Steers

This being notice of the book at reference 1, ‘Cattle Kingdom’, a book bought on the strength of a kind mention in a review of something else in the NYRB, for which see reference 5. The true story of the birth of the cowboy legend.

The back of the book says the author spent most of his fifteen years on Wall Street as president of Knowlton Brothers, Inc., an investment management company. Somebody who might therefore know about starting companies and how they raise money – subjects which get some attention in this book. But neither Bing nor Google turn up a company answering this description, nor does it get mentioned at reference 3, where he is presented as journalist and writer. Odd.

A book built in part around the careers of three wannabee cattle men: Moreton Frewen (English gentleman, married US money), the Marquis de Morès (minor French aristocracy, married US money) and Theodore Roosevelt (was US money). And one long serving cowboy, Teddy Blue Abbott, who ended up as a farmer.

Cowboys were all about the cattle boom of the second half of the nineteenth century. A commodity boom which kicked off with the moving of huge numbers of cattle up from their Texas pastures to feed the hungry cities of the north after the civil war. A boom which started with the near extermination of the bison which came before the cattle and ended with then wide-open ranges of the mid-West not being so open. The mostly short-lived cattle towns – for example, Abilene, right in the middle of the map above - which play a large part in the legend were market towns where the cattle met the railway at a stockyard. Towns full of all kinds of businessmen and speculators – and cowboys who had been paid off after perhaps months on the trail. And newspaper men and literary types who between them worked up the legend for consumption back east.

At peak there were maybe 40,000 cowboys, a lot of whom were former Confederate cavalrymen. A trade for young men; young men who might be tempted away from the drudgery of life on farm or in factory – by the idea of the freedom of the wide-open spaces. But the work was hard and not particularly well paid. There was lots of illness and lots of accidents – and a very modest amount of firearm violence. The gold rush towns were worse than the cattle towns as far as that went. 

A trade which shared something with that of seaman – a trade which tempted plenty of young men from seafaring countries like our own.

I wonder this morning whether more cowboys appeared in films in the twentieth century than ever rode the range in the nineteenth.

Lots of fortunes were made and lost during the boom. A boom which sucked in a lot of capital from Europe, particularly the UK. A lot of which capital must have ended up in the pockets of various US-grown middlemen.

With the coming of refrigeration, some of this beef ended up in the UK, to the consternation of our cattlemen. Their return on their land was not going to be as good as it had been. First grain, then beef. Was there no end to their troubles?

A good read, albeit one which got a bit repetitive and which tailed off a bit towards the end of its 350 pages.

PS 1: this morning I noticed that the northern railroad in the map above crosses the Mississippi. It struck me that this must be, have been, a substantial bridge – essential for feeding the stockyards of Chicago. Bing and reference 6 soon confirm this to have been the case, with the first bridge finally completed in 1865. More than a kilometre of it.

PS 2: a short-barrelled shotgun was a far more effective weapon for a gunfight than a six shooter. Which last, incidentally, was a rather expensive item for a cowboy who might prefer to spend his hard-earned dollars on clothes.

PS 3: Word is very keen on my hyphenating locutions like ‘hard-earned’. Irritating blue underline if I don’t. Plus, I am not sure that this is a proper use of the word locution. Webster’s supportive but not conclusive.

References

Reference 1: Cattle Kingdom: The hidden history of the cowboy west - Christopher Knowlton - 2018.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/10/denham-two.html. A previous mention.

Reference 3: https://www.christopherknowltonauthor.com/. 

Reference 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_range. 

Reference 5: Mythic Chaps: Two recent exhibitions in Denver reveal how many legends and surprising realities coexist in the idea of the American cowboy – Carolina A. Miranda, NYRB – 2024.

Reference 6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Railroad_Bridge. The snap included here is actually five snaps. Very clever.

Trolleys 747 thru 750

The trolley that I had abandoned a couple of days previously was, in the event, still there, tucked behing the old sycamore tree at the entrance to the Screwfix passage.

