1 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:26,450 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Rudyard Kipling is perhaps best known as the author 2 00:00:26,610 --> 00:00:29,490 Speaker 1: of The Jungle Book, the story of the man cub 3 00:00:29,690 --> 00:00:33,410 Speaker 1: Mowgli raised by animals such as Blue the Bear and 4 00:00:33,450 --> 00:00:38,970 Speaker 1: Bagheera the Black Panther. Kipling wrote poems two. When surveys 5 00:00:39,050 --> 00:00:42,570 Speaker 1: ask the British public for their all time favorite poem, 6 00:00:43,050 --> 00:00:46,930 Speaker 1: Kipling's If is routinely at the top of the list. 7 00:00:47,610 --> 00:00:50,010 Speaker 1: If you can keep your head when all about you 8 00:00:50,050 --> 00:00:53,530 Speaker 1: are losing theirs and blaming it on you. If you 9 00:00:53,570 --> 00:00:57,130 Speaker 1: can walk with crowds and keep your virtue. If you 10 00:00:57,170 --> 00:01:01,210 Speaker 1: can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of 11 00:01:01,290 --> 00:01:06,090 Speaker 1: distance run. If is written in the form of paternal 12 00:01:06,130 --> 00:01:10,330 Speaker 1: life advice from Kipling to his son, and what will 13 00:01:10,370 --> 00:01:13,330 Speaker 1: happen if you do all the things Kipling recommends in 14 00:01:13,370 --> 00:01:17,290 Speaker 1: the poem? Well then you'll be a man, my son. 15 00:01:18,330 --> 00:01:21,570 Speaker 1: But when Kipling wrote this poem, he had a particular 16 00:01:21,650 --> 00:01:24,770 Speaker 1: man in mind as his role model. That man was 17 00:01:24,810 --> 00:01:30,690 Speaker 1: doctor Leander Starr Jameson. Dr Jameson is known today for 18 00:01:30,770 --> 00:01:35,810 Speaker 1: two things. The first is inspiring Kipling to write If. 19 00:01:36,890 --> 00:01:41,490 Speaker 1: The second is the utter fiasco that became known as 20 00:01:41,570 --> 00:01:47,930 Speaker 1: the Jameson Raid. The year is eighteen ninety five, and 21 00:01:48,010 --> 00:01:51,890 Speaker 1: doctor Leander Starr Jameson is all set to invade the 22 00:01:51,930 --> 00:01:56,050 Speaker 1: South African Republic. He has a private army of fewer 23 00:01:56,090 --> 00:01:59,530 Speaker 1: than five hundred men at his command, but he reckons 24 00:01:59,610 --> 00:02:02,890 Speaker 1: that will be more than enough to overthrow the country's government. 25 00:02:03,450 --> 00:02:06,810 Speaker 1: Anyone could take it with half a dozen revolvers. I 26 00:02:06,850 --> 00:02:09,450 Speaker 1: shall get through as easily as a knife cut through. 27 00:02:09,450 --> 00:02:17,450 Speaker 1: Butter RODGERD Kipling wasn't alone in his admiration for Dr Jameson. 28 00:02:18,530 --> 00:02:22,850 Speaker 1: By all accounts, the short and balding Scotsman had remarkable charisma. 29 00:02:23,530 --> 00:02:26,850 Speaker 1: I suppose he must have done. A couple of decades earlier. 30 00:02:27,090 --> 00:02:29,730 Speaker 1: Fresh out of medical school and working as a surgeon 31 00:02:29,770 --> 00:02:33,130 Speaker 1: at a London hospital, Jameson saw an advert for a 32 00:02:33,170 --> 00:02:36,570 Speaker 1: doctor to join a practice in a fast growing mining 33 00:02:36,610 --> 00:02:39,890 Speaker 1: town in Cape Colony, then a part of the British 34 00:02:39,930 --> 00:02:44,610 Speaker 1: Empire in what today is South Africa. And now here 35 00:02:44,650 --> 00:02:48,890 Speaker 1: he is no longer practicing medicine, but leading a small 36 00:02:49,050 --> 00:02:52,130 Speaker 1: army and casually plotting to topple the government of the 37 00:02:52,170 --> 00:02:55,450 Speaker 1: next country over. You don't have that kind of career 38 00:02:55,530 --> 00:03:00,050 Speaker 1: path unless you've got something about you. It had been 39 00:03:00,250 --> 00:03:05,770 Speaker 1: so far a life filled with triumphs. But triumph isn't everything. 40 00:03:06,170 --> 00:03:10,410 Speaker 1: As Kipling reminds us in perhaps his poems most famous line, 41 00:03:10,970 --> 00:03:14,450 Speaker 1: if you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat 42 00:03:14,530 --> 00:03:19,690 Speaker 1: those two impostors just the same. Dr Jameson was about 43 00:03:19,770 --> 00:03:24,850 Speaker 1: to meet with disaster. I'm Tim Harford and you're listening 44 00:03:25,130 --> 00:03:50,090 Speaker 1: to cautionary tales. If you can meet with triumph and 45 00:03:50,170 --> 00:03:55,250 Speaker 1: disaster and treat those two impostors just the same. Those 46 00:03:55,290 --> 00:03:58,810 Speaker 1: words are written above the entrance to Centre Court Wimbledon. 47 00:03:59,530 --> 00:04:03,610 Speaker 1: They seem to resonate with tennis players. Before one classic 48 00:04:03,810 --> 00:04:08,010 Speaker 1: men's final, the BBC asked Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal 49 00:04:08,490 --> 00:04:12,090 Speaker 1: to recite the poem for them. Serena Williams likes the 50 00:04:12,090 --> 00:04:15,930 Speaker 1: poem too. She recorded a version for International Women's Day, 51 00:04:16,290 --> 00:04:20,530 Speaker 1: and she brought Kipling's embarrassingly dated closing line into the 52 00:04:20,570 --> 00:04:25,250 Speaker 1: twenty first century. You will be a woman's sister. It's 53 00:04:25,250 --> 00:04:29,090 Speaker 1: not hard to imagine why the All England Lawn Tennis 54 00:04:29,090 --> 00:04:33,010 Speaker 1: Club might have inscribed that line about triumph and disaster 55 00:04:33,530 --> 00:04:37,090 Speaker 1: above the entrance to center court. It reminds the players 56 00:04:37,130 --> 00:04:39,970 Speaker 1: that it's bad form to gloat when you win or 57 00:04:40,130 --> 00:04:44,770 Speaker 1: sulk when you lose and yet treat them just the same. 58 00:04:45,730 --> 00:04:48,610 Speaker 1: We want to see both winners and losers behave with 59 00:04:48,730 --> 00:04:52,130 Speaker 1: grace and magnanimity, of course, but we don't expect their 60 00:04:52,170 --> 00:04:57,370 Speaker 1: reactions to be emotionally indistinguishable. But there is another sporting 61 00:04:57,490 --> 00:05:01,010 Speaker 1: sense in which those words fit better. Tennis matches are 62 00:05:01,010 --> 00:05:04,410 Speaker 1: made up of sets and games and points. There's plenty 63 00:05:04,450 --> 00:05:09,090 Speaker 1: of scope for mini disasters and triumphs as the match unfolds. 