New Edirn - Part 3Notes on various specific aspects Alcohol The Arransian settlers lost no time in establishing that barley could be grown in New Edirn to support the production of beer and whisky, and the country now meets all its own requirements as well as some exports to Thirland, although the New Edirn barley is not considered as good as that grown in Arransia. The country has two operating whisky distilleries and about ten substantial breweries, plus a few brew-pubs that have opened in recent years. The whisky is made from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley and is entirely unpeated, giving it a distinctively different character to that produced in Arransia. It is often sold locally at a relatively young age when it can be somewhat fiery but it assumes a greater mellowness as it becomes older. There is a strong Skanian influence on the brewing industry and most of the beer is bottom-fermenting lager, albeit generally of a full-bodied, sweet and malty type. Some ales are still brewed and ruby-coloured ales remain the favoured drink of the Roatangi community. Among some of the Skanian immigrants there was a strong temperance tradition and indeed in 1907 a law was passed allowing a local option on prohibition that was taken up by a few small communities with predictably absurd results. This is still on the statute book but is completely ignored. From the 1930s depression onwards there was a steady increase in per capita alcohol consumption such that by 2000 it had reached a level 50% above that in Arransia, a country often accused (not entirely fairly) of being over-fond of a drink. In the late 1980s an attempt to curb this by raising taxes resulted in a surge in home brewing and distilling of moonshine and is considered to be a factor behind the Social Credit Party losing power in 1990. Nevertheless, alcohol is not particularly cheap and, given the lack of other things to do in the country, it seems that New Edirners simply enjoy a drink, to the extent that they are often caricatured by outsiders as “permanently pissed”. This is in an environment where the restrictions on both on and off-sales are considerably tighter than those in Arransia or Brunswick and a minimum drinking age of 18 is fairly strictly enforced. In the 2000s, unlicensed distilling has been completely banned, as there was widespread evidence that it was being abused by criminal elements, and the official standard strengths of beers were reduced by 10%, although this simply led to some trading-up to a higher category. In 1983 a drink-driving law along the lines of the Arransian one was introduced, albeit with a 100 mg rather than 80 mg limit. In practice this has never been heavily enforced and magistrates are often reluctant to disqualify repeat offenders. This means that driving when well over the limit is far more common in New Edirn and contributes towards the country’s relatively poor road safety record. Railways At its height, New Edirn’s 3’6” gauge railway network extended to over 1000 miles, which is very considerable for a country of its population. Apart from a few miles around Muirhead this was all single-track. The “main line” of 182 miles runs from Muirhead to Hobbes via Halfway. The railways were from the outset wholly state-owned. In the 1940s restrictions on coal imports led to services becoming very sparse, and in the 1950s much of the traffic was taken away by lorries and motor buses, reducing some branch lines to nothing more than weekly livestock specials. Eventually many of the more peripheral branches were pruned, but the remaining system still has 550 miles of track. Steam operation finished in 1963 although there are a growing number of special steam trains and in the 1990s a pair of replicas of the impressive 1920s Class M 4-8-2s was built in Arransia (the ten original locomotives having been scrapped in 1954). These occasionally work revenue-earning trains. In the 1950s, the Arransian railway administrator who had been seconded to review the operation of the New Edirn railways was understandably incandescent that these locomotives had been prematurely scrapped in favour of inferior diesels. In the early 1960s Arransia supplied a fleet of solid, reliable diesel locomotives which handled all the freight traffic competently for many years although they have now mostly been replaced by newer designs. Traffic is not very intensive and the total number of locomotives is only around 60. Most passenger services are handled by diesel railcars and indeed the low maximum speeds permitted on the railways (off the two main lines a maximum of 40 mph) mean that long-distance travel is more often done by express bus. Away from the main lines and one commuter line radiating from Muirhead, passenger service levels are typically no more than two or three trains per day. In 1998 a pair of four-car “High Speed Train” units were introduced which provide three daily services between Muirhead and Hobbes in 3½ hours with two intermediate stops, an average of 52 mph, which is revolutionary for New Edirn. However, it is still possible to accomplish the equivalent road journey, which is 9 miles shorter, in a quicker time without driving irresponsibly quickly. A similar service to Sophia began in 2005, although because of limited line capacity the two trains run coupled together as far as Mulletby where the line to Sophia diverges. The government are keen to develop