#Shaw of Dorset

[iwilltrytobereasonable]

Oh hey is that my fandom from a decade ago rising up to meet me?

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The Portrait Is Watching You

On TE Lawrence and the folly of biography

A dear friend once declared, “I want to see you write a book on why SOME people shouldn’t write about Lawrence…”

“NOBODY should be writing about Lawrence!” I interjected.

“...didn’t you JUST write a story about him?”

“YES!” I have, in fact, written a few.

It is an almost irresistible temptation, because TE occupies such a sparkling place in history and art that, entirely apart from any quirks of his personality he would already be a prime target for examination by all and sundry. Add to this all the buttons and questions of his identity - heroism, failure, friendliness, isolation, queerness, kink, trauma - the first instinct of even the most casual critic is to find out some aspect that nobody has puzzled out so well, and in doing so claim a piece of him for England for oneself.

This is not to say all his eager biographers LIKE him. Indeed, in puzzling out the pieces, Richard Aldington first and famously despised what he discovered, to the point of attempting to dodge the accusation of libel by labeling his book “A Biographical Enquiry” - he’s just asking questions, folks. I keep a quote from said book on my desktop:

The irregular situation of a father who had four daughters by his wife and five sons (of whom TE Lawrence was the second) by another woman is obviously the clue to Lawrence’s abortive career and tortured character. Of course the fact must not be abused and dragged in to explain everything -

The image of that quote is very fondly named “fuck you too Aldington.jpg” by the bye. I harbor a cherished hope someday to have the works of Aldington and Lowell Thomas on my shelf, bound together in caution tape. They are very much two sides of a coin.

Lowell Thomas made a name for himself as a sort of adventuring journalist. He wrote about the joys of travel and was paid in free tickets by rail companies for the advertisement. All places he went were exotic, all people he met extraordinary. The man was made for the propaganda machine, and while it was useful, TE used it. And when it ceased to be useful, TE tried to refuse it and Lowell Thomas refused to understand. Lowell Thomas had his own piece of Lawrence - in some ways, the first one. A flattering one? The first chapter of With Lawrence In Arabia is, after all, titled “A Modern Arabian Knight.” The second, worse, calls TE “The Uncrowned King of Arabia.”

I am always reminded, in these and the awfully orientalist captions of Thomas’s photographs, of a story told by Sheikh Hamoudi in Lawrence By His Friends. Hamoudi was surprised by the request for tales about TE because he hadn’t known yet that he was dead, so there’s a terrible sort of shocked sadness in his chapter of the book. He recalled going with TE to his home in Oxford before the war, along with Selim Ahmed, known as Dahoum. As a foreigner relying on the native TE for translation, he observed the excitement of people who came to talk with them, and that TE was repeatedly smiling and saying “No” to people requesting something. On interrogation, TE revealed that these people wanted to pay for photographs - they wanted to pay a great deal, apparently. Hamoudi challenged him for refusing, and TE Lawrence challenged him right back, saying it would make them a monkey and the man displaying that monkey for the public.

TE Lawrence knows what you are doing with him. He knows the shape of history, his story, the narrative built around him. He knows it’s happening, that there’s no way to stop it, that there’s hardly any point in trying to guide it, but he’s trying to guide it all the same. He is watching you, from the past, take him and reshape him into a piece of art that you can own.

“Poor Joan, I was thinking of her as a person, not as a moral lesson,” TE says, to Charlotte Shaw, defending his distaste in the ending of GB Shaw’s Saint Joan. In two consecutive letters, TE contrasts the play - turning away from Joan’s suffering to the reflection of the fire on the faces of her tormentors - with his own work specifically describing his torture at Deraa. Whatever else one might take from this, not the only time TE expressed fellow feeling for the sufferings of a female protagonist, I am inclined to hear him saying this: “Poor me, I was a person, now I’m a moral lesson.”

It’s easy to summon some righteous response to Aldington, and indeed he sparked a fury of refutations and qualifications and publications of previously withheld documents in TE’s defense. Fewer are thinking of defending Lawrence from With Lawrence in Arabia, but Lowell Thomas’s work has its own broad spreading ripples of effect, images of Lawrence in pure white, the archetype of the White Savior, larger than life (better put Peter O’Toole in the role, at nearly a foot taller than TE himself, he has the stature for it.) Most biographers position themselves to be less sensational, less confrontational than these.

I find myself, after a decade of not writing this ode to the folly of writing about Lawrence, falling into the trap in the footsteps of a much more reasonable writer. Edward Said, wonderfully, wrote a scathing response to Knightley and Simpson’s The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia. Like Aldington, these sensationalist biographers did meticulous research but made extraordinary claims on it, and Said wisely declares that it is folly to pinhole Lawrence as anything. Said declares that Lawrence can only be pinned down as a man who wouldn’t be pinned down to anything. Defiant against definition, to the end, as a defining trait.

I like this. I especially like, in it, the face of Lawrence studying the portraits made of him, figuring out who exactly is being depicted there. TE did find his image very interesting, and talked about various incarnations of it like they were people he was watching, to find out how they tick. Among the accusations that have been leveled against him, one of the strongest is that he was a social chameleon, wearing the personality expected of him in every context.

I like how Said mentioned TE’s home at Clouds Hill, treated as a generally owned space rather than a possession of TE as host and owner. Said could not resist also saying this was an aspect of TE claiming and then refusing everything that came into his hands. It might be. Said might have the right of it.

But I think all we eager writers carry too much of ourselves into the space of this particular chameleon, so he takes on the colors we place as his backdrop. I know a few people who remind me of TE - a dear friend struggling with scrupulosity OCD, another who is trying his best to catalogue the behaviors and motivations of his own neurodivergence by watching other people, a third who is awkward and brilliant and eager to share everything he knows and has nobody, really, to talk to. The TE I would write would look an awful lot like them.

The TE I would write would be wonderfully human, giving Charlotte Shaw a full description of the eating habits of a cat he gave an eclair, doing her husband the hilarious disservice of legally taking his name when GB Shaw said it troubled him as much as Lawrence must trouble TE, forcing GB to tell people that TE was not his son for the rest of his life - but I am that terrible fool of fools, a fan. I’m the worst of all to write about TE Shaw, that little shit.

[la-femme-au-collier-vert]

From the Library of Anne Rice (Part 3)

Flynn, Gillian. Gone Girl. New York: Crown Publishing, 2011. Lightly annotated. 

Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars.  New York: Penguin Books, 2012. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Le Carre, John. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.  New York: Bloomsbury, 2005. Ownership signature. Tabbed. 

Martin, George R.R. A Dance with Dragons. New York: Bantam Books, 2011. Ownership signature. 

Metalious, Grace. Peyton Place. New York: Julian Messner, 1957. Ownership signature. 

Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones.  New York: Back Bay Books, 2007. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Sheldon, Sidney. The Other Side of Midnight. New York: Willam Morrow & Company, Inc., 1973. Ownership signature.

Sienkiewicz, Henryk. Quo Vadis. New York: Hippocrene Books, 2002. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Silva, Daniel. The Kill Artist.  New York: Random House, 2000. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Susann, Jacqueline. Once is Not Enough. New York: Willam Morrow & Company, Inc., 1973. Ownership signature. Lightly annotated. 

Susann, Jacqueline. Valley of the Dolls. New York: New Market Home Library, 1996. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Turow, Scott. Identical. New York/London: Grand Central Publishing, 2013. Ownership signature. 

Turow, Scott. Identical. New York/London: Grand Central Publishing, 2013. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Bowman, Carol. Children's Past Lives. New York: Bantam Books, 1998.

Burpo, Todd with Lynn Vincent. Heaven is for Real. Nashville, Dallas, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro: Thomas Nelson, 2010.