Before that, the view down Blenheim Road made me think that the Ford people had somehow managed to get the First Line Recovery people out of their face, blocking their parking of trucks by parking their own cars. But this turned out to be an error. The Ford people had indeed parked their cars outside the near half (in the snap) of their frontage, but First Line had simply moved back to the far half.

Deposited the trolley at Sainsbury's, then back into town, where I captured the first M&S trolley of the morning by the side of the Rio Grill, the place that used to be a quite decent chipper.

Two more followed from the Kokoro Passage. Along the way I had called in Waterstones, vaguely thinking that I might buy the Timothy Snyder book about freedom, advertised in a recent number of the NYRB. A historian who made his name with a book called Badlands - about the killing grounds between Europe and Russia - and who has since wrote a number of short books of popular history and reflection. Waterstones had a couple of them, but I did not like the look of them much, and they did not have the book in question. So I ended up buying the book above, some of which is about George Orwell and his first wife, by one Anna Funder, whom I had come across before. Rather surprised this morning to find that this was more than ten years ago, but noticed at reference 4. I had forgotten the Toller angle. And I had forgotten, if I ever knew, that Orwell had two wives, the second only arriving rather late in the day. And I had thought that I knew all about the chap. BH now busy with this second book.

While the afternoon stroll produced another yet trolley from the M&S food hall. Which I took from an older lady who was just taking her shopping out, prior, I imagine, to heading off to the railway station. I think she thought I was being a bit pushy and unnecessary. The bay in the council car park opposite the station might well have been a designated trolley return spot.

Three quarters of the way to the lifetime target of 1,000 trolleys.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/11/trolley-746.html.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Snyder.

Reference 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Snyder. A rather different sort of snyder, turned up by Bing in first preference.

Reference 4: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/2011/09/tollerfest.html.

Group search key: trolleysk.

Bishops Wood

Our business with the fine CT scanner at Harefield quickly done, we took a walk around the grounds. Although not before we had taken in the fine two inch copper piping snapped above. Presumably some quirk of the plumbing arrangements meant that this was the best way to heat the corridor - although the only time I have seen such a thing before is in big old churches, some of which have substantial heating pipes in channels running up the nave. Iron, I should imagine, rather than copper.

In the grounds, one derelict big house covered in scaffolding, one lake and one formal garden, perhaps called a healing garden or something of that sort. Plenty of benches and quite mild enough to sit outside, although there were no patients to be seen. All very pleasant - the only other hospital that I know with outdoor facilities being Guy's at London Bridge.

No patients, but there was a working party of young people in the formal garden. I thought perhaps a hug-in for medical students, but there was not a good time to ask.

And apart from the poor grammar, I wondered whether this ticket was overdoing it a bit. If I say you cannot smoke in my garden, it is polite to go along with me, but it is not breaking the law. I suppose I could ask you to leave and then, if you do not, I can call the police to deal with your trespass. Not sure that they would be very keen on helping with such a matter though.

We tried to visit the concert hall, which looked to be a large space above what is now the canteen, a relic of the days when people cooped up in institutions went in for putting on DIY entertainments. While the mental hospital at Exminster ran to a ball room - which may have doubled as a theatre for pantomimes. The former ran to New Year's Eve dances and the latter Christmas pantomimes (put on by the staff) when I knew the place, back in the 1970s. So concert hall locked, but a decent little chapel had been carved out of one end of it. Such places are usually multi-faith in London, but maybe here they had separate provision for Muslims and others. Muslims, presumably, accounting for a large proportion of those wanting such provision.

From there to Harefield village, which sported a large fishing tackle shop, from which we deduce that at least some of the gravel pits to the west  do fishing. Most of those around Epsom have shut in the time that we have been there.

We took a light lunch in the place called 'We love coffee', a place which included at least one patron sporting the distinctive white wrist band worn by patients at the hospital. We did not take coffee and the grub was OK, although the orange juice was watered concentrate and my baguette would have been improved had the filling not involved quite so much goo. Maybe if they had given me a spare baguette to soak up some of the excess filling? I did not think to ask for one.

