Annotations and comments

Tonyel has posted 280 annotations/comments since 11 March 2013.

Comments

Second Reading

About Monday 1 June 1663

Tonyel  •  Link

" So, well pleased for once with this sight,"
I read this as "Glad I have seen it, but I won't bother again". Particularly as it made his head ake all evening.

About Thursday 28 May 1663

Tonyel  •  Link

"Neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire..."
Reminds me of my own country, currently squabbling about leaving or staying in the EU.
Neither Great nor United.

About Friday 1 May 1663

Tonyel  •  Link

Off topic but worth sharing, I hope:
The Bishop of Hereford, many years ago, was riding in procession through the city on a mare which turned out to be in season. A following stallion mounted her, trapping the Bishop with its forelegs, and "thus they travelled for some distance" no doubt to the delight of the onlookers.

About Monday 27 April 1663

Tonyel  •  Link

The 11th Earl of Sandwich now resides at Mapperton House in Dorset which is open to the public. On show is the handwritten recipe book of the 1st ('our') Earl full of recipes for chocolate drinks and ice cream which he is supposed to have collected when ambassador to Spain.
www.mapperton.com

About Monday 16 March 1662/63

Tonyel  •  Link

"to my office , where, with several Masters of the King’s ships, Sir J. Minnes and I "

Quite a crowd. Sam's office must be more spacious than I had imagined.

About Sunday 25 January 1662/63

Tonyel  •  Link

Way off topic, but can't resist quoting Milton Jones' gag:
"When Grandfather became ill we rubbed butter all over his back - after that he went downhill quite quickly."

Sorry, Phil.

About Friday 23 January 1662/63

Tonyel  •  Link

"and they sent for up."

Any ideas what this means? Are the men of condition being sent for (but why up)? Or is this short for "Up North", a common expression by us southerners?

About Thursday 8 January 1662/63

Tonyel  •  Link

" And the play, in one word, is the best, for the variety and the most excellent continuance of the plot to the very end, that ever I saw, or think ever shall, and all possible, not only to be done in the time, but in most other respects very admittable, and without one word of ribaldry; and the house, by its frequent plaudits, did show their sufficient approbation. "

One word eh, Sam?

About Wednesday 31 December 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

"Mr. Povy and, I to White Hall; he carrying me thither on purpose to carry me into the ball this night before the King. All the way he talking very ingenuously, and I find him a fine gentleman."

Should this not read "ingeniously"? I can't imagine Sam being so impressed by naivete.

About Monday 29 December 1662

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"the great vast trade of the goldsmiths in supplying the King with money at dear rates."

10% sounds greedy but, Charles being Charles, there was no guarantee that the money would ever be repaid.

About Saturday 27 December 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

Imagine expecting a 12-year-old to work what amounted then to a full-time job and to be beaten if he failed!

Easy to imagine, unfortunately. You can go to many parts of the world and find kids of half that age doing a full-time job.

About Monday 22 December 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

Two different Sarahs, Bridget. Sam's Sarah left with much regret and a glowing reference. Sandwich's Sarah is an old friend (maybe more) of Sam's from his days in my Lord's household.

About Tuesday 16 December 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

"what a most troublesome fellow that Strutt is, such as I never did meet with his fellow in my life. His talking and ours to make him hold his peace set my head off akeing all the afternoon with great pain".

Sounds familiar - nothing worse than someone with a (genuine) grievance who won't shut up.

About Friday 12 December 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

Thatched buildings are not usually fitted with gutters even to-day

No, but they have a deep overhang so that the water drips away from the walls. All the recent remodelling has probably left some awkward angles and narrow gullies where snow and water will collect and then find the easiest gravitational route.

About Tuesday 9 December 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

"my Lord Treasurer's letter"

Impossible to resist the temptation to compare the present with the past:

"Just delete 'we demand payment' and paste in 'payment would be appreciated' there's a good chap. "

"But Mr Coventry, that's a whole page to rewrite and my eyes are killing me!"

About Sunday 26 October 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

Poor Mr Sympson - Sam looking over his shoulder all week and then obliged to come to dinner on Sunday.

About Wednesday 8 October 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

my best chamber

I'm not so sure that Penn is on Sam's side. I suspect he may be stirring things up a little, just to keep Sam in his place. After all, Minnes is no shrinking violet - if he wants to pull rank on Sam he doesn't need Penn to do it for him.

Politics, politics......

About Tuesday 9 September 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

Thanks JY for an interesting glimpse into our boy's library.
NB fast forward to 15.30 if you don't want to watch the rather over-jolly programme.

About Friday 1 August 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

Reading this for the second time around, I'm struck by how USA- and Europe - centric our annotators are and were. The position of single, poorer women in India for example is exactly the same in the "enlightened" 21st century as it was in Sam's day.

About Tuesday 22 July 1662

Tonyel  •  Link

That's a nice piece about the Goodwins, Terry, which also explains the popularity of The Downs as a sheltered mooring.
I sailed over the Goodwins in a small boat many years ago and it was a weird experience to drop a line over the side and find only six inches of water under the keel.