64 00:05:09,330 --> 00:05:12,530 Speaker 1: High level sport is at least as much about mental 65 00:05:12,610 --> 00:05:18,330 Speaker 1: fortitude as physical skill. Let's visit Wimbledon in nineteen ninety 66 00:05:18,370 --> 00:05:22,570 Speaker 1: three for the women's final. Yarna Novotna is facing off 67 00:05:22,610 --> 00:05:26,490 Speaker 1: against stephie Graff. There's no doubt who's expected to win. 68 00:05:27,170 --> 00:05:30,290 Speaker 1: Stephie Graff has established herself as one of the all 69 00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:35,050 Speaker 1: time greats. She's won twelve Grand Slams already, including four 70 00:05:35,130 --> 00:05:39,130 Speaker 1: of the last five Wimbledon's. She's the top seed. Jarna 71 00:05:39,170 --> 00:05:43,130 Speaker 1: Novotna is seeded eighth. She's never been past the quarter 72 00:05:43,250 --> 00:05:46,770 Speaker 1: finals before. She might never get another shot at a 73 00:05:46,770 --> 00:05:51,570 Speaker 1: Grand Slam title. The first set is closely fought. The 74 00:05:51,690 --> 00:05:55,050 Speaker 1: underdog Novotna takes it all the way to a tie 75 00:05:55,050 --> 00:05:59,130 Speaker 1: break which Graf only narrowly wins. This puts Graf in 76 00:05:59,170 --> 00:06:02,090 Speaker 1: a strong position. She needs to win just one of 77 00:06:02,130 --> 00:06:06,890 Speaker 1: the two remaining sets, while Novotna must win both. It 78 00:06:06,930 --> 00:06:10,090 Speaker 1: would be all too natural for Novotna to get disheartened 79 00:06:10,130 --> 00:06:13,290 Speaker 1: at this setback. She's played hard for over an hour 80 00:06:13,810 --> 00:06:16,770 Speaker 1: and now faces a more difficult task than when she started. 81 00:06:17,570 --> 00:06:20,730 Speaker 1: But there's a risk for Graph as well. She might 82 00:06:20,810 --> 00:06:23,650 Speaker 1: react to the mini triumph of winning the first set 83 00:06:23,930 --> 00:06:27,450 Speaker 1: by getting lulled into a sense of complacency. Maybe that's 84 00:06:27,450 --> 00:06:32,210 Speaker 1: what happens, because Graf proceeds to lose the next five games. 85 00:06:32,810 --> 00:06:36,170 Speaker 1: Novotna easily takes the second set to level the match. 86 00:06:37,810 --> 00:06:42,410 Speaker 1: In the final set, Novotna's brilliant play continues. Miss Nevotna 87 00:06:42,490 --> 00:06:47,010 Speaker 1: leads by four games to one final set. There's nothing 88 00:06:47,050 --> 00:06:51,090 Speaker 1: stephie Graff can do. Novotna is inspired. She's cruising to 89 00:06:51,170 --> 00:06:57,050 Speaker 1: victory for thirty. If she wins the next point, Novotna 90 00:06:57,090 --> 00:07:01,250 Speaker 1: will be just one game away from the championship. Novotna's 91 00:07:01,290 --> 00:07:05,530 Speaker 1: first serve goes into the net. No matter that happens, 92 00:07:06,210 --> 00:07:08,850 Speaker 1: generally a player will be more careful on their second 93 00:07:08,890 --> 00:07:11,050 Speaker 1: set to try to make sure they don't lose the 94 00:07:11,130 --> 00:07:14,810 Speaker 1: point with a double fault. But this second serve is terrible. 95 00:07:15,170 --> 00:07:18,170 Speaker 1: It goes both long and wide, missing not by a 96 00:07:18,170 --> 00:07:23,690 Speaker 1: few inches, but by a good three feet deuce. It's 97 00:07:23,770 --> 00:07:26,930 Speaker 1: a double fault in itself. It doesn't matter too much. 98 00:07:27,090 --> 00:07:30,650 Speaker 1: It's just one point lost, plenty more chances to come. 99 00:07:31,570 --> 00:07:35,850 Speaker 1: But this will later be called the most iconic double 100 00:07:35,930 --> 00:07:40,210 Speaker 1: fault in the history of tennis because of what happens next. 101 00:07:41,410 --> 00:07:44,690 Speaker 1: Sometimes a sportsperson just can't put it out of their 102 00:07:44,770 --> 00:07:49,330 Speaker 1: mind when something's just gone wrong. Disaster compounds upon disaster. 103 00:07:49,970 --> 00:07:53,410 Speaker 1: Every bad shot makes the next shot worse, until they've 104 00:07:53,450 --> 00:07:58,610 Speaker 1: somehow contrived to let the whole match slip away. There's 105 00:07:58,610 --> 00:08:02,970 Speaker 1: a word for this, several phrases, in fact, getting the yips, 106 00:08:03,450 --> 00:08:06,730 Speaker 1: bottling it choking. When you get within sight of the 107 00:08:06,730 --> 00:08:12,850 Speaker 1: winning line, then you inexplicate fall apart. Jarna Novotna walks 108 00:08:12,890 --> 00:08:17,490 Speaker 1: back to the baseline, looking faintly puzzled, wiping sweat from 109 00:08:17,570 --> 00:08:21,890 Speaker 1: her cheek on the shoulder of her shirt. She is 110 00:08:21,930 --> 00:08:26,370 Speaker 1: about to endure one of the most mortifying chokes in 111 00:08:26,450 --> 00:08:34,530 Speaker 1: sporting history. Rodgyard Kipling was a tennis fan when he 112 00:08:34,570 --> 00:08:37,450 Speaker 1: lived in Vermont with his American wife. He built the 113 00:08:37,530 --> 00:08:41,370 Speaker 1: state's first tennis court at his house. But he wasn't 114 00:08:41,370 --> 00:08:45,290 Speaker 1: thinking about tennis when he wrote his poem if he 115 00:08:45,410 --> 00:08:51,090 Speaker 1: was thinking about Doctor Leander Star Jameson. Although Jameson didn't 116 00:08:51,130 --> 00:08:55,250 Speaker 1: always live up to the values the poem espoused. If 117 00:08:55,250 --> 00:08:58,970 Speaker 1: you can wait and not be tired of waiting, Dr 118 00:08:59,010 --> 00:09:02,010 Speaker 1: Jameson was very much tired of waiting for the green 119 00:09:02,090 --> 00:09:05,250 Speaker 1: light to mobilize his army and ride into the South 120 00:09:05,290 --> 00:09:10,290 Speaker 1: African Republic. But what exactly was he invading for Bear 121 00:09:10,330 --> 00:09:13,970 Speaker 1: with me for a bit of colonial history. The South 122 00:09:13,970 --> 00:09:18,330 Speaker 1: African Republic was run by Bors, descendants of Dutch people 123 00:09:18,370 --> 00:09:22,250 Speaker 1: who had come to