blogcabin.co.uk

Where on earth?

blogcabin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:46:57 +0000

So, here’s the little task I mentioned a few days ago. If you had to make your way to this location – Latitude 59° 30” and Longitude 3° 23” west – where would you find yourself?

Shhh, Captain Ole Pedersen’s speaking again -

”…….On the eleventh of said month of November at eight A.M., soundings were made and seventy-five fathoms water found and the ground fine sand. The same morning observation was made at twelve o’clock noon of said day. The latitude was by observation 59° 30” and the longitude by chronometer 3° 23” west. Same time again, sounded and found fifty five to fifty eight fathoms and the bottom gravel or shingle.”

I’m no seaman, I’m not even sure if I’m a landlubber, but I checked the latitude and longitude given by Ole, the result was not what I expected. Maybe I was wrong.

So, get your chronometer out, or if your chronometer is somewhere up in the attic and you can’t be bothered to look for it, just use the internet. How far, and what direction is Westray?

Next time – A discussion that took place in the cabin itself.

It’s a copper fact

blogcabin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:36:03 +0000

“Here’s a ha’penny, go and buy thee sel a sweetie.” How many years since someone made a peedie bairns’ day by uttering these words?

The ‘copper’ sections of our till drawer are always well stocked, whereas all of a sudden the 10p and 20p compartments seem to be empty again. At the risk of sounding old – “I mind wheen I waar a peedie boy you could get a tin o’ spoot and a Wagon Wheel fur aboot 10p”. And more than that, Wagon Wheels were the size of wheels! – well, nearly.

Going back to copper, here’s something you probably didn’t know. Copper wire was invented by two Scotsmen fighting over a penny.

Hoo manny…..

blogcabin — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:40:36 +0000

Quite a few years ago, back in the days when the seven and a half weeks of summer holidays seemed to go on forever, an old Westray man asked me a question.

“Hoo manny sails deu you need fur a fully rigged sailing ship?” Well, I had no idea. So I was frantically going up and down the masts of the Cutty Sark in my mind’s eye. Maybe he thought I hadn’t heard him properly the first time so in a slightly louder voice he repeated, “Hoo manny sails deu you need fur a fully rigged sailing ship?” Having finally reached the bowsprit of the Cutty Sark, I confidenty replied “Aboot therty”. “If sheu’s already fully rigged you dan’t need ony!”, he chuckled.

I’ll be looking for an answer from you shortly, and no, it’s not a trick question.

The Four Winds

blogcabin — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:43:40 +0000

By the look of the xcweather forecast there is going to be some fast moving air passing through this week. Westray Wiseman he say, “The Nort wind’s cowld no metter whit airt hid blows fae.”

The Four Winds

Breathe Whisper Northerly wind Blow Shout Roar and screech

Wave Maker Westerly wind Salt Spray Shattered rock

Warm Singing Southerly wind Soft Drops Sprinkling rain

Day Bringer Easterly wind Thick Fog Arctic Tern

Ships that pass in the night

blogcabin — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:46:13 +0000

Following on from Michael’s comment on ‘What’s in the paper this week?‘ , here’s another interesting coincidence.

In November 1872 the Emerald left Miramichi in Canada with a cargo of boards for Liverpool. Another vessel, a brigantine merchant ship, had departed New York on the fifth of the same month, loaded with 1,709 barrels of grain alcohol bound for Genoa, Italy. You may have heard of this ship, she was called the Mary Celeste. She was discovered mid-Atlantic on the 4^th of December 1872 – abandoned. The crew were never seen or heard from again. The Mary Celeste has gone down in history as one of the greatest of all maritime mysteries.

It is incredible to think that the cabin we have sitting in our gallery was sailing the Atlantic at the very same time as the enigmatic Mary Celeste.

What’s in the paper this week?

blogcabin — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 11:20:41 +0000

As mentioned in an earlier post the Emerald set sail from New York on Friday 10^th October 1879.

The Illustrated London News gives a really good insight into Victorian life. I’ll post a few excerpts now and again.

CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 11 1879 Sunday 5^th St. Pauls Cathedral, 10.30a.m. Rev, Prebendary Row; 3.15p.m. Bishop Claughton; 7p.m. Rev. W G Abbot Monday 6^th Society of Engineers, 7.30p.m. (Mr T Andrews on the strength of Wrought Iron Axle-trees.)
Tuesday 7^th Christian Knowledge Society 2p.m. Wednesday 8^th Moon’s last quarter 1.43 p.m. British Museum reopens Thursday 9^th Opening of New Sadler’s Wells Theatre by Mrs Bateman, with “Rob Roy” (Opera) Friday 10^th Tunbridge Wells Agricultural Association annual show. Quekett Microscopical Club, 8 p.m. Saturday 11^th Thames and Achilles Rowing Clubs’ Regatta.

