ordered the lowering of the lifeboats.  Thanks to the speed of the Commander, there was also time to fire the “launch cannon”.  However, it was all in vain as the waves were so great that the projectile never reached land.  At this point, with the exception of those in the sick bay, all the crew were on deck.   When the lifeboats were lowered, a huge waved crashed over the deck and swept away both men and lifeboats, leaving the deck of the ship virtually empty.  At this point I heard the Commander shout “Every man for himself!”.

Before these maneuvers began, some of us had managed to get our lifejackets on.  The Serpent remained immobile, lodged on the rocks, the enormous waves crashing over it.  Soon, nothing was remaining on deck – no crew, no lifeboats and none of the freeboard (the part of the ship which is above water).   Luxton and some of the others who were swept away by the waves managed to grasp hold of some coastal rocks.  Luxton was the only one who was able to withstand the force of the water and reached the sandy shore almost lifeless.   A wave dragged me to the spot that Lacane had reached just a few moments after him.  We crashed and slammed against each other as we tried to save ourselves and one another in the water which swarmed with bodies of men.  With difficulty, Luxton and I managed to reach the parish of Javina.  Gould remained struggling in the water for longer than us, swimming with an incredible energy and, almost naked, managed to reach land at the beach at Cabo Trece.   In the morning we all met up in a police hut with the cargo guard of the English steam ship, Tumbridge, which was shipwrecked in the same spot some months earlier.

The Serpent broke in two.  At dawn, with a low tide, you could see the deck, swept clean, just showing the six cannons.  None of the freeboard was left.  Shortly afterwards, the Serpent sank.

The following day, the corpses of the crew who had been wearing lifejackets appeared floating in the waters.  All were horrendously mutilated and some were headless, having lost consciousness after crashing against the rocks which then tore their bodies to pieces.

The three remaining sailors were Frederick Gould (1st Corporal, 26 years old and lifeboat captain), Edwin Burton (First Seaman of the lifeboat crew) and Onesipherous Oney Luxton.  The total number of bodies buried two days after the tragedy was forty-eight, amongst which was that of the Commander.  The total number of victims rose to one hundred and seventy-six.

Written by Jesús Castro.

Translated by Rachael Harrison.

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In her poem dedicated to Sir John Moore, the English General who died in the Battle of Elviña (La Coruña) and subsequently buried there, Rosalía De Castro agonizes over the fact that his body is buried so far away from his home country.   However, she claims that he would not find any greater burial place outside of his homeland.

Set against the background of the Spanish War of Independence, we must not forget the excesses of the English army in their flight through the region of El Bierzo (Leon, Spain).  On the 2nd January, 1809, shamed by the conduct of his men, Moore immediately gathered up his troops in Cacabelos to give them a harsh reprimand.  “If the enemy has now taken Bembibre, as I believe is the case, they have got themselves an unusual haul:  they have taken or destroyed hundreds of cowardly and drunken Englishmen.  No-one other than these wicked drunks would get so inebriated under the very nose of the enemies of the village.  So, rather than surviving such vile conduct, I hope that the very first cannonball fired by the enemy strikes me in the head”.

General Sir John Moore was killed on the 16th January, 1809 after receiving an injury to the head from a cannonball fired during the Battle of La Coruña as he was fighting alongside the Spanish against the French.

He was born in Glasgow in 1761 and was a natural soldier.  He fought on the battle fields of America, he was trained in the battalion sent to Corsica to fight against Napoleon in 1794, fought in Ireland in 1797, took part in the maneuvers in Abukir in 1800 and later in the seize of Alexandria.  He also led a troop of 10,000 soldiers to go to the aid of the Kind of Sweden.    Under attack from Denmark, Russia and France and as Napoleon arrived in France and Great Britain chose to come to our aid, Moore requested and was granted permission to come to our country to fight against Napoleon’s troops.