Southern Africa centuries before, and it 124 00:09:22,290 --> 00:09:26,130 Speaker 1: was rich. In the last few years, vast deposits of 125 00:09:26,170 --> 00:09:30,130 Speaker 1: gold had been found. A new town called Johannesburg had 126 00:09:30,170 --> 00:09:33,890 Speaker 1: sprung up as fortune seekers rushed in. Many of those 127 00:09:33,930 --> 00:09:39,090 Speaker 1: fortune seekers weren't bore. The Utlanders, as the Boors called them, 128 00:09:39,370 --> 00:09:42,770 Speaker 1: came from all around the world, from Britain and Australia, 129 00:09:43,090 --> 00:09:47,410 Speaker 1: Ireland and America. This motley crew of gold hunters soon 130 00:09:47,570 --> 00:09:50,770 Speaker 1: came to outnumber the Boors. But the Boors wouldn't give 131 00:09:50,770 --> 00:09:53,850 Speaker 1: them a vote in how the republic was run. The 132 00:09:53,930 --> 00:10:00,170 Speaker 1: Utlanders began to grumble in their discontent. Another man spied 133 00:10:00,210 --> 00:10:06,010 Speaker 1: an opportunity, Cecil Roads in Southern Africa. The British Empire 134 00:10:06,090 --> 00:10:09,690 Speaker 1: and Cecil Rhodes's business empire were much the s same thing. 135 00:10:10,530 --> 00:10:14,050 Speaker 1: Rhodes ran a company that controlled vast swathes of territory 136 00:10:14,290 --> 00:10:19,010 Speaker 1: under license from the British government. His company employed police 137 00:10:19,490 --> 00:10:22,970 Speaker 1: in effect kind of private army, and in charge of 138 00:10:22,970 --> 00:10:25,850 Speaker 1: a chunk of that army, Rhodes had put his great 139 00:10:25,890 --> 00:10:32,170 Speaker 1: friend Dr Jameson. Rhodes and Jameson hatched a plan. They'd 140 00:10:32,290 --> 00:10:37,130 Speaker 1: quietly encouraged the Utlanders to stage an uprising. The Utlanders 141 00:10:37,170 --> 00:10:39,450 Speaker 1: would make a plea for help. They'd say that the 142 00:10:39,530 --> 00:10:43,850 Speaker 1: dastardly Bores were threatening their women and children. Dr Jameson 143 00:10:43,890 --> 00:10:46,490 Speaker 1: would just happen to be right on the border with 144 00:10:46,650 --> 00:10:50,410 Speaker 1: five hundred armed men. He'd ride to Johannesburg to rescue 145 00:10:50,410 --> 00:10:54,730 Speaker 1: the Utlanders, topple the Boer government and get Cecil Roads 146 00:10:54,810 --> 00:10:59,250 Speaker 1: in on the gold mining action. You may have noticed 147 00:10:59,290 --> 00:11:03,690 Speaker 1: who's missing from this cast of characters. The African inhabitants 148 00:11:03,730 --> 00:11:07,050 Speaker 1: of this resource rich land. And if you're wondering when 149 00:11:07,050 --> 00:11:09,250 Speaker 1: they're going to get a say in all this. I'm 150 00:11:09,250 --> 00:11:12,570 Speaker 1: afraid they aren't. Neither the Boors nor the British cared 151 00:11:12,650 --> 00:11:17,010 Speaker 1: much what the Africans thought. The uprising was scheduled for 152 00:11:17,090 --> 00:11:21,450 Speaker 1: December eighteen ninety five, but as the date grew near, 153 00:11:21,970 --> 00:11:26,850 Speaker 1: the Utlander conspirators began to get cold feet. Cecil Rhodes 154 00:11:26,930 --> 00:11:29,330 Speaker 1: was asking them to risk their lives in a fight 155 00:11:29,410 --> 00:11:33,130 Speaker 1: against the Boors. But what exactly was he suggesting would 156 00:11:33,210 --> 00:11:36,490 Speaker 1: happen if they won? Would the Utlanders run a new 157 00:11:36,530 --> 00:11:40,250 Speaker 1: republic or would it end up as another British colony. 158 00:11:40,970 --> 00:11:44,250 Speaker 1: Why would the American Utlanders in particular want to risk 159 00:11:44,330 --> 00:11:50,050 Speaker 1: their lives for the British Empire at the border? Jameson 160 00:11:50,210 --> 00:11:54,730 Speaker 1: was getting more and more itchy. Delay came the message 161 00:11:55,010 --> 00:12:00,730 Speaker 1: again and again. Damn those dithering Utlanders, thought Jameson. And 162 00:12:00,770 --> 00:12:05,090 Speaker 1: then he had another thought. Perhaps I could spur them 163 00:12:05,090 --> 00:12:09,890 Speaker 1: into action if I invaded anyway. Will hear how that 164 00:12:09,970 --> 00:12:25,250 Speaker 1: worked out? After the break, Cecil Rhodes and Leander Starr 165 00:12:25,410 --> 00:12:29,010 Speaker 1: Jameson had carefully laid the ground for their invasion of 166 00:12:29,050 --> 00:12:33,690 Speaker 1: the South African Republic. They had persuaded some leading Utlanders 167 00:12:33,730 --> 00:12:37,330 Speaker 1: to put their names to a letter addressed to Dr Jameson. 168 00:12:38,050 --> 00:12:41,690 Speaker 1: The letter was a plaintive appeal. Our women and children 169 00:12:41,730 --> 00:12:45,450 Speaker 1: are at the mercy of armed boars. The circumstances are 170 00:12:45,450 --> 00:12:48,410 Speaker 1: so extreme that we cannot but believe that you and 171 00:12:48,490 --> 00:12:50,850 Speaker 1: the men under you will not fail to come to 172 00:12:50,890 --> 00:12:56,650 Speaker 1: the rescue. They left the letter undated. Jameson would fill 173 00:12:56,650 --> 00:12:59,450 Speaker 1: in the date on the day he crossed the border, 174 00:13:00,690 --> 00:13:04,410 Speaker 1: but when was that going to be? In early December, 175 00:13:04,770 --> 00:13:09,090 Speaker 1: Jameson received a coded telegram from the conspirators in Johannesburg. 176 00:13:10,290 --> 00:13:15,610 Speaker 1: The polo tournament here postponed for one week. The British 177 00:13:15,610 --> 00:13:19,090 Speaker 1: government wanted to give the impression that they knew nothing 178 00:13:19,250 --> 00:13:23,370 Speaker 1: about the conspiracy. That would have looked terrible because officially 179 00:13:23,450 --> 00:13:27,250 Speaker 1: they were on friendly terms with the Boors. In reality, 180 00:13:27,650 --> 00:13:31,810 Speaker 1: the British governor of neighboring Cape Colony knew exactly what 181 00:13:31,930 --> 00:13:35,810 Speaker 1: Cecil Roads was thinking, and so did his ministerial boss. 182 00:13:35,850 --> 00:13:40,530 Speaker 1: Back in London. The British government was surreptitiously trying to 183 00:13:40,610 --> 00:13:44,210 Speaker 1: sound out the Utlanders about just how much empire they 184 00:13:44,250 --> 00:13:47,970 Speaker 1: might accept. What if you fly the Union flag but 185 00:13:48,370 --> 00:13:52,330 Speaker 1: elect your own governor Once again, a date for the 186 00:13:52,410 --> 00:13:59,090 Speaker 1: uprising was set. Once again, the Utlanders backed out. In desperation, 187 00:13:59,570 --> 00:14:03,330 Speaker 1: Cecil Roads turned to the local reporter from the London Times. 