Leaning Lighthouses

 

Leaning Lighthouses

El Faro Inclinado, Mexico

                                Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The Leaning Lighthouse of Puerto Morelos, Mexico, 'El Faro Inclinado', is a distinctive blue and white landmark in the seaside town of Puerto Morelos, halfway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. It was built on the beach in 1946, replacing a rudimentary light on a metal pole, which had been in place since 1905.

About twenty years after its construction, Hurricane Beulah struck it, washing away the foundations, and causing it to tilt. Efforts to remove it failed and so it remains, a testament, were it needed, to the destructive power of hurricanes.

A lighthouse was essential, to warn vessels of the Great Mayan Reef that stretches more than 700 miles along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, so in 1968, a third lighthouse was built. It also fell foul of a hurricane, Wilma, in 2005, but managed to remain vertical.

Kiipsaare Lighthouse, Estonia

                                            Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

In Estonia, the Kiipsaare Lighthouse stood on the tip of the island of Saaremaa. It was built in 1993, to warn seafarers in the Baltic Sea of the peninsula and to act as a waypoint.

Although it was originally almost a mile inland, erosion has meant that it is now 160 feet offshore and leaning. It is no longer active.

                                        Bremerhaven lighthouse
                                        Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Meanwhile, in Germany, the Bremerhaven lighthouse, at the entrance to Bremen’s port, was listing so dangerously in 2022 that ships were forbidden to enter the Geeste River, for fear the building would collapse. The proposed plan was to demolish it if it didn’t topple by itself. This is quite a confused story and research leads to different accounts and photographs of structures that look completely unlike each other. However, it appears that it was pulled down eventually and part of it used in the construction of a replacement. 

Leap Year 2024

 

Leap Year 2024

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Happy New Year!

2024 is a leap year, a year with an extra day to balance the calendar year with the solar or tropical year. An astronomical year lasts slightly less than 365 and one quarter days. Without an adjustment every four years our calendar would soon become out of synchronisation with the tropical year; in four years, it would be out by about one day and in 100 years it would be out by approximately 25 days.

Julius Caesar introduced the leap year in 45 BC. The Julian calendar ruled that any year number divisible by 4 would be a leap year but this resulted in many leap years. Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582 to regulate this. The Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. It is still used in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as in Oriental Orthodoxy and by the Berbers in parts of North Africa.

Leap years occur every four years except for years that are divisible by 100 but not 400. 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was. For most of us, at least until 2100, if the last two numbers are divisible by 4, the year is a leap year.

The summer Olympics are held every four years, usually in a leap year. The 2020 Olympics were postponed for a year because of Covid. This year, Paris is hosting the summer Olympics from 26^th July to 11^th August. 

The opening ceremony is usually entertaining though sometimes needs to be interpreted by the commentators, as the dance/drama sequences can be quite mystifying. I wonder why, when all the nations of the world can put aside their differences for two weeks to participate, such willingness to cooperate cannot translate to daily life. Of course, the athletes are competing for medals, not attempting to annex other people's lands. The spirit of apparent goodwill does not last. Consider the 1936 Olympics in Germany, which so incensed Hitler. 

What state will our world be in by the summer of 2024?

Great Britain

 

Great Britain

                                         Image of British Isles

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

I live in England but on official forms I have to declare myself to be British, never English. I am a Briton, never an Englander. That is a word used by German, Danish and Saterland Frisian languages.

 Saterland Frisian is one of the smallest language groups in Europe. Saterland Frisian is spoken in the municipality of Saterland in Lower Saxony, North Frisian is spoken in Germany and West Frisian in the Dutch province of Friesland.

 People in Wales are Welsh and Irish people live in Ireland, north (Ulster) or south (Eire). In Scotland the people are Scots, occasionally Scottish and definitely never Scotch, though they drink Scotch and indulge sometimes in Scottish dancing. All these citizens have their own languages, though not all can speak them, but they also all speak English.

