Have You Been Plagarised?

I was sent a link from one of my fellow members of the Hoydens and Firebrands Blog this morning saying she looked up a blog post I wrote on the subject of 17^th Century Funeral Practices. While comparing it with others, she came across one as almost exactly the same as mine.

On reading it I discovered she was right, in that the style, phraseology, and even the order in which the information was laid out looked eerily similar. Curious, I went looking for other sources, and within minutes found a second one which was again virtually the same as mine.

I am more bemused about this than annoyed - I mean the historical information wasn’t mine to begin with, compiled from various sources such as Maureen Waller's 1700 - Scenes of London Life, which is a fantastic reference book, and Liza Picard's Restoration London, but I did spend the time to compile it from different sources and write it in my own words.

I wanted to kill off one of my main characters and became fascinated with the rituals and beliefs of the time, especially things like 'woolen shrouds' being instigated by Charles II to promote the wool trade, but everyone paid the fine for a linen one as 'no one was buried in flannel' Then there was the belief that keeping the nose and mouth of a sick person closed to stop the spirit escaping - which struck me as an excuse for euthanasia!

What qualifies these days as research as opposed to plagiarism? There are hundreds of online history reference books, essays, articles and blogs out there on every subject imaginable, information that is limited until the boffins discover more, so the posts are bound to resemble each other.

Maybe I should be pragmatic and treat it as a compliment, but one thing it has taught me, is always acknowledge your original source as part of the article, or it could come back to haunt you.

 

Or is this a sign that we are all growing lazy and the ease of the ‘cut and paste’ facility makes word thieves of us all as it doesn’t seem like wrongdoing? It is reassuring that my post was dated July 2009 while the other two are 2012 and 2013, so I can relax in that the accusations won’t be directed my way.

Has anyone else been plagarised? Or has someone simply paid you a compliment by using your words?

Cute Seagull taken from KayKayKit at Deviant Art

Me Too Victoria!

My sincerest apologies to Victoria Lamb for having hi-jacked her blog post today, and kicking myself she thought of it first! - but it struck such a chord with me I found myself doing a Meg Ryan and shouting 'Yes' into the air - minus the slapping the table thing.

Y'see, I too suffer from the notebook obsession - I cannot pass a rack of bound and neatly lined up notebooks in stationary shops,or gift shops, or even Sainsbury's - I really can't.

Even if I can resist buying one - which isn't often, I like to heft the weight of them in my hand, and stroke the binding or admire the baroque/abstract/quirky design on the cover.

I have several, not telling how many exactly - of different sizes and thicknesses, some in their own Aspinal presentation boxes with leather straps wound round as closures, magnetic ones and others with slots at the side to accommodate a pretty ballpoint pen I'll never use.

Some I have had for five years, their crisp white pages unblemished by my handwriting which has grown scratchy by years of keyboard work - in fact I think I have forgotten how to hold a pen. Pens and pencils aren't quite so attractive, though I do have a Cross Pen I won't let anyone touch and rarely use myself. Yeah I know, I'm strange.

I don't name them, as Victoria does, [do read her blog post too, it's only fair] but I harbour no desire whatsoever to write in these pristine, perfect beautiful notebooks. I tried it once and the words weren't perfect and looked wrong on the page - spoiled it even - so I discarded it as a failure and went back to the virgin ones.

And so my notebooks shall stay until my last breath - and then the kids will scribble shopping lists on them or rip them up to leave notes for the milkman. Sob.

Chedworth Roman Villa

Chedworth Roman Villa

I know how my US writer friends always like to hear about historic houses and ancient sites in England I visit, so this is for them.  This Roman villa was built just off the Fosse Way, about eight miles north Cirencester [Corinium Dobunnorum] overlooking the River Coln in the Cotswolds 

There were about fifty Roman villas built in the Cotswold area, this one was begun at around 120 AD, evolving over a period of two hundred years into a substantial dwelling set round three sides of a courtyard.

We don’t know what it’s original name was, but included in the structure is a heated and furnished west wing containing a dining-room (triclinium) with a mosaic floor, as well as two separate bathing suites – one for damp-heat and one for dry-heat, a water-shrine and latrine. The owners built an apsidal shrine [a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, with Doric columns on a base] over the spring to the water-nymphs, where a Christian chi-rho monogram was discovered scratched on the rim of the pool.

It is assumed that the site was chosen because of this natural spring, which ran from the hills and fed the entire site, providing water for drinking, washing and also fed the under floor heating system by gravity.

Discovered by accident in 1864 by a gamekeeper who found fragments of paving and pottery in a bank of soil, it remains one of the largest Romano-British villas in England. It’s pretty impressive even in it’s ‘ruined’ state and so large, it must have been built and occupied by a very rich Roman, but of course no records exist as to who he might have been.

The Victorian owner of the land, the Earl of Eldon, recognised the importance of the find, and set a team of fifty men to excavate the site. They unearthed mosaic floors in eleven principal rooms, which also had under floor heating systems and hot and cold bathhouses.

Detail of the Triclinium mosaic showing the spirit of winter

In 1924 the site was bought for The National Trust and a child's coffin was found in 1935, as well as several further rooms which show how extensive the original villa was.

