tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25899089463365811102024-03-12T20:34:03.952-07:00RentoniaNigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.comBlogger338125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-69925036636601818402016-07-25T13:33:00.001-07:002016-07-25T13:33:52.433-07:00Isle of PurbeckNigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-2642554225331190932016-07-04T12:09:00.001-07:002016-07-04T12:09:10.361-07:00Santa Cruz IslandWe have made several visits, though not in recent years, to this island off the coast of Southern California. It is the home of a breed of small foxes. Many years ago, I fell ill during a visit, and was flown back to the mainland by a Medi-Vac plane. There are some delightful walks, and places to eat and stay overnight. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-73504550817743124062016-06-20T15:57:00.002-07:002016-06-20T15:57:35.851-07:00Santa Catalina I think I have reported on all of the island's around England, where I was born. Now I turn to some of the islands of North America. Santa Catalina is a small resort island of about 75 square miles off the coast of Southern California. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-60668993797501984942016-06-13T11:02:00.000-07:002016-06-13T11:02:58.229-07:00SheppeyAlthough technically an island, Sheppey only has an area of 36 square miles. It is a small residential island off the coast of Kent, in the Thames Estuary. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJaY3I_qGgeOS5IWCf5trlfPAMS4V6-E_haLwqMpunTDZoClNDPZHfmwqsBKMNNROdMf5UTqHiV1JAbxvhwvaMoLPbpGlGVfUwlsWIxZ_gNZJ9VIPfcgnZd5oCti7u-uPNRGbkwvnyPlQ/s1600/Isle_of_Sheppey_from_Space_NASA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJaY3I_qGgeOS5IWCf5trlfPAMS4V6-E_haLwqMpunTDZoClNDPZHfmwqsBKMNNROdMf5UTqHiV1JAbxvhwvaMoLPbpGlGVfUwlsWIxZ_gNZJ9VIPfcgnZd5oCti7u-uPNRGbkwvnyPlQ/s320/Isle_of_Sheppey_from_Space_NASA.jpg" /></a></div>Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-64931928700316739292016-06-08T13:40:00.000-07:002016-06-08T13:40:35.043-07:00ThanetThis does not seem to be an island, but there is a small amount of water between Thanet and the rest of Kent. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimL2oo17kQ3-GMpCIn-9mYyGoK9luCAHVnlpVsBZhf6f93HHx2BxOLGEjtGI9tNeRriy-GuKHZdye2Jdt37npg000KMwrzo9m_-rH9O7VSl99RyowP-9VEQn5sgbBUyDKTO8Yp6qFeWU4/s1600/Isle-of-thanet.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimL2oo17kQ3-GMpCIn-9mYyGoK9luCAHVnlpVsBZhf6f93HHx2BxOLGEjtGI9tNeRriy-GuKHZdye2Jdt37npg000KMwrzo9m_-rH9O7VSl99RyowP-9VEQn5sgbBUyDKTO8Yp6qFeWU4/s320/Isle-of-thanet.gif" /></a></div>Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-17580295540024926472016-05-30T12:29:00.001-07:002016-05-30T12:29:29.136-07:00Lindisfarne Lindisfarne is a small island of the northeast coast of England. It is also known as "Holy Isle," and is the site of one of the oldest monasteries in the Christian world, dating from AD 634. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-43407486370869033302016-05-23T12:49:00.003-07:002016-05-23T12:49:31.715-07:00Isle of WightThis large island is in the Solent South of Portsmouth. It is a popular place for summer holidays, and contains Osbourne, a former royal residence, later the location of a Royal Naval College, to which cadets were formally sent.Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-91271529750776135612016-05-16T18:21:00.000-07:002016-05-16T18:21:35.471-07:00Scilly IslesThese two isles are just of to the west of Land's End in Cornwall, England. They each have a small population.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS6s8gGn_XIyvhiNJMSbCSQgtvaJLpetm0E8yvt58m4kXijt7ar8vXHh5DzacZDBGCX903g2VH4Mcqh5bNwTOTwNWCwtgf30lj6A-CHAlUkEVW9-uR9LKXJq1vUHDrNMw-mWTz2JQ69_w/s1600/scilly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS6s8gGn_XIyvhiNJMSbCSQgtvaJLpetm0E8yvt58m4kXijt7ar8vXHh5DzacZDBGCX903g2VH4Mcqh5bNwTOTwNWCwtgf30lj6A-CHAlUkEVW9-uR9LKXJq1vUHDrNMw-mWTz2JQ69_w/s320/scilly.jpg" /></a></div>Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-81027931653043530972016-05-02T17:13:00.003-07:002016-05-02T17:17:17.265-07:00LundyThis week's island is "Lundy," a small isle in the Bristol Channel, just off the north Devon coastline.