Fronkzac, Paul Joseph and Alex Tresniowski. The Foundling. New York: Howard Books, 2017.

Greven, Philip. Spare the Child. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.

Joyce, Stephen H. Suffer the Captive Children. By the Author, 2004.

Malarkey, Kevin & Alex The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2011.

Mcfarland, Hillary. Quivering Daughter. Dallas, Texas: Darklight Press, 2010.

Postman, Neil. The Disappearance of Childhood. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Rafferty, Mary and Eoin O'Sullivan. Suffer the Little Children. New York: Continuum, 1999.

Reilly, Frances. Suffer the Little Children. London: Hachett UK, 2008.

Szalavitz, Maia. Help at Any Cost. New York: Riverhead Books, 2006.

Taylor, Marjorie. Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Tucker, Jim B. Life Before Life. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2005.

Woititz, Janet Geringer.  Adult Children of Alcoholics. Deerbeach, Florida: Health Communications, Inc., 1983.

Bloom, Harold. The Book of J. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1990. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Collins, Andrew. From the Ashes of Angels. Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Company, 2001. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Collins, John J. The Scepter and the Star. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Annotated.

Cook, John Granger. The Interpretation of the New Testament in Greco-Roman Paganism. Hendrickson Publish, 2002. Ownership signature.  

Ehrman, Bart D. Lost Scriptures. [Oxford]: Oxford University Press, 2003. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Enns, Peter. The Bible Tells Me So... HarperOne, 2014. Ownership signature.  

Fox, Everett. The Five Books of Moses. New York: Schocken Books, 1995. Ownership signature. Annotated.

House, H. Wayne. Charts of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1981. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Howard, Thomas. Evangelical is Not Enough. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1984. Ownership signature.  

Lockhart, Douglas, Jesus the Heretic. Shaftsbury, Dorset: Element, 1997. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Luckert, Karl W. Egyptian Light and Hebrew Fire. State University of New York Press, 1991.  

Parenti, Michael. God and His Demons. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2010. Ownership signature.  

Shaw, Russell. Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitors Publishing, 1997. Annotated.

Sparrow, W. Shaw. The Gospels In Art. New York: Frederick A, Stokes Company, 1904. Annotated.

Townsend, Mark. The Gospel of Falling Down. Winchester, UK: O Books, 2007. Inscribed by author.  

Valenti, Connie Ann. Stories of Jesus. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2012. Inscribed by author.  

Yallop, David A. In God's Name. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1984. Annotated.

Zuesse, Eric. Christ's Ventriloquists. New York: Hyacinth Editions, 2012. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Cayce, Edgar.  On Atlantis. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1968. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Collins, Andrew. Gobekli, Tepe Genesis of the Gods.  Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Company, 2014. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Cremo, Michael A. and Richard L. Thompson. Forbidden Archaeology. Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Publishing, 2003. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Eno, Paul F.  Faces at the Window.  By the Author, 1998. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Fiore, Edith. The Unquiet Dead. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Hoagland, Richard C. and Mike Bar. Dark Mission: The Secret History of Nasa.  Feral House, 2007. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Icke, David.  The Biggest Secret. David Icke Books, 1999. Ownership Signature.  

Joseph, Frank. The Atlantis Encyclopedia. Career Press, 2005. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Knight, Christopher and Alan Butler. Before the Pyramids.  London: Watkins Publishing. 1988. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Leshan, Lawrence. A New Science of the Paranormal. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 2009. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Peake, Anthony. The Out-of-Body Experience. Watkins, 2011. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Redfern, Nick. Shapeshifters Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publication 2017. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Roberts, Scott Alan. The Secret History of the Reptilians.  Pompton, N.J.: New Page Books, 2013. Ownership Signature.  

Spence, Lewis. The Occult Sciences in Atlantis. London: The Aquarian Press, 1970. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Temple, Robert with Olivia Temple. The Sphinx Mystery. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2009. Ownership Signature. Lightly Annotated

Thyme, Lauren O. The Lemurian Way. Lakeville, Minnesota: Glade Press, 2012. Ownership Signature.  

Wilson, Colin and Rand Flem-Ath. The Atlantis Blueprint. Delta Trade Paperback, 2000. Ownership Signature. Annotated.

[logi1974]

Südengland / Cornwall 2024 - Tag 12

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Kennt jemand den Offizier Thomas Edward Lawrence? Nein?

Nun, dann vielleicht T.E. Lawrence? Auch nicht?

Aber jetzt klingelt es bestimmt: Lawrence von Arabien?

Oder zumindest den Film? Das Film Epos schlechthin! Ein Werk der Superlative. Eine meisterliche Leistung von Regisseur David Lean in Szene gesetzt, sein partner in crime, Maurice Jarre, steuerte die epochale Filmmusik bei.

Die Rede ist von dem abenteuerlichen Wüstenklassiker „Lawrence von Arabien“ aus dem Jahre 1962. Ein mit Huldigungen überhäufter Meilenstein seines Genres, der nicht weniger als 7 Oscars abräumte. Der Leser ahnt es schon: es ist mein Lieblingsfilm!

Die Handlung ganz, ganz kurz zusammengefasst:

Der britische Offizier Thomas Edward Lawrence (brilliant dargestellt von Peter O’Toole) wird im 1. Weltkrieg, wegen seiner Orient-und Sprachkenntnisse, nach Ägypten versetzt.

Dort kann der hochintelligenter Grenzgänger das Vertrauen von arabischen Fürsten gewinnen und vereint die beduinisch lebenden Araberstämme. Er zieht mit ihnen in den Kampf gegen die Osmanen (1916 bis 1918). Mit gezielten Guerilla Taktiken und dem sabotieren der Hijaz Eisenbahnlinie, gelangen den Freiheitskämpfern und Wüstenreitern spektakuläre Erfolge.

Lawrence steigt in seinem Kampf gegen die Türken zur Legende auf. Das sehen allerdings Briten wie Franzosen äußerst ungern, da sie dadurch ihre eigenen kolonialen Interessen gefährdet sehen. Viele der heutigen Grenzen Afrikas und im Nahen Osten sind das Ergebnis dieser neuen Aufteilung nach 1918.

Falsche Versprechen, das Spiel der Großmächte und der Kampf um Land und Eroberung sollten ihn Zeit seines Lebens begleiten und verfolgen. Der Film beginnt und endet mit dem Tod Thomas Edward Lawrence.

Jetzt fragt sich der geneigte Leser: "Was zur Hölle hat dieses ausschweifende cineastische Geschwafel mit dieser blöden Englandreise zu tun?"

Was der Film nicht mehr zeigt, ist der Zeitraum nach dem 1. Weltkrieg bis zu dem tödlichen Unfall. Diese Zeit spielte weitest gehend hier in Dorset, wo wir uns aktuell befinden.

Lawrence selbst trat nach dem Krieg rasch von der Bühne ab und tauchte zunächst im Kolonialministerium unter. 1922 trat er aus dem Kolonialdienst aus.

Er verschenkte sein gesamtes Vermögen und versteckte sich 1923 – vermittelt durch einen Freund im Kriegsministerium, Sir Philip Chetwode – als einfacher Soldat unter dem Pseudonym Thomas Edward Shaw in der britischen Luftwaffe.

Im Januar wurde Lawrence aus der RAF entlassen, nachdem seine wahre Identität von der Presse enttarnt wurde. Im März trat er als Soldat unter dem Pseudonym John Hume Ross in das Panzerkorps in Bovington, Dorset, ein. 

Auch im Panzerkorps war Lawrence zutiefst unglücklich. Aufgrund des Drucks seiner Freunde auf die Regierung, die um seine Gesundheit besorgt waren, wurde er 1925 wieder in die RAF aufgenommen, wo er bis zu seiner Verabschiedung im März 1935 diente.

