"How will you celebrate 5 May, 2021?" Topic

I will do so by attempting to digest a symbolically, impossibly huge meal, declaring war on the neighbours, and anointing myself king of somewhere.

What will you do?

Since it is our anniversary, my bride and I will have a nice meal somewhere.

Jim

I am in UK so please forgive my ignorance – what is significance of May 5th?

I am aware of Mat 4th being Star Wars Day, is the 5th just to recharge the lightsabres?

I think it might be a 200th anniversary.

Star Wars hasn't been around for 200 years. I know that much.

Go to this en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_5 – and take your pick!

My favourite is the 1980 Iranian embassy siege resolution by the SAS…

But I guess from the board he means the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro link

As a holder of not 1 Frenchman with massive armies of Napoleonic maybe.

Shouldn't this be on Dos de Mayo…?

We're on the Napoleonic Discussion board.

Tres cervesas por favor

Usually spent sobering up from May the Fourth …

Celebrating that I didn't die of pneumonia on May 5, 2005 :-)

You are assuming that there will be a May 5th, 2021…2020 is not over

I will be raising a glass to the memory of Archibald Arnott of the 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot who deserved much, much more respect than the fat, forward combing, corpse that he was associated with. :)

I was thinking more of the 200th anniversary of the death of the Corsican Ogre. Surely we all have that date off by heart?

An authentic way of honouring it would be to burst into your neighbours' house and eat their lunch. More ironically, maybe a nice Beef Wellington.

Curiously enough, Cinco de Mayo has become a popular holiday in the US.

link

Rick

I think you have set yourself up for failure if you think the majority of Napoleonic gamers know the date of Bonaparte's death.

I suspect many are convinced he is not dead at all. It was beneath him to succumb.

If you believe in reincarnation, he has surely reappeared in the persona of a regular poster on this board…

It's just my opinion, but I think it's shameful to celebrate any death besides maybe Hitler or Stalin.

Maybe commemorate then, rather than celebrate?

If we hadn't had Napoleon, we wouldn't have had Wellington, Waterloo, the Grenadier Guards, or the Household Cavalry in breastplates, so it's not all bad.

As Thomas Hardy has the Spirit Sinister say in The Dynasts:

"War makes rattling good history, while Peace is but poor reading. So I back Buonaparte for the pleasure he will give posterity."

I do not know the date of the Emperor's birth? More important to celebrate. By the way, if you mean the British Grenadier Guards, they were founded in the mid 1600's.

5th may is known as The Revenge of the Sithth

They weren't the Grenadier Guards till after Waterloo thogh…

Or- as we like to call them, the Chasseur Guards.

The Chasseur Middle Guards indeed.

I shall be making an offering at the Emperor's shrine that people (you know who you are!) say I have. LOL

dibble

There were surgeons on both side remember! And in 1815 it was your lovely allies who refused peace and chose war.

By the way, will you also be raising a glass to Henry Shrapnel? I'm sure everyone appreciated what he invented! LOL

In forty years of Napoleonic wargaming the only figures I have collected are French. I will assemble all my Napoleonic troops on the dining room table, place a CD of rousing French martial airs on the CD player and, with a shot of my best Irish whiskey, will raise my glass in a toast to the now long dead Emperor!

John

Marulaz1

Sounds like you have it all planned, although I would go with Napoleon brandy rather than whisky.

Of course you are correct! Napoleon Brandy would be far more appropriate. My bad, as they say. I will purchase some in preparation for my toast, and I thank you for the good advice. Sometimes you just can't take the kid out of his blue collar.

John

So would Courvoisier…However, Jamison's Irish Whiskey is also appropriate I think.

I have both on hand…😉

Always a plentiful supply of Jamison's on hand at Chez Marulaz1. It sounds like you have all your bases covered Brechtel198.

John

Napoleon Brandy, Courvoisier and Irish Whiskey? I'll bring some Pierre Ferrand cognac and a large number of French pastries, including "napoleons".

With Napoleon Brandy, Courvoisier, Irish Whiskey, Pierre Ferrand Cognac and a large number of French pasteries, including "napoleons" we could have a little wake. Maybe just a 200 years late. And I got the rousing French martial airs covered too.

