This Land is your Land

How a prehistoric sat nav stopped our ancestors getting lost in Britain

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 3:16 PM on 05th January 2010

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Ancient man had his own form of 'sat nav' that helped him find his way across Britain, according to new research.

The sophisticated geometric system was based on a stone circle markers.

Our ancestors were able to travel between settlements with pinpoint accuracy thanks to a complex network of hilltop monuments.

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The prehistoric pointer was based on stone circles and way markers that appear to be placed in a triangular grid

These covered much of southern England and Wales and included now famous landmarks such as Stonehenge and The Mount.

Researcher Tom Brooks analysed 1,500 prehistoric monuments, including Stonehenge and Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, and found them all to be on a grid of isosceles triangles - those with two sides of equal length - each pointing to the next site.

He believes this proves there were keen mathematicians among the ancient Britons 5,000-6,000 years ago, at least two millennia before the Greeks who were supposed to have discovered geometry.

Many monuments are 250 miles or more away but GPS co-ordinates now show all are accurate to within 100 metres and provided a simple map for ancient Britons to follow.

Incredibly, the triangles still exist today as many medieval churches, abbeys and cathedrals were constructed on top of the original stone circle markers.

Tom Brooks has revealed how anyone standing on the site of Stonehenge in Wiltshire could once have navigated their way to Lanyon Quoit in Cornwall without a map

Historian and writer Tom Brooks, from Honiton, Devon, believes prehistoric men were 'highly intelligent surveyors and planners.'

He said: 'It is known that many, if not all, early churches, abbeys and cathedrals were constructed on ancient sites and this diagram illustrates that point.

'This ancient form of geometry permits the production of various patterns across our landscape linking prehistoric settlements and waymarks.

'Such is the mathematical precision that it is inconceivable that this work could have been carried out by the primitive indigenous culture we have always associated with such structures.

'Such patterns could only have been the work of highly intelligent surveyors and planners which throws into question all previous claims as to the origin of mathematics.

'All this suggests a culture existing in these islands in the past quite outside our expectation and experience today.'

Silbury Hill near Avebury, Wiltshire was found to sit on a grid of isosceles triangles

Mr Brooks analysed 1,500 sites stretching from Norfolk to north Wales. These included standing stones, hilltop forts, stone circles and hill camps.

Each was built within eyeshot of the next. Using GPS co-ordinates, he plotted a course between the monuments and noted their positions to each other.

He found that they all lie on a vast geometric grid made up of isosceles 'triangles'.

Each triangle has two sides of the same length and 'point' to the next settlement.
Thus, anyone standing on the site of Stonehenge in Wiltshire could have navigated their way to Lanyon Quoit in Cornwall without a map.

Mr Brooks believes many of the Stone Age sites were created 5,000 years ago by an expanding population recovering from the trauma of the Ice Age.

Lower ground and valleys would have been reduced to bog and marshes, and people would have naturally sought higher ground to settle.

He said: 'The modern-day diagram links 13 churches within four counties of south-west England, ranges across 60 miles, and is a remarkably accurate arrangement of isosceles triangles projecting to varying compass points.

'The medieval system reaches from Derbyshire to Cambridgeshire, Sussex, Hampshire, Somerset and Wales, using only isosceles triangles accurate to within 100m over distances up to 250 miles.'

'Prehistoric Geometry in Britain: the Discoveries of Tom Brooks' is now on sale priced £13.90.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1240746/Prehistoric-sat-nav-set-ancestors-Britain.html#ixzz0blV23xKh

IS BRITAIN A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY?
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/12/26/archbishop-in-war-of-words-with-bnp-over-christianity-91466-25462010/

Opportunity for Political Expression is a Democratic Right

By denying smaller parties the opportunity to express their views and engage in debate before the election the government and the media are preventing the electorate from evaluating alternative political programmes and are presenting the public with a stark choice - between the three major unionist establishment parties: the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. It is only right that representatives of other parties, including the SNP, Plaid Cymru, Mebyon Kernow and the Greens, should have their say. If not, what hope is there for real democracy?
Were the Liberal Democrats to be denied this opportunity to debate their policies on air there would be an outcry.


"It is no accident that freedom of expression is one of the first things restricted by oppressive regimes – and even democratic governments when their leaders are criticised."


A Voice from the Labour Heartland - Peter Mandelson

The Conservatives have accused Labour of pursuing a "pointless class war".

Lord Mandelson told the Evening Standard: "We are not a sectarian party. We are not a heartlands-only party."

Comment: Just a "heartless-only" party, Mr Mandelson?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8442761.stm

Not in your interest, or mine, Bach!

