The Breezer - the joyride for a curious mind: A weekly newsletter from me, Steve Winduss, at the Batting the Breeze podcast. Spend a few minutes with me discovering historical snippets and fascinating facts related to the forthcoming week. Add to that updates relating to the podcast, a touch of humour and a dash of "lots more". - 20th October 2024.

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Happy Sunday!

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At the end of September, I highlighted the anniversary of the death of the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. I recalled one of his most recognised works, The Charge of the Light Brigade, which depicts a disastrous British cavalry charge during the Crimean War, 1853-56, occurring only weeks before he wrote it.

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The 170th anniversary of The Charge of the Light Brigade, 25 October 1854, is remembered this Friday.

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Four days before that fated charge, 170 years ago tomorrow, 21 October 1854, a young nurse set out from the port of Southampton on the English south coast, bound for Turkey with 38 fellow nurses.
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Their destination was the main British military hospital in Scutari (now ‘Üsküdar’), across the Bosphorus from Constantinople (now Istanbul). Their mission - to care for the wounded and dying soldiers fighting in the Crimean War.
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​Florence Nightingale was born in 1820 to wealthy and well-connected parents whose main home was Embley Park, near Southampton, England.

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In the 19th century, It was common for wealthy families to travel extensively - even while pregnant. It was little surprise, then, when Florence was born in Italy, named after the city of her birth. Her older sister Parthenope was similarly named. Lucky they weren’t travelling through Bastardo at the time I guess.
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Every detail of Florence’s upbringing steered her towards the conventional life of a wealthy woman; comprehensive education; marriage and children; managing the home (with the help of servants of course).
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Every detail, that is, except Florence’s own mindset. By the age of 16, she decided that the archetypal life plan mapped out by her parents was a non-starter. Instead she would lead a life of true purpose, dedicating herself to the profession of nursing.
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It was a shocking revelation for Florence’s parents as nursing was not considered a suitable career for her social class. Even Florence herself once said that nursing was for…..

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It was a clue that Nightingale intended not just to become a practising nurse but to transform the business of nursing into the sophisticated and respected profession it is today.
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Florence started by demonstrating true passion and commitment to her role as a nurse. The wounded soldiers of Crimea remembered her for her care and dedication. They called her The Lady with the Lamp for her tireless patrolling of the wards throughout the long nights.

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​Hygiene, sanitation, nutrition and pastoral care all improved under The Lady with the Lamp’s watchful eye. She built a library of books for the soldiers. She would read to those unable to read for themselves. She would help write their letters home, teach and entertain them. Florence’s holistic view of nursing improved soldiers’ morale and chances of survival.
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On returning from Turkey in 1856, Florence ignited public outrage by publishing detailed statistics highlighting the dire state of hygiene in hospitals.
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This outrage in turn pressured the authorities to implement permanent change in hospital practices, while the statistics earned her membership of the Royal Statistical Society in 1858.
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Florence instigated significant reforms to nursing practice in England. She also wrote a recognised text on nursing and established the first actual nursing school.
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The practices of improved hygiene and general nursing procedures reduced death rates significantly in England and throughout the world.
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Three years after receiving the Order of Merit from King Edward VII, Florence died peacefully at the age of 90. The State proposed that Florence be buried at Westminster Abbey in recognition of her exceptional contribution to society.

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However, in true Nightingale fashion, Florence had left instructions in her will that she wished only for a simple burial.
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The Lady with the Lamp is laid to rest at The Church of St Margaret of Antioch, East Wellow, Hampshire, the church where she had spent so much of her early years worshipping.
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The engraving on her tombstone is suitably simple:

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Podcast episode... a look back

​Episode 29. Freeing the Voice of Your Soul​

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The first opera ever performed is generally considered to be Dafne by Jacapo Peri in 1597.
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I’ve never heard of Dafne (or Jacapo Peri), which is unsurprising since his opera score has long been lost. However, operas composed as far back as 1607 are still performed today.
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Opera, with its dramatic tales and full-throated vibrato, has survived for over 400 years. It has withstood wars, empires, dynasties, tyrants, floods and tempests. But opera might need some help to survive the TV remote and the new digital age.
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As attention spans have dwindled, so have opera attendances. As a result, five years ago, the powers that be launched World Opera Day to remind the world of the emotional and cultural response opera can evoke, even in today’s TikTok world.
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World Opera Day was introduced on 25 October 2019, coinciding with the birthdays of two of opera’s great composers, Johann Strauss II, 25 October 1825, and George Bizet, 25 October 1838.

