General Chat

There was an excellent programme on PBS tonight about the Black Death.

Some really quite radical research has been carried out and just one of the ideas that has been put forward is that the the disease that hit Eyam was not bubonic plague but a form of Haemorrhagic (?) Fever like Ebola.

Yet again, I didn't record it.

There is another interesting programme promised for tomorrow about armour.

What's pbs?

I didn't watch the programme (like Liz, I ask what's PBS?), but I have read that the latest theory on the Plague is that it was most probably spread, not by fleas from black rats, but by human fleas!

PBS is a channel on Sky.

One of our number has to watch the spitting!(Football)

Every year we have the discussion where I tell him we could live without it and he tells me I would miss my programmes about Hitler, not that there is ever very much that has not been shown before.

Ah - obviously neither Liz nor I have to endure Football!!! :-D :-D

PBS is a not for profit American TV service, tend to have intelligent shows rather than game shows or reality shows.

PBS is also a channel on Freeview. At least on a Smart TV. I watched that programme on the Black Death.

There have also been documentaries on the Mary Rose in the last couple of days too.

I always have a scan around to see what it on this station, as I cannot get excited about all the reality shows, nor the singing, nor the skating.

So, how about there not being a lot of rats about at that time then?

There's one to conjure with!

Is that during Plague time?

It is.

The Great fire of London the following year destroyed (burned) most of the house that were of timber construction and stopped the plague spreading.

That is the current belief.

As I said earlier - I read it could have been human fleas that spread it.

If it was human fleas they would have already bitten their host?

Some strains could even have been pneumonic.

Yes - then spread the disease by biting someone else.
Some people would probably be 'immune', or at least the bite would have a minimal effect - like some people erupt when bitten by a mosquito, whereas others don't notice it, and it has little effect.

It is by no means set in stone that fleas were involved in the spread at all.

The programme is being repeated tonight, 23.05 Channel 94 on Freeview.

Night owls can stay up tonight..................no school tomorrow!!

Didn't the word 'plaque' historically describe any and all catastrophic events which involved hundreds/thousands of unexplained deaths?

It's on 155 on my freeview - after a programme on Medieval ships.
..and it's on PBS America! I never knew it existed.
Unfortunately, I have to get up early tomorrow :-(