The Soldier's Hut

Lawrence Oates. A man. Not a walking one-liner. Me, the author? Middle aged hobbit lady (she/her), not interested in dating humans, nor bots, and especially not interested in befriending angry strangers, sprouting from nowhere.

[thehutpoint]

Technically there IS already an Endurance musical that has very good music and a mediocre-at-best plot, and it’s called Ernest Shackleton Loves Me!

How comes I didn't know that? But it doesn't have banjo music?

[mintmentos]

No one told me the Belgica expedition was a comedy??

[thehutpoint]

Belgica? Hooo boy, Belgica has all the possible genres! Dark comedy, horror, melodrama, romance, a dash of porn (thanks to Raco) and I am sure that if you dig deep enough you would uncover even a bit or two of a musical.

[thehutpoint]

A propos musical, I jjust had a thought that someone should make an Endurance musical. Y'know, with lots of banjo music and Hussey as a singing narrator, a la Che Guevara in Evita or Luigi Lucheni in Elisabeth. It would be a hit!

[thehutpoint]

I have a bad habit of reading while eating. During today's dinner I opened a page about cryptid whales.

Thar she blows! (allegedly)

I am somewhat a fan of mysteries and cryptids, so it looked like a nice read. And obviously not connected to polar exploration, especially not to Terra Nova, right? Right?

Right?

Well, wrong. First article on the page, and what do I see?

So, ladies, gentlemen, gentlepersons and scientists, that Scott, the vicepresident and chairman of WWF, the man who wrote a foreword for the book in question is not just a Scott. He is THE Scott, Sir Peter Markham Scott, the only son of Robert Falcon Scott and his wife Kathleen. Terra Nova can find me anywhwhere, it seems and is like the Spanish Inquisition from the Monty Python skit: it appears when nobody expects it.

Feel warned, dearies. Entering the polar fandom is like entering the ice pack: it's easy to get into it, but you might not be able to exit.

[thehutpoint]

Have I told you the Terra Nova Expedition has a habit of ambushing me like the Spanish Inquisition from the Monty Python skit? Every time I delve in some other interest they always find a way to jump at me.

Take the Wars Of Roses, the very final act of it, and the big, big question: did King Dickie off his nephews, Teddy and, well, Dickie (both branches of Plantagenet house were horribly uncreative in the name department, the amount of Richards, Edwards, Henrys and Edmunds is truly confusing and makes me cross eyed at times; I shall not be complaining though, Polish history knows certain Silesian duke Konrad, who had five sons and named them ALL Konrad)? Spoiler: I do not think so.

But wait, what does Terra Nova, early twentieth century expedition have with that real life Game of Thrones (minus dragons and ice zombies)? Well, guess whom I've been repeatedly stumbling upon during my reads about Richard III, that Tudor usurper and unfortunate sons of Edward IV The Trouserbrain?

Sir Clements Markham.

Yes, THE Clements Markham, the spiritus movens behind the Discovery expedition, friend of Con, who had obvious hots for him to the very end (that pic is from the beginning of Terra Nova Expedition, as you can recognise from Kathleen's presence and Clemmie's old age. Old or not, he still has that spark in the eye when he looks at Scott).

Turns out that good ole' Clemmie, that founding father of polar fandom, the fearless pioneer in the uncharted wilds of steamy polar fanfics (or fanfitzs shall I say) was also a huge history nerd who wrote a bit about the final days of the House of York.

[mintmentos]

No one told me the Belgica expedition was a comedy??

[thehutpoint]

Belgica? Hooo boy, Belgica has all the possible genres! Dark comedy, horror, melodrama, romance, a dash of porn (thanks to Raco) and I am sure that if you dig deep enough you would uncover even a bit or two of a musical.

[thehutpoint]

Excerpt from Titus's letter to momma, sent from Lyttleton, New Zealand, after he got somewhat familiar with his load of crocks, pardon, with his ponies (from Bernacchi's "A very gallant gentleman"):

The pony I am going to keep to drive myself is good looking and looks like work, but he is out and away the worst to handle. I have called him ‘Hackensmit,’ he is the only one who has kicked me as yet, and is very small but a regular pocket dray horse.