After which we pushed on to Bishops Wood, a little to the northeast, as described at reference 1. One of the paths out of the car park was protected by a substantial, but horse and dog friendly gate.

Nothing spectacular, but a very pleasant place for a walk just the same, on this occasion with plenty of autumn colour. Google Images, for once, not very helpful on a zoom, but I go for some kind of beech, despite the trunk not being smooth.

A tree with some history.

A good spot for carex pendula.

A fairly serious fence around the telephone mast, if that was what is was. Quite a clutter of stuff around it too. Not like the twin towers at the bottom of Longmead Road at all.

Looped back to Denham on the A412, taking in part of the viaduct precast factory on the way, for which see reference 2.

The viaduct, looking north. Snapped after being removed from the site, as reported at reference 3. Impressive looking lump of concrete now, even if it caused a fair bit of nuisance on the way up.

I wonder today what proportion of the weight is carried by the arching, and what proportion by the stressing cables. At Westway (section 5), there was no arching and it was all in the stressing.

And so back to Denham Grove, followed by a proper Indian meal, the relevant chef being back on duty. Hara bhara kebab and dahi wada to start followed by spinach & potato for her and mild red curry for him. All very satisfactory. The small party of Muslims at the next table, the ladies in dress corresponding, all took fish and chips. We all like a bit of novelty!

PS: I might add that the oranges on offer at breakfast at the hotel were much better than those that we had been offered on the previous occasion.

References

Reference 1: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/media-library/documents/environment-and-planning/countryside-management-service/places-to-visit/bishops-wood-leaflet.pdf.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/10/denham-one.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/10/denham-two.html.

Trolley 746

An unusual trolley stand outside the small Sainsbury's at Chessington North, visited in the margins of en expedition to Hampton Court Palace.

Given that our car was at the other end of the parade and I went to the bother of getting some change with which to unlock the trolley so that I could use it to move my box of Corona, I thought it fair to score it. Hopefully the rules committee will agree with me when they come to review the matter.

A notice pasted to the window of the even smaller Morrisons on the way to the car. How do Alliance Property Holdings fit into the picture?

As far as I can make out it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Morrisons and its business is running the McColls convenience store chain acquired by Morrisons in 2022. A subsidiary which made a loss of around £42mn on sales of around £1bn last year. We get forty pages of accounts - the top of which are snapped above - but I can't see much breakdown of either income or expenditure. I see no large transfers to Morrisons from McColls. No idea if there is more to it than simply keeping the McColls as a separate unit for administrative convenience. More in the form of tax avoidance? But why post the notice on the window?

The trolley being returned to its stand after taking the box of beer to the car.

As it happened, there was an identical stand outside the Tesco's at Horton Retail, where I took a second box of beer. But the car was too near the store to make taking a trolley sensible. So not scored.

Noting in passing that Corona from Sainsbury's was a tenner for ten, while Peroni from Tesco's was much nearer twenty. Perhaps that was why Sainsbury's only had the one box left.

PS: I notice Bayes from time to time, most recently at reference 3, and yachts more frequently. So I was interested to read the account of the 'Bayesian' tragedy at reference 4. More talk of design errors than human errors. Perhaps the super-rich are getting too rich for their own good. Noting that Lynch had bought the yacht second hand - the original owner was a businessman from the Netherlands.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/11/trolley-745.html.

Reference 2: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/636b9033d3bf7f16484798cb/Morrisons_McColls_-_Decision_final_acceptance_of_UILs.pdf. Government worrying about competition or lack of it in the convenience store business.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/10/beethoven-bayes.html.

Reference 4: What Sank the Tech Tycoon’s ‘Unsinkable’ Yacht - Jeffrey Gettleman, James Glanz, Emma Bubola, Elisabetta Povoledo, Pablo Robles, Josh Holder, Sarah Hurtes, New York Times - 2024. Available to some at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/31/world/europe/bayesian-yacht-sinking-italy.html.

