Let's think about things that are old, or what we consider to be old. For a lot of today's population, World War II for instance would be considered a thing from the old days, almost ancient history to some, yet it was only 80 years ago, and I say 'only' to put things into perspective.
About 100 years ago, Adolph Hitler became the Fuhrer of the Nazi Party, the BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] was established, and the first official Communist state, the USSR [Union of Soviet Socialist Republics] was formed.
Now drop back about 200 years ago. We didn't know Antarctica existed until it was discovered around then. In that same era, Napoleon died, Mexico became its own country by gaining its independence from Spain, and Beethoven premiered his Ninth Symphony.
An even bigger jump, back 500 years, and we can watch Michelangelo begin work on his statue of David, and Leonardo DaVinci paint the Mona Lisa.
1,000 years ago, the Viking Lief Erickson spent the winter in what is now Canada, 500 years before Columbus 'discovered' the New World. In England, the Tower of London was built, and the Crusades marched to the Holy Lands.
As I said up top, I only mention these moments in history to put things into perspective, because people were downing mugs of ale and telling bawdy tales at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub in Saint Albans, England, before any of these other instances occurred. It was in the year 793 that the original pub master opened his door and offered a pint or two to his first customers.
That was 1,229 years ago, to be exact, and now the pub is closed, due to the economics of trying to survive Covid 19. What a shame, to have witnessed all that history, only to be done in by a bug, a virus, so small that we can't even see it.
#england #pubs #covid #history
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