Some time later Laurie penned another letter to momma, which aldo contained a little bit about Hackensmit. By the way, the strrongman after which the pony got named was Georg Hackenschmidt, but Laurie was Laurie and had his ways of creeative spelling. Anyway, look what he wrote about Hackensmit in that letter:

We had a very quiet steam and sail round from Lyttleton after having a tremendous send-off. The Lyttleton people are naturally frightfully keen on these expeditions. The ponies fitted in splendidly and they were very good, not giving the slightest trouble, even ‘Hackensmit’ behaved like the little gentleman he is! Scott was kind enough to say he was pleased with the way they went in. 

That's Titus for you. This troublesome pony that kicked him? Ah no, he is not a wild beast, he is the little gentleman! I bet Titus had something nice to say even about Christopher.

[thehutpoint]

When you are making English tests for your pupils and your mind starts to drift South...

[agrotesqueromance]

TOP TEN POLAR EXPLORERS WITH ASSES THAT MIGHT JUST RIVAL MY OWN? NUMBER ONE: LAWRENCE OATES?

[thehutpoint]

I mean...

But really, Lillie wasn't exagerrating.

Titus really has very lovely, well shaped rear end, y'all have to admit it.

That butt is a serious thing to seriously appreciate, even despite these baggy saggy trousers that unsuccesfully are trying to hide that splendour. That butt is one of the loveliest butts that ever butted in Antarctic!

[roaldamundsen]

every time I see a picture of lincoln laughing at something roald is saying girl. no one is that funny

[roaldamundsen]

[thehutpoint]

I am deeply dorry about what I have done, but I could not resist.

ETA. I am deeply SORRY about my shitty spelling too.

[jelatinivan]

[thehutpoint]

True story, he said it to Cherry.

[thehutpoint]

Starting with the ponies only we walked them to Glacier Tongue, where the ice and open water joined, and as we went we watched the ship pass us out in the Strait and moor up to the end of the Tongue.

Getting the ponies across the Tongue with its shallow but numerous crevasses and holes was ticklish work, but we tethered them safely off the Terra Nova, which meanwhile was landing dogs, sledges and gear. Then we got some lunch on board.

A large lead in the sea-ice to the south of the Tongue necessitated some hours’ work in man-hauling all sledges along the back of the Tongue until a way could be found down on to safe ice. We then followed with the ponies. “If a pony falls into one of these holes I shall sit down and cry,”’ said Oates.

Within three minutes my pony was wallowing, with only his head and forelegs visible, in a mess of brash and snow, which had concealed a crack in the sea-ice which was obviously not going to remain much longer in its present position. We got lashings round him and hauled him out. Poor Guts! He was fated to drown: but in an hour he appeared to have forgotten all about his mishap, and was pulling his first load towards Hut Point as gallantly as always.

From "The Worst Journey in the World" by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Love quotes from Titus that go against his manly-stoic-oneliner uttering-badass image.

[jelatinivan]

[thehutpoint]

True story, he said it to Cherry.

[agrotesqueromance]

lincoln ellsworth was a very strange maybe bisexual maybe gay man who should have been on prozac. out of control.

[thehutpoint]

Isn't that a book definition of a polar explorer?

[thehutpoint]

From my chronicle of weird dreams, somehow related to the polar exploration:

In a dystopian future, in a big city surrounded by poisoned lakes, I broke into giant prison complex to free Nucky Thompson, you know, the dude from the Boardwalk Empire, played by Steve Buscemi. What did I need Nucky for?

Well, somewhere in that sprawling prison complex someone imprisoned Sherlock Holmes. The Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes, the only true one and only Nucky knew where Sherlock's cell was. And Holmes was the only person that was able to help me extricate Lawrence Oates from 1912, saving him from death.

Welcome in my brain.

[thehutpoint]

I have a bad habit of reading while eating. During today's dinner I opened a page about cryptid whales.

Thar she blows! (allegedly)

I am somewhat a fan of mysteries and cryptids, so it looked like a nice read. And obviously not connected to polar exploration, especially not to Terra Nova, right? Right?

Right?

Well, wrong. First article on the page, and what do I see?

So, ladies, gentlemen, gentlepersons and scientists, that Scott, the vicepresident and chairman of WWF, the man who wrote a foreword for the book in question is not just a Scott. He is THE Scott, Sir Peter Markham Scott, the only son of Robert Falcon Scott and his wife Kathleen. Terra Nova can find me anywhwhere, it seems and is like the Spanish Inquisition from the Monty Python skit: it appears when nobody expects it.

Feel warned, dearies. Entering the polar fandom is like entering the ice pack: it's easy to get into it, but you might not be able to exit.

