Shipping news

Public auctions of wrecks in Barcelona, Pontevedra and Algeciras, with thoughts on how to reduce blogging competition.

The secret language of doctors

Why and how the 17th century Portuguese tropical medicine specialist, Aleixo de Abreu, tried to prevent proles from reading his cure for scurvy.

Scorbutic gums, CC from <a href='http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scorbutic_gums.jpg'>Wikimedia Commons</a>

A West Cornish Barbary pirate and ghost-ship

“Discontented devil of a blackamoor, why canst thou not be satisfied to live here?” “Avast there; all our gold and diamonds can’t procure us here the bright sunshine and joyous people, nor the rich fruits and wine, of my native clime.”

Porthcurno, once Cornwall's greatest port?

Star Trek, the origins

Kalebeul’s investigation into Vosk and the Na’kuhl temporal conduit yields some surprising results.

How singing can save your life

César-Javier Palacios reports on the cyclist, shot dead by a hunter who mistook him for a boar. When in death’s dark vale loud singing usually suffices to drive off hell’s hunters. Hunters know this too. In his romance, Count Arnaldos, hungry hawk in hand, falls prey to a sailor (love, glory or death, true or…

Yves Saint Laurent disinterred?

Surely the first two stories are in reverse chronological order. More news from beyond the grave: Frank Drake plans to talk to alien civilisations in 100 years; is El Draque still after Nova Albion?