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObxC2gYODfWWBjgh1iAfHDRY5IxQEn-fPiXi5BBjRvKqxsjyv6W7l_nMJiInEvPacKZtTX2S5N6oyUKYPsXA_2flrHfaYIPMMc0h0YJ-1DVfvaUU-TrbK9mXGXfEhZY9kF6RewYLURv4/s1600/Lundy_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObxC2gYODfWWBjgh1iAfHDRY5IxQEn-fPiXi5BBjRvKqxsjyv6W7l_nMJiInEvPacKZtTX2S5N6oyUKYPsXA_2flrHfaYIPMMc0h0YJ-1DVfvaUU-TrbK9mXGXfEhZY9kF6RewYLURv4/s320/Lundy_crop.jpg" /></a></div>Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-24185553261703565692016-04-11T13:31:00.001-07:002016-04-11T13:38:08.813-07:00I won't be writing about every one of the Western Isles, as in most instances I know little more than the island's name. However, this is an exception. In 1745, the "Young Pretender" (better known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie") was defeated at the Battle of Culloden, near Inverness by the Duke of Cumberland. The prince fled to Skye, an off the west coast of Scotland. This incident is forever remembered by the plaintiff song "Speed, Bonnie Boat." The chorus is "speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wind/ over the sea to Skye." One of the verses tells the sad story:
Many is the lad, fought on that day
Well the Claymore could wield
When the night came, silently lay
Dead on Colloden's field
Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-53649105049360977492016-04-04T14:12:00.001-07:002016-04-04T15:31:15.339-07:00The first time that I saw the Orkney Islands was in the spring of 1944. I had taken a ferry from Wick to the islands, where I joined HMS Warspite as a newly-minted midshipman. The ship was anchored in Scape Flow, a natural harbor encircled by various islands. We were "working up" in preparation for the Normandy landings which followed in June. There was a sparse officer's club on one of the islands, probably Flotta. I don't even remember if I went ashore on that first visit, as we were very busy preparing for our role as an offshore battery during the invasion which followed. (I did not participate in the initial bombardment, as I was taken off to hospital at Mearnskirk with a case of mononucleosis).
One day, attending a shore course, I was introduced to a young RNVR officer, David Attenborough. The last name rang a bell, because he was the elder brother of Richard Attenborough, the actor who had a major role in the patriotic movie "In Which We Serve." David was just a few months older than I; of course, he is now far better known than his elder brother, whose career has been in the movie business.
Towards the end of the year, I was reposted to HMS Norfolk. We "wore the flag" of the C-N-C of the home fleet, Sir Roger McGrigor. The Orkney Islands are very desolate in winter, but I did get ashore to Kirkwall, the principle city of the Orkney Islands.
Many years later, Barbara and I enjoyed a cruise entitled "The Voyage of the Vikings," which took us to Orkney among many other stops. At that time, there were virtually no trees on any of the Orkney Islands, a condition which may or may not still prevail.Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-60380715412264443882016-03-21T10:58:00.000-07:002016-03-21T12:06:29.857-07:00ShetlandThis is the first of a new series of weekly blogs, which will be about some of the many islands I have visited.
Shetland is the northernmost of the British Isles, located just north of the Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland.
Barbara and I visited Shetland when we were on a trip appropriately named "Voyage of the Vikings." Shetland is sparsely populated but full of interest, particularly because remnants of early occupation. We have pleasant memories of visiting various parts of the island.
The Shetland Islands are perhaps best known as being the origin of the famous breed of Shetland ponies. In the UK, to own a Shetland pong was often the dream of the children of affluent parents.
