A mummy goes west

hard pyre  and nineteenth century values

a spelled Egyptian king  comes to catch the  faking life

no it is a shadow

yes its paint

 below pharaoh     his  gods were  snakes

 

poor bone cold   up from the river    with only a curse to his name

 

 

arise!  arise!

 get out of your dusty  box   napkin face   knotted hankie  beast    cottontail

bang bandage  hands  around the  white throat  of   a plump  clergyman  

his  cross  crushed  by your ankhy  cross of life 

 

more floating baggage  without  grime scrolls or three colour poster

in a   hall  of pin copper pitch play lude wonders

a muffled princess  shipped with bier

 he smells her sept 

lust for scarab   and scabie

 goes out the door   to London flesh

penny paper fog and  gas lamp sothis

ladies  of   vampire ice  feeding on  nurse maids 

Ripper Jack  cuts to  dusk

 

"A Mummy goes West"Mark  Littler  January  2013

 

2070 a year to cross the road

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having regular   REM dreams of the  future  and that  now a days everyone drives around  like  Noddy   it  has never surprised me to wake up   remembering  that by  2070  no one knows  what an automobile is    

 

The  automobile  going the way of a    society   with its vital   job roles of  knowledge focus  engineers,   Paid friends  for  Nano  People,  request  food  designers   and Religion managers

All I could remember  was  by 2070   why do you need a  automobile if you have  after  death  consciousness, separation of body  and  soul   and Permanent   happiness  as a  lifestyle  choice

 

oh and the after effects of a   forty year long   society  destroying   ultimate  world  war  does  not help   automobile  sales  either

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

written little poetry  since october   and what I have done  not good enough

  always  know the  future is  better

All do the Hokey Cocos

I mentioned that  the  treasure map  I found in the  Mabinogion   was not  that of  Cocos island  a  favourite of  wide  world tales magazines   , children's  annuals   and action comics   from  the 1920s to 1950s    "The Plunder Of  Peru"  "Dead Men Tell No Tales "  the story was  popular at  the time  and  inspired    a  search that involved both  the  land speed record  Ace  Malcolm Campbell   and the  US  navy with no results  

 

The  Plunder of Peru

In 1821  to save the  treasures  of the  Cathedral of  lima  from   Bolivar's   liberating  army  the Spanish colonial   authorities and    catholic  church    moved the   centuries   of conquisidor   collected   plunder of Peru  from Lima    to  the port  of Callao  where they  secretly  loaded it on  the  Brig Mary Deir of  Bristol  to be  hidden at sea  until the  forces of  Bolivar  were  defeated.

 

Cut of sight of land    the Mary  Deir's  Captain Thompson and  his  crew  murdered  the  Spanish  soldiers  guarding the  treasure and sailed  away  locating an old pirate  haunt   Cocos island known to them  where   not long before   the   cut throat  Benito  Bonito   buried  his   golden sack  of  the Spanish main

 

Thompson  and his crew  by this time  described   as "celebrating"  landed  on the  barren Cocos  island    transfered  the  treasure in a process   that  filled ten boat loads  and then sailed away   where  later  that month the  Mary Deir was captured  by  a Peruvian naval ship  on his trail  all but  Thompson and his mate hanged  from the yardarm

 

Thompson  promised  to    lead  the  Peruvians ( it is unsure whether they are   Spanish    colonial or liberator  forces ) to the  treasure as  only he and the mate knew the exact  location 

 Both  of  them escaped  over the  side in Panama  Bay   the mate  eaten by a shark but Thompson swims ashore   where he hides   for the next 20 years 

 

In 1841   A  Canadian molasses  clipper  the  Gauntlet  is  anchored  in Panama  harbour  looking out  from the  deck      the  carpenter   John Keating  sees a  gang of  toughs  attacking an old man, who hearing Keating's shout flees  up the Gauntlets  gangplank where  he  is  hidden by Keating  in a  empty barrel   but the old man   expired  shortly  afterwards but not before  revealing his identity as that of   Captain Thompson and  passes  on the  treasure  map to Keating.