188 00:14:04,330 --> 00:14:09,770 Speaker 1: Won't you lead them? The journalist politely demurred, we must 189 00:14:09,810 --> 00:14:16,330 Speaker 1: stop Jameson. At last, Rhodes bowed to reality. The uprising 190 00:14:16,730 --> 00:14:21,330 Speaker 1: simply wasn't going to happen. The conspirators sent Jameson a 191 00:14:21,370 --> 00:14:27,530 Speaker 1: message the invasions off. As Chris Ash vividly describes in 192 00:14:27,850 --> 00:14:31,770 Speaker 1: The If Man, they hastily dispatched one of Jameson's friends 193 00:14:31,810 --> 00:14:35,490 Speaker 1: to explain the situation. The friend doesn't seem to have 194 00:14:35,530 --> 00:14:40,450 Speaker 1: tried too hard to change Jameson's mind. He dutifully passed 195 00:14:40,490 --> 00:14:43,850 Speaker 1: on the message to Jameson not to go, and then asked, 196 00:14:44,530 --> 00:14:49,250 Speaker 1: so what are you going to do? I'm going, replied Jameson, 197 00:14:49,730 --> 00:14:53,490 Speaker 1: thought you would. What are you going to do going with? 198 00:14:53,530 --> 00:14:59,250 Speaker 1: You thought you would? What on earth is Jameson thinking? 199 00:15:00,130 --> 00:15:03,850 Speaker 1: Perhaps there's a clue in his love of high stakes poker. 200 00:15:04,650 --> 00:15:07,850 Speaker 1: One evening, when he still worked as a doctor, he 201 00:15:07,930 --> 00:15:12,530 Speaker 1: lost all his cat, then his house, his carriage, horses, 202 00:15:12,690 --> 00:15:16,530 Speaker 1: and finally his medical practice. He asked a friend to 203 00:15:16,650 --> 00:15:20,730 Speaker 1: lend him some money and played on by dawn. He'd 204 00:15:20,730 --> 00:15:24,730 Speaker 1: want it all back and made a healthy profit. I 205 00:15:24,810 --> 00:15:26,810 Speaker 1: knew I would be able to rely on my luck. 206 00:15:28,130 --> 00:15:33,130 Speaker 1: Jameson was a gambler. He'd gathered his men and dramatically 207 00:15:33,170 --> 00:15:36,410 Speaker 1: produced the letter from the leading Utlanders. It filled in 208 00:15:36,450 --> 00:15:39,810 Speaker 1: the date. Women and children needed them, who would ride 209 00:15:39,850 --> 00:15:43,690 Speaker 1: with him to Johannesburg. They'd get through without any fighting 210 00:15:43,730 --> 00:15:48,610 Speaker 1: at all. Probably the invasion had been carefully planned out. 211 00:15:49,330 --> 00:15:52,890 Speaker 1: Step one cut the telegraph lines to Pretoria, the seat 212 00:15:52,970 --> 00:15:56,410 Speaker 1: of the Boer government. It would take Jameson's men several 213 00:15:56,490 --> 00:16:00,050 Speaker 1: days to ride the one hundred and seventy miles to Johannesburg. 214 00:16:00,570 --> 00:16:02,930 Speaker 1: He wanted the Boar leaders to hear the news of 215 00:16:02,930 --> 00:16:07,330 Speaker 1: his attack as late as possible, but there were two 216 00:16:07,490 --> 00:16:11,850 Speaker 1: telegraph lines, and Jameson's men cut only one of them. 217 00:16:11,970 --> 00:16:15,370 Speaker 1: A rumor later went round that they had mistakenly snipped 218 00:16:15,490 --> 00:16:20,730 Speaker 1: a farmer's wire fence instead. In Pretoria, the Boors quickly 219 00:16:20,810 --> 00:16:24,610 Speaker 1: heard what was happening. They mobilized their army, helped by 220 00:16:24,650 --> 00:16:29,570 Speaker 1: another Jameson blunder. He had invaded at Christmas, when men 221 00:16:29,610 --> 00:16:33,010 Speaker 1: of fighting age who usually lived on far flung farms, 222 00:16:33,450 --> 00:16:37,490 Speaker 1: had gathered in towns to celebrate. The plan for the 223 00:16:37,610 --> 00:16:41,290 Speaker 1: uprising called on the conspirators to make a surprise attack 224 00:16:41,610 --> 00:16:45,490 Speaker 1: on the Boar's store of weapons, which was usually lightly guarded. 225 00:16:46,330 --> 00:16:49,330 Speaker 1: But by the time the conspirators heard that Jameson was coming, 226 00:16:49,890 --> 00:16:54,050 Speaker 1: so had the Boors, and then beefed up security. The 227 00:16:54,090 --> 00:16:57,770 Speaker 1: Boar leader reached out to the Utlanders. Let's talk about 228 00:16:57,770 --> 00:17:02,370 Speaker 1: your grievances. He made some promises. The Utlander leaders agreed 229 00:17:02,410 --> 00:17:08,570 Speaker 1: to a deal. Jameson meanwhile, marched on towards Johannesburg, blithely, 230 00:17:08,650 --> 00:17:14,170 Speaker 1: confident that an uprising must soon be underway. Cecil Rhodes 231 00:17:14,490 --> 00:17:18,890 Speaker 1: was in despair. Twenty years we've been friends, and now 232 00:17:18,890 --> 00:17:22,170 Speaker 1: he goes in and ruins me. The British governor of 233 00:17:22,250 --> 00:17:28,490 Speaker 1: Cape Colony was equally horrified. Sir Hercules Robinson best name ever, 234 00:17:28,890 --> 00:17:32,130 Speaker 1: worried that his own foreknowledge of the plan might come 235 00:17:32,170 --> 00:17:35,490 Speaker 1: to light. Sir Hercules sent a messenger to ride through 236 00:17:35,530 --> 00:17:40,210 Speaker 1: the night and catch up with Jameson's march, tell Jameson 237 00:17:40,290 --> 00:17:43,850 Speaker 1: and the officers with him that her Majesty's government repudiate 238 00:17:43,890 --> 00:17:46,930 Speaker 1: their violation of the territory of a friendly state, and 239 00:17:46,970 --> 00:17:51,970 Speaker 1: that they are rendering themselves liable to severe penalties. Jameson 240 00:17:52,010 --> 00:17:55,370 Speaker 1: debated with his senior officers what to do about this message. 241 00:17:56,130 --> 00:17:59,330 Speaker 1: By now they were more than half way to Johannesburg. 