Saturday, 28 September 2024

The Mermaid Tavern In Pacific Colony


Poul Anderson, "The Sensitive Man" IN Anderson, The Psychotechnic League (New York, 1981), pp. 31-129.

"The Mermaid Tavern had been elaborately decorated..." (p. 131)

And we read a description of the decorations which I am sure that I have summarized before (see here): a colourful beginning to a new story.

This is in Pacific Colony which was mentioned twice in the previous story. The accumulation of future history background details continues but that is all that I have time for this morning because Saturday activities in Lancaster beckon. Yesterday evening at a concert, disco and art auction, we raised nearly £2000 toward a solar-powered well in a deprived part of the world. Onward, Earthlings.

6 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Isn't Lancaster Castle sometimes used for these activities?

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

Yes, indeed, now that the Castle is no longer a prison.

Paul.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

The Castle belongs to the Duchy of Lancaster and the King is the Duke.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Because the Castle was decommissioned as prison, when it was decided it would be too expensive to modernize it.

Yes, the county of Lancaster is still a palatine county whose dukes, before it was merged with the crown, held certain unique powers. I remember thinking it odd the late Queen Elizabeth II was the duke, not duchess of Lancaster!

And the late Queen was the Lord, not Lady of the isle of Man. And duke of the Channel islands. Technically, these territories are not even parts of the UK!

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

Still even "Duke of Normandy" in relation to the Channel Islands.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Yet another interesting oddity! And one of the peers of the UK has a title that was created by Louis XIV of France. Because the barony was located in what was then French Canada. And was still recognized as a peerage after the Treaty of Paris ceding Quebec to the UK.

Ad astra! Sean