The residents of these countries are also Britons.

 Do I live in Great Britain, the British Isles or the United Kingdom?

Great Britain is an island, the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth largest island in the world, which I find quite astonishing, considering the size of some of the other islands – Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo, Madagascar. Politically, it encompasses the entirety of England, Scotland, Wales and their offshore islands. It does not include Northern Ireland.

 The British Isles consists of two main islands, Great Britain and the island of Ireland and a great number of smaller islands, like the Shetland Islands and the Orkney Islands to the north of mainland Scotland and the Hebrides to the west of Scotland. It also includes the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

The United Kingdom refers to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and its capital is London, which is also its largest city. It is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own devolved governments. The Northern Ireland government has not functioned for three years.

So, I am a Briton, and I live in England, the United Kingdom, the British Isles and Great Britain.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 F is for Foreboding

This is the sixth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

F is for Foreboding

There had been rumblings and rumours for months but most people hoped and prayed that Chamberlain’s 1938 declaration of ‘peace for our time’ would hold true. As 1939 wore on and international peace looked ever more vulnerable Alice’s father and brothers shook their heads and tried to remain optimistic. On September 3^rd they huddled round the wireless as Neville Chamberlain announced ‘this country is at war with Germany.’

In the days that followed Alice heard her parents talking about men being ‘called up’ and asked Daniel to explain. She looked thoughtful. ‘You and Dad and Charles and Edward?’ she asked.

‘Not Dad. He’s a policeman – he’s needed at home. Not Charles - he’s still at university. Edward’s too young. I’ll be called up, but probably not yet.’

Alice was reassured until a few weeks later when all three brothers told their startled parents that they had enlisted, Charles in the Royal Navy, Daniel and Edward in the Army. Daniel announced that he and Ruth were getting married immediately.

The wedding was a bittersweet affair. Two young people promising to remain together ‘till death do us part’ emphasised the fragility of a world at war. Nonetheless, the newlyweds were sent on their honeymoon with much laughter and good wishes. Alice was pleased that she now had a sister who would be living in her house.  In time, she hoped, there would be babies.

All too soon, her brothers left for their training establishments. The house felt shockingly empty and quiet.

ABC Wednesday V is for Vimy Ridge

The Battle of Vimy Ridge by Richard Jack (1866-1952) painted c1918

The men are loading a QF 4.5 inch howitzer

Canadian War Museum

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Vimy Ridge is a steep cliff five miles to the north-east of Arras, in France, giving an uninterrupted view for many kilometres in all directions. The battle of Vimy Ridge took place between 9^th and 12^th April, 1917 as part of the first phase of the British-led Battle of Arras. The objective was to take control of the escarpment which had been held by the Germans since 1914. The main participants were the Canadian Corps against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. 97,000 Canadians were supported by 73,000 British troops and opposed 30 to 45,000 Germans.

It was the first time that all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together. These men had been drawn from all parts of the country and it was the fact that they fought as a cohesive unit that made the battle important for Canada and a symbol of national unity. It was also a symbol both of Canadian triumph and sacrifice. The widely held belief in Canada is that her national identity and sense of nationhood arose from the victory at Vimy Ridge.

Late at night on 8^th April and in the early hours of 9^th April final preparations were made for the attack, following three weeks of heavy bombardment by the British. At 0530 hours the barrage began. Mines laid under no man’s land and German trenches were detonated. The Canadian Corps, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, advanced behind a creeping barrage, light artillery firing shells ahead of the troops to prevent the enemy seeing them and shooting at them. This tactic was intended to allow the enemy little time to leave their dugouts and protect their ground.

At first the Germans were able to defend their positions, despite heavy losses, but as the Canadians advanced, many of the German guns were overrun. They were unable to be moved to the rear because the horses used to haul them had been killed in the initial gas attack. Although the Hague Declaration of 1899 and the Hague Convention of 1907 prohibited the use of chemical weapons in time of war, more than 124,000 tons of gas were manufactured by the end of the First World War. The French were the first to deploy them in World War I, using tear gas.