Am Vormittag des 13. Mai 1935, nur wenige Wochen nach dem Ende seiner Dienstzeit, unternimmt der leidenschaftliche Motorradfahrer Lawrence eine Ausfahrt, von seinem Haus "Clouds Hill", in das benachbarte Bovington, um ein Telegramm aufzugeben.

Er fuhr mit seinem Motorrad über eine Landstraße, es war eine Brough Superior SS100, die schnellste Serienmaschine ihrer Zeit. In einer Kurve hinter einer Kuppe tauchen plötzlich zwei Jungs auf Fahrrädern auf.

Bei dem Versuch, ihnen auszuweichen, stürzt Lawrence und erleidet schwere Schädelverletzungen. Er lag sechs Tage im Koma und starb am 19. Mai 1935 im Alter von nur 46 Jahren. Er wurde auf dem neuen Friedhof der Kirche von Moreton begraben.

Zu Ehren von Thomas Edward Lawrence hat man n diesem Dreieck den sogenannten Lawrence of Arabia Trail, der die letzten Stationen seines Lebens nachvollzieht, ins Leben gerufen.

Wir parken am Übungsgelände des Panzer Museums von Bovington. Es gibt hier die verschiedensten Informations Tafeln, unter anderem auch zu dem Lawrence Trail.

Direkt an diesem Parkplatz befindet sich eine "Gedenk-Eiche", die Lawrence gewidmet ist.

Am 13. Mai 1983 wurde hier von Tom Beaumont diese Eiche gepflanzt. Er diente mit Lawrence in Arabien. Die Zeremonie der Bepflanzung fand 48 Jahre nach dem Unfall statt, der sich in der Nähe dieser Stelle ereignete.

Die dort angebrachten Erinnerungsplaketten wurden immer wieder gestohlen und so hat man schlussendlich eine steinerne Gedenktafel für ihn errichtet.

Wir folgen dem öffentlicher Fußweg rechts der Straße, zwischen Waldrand und militärischem Gelände, entlang und kommen direkt bei dem Cottage "Clouds Hill" heraus.

Lawrence mietete ein halb verfallenes Cottage in der Nähe des Bovington Camps – Clouds Hill – das zu seinem Zufluchtsort und später, nach dem Kauf, schließlich zu seinem Zuhause werden sollte. 

Früher ein einfaches, winzigen Gutsforsthaus von 1808, zwischen Wäldern und Hügeln in Südengland, wurde Clouds Hill von Lawrence umgestaltet.

In diesem Häuschen, ohne Toilette, ohne Küche und ohne elektrisches Licht, verkroch sich Lawrence vor seinen Dämonen und vor seinem Ruhm. Als Rückzugsort von Lawrence´ Militärleben gekauft, las, schrieb und hörte er hier Musik.

Er wollte nicht der Held sein, der er für viele war und er litt noch jahrelang darunter, dass auch er die Araber verraten hatte, lehnte Orden und Posten ab.

Clouds Hill wurde dem National Trust im Jahr 1937 von Arnold Lawrence, dem älteren Bruder, übergeben. Der National Trust verwaltet das Cottage bis heute.

Besucher können hier allerdings nicht einfach herein schneien, auch dann nicht, wenn man Mitglied ist. Eine vorherige Buchung für einen Besuchstermin ist dringend angeraten, die für Mitglieder allerdings kostenfrei ist.

Die Besuchsgruppen werden wegen des sehr begrenzten Platzangebots besonders klein gehalten. Nicht mehr als 8-10 Besucher werden zugelassen.

Zunächst gibt es eine historische Einführung in das Leben von T. E. Lawrence. Dabei sitzen alle Interessenten, auf Bänken im Kreis, um einen Historiker des National Trusts herum, während dieser mehr oder weniger ausschweifend für eine gute halbe Stunde doziert. Ein wenig erinnerte uns das Ganze ein wenig an ein Pfadfinderlager.

Anschließend wird die Gruppe noch einmal in zwei Hälften unterteilt und dann geht es mit weiteren Mitarbeitern in das Cottage. Gruppe 1 geht zuerst in das untere Zimmer und Gruppe 2 (also wir) gehen die steile Treppe hinauf, in das obere Zimmer.

Dort erwartet uns ein weiterer, sehr exzentrischer, Mitarbeiter, der uns über weitere Details aus dem Leben Lawrence berichtete. Sein Hauptaugenmerk lag auf den homo-erotischen Begebenheiten (vermutlich auch aus eigenem Interesse). Dies dauert wieder ungefähr eine halbe Stunde.

Danach werden die beiden Gruppen gewechselt. Die Unteren nach oben und die Oberen nach Unten. Im unteren Raum befindet sich das Bett und hier las Lawrence in einem eigens für ihn angefertigten Sessel.

Zusammen mit den verbliebenen Dekorationsstücken und Einrichtungsgegenständen drückt das Cottage bis heute eine ganz besondere Disziplin aus. Das Haus erinnert an den innovativen Geschmack und die vielfältigen intellektuellen Interessen seines einstigen Bewohners.

Nach dem Verlassen von Clouds Hill folgt man dem Öffentlicher Fußweg hinter dem Haus, am Waldrand entlang. Man verlässt das Museumsgelände durch die Ausfahrt und hält sich rechts. Wenn die Hauptstraße erreicht ist, überqueren man diese und wendet sich nach links.

Ein paar Meter die Straße hinunter, biegt man links auf den Weg, an dem Holz-Wegweiser Richtung Moreton, ab. Dem Weg folgend, durchqueren man ein Waldgebiet mit alten Laubbäumen und schönen, blühendem Rhododendren im Frühjahr. Diesem Waldweg folgt man für ca. 2 km.

Jenseits der Heide führt der Weg über die Frome-Auen. Die Felder der Aue sind von altem Baumbestand und buschig Hecken gesäumt.

Der Weg führt weiter zu einem Fragment der alten Moore und Heidelandschaft. Die offene Heide ist reich an seltener Dorset Heide.

An der T-Kreuzung biegt die Strecke links ab, in Richtung des Frome Fluss und weiter bis nach Moreton. Der Fluss Frome bei Moreton ist ein schönes Beispiel für ein Kreidefluss Habitat.

Nahezu alle Hundehalter der Umgebung scheinen sich hier versammelt zu haben und toben und spielen mit ihren Vierbeinern in der flachen Flussfurt.

Hat man die Flussbrücke überquert, kommt man in das Dorf Moreton. Links führt ein Weg zur St.-Nikolaus-Kirche, wo Lawrence' Trauerfeier am 21. Mai 1935 statt fand.

An der Beerdigung nahm eine große Menschenmenge teil, darunter Winston Churchill, Schriftsteller und Künstler wie Augustus John, Eric Kennington und Siegfried Sassoon sowie Freunde aus seiner Dienstzeit. 

Lawrence´ Trauerfeier wurde durchgeführt von dem Rektor, Kanoniker Michael Kinloch und war weithin abgedeckt durch die Presse, obwohl die Öffentlichkeit gebeten wurde, nicht zu kommen. Sechs speziell ausgewählte Sargträger repräsentierten verschiedene Aspekte von Lawrence´ Leben.

Sein Bruder Arnold war das einzige Familienmitglied, das bei der Beerdigung anwesend war. Lawrences Mutter Sarah und sein Bruder Bob befanden sich auf einer Reise durch China, wo Bob als medizinischer Missionar tätig war, entlang des Jangtse, als sie die Nachricht von seinem Tod erhielten. 

Nach dem Verlassen der Kirche kehrt man ins Dorf zurück und biegt links ab. An der Straße wieder links halten bis zur Kreuzung. Das Tor zum Friedhof ist auf der rechten Straßenseite. Lawrence Grab befindet sich am hinteren Ende, rechts.