242 00:17:59,890 --> 00:18:02,530 Speaker 1: They knew the boors would have mobilized behind them in 243 00:18:02,570 --> 00:18:05,690 Speaker 1: the areas they had passed, so they couldn't turn back 244 00:18:05,730 --> 00:18:09,650 Speaker 1: without a fight. May as well keep going, then, Jameson 245 00:18:09,850 --> 00:18:13,530 Speaker 1: wasn't afraid of a high stakes gamble. He later shrugged. 246 00:18:13,850 --> 00:18:17,970 Speaker 1: If I'd succeeded, I would have been forgiven. A little 247 00:18:18,010 --> 00:18:22,970 Speaker 1: further towards Johannesburg, another messenger arrived from an increasingly shrill 248 00:18:23,090 --> 00:18:27,930 Speaker 1: Sir Hercules. Her Majesty's government entirely disapprove of your conduct. 249 00:18:28,090 --> 00:18:31,050 Speaker 1: You are ordered to retire at once from the country 250 00:18:31,090 --> 00:18:34,370 Speaker 1: and will be held personally responsible for the consequences of 251 00:18:34,450 --> 00:18:39,250 Speaker 1: your unauthorized and most improper proceeding. It must have seemed 252 00:18:39,250 --> 00:18:42,170 Speaker 1: to Jameson that all around him were losing their heads 253 00:18:42,610 --> 00:18:46,730 Speaker 1: and blaming it on him. He sent a reply, of course, 254 00:18:47,170 --> 00:18:50,050 Speaker 1: I'd like to obey, Sir Hercules, but if we turned 255 00:18:50,050 --> 00:18:52,770 Speaker 1: around now, we won't have enough supplies to last us 256 00:18:52,810 --> 00:18:56,450 Speaker 1: through the journey back. We have to press on to Johannesburg. 257 00:18:56,490 --> 00:18:59,130 Speaker 1: Youcy if only to get the men and horses a 258 00:18:59,210 --> 00:19:04,210 Speaker 1: bite to eat. With thirty miles to go, Jameson received 259 00:19:04,210 --> 00:19:08,570 Speaker 1: his next set of messengers, two men on bone shaker bicycles, 260 00:19:08,770 --> 00:19:14,330 Speaker 1: which they'd ridden from Johannesburg. They were carrying three messages. 261 00:19:15,010 --> 00:19:18,490 Speaker 1: The messages don't survive, but their overall effect seems to 262 00:19:18,490 --> 00:19:22,810 Speaker 1: have been confusing. One message correctly informed Jameson that there 263 00:19:22,850 --> 00:19:26,410 Speaker 1: had been no uprising and Utlander leaders had agreed a 264 00:19:26,450 --> 00:19:31,250 Speaker 1: peace deal, But another message apparently suggested that the Utlanders 265 00:19:31,410 --> 00:19:36,050 Speaker 1: might nonetheless send reinforcements to meet Jameson at Krugersdorp, a 266 00:19:36,170 --> 00:19:38,810 Speaker 1: village that have to pass on the way to Johannesburg. 267 00:19:39,730 --> 00:19:43,050 Speaker 1: The men on bicycles, though, had just passed through Krugersdorp 268 00:19:43,130 --> 00:19:48,010 Speaker 1: themselves and seen hundreds of boar fighters, apparently lying in 269 00:19:48,050 --> 00:19:53,050 Speaker 1: wait for Jameson to arrive. What to do, Charge straight 270 00:19:53,090 --> 00:19:57,130 Speaker 1: into Krugersdorp in the hope of encountering the reinforcements, or 271 00:19:57,610 --> 00:20:00,370 Speaker 1: skirt around the side of Krugersdorp in the hope of 272 00:20:00,410 --> 00:20:05,330 Speaker 1: avoiding the bores. Skirt around the outside, said Jameson's second 273 00:20:05,330 --> 00:20:10,570 Speaker 1: in command, an experienced military man was kipling said about 274 00:20:10,650 --> 00:20:15,330 Speaker 1: taking advice if all men count with you, but not 275 00:20:15,570 --> 00:20:19,930 Speaker 1: too much. No, no, said Jameson, charged straight into Krugersdorp. 276 00:20:20,650 --> 00:20:27,210 Speaker 1: So that's what they did. After losing sixty men, Jameson 277 00:20:27,290 --> 00:20:31,330 Speaker 1: decided that perhaps they'd better skirt around the outside after all. 278 00:20:32,690 --> 00:20:36,450 Speaker 1: As night began to fall, they suddenly heard gunfire in 279 00:20:36,490 --> 00:20:42,250 Speaker 1: the distance. It was coming from Krugersdorp, the reinforcements, said Jameson, 280 00:20:42,610 --> 00:20:45,610 Speaker 1: we'll have to turn back and help them fight. But 281 00:20:46,010 --> 00:20:49,170 Speaker 1: the gunfire hadn't been reinforcements at all. It had been 282 00:20:49,370 --> 00:20:53,010 Speaker 1: yet more bore fighters arriving to join the party and 283 00:20:53,130 --> 00:20:56,730 Speaker 1: firing their guns in the air in celebration. By the 284 00:20:56,810 --> 00:21:00,890 Speaker 1: time Jameson realized there were no reinforcements, he had no 285 00:21:01,050 --> 00:21:04,050 Speaker 1: option but to stop where he was and camp for 286 00:21:04,090 --> 00:21:11,490 Speaker 1: the night. Morning brought yet another messenger from Sir Hercules. 287 00:21:12,250 --> 00:21:15,930 Speaker 1: I do command Doctor Jameson and all persons accompanying him 288 00:21:15,970 --> 00:21:19,210 Speaker 1: to immediately retire from the territory of the South African 289 00:21:19,250 --> 00:21:23,890 Speaker 1: Republic on pain of penalties attached to their illegal proceedings. 290 00:21:25,050 --> 00:21:28,450 Speaker 1: You can probably imagine how Jameson reacted to this one 291 00:21:28,530 --> 00:21:32,210 Speaker 1: last push to Johannesburg. It's only twelve more miles. Come on, 292 00:21:32,690 --> 00:21:36,330 Speaker 1: we can do this if you can force your heart 293 00:21:36,450 --> 00:21:40,290 Speaker 1: to nerve and sinew to serve your turn. Long after 294 00:21:40,330 --> 00:21:44,930 Speaker 1: they are gone, Jameson's men weren't just using their hearts 295 00:21:44,970 --> 00:21:48,970 Speaker 1: and nerves and sinews, but also their eyes and brains. 296 00:21:49,810 --> 00:21:52,490 Speaker 1: They could see that they were surrounded now by bores 297 00:21:52,730 --> 00:21:56,970 Speaker 1: and heavily outnumbered. Jameson stopped by a stream and got 298 00:21:57,010 --> 00:22:00,130 Speaker 1: off his horse to take a drink of water. Standing 299 00:22:00,210 --> 00:22:04,050 Speaker 1: nearby was an old African woman wearing a white apron. 