Light Brigade
I got a parcel from the Witley Motorcycle Club, which I joined recently. Remember the long-distance trial on 7 October that I failed to enter in time?
Anyway, the parcel contained a branded diary - one of those pocket jobs with the logo on the front. Flicking through it, they've put stickers on the important dates in it (like the Boxing Day enduro). Each day also has a "on this day in History" part, which is quite interesting.
I noticed the entry for 25th October - only a few days ago. On this day in 1854 was the Charge of the Light Brigade. Tennyson (who was bipolar) wrote about it in a poem, and really went to town on how brave these guys were and how they were riding to certain death. Which they were, and they were respectively.
What Tennyson didn't mention in his poem was how on earth they came to be having to do that suicide mission in the first place.
The cavalry in the Crimean War were commanded by the Earl of Lucan. Cavalry in those days were split into brigades - the heavy brigade (fully armoured) and the light brigade (less armoured).
So the Earl of Lucan's brother-in-Law - the Earl of Cardigan - commanded the Light Brigade. This situation would probably have been not so bad except for the fact that the two of them despised eachother. Already you've got a bit of a problem here - these guys are nominally on the same side, but their own personal pissing contests cold get in the way.
The British were at the head of a valley in a place called Balaklava. The valley went on for over a mile, and there were russian forts and guns all over the place. Right up at the end of the valley, there was several thousand Russian soldiers who were being supported by nearly 100 artillery pieces.
Lord Raglan, overall commander of the British forces, saw that the artillery placed on the hills at the side of the valley were causing him a bit of a problem since they were rather inconveniently dropping shells and stuff. He saw the Russians attempting to move the guns further into the valley, so they they would be in a position to drop even more shells on the British. He obviously wanted this not to happen. He gave the following order to one Captain Nolan:
Not being sure what he was being told to do, he asked the fairly obvious question:
Captain Nolan, infuriated by the man's evident failure to understand the simplest of instructions and his insistence on challenging Nolan's ego in this way simply waved his arm in the general direction of the valley and said:
Lucan could have, if he chose, rode to Lord Raglan and asked for clarification of the order. If he himself had been leading the Light Brigade then he might well have done this. His contempt for his brother-in-Law though, prevented him doing this. He simply passed on the order, along with the 'clarification' given by Captain Nolan.
And that would be pissing content number 2.
The Light Brigade then set off down the valley, straight towards the assembled Russian infantry and artillery. From his vantage point high up in the valley, Lord Raglan saw that they were heading in the wrong direction - away from the guns he wanted recaptured and straight into what was an assured bloodbath. They trotted merrilly down the valley. The Russian guns were silent - no point opening fire until they were in range.
Captain Nolan, to be fair, realised the mistake and rode to the head of the line to tell Cardigan that he was going the wrong way. Exactly as he was shouting at them to tell them this, the Russians opened fire.
The Light Brigade opened into a gallop, raised their swords, and charged straight ahead. Cannons, rifles and shells were firing on them from three sides and they kept on charging. They broke through the Russian infantry and then stopped. A quick u-turn, and let's do the whole thing in reverse.
Out of the 677 cavalrymen who set off into the valley, only 195 made it back with horses. The rest of them were killed, wounded or captured.
Despite being a tale of heroics, the Light Brigade is more of a tale about how egotism and pissing contests can cause untold damage. If Captain Nolan had been concerned about the Right Thing being done - instead of simply that people don;t question his orders - then it might have been different.
If Lucan had bothered to check the order, instead of just letting it go because it was only his brother-in-Law, then it might have been different.
It was ever thus. Clever and Important people make decisions. Implementing those decision without question becomes more important than whether or not those decisions are the right ones. The reason for the decision gets lost amongst the need for it to be implemented.
Thing is, here's the bit I can't quite figure out yet. Nobody wants to look stupid, of course they don't. Is it stupid to stop and ask yourself "why am I doing this?", or even to ask somebody to explain something to you because you don't know. Is it stupid to continue to do something that you know is wrong, simply because you can say "it wasn't my idea - I am just doing what I was told?". Is it stupid to re-evaluate what's going on and - potentially - change a decision you've made because you can see that it's not working out as you hoped?
I've been scouring my maps looking for the green crosses - Byways. I have a rough idea where they are, but you need to keep your eyes peeled for them since a lot of them look like laybys or small footpaths.
Riding up to work this morning, I went looking for one that runs parallel to my ride to work but does it over fields. Found it. Had a wee look up it, seemed to be relatively OK - fairly flat and not too rutty. "There is your enemy. There is your Byway".
I got about a mile up it, and things started to change. Foot-deep ruts started to form. The thorny bushes on either side of the byway started to thicken. The right-hand rut, where I was firmly planted, was going straight into the thorns and was getting deeper and slippier.