A stone carving of a hunter with a dog and stag was unearthed, and another bearing part of an inscription believed to refer to the healing god Mars Lenus, a deity of the Treveri tribe in Gaul.

What I found puzzling, and what may never be known now, is was what was the villa intended for? A rich man’s private house, a garrison, or a meeting place for politically important people?- Cirencester was one of the major Roman centres at the time. 

Apparently the Romans brought with them a species of snail which they regarded as a delicacy, and legend has it that these snails still breed in the area  - There are signs saying ‘Mind the Roman snails’.

In 2011 construction work was carried out to provide a new cover building for the mosaics to ensure their lasting quality. The villa has it’s own blog which features an account of the excavations which make fascinating reading Click here

The Liebster Award

I admit to having put off this task because some imagination is required in accepting this blog award. However, it was so nice of Kerry Letheby to nominate me, I shall give it a go!

Quoting from Kelly - The Liebster Blog Award is an award bestowed upon bloggers by bloggers, the word Liebster being German, meaning ‘sweetest’, ‘kindest’, ‘dearest,’ ‘beloved’, ‘lovely’, ‘kind’, ‘pleasant’, ‘valued’, ‘cute’ and  ‘endearing’. The award encourages bloggers to continue on with their work in the blogging world, acknowledges them as gifted bloggers in their own right, and by nominating bloggers, you indicate that they are some of your personal favourites.

Here is how it works:

The nominated blogger must post 11 facts about themselves.

They must then answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated them.

Then nominate 11 bloggers and give them 11 questions to answer.

Link to your chosen 11 bloggers in your blog post. 

Let them know you have nominated them.

Don't nominate the blogger who nominated you.

11 Facts about me:

1     I’m a Londoner married to a northerner and about to move into his territory now our kids have left home.

2     I  broke both wrists, my foot and cracked my kneecap twice before I was 8!

3     My first novel was published at age 50 [not the novel - me]

4     My next writing ambition is to write a cozy mystery - scrap that, complete a good cozy mystery

5     I hate avocados and scallops but love chilli and anchovies

6     I play rock music at full volume when driving

7     I love the 17th Century - maybe I once lived there.

8     I hate telephones, mobiles too, and tend to stick to e-mails - they can be edited!

9     I have an unhealthy reliance on my laptop - or so my family say.

10    I keep a pen drive containing all my current and finished manuscripts with me at all times

11     I wish I was a better writer - but I am working on it.

Answers to Kelly’s questions to me:

1   Who knows you best in life - My husband of 33 years - No it isn’t an Awwww moment, it’s infuriating. I cannot hide anything, or start a fight without him knowing what the underlying issue is. It’s so frustrating!

2   If you could spend your life doing anything you like, what would it be? - Actually I do spend my life doing what I want, sort of, though there are still elements I don’t like - housework for instance.

3   What is your earliest memory? - I was in my pram and my mother [probably] whisked me out and placed me on a blanket on the floor. I can see the pram wheel and the front door where the sun shone through the stained glass - and I was furious ‘cos I wanted to stay in the pram where my toy was - I was apparently about 8 months old. I didn’t cry though - I was always a silent seether!

4   What lifts you up when you are feeling down? - Writing, which takes me into another world where time passes at a different rate -  it’s my most effective means of escape.

5   What are you most thankful for in life? - Perfect health and my family-boring but true.

6   If you were given $1000, what would you spend it on? - A new laptop and more research books.

7   Are you a hot weather person or a cold weather person? - Cold - I cannot function in high temperatures - heat drains me, mentally and physically

8   Name one thing on your bucket list. - I don’t have a bucket list

9   What is your favourite movie? - I have two - Steel Magnolias and Practical Magic

10  What is your favourite 'get away from it all place'? - The Lakes in NW England

11  What piece of advice do you hand out most often? - Age has taught me that no one wants advice - whether they ask for it or not. What they want is affirmation of the decision they have already made.  So my response these days is that I hope whatever they decide works for them.

Here are the 11 blogs I've tagged:

Bookbabe Blogspot
Dishin' It Out
Petrea Burchard
The Brooklyn Scribbler
Alison Brideson
Jane Beckenham
Hazel Gaynor
Cathie Dunn
Margaret Evans Porter
Laura Purcell
Talli Roland

Here Are The 11 Questions I Asked my Tagged Blogs -

There is a theme running through here - Men and Food

1.     Belgian chocolate or Pino Grigio?

2.    Ryan Reynolds or Matt Damon?

3.    Ben and Jerry’s [any flavour] or crème brulee?

4.    Orlando Bloom or Johnny Deppe?

5.    Roasted duck breast or grilled goat’s cheese?

6.    Gourmet dinner out or nachos and salsa in front of the TV?

7.    Jamie Oliver or Raymond Blanc?

8.    Christmas turkey with cranberry sauce or goose with spiced orange sauce?

9.    Jason Statham or Daniel Craig?

10. Who would you cast as the hero in a film made of your latest novel?

11.   Who would you cast as the heroine in a film made of your latest novel?

Have fun responding to this, bloggers, and keep up the good work with your very entertaining blogs.