The Halifax Explosion
I usually read the obituaries in The Times. Even if it’s just to check that I’m still here. But then I wouldn’t be in that esteemed organ!
Today there was an obituary of Marcus Chambers. He was not a man I’d heard of, but I do remember the triumph of Andrew Cowan driving a Hillman Hunter in the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon. He was the brains behind it all. One thing that is not in the obituary was that the car was tuned to run on the very low grade petrol, that would be all that was obtainable on much of the route.
Sad to think, that such a race would not be possible today, as you just can’t drive all the way. Well not safely, as the route included Tehran and Kabul.
But what caught my eye in the obituary is the Halifax Explosion, which Marcus Chamber’s parents survived. Two thousand people died, when an ammunition ship blew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in “The Narrows” section of the Halifax Harbour. About 2,000 people were killed by debris, fires, or collapsed buildings and it is estimated that over 9,000 people were injured. This is still the world’s largest man-made accidental explosion.
That was a terrible tragedy.
A Double Cliche
Someone said something like this on the radio, when discussing their predictions for the recession.
We think it will be a saxophone shaped curve, but that would be blowing our own trumpet.
I bet that was pre-planned.
Ulster Says No!
Well almost!
What a pity as they deserved to win in Poland.
An old friend was on the streets of Dublin, when Northern Ireland beat Spain in the 1982 World Cup Finals in Valencia, and it was one hell of a party. Note that I said Dublin!
On the Plinth
I said earlier that yesterday, I ended up on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Sqaure.
Whilst I was on the plinth, I took about thirty minutes of video of what I saw around me.
This is the video. Or at least the edited version after taking out some of the most boring bits. There are still plenty of those there, so don’t watch it too often.
If you want to see the official one produced by One and Other, then click here.
How I got to be on the plinth is a complicated story. Let’s say that I came down to support Janet and ended up coming on as a substitute because someone had to cry off at the last minute. And you know how you have to scape the barrel to get anybody sensible at seven in the morning, as all sane and sensible people are in bed.
But it was all great fun and well worth doing. It’s probably not too late to go to their web site and register.
Janet W on the Plinth
Janet W is someone who is also a member of the Yahoo UK-Coeliac list. I went to support her on Sunday when she did her hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square as part of Anthony Gormley‘s One and Other project.
The video shows her on the plinth.
Click here to see the video footage taken, whilst she was on the plinth by One and Other.
The Anonymous Widower 