the railway system and in 2006 started work on doubling the 46 miles of line between Muirhead and Mulletby. The railways, which continue to carry a lot of long-distance freight, do in fact make a profit before financing charges. Muirhead, Hobbes and Sophia have tram systems, also on the 3’6” gauge, with that of Muirhead having 85% of the total track mileage. All have a thoroughly Arransian character and the equipment is entirely Arransian-supplied. Only Muirhead has ever used double-deck cars, and those have all now been replaced by modern single-deck articulated pairs. Muirhead in fact has a more extensive tram system than any cities in Arransia apart from Danby, Stainton, Hebburn and Petersburgh. Hobbes and Sophia mostly have rather functional single-deckers of 1960s and 1970s design. The system in Hobbes has been cut back somewhat due to the decline of the city, while Sophia’s has expanded. Roads Before the Great War, what long-distance traffic there was went by rail, and there was little incentive to improve a road network that was mostly used for local traffic. Even in 1950 there were some gravel stretches on the main road from Muirhead to Hobbes. Providing a comprehensive network of metalled highways was a major project of the 1950s and 1960s. New Edirn is much flatter and more spacious than most of Arransia, and the rural roads are very un-Arransian, with undivided minor roads often 24’ or more wide, and major roads often up to 40’ wide with a single dotted line down the middle, without any shoulders being marked out. This leads to confusing variations in drivers’ approach to lane positioning and overtaking, and it is not unknown to see a slow driver occupying the crown of the road being overtaken on the left. Most of the smaller towns and villages were laid out with very wide main streets to allow horse-drawn vehicles to park end-on. Surfaces are often poor, with many roads having been first tarmaced in the 1960s and since then only occasionally patched up. It is now rare to find a public road with a gravel surface, but roads solely giving access to farms are often privately owned and unmetalled. New Edirn still has no “no overtaking” lines although limited schemes of marking out some of the busier highways with three lanes have taken place. It also has no rural dual carriageways and certainly nothing resembling an Expressway, although there is three miles of rather destructive grade-separated quasi urban motorway in Muirhead called the Harbour Parkway. The main roads are numbered A1 to A27 on the Arransian pattern, and these numbers appear on direction signs. A1 is the Muirhead-Hobbes road and A2 Muirhead-Sophia. There are no B-class roads. However, the locals refer to “Highway One” and “Highway Two” and rarely use the two-digit numbers at all. New Edirn uses the Arransian traffic signing system, something that is often thought to be a 1950s innovation but in fact was introduced in the 1930s. Obviously some of the more complex aspects of Arransian signing, in particular those relating to Expressways, are not needed, but otherwise the Traffic Signs Manual is followed precisely. This allows a certain amount of flexibility so a BEWARE WALLABIES sign can be made up even if not in the book. The look of the cities, especially Muirhead and Hobbes, is very Arransian, so as long as any destinations are blanked out, photos including New Edirn signs can form puzzling quiz questions. Traffic signals also follow the Arransian pattern, while roundabouts are virtually unknown. Arransian signing is often considered a little sparse, but that in New Edirn is sparser still. Speed limits are 30 mph in towns and unrestricted out of town, with a small mileage of 40 mph limits in suburban areas, mostly in Muirhead. There is a lot of ribbon development along major roads which can lead to extended 30s that are routinely ignored. Some of these would probably be 40s in Arransia. There are no 50 limits apart from the Harbour Parkway. There is a recommended national maximum speed of 60 mph but this is generally ignored. Heavy goods vehicles have a national maximum of 50 mph and vans, buses and coaches 60 mph. There is a national traffic police force, but they are chronically under-resourced, especially considering the physical extent of the country, with only 240 officers. The City of Muirhead looks after its own traffic policing. The minimum driving age is 16 for cars, motorcycles and light trucks, and 18 for heavy trucks and buses. New Edirn has one of the highest rates of participation in driving in the world, with over 70% of boys and 50% of girls passing a test before their twenty-first birthday, and over 90% of males in the 30-40 age group having licences. For various reasons, including the widespread use of relatively high-powered cars, the lack of traffic policing, the prevalence of drink-driving, poorly marked junctions and a high mileage of quiet, straight rural highways, New Edirn has a much inferior road safety record to Arransia. It was only in the late 1990s that the annual fatality figure fell below 100 and in 2006 it was still 78, which is about 2½ times the Arransian equivalent per head of population. The issue is taken seriously by the government, but at the same time the futility of simply passing legislation that is neither adhered to nor enforced is recognised. The main priorities are seen as strengthening the traffic police to enforce existing laws (particularly speeding and drink-driving) more effectively, and in improving the layout of rural road junctions. It is also proposed to build bypasses for some of the larger towns on main roads. Driving the 173 miles from Muirhead to Hobbes along the A1 in two hours remains a subject of much national myth, although in practice because of the lengthy 30 limits through Mulletby and Halfway it is not realistically possible to do this with any semblance of legality. Motor Vehicles The motor car was slow to take off in New Edirn and until the end of the war it remained a largely horse-drawn and tram-based economy, although the take-up of motor transport was quicker in the commercial sector. In the immediate post-war era there was something of a flood of imported vehicles which were usually Brunswickian designs assembled in Thirland. Taxation on road fuel was very low as it had simply never occurred to the government that it was worth taxing and this naturally led to a preference for big cars with large engines. The effect on the balance of payments of the rise in imports contributed to the country’s financial crisis. This situation changed dramatically after 1956 as Arransia was given a monopoly on vehicle imports, although they undertook where possibly to bring vehicles in as CKD (complete knock down) kits and assemble them locally. The AMC 35 “Ladybird” which was revered in the home country was regarded with derision in New Edirn and the importers rapidly settled on the larger AMC 55 as the standard vehicle to import. The pattern was quickly set that New Edirn wanted a larger engine than was usual in Arransia, albeit in a detuned state to cope with lower quality local fuel, that springs needed to be stronger and stiffer, that estates would form a high proportion of sales, and that about 15% of sales would go to a two-door variant not sold in the home country. The cars have also always been sold under the Atkinson brand name, not as AMC, with the 55 being the Atkinson Ambassador. In fact the New Edirners quickly became used to these cars and showed great enthusiasm for tuning them and slotting in larger engines up to and including 4.5-litre V8s. In the late 1950s about 4,000 cars a year were sold but the amount has steadily increased. The 55 was replaced by the AMC 65 or Atkinson Pathfinder in 1969, two years after the model was introduced in Arransia, and then by the AMC 75 or Atkinson Venturer in 1987, five years after its Arransian debut. The Venturer remains on sale to this day, even though the model has gone out of production at home for ten years now. The cars are available in two states of tune and two trim levels, and also in a two-door version never sold in Arransia, but if you want a cheap car you buy a used one. The sales mix is about 45% four-doors, 15% two-doors and 40% four-door estates. Because there is no import duty on Arransian cars and trim levels are fairly basic, the retail prices appear very cheap compared with their home-market counterparts. A small number of top-end models are brought in as personal imports, but attract a punitive 100% import duty and also mark someone out as ostentatious. AMC are currently investigating whether a stripped-out version of the AMC500 with an uncatalysed (but fuel-injected) 2.0 engine could be economically supplied to New Edirn, as even in the country it is recognised that the current vehicles are somewhat crude and antiquated. However, it is felt that this might meet with some resistance as a front-wheel-drive model. There are about 275,000 registered private vehicles, a higher number per head than Arransia, but the annual sales of new cars only amount to around 18,000, indicating a high average lifespan. It is often remarked how New Edirn farmers happily drive battered Venturer Estates down unmade, rutted rural tracks that in most other countries would have people calling for a 4x4. Putting a few sheep in the back is reckoned to improve traction. Defence The National Guard set up in the 1940s was consolidated into the New Edirn Defence Force in 1950. Under the command of a Rear-Admiral, this now has about 9,000 personnel in total and has land, sea and air branches. The aim is primarily to deter and combat low-level threats and economic incursions rather than provide a full-blown defence of the island, a task which it is recognised is realistically impossible against a determined enemy. Thirland has its own fully-fledged conventional forces, but has a defence treaty with Brunswick under which Brunswick implicitly promises to use nuclear weapons against any foreign power mounting a major attack on the country. The leaders of New Edirn have campaigned vocally for a similar guarantee to be extended to them. In theory it would make sense for New Edirn to co-operate with Thirland to promote regional security but in practice this does not occur. The NEDF has a battalion of about 750 Marines, about half of whom are Roatangi, and four modern Arransian-built patrol frigates and two submarines. It might be thought that New Edirn was ideal territory for flying boats but in fact the air wing uses the elderly B-31 twin-engined bomber as a combined reconnaissance and strike aircraft. Options for replacing these are currently being considered. The more able young people who want to become naval officers or pilots will still often enlist in the Arransian Navy rather than the NEDF, although in their 30s and 40s often transfer