300 00:22:04,690 --> 00:22:08,170 Speaker 1: When Jameson looked up from the stream, he was horrified 301 00:22:08,250 --> 00:22:12,290 Speaker 1: to see his soul surrendering by waving that white apron 302 00:22:12,450 --> 00:22:18,050 Speaker 1: urgently in the direction of the nearest bors. It was over. 303 00:22:19,130 --> 00:22:22,450 Speaker 1: The Boer commander sent a message to Jameson, lay down 304 00:22:22,490 --> 00:22:27,090 Speaker 1: your flag and your arms. I fight under no flag 305 00:22:27,650 --> 00:22:31,450 Speaker 1: my arms. I am prepared to surrender, but as I 306 00:22:31,450 --> 00:22:33,810 Speaker 1: have never done so before, I don't know how to 307 00:22:33,850 --> 00:22:39,410 Speaker 1: proceed about it. Jameson had demonstrated many of the qualities 308 00:22:39,450 --> 00:22:43,690 Speaker 1: that Kipling's poem extoles, but those virtues weren't the ones 309 00:22:43,770 --> 00:22:48,490 Speaker 1: that the situation demanded. The Jameson raid had been an 310 00:22:48,610 --> 00:23:13,930 Speaker 1: unmitigated disaster. Portionary tales will return after the break. Yarna 311 00:23:14,010 --> 00:23:17,290 Speaker 1: Novotna has just served a double fault to miss the 312 00:23:17,370 --> 00:23:20,450 Speaker 1: chance of getting within one game of winning the nineteen 313 00:23:20,570 --> 00:23:24,890 Speaker 1: ninety three Wimbledon Championship, but she's still in a great position, 314 00:23:25,130 --> 00:23:29,810 Speaker 1: well ahead in the deciding set. She serves again. Stephie 315 00:23:29,850 --> 00:23:32,970 Speaker 1: Graff's return is weak, giving Navotna plenty of time to 316 00:23:33,050 --> 00:23:36,010 Speaker 1: choose where to smash what should be a routine winner, 317 00:23:36,770 --> 00:23:40,650 Speaker 1: but instead she smacks the ball along way past the 318 00:23:40,690 --> 00:23:47,650 Speaker 1: baseline advantage Miss Graff. That's two bizarre errors in two points. 319 00:23:48,330 --> 00:23:53,210 Speaker 1: Graf wins the next point and the game gay Miss Graff. 320 00:23:53,810 --> 00:23:57,170 Speaker 1: Mister Vatner leads by four games to two. Final seven 321 00:23:58,290 --> 00:24:02,170 Speaker 1: should have been five to one, instead it's four to two. 322 00:24:02,330 --> 00:24:06,090 Speaker 1: At this point, any sports psychologist would tell Novotna to 323 00:24:06,170 --> 00:24:09,730 Speaker 1: forget what just happened. She's played a few bats shots, 324 00:24:09,730 --> 00:24:13,250 Speaker 1: but she hasn't suddenly become a bad player. But Novotna 325 00:24:13,290 --> 00:24:17,450 Speaker 1: seems to be struggling to refocus. Graf wins the next 326 00:24:17,490 --> 00:24:21,690 Speaker 1: game four to three, and the next and the next 327 00:24:23,290 --> 00:24:26,770 Speaker 1: ms Graff leans by five games to four. Final set. 328 00:24:28,250 --> 00:24:30,370 Speaker 1: Novotna now has to win the next game just to 329 00:24:30,410 --> 00:24:35,930 Speaker 1: keep the match going fifteen thirty, But it's not going well. 330 00:24:36,370 --> 00:24:41,050 Speaker 1: She whiffs a backhand into the net fifteen forteen, a 331 00:24:41,130 --> 00:24:44,930 Speaker 1: weak lob, and it's all too easy for stephie Graff 332 00:24:45,010 --> 00:24:51,210 Speaker 1: to smash the championship, winning point game set and mat 333 00:24:51,290 --> 00:24:55,410 Speaker 1: mis rap. It's only when Novotna is receiving the runners 334 00:24:55,530 --> 00:24:59,490 Speaker 1: up trophy that the enormity of her choke sinks in 335 00:25:00,730 --> 00:25:03,890 Speaker 1: how on earth did she lose? That? She takes the 336 00:25:03,970 --> 00:25:09,090 Speaker 1: silver plate from the Duchess of Kent, a minor British royal. Don't, 337 00:25:09,090 --> 00:25:14,050 Speaker 1: says the Duchess, you'll win it one day. Novotna starts 338 00:25:14,090 --> 00:25:18,490 Speaker 1: to well up. The Duchess reaches out a comforting arm. 339 00:25:18,690 --> 00:25:23,290 Speaker 1: Novotna puts her head on the Duchess's shoulder and sobs. 340 00:25:25,570 --> 00:25:31,050 Speaker 1: What happens when a sportsperson chokes like Yanna Novotna. Psychologists 341 00:25:31,170 --> 00:25:35,210 Speaker 1: have a few theories. One is that playing high level 342 00:25:35,250 --> 00:25:39,050 Speaker 1: sport demands all your attention, and if you start attending 343 00:25:39,090 --> 00:25:42,690 Speaker 1: to other thoughts instead, I'm so close to winning, or 344 00:25:43,050 --> 00:25:46,090 Speaker 1: it's all going wrong you can no longer perform at 345 00:25:46,090 --> 00:25:50,890 Speaker 1: your peak. Another theory is almost the reverse. It holds 346 00:25:50,930 --> 00:25:53,770 Speaker 1: that high level sport depends on skills that are so 347 00:25:54,010 --> 00:25:57,250 Speaker 1: well honed you don't have to think about them, and 348 00:25:57,290 --> 00:26:01,090 Speaker 1: when you choke, you trip yourself up by consciously analyzing 349 00:26:01,130 --> 00:26:04,850 Speaker 1: the kind of split second decisions that are usually automatic. 350 00:26:05,930 --> 00:26:09,530 Speaker 1: Whichever theory is right, Kipling told us how to avoid it. 351 00:26:10,370 --> 00:26:13,850 Speaker 1: If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat 352 00:26:14,010 --> 00:26:18,690 Speaker 1: those two impostors just the same, it's great advice for 353 00:26:18,730 --> 00:26:21,210 Speaker 1: the heat of a battle on center court. You win 354 00:26:21,290 --> 00:26:24,050 Speaker 1: a point, you lose a point, you should play the 355 00:26:24,130 --> 00:26:29,450 Speaker 1: next point in just the same way. That's not easy, 356 00:26:29,930 --> 00:26:32,690 Speaker 1: But as soon as we step out of the sporting arena, 357 00:26:32,850 --> 00:26:37,530 Speaker 1: I don't think it's great advice for life. Far from it. Generally, 358 00:26:37,570 --> 00:26:40,250 Speaker 1: when you have a disaster, you don't want to shrug 359 00:26:40,330 --> 00:26:43,170 Speaker 1: it off and plug on doing the exact same things. 360 00:26:44,170 --> 00:26:47,610 Speaker 1: You want to ask why the disaster happened and what 361 00:26:48,090 --> 00:26:55,050 Speaker 1: you might learn from it. We'll hand you over to 362 00:26:55,090 --> 00:26:58,810 Speaker 1: the government in Pretoria, said the Boar fighters to doctor Jameson. 