I had to have respect for the fact that I didn't know where this byway led. I also had to have respect for the fact that I had 200kg of (probably) unliftable bike to worry about. I then had to have respect for the fact that I really should have been on my way to work. That little lot had to have respect for the fact that I made the decision to go up this byway.
It was the thorns what won it though. The rut I was in basically rode right through the bush and there was no way I could change ruts. I hopped off the bike, dragged the front wheel out of the rut and roosted the back one to turn the bike round, before setting off back the way I came. I'll come back on the AJP - that byway is claimed.
I did the usual detour on Salisbury Plain and saw the weirdest thing. A lady walking her dog - a Jack Russell - on one of these really long extending leads things. The dog was about 20 metres in front of her, running away merrily and straining at the lead, as dogs do. She was following behind, em, in the car.
No shit. She was driving the car, one hand out of the window holding on to the dog's lead as it ran up the road. I wondered how you train a dog to do that, it's a neat trick.
This is my second-last day at work today. I am off tomorrow, and my last day is Wednesday. I hate this feeling. You feel really useless, since nobody is giving you any work to do (you're leaving remember?) and you sort of also feel that you don't want to go anywhere - these people are your friends who you've shared a lot with.
And you're afraid of what lies ahead. I don't (yet) have somewhere else concrete to go, but have many irons in the fire. It was a worry I was hoping to have sorted out by Morocco, but I guess I just need to deal with it.
I have put in so much effort trying to make sure that the right things were being done, in the right way. I have put in so much effort to make sure that my guys were treated fairly. I lost a lot of friends in the process and shot a lot of my credibility (I am no longer impartial - everything I say is tinged with the Me v Mr Happy Pissing Contest).
If only I had realised that, ultimately, this was not about doing the right thing. If only I could have realised that it was about making sure that decisions were implemented without question - even if they were wrong. That it was about protecting peoples egos. Then, perhaps, I would be in a different position.
But what kind of person would I be? I have done what I think is right, I have been congruant with what I believe. I believe that people should be treated fairly, with respect, and not like coca-cola machines.
Many many years from now, I will have forgotten the details. I will have forgotten the turmoil I feel right now. All I will remember is whether or not I did what I believed to be the Right Thing, and whether or not I can look people in the eye.
That, ultimately, is what matters.
Anyway, the parcel contained a branded diary - one of those pocket jobs with the logo on the front. Flicking through it, they've put stickers on the important dates in it (like the Boxing Day enduro). Each day also has a "on this day in History" part, which is quite interesting.
I noticed the entry for 25th October - only a few days ago. On this day in 1854 was the Charge of the Light Brigade. Tennyson (who was bipolar) wrote about it in a poem, and really went to town on how brave these guys were and how they were riding to certain death. Which they were, and they were respectively.
What Tennyson didn't mention in his poem was how on earth they came to be having to do that suicide mission in the first place.
The cavalry in the Crimean War were commanded by the Earl of Lucan. Cavalry in those days were split into brigades - the heavy brigade (fully armoured) and the light brigade (less armoured).
So the Earl of Lucan's brother-in-Law - the Earl of Cardigan - commanded the Light Brigade. This situation would probably have been not so bad except for the fact that the two of them despised eachother. Already you've got a bit of a problem here - these guys are nominally on the same side, but their own personal pissing contests cold get in the way.
The British were at the head of a valley in a place called Balaklava. The valley went on for over a mile, and there were russian forts and guns all over the place. Right up at the end of the valley, there was several thousand Russian soldiers who were being supported by nearly 100 artillery pieces.
Lord Raglan, overall commander of the British forces, saw that the artillery placed on the hills at the side of the valley were causing him a bit of a problem since they were rather inconveniently dropping shells and stuff. He saw the Russians attempting to move the guns further into the valley, so they they would be in a position to drop even more shells on the British. He obviously wanted this not to happen. He gave the following order to one Captain Nolan:
- "Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front, follow the enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns. Horse artillery may accompany. French cavalry is on your left. Immediate."
Not being sure what he was being told to do, he asked the fairly obvious question:
- "Attack, sir! Attack what? What guns, sir? Where and what to do?"
Captain Nolan, infuriated by the man's evident failure to understand the simplest of instructions and his insistence on challenging Nolan's ego in this way simply waved his arm in the general direction of the valley and said:
- "There is your enemy! There are your guns!"
Lucan could have, if he chose, rode to Lord Raglan and asked for clarification of the order. If he himself had been leading the Light Brigade then he might well have done this. His contempt for his brother-in-Law though, prevented him doing this. He simply passed on the order, along with the 'clarification' given by Captain Nolan.
And that would be pissing content number 2.