Group search key: trolleysk.

Trolley 745

Captured on my second circuit of the day. Or rather taken over from two older ladies who had finished loading their shopping into a car which had pulled in by T.K.Maxx. They seemed quite pleased to be relieved of them.

Returned them to the food hall and then continued around the Screwfix circuit, deciding against walking this one back to Sainsbury's. It was getting late and I had walked nearly far enough. Instead, I pushed it in behind a tree on the Longmead side of the Screwfix Passage. Maybe it would still be there on Monday, which would probably be my next opportunity to deal with it.

Home to read, I think in the Guardian, but I can't be sure as my level of donation to the Guardian does not give me search rights on their website, about how China and Russia are blocking everybody else on the relevant international body from extending and expanding the ban on hoovering up krill in parts of the Southern Ocean. China because they do a lot of the hoovering, Russia just to be awkward.

I have not engaged with the eco-arguments about leaving the krill - and leaving some of them for the seals, the whales and so on - but I was disappointed to read that the biggest player in the southern krill fishery is Norway. Norway is a very (gas) rich country and one might have thought that they could afford to set an example in such matters, without getting tangled up in the details of the arguments.

Since then I have been dipping in the October number of 'drinks business' of reference 2, acquired yesterday, from which I offer a few snippets. One of the those magazines which is a bit stinky because of all the inks they use for all the glossy pictures.

The boss of Ryanair is getting all solemn and serious about all the people getting onto his planes half cut and then wanting to drink more when they have found their seats. Which is amusing in that not so long ago he was explaining that when drink sales on a plane were a bit flat, the pilot would shake it up a bit, a wheeze which reliably promoted sales. He may have made the story up, or least embellished it, being another successful businessman with a big mouth, but it is a shift in point of view at the very least.

We get a piece about the organic champagne from House Drappier. I learn, inter alia, that spraying grapes against mildew - a serious grape pest - with a mixture of copper sulphate, lime and water counts as organic. Perhaps copper sulphate is an honest killer, just killing everything in sight, unlike the tricky organo-phosphates. House Drappier being people I only know about because of the visit to Circulo Populare noticed at reference 3.

While no less a luminary than Sir David Spiegelhalter has a pop at the health people for coming down on low level drinking. They have won the tobacco war and are winning the alcohol war - with levels of alcohol consumption seemingly falling steadily, particularly among the young - so there is no need for them to get all puritanical about it. One might think they just didn't like the idea of people enjoying themselves rather than contributing in some other way to GDP. 

And the Mumm champagne people - one of the Pernod-Ricard brands these days - have taken to shipping the stuff to New York in a new-build schooner, comparable in size to the Cutty Sark and capable of carrying around 1,000 tonnes. Which, given that the schooner is around 80m long is 12.5 tonnes to the metre, which sounds like rather a lot to me. Perhaps it is quite wide compared with the Cutty Sark. Mumm plan to send a cargo every month, maybe more as the TOWT fleet grows. One wonders how the freight charges compare with a container ship - presumably rather more. And what about the winter weather out in the North Atlantic? What about icebergs? See reference 8, from where the snap above is taken.

Then liquid yeast is the new thing in the drinks business. Maybe I could use it instead of dried in my bread making?

The people snapped above dominated the shopping part of the Bing response. And it does rather look as if its use is restricted to the drinks business. Maybe I shall pursue the matter further.

I learn that LeBlanq are 'a well regarded premier luxury cycling and culinary experience brand'. Teamed up with some gin people and the Kenny couple - Sir Jason and Dame Laura that is. LeBlanq are to be found at reference 4, from which I learn that they offer 'world class hospitality & expertly curated riding'. Is this really high end singles holidays? Whatever the case, one would not have thought that all that guzzling was quite the thing for a serious cyclist. Perhaps, provided that you burn the calories out, it doesn't really matter in what form you put them in...