Der Grabstein wurde später von seiner Mutter und seinem älteren Bruder Bob ausgewählt. Der Stein trägt das Motto der Universität Oxford: Dominus illuminatio mea (Der Herr ist mein Licht). Zwischen 1907 und 1910 studierte Lawrence Geschichte am Jesus College in Oxford.

Der Grabstein weist seinen richtigen Namen auf, obwohl er offiziell T. E. Shaw war, als er starb, nachdem er seinen Namen urkundlich geändert hatte.

Wir kehren zu unserem Auto auf dem Parkplatz bei Bovington zurück und biegen an der Kreuzung rechts in die Holt Road ein. Dies ist der Bereich, in dem sich damals das Militärkrankenhaus befand, wo Lawrence starb.

Von dem Tank Museums fahren wir nun in das 12 Kilometer entfernte Städtchen Wareham.

In der St. Martin's Church in Wareham gibt es einen Kenotaph (leeres Grabmal-Denkmal) von Lawrence im Kreuzritterstil. Es zeigt ihn liegend in voller arabischer Kleidung.

Geschaffen wurde es von seinem Freund, dem Bildhauer und Illustrator Eric Kennington (1888-1960). Dieses Grabmal war ursprünglich für die Londoner St Paul’s Cathedral angefertigt worden.

Aber dort wollte man es als Aufbewahrungsort nicht haben, denn Lawrence stand mit der britischen Regierung über Kreuz. Er hatte seine Ernennung zum "Sir" und mehrere Medaillen abgelehnt, da er die Haltung der Regierung gegenüber den Arabern scharf verurteilte.

Kenningtons Skulptur wurde als nächstes der Londoner Westminster Abbey angeboten, die aber ebenfalls dankend ablehnte. Wie wäre es denn mit der Kathedrale von Salisbury? "Thank you, no" sagte man auch dort.

So blieb nur noch die kleine, über eintausend Jahre alte Kirche von St Martin’s in Wareham über, die dem steinernen Lawrence bis heute Asyl gewährt. 

Natürlich gab es auch Verschwörungstheorien, was seinen Tod betraf (waren die britischen Geheimdienste involviert?) Wahrscheinlich ist sein tragischer Unfalltod mit ein Grund, warum der Mythos Lawrence fortbestehen wird.

Für uns ging es nach diesem ereignisreichen, und vor allem geschichtsträchtigen, Tag wieder zurück in unser kleines Cottage auf der Wayland Farm.

Good Night!

Angie, Micha und Mister Bunnybear

[grandmaster-anne]

Court Circular | 20th March 2023

Buckingham Palace

The King was represented by the Hon Dame Annabel Whitehead (former Lady-in-Waiting to The late Queen) at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Lady Aird (former Lady-in-Waiting to The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon) which was held in St Gregory’s Parish Church, Marnhull, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, this afternoon.

Kensington Palace

The Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall this morning received Mr Alastair Martin (Secretary of the Duchy of Cornwall) at Windsor Castle.

St James’s Palace

The Duke of Edinburgh this morning met groups of local volunteers at Farnham Riverside and planted a tree for The Queen’s Green Canopy, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey (Mr Michael More-Molyneux). His Royal Highness, Patron, Mouse-Free Marion Project, this evening attended a Reception at South Africa House, Trafalgar Square, London WC2. The Duchess of Edinburgh this afternoon received General Gwyn Jenkins (Vice Chief of the Defence Staff). Her Royal Highness this evening attended a Reception for the Justice Ministers’ Conference at Lancaster House, Stable Yard, St James’s, London SW1.

St James’s Palace

The Princess Royal, Patron, Acid Survivors Trust International, today visited the Coronation Street Studio, ITV Studios, Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park, Stretford, and was received by Mrs Sharman Birtles (Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester).

Kensington Palace

The Duchess of Gloucester this morning attended the Volunteer Centre West Berkshire Knowledge Event at Shaw House, Church Road, Newbury, and was received by Mrs Sarah Scrope (Deputy Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire). Her Royal Highness, President, Royal Academy of Music, this afternoon attended a Meeting of the Governing Body at the Royal Academy of Music, Marylebone Road, London NW1.

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

@sebastianshaw  I forget if I’ve shown you this before, but Sebastian would absolutely watch this and miss the satire.  He’d just be pissed at the lack of culinary accuracy:

To save you watching, this is a parody of cooking shows where the host is obviously very wealthy and recommends ingredients way out of people’s price ranges.  This episode, about cooking for a children’s birthday party, contains lines like:

“But if you really care about your little ‘un, you’ll make that extra special effort to make them what they really want: Torta di Castagne e Cioccolato.”

“You can just hear them saying, ‘Mummy, can I have another Roquefort Prosciutto and Fennel Bruschetta?”

“Useful tip: If you can’t afford £16.80 for a kilo of chipolatas for a child’s birthday party, you shouldn’t really be starting a family.”

“Why would I want kids, anyway?  What do they know about food?”

"So... put 120 grams of organic hand salted organic butter, plus 250 grams of organic caster sugar into your other mixer and disorientate until they're the color of sunrise over the Duke of Dorset’s villa in Tuscany, where I met Sir Elton John."

I can just imagine Pyro showing Sebastian this.

“Are these your relatives, Shaw?  They remind me of you.”

“Allerdyce, how DARE you, that man knows absolutely NOTHING about wine!”

[shortieandcoconut]

Itsa Ned! :)

[iwilltrytobereasonable]

From Kennington’s memory of when T E first saw his Arab portraits:

Oh DID he

[shortieandcoconut]

What would a siren lure Lawrence with?

Motorbikes? 😂

@loashipper

@badhat6

why are there so many posts about asexuals being immune to sirens. people. sirens don’t lure you in with sex (necessarily). they sing about whatever it is that you want most. they could sing about mothman or cinnamon toast crunch and guess what then your asexual pirate is fucking dead

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Friday 19 April 1839

6 10/..

12 25/..