The Powers that Be have decided that it is not in the interest of the Welsh or the Scots (or the Irish or the Greens) for their leading representatives to engage in public debate on television before the coming General Election.

It is enough for the three political parties that form the majority to convince the electorate (or otherwise) that they have the moral authority to lead Britain out of recession and restore full employment, the thinking being that only the major parties will have the capability of putting their policies into practice.

The fact that they are all unionist parties - parties of the establishment and the status quo - and are mainly concerned to appeal to the middle class in England - does not escape notice in Wales, Scotland and northern Ireland which all have governments run directly, or in coalition, by nationalists whose goal is the overthrow of the union through the holding of referenda leading to self-determination.

In a real democracy all views are entitled to be expressed and heard by the public at large. If change is to happen, assuming that change is what is needed, the conduct of politics has to be fundamentally reviewed, or if not change is meaningless and no more than a political slogan. The three main parties realise that change is demanded by the public, particularly after the media revelations and the expenses scandal, and not least by the illegal invasion of Iraq. As has been pointed out by commentators in the United States there are many unsavoury dictators in power around the world but we do not have the right to invade their countries (for example: Zimbabwe and the Sudan).

We are talking about the divine right of the British establishment to set the rules, ignoring the will or wishes of the people who elect the incumbents, parliamentarians in the Commons and the Lords, the latter who are there by appointment (few hereditary Lords and Ladies remain), and not by election. Furthermore the bishops sit in the Lords, as they are the representatives of the Established Church of England. Is it not time that Britain, a mainly secular but multi-religious country, reflected the true state of affairs?

Yet the phlegmatic British public, immured by tradition and conditioned by the status quo, accept things the way they are because that is how they have always been and they are comfortable with this situation, despite the fact that it is increasingly divorced from reality. The coming election will prove to be an interesting event, for it will show whether or not people have awoken to their predicament. Seen from Europe Britain is a failing state, the sick man of Europe (as Turkey was once described) and yet the political machine grinds on regardless.

These are some of the reasons why it is in the interest of the Welsh and Scottish people (and why not the Cornish?) to go it alone, and severe the unreal connection and associations with the British state. Change will come regardless as the state of the union is such that it cannot last forever, but this election will be an indication of the changes that must come, even though the views of those who cannot join the debate are stifled and ignored.

Britain Comes Out Of The Stone Age- First Ever Televised Political Election Debate

Wales and Scotland need to hear the voice of their own leaders. The SNP and Plaid Cymru are parties in government.
Do not the people of Wales and Scotland have an interest in which party is elected?

"By transforming itself from a socialist party to a bureaucratic pseudo- conservative party embracing capitalist principles New Labour has lost the Welsh and Scottish votes and has no hope of winning another election.

Popular opinion is quickly moving away from Labour and towards parties which have the peoples’ interests at heart."

(Alan Jones - "Western Mail" 21st November 2007)

"The political dynamic of post General Election Wales will therefore be between a Conservative right wing, South-East-of-England-Centric UK Government in conflict with an increasingly Plaid dominated Government of Wales. If Labour fail to react to this new political dynamic they will become increasingly marginalised. Peter Hain is only half right – the real political choice is between Plaid and the Tories."

Jonathan Edwards - Carmarthenshire East and Dinevwr

The Green Party today expressed its "anger and dismay" that its party leader Caroline Lucas will not be included in debates between party leaders to be broadcast on national TV during the build-up to the general election.
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2009-12-22-leader-debates-tv.html

Refuting Separatism for Good and All

Cymru - one Nation - one Europe - one World

Double-click on the map to enlarge it

Plaid Cymru has often been characterised as a separatist organisation. This is featured in the scaremongering myths put about by members of British political parties who are running scared, apprehensive of the growing tide of support for the referendum on a Welsh Parliament leading to greater things for the nation which is Cymru.

Separatism implies isolationism and withdrawal from the great affairs of state and of the wider world. In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. As Gwynfor Evans, the revered and respected former president of Plaid Cymru, often stated: it is an opportunity for Wales to join the community of nations and take up that vacant seat at the United Nations. The only difference is that Mr Evans envisaged the seat as being alongside that of Yemen, whereas Cymru begins with a “C”.

Plaid is not separatist – it is unitary. It does not seek to set up borders along Offa's Dyke or even make a claim for Oswestry, Clun and other border towns, unless that should be the will of the inhabitants. It seeks to unify the nation in every way possible, socially, culturally, politically and geographically. It aims to join the other nations of Europe, and hopefully emergent nations such as Catalunya, Brittany and Euskadia, in a kaleidoscope of unique and distinct European nations bound by economic and philosophical ties and with a shared outlook.