And lastly, that if I were rich, I could assert my richness by paying perhaps £200,000 a case for a fancy wine. It seems that the Burgundy outfit DRC Romanée Conti are streets ahead of anyone else when it comes to fancy prices. To the point where you might count yourself lucky to find a whole case of the stuff for sale. Page 139 of the magazine. Or see references 6 and 7. If I go back to wine at all, I think I had better stick with Majestic.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/11/trolley-744.html.

Reference 2: https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/10/champers.html.

Reference 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Spiegelhalter. A serious statistician, with a finger in the government statistical pie.

Reference 5: https://www.leblanq.com/.

Reference 6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domaine_de_la_Roman%C3%A9e-Conti.

Reference 7: https://romanee-conti.fr/.

Reference 8: https://www.towt.eu/.

Group search key: trolleysk.

Fulmer and beyond

Having done Black Park at reference 1, we moved onto Fulmer and Gerrards Cross. Heading north from the Park, we thought to take in the church - without steeple or tower - marked by the orange spot bottom centre in the snap above. It turned out to be the not very old church attached to a not very old Brigettine convent.

Snapped above from Street View. With hindsight, it might have been interesting to pull in and ask if visiting the chapel was permitted, which my reading today of references 2 and 3 suggests might well have been, but we did not think of that at the time.

There is also the question of the missing Black Park Wellingtonia, which might have been just across the road, but we did not think of that either.

From there we worked our way back to Fulmer, the centre of which looked as if it might be in the grip of Team Heritage. The church was shut, but there was a very imposing tomb outside and I dare say, given a bit of time and effort, one could have deciphered some of the inscription. 

We failed that test too. The village hall, being mostly a play group, was open, which meant we could take a welcome comfort break. There were two public houses, one of which appeared to be a crime scene and the other of which was simply shut.

From the village hall we were able to see three good looking Wellingtonia, but we failed to get near enough to score them, the story seeming to be that they were in the grounds of Fulmer Place, a 19th country house, now flats. Apartments according to the estate agents. Gated, naturally. Orange spot just below the motorway left.

With Fulmer House to the east and Fulmer Hall to the west. The latter looks to have been  the big house of the village, then something to do with Bomber Command during the Second War, then offices and laboratories, then derelict. I dare say it is flats too now. Some good snaps at reference 4: how the mighty are fallen. Although it is also possible that there is some Internet confusion between the Place, the House and the Hall.

Next stop Gerrards Cross, starting with what appeared to be a hill fort south of the town. Orange spot upper left in the opening snap. We passed what appeared to be a couple of Wellingtonia on the way, but they were at places where it would have been awkward to stop, so not scored, and we pushed on into the very select housing estate to the east of the fort. A lot of very large houses, some of them a bit vulgar looking, but no access to the fort that we could find.

Investigation today tells me that the fort is called Bulstrode Camp and that there is access from the Camp Road of the very large houses.

On the day however, we pushed on into the town, to find an old style High Street, probably flourishing fifty years ago, but now rather run down. Lots of charity shops and other fringe undertakings.

A once grand, possibly old or oldish, building at the western end of the main drag. Appears to be something to do the the Effective Business Events and Travel to be found at reference 6. No idea what they actually do.

The local Wetherspoon's, possibly once a car showroom? But, unlike Epsom, they have still go their Majestic, which I miss. A useful place with a car park that was never full, now being rather slowly demolished. A demolition where, when it comes to brickwork, the men work off a platform. In my day, the topmen - as I think they were called - just stood on the wall coming down gently swinging their mattocks at the bricks below - the same model that I use for taking out the roots of shrubs and small trees. Plenty of mentions of same in this volume, but there is a decent snap at reference 7.

Investigation today says that it is not a Wetherspoon's at all, rather a member of the Oakman family, for which see reference 8 and 9. I have not dug further to see whether the Oakman family is itself part of some larger pubco. Nor have I found out what the building used to be. 

All in all, an outing with lots of loose ends.

And so back to Denham Grove, a few miles north of the orange spot top right, where our room was rather smaller than on the last occasion and where the Indian menu was off on Monday's as the chefs concerned had that day off. 