rain in the night – fair at 6 but wild windy morning and rain and hail between 7 and 8 F45 ¾° inside and 39 ½° outside at 7 ¾ am Had A- with me writing copies of letters and talking breakfast at 9 and came upstairs about 9 50/.. – Had A- with me – wrote to Mrs. Hawkins – much obliged for the trouble she has taken – Mrs. Des Voeux’s letter so satisfactory do not hesitate to engage Mr. and Mrs. Gross – It may be the 22nd or 23rd of next month before we can be in London on our way to the continent – hope Mrs. Hawkins will have a corner to spare for us at that time – will write again – wrote also to Mrs. Gross that the character so satisfactory, I engaged her and husband from the tenth of May, as travelling servant and Ladys’ maid, on the usual terms, and will give the wages mentioned i.e. 40 guineas or one thousand and fifty francs per annum to Mr. Gross, and 20 guineas or five hundred and twenty five from to Mrs. Gross, and 4fr. a day to each en route, and two from a week to her for her washing – expect them to meet me in London – and if it should be ten or twelve days after the 10th of next, I will allow 3/. a day to each person of the 2 from the 10th to the time of my arrival in Dover street – sent off these 2 letters by George at 11 20/.. to ‘Mrs. Hawkins, 26 Dover street, London post paid’ and to ‘Mrs. C. Gross at Mr. Bamfords’ , 6 Dorset street, Manchester square, London post paid’ gave A- her Brodie medicine at 11 25/.. – and wrote but the 1st line and a ½ of today till now 11 ¾ am then had Booth – going to H-x to let Water-lane mill – probably to Wilson – to be bound down to time in £5 penalty per week for every week beyond the time of contract – to be done as soon as possible – ditto Mallinsons’ barn and water got to Hatters street all for A- for me to see about blocking the little window at Northgate and making the drain against Mr. Abbotts’ cottages – to get the bill for the bricks used last for the engine flue – Shaws’ man to come on Monday to finish do the plastering in the hall and Culpan to come next Monday week to wall off the shop against the old farm stable – wrote the last 7 lines and went down with A- to her luncheon at 12 35/.. for about 10 minutes she had sago and a glass of old sherry in it – then came upstairs to turn out the imperials 1st time since our return – began with A-‘s and this led to tidying her armoire – putting away elsewhere several things that had no business there – in the midst of all this between 1 and 2 Mr. Jubb came for about 20 minutes – said the sarsaparilla was so disagreeable to A- she really could not take it – to send tonight for some pills and a lavement apparatus – then at our siding again till A- rode off to Cliff hill at 3 ¼ - then wrote the last 6 lines then busy dawdling over 1 thing or other a thorough washing after cousin changing my boots etc. A- seemed better for her confiding in Mr. Jubb the pith of her   Cliff hill aunt potherations and the hurry of getting off rouses and does her good  I have enough to do and think of  wrote the last 3 lines at 4 10/.. – went out at 4 ¼ - to the meer – the water within 6 or 7 inch of running out at the meer drift to the water wheel – nobody there – to Listerwick at 5 ¾ at which moment the pumps just set going 1 of the Low moor men there and Holt – he said it was better – said I did not think it would quite answer – took too much force to stop the corves – Holt to get Hirds’ bill – his men should do more at the thing – I would send for Garforth if required – then with Robert Mann (he and his men walling at Listerwick along the road today and Joseph and co. at righting up John Oates’s garden) to give orders about skew bank at the head of the near, and getting water (to cost £5) into the paddock – home at 7 10/.. – dressed etc. dinner at 7 25/.. A- sent back Mr. Jubb’s Mr. Pickwick, 1 thick 8vo not one page of which have we read – ordered horses for Leeds at 1am [pm] tomorrow – A- read French – I asleep on the sofa – till coffee at 9 ¾ - then siding A- and I till 11 ¼ at which hour F47 ½° inside and 38° outside – tolerable day – windyish and rain threatening every now and then, and a few occasional drops – cold westerly wind this afternoon instead of the easterly winds we have had so long –

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Though he has been described as a shy man I never saw any sign of it. He went wherever he wanted to , whether into a workmen’s house to ask whether he might share the family dinner instead of going to a restaurant, or into a king’s palace to give the monarch a piece of his mind. He was a very strange fellow, a born actor and up to all sorts of tricks…[and] he still the grinning laugh and artless speech of a schoolboy; and powerful and capable as his mind was, I am not sure it ever reached full maturity.

- George Bernard Shaw, TE Lawrence By His Friends (1954)

George Bernard Shaw was, for T.E.Lawrence, something of a father figure, with Shaw having to explain, on more than one occasion, that Lawrence was not his son, even though the younger man had adopted the name Shaw when serving in the RAF.

Of course both men were writers (Shaw was a great champion of Lawrence’s work), although Shaw, unlike Lawrence, was no adventurer or soldier, but I do get the impression that the playwright lived Lawrence’s military successes vicariously.

Lawrence often visited Shaw and his wife, and wrote dozens of letters to them both over the years, with Shaw using Lawrence as an inspiration for his character Private Meek in his play, Too True To B Good.

And not unlike many a wealthy and doting father Shaw even bought Lawrence a new Brough Superior motorcycle, costing around £185 in the 1930s, which is about £12,000 in today’s values.

In February 1935, Lawrence was discharged from the RAF and returned to his simple cottage at Clouds Hill, Dorset. On May 13, he was critically injured while driving his Brough motorcycle through the Dorset countryside. He had swerved to avoid two boys on bicycles. On May 19, he died at the hospital of his former RAF camp. Britain mourned his passing. It’s not quite clear if people mourned the legend or the man.

**T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) takes delivery of his Brough Superior motorcycle from George Brough at the Nottingham facility. 1930.

[catandguitarsnugglingonthecouch]

A bookseller meets T.E. Lawrence

Found among the books in the working library of the actor Peter O’Toole (1932 – 2013) in his copy of Letters of T.E. Lawrence (Readers Union, 1941.) O’Toole had surprisingly few books on or by Lawrence considering that this was probably his greatest role and the film that made him an international star. In the Reader’s Union edition was loosely inserted a one page wartime broadsheet keeping members of the book club informed about new publications. It was from an address at Wray Common, Reigate. This broadsheet / flier was dated February 1941 and has a good piece (“T.E.”) on Lawrence by his friend and bookseller K.W. Marshall.

I have more reason to feel grateful to T.E. Lawrence than most booksellers. When I was unemployed years ago, he loaned me Clouds Hill his Dorset cottage, where I stayed for just over three months. Later, my wife and I spent a honeymoon holiday there. On my first visit I was in “possession” of the cottage, and Lawrence would ask permission to stay the night on the infrequent occasions that he managed to pay a visit. He was very proud of the cottage and spent some considerable effort and time in gradually planning a comfortable retreat for his retirement. Unfortunately, when he died he had not enjoyed Clouds Hill for as long a period as I had; and during his short term of possession he was harassed by news reporters.

I first met Lawrence in 1931. Every few months he would enter my shop and pick up 2 or 3 books; it was also an understanding that I should send him any new publication that I thought important, but I was asked to keep in mind that his wages from a grateful country was 3/11 day. Often now, when I come across a book that excites me, I think of how I would have sent it to Lawrence for his opinion. He liked well-produced books, and to celebrate the completion of his Odyssey translation, he bought the Ashendene edition of Spensers Minor Poems.

Upon one early appearance he looked tired and nervous, and approach a little uncertainly, saying “Marshall -I think?”  He was amused at my description of an earlier visit, when I had not been there, and a director mistaken for a gas-fitter. It was good to be mistaken for an honest workmen he thought. T.E. was very casual about his books – he trusted everyone and loaned them freely. A quantity were missing: only one of the two volumes of an inscribed Arabia Deserta could be found. Lawrence was a little hurt. Half his books would be passed around the hut in which he might be living, and he had to rescue a copy of Lady Chatterley from three sprawling, laughing RAF men, who were noisily enjoying odd passages.

He told the story of a tiresome old lady who would pester the RAF men at Southampton, bringing sandwiches and chatting endlessly. One very hot day she appeared waving a fan and breathing loudly, and repeated uttering in jocular plaintive voice ’Ninety nine, ninety nine, ninety nine’. Everyone was avoiding her, but she fixed on Lawrence, who finally enforced her retreat by replying: ’Many happy returns, Madam.’

At the cottage there were many collector’s items, including advanced proofs from Bernard Shaw. The most exciting volume was the Oxford edition of Seven Pillars, one of the original seven copies. I took all the dust wrappers from the books and filed them away. Lawrence liked to see the bindings, and no matter what the value of the book it was there to be read and handled. But wrapped away was a limited and signed Ulysses, ready for sale in an emergency.

His letters are exciting and interesting to read; and his apt and unconventional comments on books and authors of particular interest to booksellers. My last letter from him was unhappy and strangely prophetic. The fine weather and various causes, probably more reporters, had kept him out all day from early morning until dark. He was weary and exhausted. But that would be over in 10 days, he wrote on May 7th 1935. On the eleventh day he was dead.

K.W.Marshall

[rabbitcruiser]

Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (No. 7)

Building Construction

The building was constructed on the site of the old Croton Reservoir.

The cornerstone, weighing 7.5 tons,  holds a relic box containing contracts between New York City and the Library, photographs, newspapers, and letters from the Trustees and Mayor of New York.

Some stones from the reservoir were used to construct the original foundation and can now be seen from the lower levels of the South Court building.

The floor plan was sketched on a postcard in 1897 by John Shaw Billings, The New York Public Library's first director. As the postcard shows, both the northern and southern courtyards were in place from the start.