John

I have the French military music as well.

Brechtel198. I'm glad I'm not the who buys that stuff. My wife thinks I am.

John

Gazzola:

dibble

There were surgeons on both side remember! And in 1815 it was your lovely allies who refused peace and chose war.

Perhaps if you google the said "Archibald Arnott of the 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot" the penny would drop. Oh! there were surgeons on all sides "remember!" during the wars. But Mr Arnott had his moment of history in 1821. Which "remember!" was long after the ogre-outlaw and despoiler of the peace both at home and abroad was kicked out once and for all.

No better vision of that sketch of the little, forward-combing, fat man flat out on his deathbed, looking for all the world like a volcanic island in profile.

By the way, will you also be raising a glass to Henry Shrapnel? I'm sure everyone appreciated what he invented! LOL

Have you been celebrating a tad too hard? Too many Snowballs perhaps?

dibble

To be honest, I was thinking the same about you or that you did not get the Christmas present you wanted, considering everyone else was talking about how they might (or might not) celebrate/remember the memory of one of the greatest historical characters that had ever lived, while you prefer to celebrate a surgeon?

I'm not belittling surgeons (and I know about Arnott by the way) but as a surgeon, like other surgeons, their 'moments' are usually remembered by those who they help, whoever they are. Not many get to be remembered in the same vain as the historical greats such as Napoleon, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Alexander the Great.

And come on, 'despoiler of the peace' really? So you are still in denial that other nations started some of the Napoleonic wars and it was Napoleon who requested peace in 1815 and the allies who chose war. And Napoleon did not have to fight his way back to the throne in 1815! He walked it and walked in. The Royals did not hang around did they? So lets be clear and realistic for a change, Napoleon wanted peace, the allies chose war, but to you, Napoleon was the bad guy. I guess that is 'dibble logic' and I guess you will never change, well, not until you take off your Union Jack, Nap hating blinkers. LOL

Sadly, I think you take things far too seriously, if not personally. The posts were all in good humour, which is much needed in these troubled times, but it is obvious by your personal insults of a great historical character, that you are either trying to provoke a negative reaction or you just like insulting dead people. You do know that British (and other nations) soldiers and leaders got fat and went bald with age, I mean, you only have to look at Churchill to know that. LOL

But again, you only seem to get a kick out of insulting Napoleon's physical appearance. Sad really. Still, the 'fat, forward-combing ogre' still made his place in history. And famous pop groups like Abba even made a great song (and lots of cash) out of his defeat.

I suggest you chill out and stop letting your hatred cloud your viewpoints on history and the reality of what really happened and who caused what, when and where. Sadly, I doubt you are capable of that so I'll just wish you a happy new year.

5th of May, no. I but I always raise a glass to the Patriots and Martyrs of the 2nd.

Gazzola:

I see that Snowball hangovers have strange effects indeed. To the point that one thinks that a person could hold hatred for a sad, beaten, broken, dead, offshore Frenchman. What I do enjoy though are the diatribes posted by the usual suspects whenever Nappy so much as gets sneered at, as you yourself have done in your post above.

As for Christmas presents, I'm way past anything of need as I have got all I want but I do so love giving and giving generously. Perhaps it's you who has been hurt? I certainly hope you haven't and that you have had a great Christmas and that the new year will be a better one for you despite Covid and the horrid feeling one must have of being out of the EU.

My 'seriousness' is as nothing compared to the Nappy lovers who trip over each other with posts full of the same old excuses, same old, tired line after line of the same rhetoric.

Happy New Year to you Gaz' and all you hold dear. And may your diatribes never cease and your snowball never be devoid of a cherry…:)

PS: I'll raise a glass of Whyte and Mackay Triple Mature with Stones Ginger Wine, to all you other reprobates on here and those that run the TMP site :)

dibble

'usual suspects' You do throw out some odd terms, don't you? It suggests anyone saying anything positive or daring to challenge anything negative about Napoleon has committed a crime. You don't really think that, do you? That would be absurd!

And I'm taking it that you were in a 'friendly Christmas New Year celebratery banter mode' when you referred to those attending and running TMP as 'reprobates'? I mean, I don't see people attending this site or running it as 'selfish, depraved or disreputable – they just have differing viewpoints about historical characters and historical events.

