Leagues and leagues

How long is a league, anyway? Apparently it's "any of several European units of measurement ranging from 2.4 to 4.6 statute miles (3.9 to 7.4 km). In English-speaking countries the land league is generally accepted as 3 statute miles (4.83 km), although varying lengths from 7,500 feet to 15,000 feet (2.29 to 4.57 km) were sometimes employed. An ancient unit derived from the Gauls and introduced into England by the Normans, the league was estimated by the Romans to be equal to 1,500 paces—a pace, or passus, in Roman measure being nearly 5 feet (1.5 metres). Land leagues of about 2.63 miles (4.23 km) were used by the Spanish in early surveys of parts of the American Southwest. At one time the term was also used as a unit of area measurement. Old California surveys show square leagues equal to 4,439 acres (1,796 hectares). In the late 18th century the league also came to refer to the distance a cannon shot could be fired at menacing ships offshore. This resulted in the 3-mile offshore territorial limit." Which is a really useful thing to know, isn't it? How long is a league? Well, it could be just about anything, really.

One thing with better-defined rules is the Memory League, which is holding its first World Championship at the end of the month. I haven't qualified for it, which is the kind of thing that makes me resolve to do more training - really, if I can't be one of the top sixteen memory athletes in the world who have the time to qualify for and compete in a friendly online tournament, what kind of Memory Man am I? So I am officially going to devote myself to getting back up to speed and beyond on quickfire memory challenges! I can still memorise a pack of cards in under 30 seconds, after all, and that used to be a really big deal, so I'm sure I can catch up with the best (or nearly best) in the other disciplines too! I'll keep my devoted readers informed about my progress!