During World War II, transport between the UK and the resistance movement in Norway was conducted by trawler. This was known as the "Shetland bus," and it became the subject of a successful book of the same name. Trawlers are commonplace from various parts of the Norwegian coastline, which made it possible for travel to and from the resistance movement in Norway to be made without detection.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvy2j1eK1PG5182REpUWT8iKUYmuJs5lWLncEgoXwLarjcoeExfkaOX4yFDhKkBTNBmiA6pzmJePpIdu64UNaQkvfP5i_WT2un5zVTNwS37gbdfTb0tQ1Hr0usx6e6HjVE9ptympmbPc4/s1600/Shetland+Image.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvy2j1eK1PG5182REpUWT8iKUYmuJs5lWLncEgoXwLarjcoeExfkaOX4yFDhKkBTNBmiA6pzmJePpIdu64UNaQkvfP5i_WT2un5zVTNwS37gbdfTb0tQ1Hr0usx6e6HjVE9ptympmbPc4/s320/Shetland+Image.JPG" /></a></div>Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-24666322426579938502016-03-14T13:20:00.001-07:002016-03-14T13:20:16.621-07:00Lucky DogThis is another small dog, belonging to Joe and Justine. He has complete run of the house in El Cerrito. he gets on very well with Holden, and will probably get to know Jackson when the latter is a little older: at the time of writing, Jackson is just nine months old. He sometimes gets in the way of my feet, but he is also a generally well-behaved animal. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-11050026904611237132016-03-02T13:01:00.003-08:002016-03-02T13:01:25.563-08:00PigeonWhen I asked Chris and Chuck why they called another dog by a bird's name, I believe they told me that Pigeon had already been named when they took over ownership.
Pigeon is a large, friendly dog, one of the few that I am content to roam through our Colorado house, or go outside on the property without running away. Pigeon is still alive at the time of writing, and seems glad to see us when Barbara and I spend time in Colorado.Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-91693884838971922542016-02-08T14:54:00.001-08:002016-02-08T14:54:17.485-08:00AudreyShe is a small, white dog that lives with Bryan and Marlene. Bryan has no children of its own, and he is so fond of Audrey that he likes to hold her in his arms like a baby.
When Audrey comes to visit us, she goes straight to our dining room table, in the hope (sometimes fulfilled) of finding something to eat. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-75874418417593283142016-01-19T13:48:00.001-08:002016-01-19T13:48:17.950-08:00MagpieWhy Chris and Chuck named their dog after a bird I shall never know, but Magpie was a wonderful dog. Chuck wrote about him in an illustrated book: Travels with Magpie.
What I most remember about Magpie is the time when Chris and Chuck drove up to Alaska. One day, they had driven maybe forty miles back towards home when one said to the other "Where's Magpie?". They realized that they had left him behind many miles back. They turned the car around and drove back the way they had come. Eventually, they saw a very relieved Magpie, very happy to see them again! Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-79618861141476607812016-01-11T11:48:00.001-08:002016-01-11T11:48:21.888-08:00BjornThis dog belonged to Chris and Chuck, and most of its life was spent in Colorado with them. Bjorn was probably a mutt, but may have been partly an Australian sheepdog. I should ask the dog's owners, who can probably tell me. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-5592652849897851952015-12-28T13:42:00.001-08:002015-12-28T13:42:16.453-08:00JosieWhen Brian was about twelve, he was allowed to go to the animal shelter and pick out a pet dog. It was not a difficult choice: one look at each other and Brian and Josie were instant friends.
Several months later, Brian's father felt that he was not getting a good enough education in California, and enrolled him in Kent's School in Connecticut. From that time, Josie became, in effect, our family pet. We all loved her, and still remember incidents from her life in the late 1970s. There was the time she endured the pain of a thorn in her foot, and she was so pathetic as she held up her leg, and her eyes conveyed a plea for help. At the time, Nick had recently received his driver's license, and he was able to take Josie to the vet, who took care of the problem.
As time passed, Josie's life came to an end. Is it my imagination that we buried her somewhere on our property? We all loved that little dog. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-5792053270306868552015-12-22T10:47:00.002-08:002015-12-22T10:47:35.784-08:00BusterBuster was a friendly Bedlington, belonging to my aunt May.