Bloggers such as David Lindsay and others who refer to the nationalist standpoint as 'separatist' are quite mistaken. That view is the one which may be regarded as isolationist and reactionary, by clinging to a union which is in a state of decline and which does not address the social and economic needs of the communities which make up the peoples of these islands, and still concerns itself with ritual and regalia, power and privilege, and reverence for the flag which flew over the Empire which is no more.

There is a new mood and a new expectation flowing down from Scotland and finding resonance in Cornwall. There is a new spirit of grass-roots democracy at work throughout society. It is enthusing people and its effect will lead to one nation, one Europe and One World.

Winning Llanelli for Cymru - Portrait of a Lady

It is striking to note how many nationalists (including alanindyfed) were born outside Wales. The numbers include Saunders Lewis,  Dafydd Wigley, Helen-Mary Jones and Janet Ryder and many more. One of these is the candidate for Llanelli, Dr Myfanwy Davies. Whether one is Welsh or not is not a matter of birth or even of genes - it is one of allegiance (see the archives - Sunday 5th August 2007 - "Hearts and Minds").

Llanelli

Dr Myfanwy Mair Davies was born in 1975 in Halifax, Yorkshire.

She is from the Furnace area of Llanelli and attended Ysgol Dewi Sant, Llanelli and Ysgol Gyfun y Strade.

After leaving school, Myfanwy went on to continue her education at Oxford, Cambridge, Sheffield and Middlesex Universities. She completed her studies with a PhD in health services research focusing on the relationships between doctors and nurses caring for women from minority ethnic groups during pregancy and birth.

Myfanwy is a former university lecturer (Univeristé de Rouen) and freelance researcher. She is currently a post-doctoral research fellow and leads a team of researchers in health services research at Cardiff University focusing particularly on health care decision making, health inequalities and women’s health. She is a former chair of Plaid Cymru Youth Section and Plaid Cymru Women’s Section and contributed to developing health policy for the last assembly elections as one of the party’s Wellbeing Commissioners. She is currently Director of Political Education for the party and is responsible for engaging the party membership in policy development and dissemination.

Myfanwy’s mother, Mari is a Yorkshirewoman who has made her home in Wales since the 1960s. She is a Plaid Cymru county councillor for Hengoed and chair of Llanelli Rural Council. Her father, Dic is the former borough Librarian for Llanelli. Her grandfather and great-grandfather were prominent figures in Rhandirmwyn and Cil-y-Cwm in the Upper Tywi valley where her fathers’ family still farm. Family legend claims that Twm Sion Cati, highwayman and later justice of the peace at Llandovery married into the family.

Her family has links with the Pontiets and Ponthenri in the Gwendraeth valley where generations of the family migrated to work in the collieries, returning to the family farm during the 1926 strike.

Myfanwy enjoys reading, walking and cooking for friends. She supports the Scarlets, Furnace RFC and Llanelli Wanderers. She writes for Tu Chwith, the Welsh Arts periodical.

She is a school governor and has particular interests in the environment, health and economic affairs.

http://www.myfanwydavies.org

2010 - A Year of Austerity

The year ahead provides a great opportunity for the new government in Britain and governments around the world to pare and prune and manage the economy far more efficiently than ever before.


Years of mismanagement, extravagance, squander and waste have left the economy in a sorry state and nobody envies the immense task which lies ahead for local and national government. Millions, billions and trillions of dollars, euros and pounds have been misused, by governments, bankers and greedy entrepreneurs and all this has resulted in a catastrophic global meltdown.


Nations such as Iceland, Ireland and Greece have teetered on the edge of bankruptcy and the massive powerhouse which is the United States of America, despite its resilience, has suffered, resulting in drastic unemployment figures as more workers have been laid off and fewer have been taken on. In Spain unemployment has risen to 19% as the unsustainable housing market collapsed.

Chancellors and economists could not have learned the lessons spelled out in the writings of Charles Dickens. One of his characters in "David Copperfield" is Wilkins Micawber.

"He is famous for frequently asserting his faith that "something will turn up." His name has become synonymous with someone who lives in hopeful expectation. This has formed the basis for the Micawber Principle, based upon his observation:

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

Great Britain's pre decimal currency was pounds, shillings and pence, abbreviated to £sd. "Nineteen pounds nineteen and six" or £19/19/6d is six pence less than twenty pounds. Likewise, "Twenty pounds ought and six" or £20/0/6d is six pence more than twenty pounds. A similar expression in dollars might be, "Annual income, $10,000, expenditure $9,990, result happiness; annual income $10,000, expenditure $10,010, result misery." (wikipaedia)


The answer is clear - savage cuts, wise spending, conservation of resources. This is a policy set in motion in Ireland to deal with the national economic crisis. In the UK the Labour benches mocked and derided the Liberal and Conservative pronouncements, by Vince Cable and George Osborne. They were accused of subjecting the British taxpayers to cuts of 10% in public services. These cuts are necessary and the Labour government knows it full well.