And in terms of hatred, I do think your tendency to insult past historical characters, especially their physical appearance or mental state, or rather your tendency to do so concerning one historical character, creates the impression that you actually do hate the person. You could have simply said 'defeated Emperor' but no, you have to do your best to belittle a defeated man down on his luck, as if you actually do get pleasure from saying it. I'm not saying that you actually do, you might, for all I know, but I think you would have to be really pathetic, cowardly and in denial of reality if you actually did think that way. I mean, the man's dead so anything negative can't hurt him.

But that's the impression you create. Of course you could be accused of using certain expressions merely to annoy and provoke those who disagree with your views, but then again, you would have to be pretty shallow or hurt by what they have said to lower oneself to do so.

Nappy lovers? When will you accept that you don't have to actually 'love' someone to admire them. I'm sure you don't 'love' Wellington but you probably admire him. We can't love some historical characters (by this I mean military) because we weren't there, we never met them or lived through whatever happened during the historical period. We don't know what their real intentions were and that goes for any Napoleonic character or nation. We have to reply on what other people tell us, from both sides, those that did love and admire him and those that did not, and the same with his opponents. It is up to us make up our own minds based on these accounts. But you have to look at both sides and not just accept one side without question.

Most 'Nappy lovers' as you term them, do tend to look at both sides and accept the good and the bad, while 'Nappy haters' tend not to (hence the blinkers), otherwise they would not be so annoyed, angry and insulting when people's viewpoints differ to their own. Think about it.

In terms of pressies, I was joking. But I'm sure you know that really. And nice to see you have everything you need, although that might be a problem for your relatives and friends who might want to get you something. LOL But Christmas and New year to me is having family together and being healthy and seeing everyone happy. Pressies don't come into it, although I am fond of getting book vouchers. LOL

By the way, the snowball insult is a bit low, even for you. As if I'd drink anything with a cherry in it? LOL And I would be careful with how much of that whisky you have. It seems to be advertised as an 'entry level whisky'. That suggests you are having the weakest one before you start on the stronger brands. LOL

Anyway dibble, look forward to many debates (arguments) and viewpoints (insults) and as much Napoleonic fun and enjoyment as we can. All the best.

Isn't it funny that according to you, those who do love Nappy in fact don't but those who don't hate Nappy in fact do?

When it comes to it I prefer personal taste whatever the strength.

Most 'Nappy lovers' as you term them, do tend to look at both sides and accept the good and the bad, while 'Nappy haters' tend not to (hence the blinkers), otherwise they would not be so annoyed, angry and insulting when people's viewpoints differ to their own. Think about it.

Are you sleep posting again?

But that's the impression you create. Of course you could be accused of using certain expressions merely to annoy and provoke those who disagree with your views, but then again, you would have to be pretty shallow or hurt by what they have said to lower oneself to do so.

A remark of someone who sounds rather hurt and low.

Nappy lovers? When will you accept that you don't have to actually 'love' someone to admire them. I'm sure you don't 'love' Wellington but you probably admire him. We can't love some historical characters (by this I mean military) because we weren't there, we never met them or lived through whatever happened during the historical period. We don't know what their real intentions were and that goes for any Napoleonic character or nation. We have to reply on what other people tell us, from both sides, those that did love and admire him and those that did not, and the same with his opponents. It is up to us make up our own minds based on these accounts. But you have to look at both sides and not just accept one side without question.Nappy lovers? When will you accept that you don't have to actually 'love' someone to admire them. I'm sure you don't 'love' Wellington but you probably admire him. We can't love some historical characters (by this I mean military) because we weren't there, we never met them or lived through whatever happened during the historical period. We don't know what their real intentions were and that goes for any Napoleonic character or nation. We have to reply on what other people tell us, from both sides, those that did love and admire him and those that did not, and the same with his opponents. It is up to us make up our own minds based on these accounts. But you have to look at both sides and not just accept one side without question.

Of course "It is up to us make up our own minds" and you and your ilk certainly have, with your irrational and total unrequited love for a long-dead, offshore Frenchman. I call the affliction the 'Suzi Seitz syndrome' Suzi too had similar feelings but in this case, for another long-dead, ex-pat.