[thehutpoint]

I was studying these famous DIY canvas pants, you know, the ones that got stiff with dirt so Clissold mercifully washed them for Titus, who after getting his foldable again pants back donned them and did a little happy dance to the pianola tune.

It's not the only known Lawrence's expedition into the land of sewing, as he made a sackcloth balaclava during the winter, out of pure hatred he had for the felt helmets the expedition members were issued (no wonder, I get itchy from mere looking at it). The balaclavas worn by many expedition members neither warmed up his heart, so The Sackcloth Balaclava was created. This balaclava:

He looks weirdly cute in it. His another sewing feat were the breast pockets he slapped onto gis white woolen jacket, so he was not a stranger to the needle. Rare skill for a gentleman from ungodly wealthy family, who all his life had servants catering to him. Yes, in the military too, even a mere lieutenant in the British cavalry had two servants assigned.

But I was talking about the canvas pants, so let's get back to them and let's bask in their full sartorial glory for a minute:

I was staring a lot at these weird folds on his butt... Why yes, I do spend a lot of time gazing at the butt of Titus Oates. First, it's a very fine and well shaped butt and Denis Lillie does vehemently agree with me on that (according to Tryggve Gran Denis confessed he was blushing when he saw a fine man naked, well, I think he was blushing a lot when undressed Laurie was around):

Second, I was pondering what were these pants made of and where these folds came from. After some prolonged staring at Laurie's crotch (yes, I gaze at it too, these are the dark places studying the polar exploration can get you in 🤣), well, stare with me, please:

I found out the mystery folds extended to the front of the pants. My suspicion here is that Titus repurposed a sack and the folds were it's bottom, allowing it to expand when the sack was filled. He just cut the bottom in the middle, so one half landed in front, the other on the butt. By the way, in the front shot you can see also the marvellous breast pockets on his jackets.

If someone has other theory about what these folds might be, I'm eager to listen!

[thehutpoint]

The mystery of the DIY pants unfolds, pardon the pun. Thank you, @agrotesqueromance for asking your friend, I am truly grateful!

i vaguely consulted my roommate, who sews and is a costuming major, and because i was being vague about what the question was, i don't think

I am pretty sure Oates never dared to suspect that over a hundred years later his btt would be a subject of meticulous analyses and consultations with professionals. So yes, it looks like he might have a butt pocket, let me add a little visual aid... and now all of you will stare at his butt.

So yes, the area markked with yellow looks ike a potential butt pocket, the folds though that I am investigated, are higher and more in the center, above Laurie's buttocks. I marked that area in red. Similar folds seem to be in the front of his pants. What do you think?

[thehutpoint]

I was studying these famous DIY canvas pants, you know, the ones that got stiff with dirt so Clissold mercifully washed them for Titus, who after getting his foldable again pants back donned them and did a little happy dance to the pianola tune.

It's not the only known Lawrence's expedition into the land of sewing, as he made a sackcloth balaclava during the winter, out of pure hatred he had for the felt helmets the expedition members were issued (no wonder, I get itchy from mere looking at it). The balaclavas worn by many expedition members neither warmed up his heart, so The Sackcloth Balaclava was created. This balaclava:

He looks weirdly cute in it. His another sewing feat were the breast pockets he slapped onto gis white woolen jacket, so he was not a stranger to the needle. Rare skill for a gentleman from ungodly wealthy family, who all his life had servants catering to him. Yes, in the military too, even a mere lieutenant in the British cavalry had two servants assigned.

But I was talking about the canvas pants, so let's get back to them and let's bask in their full sartorial glory for a minute:

I was staring a lot at these weird folds on his butt... Why yes, I do spend a lot of time gazing at the butt of Titus Oates. First, it's a very fine and well shaped butt and Denis Lillie does vehemently agree with me on that (according to Tryggve Gran Denis confessed he was blushing when he saw a fine man naked, well, I think he was blushing a lot when undressed Laurie was around):

Second, I was pondering what were these pants made of and where these folds came from. After some prolonged staring at Laurie's crotch (yes, I gaze at it too, these are the dark places studying the polar exploration can get you in 🤣), well, stare with me, please:

I found out the mystery folds extended to the front of the pants. My suspicion here is that Titus repurposed a sack and the folds were it's bottom, allowing it to expand when the sack was filled. He just cut the bottom in the middle, so one half landed in front, the other on the butt. By the way, in the front shot you can see also the marvellous breast pockets on his jackets.