By nightfall three days later Vimy Ridge was under the control of the Canadian Corps, which had lost 3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded. The number of German casualties is unknown, but around 4,000 men became prisoners of war.

Four Victoria Crosses were awarded to Canadian soldiers and at least two Orders Pour le Merité, the highest Prussian military honour, to German commanders.

The Germans did not attempt to recapture the ridge, which remained under British jurisdiction until the end of the war.

In 1922 France gave Canada the use in perpetuity of 250 acres of the battleground site to serve as a memorial park. The ground is riddled with tunnels, trenches, shell craters and unexploded armaments but part of it has been made safe and accessible to visitors. Today the trenches look benign and belie the horror of trench warfare.

Mother Canada mourning her dead

Part of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is Canada’s largest overseas war memorial.

It is sobering to travel in this part of France and to see the war cemeteries for those thousands of young men, German, British, Canadian and so many more, who died believing they were fighting a just war. The saddest and most poignant of all are the headstones which bear the words ‘Known unto God’, particularly when a single grave contains the remains of two or three men.

Click here to see more Vs

What were you thinking, David – or were you?

It was with great surprise and some fury that the British public, along with many of their Commonwealth and former Commonwealth members, heard David Cameron declare that Great Britain was the 'junior partner' of the USA in fighting Germany in 1940. He seemed to be unaware, or perhaps had 'forgotten' that the US remained neutral until Germany and Japan declared war on it in December 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbour. The US had supplied the UK as well as the Soviet Union, China, France and other Allied nations
with war materials from March 1941 until 1945 through the 'Lend-Lease' law. The UK finally redeemed its debt in 2006.
Nicholas Soames, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, defended the Prime Minister's remarks, intimating that he had been misunderstood, but compounded the insult by omitting to mention the UK's allies. His grandfather must have groaned and pirouetted in his grave!
At the beginning of World War II Great Britain was indeed a 'junior partner' – but to France which had one of the biggest armies in the world. France had 86 divisions, Germany 78, while Britain had 9 and the US just 8.
After July 1940 Britain and the Commonwealth stood against Germany until Russia entered the war in July 1941. Forces from several defeated European countries escaped to UK to continue the fight – Albanian, Dutch, French, Polish, Norwegian, Belgian, Czechoslovakian to name but a few.
Russia entered the war five months before the US and arguably was a far bigger partner than the US in defeating Germany. Russia inflicted many more military casualties on the Germans than the US. Russia had the biggest army at the end of the war with 491 divisions while the US reached 94 including those also deployed in the Pacific. The sheer size of the Russian army was at the heart of the eventual German defeat.
The first important German reversal was in the Battle of Britain in 1940.
The first major land defeats of Germany were by British and Commonwealth troops at El Alamein in 1942 and by the Russians at Stalingrad in 1943.
More British and Commonwealth than US troops landed in Normandy in 1944. The RAF had many more fighters than the USAF for D Day (2172 versus 1311). The Royal Navy was the senior partner at Normandy, providing the majority of warships.
The biggest defeat the Japanese army faced was in Burma at the hands of the British and Commonwealth (especially Indian) armies.
Throughout the war the RAF was bigger than the USAF in Europe facing Germany. In June 1942 there were 9500 British aircraft and no US aircraft. A year later Britain had 12700 and the US 5000. Even towards the end of the war Britain still had the larger force with 14500 while the US had 12200.
When military deaths are brought into the equation, Russia suffered the greatest number of fatalities, followed by Britain and the Commonwealth, with the US suffering the fewest. As a proportion of population the British suffered three times the military deaths of the US.
Britain also sustained far more major warship losses than the US (260 versus 157)
Finally, Britain suffered significant civilian casualties and the US did not.
David Cameron and Nicholas Soames were both expensively educated at Eton (current basic fees are around £30,000 per annum). Is this venerable institute not able to employ effective History teachers or is it simply the case that David (and Nicholas before him) were not paying attention during lessons?
In spite of Hollywood reworkings of historical events much of the statistical evidence aforementioned has come from US Government sources, which are both remarkably accurate and well-informed.