But they could manage an Indian take on the spring rolls we used to buy for a shilling or so from a Chinese restaurant in our students days. The Chinese version, as I recall, was a lot bigger and mainly full of bean sprouts. This version was full of some kind of veggie paste. Quite good.

But we then did pretty well with a regular beefburger and a veggies beefburger. I might say that the establishment is very good on presentation of their food - and the food itself is pretty good too. Plus Coronas for him - not the smoking sort which used to be widely available in the public houses of my youth and dispensed from brown tins a little bigger than a tin of beans. From Wills.

Something very like this tin turned up by Bing. The cigars used to come sealed in a clear plastic tube and were, as I recall, bit on the dry side. And while the cigars may well have approximated to the size called coronas in the trade, I suspect my brain had rather conflated Corona with Castella.

Denham Grove also ran to what appeared to be a wooden door key, despite it being electrical. Very ecological of them.

PS: a few hours later. Bing tells me that the 'Journeyman' was indeed a car showroom, but before becoming a bar-restaurant, did time as a Marks & Spencer 'Simply Food' store. The press release at reference 10 is more than ten years old, but I think that brand still exists. And the song of the same name contains the line 'No time for tea at Gerrards Cross'. Maybe twice.

To be found at reference 11. But despite the group being popular in those far off days when I had a nodding acquaintance with such things, the song rings no bells now, although the general tenor of it does. Perhaps some member of the group had some connection with Gerrards Cross. Maybe owned one of the big houses? Maybe went to school there?

Ironic that such a bucolic image should get attached to a building which was an Art Deco garage from the 1930's, a time when horses on farms were fast disappearing. In the middle of a fancy housing estate where some of the inhabitants might well have played farm at some point, but who were unlikely to have ever had to make their living at it. The same applying to all those mostly middle class students - myself included - who beat time to the music of the band concerned.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/11/black-park.html.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgettines.

Reference 3: http://www.bridgettineguesthouse.co.uk/site/index.html.

Reference 4: https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/abandoned-fulmer-hall-buckinghamshire.128675/.

Reference 5: https://www.gerrardscross.gov.uk/our-community/heritage-locations/. '... The most notable archaeological monument is the Iron Age hillfort of Bulstrode Camp, a scheduled monument located 400 metres west of Gerrards Cross Common. The hillfort is the largest of its type in Buckinghamshire. It was formerly situated in the Bulstrode estate, however in the twentieth century its ramparts were surrounded by the building of Camp Road...'.

Reference 6: https://effectivebusiness.com/. 'FROM THE SHARD TO THE HIMALAYAS, WE HELP YOUR BRAND CONNECT AND COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR TEAMS AND YOUR CUSTOMERS'.

Reference 7: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/09/compost-bin-first-day.html.

Reference 8: https://www.thejourneymangx.co.uk/.

Reference 9: https://www.oakmaninns.co.uk/.

Reference 10: https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press-releases/ms-simply-food-store-uk-international-expansion-plans-unveiled.

Reference 11: https://youtu.be/yif0jxUwn5U.

Trolley 744

Having dealt with trolley 743, I headed towards East Street with my shopping, intending to head directly for the Screwfix passage. In the even there was a now rare Sainsbury's trolley at the corner of East Street, and after some indecision decided to take it home. At least it would serve as a shopping trolley for part of the distance.

On the way a loudly tweeting tree, presumably sparrows again, but I could not see any birds. All very tiresome. Zoom today reveals just the one bird like blob, so perhaps most of them are in the firethorn lower left.

On the way back, I took a break on the wall at the junction of Blenheim Road and Longmead Road, the first time for a while. Also a good example of the brain's - largely unconscious - decision process at work. But more of that in due course.

Home to finish off the second go at featherblade, the first go having been noticed at reference 2. But things are getting out of order, so more of that in due course too.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/11/trolleys-742-and-743.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/10/a-new-cut.html.

Group search key: trolleysk.