A slightly less bulky Wikipedia Wednesday this week, and I'll explain why, the time that I normally would have been following lots of links and reading about new things, I actually spent watching footage of brutal unlicensed boxing. Which brings me to the first link, the Guvnor, Lenny Mclean, the rest however is completely unrelated.
Lenny Mclean - Now I think I happened across a an out-take of Lenny acting in Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels and wondered what this gigantic Neanderthal looking brute, known as 'Britain's Hardest Man' was all about. I searched more of his videos, and came across one where his propensity for uncontrollable violence is clear, in his fight with Mad Gypsy Bradshaw, it sounds like a joke, but watch the video - warning it is a little violent. And it got me researching the scene of unlicensed boxing in the 70's and 80's, who were the characters who were the hard men what they were all about. Lots of them seemed to be relatively normal people, but with a switch that turned them into controllable beasts. Like their genes were a few thousand years out of date, but living in a modern 'civilised' society. Just utterly savage, the strength and brutality is unrivalled, but the one thing that also became apparent, was that whilst these men were incredibly hard, one punch is still all it takes to short circuit the brain and you're knocked out, and at the mercy of a killing machine. Demonstrates the brutality and frailty of the human body in one fail swoop.
Opening: Leonard John "Lenny" McLean (9 April 1949 – 28 July 1998), also known as "The Guv'nor," was a famed East End of London bareknuckle fighter, bouncer, former criminal and prisoner, author, businessman, bodyguard, enforcer, weightlifter, television presenter, and actor; McLean was often referred to as "the hardest man in Britain."
Pax Britannica - A lovely set of words I thought, once I saw them, I just needed to know what they were all about, and after reading the wiki page, it reminded me of the minor obsession I used to have with the British Empire. A period of relative peace for almost a century because of the unrivalled sea power that the British Empire had, still 'period of relative peace' still meant there were hundreds of smaller wars taking place, but I think it means that there was no all out global war. Funny how 'relative' peace is really.
Opening: Pax Britannica (Latin for "the British Peace", modelled after Pax Romana) was the period of relative peace in Europe (1815–1914) when the British Empire controlled most of the key naval trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power. It refers to a period of British imperialism after the 1815Battle of Waterloo, which led to a period of overseas British expansionism. Britain dominated overseas markets and managed to influence and almost dominate Chinese markets after the Opium Wars.
Tall poppy syndrome - Now I just had to cover this when I read about it, I hadn't heard the phrase before, but the instant I read the definition I knew I had been both guilty of it and had been a victim of it in the past. It's one of the basic tenants of being English, that you can't praise people for their success, you have to damn them and attack them for it. The etymology of the phrase is really interesting and the fact that it is such an intrinsic social quality to the UK and Ireland that a term actually exists, is only an enditement of the sort of people we are. I think the culture in the UK is getting a lot more Americanised, especially in London, in that people are more willing to praise others for their success, I see it a lot in the social media side of things…but on the other hand it's starting to go the other way, lots of brown nosing, back slapping, ego rubbing tends to go on as well, which is equally as unproductive. Possible to find a happy medium? I'm not sure.
Opening: Tall poppy syndrome (TPS) is a pejorative term used in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand to describe a social phenomenon in which people of genuine merit are resented, attacked, cut down, or criticised because their talents or achievements elevate them above or distinguish them from their peers.
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