The Light Brigade then set off down the valley, straight towards the assembled Russian infantry and artillery. From his vantage point high up in the valley, Lord Raglan saw that they were heading in the wrong direction - away from the guns he wanted recaptured and straight into what was an assured bloodbath. They trotted merrilly down the valley. The Russian guns were silent - no point opening fire until they were in range.
Captain Nolan, to be fair, realised the mistake and rode to the head of the line to tell Cardigan that he was going the wrong way. Exactly as he was shouting at them to tell them this, the Russians opened fire.
The Light Brigade opened into a gallop, raised their swords, and charged straight ahead. Cannons, rifles and shells were firing on them from three sides and they kept on charging. They broke through the Russian infantry and then stopped. A quick u-turn, and let's do the whole thing in reverse.
Out of the 677 cavalrymen who set off into the valley, only 195 made it back with horses. The rest of them were killed, wounded or captured.
Despite being a tale of heroics, the Light Brigade is more of a tale about how egotism and pissing contests can cause untold damage. If Captain Nolan had been concerned about the Right Thing being done - instead of simply that people don;t question his orders - then it might have been different.
If Lucan had bothered to check the order, instead of just letting it go because it was only his brother-in-Law, then it might have been different.
It was ever thus. Clever and Important people make decisions. Implementing those decision without question becomes more important than whether or not those decisions are the right ones. The reason for the decision gets lost amongst the need for it to be implemented.
Thing is, here's the bit I can't quite figure out yet. Nobody wants to look stupid, of course they don't. Is it stupid to stop and ask yourself "why am I doing this?", or even to ask somebody to explain something to you because you don't know. Is it stupid to continue to do something that you know is wrong, simply because you can say "it wasn't my idea - I am just doing what I was told?". Is it stupid to re-evaluate what's going on and - potentially - change a decision you've made because you can see that it's not working out as you hoped?
I've been scouring my maps looking for the green crosses - Byways. I have a rough idea where they are, but you need to keep your eyes peeled for them since a lot of them look like laybys or small footpaths.
Riding up to work this morning, I went looking for one that runs parallel to my ride to work but does it over fields. Found it. Had a wee look up it, seemed to be relatively OK - fairly flat and not too rutty. "There is your enemy. There is your Byway".
I got about a mile up it, and things started to change. Foot-deep ruts started to form. The thorny bushes on either side of the byway started to thicken. The right-hand rut, where I was firmly planted, was going straight into the thorns and was getting deeper and slippier.
I had to have respect for the fact that I didn't know where this byway led. I also had to have respect for the fact that I had 200kg of (probably) unliftable bike to worry about. I then had to have respect for the fact that I really should have been on my way to work. That little lot had to have respect for the fact that I made the decision to go up this byway.
It was the thorns what won it though. The rut I was in basically rode right through the bush and there was no way I could change ruts. I hopped off the bike, dragged the front wheel out of the rut and roosted the back one to turn the bike round, before setting off back the way I came. I'll come back on the AJP - that byway is claimed.
I did the usual detour on Salisbury Plain and saw the weirdest thing. A lady walking her dog - a Jack Russell - on one of these really long extending leads things. The dog was about 20 metres in front of her, running away merrily and straining at the lead, as dogs do. She was following behind, em, in the car.
No shit. She was driving the car, one hand out of the window holding on to the dog's lead as it ran up the road. I wondered how you train a dog to do that, it's a neat trick.
This is my second-last day at work today. I am off tomorrow, and my last day is Wednesday. I hate this feeling. You feel really useless, since nobody is giving you any work to do (you're leaving remember?) and you sort of also feel that you don't want to go anywhere - these people are your friends who you've shared a lot with.
And you're afraid of what lies ahead. I don't (yet) have somewhere else concrete to go, but have many irons in the fire. It was a worry I was hoping to have sorted out by Morocco, but I guess I just need to deal with it.
I have put in so much effort trying to make sure that the right things were being done, in the right way. I have put in so much effort to make sure that my guys were treated fairly. I lost a lot of friends in the process and shot a lot of my credibility (I am no longer impartial - everything I say is tinged with the Me v Mr Happy Pissing Contest).
If only I had realised that, ultimately, this was not about doing the right thing. If only I could have realised that it was about making sure that decisions were implemented without question - even if they were wrong. That it was about protecting peoples egos. Then, perhaps, I would be in a different position.
But what kind of person would I be? I have done what I think is right, I have been congruant with what I believe. I believe that people should be treated fairly, with respect, and not like coca-cola machines.
Many many years from now, I will have forgotten the details. I will have forgotten the turmoil I feel right now. All I will remember is whether or not I did what I believed to be the Right Thing, and whether or not I can look people in the eye.
That, ultimately, is what matters.
Download the Manic Mission Information Pack for the full story ...
posted by 2009 Dakar at
Monday, October 29, 2007
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