Original architects John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings designed the building as well as the tables, chairs, lamps, and chandeliers— even the hardware and wastebaskets.

The exterior is constructed from Vermont marble, which originated in two quarries on Dorset Mountain. Over 65% of the stone quarried failed to meet the architects' standards. The stone rejected by the Library was incorporated into other contemporary buildings including Harvard Medical School.

Using 530,000 cubic feet of marble, with exterior marble facing 12 inches thick, the library used more than six times the marble used in the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Chamber of Commerce combined.

The Library Lions, sculpted by Edward C. Potter in pink Tennessee marble, have been known by various nicknames since they were placed in front of the library building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in 1911. Although they have no official names, they are commonly known as Patience and Fortitude.

Source

[thewineauctionroom]

New Post has been published on https://wineauctionroom.com/one-of-the-best-new-wines-of-the-last-decade-is-from-tasmania/

One of the best new wines of the last decade is from… Tasmania

By Jancis Robinson, OCTOBER 15 2022

One of the most successful wines to have been launched in the past 10 years is made from grapes that travel 30 hours from vineyard to winery, including an overnight ferry journey. The Tolpuddle vineyard is in the Australian island state of Tasmania. Since 2011, it has been owned by cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith, who ship the freshly picked grapes via Launceston and Melbourne to their winery in the hills above Adelaide in South Australia, about 1,300km away. Tolpuddle makes almost equal quantities of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

  In only its second vintage (2013), the Pinot Noir picked up three trophies in the 2015 International Wine Challenge (IWC), including Best Australian Red. In total, Tolpuddle wines have won 17 trophies in Australia and the UK. The 2020 Chardonnay alone won five awards at last year’s Royal Melbourne Wine Show. There is every likelihood that Tolpuddle would also have picked up trophies in the Decanter World Wine Awards, a rival competition to the IWC also held in London, but Hill Smith, who is also Australia’s first Master of Wine, is co-chair of the Decanter awards so does not submit his own wines for scrutiny.

  It seems appropriate, however, that Tolpuddle wines should be judged in the UK, since they take their name from the Dorset village famous for its “martyrs”. These were 19th-century labourers, dispatched to Tasmania as convicts for the crime of setting up an agricultural union. Their leader George Loveless served some of his sentence working on a property on or very close to where the vineyard is located. The 23.7-hectare vineyard was originally planted in 1988 on a site selected by the late Tony Jordan for Domaine Chandon, the Australian sparkling wine outpost of Moët & Chandon. (Jordan had a record of scouting out sites for vines, having spent four years travelling round China in search of the perfect spots for LVMH to produce sparkling wines and still reds.) Jordan planted the original vineyard along with wine producer Garry Crittenden of Mornington Peninsula, just south of Melbourne, and local landowners the Casimaty family. The idea was that, with it being virtually the closest bit of Australia to the South Pole, the cooler temperatures would provide suitably high-acid fruit for fizz. At this stage Jordan was also shipping fruit for Domaine Chandon 3,370km across the Nullarbor desert from the cool, far south-west of Australia in order to keep his sparkling wine refreshing enough.

  Australian wine producers are much less fettered by geography than their European counterparts. During the journey, either to Domaine Chandon or Shaw + Smith’s winery, the grapes have to be kept as cool and intact as possible so they don’t start to ferment. This requires refrigerated trucks and picking the fruit in shallow crates so that the berries aren’t crushed by the weight of those above them. According to Hill Smith, Tolpuddle’s 30-hour journey virtually replicates what is common practice with grapes grown on their own estate, of keeping freshly picked grapes in a cool room before fermentation to maximise freshness. Since acquiring the Tolpuddle vineyard, Hill Smith and Shaw have tweaked it considerably, pulling out clones that were specifically designed for sparkling wines and substituting mainly Burgundian ones, improving pruning techniques, building a dam to ward off frost and buying a further six hectares of neighbouring land.

  They never intended to buy land in Tasmania until they set off on a road trip through the island in 2011. At that time, Australia’s top winemakers were desperately looking for cool-climate vineyards, and the potential of Tasmania was just beginning to be appreciated by producers, if not yet by consumers. Some of the grapes from Tolpuddle vineyard were bought by Hardys for the blend of its flagship Eileen Hardy Chardonnay, for instance, and another big company was paying A$7,000 a ton, twice the going rate, for the fruit from one of the vineyard’s blocks of Pinot Noir. On their road trip, the cousins asked a young local winemaker Peter Dredge to organise a tasting of the best Tasmanian wines and found that “all the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays we loved came from Tolpuddle”, recalls Hill Smith. “So, some time later, we had an overdraft, no idea who would manage the property, nor where the wine would be made, but Martin, who is not given to spontaneity in any form, was amazingly set on it.”

  They can’t have regretted their purchase. Tolpuddle has done much to raise awareness of Tasmania as a still wine region. Extraordinarily, the first vines to be planted in any quantity on the island were the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon. When global warming really sets in, then presumably this will eventually be substituted for the much earlier-ripening Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that dominate the island’s vineyards today. For now, Domaine A, which is under new ownership, is the only Tasmanian winery to have shown consistent mastery of Cabernet, the most famous red wine grape of Bordeaux. The current buzz here is making Tasmania’s answer to super-fashionable — and ever less affordable — red and white burgundy. Wine-minded climatologists like to compare “degree days” during the grape-growing season, when heat rises above a certain base temperature for growing.

Tolpuddle Wines Now Available at wineretailroom.co.nz 

  Tolpuddle, which is in the Coal River Valley, notches up an average of just 1,180 and the widely accepted minimum of 500mm of rain a year, while the averages for Dijon in Burgundy are 1,319 and 775mm respectively. Tasmania is being planted apace with vines but it’s still tiny compared with the rest of Australia’s wine regions, representing less than 1 per cent of national production. As Hill Smith observed when presenting Tolpuddle’s first 10 vintages to a roomful of sommeliers at Trivet restaurant in London last month, “You will spill more wine in a year than Tasmania produces.” The wines were truly exciting and, at about £65 or $70 a bottle retail for the latest vintages, 2020 and the even more approachable 2021, compare favourably with their Burgundian counterparts.

  I was swept off my feet a decade ago when I tasted the first Tolpuddle vintage, 2012, especially the Pinot Noir. The 2012 Chardonnay now looks not so much refreshing as positively tart. In this first year, they had the grapes pressed on the island and shipped juice, not grapes, to the winery in South Australia, exposing it to too much oxygen, so there was a problem completing the conversion of harsh malic acid to softer lactic acid. But that was the only real disappointment in this line-up of 19 wines, all screwcapped so they’re free of any cork taint or oxidation. (Vintage 2019 was the victim of wildfires and smoke taint, alas an increasing phenomenon in the wine world, so the 2019 Pinot Noir was sold off in bulk and the 2019 Chardonnay lacks the class of other vintages. But that was hardly the fault of the talented winemaker Adam Wadewitz, who arrived in time to make the second 2013 vintage.)

  Hill Smith also told us about his finest hour. Tolpuddle is the only Australian wine to have featured in the annual tasting of some of the finest wines in the world, organised by the fine-wine-buying club Ficofi in Paris every December. At this glamorous event a few years ago, Aubert de Villaine, the Burgundian figurehead then in charge of the world-famous Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, approached Hill Smith and said he’d been advised that he must taste this Tasmanian upstart. I advise anyone with a taste for burgundy to do so too.

  Favourite Tolpuddle vintages

Chardonnay 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021

Pinot Noir 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021

Tasting notes on Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com.