Here he was given control over the English troops and he attempted to bring together the various different branches of his army.  However, the French drew the battle lines in Elviña and vastly outnumbered the English troops.  Faced with the impossibility of standing up to Marshall Soult who was at the head of the enemy troops, Moore ordered their withdrawal.  Just as they were leaving and arriving at the port and were about the board the ship, a cannonball took his life, just as he was rallying his platoon who, in view of the misfortunate incident, chose to return home.  

The Battle of Elviña (also known as the Battle of Coruña) was one of the battles of the Spanish War of Independence, which in turn were part of the Napoleonic Wars.  It took place on the 16th January, 1809, between 14.000 British soldiers under the command of Sir John Moore and 16.000 French soldiers led by Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult. 

The body of General John Moore was buried the following day and in his memory, the chief of the Spanish troops, the Marquis of La Romana, ordered an interim mausoleum to be built upon the remains of this illustrious soldier.  In his own hand was inscribed the following, “To the Glory of the most Excellent Sir John Moore, General in Charge of the British Armies and its courageous soldiers, Spain is forever grateful”.  In 1811 the mausoleum was converted into a permanent commemorative monument and was restored in 1834 to include the inscription in Latin, Spanish and English.

Many memories of this battle still continue in the city of La Coruña.   However, the battle field has been partly dismantled, principally to allow the construction of Avenida de Alfonso Molina which is the main access route into the city, although some of it still remains.   The village of Elviña is easy to find on the right-hand side on leaving the city.  The most part of the former battle ground adjoins the village and this has now been taken over by the University of La Coruña.

Towards the top of the village, going up to Zapateira hill, there is a viewpoint where an illustrative map of the battle made from tiles has been erected.   There are also some commemorative plaques, one of which was unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1931.

Every year there is an historic recreation of the Battle of La Coruña and the death of General Sir John Moore (16th January, 1809) and this includes various talks, donations, and exhibitions organized by the Town Hall of La Coruña and the cultural association, the Royal Green Jackets.

Written by Jesús Castro.

Translated by Rachael Harrison.

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This is the first in a series of anecdotes, originating in Great Britain, and which were published in Spanish newspapers throughout past centuries.  An anecdote is a short story which tells an interesting or funny tale, a curious fact.  Anecdotes are not jokes as their main function is not just to make a person laugh, but also to recount something which is more factual than a short story.

An anecdote is always based on real facts - an incident involving real people in real places.

“The Bad Payer” was published on the 8th November, 1794 in the Diario de Madrid, a major Spanish newspaper which was famed for being the first daily paper, not only in Spain, but in continental Europe.  This is how the story went:

An Englishman who rented out carriages spent an entire morning trying to get payment from a London aristocrat who was not well-known for being a prompt payer.  What it more, the carriage-owner had the misfortune and coincidence of having the surname of Lloid.

The London nobleman looked at the accounts and saw the entry stating that the debt was 500 guineas (a guinea was a gold coin, worth approximately 21 shillings, which was used as currency in Great Britain before the introduction of the decimal system in 1971).  He then asked the coachman earnestly, “Is your name not Lloid?”, to which the coachman replied “Yes, Sir, at your Excellency’s service”.   “Do you not write your surname with just the initial letter?” continued to ask the Lord.  “That is correct”, replied the coachman, “but my real surname is Floid, but when I sign my name I put an L instead of an F to make the pronunciation easier”. “So you always write it with an L?” asked the Lord. “Yes”, replied the other.  “Well, my friend, that’s too bad that the first letter of your name has changed but not the cheques.  I don’t deny that I owe you money, but in case you didn’t know already, you should know that for a long time I have been making my payments in alphabetical order of the payee’s surname as there are so many to pay.  So, if you had signed as Floid, you would have been paid about a year ago, together with all the others with the letter F.  But, seeing as you have changed it to L, it looks like you will have to wait your turn as there are still five more letters left to pay before you….G, H, I, J and K.

Written by Jesús Castro.
Translated by Rachael Harrison.
Sponsored by  www.costaluzlawyers.es