If someone has other theory about what these folds might be, I'm eager to listen!

[thehutpoint]

Yes, dearies, today is THE day. Today is THAT day! On March 17, 1880, Lawrence Edward Grace Oates was born. No skinful of beer for me this year, as I'm down with strep throat, on antibiotics, so no alcohol allowed, not even medicinal brandy.

So, maybe my brain is still addled by all the joys of feeling like someone stuffed a ball of barb wire into my throat, I decided to make Titus today all pink and girlie, with flowers, butterflies, tiny hearts and sparkles. What you can see is a second project, the first one landed in a bin when I noticed I placed a lovely pink heart on Titus's zipper. Um, no, that was not it...

But back to our Birthday Boy! I do not see many admirators of his, because he is, well, Titus and I feel many peoplehave that "uhm, well, hero, but weirdo" attitude towards him, and that's why many creators making things about Terra Nova either make him a complete oaf (one author, whose name I merrily pushed out of my mind, turned my poor Titus into a permanently drunk, overly loud halfwit, devoid of manners and bullying everyone around. Titus, a loud bully, by Jove! And with undershaved chin, no less, you dumbo, it wasn't undershaved chin, it was unshaved Oates! He was unable to grow a moustache due to the scarring from smallpox!), or just don't know what to do with him (TLPOTE I am looking sternly at you, right now! You know where you sinned! Morant as Titus has some cute moments, but overall his character is just weirdly written. By the way, the lovely gentleman who plays Bofur in "The Hobbit", James Nesbitt, reminds me somehow of both Richard Morant and Titus, so when I watch "The Hobbit" i am always like "Ah, the Oates Dwarf!"). So many digressions, oh my. That's my curse though, normal humans have a train of thoughts, I have a roomba of thoughts.

Trying to get back on track, not many people would associate him with anything girly. Who, him? The man that so famously avoided women that he refrained from dropping his visit cards into the post of the newcoming army families, as was the custom, and scourged to the seamen's quarters, when an admiral visited Terra Nova in Australia, which meant presence of two ladies during the dinner, the admiral's wife and Kathleen Scott? Him the most manly man that ever manlied in the Antarctic, under British flag?

Both his sister Violet, through Limb&Cordingley bio and various expedition members underline Titus's masculinity A LOT and often, I feel, it is a tool to mask his weirdness, or what they perceive as weirdness. That's why Violet said, for example, Laurie wasn't a bookish type, he just liked more boyish type of fun. But gurrrrl, that is SO NOT TRUE! We know he read a lot, he asked his mother often to send him certain books (lot of marinistic lit), his friends reminisced that when other officers went to the town for a round of typically manly fun of that era (booze, gambling, ladies of the night), Titus was sitting in the officer's club, sipping a beer, with his nose burrowed in a book. There is that picture from the hospital where he reconvalesced after getting shot during the Boer War, him, perched on the crutches, with a book peeking out of his pocket. The truth is Titus liked to read, but not what a gentleman ought to. He liked a fact literature, historical books, and stuff with a lot of action. All the classics he had to read in school were killing him with sheer boredom (man, how I feel you, "Iliad" was the biggest dissapointment of my life. Started to read it hoping for some fast action from Troy war, you know epic battles and things and got pages after pages after pages after pages of Achilles throwing his toys out of the pram. Homer, please...), all that literature an educated gentleman should have known was a slog for him. But goddamit, he loved to read, he even read poetry (asked momma to send him to Egypt, If memory serves well, a tome of marine poetry he heard good things about).

One person, though, who seems to admire Titus's masculinity uncritically, is Frank Debenham. Dear Deb gives such glittery descriptions of Titus, you could believe our man was Superman in disguise (was Deb aspiring to be Lois Lane?). That's probably why he was so sour about Jasmine/Jessamine moniker, I mean, c'mon, imagine you are trying so hard to impress your crush with your own masculinity and he calls you jasmine. Sad trombone.

Aaanyhoooo... I wanted to mention that my man has his soft sides, big heart being the number one, the way he treated animals the second. In the times when using violence against the horses to make them do what one wanted was a widespread norm, this man did not have a whip, or any kind of stick or club. He did not use these things. He used his enormous patience, calming words and enormous talents. Without even raising his voice. Such a man certainly deserves and the glitter and flowers, no? So...

Hppy Bithday, Lawrence Oates!

[thehutpoint]