I still seem to have not got back in gear after the holidays. I gained 1lb this week. We joked that I seemed to be maintaining rather than losing!
This figurehead (Medusa) was taken from the ship implacable. This ship was originally named Duguay-Trouin which was a French ship that fought in the Battle of Trafalgar. Later it was captured by the British and renamed.*
*Information taken from museum literature.
12 Comments CherryPie on Feb 22nd 2011
Information on the Tarbat Ness lighthouse displayed at the museum:
Designed and installed in the lighthouse by David Stevenson, 1892.
The Tarbat Ness lighthouse was built in 1830 on the site of an ancient Roman fort at the mouth of the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland. It overlooks a wild and windy coast that, in local folklore, was danced on and flown over by witches.
Robert Stevenson designed the lighthouse at Tarbat Ness. His grandson (cousin of author Robert Louis Stevenson), produced the design for the optic which was installed in 1892. It was in use until the automation of the lighthouse in 1985. Tarbat Ness became the first coastal lighthouse to have flashing lights which could be seen as far as 24 miles (38.64km) out to sea.
Lighthouses were originally lit by naked flames. This was very hazardous and they often burnt down. Oil and gas lamps were safer but were replaced soon after electric light was introduced in 1862.
6 Comments CherryPie on Feb 21st 2011
You can have peace, Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once.
Robert A. Heinlein
17 Comments CherryPie on Feb 20th 2011
4 Comments CherryPie on Feb 20th 2011
The other place I visited on my recent trip to Kent was Greenwich. There was a difference of opinion on what we should do whilst we were there. We settled for the National Maritime Museum in the end. The museum is being refurbished in places meaning some of the rooms were closed and some of the usual exhibits were not on display. This left one member of the party disappointed.
We had hoped to visit the Queen’s House afterwards but we ran out of time due to parking restrictions in the car park we had chosen. I am sure we will be back soon to see all the things we missed.
12 Comments CherryPie on Feb 19th 2011