 

Keating  by 1850   has     become  partners  with a  Captain Bogue   they finally  sail to Cocos  find  the treasure  Bogue and Keating carry it all   away in their  one  rowing boat   but in a repeat  of the accidental  sole survivor story above      Bogue is drowned   just like the Mate at Panama

Keating  returns a rich man to  St  Johns  Newfoundland  but   later  buries  most of   the  Peru Plunder  and  Bonito   treasures  unnoticed back on  Cocos

 

A  rip roaring  shanty  yarn  the  tale of  Cocos island is   now like a  book out of print   repeated in the many  Engliah Anglican  establishment   run  boys own  magazines  pages  seemingly delighting in the stealing  of the treasures of the  Catholic  Church by an English sea captain

There was little  treasure in  Lima   at the time,  Benito Bonito is  based on  Benito de Soto  or Diabolito   but they  buried no gold   and  Keating found none

 

looks  like the map  I  found in the Mabinogion was Cocos  after all

Murder in Thames Town My first attempt at writing a Detective novel

 

 

 

For years   the weekly visit to the local library  used to be the  highlight  of my working week    starting at 830 am and  clock watching on library day  to the magic  430pm and  thinking  "weeks nearly over"  combined with a  pre  redundancy job satisfaction of  2/10 

the main value if a library is that it allows you to read the books you would  never bother to buy  for yourself !!

 I read  a lot of   historical novels, tech net  cybercrack  thrillers and period  crime  over a  weekend

 

Historical novels  are made for lazy writers   the  main events and characters   are already  done for you  and  tended to follow a  pattern 

the first  no story  novel about  Stractus the Roman fighting man   or  Norman Longsword   written by an  classics  lecturer  or ex  journalist  classics graduate   retired  or redundant (  here called  deciding on a   career  change)   followed  by others  with our  Roman  Legion   Nam  platoon   or  first   crusader  with 21st  century  ideas of equality  and diversity    heroes  on a  Bobbitt  Hobbit journey  there and  back again   in the  series which like  gum you could not help reading

 

 

 

I read so many  series  sequel historical  novels   that  I  recently  put  down the latest volume Harry Sidebottom backend  of a Ballista    and the  latest  Robert Lowe  Viking  rowboat  saga   because I thought I  had already read them  before !!

I had not- it  just seemed plot wise I had!!

 

 

Tech net novels  try to be up to date   and  trending   rather too many the  work of North  Korean hackers  and  last minute  foiling of plots  to use an EMP  burst to destroy the Internet  where as  any  futurist  technologist   would know  an ESP burst  is  the only  thing  to  use to   destroy the  Internet 

 

I  also started to think  is this  about Dos 3 or Dos 4  in the many   new tech net cybercrack   thrillers  I read   and started   writing my own endings

 From which   I  then went to writing my own  detective  novels    in all of 15 minutes with  composing of careful Venn diagrams of all the suspects  and  a  network  trace of the plot intersections

 

Murder in Thames  Town

 Beginning at the Boxing Day  London sales   but mainly set  in   Thames Town  the replica English village outside  Shanghai   with its  chip shop, pubs, red telephone boxes and double yellow lines 

 Murder in Thames Town   is a tech net thriller   the plot devices being extensive  detective   use of  smartphone   RFID spime apps,  bio hacking ,  doxing,  identity  sharing,  data  shadows   and  crowd  sourcing  wiki  groups   

the identity of the  killer  being revealed  by an unconnected posting they made the year  before on a  social media  site

 

as up to date  as  any  tech net thriller can be based on articles in  your typical  2013-14  technology blogs  and   journals

 

Perhaps I should  combine the  two tired  genres and  write an historical   computer detective novel  The   strange  affair of   the  jammed tractor paper  printout"

"  you  see  professor   he tried to swap the Honeywell tape  drives   but failed to realise this model has one sprocket less " 

 

By the end of the 15 minutes  plot  plan  I had also drafted  the outline of two sequels   one where the  Thames Town detective  comes   to  London to help with  tracking down people smugglers  but soon realises it will be easier to continue his investigation  thousands  of miles away back   in Shanghai using a  digital virtual platform   and   a  second sequel with the Detective    stuck high up in the Himalayas without wi -fi  signal   hunting  a serial killer

 

all I need now is do something  about   the  padding,  the cliff hangers   and  writing   the  80 000 words  in between  too indolent  in wordsmithing  to   make chapter one  follow  chapter two   and on to the end

Captain Bartholomew Roberts tries to persuade a clergyman to join his crew or is it the other way around

 

 

 

As I  mentioned in an earlier post  the only  pirate treasure still   waiting  to be discovered is the Emerald  Cross of the Indies   worn around the skeleton of  captain Roberts 

Despite some internet  buzz  and  the  2011 claim that  the Cross  is  at merely scuba  depth at  off shore Cape  Lopez  Gabon    there are a  number of  doubts  and fictions about  this  Black Bart  Roberts  and  this  tea  drinking ,teetotal    honest man  leading a  pirates  life captaining   a fleet of  killer crewed  treasure  laden   ships  

