Stuff and Nonsense

By on

Not many people realise that the idea of stuffing olives was hit upon by an obscure sect of Spanish nuns who, when there was a seasonal glut of the things, came up with the idea of removing the pit and… Read More ›

Recent Posts

  • Where There’s Smoke there’s ‘Salvus’.

    By on

    An early self-contained oxygen rebreather that, in the early part of the 20th century, was originally intended for land-based use in underground mines and other confined spaces containing poisonous atmospheres (including being used during WWI to protect machine gunners serving… Read More ›

  • Diving The ‘Titanic’

    By on

    On the 1st September, 1985, an expedition organised by Robert Ballard finally discovered the wreck of the RMS Titanic (sunk in the North Atlantic on the 15th April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg) lying at a depth of about… Read More ›

  • The Red Beanie

    By on

    A traditional piece of diving headgear given a fresh lease on life after becoming popularised as a diving fashion statement by Jacques Cousteau, the red woollen beanie’s association with diving dates back to the early days of standard dress diving… Read More ›

  • A Matter Of Honour

    By on

    On 10th December 1941, the Royal Navy Battleship, HMS Prince Of Wales and the Battlecruiser, HMS Repulse, together with other vessels in the seaborne Naval,  ‘Force Z’ – deployed from Singapore into the South China Sea offshore from Kuantan, in… Read More ›

  • The Pearl Diver*

    By on

    “Kanzo Makame, the diver, sturdy and small Japanee, Seeker of pearls and of pearl-shell down in the depths of the sea, Trudged o’er the bed of the ocean, searching industriously. Over the pearl-grounds the lugger drifted — a little white… Read More ›