I'm currently not very well. When my rheumatoid arthritis nurse told me I was being too hard on myself I realised I was going around in circles beating myself up for not doing enough, when the truth be told if I were in a full-time job I'd be signed off sick.
So there will be a short hiatus while I let all the medication I'm taking do its job. In the meantime here's a shot of me shooting an arrow.
An observation from shooting longbow is that I learnt that "yards" back in the day when bows were a weapon of war, rather than a hobby a person can enjoy at ones leisure, was shorter than an imperial yard, which we all know is 36 inches. Cloth yards were shorter, 30 inches, and therefore when the range of a bow is listed as 240 yards the modern equivalent is 180 yards.
With my 32 pound bow I can shoot out to around 120 imperial yards, which is 140 cloth yards.
So now I'm wondering if all those ancient wargame rules took this change of measurement into account? And who says wargaming isn't a useful hobby, as clearly I've learnt something new.
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Fascinating about the cloth yard (as I start a Wars of Roses project!) - take care of your health, modern life can have us operating at 110% without us realising it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I will.
DeleteOn reflection, and some noodling, the implication is that a cloth yard was a measurement and an extra handful of cloth that arose as a way of avoiding paying tax. Later ratified to 37 inches. So it seems that a cloth yard is dependent on defining the variable "a handful of cloth."
ReplyDeleteHmm, probably close enough to a yard then as not to matter for most, especially as in many minds a yard and a metre are inter-changable :-)
ReplyDeleteMy rule of thumb is 10 percent. Ten meters is 11 yards.
DeleteThis whole cloth yard thing has made me want to go and do some research, which I shall in due course. I have other things on my mind.
I know a bit about living with pain. Not the best thing. Be as hard on yourself as you like but it is a waste of effort. It won't do any good and you could have used that time for something better. Hope it sorts itself out soon.
ReplyDeleteToo true. Thanks for the kind comment.
DeleteI hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteSoon will come, but not soon enough. I laugh at that, but that's better than crying.
DeleteBest wishes for improved health and deeper understanding of arcane measurement systems.
ReplyDeleteCheers. As an aside, a friend commented that he remembered a yard from reenactment sources as being from tip of hand to nose, and a cloth yard as being to the shoulder. Further research is still required.
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