By the way, the snowball insult is a bit low, even for you. As if I'd drink anything with a cherry in it? LOL And I would be careful with how much of that whisky you have. It seems to be advertised as an 'entry level whisky'. That suggests you are having the weakest one before you start on the stronger brands. LOL

But you downing Snowballs isn't an insult, nor is the effect they have on you. You should be like me, admit to preferring taste to strength (unless it's a nice cup of Rosy-Lee in which case, strength is as important as taste) and enjoy your Snowballs, cherries an'-all!

…To the point that one thinks that a person could hold hatred for a sad, beaten, broken, dead, offshore Frenchman. What I do enjoy though are the diatribes posted by the usual suspects whenever Nappy so much as gets sneered at, as you yourself have done in your post above….

Lol, bravo. It's a good thing you are known to be a scholar of impeccable credentials and a person of gentlemanly reserve or I might be led to believe this utterance to be the sort of work up a sports fanatic might exhibit.

Anyway. Gazzola, you cant take everything so seriously or judge people so harshly. You wouldn't deny him the catharsis of imagining Napoleon dying over and over, would you?

What's the saying about never judging someone until you've walked a mile in their Windsor shoes? In the case of someone who buys footwear on a budget, the walk must be painful indeed. :)

I fear to tread upon such hallowed ground (no I haven't been to visit 'him' since 1984 either!).

As Chambertin is clearly off the menu, I reckon a nice aged Rhone will fit the bill nicely…

and it will be 'Winterish' here by then probably (just as my welcome to Paris @ May1 looked like a nasty Winters day in nz)… heh..
regards d

dibble

'hurt and low' hurt and low from what? Certainly not your posts. Or anyone else's posts for that matter? Do posts hurt you or make you low? Is that the REAL problem here because if my posts hurt you, please let me know. My intention has never been to hurt anyone or make them feel low.

'Nappy lovers-Nappy haters' I thought you knew what banter and humour was? Obviously not.

'you and your ilk' So anyone who dares disagree with your viewpoints must belong to a certain 'ilk'. So, do you consider anyone wearing a stripped top and carrying a bag must be a criminal. LOL

And there's 'irrational and total unrequited love' and 'I call the affliction' Have you got all these insults at hand, your every own special list which you look at before you post? Well, to me anyway. LOL

But it is a bit of a give away, isn't it? Someone says something positive about Napoleon or challenges something someone sees as negative, then it can't be their viewpoint or basically just another viewpoint. I mean, how can it, it doesn't agree with your viewpoint? So it has to be an illness. LOL

God your posts make me laugh.

And what about 'downing snowballs' Really? I just have to laugh at that, I mean, it is such a silly if not desperate remark to make. Did you lose your list?

'you should be like me' I think this is perhaps the most honest and revealing thing you have ever stated and suggests what really annoys you – people daring to not be like you? LOL

Anyway dibble, I suggest you calm down and stop taking everything so seriously. Life is too short, mate!

So, 'Nappy hater' listen to 'Nappy lover' here and stop being so defensive. Just accept that people are not 'like you'. I know that will hurt but you have to be a big boy now, accept it and get on with it.

PS. I prefer strong tea, so er, that might be two things we have in common. LOL (Love of the Napoleonic period is the other, although you might object to the word love. Let me know! LOL)

MiniPigs

That's the point I was trying to make. I don't take dibble so seriously. How could anyone take what he posts as serious? Seriously biased or seriously unaccepting other people's viewpoints, yes. But serious as in serious, no, never. LOL

Yes, my point exactly, one should never judge others without knowing more about them. But people do judge people here, just by their posts, which is unbelievable at times. And going by dibble's own revealing posts, he thinks people who admire Napoleon are 'irrational' and 'afflicted' LOL They can't just have a different viewpoint.

I do believe anyone who offers anything positive about Napoleon or challenges anything negative, for some reason hurts him otherwise why the mention of Suzi Seitz? It is a bit sick really and it certainly suggests he can't take it that people are not 'like him', so he has to find a negative reason for why that might be, rather than just accept it. Perhaps he is afraid if he does accept it, he will have to question his own bias? Who knows?

