Jemima Nichols
ready to take on Marianne any day.
One of the joys of taking a computer for a walk on the internet coming is the enormous variety of projects that people are toiling away on.
Take for example, the French invasion of Wales in 1797. This was the last invasion of Britain by the France until the next one. One third of a planned three pronged assault on Britain and Ireland and the only one to go ahead, it consisted of a rather half hearted assault by "the black legion". These gentry, most of whom were deserters and other sweepings of the Paris gaols, surrendered upon seeing groups of Welsh women coming to watch the battle. At least that's the legend. Apparently Mrs Jones traditional habit of red cloak and tall black hat was taken at a distance for the uniform of redcoat reinforcements.
You can find out a little more about the invasion here.
You can find a delightfully bats rendering of the invasion in 28mm here.
Pay particular attention to heroine of the hour, Jeminina Nichols, who rounded up twelve Frenchmen with a pitchfork.
It sounds like one of those hair-brained schemes one thinks of late one night (maybe with alcholoic lubrication) that really doesn't stand up to the light of day.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there may have been all these ne'er do wells and a pushy American that the French had to find something for them to do; "I know, Pierre. Let's give them a one-way ticket to Wales and let the Welsh figure out what to do with them!"
"Brilliant thinking, Jacques!"
Could you imaging waking up with a hangover having a pitchfork thrust in your face by a huge Welsh harpy? I think I would have surrendered too!
Well it was merely the third prong of a three part plan, so in isolation it probably doesn't make sense. On the other hand very few people actually set out to fail - it would be too dastardly an act.
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