April 21st

On this day . . .
In Italy this date is known as the Birthday of Rome because the Roman Empire was founded by Romulus and Remus in 753 BC.
Henry VII died in 1509 and was succeeded by his son, Henry VIII.
In 1789 John Adam was sworn in as the first US Vice President.
Charlotte Brontё was born in 1816 in Thornton, Yorkshire.
Noah Webster published the first American dictionary in 1828.
Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836 at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Mark Twain died in 1910 in Redding, Connecticut.
HM Queen Elizabeth II was born in 1926.
In 1944 French women were enfranchised.
In 1961, at a war crimes trial in Jerusalem, Adolf Eichmann admitted his part in the Holocaust but claimed to be a small cog in the Nazi machine and not directly responsible for the murder of any Jews.
In 1966, Emperor Haile Selassie, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and Elect of God, visited Jamaica. The day is now celebrated at Grounation Day.
John W Young, USN commander of Apollo 16, became the ninth man to walk on the Moon in 1972.
In 1983 one pound coins went into circulation to replace paper pound notes in England and Wales.
Approximately 100,000 students gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989 to commemorate the reform leader Hu Yaobang. He supported economic and political reforms but was forced by hardliners to resign as a leader of the People's Republic of China.

Today’s Flowers #82 – White roses for purity

White roses for purity . . .

The White Rose (die Weiße Rose) was a movement founded by University of Munich students and their philosophy professor to resist Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. The group conducted an anonymous leaflet campaign from June 1942 until February 1943 calling for active, non-violent opposition.

The six founder members were arrested by the Gestapo and beheaded in 1943 but the text of their last leaflet was smuggled out of Germany through Scandinavia and into UK where it was edited.  Allied planes dropped millions of copies over Germany in that year.

The White Rose of York (Rosa alba) is an heraldic symbol of the House of York and is now regarded as a symbol for Yorkshire. It represented the Virgin Mary, often called 'The Mystical Rose of Heaven'. White  symbolises light, innocence, purity, joy and glory.

Thank you to the Today's Flowers team for hosting this lovely meme. If you would like to see more flowers from around the world, please click here.

Latest threat levels or How to offend everyone in one short posting!

Barry recently received the following email:-


Latest threat levels
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorised from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the English issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588 when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Dirty Bastards" They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country's military capability.  It's not only the French who are on a heightened level of alert.

Italy has increased its alert level from "Shout loudly and excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Blitzkrieg".

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Americans meanwhile and as usual are carrying out pre-emptive strikes, on all of their allies, just in case.

And in the southern hemisphere –

New Zealand has also raised its security levels - from "baa" to "BAA!". Due to continuing defence cutbacks (the air-force being a squadron of spotty teenagers flying paper aeroplanes and the navy some toy boats in the Prime Minister's bath), New Zealand only has one more level of escalation,  which is "I hope Australia will come and rescue us".


Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, mate". Three more escalation levels remain:  "Crikey!', "I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend" and "The barbie is cancelled". So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

Beware the moon - unseen dangers!

A German man mooned at a departing train - very original! However, his trousers were caught in a carriage door resulting in him being dragged off the plattform and onto the tracks. He was pulled for about 200 metres all the while struggling to keep his legs free of the wheels of the train.
Eventually a passenger realised what was happening and pulled the emergency brake. This resulted in 23 trains being delayed on the line between Bremen and Hamburg.
The man suffered cuts and bruises and faces charges including interference in rail transport and insulting behaviour.
A spokesman said, ' . . . he advised others not to try the same thing'.
Well, at least one journalism student has learnt a valuable lesson.
I suspect his dreams will be haunted for the foreseeable future!