Exactly 956 years ago this month, a battle in Battle changed the way Anglophones talk. It was, of course, The Battle of Hastings in what is now the town of Battle in East Sussex, England. Legend claims the English king, Harold, didn’t die in the fight, but escaped to become a hermit - the Bayeux Tapestry be damned. As boxer Mike Tyson cogently put it, “Everybody’s got a plan till they get punched in the face”. Or an arrow in the eye.
© 2024 John Oliver
Substack is the home for great culture