Tolpuddle Wines Now Available at wineretailroom.co.nz 

[thenetionalnews]

Dorset golfer aiming to make the sport more inclusive

Dorset golfer aiming to make the sport more inclusive

A man who was banned from several golf clubs as a child for not meeting the dress code has started a new business aimed at making the sport more inclusive. Harry Shaw, from Poole in Dorset, lost his love for the game as a teenager after representing his county at a national level. After taking up the sport again during the pandemic, he set up a new golf coaching business to appeal to golfers from…

[iwilltrytobereasonable]

Tonight in things that make me smile: T E writing to Liddell Hart about translating Homer and, well, this:

[cagematchdotnet]

Name of the event: RWS

Date: February 25th 2017

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Commentary by: Dominic Pye Bennett

Results:

-Lewis Blain & Miss Peggy defeat Damian The Convict & Hayley Quinn

-RWS Title 30 Minute Iron Man Match- Tristian Hayes (w/Hayley Quinn) (c) vs. Logan - Draw [2:2] (30:00)

Name of the event: RWS

Date: July 8th 2017

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Shaftesbury, Dorset, England, UK

Arena: Shaftesbury Boys Club

Commentary by: Dominic Pye Bennett

Results:

-Miss Louise Jane defeats Jamie Hayter (6:15)

-RWS Title Match- Logan (c) vs. Tristian Hayes - Time Limit Draw (15:00)

Name of the event: RWS Shaftesbury Rumble

Date: May 11th 2018

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Shaftesbury, Dorset, England, UK

Arena: Shaftesbury Boys Club

-Josh Andrews (w/Hayley Quinn) defeats Jonny Rose (10:48)

-Bulldog The Biker defeats Josh Andrews (w/Hayley Quinn) (4:29)

-Lewis Blain defeats Blue Tiger (9:21)

-RWS Title Match- Damian Shaw (c) defeats Ryan Charles (5:49)

-Rumble Match- Mike Wakely defeats Blue Tiger, Bulldog The Biker, Damian Shaw, Hayley Quinn, Jonny Rose, Josh Andrews, Lewis Blain & Ryan Charles (17:58)

Name of the event: RWS Championship Night

Date: November 10th 2018

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Commentary by: Donald Pie

Results:

-Money in Bank Singles Match- Cueball defeats Big D by DQ (6:53)

-British Rules Match- Barnsley Brawler vs. Jonny Rose - Time Limit Draw (20:00)

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- The Dogs Of War (Bulldog The Biker & Ryan Charles) (c) vs. Dickie Bowen & Lewis Blain (w/Miss Laura) - No Contest (13:52)

-RWS Title Match- Thundercat defeats Damian Shaw (c) by Count Out (4:45)

-RWS Title Match- Damian Shaw (c) defeats Cueball by Count Out (1:06)

Name of the event: RWS Amesbury Rumble 2019

Date: June 9th 2019

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Amesbury, Wiltshire, England, UK

Arena: The Bowman Centre & Centenary Pavilion

Commentary by: Donald Pie

Results:

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- The Dogs Of War (Bulldog The Biker & Ryan Charles) (w/Kenny Mantra) (c) defeat The Jumbo Jets (Big D & Damian Shaw) (w/Hayley Quinn) (9:53)

-Mikey Fine vs. Tom Bond - Double Count Out (5:14)

-Jonny Rose defeats The Soulkiller (w/Dickie Bowen) (7:25)

-RWS Ladies Title Match (vacant)- Lacey James defeats Armina Lily (4:01)

Name of the event: RWS Summertime Slam 2019

Date: August 3rd 2019

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Commentary by: Donald Pie

Results:

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- The Dogs Of War (Bulldog The Biker & Ryan Charles) (c) defeat The Valley Boys (Kenny Mantra & Mikey Fine) (8:59)

-RWS Ladies Title Match- Lacey James (c) vs. Kat Von Kaige - Double Count Out (12:21)

-Thundercat defeats Dickie Flag (6:48)

-Kevin Fury defeats The Foxcatcher (16:45)

-Jonny Rose defeats The Soulkiller

-Casey Wild & Logan defeat Big D & Tom Bond (w/Hayley Quinn) (11:24)

Name of the event: RWS Whisty Hall Challenge Belt

Date: September 28th 2019

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Commentary by: Donald Pie

Results:

-RWS Whisty Hall Challenge Belt Quarter Final Match- Kevin Fury defeats Kenny Mantra (5:11)

-RWS Whisty Hall Challenge Belt Quarter Final Match- Damian Shaw defeats Cueball by DQ (5:37)

-RWS Whisty Hall Challenge Belt Quarter Final Match- Bulldog The Biker defeats Mikey Fine (4:37)

-RWS Whisty Hall Challenge Belt Quarter Final Match- Logan defeats Big D (w/Hayley Quinn) (4:25)

-RWS Whisty Hall Challenge Belt Semi Final Match- Logan defeats Bulldog The Biker (00:06)

-RWS Whisty Hall Challenge Belt Semi Final Match- Kevin Fury defeats Damian Shaw (w/Hayley Quinn) (5:16)

-RWS Whisty Hall Challenge Belt Final Match (vacant)- Logan defeats Kevin Fury (7:33)

Name of the event: RWS November Spectacular

Date: November 9th 2019

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Results:

-Casey Wild defeats Martin Law (7:07)

-RWS Ladies Title Match- Kat Von Kaige defeats Lacey James (c) (5:33)

-The Billington Bulldogs (Mark & Thomas Billington) defeat The Welsh Wonders (LD James & Stevo Jones) (7:49)

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- Yeah 'N' Scare (Big D & Cueball) defeat The Dogs Of War (Bulldog The Biker & Kenny Mantra) (c) (6:23)

-Three On Two Handicap Elimination Match- Lewis Blain & Thundercat defeat Josh Andrews, Kenny Mantra & Thundercat (15:57)

-No Disqualification Match- Kevin Fury defeats The Foxcatcher (w/Hayley Quinn) (15:00)

Name of the event: RWS Wrestling Mania 2 - New Beginnings

Date: February 8th 2020

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Commentary by: Donald Pie

Results:

-RWS Tag Team Title #1 Contendership Match- The Dogs Of War (Bulldog The Biker & Ryan Charles) defeat The Welsh Wonders (LD James & Stevo Jones) (8:24)

-Damian Shaw defeats Casey Wild (8:27)

-RWS Ladies Title Match- Kat Von Kaige (c) defeats Nadia Sapphire (6:39)

-Kenny Mantra vs. Mikey Fine - Double Count Out (9:03)

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- The Dogs Of War (Bulldog The Biker & Ryan Charles) defeat Yeah 'N' Scare (Big D & Cueball) (c) by DQ (7:45)

-Jonny Rose & Lacey James defeat Josh Andrews & The Foxcatcher (7:18)

-RWS Title Match- Kevin Fury defeats Logan (w/Hayley Quinn) (c) by DQ (13:00)

Name of the event: RWS Wrestling Mania 3 - Watch Your Back

Date: March 7th 2020

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Commentary by: Donald Pie

Results:

-Kenny Mantra defeats Mikey Fine (9:44)

-Three Way Match- Stevo Jones defeats Ash Cody & Nephalem (6:32)

-Jonny Rose defeats Dick Flag (w/Josh Andrews) (11:18)

-Bully Boy Carter defeats Justin Powers (9:39)

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- Yeah 'N' Scare (Big D & Cueball) (c) defeat The Dogs Of War (Bulldog The Biker & Thundercat) by DQ (8:42)

-RWS Title Lumberjack Match- Kevin Fury defeats Logan (w/Hayley Quinn) (c) (8:50)

Name of the event: RWS Live

Date: March 14th 2020

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Blandford Forum, Dorset, England, UK

Arena: Corn Exchange

Results:

-Kenny Mantra vs. LD James - Time Limit Draw (15:00)

-RWS Ladies Title Match- Kat Von Kaige (c) defeats Armina Lily (9:17)

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- The Dogs Of War (Brooksey & Bulldog The Biker) defeat Yeah 'N' Scare (Big D & Cueball) (c) by DQ (10:04)

-RWS West Country Title Match- Logan (w/Hayley Quinn) (c) defeats Casey Wild (10:06)

-Rumble Match- Casey Wild defeats Big D, Brooksey, Bulldog The Biker, Cueball, Kenny Mantra, LD James, Logan & Ollie Knight (15:24)

Name of the event: RWS HOME Invasion 1

Date: October 17th 2020

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: England, UK

Commentary by: Donald Pie

Results:

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- Yeah 'N' Scare (Big D & Cueball) (c) defeat Bulldog The Biker & Kenny ​Mantra

-RWS Ladies League Title Match- Kat Von Kaige (c) defeats Nadia Sapphire (6:56)

-Tristian Hayes defeats Kenny Mantra (3:35)

-RWS West Country Title Match- Logan (w/Hayley Quinn) (c) defeats Casey Wild (8:22)

Name of the event: RWS Home Invasion 2

Date: The exact taping date is unknown.