I was delighted to meet the opera singer Simona Mango in Episode 29. Freeing the Voice of Your Soul. Simona was born in Naples, Italy, home to the bel canto opera style. We talked about her colourful career as an opera singer and how she now teaches others to do the same.

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Simona has the voice of an angel and the heart of a lion. I recommend contacting her if you have any aspirations to sing in any form. The introductory chat alone will make you feel a million dollars. Details are in the show notes.

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Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music or just about any other podcast player of your choice. Check out the show notes for the links and transcript to learn more.

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My favourite quotes from the episode...

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And on forgetting her lines? It happened once but…

By the way...

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This is how Jonathan Norton (“Three Years Down”) described the scenes of Wall Street’s Stock Market Crash of 1929. Black Thursday wreaked its havoc across the United States and the rest of the world 95 years ago this Thursday, 24 October 1929. On that afternoon, banks failed and fortunes vanished.

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The Great Depression followed. Many folks lost their homes, families split up and people went hungry. The rate of suicides rose by 22%. Anecdotally, hotel clerks would ask guests requesting upper-floor rooms whether they were for “sleeping or jumping”.
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The villain of the piece was US President Herbert Hoover. Public opinion blamed him for causing the Great Depression and then blamed him again for failing to reverse it.
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It would be no comfort to Hoover that historians today apply a little more nuance to their assessments of the period. He was booted out of office after one term.
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Hoover's reputation revived a little on the back of later humanitarian work carried out for Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. Public attitudes also softened as he developed a more open, self-deprecating style:

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Herbert Hoover died 60 years ago today, 20 October 1964.

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Within a few hours of Herbert Hoover’s death, a new rising political star was born….. Kamala Harris. If Kamala rises to the ultimate office in a couple of weeks, she may have equally pressing matters to confront.

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Out of curiosity: If Kamala Harris wins the US Presidential election in November, she will be the first president whose life hasn’t overlapped with Herbert Hoover’s since Abraham Lincoln.

Question of the week...

London's magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral has hosted the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill. It has celebrated the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer among many others.
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St Paul’s Cathedral was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Construction started in 1675 and completed 33 years later. The anniversary of the topping out ceremony, the placing of the final stone on the lantern at the very highest point of the new cathedral, 26 October 1708, is celebrated this Saturday.
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Who was the renowned architect who designed the new St. Paul’s Cathedral?

(answer at bottom of newsletter)

And finally...

Thursday marks the 21st anniversary of the last commercial flight of Concorde. Flight BA2 landed at London Heathrow Airport at 16:05, 24 October 2003, three and a half hours after flying at twice the speed of sound from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
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Concorde defined luxurious, supersonic air travel for 27 years. Whenever she took off from Heathrow and flew over our heads in Richmond, we had to look up… every time. The elegant delta-wing design and deafening noise demanded it.
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Concorde’s only tragic accident occurred in 2000, shortly after takeoff from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Subsequent modifications enabled Concorde to resume flying a year later, but passenger demand was in terminal decline, her time was up.
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The era of supersonic grilled sea bass with caviar cream sauce was over.

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Well, perhaps not over for good…. a number of companies are currently developing new supersonic aircraft, planned for takeoff around 2029. Watch this space.

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Thank you for joining me. Have a great week!

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Steve

HOST & CHIEF STORY HUNTER

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P:S: Incidentally, I am always keen to receive your feedback to help me continuously improve this newsletter and the podcast. Just hit reply to this email and...... let it rip! I respond to every email that I receive.

Answer to Question of the week: The architect who designed St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1669 was Sir Christopher Wren, born 316 years ago today, 20 October 1632.

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