back to take up NEDF commissions. The NEDF are sometimes unfairly dismissed by some of the civilian population as chocolate soldiers, whereas in fact they have all been thoroughly trained by the Arransians and are considered in military circles to be one of the world’s most effective and professional smaller defence forces. However, it remains very much tailored to local requirements, and suggestions by the Arransians that it be upgraded to become more of a junior branch of the Arransian Royal Navy, and to take on wider responsibilities, have always been rejected despite substantial financial inducements. New Edirn values Arransia’s friendship and support but is unwilling to dance to their tune. Wildlife New Edirn shares the distinction with Thirland of having almost entirely marsupial native land animals. It is believed that there was never a land bridge between the two countries and that the animals travelled from Thirland to New Edirn on rafts of vegetation. This means that all the larger species are absent, as are the koala, platypus and echidna, and New Edirn only had an assortment of small wallabies, wombats and opossums. The only unique animal is the elusive marsupial lynx, which was the only land predator before the Arransians arrived. The Roatangi brought rats and mice, to which the Arransians added foxes and rabbits, although the lack of tree cover meant that feral cats never gained a great foothold. In general, introduced wildlife is now dominant, with the marsupials confined to national parks and the more remote areas, although the opossums have proved quite resilient. There are no wild dogs as there are in Thirland. Foxes pose a real threat to the sheep population and in New Edirn foxhunting is carried out with an intensity you would never see in Arransia, where it is done as much for sport as a form of pest control. The official national emblem is the silver fern, but in practice the wombat is often used to symbolise New Edirn. The government have made several attempts to change this to the rather elegant marsupial lynx, which is New Edirn’s only unique marsupial, but as it is so elusive few people have ever seen one and it is hard to identify with. The Roatangi The Roatangi have a different outlook on life to Sabrantians, but they are a proud people with a very rich oral history and anyone who dismisses them as a little primitive does so at his peril. They are very pale-skinned for a Polynesian people and apart from slightly fuller lips and noses are not easily distinguished from “whites”, although on average they tend to have a fuller build and are one of the largest identifiable distinct ethnic groups in the world. They place great value on fertility and also on the “mana” or aura of the tribal leader. They were never happy with New Edirn becoming a republic and continued to hold the Arransian monarchy in great veneration. It is thought that Princess Fiona marrying Alex Morton (whose long, thick black hair is viewed as a symbol of masculinity) and having two healthy children was a major factor in persuading them that the time had come for the restoration of the monarchy. Historical opinion is divided as to how long the Roatangi had been in New Edirn. Their own sagas and folk memories suggested it was about 800 years, but later archaeological research suggests that they had only been on the island since about 1470. They believe they are a people exiled after a major tribal battle and had only reached New Edirn after a long voyage during which half their canoes, including those carrying pigs, had been sunk in storms. The only meat they had was chickens, fish, wild birds and the scrawny little wallabies that were the only grazing animals in New Edirn; however, it is estimated that in 320 years their numbers increased from around 400 to 5,000, so they were more successful at sustaining themselves than had first been thought. They never built or carved in stone so archaeological remains are limited. Despite the words of the occasional hothead, it cannot be said in any meaningful sense that the Arransian colonisation either exploited the Roatangi or stole their land, and overall it brought about a major improvement in their way of life and prospects. They remain somewhat economically disadvantaged but have made great strides in recent years towards equality, helped by Joe Meruti becoming Chief Minister. Oddly, more young women than men seem to emigrate from New Edirn (possibly because there is plenty of unskilled and semi-skilled manual work for men), while the Roatangi produce more girl babies than boys, with the result that Roatangi women marrying “white” men is increasingly common. At one time the middle-aged, boozy New Edirn bachelor farmer was a common stereotype but nowadays he may often be seen with a buxom Roatangi wife fifteen or twenty years his junior and a brood of strapping, boisterous children. The Roatangi per capita birth rate is now almost twice that of the Sabrantian population and their chieftains have often been heard to say “this is our country and we’re not going anywhere”. In demographic terms they are still unlikely to overtake the incomers for three hundred years, but it would seem that in the future New Edirn will continue to absorb a little more of the passion and mysticism of the Roatangi and a little less of the matter-of-factness and materialism of the Sabrantians.
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