There’s barely a couple of pages covering October 20 in ‘The Riddle of the Sands’, but somehow we’ve managed to create an information-packed podcast out of it.
We include a bit of Roman history, obscure house numbering systems, spinnakers, gibs & what-not, a symphony composed for foghorns, a plate of wurst, more pipe-smoking *and* a trip to the Foreign Office! Plus we have several excellent contributions, clarifications and corrections from Club Members. Thank you all.
First, we remind you that the next podcast will come direct from the Kiel Canal, on the precise dates (October 2-4) that Carruthers and Davies would have been there. (01:10). If you want to see us in Germany ‘live’, and receive a resulting chapter of the Handbook, plus a field audio book excerpt, you need to pledge your support for this project at https://unbound.co.uk/books/riddle-of-the-sands.
Tim (notCarruthers) offers a few interesting facts about the Ems (04:32): the site of a Roman military base called Amisia (05:04); how the Dutch have stolen the German wind (06:52); the opening of the Dortmund-Ems canal (08:03); the bombing of Emden in 1944 (11:10); Wolfgang Petersen and ‘Das Boot’(12:22); Baltrum facts, including the islanders’ idiosyncratic attitude to bicycles and house-numbering (13:36).
Lloyd (notDavies) works closely with Club Members Tony F. and Frankie to produce a definitive guide to the boat Dulcibella’s sail-plan (15:23); Tony F. describes the different sails (17:38); Frankie produces a drawing (18:45); Lloyd charts out every reference to sails in the book (20:30).
Tim gets excited about foghorns (21:58); the Tyfon original that Davies might have used (22:49); beware of buying a fake foghorn (23:57); a musical interlude concerning ‘The Foghorn Requiem’ (25:11).
Club Business: as requested by Jeff – a trip to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London (followed by wurst & beer at a German inn) (32:12); a shout-out again to the Kervaig Pipe Club (39:23); Brian on bicycles, and our kümmel related confusion about where Glasgow is (40:26); more kümmel-related facts from Nick (42:47); Tony suggests that there are still wreckers and pirates in the Frisians (44:50).
The Curiously Specific Book Club 