363 00:26:59,290 --> 00:27:02,370 Speaker 1: They can decide what to do with you. They confiscated 364 00:27:02,410 --> 00:27:06,010 Speaker 1: a bag of documents that Jameson was carrying. It contained 365 00:27:06,210 --> 00:27:09,490 Speaker 1: not only the coded messages from the conspirators in johanna Burg, 366 00:27:09,970 --> 00:27:13,810 Speaker 1: but also the codebook to decipher them. The conspirators were 367 00:27:13,890 --> 00:27:17,290 Speaker 1: not happy to find themselves being rounded up and joining 368 00:27:17,370 --> 00:27:21,250 Speaker 1: Jameson under lock and key back in Britain, though the 369 00:27:21,370 --> 00:27:25,930 Speaker 1: nationalistic public didn't see Jameson as a blundering incompetent. They 370 00:27:25,970 --> 00:27:29,850 Speaker 1: thought he was a plucky hero. The Doctor had Aird 371 00:27:30,370 --> 00:27:34,410 Speaker 1: said the times of London only through excess of zeal 372 00:27:34,570 --> 00:27:39,330 Speaker 1: for empire. The poet laureate rushed out some verses, there 373 00:27:39,330 --> 00:27:42,170 Speaker 1: are girls in the gold Reef city. There are mothers 374 00:27:42,170 --> 00:27:45,770 Speaker 1: and children too, and they cry hurry up for pity. 375 00:27:46,330 --> 00:27:50,250 Speaker 1: So what can a brave man do? In Pretoria, the 376 00:27:50,330 --> 00:27:54,450 Speaker 1: boar leader resisted demands to make Jameson face a firing squad. 377 00:27:55,010 --> 00:27:58,970 Speaker 1: There was no point creating a martyr. Instead, he passed 378 00:27:59,050 --> 00:28:02,290 Speaker 1: Jameson on to the British authorities in the nearest colony, 379 00:28:02,570 --> 00:28:05,050 Speaker 1: and they put him on the first boat back to London, 380 00:28:05,290 --> 00:28:09,930 Speaker 1: where he was lionized. He received many offers of marriage, 381 00:28:09,970 --> 00:28:13,890 Speaker 1: including one from an attractive and wealthy widow who explained 382 00:28:13,930 --> 00:28:18,450 Speaker 1: that she had two marriageable daughters, and the gallant doctor 383 00:28:18,690 --> 00:28:23,010 Speaker 1: might make his choice of the three veterans of Jameson's 384 00:28:23,090 --> 00:28:26,290 Speaker 1: raid would work the pubs of London, collecting money and 385 00:28:26,330 --> 00:28:30,010 Speaker 1: the odd glass of whiskey in exchange for vivid tales 386 00:28:30,050 --> 00:28:35,330 Speaker 1: of their adventures. Not just veterans either. One newspaper archly 387 00:28:35,410 --> 00:28:41,090 Speaker 1: noted that South African dress was easily obtained from theatrical suppliers, 388 00:28:41,130 --> 00:28:45,290 Speaker 1: adding that there are more felt hatted, high booted individuals 389 00:28:45,330 --> 00:28:49,610 Speaker 1: now working the public houses of London than ever saw Krugersdorp. 390 00:28:51,690 --> 00:28:55,650 Speaker 1: The hero worship of Jameson and his raiders gave Britain's 391 00:28:55,690 --> 00:29:00,130 Speaker 1: government a headache. He might be popular, but Jameson had 392 00:29:00,130 --> 00:29:04,090 Speaker 1: invaded an ostensibly friendly state. They had to put him 393 00:29:04,090 --> 00:29:08,970 Speaker 1: on trial. But they also knew Jameson had incriminating messages 394 00:29:09,130 --> 00:29:12,930 Speaker 1: from Sir Hercules Robinson, showing that the government had been 395 00:29:13,050 --> 00:29:16,610 Speaker 1: well aware of the plan to ferment an uprising. Sir 396 00:29:16,650 --> 00:29:22,610 Speaker 1: Hercules sent his deputy to talk to Jameson. Well, said Jameson, 397 00:29:22,810 --> 00:29:25,290 Speaker 1: I have made a nice mess of it. I suppose 398 00:29:25,330 --> 00:29:29,410 Speaker 1: you've come to reproach me. Certainly, not came the reply, 399 00:29:30,490 --> 00:29:33,010 Speaker 1: but I want you to help your country out of 400 00:29:33,090 --> 00:29:37,970 Speaker 1: the mess. How could Jameson do that? Go to prison 401 00:29:38,050 --> 00:29:43,690 Speaker 1: with your mouth shut? He was told Jameson did stoically 402 00:29:43,730 --> 00:29:48,450 Speaker 1: taking all the blame, despite some skeptical questioning, Sir Hercules 403 00:29:48,530 --> 00:29:51,570 Speaker 1: must have known of your planned invasion, wouldn't it have 404 00:29:51,610 --> 00:29:54,090 Speaker 1: been the proper thing for you to have told him? 405 00:29:54,490 --> 00:29:58,210 Speaker 1: Indeed it would, said Jameson. But if I was concerned 406 00:29:58,250 --> 00:30:01,290 Speaker 1: about doing the proper thing, I wouldn't have been planning 407 00:30:01,330 --> 00:30:05,490 Speaker 1: the invasion in the first place. For Rudyard Kipling, Jameson's 408 00:30:05,610 --> 00:30:10,450 Speaker 1: cheerful willingness to trash his own reputation with deeply impressive. 409 00:30:11,850 --> 00:30:14,450 Speaker 1: If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken 410 00:30:14,970 --> 00:30:19,690 Speaker 1: twisted by Knaves to make a trap for fools. Jameson 411 00:30:19,850 --> 00:30:23,370 Speaker 1: served his time in prison, then went back to Southern Africa. 412 00:30:24,010 --> 00:30:27,570 Speaker 1: He stood for parliament in Cape Colony and soon worked 413 00:30:27,570 --> 00:30:30,730 Speaker 1: his way up to be Prime Minister. A demonstration of 414 00:30:30,890 --> 00:30:35,690 Speaker 1: astonishing incompetence, it seemed, was no impediment to success in 415 00:30:35,730 --> 00:30:40,850 Speaker 1: British politics. Some might wonder how much has changed? But 416 00:30:40,930 --> 00:30:44,610 Speaker 1: what had Jameson learned from the disaster of the Jameson Raid. 417 00:30:45,290 --> 00:30:48,370 Speaker 1: If there's an answer to that question, we don't know it. 418 00:30:48,970 --> 00:30:53,130 Speaker 1: Jameson never talked about it. When his friends asked, he'd 419 00:30:53,130 --> 00:30:56,090 Speaker 1: simply laughed. That he'd made a bloody fool of himself. 420 00:30:58,970 --> 00:31:01,730 Speaker 1: It's hard for us today to see doctor Jameson through 421 00:31:01,770 --> 00:31:06,370 Speaker 1: the admiring eyes of Rudyard Kipling. What, after all, was 422 00:31:06,370 --> 00:31:10,610 Speaker 1: the Jameson raid about? Not right or wrong, not some 423 00:31:10,930 --> 00:31:15,050 Speaker 1: deep point of principle. No, it was about which set 424 00:31:15,130 --> 00:31:17,890 Speaker 1: of white men would get to exploit the minerals of 425 00:31:17,970 --> 00:31:22,930 Speaker 1: Black Africans, Which very rich man, the British businessman Cecil Roads, 426 00:31:23,050 --> 00:31:26,410 Speaker 1: or the boor leader Paul Krueger would get richer. Still, 427 00:31:27,410 --> 00:31:30,170 Speaker 1: it's clear to us that this is all beside the point. 