 

Regarding the cross  of the Indies captured in  Brazil   destined for the king of Portugal  as  the general history of Captain Johnson says  "which was  afterwards  presented to the  Governor of Guiana  to whom they were  obliged"

Roberts may have worn  the red feather in his  hat,  crimson damask  waistcoat and breeches at the last battle   but no  great diamond and emerald gold   cross

 

Praised as  a  teetotal  who forbade drinking and gambling on his ships    Roberts  himself  admitted  failure in   the  enforcement of his  eleven  nice kind   pirate articles   and  of course in the last  battle  in 1722  the  pirate  crews were too drunk to fight off the Royal Navy.

 

Likewise the  story of  Teetotal   tea drinking Roberts   trying to persuade a  captured clergyman to join the  crew that so delighted   the ladybird  book of pirates  see illustration   this too is detailed in Johnson  but no where mentions  Roberts  by name  and that  the  clergyman  chaplain at Cape  Corso   castle  offered the  ships duty of making punch and saying prayers   by a  hung over   over jolly  crew  " left  three  prayer books but was given many gifts in return "  a joke for all concerned

 

Captain Roberts  of whom   the  general history of pirates by Captain  Johnson wrote in a  such a  over the top  way that once made  historians  believe  it was the work of  Daniel Defoe  is written of  himself  saying he neither "feared  or valued any  member of his  crew " personally killing   disobedient or  plain drunk members  of his crew  and   when the mood  took him either freeing slaves and welcoming them as  equal share crew or burning slaves  as   chained up  cargo  to   spite  slave ship owners  that fled   before him,

 

 Roberts  was  a tea drinker   when Tea was an expensive  luxury who stopped  ships to borrow sugar then sank them   and woe  betide any  crew man who  poured  the  Captain's  tea  in the cup before  the milk !

A treasure map falls out of an old book what would you do?

I  bought a  constellation celestial globe  for myself at Christmas  £2.99  in the offers  bin   it is  made in China  and  although accurate  shows the  constellations as they are  seen at 27 degrees  north,

I also bought a  number of  second hand books  from charity shops  buying second hand I am used to finding  bookmark  postcards,, shopping lists entry passes to Anglo  DDR trade fairs  ,  Manchester metro  tickets and Parisian  billets  inside   and from a 1987 copy of the Mabinogion  marking  a page  from the   second  branch   Branwen ferch  Llyr   with  underlined text   " they scoured the  land   wherever there had been  battles; they  found  gold and  silver  and became  wealthy  "

I found this drawing of an  island  with writing  beside it

was this   ball point drawn  a  treasure  island  map

The island  drawn    does nor look like  a typical   Kidd- Palmer  Chart , the Oak island  money pit or  Cocos  island   and the  clues  seem like  scribble   than a warning to the  curious

the clues  resemble big sum maths  so are best left alone !

what  treasures are left to be found ?

  in  Pirate loot there is only left to be  located    the  sunken skeleton of  Captain " Black  Bart " Roberts intertwined with his   Emerald  Cross

 In lost  treasures  of history  only the Tomb of Alexander ,   Atillas   hoard   or the   Roman loot of Alaric the Goth  remain to be found

Alexander's tomb seen as a glittering crystal cave in the 1963  epic cleopatra  has  been discovered in so so   many archaeological  chase thrillers everywhere from underwater  Alexandria  to St Marks Basilica  in Venice   ( if in my  opinion  the  most historically  realistic  accurate  location  of  the Tomb of Alexander can be  found in Richard  Blake's   novel the  Blood of Alexandria)  and was not Attila's hoard discovered  intact  in Robert Lowe's    first and best  novel in the  Oath  sworn series.

re  Gothic  Roman loot from the temple   of  Jerusalem   a   recent theory  traced  this to Sub arctic  Russia  and  seventeenth  century  travellers  tales   of    Samoyed   golden idols . 

As for  the map   and its big sum cipher     it may be more likely drawn   from    Jonny  Quest   and the Tibetan Diamond  Caper   and   as  for  my taking time  in  cracking the code  it is useful to recall   the artist Kit  Williams  Masquerade  picture book from  the   late 1970s    a best seller on  the   clues within leading readers   to the buried  treasure of the   golden Hare which was   eventually  "discovered"  by  someone who had  never read the  book  and was   told of the  gold  cache  by a publishing insider 

all I can say  is  that    the    is there an X  marks the  spot on the  map ?