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Broadcast date: June 5th 2021

Commentary by: Donald Pye

Results:

-RWS West Country Title #1 Contendership Gauntlet Match- Kenny Mantra defeats Big D, Bulldog The Biker, Casey Wild, Cueball & Mikey Fine

-RWS Ladies League Title Match- Kat Von Kaige (c) defeats Nadia Sapphire

-RWS West Country Title Match- Kenny Mantra defeats Logan (w/Hayley Quinn) (c)

Name of the event: RWS Come Hell and Highwater

Date: June 26th 2021

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Results:

-Cueball vs. Stevie Jones - Double Count Out

-RWS West Country Title Match- Casey Wild defeats Kenny Mantra (c)

-RWS Ladies League Title Match- Kat Von Kaige (c) defeats Nadia Sapphire

-Bulldog The Biker & Stevie Jones defeat Yeah 'N' Scare (Big D & Cueball)

-RWS Title Match- Kevin Fury (c) defeats Lewis Blain (w/Hayley Quinn) by Disqualification

Name of the event: RWS Wessex War Games

Date: August 14th 2021

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Results:

-Kenny Mantra defeats LD James

-Damian Shaw defeats Jimmy Vice

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- Yeah 'N' Scare (Big D & Cueball) (c) defeat Nephalem & Stevie Jones

-RWS Ladies League Title Match- Kat Von Kaige (c) defeats Dominita

-RWS West Country Title Match- Kenny Mantra defeats Casey Wild (c) & Logan

-Wessex War Games Match- Winner: Cueball

Name of the event: RWS Wrestling Mania 6

Date: September 11th 2021

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Results:

-Two On One Handicap RWS Tag Team Title Match- Nephalem & Stevie Jones defeat Cueball (c)

-Damian Shaw defeats Sammy Phillips

-RWS West Country Title Match- Kenny Mantra (c) defeats Logan (w/Hayley Quinn)

-Big D defeats Biker The Bulldog

-RWS Title #1 Contendership Battle Royal- Winner: Big D

-RWS Title Match- Lewis Blain defeats Kevin Fury (c) by DQ

Name of the event: RWS Spire City Showdown

Date: September 18th 2021

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Salisbury, England, UK

Arena: Five Rivers Leisure Centre

Results:

-Kenny Mantra defeats KI

-Nadia Sapphire defeats Ruby

-Jackson Brooks defeats Stevie Jones

-Logan defeats Cueball

-Cueball & Lewis Blain defeat Hayley Quinn & Logan

-Tristian Hayes defeats Eddie Kenway

-Rumble Match- Winner: Lewis Blain

Name of the event: RWS The Big Show

Date: October 16th 2021

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Results:

-Billington Bulldogs (Mark & Thomas Billington defeat High And Mighty (Mark Daniels & Martyn Grant)

-RWS Ladies League Title Match- Kat Von Kaige (c) defeats Ruby

-RWS Tag Team Title Match- Scumbags And Scallywags (Nephalem & Stevie Jones) (c) defeat KI & Ryan Charles

-Brawl In The Hall Match- Big D defeats Cueball

-RWS West Country Title Three Way Ladder Match- Kenny Mantra (c) defeats Casey Wild & Logan

-RWS Title Chain Match- Kevin Fury (c) defeats Lewis Blain

Name of the event: RWS Blandford Brawl

Date: November 19th 2021

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Blandford, Dorset, England, UK

Arena: Blandford Corn Exchange

Results:

-Kenny Mantra defeats Casey Wild

-KI vs. Logan - Time Limit Draw (15:00)

-Toby Valentine defeats Nephalem

-Cueball defeats Big D

-Ruby defeats Penny Spender

-Battle Royal- Winner: Cueball

Name of the event: RWS Xmas Beatings

Date: December 4th 2021

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Results:

-Cueball defeats Damian Shaw (w/Hayley Quinn)

-Six Man Tag Team Match- The Cult (???, ??? & ???) defeat Jimmy Vice, Ryan Charles, Sammi Phillips

-Retirement Match- KI defeats Logan

-RWS Ladies League Title Match- Ruby defeats Kat Von Kaige (c)

-RWS Title Match (vacant)- Big D defeats Cueball

Name of the event: RWS Great West Country Bash

Date: February 5th 2022

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Results:

-Kenny Mantra defeats KI

-Oscar Phillips & Sammy Phillips defeat Foxcatcher & Thomas J. Curtis

-Toby Valentine defeats Heath

-RWS Ladies League Title Match- Ruby (c) defeats Echo Reed

-Big D & Jesse Sapphire defeat Hayley Quinn & Lewis Blain

-RWS West Country Title Match- Cueball defeats Kenny Mantra (c)

Name of the event: HCW/RWS Stourport Smackdown

Date: February 12th 2022

Promotion: HCW Championship Wrestling & Ring Wrestling Stars

Location:- Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England, UK

Arena: Stourport Civic Hall

Results:

-Toby Valentine defeats Jack Besty by DQ

-RWS Women's Title Match- Ruby (c) defeats Aurora

-RWS West Country Title Match- Kenny Mantra defeats Cueball (c)

-Big D & Toby Valentine defeat Besty & Heath

-HCW Worcestershire & Wyre Forest Six Man Elimination Match (vacant)- The Foxcatcher defeats Ash Cady, Bully Boy Carter, Chris Cage, Jonny Rose & Thomas J. Curtis

-HCW Light heavyweight title #1 Contendership Match- Blue Tiger defeats Dion David Chamberlain

-Grudge Match- Fantazmo defeats The Soulkiller

Name of the event: RWS Battle Of The Bowman

Date: March 12th 2022

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Amesbury, Wiltshire, England, UK

Arena: Bowman Centre

Results:

-Kenny Mantra defeats Cueball

-Toby Valentine defeats Nephalem

-Big D defeats Stevie Jones

-Ruby defeats Echo Reed

-Tristian Hayes defeats Damian Shaw

-Cueballs Army (??? & Cueball) defeat The Cult (??? & Kenny Mantra)

Name of the event: RWS King Of The Ring 2022

Date: April 16th 2022

Promotion: Ring Wrestling Stars

Location: Radstock, Somerset, England, UK

Arena: Whisty Hall

Results

RWS King Of The Ring First Round Match- Cueball defeats Stevie Jones

-RWS King Of The Ring First Round Match- Kenny Mantra defeats KI

-RWS King Of The Ring First Round Match- Nephalem defeats Big D

-The Final Boss defeats Sammi Phillips

-RWS King Of The Ring Semi Final Match- Cueball vs. Kenny Mantra - Double Count Out

-RWS Ladies League Title Match- Ruby (c) defeats Jesse Sapphire

-RWS King Of The Ring Final Match- Nephalem defeats ???