Alarmed by rising house prices and personal debt, Vince Cable saw the recession coming long before his political opponents - and it turned out he had the solutions, too.


What is needed in the year of 2010 and in the years to follow is a personal, national and global commitment to a behaviour of industry and frugality reminiscent of the Amish people, the Quakers and the Pilgrim Fathers. The profligate behaviour of the past has to be reined in and a change of consciousness has to emerge which will transform life on earth so that mankind can live at harmony and in collaboration with nature and his environment. 


These lessons cannot be ignored and people and politicians have to heed the warning signs which are numerous and insistent. We are entering the Age of Austerity and future generations will live or die according to the actions and policies which we put into practice in the present.


Note:   according to the Archbishop of Wales a dose of austerity will do the people a power of       good. Time to don a frock coat and stove-pipe trousers (and don't forget the winkle-picker shoes).




A MAN OF STRAW


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/6922127/Hypocrite-Jack-Straws-role-in-destroying-the-police.html


Straw is mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, in the Nun's Priest's Tale, as the leader of a mob targeting foreign workers:

Certes, he Jakke Straw and his meinee

Ne made nevere shoutes half so shrille,

Whan that they wolden any Fleming kille.^[7]

A View into Rural Wales

Bloggers of 2009 - Glyn Davies

I agree with many of Glyn Davies' views and sentiments, despite the fact that he is a Conservative as well as a a Unionist (for the present). He has a strong affinity with nature and the countryside. He is an environmentalist and animal (and baby) lover. He represents the best of  Welsh community life and cares for the health and welfare of the rural electorate of Montgomeryshire. He could be Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the future Welsh government. He is down-to-earth and practical and not averse to building garden walls and cleaning out cowsheds and pigpens. He is a family man and a very different political animal from his nemesis with the very unWelsh name who seeks to cavort in the limelight and shock little old ladies. Despite having said all that my vote would go to Heledd Fychan, the Plaid candidate.

No Dissent Within the Ranks - Absolutely!

BLOGGERS OF 2009 - Peter Black

On June 4th 2009 Peter Black AM wrote in his blog a posting entitled:

"Dissent Within the Ranks" following an article I wrote for the "Western Mail" with the heading "Time for Plaid to Pull Out of Coalition with Labour", with a suggestion (only a suggestion) that it might be the time for Plaid to disassociate itself from Labour following the series of gaffes and revelations, as well as the mismanagement of the economy, which have discredited the government in the eyes of the British public. Recently I have conducted a poll on this blog to ascertain the reaction of the readers to this proposal, and it has come out in favour of the status quo. So be it.*

Let it be said that there is no dissent within the ranks nor is any intended. There has always been transparency and open debate, which is a healthy sign of a democracy and of a democratic political party. Dissent, if there is any, is between the Labour Party in Wales and the Labour government in London, mainly with regard to funding and the Barnett formula. Although Plaid Cymru is in coalition with Labour in the Assembly, it has its own views, its own agenda and its own programme for Cymru.

Peter Black AM is a prolific blogger and expresses many views and ideas on Welsh politics. In fact he does a service to Plaid by producing a host of free publicity even though his views are often in opposition to those of the Party of Wales. Let us remember that the Liberal Democrats in Wales, as in Scotland, have not yet declared themselves in favour of self-determination and an independent nation status and remain a party of the Union. Nevertheless, as Alex Salmond would say, there is still time for them to change their minds on this issue!

Note:   *the final votes are in on the poll with the result being a tie, again it's neck and neck.

Comments from Peter's blog:

is this the same Alan in Dyfed who was claiming that a Labour Plaid coalition was the best thing that could ever happen and slagging off those Plaid people who disagreed?

Surely not?

For the record I think the coalition government has been much better than I expected...but I had low expectations!

# posted by  cymrumark : 12:34 AM

It is arguable to say that it is in Plaid's interests not to be associated in coalition with Labour. On the other hand Plaid could be seen as the better part of the coalition when compared with Labour.

Either way, it's not Plaid's interests that ought to be paramount but the interests of Wales and this is where I think Alan is wrong. If Plaid leaves the coalition it leaves a minority Labour administration, swfitly followed by the Labour-Liberal coaltion that Ms Williams AM is seeking. Whither Wales' best interests then with either of those options?

