As the first half of the year 2023 gently glides into history, I am sharing some pictures taken at the solstice, on the evening of June 20th. On that day, here in Stornoway, the sun rises at 4.20 am and sets at 10.35pm. These are a series of images, taken between 11.30pm and 12.10am.
My sympathies remain with the families and friends, left bereaved by the loss of their loved ones in the implosion of the Titan submersible last Sunday. By all accounts their deaths were instantaneous, and they would not have known what happened. One report suggests the implosion was followed a microsecond later by an explosion of hydrocarbons, apparently present in the atmosphere within Titan, which would have incinerated any organic matter immediately. It takes the human nervous system 25 microseconds to even start to react. (source)
The five men on board the Titan had reportedly paid £200,000 each for the journey. An excursion, to see the wreck of a liner that went down 111 years ago with the loss of 1,500 souls.
My sympathies remain with the families and friends, left bereaved by the loss of their loved ones in the sinking of a fishing boat off the coast of Greece, earlier this month. They were migrants, and some 600 are thought to have drowned, a hundred of them children. I think we have all forgotten about this terrible tragedy. The name Kalamata, referenced in the blogpost title, is the name of the nearest port city in Greece.
These were indeed migrants, seeking a better life in Europe; or fleeing persecution or war in Iran, Afghanistan or Iraq. It is likely that they each paid thousands of dollars to be crammed on a boat that eventually broke down and sank, in 5,100 metres of water. The Mediterranean Sea is at its deepest off that point of the Greek coast.
Before the Titan was reported missing, last Sunday, the Greek Coastguard had been severely criticised for its apparent refusal to assist the migrant vessel. Although it had been shown to have been stationary for 7 hours before sinking, the Greeks claimed to have checked it out and all was well. They did nothing.
We all know the story of the Titanic, whose wreck those on board the Titan had gone to view. The Titanic was not the first ship to have been lost with massive loss of life. I mentioned the Norge earlier this week, which sank off Rockall in 1904 which left 700 people drowned. Its story is barely known outside of Norway or Stornoway. We have a tombstone in the local cemetery to 9 survivors from the Norge who died in Stornoway after being brought ashore.
They were dirt poor migrants from persecution in Tsarist Russia, allowed out by god's grace and headed for a new life in America. I don't think they had to pay over the odds for their passage. What is the difference? Nothing seems to have changed in nearly 120 years.
Western Isles MP Angus Brendan Macneil is once more afflicted with tunnel vision. Rather than rely on ageing ferries, we dig a hole in the ground.
Well, ABM, do you honestly think that you can build a 22 mile tunnel between Skye and the Outer Hebrides for 150 to 250 million pounds? Look at the Channel Tunnel, similar distance, which cost £13 billion, back in the 1990s.
But what is really scarifying is the question from the Qataris whether tunnels are a 'bankable proposition'. How much money would they get out of it? Let's get some facts. The Channel Tunnel charges £143 to take your car from France to England or vice-versa. Current Calmac fare for a single trip from Stornoway to Ullapool is roughly £70 for a car and one person. To double that fare would be unacceptable, I'd say. But if the Qataris want their pound of flesh, we'll get fleeced for the privilege. I'm sorry, but ABM doesn't have a clue what he is talking about.