Buster was a medium-sized dog, and I enjoyed playing with him in the early years of my life. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-32726452659199512362015-12-15T10:27:00.001-08:002015-12-15T10:27:02.876-08:00InkyWe Rentons bought our lovely black cat when we moved to 1000 Spruce Street in 1969. I was more of a cat person than a dog person, and I was very fond of that cat, as was Nicholas.
There were two dreadful cats at 1000 Spruce when we moved in, one of them being called "Mama Kitty". I disliked both these cats, and was glad when they disappeared from our lives a few years later, from causes I don't remember. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-4272376058790238072015-12-01T13:22:00.002-08:002015-12-01T13:22:29.415-08:00TattersMy eldest sister, Evelyn, loved her Cairn terrier, "Tatters". However, Evelyn suffered from asthma, and after undergoing various tests, was told to avoid animal hair.
I don't remember how Tatters passed from our scene, but he was the last pet when our family lived at Dovers.Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-72847396449958171892015-11-24T17:13:00.001-08:002015-11-24T17:13:10.829-08:00PetsNo one would ever accuse me of being a pet lover, although I have some happy memories to share of pets I have known and loved.
In general, I prefer cats to dogs, because they do not usually inspire loyalty, and can fend for themselves during short absences of their owners. Also, I dislike yapping dogs, worry about being bitten, and deplore it when visitors to our home bring their dogs inside without asking permission first.
Nevertheless, I have some happy memories of certain pets, and I am planning to write several blogs about them.
Barbara and I have not had a pet for some thirty years. Originally, this was because we were frequent world travelers,
and the obvious choices between putting a dog in kennels, or twisting a family member's arm to look after our pet in our absence did not appeal to us. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-76719764731683595692015-11-10T13:58:00.002-08:002015-11-10T13:58:56.518-08:00Encounter: Sir David AttenboroughDavid was born in 1926, the same year as Barbara and Queen Elizabeth. We met at a shore course at a naval base near Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands.
He was the younger brother of Richard Attenborough, who had made his name as an actor in the film In Which We Serve. Richard died in 2014, but David is still alive as I write.
I was a Midshipman at the time, probably in 1944, when we met. I liked David, and have followed his career with interest.
He has achieved considerable fame as a naturalist, and was knighted in 1985. He also received the prestigious award of Companion of Honour CH. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-41084752896165010352015-11-03T14:49:00.000-08:002015-11-03T14:49:01.942-08:00Ed HowellI had already begun to specialize in professional liability for consulting engineers (and later architects) when one of my clients told me about a new company that was being formed, known as Design Professionals Insurance Company (DPIC). I followed the suggestion to get to know Ed Howell who had successfully raised enough capital from his clients to start the company.
At that time, Ed was wearing two hats, acting as a broker as well as managing the new company. Hearing of my interest, he let me loose on some small accounts, a long way out of town, and I was able to sell him coverage in DPIC.
The companies board pointed out to Ed that there was a conflict of interest in what he was doing, so he reluctantly gave up acting as a broker and I soon inherited his accounts. DRA soon became the most successful producer for DPIC. The next step was the formation of a reinsurance company "DPAC Re".
After some years, DPIC no longer had the strength to maintain its independence, and the program was taken over by a more conventional company. Many years ago, Ed's Wife, Jo Howell died, and Ed followed her in death soon thereafter. Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589908946336581110.post-23481862835272926352015-10-27T14:55:00.003-07:002015-10-27T14:55:51.601-07:00Encounter: Warren HellmanUntil his untimely death a few years ago from leukemia, Warren was a wise, generous, and wealthy person. Without his financial support, we would not have Freight and Salvage as prime local venues.
He was an enthusiastic, but (as he admitted) very talented banjo player. He formed a group he called The Wronglers.
He was the major supporter of my talented step-daughter Laurie Lewis. One day, she introduced him to me at the "Freight".
Warren was the initiator of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. One day Barbara and I were walking around the perimeter of one of the meadows in Golden Gate Park used for "Hardly Strictly...", to my surprise, we came across Warren and a friend walking in the opposite direction. I blurted out "Oh, Warren: I didn't expect to see you here". He promptly replied "I don't know why not: It is my party".
Of course what I meant was that meeting him there was a surprise, but I've always thought of his response as the "perfect squelch". Nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458321885102464780noreply@blogger.com0