I have decided to give up on learning Welsh. After my COVID episode, I have a coughing attack every time I practice the Welsh phrases. Maybe in the summer.
I decided to take up Australian history. Any recommendations for books?
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.. . . a very good read :
FearlessFly
Level 9
Apr 28, 2022
0
Oh, yes, I am a big Michael Pollan fan.
Allow me to recommend another author to you: John McPhee, 91, from New Jersey. I am not sure that he is still writing. He won a Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction writing after being nominated four times. I have many of hid books, with my favorite being LOOKING FOR A SHIP.
@Spinliesel I read mostly non-fiction, fiction once-per-year. 
That one looks good, I have put-it-on-my-list, thanks. 
"The Trial of the Cannibal Dog", by Ann Salmond. A history of Captain Cook's exploration of the South Seas. The title comes from the sailors of the period putting dogs on trial, finding them guilty, and then tossing them overboard. Life aboard the old wooden sailing ships, away on long voyages, got pretty boring!
davknight
Level 8
Apr 28, 2022
1
Sounds to me like a permutation on the Judaic scapegoat system; throwing an animal overboard so you lessen the temptation to pitch the bosun over the railing.
Quiz Teams, an English phenomenon. They sound fascinating! I don't think we had them in Germany. it involved beer drinking, as I observe on TV shows, so that would fit perfectly within the German culture. And like in Great Britain pubs are within walking distance. Not here. Do yu specialize in a particular area of knowledge, Modern Music, for example?
Spinliesel
Level 9
Apr 28, 2022
1
I’m a pretty good all rounder at general knowledge…my best subjects in specialist rounds are Geography, History and Music. I’m pretty good at Literature and Sports too. It’s great fun and we win quite regularly…usual prize is a bottle of wine for each member of the winning team.
I suggest the Bruce Philosophy Sketch, Bruce! Me and me daughter Bruce and me lady friend Bruce all think it's bonza, and so does me brother, Bruce! G'day!!
Yours truly, Bruce
Paul4747
Level 8
Apr 28, 2022
1
Thanks,
My first word bonza. Cool. I had only one friend called Bruce; must work on acquiring more of them.
So sorry to learn of your illness ....hope you regain full breathing control speaking any trigger word to cough
GreenAtheist
Level 8
Apr 28, 2022
1
Thank you!
The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes…I read it prior to my first visit to Australia in 1989 and found it fascinating reading. It’s a lengthy book…688 pages but it chronicles everything from the First Fleet and it’s a arrival and the founding and claiming of Australia for the British Crown, the social effects of Britain’s penal system and it’s convict transportation, to the conditions encountered and endured by both convicts and freemen immigrants which have shaped the character of the modern Australians we know today.
Marionville
Level 10
Apr 28, 2022
3
I've read it. Great intro to Australian history!
@davknight Yes…it is!
Australian history can not really be understood without learning Strine, and you will find that is a lot harder than Welsh. Just sayin.
Fernapple
Level 9
Apr 28, 2022
1
Is it a language? A new word in my vocabulary.
@Spinliesel It’s an Aussie form of English! Lots of slang and dialectical pronunciation peculiar to Oz!
@Marionville Thanks. That is not so scary to me. You are speaking with a woman who was raised in East Friesian dialect, a supposedly German language offspring that no other Germans understand. My father gave us lessons every weekend. My mother could not understand a single word. She came from the Ruhr area of Germany. So strange deviations in languages are very appealing to me. By the way, the Friesian dialect is the closest thing to Middle English. I had very few difficulties with English grammar and pronunciation in school. Now that my physical abilities have waned, I crave to keep my mind busy with learning. I have given up driving. I gave my CR-V to my grandaughter who now has to accommodate three car seats.
@Spinliesel Getting older and being less able to physically do things is frustrating, but it is still very important to keep the grey matter working I agree. I still go quizzing when I can…I’m a member of a 6 person quiz team. I really missed it during the 2year covid ban on gatherings, which have now been lifted thank goodness! I read a lot, mostly fiction now I must admit, but more educational and serious subject matter too. It’s important we do things which please us as well as keep the mind active.
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