Green Man - I suspect the Plaid AMs just ignore you!

View from Penarth - when I hear a Liberal describe Plaid as having "no principles and are opportunists" why do you think I keep hearing the words "pot", "kettle" and "black"?

# posted by  David Walters : 1:21 PM

Ireland and the End of Recession

By STEVE HAWKES

Business Editor

Published: 17 Dec 2009

 Add a comment (5)

IRELAND — one of the worst victims of the credit crunch in the world — is OUT of recession.

Revised official figures showed the Irish economy grew by 0.3 per cent between July and September.

Previous stats had shown a 0.6 per cent fall.

The figures will heap yet more pain on the British government.

Britain is the last of the G20 countries to escape the clutches of the worst downturn since the Second World War.

Chancellor Alistair Darling has repeatedly claimed the economy will finally begin to recover at the turn of the year.

In stark contrast to the UK, Ireland has announced savage spending cuts of nearly £4BILLION in a bid to turn their economy around.

Ireland's finance minister Brian Lenihan last week said the cuts were "simply a matter of budgetary necessity in these extraordinarily difficult times".

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/money/2775974/Ireland-is-out-of-recession.html#ixzz0bLwnCnBw


Comment: The countries worst hit by the recession are, in this order - Greece, Spain, Ireland, United Kingdom.

The next government should be ready to upset people by cutting spending and raising taxes, says Neil O'Brien.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/6918324/Why-politics-must-leave-the-Noughties-behind.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6972931.ece

Education,education, education - did we hear that before?

In Ireland  Gaelic schools "gaelscoileanna" are enjoying a rising popularity.  Just as in Wales the Welsh schools are very popular and have an excellent record.

Education 'key' to Wales' success, says first  minister

Education is crucial for Wales to thrive, says Mr Jones The key to Wales' success as a country depends on the education and skills of its people, says the first minister. Carwyn Jones, in his new year message, said the assembly government would continue the task of building the economy to ensure "prosperity for all". He said there had been tough economic challenges in 2009 but "our core values of social justice have served us well". Other party leaders in Wales also addressed the "devastating" effects of the recession in their messages. Mr Jones, who became first minister and leader of Welsh Labour little under a month ago, said he was "very proud to have this opportunity to serve the people of Wales".  In Wales and in Westminster, Liberal Democrats are putting forward radical policies that can change Wales for the better  Welsh Liberal Democrats leader Kirsty Will "In 2009 we faced tough economic challenges, but our core values of social justice have served us well," he said. "I was brought up to respect the idea of chwarae teg, fair play - and now we are able to ensure Wales' strong sense of social responsibility and justice guide our young democracy. "By working together in that spirit we are weathering the storm, and during the coming year we will continue the task of building the economy we need to ensure prosperity for all." He said that education and skills were crucial to the country's success and added that despite budget pressures "we are determined to strengthen still further the valuable work of our schools, colleges and universities". However, Welsh Liberal Democrats leader Kirsty Williams referred to "devastating" cuts in Welsh colleges and universities - and talked of how the "story of 2009, for too many in Wales" was the recession.  With the possibility of a hung parliament on the cards, only Plaid will be putting Wales at the top of the priority list in London  Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones "In Wales and in Westminster, Liberal Democrats are putting forward radical policies that can change Wales for the better," she said. "A year ago, I suggested that 2009 would see a battle of ideas. "I was wrong, in so far as it takes at least two parties to tango and, on all the major issues, Liberal Democrats have provided the only substantive contribution." Ieuan Wyn Jones - deputy first minister and leader of Plaid Cymru, Labour's partner in the assembly government coalition - used his new year message to highlight what he called the "stark choice" that Wales faced in the UK general election in 2010. Mr Jones said: "With the possibility of a hung parliament on the cards, only Plaid will be putting Wales at the top of the priority list in London.  Our victory in the European elections in June nailed the lie that Wales will always be Labour  Welsh Conservative assembly leader Nick Bourne "Be under no illusions, only Plaid will be demanding a fair funding settlement for Wales' public services at any negotiations. "We will put protecting jobs, hospitals, schools and care services for our most vulnerable first." Welsh Conservative assembly leader Nick Bourne also talked of the forthcoming UK election. "This year has shown the Conservative Party to be changing too - and just how far we have come in the last 10 years," he said. "Our victory in the European elections in June nailed the lie that Wales will always be Labour. "The fact is, only the Conservative Party can beat Labour in Wales." Comment: rather a rash comment, Mr Bourne?