11 October: The Mary Rose

The English ship Mary Rose flagship of Henry VIII's fleet for 34 years until it sank for unknown reasons during an engagement with France in 1545, was raised on 11 October 1982. 10 things you might not know about the Mary Rose.

1. Why was the ship called Mary Rose? Some say Mary might have been a reference to the Virgin Mary, but it's just as likely it was named after Henry VIII's sister. The Rose part is probably from the Tudor Rose.
2. Mary Rose had a sister ship, the Peter Pomegranate. Seems an odd name, but makes perfect sense when you remember that the Pomegranate was the symbol of Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The Peter part may well have been following the fashion of the time to name ships after saints. The Mary Rose was the larger of the two, at 600 tons (Peter Pomegranate was 450 tons).
3. When she was launched in 1511, they spent £199 on flags alone. That might not seem like a lot, but it's £133,000 in today's money.
4. While the official crew manifest listed 415 people, in times of war there could have been many more people on board - historians estimate there could have been as many as 700.
5. Sources vary in terms of how many men survived. I found the figures 25, 35 and 40 in different places. Either way, it wasn't very many.
6. Nobody knows why the Mary Rose sank. Theories include that it was hit by a cannonball during a battle, was made unstable by a gust of wind, overloading (700 people on a ship built for 415 plus all the extra provisions and equipment they'd need - quite possibly! Although there were even more people on board, around 1,000, when she was used to transport soldiers to the Battle of Flodden Field) or human error. The Mary Rose Museum believes human error is the most likely reason. The commander of the Mary Rose when she sank was Sir George Carew, who was new to the job and possibly wasn't yet familiar with all the health and safety guidelines or the capabilities of his ship.
7. The ship sank so fast and violently that the keel was driven three metres into the mud at the bottom of the estuary.
8. When the ship was raised, archaeologists found skeletons - mostly of young men in their 20s with an average height of 5 feet 7 inches, and also the skeletons of a small dog (a terrier called Hatch), a frog and a rat (how many others escaped the sinking ship is not known).
9. They also found left handed leather mittens (possibly for use by archers), two metal syringes, nit combs (complete with nits), carpenters' tools, bowls, 500 shoes, board games and medicines; bones from cattle, pigs, large fish, plum stones and peppercorns, giving us an idea what the crew used to eat; and guns, all loaded and ready to fire. Among them was a rare specimen of a gun made by Robert and John Owen - only five guns made by them still exist today.
10. All in all, the ship provided an insight into Tudor life and the kind of possessions people had. The Mary Rose and many of the artefacts found on board are on display in the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth.

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Obsidian's Ark

Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.

Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.

Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?

When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?

Themes: 

Superheroes; Coming of age; Leadership; Kidnap and rescue; Aliens; Friendship and rivalry; Terrorism; Secrets.

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