Reviewing the blog – a rough path to follow

30/04/201502/05/2015 / Bill

In February I changed the WordPress theme for this site. This started as a cosmetic gesture – I wanted it to be easier to read and easier to search. However, in the process, it has opened up new possibilities. At the moment, these possibilities are inklings at the back of my aging mind. Discovering them means teasing them out, being honest with myself about what I think I am doing . . . and why. Therefore the aim of this post is to review what’s going on beneath the surface and reassemble the contents. I want to do this without losing the ‘Folksong’ and ’Maritime History’ elements that I started back in 2006. The path I am taking roughly follows this route:

Visualising the current content
Reviewing the motives for writing the blog
Deciding the tools for learning ‘on the job’
Considering the content and how it might develop
Putting it all together
The final tweak . . .
. . . and Publish

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Entering the Cattewater

29/04/201530/04/2015 / Bill

It started to rain, the tide was high.

I leaned against the rail at Queen Anne Battery and watched a regular occurrence. Today, it was Hav Snapper turning into the Cattewater from the Sound.

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We took the train to St Ives . . .

14/04/201521/04/2015 / Bill / 1 Comment

. . . a birthday treat. The train meandered through Devon – Newton Abbot, Totnes, Plymouth, and on to Cornwall, threading it’s way down the county, stopping everywhere – Saltash, Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel, Truro, Par, St Austell, Redruth, Camborne and Hayle, before we changed at St Erth, with time for a coffee in the tiny station cafe. And then Lelant Saltings, Carbis Bay and finally St Ives, to step from the platform into a world discovered by artists long before the holidaying public came to stand and stare, to eat pasties and ice creams and tempt hungry seagulls that know no better.

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Jeanne Socrates

27/03/201527/03/2015 / Bill

To my last post I added the comment that the qualities single-handed sailors had in common were determination and perseverance. On Wednesday evening I met Jeanne Socrates. I haven’t changed my mind.

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‘Ethel May’ – a great grand-daughter remembers

22/03/201505/04/2015 / Bill

The following arrived during the week:

“I was thrilled to find, by chance in your collection, a photo of my Great Grandfather’s boat. The Ethel May was built at Rhyl, North Wales, in 1878 (65 tons) owned by John Kearney of Co. Down. I am assuming it was a schooner? My Great Grandfather, Richard Coppack was her captain. My Aunt was named after the boat, although she always felt it should have been the other way around.

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Speak up for the horses

13/03/201513/03/2015 / Bill

You carefully pilot your ship into harbour at the top of the tide. You wait until the tide goes out and there is clear ground around the ship. Then you bring the horse and a cart to offload into. The cargo is heavy – coal, or slag, so you harness two horses in tandem to haul the load across the beach and up to the stores.

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