428 00:31:30,850 --> 00:31:35,050 Speaker 1: What matters is the inequality the exploitation. But for Jameson, 429 00:31:35,090 --> 00:31:38,730 Speaker 1: it seems gaining territory was little more than a game. 430 00:31:39,850 --> 00:31:43,210 Speaker 1: So perhaps it's no coincidence that the famous line about 431 00:31:43,290 --> 00:31:48,050 Speaker 1: triumph and disaster feels so well suited to playing games. 432 00:31:49,010 --> 00:31:51,530 Speaker 1: And I don't think that's the only line from Kipling's 433 00:31:51,530 --> 00:31:57,770 Speaker 1: poem that's brilliant advice for sports, but terrible advice for life. 434 00:31:57,850 --> 00:32:00,490 Speaker 1: If you can make one heap of all your winnings 435 00:32:00,930 --> 00:32:03,930 Speaker 1: and risk it on one turn of pitch and toss 436 00:32:04,530 --> 00:32:10,090 Speaker 1: and lose and start again at your beginnings and toss 437 00:32:10,290 --> 00:32:14,570 Speaker 1: is a simple, silly gambling game. Jameson would probably have 438 00:32:14,610 --> 00:32:18,050 Speaker 1: loved it, but I can't help feeling that it's generally 439 00:32:18,090 --> 00:32:21,490 Speaker 1: a good idea not to risk everything you own on 440 00:32:21,490 --> 00:32:24,210 Speaker 1: one turn of pitch and toss if you can help it. 441 00:32:25,130 --> 00:32:27,730 Speaker 1: In sport, you can't help it, And if the risk 442 00:32:27,850 --> 00:32:30,930 Speaker 1: doesn't pay off, then exactly the right response is to 443 00:32:31,090 --> 00:32:34,210 Speaker 1: start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word 444 00:32:34,290 --> 00:32:38,890 Speaker 1: about your loss. Or how about that line about knaves 445 00:32:39,010 --> 00:32:42,450 Speaker 1: twisting the truth to make a trap for fools. It's 446 00:32:42,490 --> 00:32:46,210 Speaker 1: a common enough problem nowadays, But is the right response 447 00:32:46,290 --> 00:32:50,730 Speaker 1: really to bear it? I'm not so sure. Again, except 448 00:32:50,730 --> 00:32:54,450 Speaker 1: for sport, you'll often see a cunning player fooler referee 449 00:32:54,490 --> 00:32:57,810 Speaker 1: into giving an unfair decision. The best response for the 450 00:32:57,850 --> 00:33:01,210 Speaker 1: opposing player is generally to suck it up and stay 451 00:33:01,330 --> 00:33:04,810 Speaker 1: coolly focused on winning the match. You can complain about 452 00:33:04,810 --> 00:33:08,930 Speaker 1: the refereeing standards when the match is over, and when 453 00:33:08,930 --> 00:33:11,570 Speaker 1: the match is over then you can ask what you 454 00:33:11,610 --> 00:33:14,450 Speaker 1: can learn from it to stand you in better stead 455 00:33:14,730 --> 00:33:18,930 Speaker 1: for next time. That's what Yarna Novotna tried to do 456 00:33:19,370 --> 00:33:23,690 Speaker 1: after her defeat in the Wimbledon final of nineteen ninety three. 457 00:33:23,930 --> 00:33:28,210 Speaker 1: Novotna said later I'm always trying to take only the 458 00:33:28,250 --> 00:33:31,130 Speaker 1: positive things from that final and put it in a 459 00:33:31,170 --> 00:33:35,250 Speaker 1: good way for the future. Novotna got to the final 460 00:33:35,250 --> 00:33:40,610 Speaker 1: of Wimbledon again five years later. Once again she walked 461 00:33:40,690 --> 00:33:44,090 Speaker 1: on to center court under the words about treating those 462 00:33:44,170 --> 00:33:50,610 Speaker 1: two impostors just the same. This time she won. There 463 00:33:50,650 --> 00:33:53,890 Speaker 1: again to present the trophy was the Duchess of Kent. 464 00:33:55,170 --> 00:33:58,690 Speaker 1: Before she handed over the big gold plate, not the 465 00:33:58,730 --> 00:34:03,130 Speaker 1: little silver one, she warmly clasped both of Novotna's hands 466 00:34:03,210 --> 00:34:07,850 Speaker 1: in hers and said, I'm so proud of you. Treat 467 00:34:08,090 --> 00:34:12,730 Speaker 1: those two in Posta's just the same while playing. Yes, 468 00:34:13,450 --> 00:34:17,610 Speaker 1: but Novotna had learned from her disaster, you couldn't begrudge 469 00:34:17,650 --> 00:34:27,730 Speaker 1: her enjoying the triumph. The key source on the Jameson 470 00:34:27,850 --> 00:34:31,530 Speaker 1: raid is Chris Ash's book The If Man. For a 471 00:34:31,570 --> 00:34:34,130 Speaker 1: full list of our sources, please see the show notes 472 00:34:34,210 --> 00:34:40,890 Speaker 1: at Timharford dot com. Cautionary Tales is written by me 473 00:34:41,130 --> 00:34:45,090 Speaker 1: Tim Harford with Andrew Wright. It's produced by Alice Fines 474 00:34:45,250 --> 00:34:49,050 Speaker 1: with support from Edith Huslow. The sound design and original 475 00:34:49,130 --> 00:34:53,650 Speaker 1: music is the work of Pascal Wise. Julia Barton edited 476 00:34:53,690 --> 00:34:57,290 Speaker 1: the scripts. It features the voice talents of Ben Crowe, 477 00:34:57,610 --> 00:35:02,250 Speaker 1: Melanie Guttridge, Jemma Saunders and rufus Wright. The show wouldn't 478 00:35:02,250 --> 00:35:06,130 Speaker 1: have been possible without the work of Jacob Weisberg, Ryan Dilly, 479 00:35:06,450 --> 00:35:12,370 Speaker 1: Greta cohne Let, Al Mallard, Carlie mcgliori and Eric Sandler. 480 00:35:15,450 --> 00:35:19,050 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales is a production of Pushkin Industries. It was 481 00:35:19,090 --> 00:35:22,970 Speaker 1: recorded in Wardall Studios in London by Tom Berry. If 482 00:35:22,970 --> 00:35:25,810 Speaker 1: you like the show, please remember to share, rate and 483 00:35:25,930 --> 00:35:28,610 Speaker 1: review go on you know it helps us and if 484 00:35:28,650 --> 00:35:31,530 Speaker 1: you want to hear the show ad free, sign up 485 00:35:31,610 --> 00:35:35,050 Speaker 1: for Pushkin Plus on the show page in Apple Podcasts 486 00:35:35,170 --> 00:36:00,850 Speaker 1: or at pushkin dot Fm, slash plus