Anyway, I have never taken dibble seriously and his posts have never troubled me, not even his insults. It is just banter between a 'Nappy lover' and a 'Nappy hater' LOL

Talking of which, I just hope that fact I've told him I don't take him seriously or rather what he posts, doesn't upset him. But I did notice he never said he did not love Wellington, did he? LOL

Anyway, there 's no hatred or animosity on my part. Just cheeky fun and I think dibble is capable of giving as much as he gets. And we discovered that we both like strong tea, so who knows where that will lead to? LOL

I would love to be in France and at the archives. Never been to France, but it seems a great time to go. Not sure we will be able to leave anytime soon from the US.

I honestly have no attraction or hero-worship for Napoleon, yet I find myself more and more interested by the lesser-known French officers and men. I think one can respect his military genius and still understand the horrible pain and suffering caused during this period.

MarbotsChasseurs

You don't have to hero-worship to admire a historical character or what they might have achieved. That goes for Napoleon, Wellington or anyone else.

Yes, the 'lesser-known' can be equally fascinating. That's the beauty of Napoleonics in my opinion. No one has to concentrate on the main characters because it is not just about or the interest in the main characters and leaders, it is also the Marshals, the Generals, the lower ranked officers and the men. That's why I love diaries, personal accounts, letters and extracts from witnesses, those who actually fought, marched and suffered the battles and campaigns we love reading about. They all, along with the histories, create the fascinating Napoleonic world. That goes for all nations and troops.

'dibble
'hurt and low' hurt and low from what? Certainly not your posts. Or anyone else's posts for that matter? Do posts hurt you or make you low? Is that the REAL problem here because if my posts hurt you, please let me know. My intention has never been to hurt anyone or make them feel low.'

You are showing your hurt. But It's not hard for you to get off the ground if you but try…

'Nappy lovers-Nappy haters' I thought you knew what banter and humour was? Obviously not.

Yup! I know what banter and Humour 'is' but it seems, 'some' Nappy fawners don't

'you and your ilk' So anyone who dares disagree with your viewpoints must belong to a certain 'ilk'. So, do you consider anyone wearing a stripped top and carrying a bag must be a criminal. LOL

Yup! Nappyist's are of a certain ilk as am I. A non-conformist, non-Nappy fawner. But I am also conformist quoter, not an ignorant non-quoter. As for Criminals. Nappy was a criminal.

And there's 'irrational and total unrequited love' and 'I call the affliction' Have you got all these insults at hand, your every own special list which you look at before you post? Well, to me anyway. LOL

You thinking that I have a "list" is all in your imagination. Now that may well be an "affliction" as will be seen as we read on.

But it is a bit of a give away, isn't it? Someone says something positive about Napoleon or challenges something someone sees as negative, then it can't be their viewpoint or basically just another viewpoint. I mean, how can it, it doesn't agree with your viewpoint? So it has to be an illness. LOL

Unlike the censorship madness going on abroad and those that agree with it, I for one just love Nappy fawners having their say, and contrary to popular belief, I have not criticised everything about Nappy but I do so like to counter all his fawners. The 'illness' is all yours.

God your posts make me laugh.

I do so hate to fly in the face of popular belief…My Son…:D

And what about 'downing snowballs' Really? I just have to laugh at that, I mean, it is such a silly if not desperate remark to make. Did you lose your list?

Another response from you while I'm over-the-target isn't necessary. I'm only doing a 'recce' fly-over to see how many you have finished off since Christmas.

'you should be like me' I think this is perhaps the most honest and revealing thing you have ever stated and suggests what really annoys you – people daring to not be like you? LOL

I'm 'God' remember?

Anyway dibble, I suggest you calm down and stop taking everything so seriously. Life is too short, mate!

Again, I'm 'God' remember? I am all things, including calm. My life, eternal.

So, 'Nappy hater' listen to 'Nappy lover' here and stop being so defensive. Just accept that people are not 'like you'. I know that will hurt but you have to be a big boy now, accept it and get on with it.

A long-dead tyrant will forever have my disdain if it's called for. And you seeing me as God shows that the fairies prancing around in the grey-matter, smashed on Snowballs, wearing striped tops and swinging handbags, are all yours.