The name's Bond
Did you know the real James Bond 007, was not the creation of author Ian Fleming? In fact, we must travel back to 1527 to unravel dark secrets that surround this saga.
It is said that Bond borrowed his 007 title from Dr John Dee -- the 16th century English secret agent that used the code for his messages to Queen Elizabeth. The two zeros meant 'for your eyes only'. Dee signed his letters with two circles symbolising his own two eyes and indicating that he was the secret eyes of the queen. The two circles are guarded by what may be considered a square root sign or an elongated seven.
Dee was the instigator of MI5, British Intelligence. By the early 1580s, Dee began to turn towards the supernatural as a means to acquire knowledge. Specifically, he sought to contact angels through the use of a 'scryer' or crystal-gazer, who would act as an intermediary between Dee and the angels.
Dee spent his final years in poverty at Mortlake, a suburb of London, where he died in late 1608 or early 1609. So 007 had returned to 000.
Anthony Woods
Ennis, Co Clare
Irish Independent