THE COURT The Queen, with Princess Beatrice, continue at Balmoral Castle. (A detailed account of their activities is given)

METROPOLITAN NEWS The British Museum was closed on Wednesday morning, and will remain closed to the public until the 8^th inst. During this interval the rooms will be thoroughly cleansed; and, on the reopening, new features of interest will be presented, amongst other matters, that of lighting the Museum with the electric light is one to which the authorities are paying their utmost attention; they have determined upon putting this light upon a permanent basis, and a number of hands commenced operations this morning in placing lights not only in the Reading-room, but in the various galleries, so that during the winter season the British Museum may remain open for several hours after sunset, as to enable the working men to visit this national institution in the evening.

On Wednesday morning the five directors of the City of Glasgow Bank, who have completed their term of eight months’ imprisonment, were liberated from Ayr gaol.

LIFE-BOAT SERVICES A meeting of the Royal National Life-boat Institution was held on Thursday. The committee expressed their deep regret at the death of Sir Rowland Hill who had been a warm friend and liberal supporter of the life-boat cause.

It’s interesting to see what was making the news and what was of interest to readers. Clearly, technology has moved on since then, however, things had been going on in the financial system which have a familiar ring – more about this in another post.

Tight, staunch and strong

blogcabin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:53:44 +0000

No, not the description of a typical Westray man, please read on.

This extract comes from a document which until recently had been hidden away in the archives and was only discovered when Michael Blair did some research into the Emerald’s history.

Who better to tell us of the Atlantic crossing than Captain Ole Pedersen himself -

“………… Ole Pedersen, master of the barque “Emerald” of Laurvig. Of the burden of Four hundred and sixty three tons register or thereby who solemnly represented and set forth; That the said vessel laden with petroluim set sail on the tenth day of October Eighteen hundred and seventy nine years from the port of New York in the United States of America bound for the port of Gottenburg in Sweden. The said vessel being then tight, staunch and strong, well manned, rigged and tackled. The masts and pumps well bound the hatches properly secured and in every other respect well provided and furnished for the seas and the said voyage; That the appearer proceeded in the prosecution of the said voyage, experiencing fine weather with the wind from the East for several days. Thereafter, the weather was moderate and the wind from the E.N.E. to N. Such weather continued till about the twentieth of said month of October when the wind changed W. and blew a stiff breeze with occasional showers of rain and a heavy sea. The vessel was pumped morning and evening but very little water found in her. The wind continued from the west until the twenty second of said month of October when it changed to the north and hauled round to the E.S.East with less or more wind, but fine weather……..”

Some of the words wouldn’t pass the spell check of today but they are as written down by the Notary Public in Kirkwall on the 13th November 1879.

The Golden Hour

blogcabin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:49:57 +0000

There was a ‘golden hour’ after teatime tonight. The colours of the sky, the land and the sea were crisp and bright. As I looked out our sitting room window the sun was mixing the colours of the long grass. Here’s a poem I wrote a year or two ago….

BUKKILSBERI

I winder whar wacked through this girs Ten hunder year ago Wae unkan tongues they neemed the braes And bigg’d thir hooses low

I winder whar a’ haed a tirs Tae mak hid grow the bere Hoo manny stooks waar in the field Wheen herst moon lit the ayre

I ken, jeust noo, the grund is wirs A shaef is niver seen Wae yeuz the neems fae owlden days Bit dan’t ken whit they mean

Glossary needed?

Crude cure

blogcabin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:16:00 +0000

The FAMILY HERALD – A DOMESTIC MAGAZINE published this piece in it’s ‘Scientific and Useful’ section in 1881.

Petroleum for Coughs. – Doctor Moubré, writing to the Gazette des Hôpitaux, gives his experience of petroleum capsules in simple and chronic bronchitis. This balsamic had been brought before the Therapeutic Society by Doctor Blache a year ago at the suggestion of a Paris chemist, who named it Gabien oil, in order to prevent public prejudice. Each capsule contains twenty-five centigrammes of pure petroleum, the ordinary oil not being used, as it has to be distilled in contact with sulphuric acid to render it fit for lighting purposes. At the Hôpital Beaujon, where these capsules have been freely offered for chronic bronchitis, a rapid diminution of the secretion and fits of coughing was observed. In tuberculosis this medicine gave encouraging results.

Nothing new under the sun?

blogcabin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:19:13 +0000

On the ninth of October 1879 the Emerald was lying in New York harbour ready to set sail on the morrow. Her intended destination was Gothenburg in Sweden.

I expect a ship full of barrels would have been quite common in the late nineteenth century. On this occassion there were approximately 2890 of them. What made this cargo somewhat unusual was what was in the barrels. It was petroleum.

We tend to think of oil production as more of a recent industry – at least into the 20^th century before global movements of oil would have been taking place. But no, strange to think, although the Emerald was a wooden built, three masted barque she was actually one of the forerunners of the massive oil tankers which we see passing by the north coast of Westray on a regular basis even today. I wouldn’t want to look out the kitchen window one morning and see one of them sitting on the Quoydyke. Papay wid be cleen oot o’ sight!

A couple of questions. When did the oil industry begin? What exactly was classed as ‘petroleum’ in 1879? Any thoughts?

I’ve found an interesting use for petroleum in a 130 year old copy of the Family Herald. I’ll publish it soon.