We were staying at the Nice Byakko Hotel. It had Japanese ownership. I was told by my personal tour guide that breakfast was not included, because it was too expensive, at this particular hotel. When we checked in, we learned that circumstances had changed and breakfast was now included with the price of the room.
My contention, without any facts to back this up, is that breakfasts are the most difficult meals, because every culture has its own idea of what constitutes an appropriate first meal. The cultural distance from Scandinavia impacts my opinion of these meals. Relative poverty forced me to eat like a Norwegian, starting in 1980. I learned to appreciate cultured milk = buttermilk, with my first job in Norway working in a slaughterhouse, when it was provided at our first meal break. Yes, necessity brought about a dietary change when I was thirty. Since then, I have tried not to stray far from this diet.
Of course there is no equivalent to a Scandinavian diet in France. French food is far too sweet and delicate, at least for my tastes. In terms of bread, my choice is to eat coarse buns or bread crusts, preferably with cheese. For many years I did not eat crusts, because I did not want to prevent others from the joy of consuming them. Then I discovered they were being discarded. Now, I don’t ask anyone for permission to eat the crusts, but grab them at every opportunity! Sometimes, I eat legumes with them, in the form of peanut butter. At a first meal, I either drink a cider vinegar and honey drink, or green tea, if it is available. After that, but before 14:00, I drink black coffee; then water or infusions = herbal teas, after this self-imposed time limit.
Byakko refers to the white Asian tiger, as shown below.
Train to Digne
I had wanted to take the same train journey into the mountains of Provence, that Trish and I had taken in 2006. Except, once on board the train, I realized that this trip was inferior to the ones we had taken through Corsica. By then, it was too late.
Presented with this situation again, my choice would have been to rent a car for the day, to visit the Verdon Gorge, a nearby river canyon. It is about 25 km long and up to 700 metres deep. Americans call it the Grand Canyon of France. At the end of the canyon, the Verdon flows into the artificial Lake of Sainte-Croix. This didn’t happen, so we were on La Train des Pignes = The Pinecone Train, complete with a rail replacement bus, in both directions, to and from Digne, world famous in France for its hot springs.
We were only able to take the train part way to Digne. The train stopped, and everyone was transferred onto a bus, which then drove to the final destination.
In Digne, we experienced a market monopolizing the main street of the town. Almost anything could be bought, as long as one was prepared to pay in cash at excessive prices. We resisted temptation.
After an hour or so wandering through the town, we returned to our bus. When the train conductor came, everyone was required to exit the bus to have their tickets examined. Then, the conductor and everyone else boarded the bus again. No, I do not understand why the conductor did not just inspect tickets on the bus, starting at the back and walking forward.
We returned to the train station and boarded the train once more. While it made its way down the mountain some problem with the train required an extensive stop at La Tinee. At some point we were able to continue onwards, but the problem undoubtedly arose again, and we were expelled from the train, and told to take the next one, which arrived about half an hour later.
I found this woman’s jacket fascinating. I attempted to tell her so, in my best French, then took this photo when she wasn’t looking. Please note the elephants. Yes, they are all part of her glamour. This (and another) photo were taken after our train had officially broken down, and we were waiting for the next train to rescue us.
Monaco
Monaco does not have a visa policy of its own. The Schengen Visa policy applies, despite Monaco not being part of the European Union, or the Schengen Agreement. Its territory is part of Schengen because of its customs union with France. At the train station in Monaco, there appeared to be two (2) police officers on duty. They were observing, but not confronting anyone.
Somewhere here is the international border between Monaco and France. Yes, the bricks could be in Monaco, while the asphalt could be in France. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.A submarine, outside of the Oceanographic museum and aquarium in Monaco. It was the highlight of our visit.Alasdair took this photo of me documenting the many sculptures found in Monaco. Monaco seems to be competing with Straumen in Inderøy in terms of having the largest number of sculptures per square kilometer. It was delightful to have flowers in bloom. One of the many sculptures in Monaco. This one needs some TLC = tender, loving care.Some of Monaco’s residents.
The next day it was time for us to return to Norway, flying from NCE to AMS, and then from AMS to OSL. With a six hour wait at AMS, Alasdair and I decided that we could explore Amsterdam, taking a train from the airport to the Amsterdam station. In Amsterdam we encountered the most polluted air of the entire trip. In addition, there was no public seating! This short experience, was enough to eliminate Amsterdam from any future travel plans.
Amsterdam Train Station.
An aside: For most of my life, I have faced topographical disorientation challenges, especially in areas that are unfamiliar. Nice Byakko Hotel occupies two adjacent buildings, with two separate stairways for the upper floors that somehow unite, for movement between the ground level (entrance & reception) and first floor, where breakfast is consumed. For me, this became an obstacle, when someone shut the door to the stairway I needed to ascend to my room, and I became disoriented. The staff closest to this location, were less inclined to help resolve this challenge, than they were to exclude people from their work area. Later, I took this matter up with the receptionist, saying that it would be appreciated if they put something on the door, indicating that it led to a stairway, possibly with the affected room numbers.
We arrived at the port of Livorno on the Corsica ferry, Mega Express Two. We were walk-on passengers for the five hour trip from Bastia, on Corsica. Even before we landed, I could see the first photo that I wanted to take of Livorno. It was a somewhat outdated announcement of the centennial of the death of Amedeo Modigliani (1884 – 1920), who was born in Livorno, but moved to Paris in 1906. His characteristic style in paintings and sculptures typically elongated faces, necks, and other anatomical features. These exaggerations were received poorly during his lifetime, but were appreciated later. Modigliani’s early life featured considerable sickness. He was educated at home by his mother. His ancestors were Jewish refugees, who over some few generations had become bourgeois, owning and managing mines and forest resources in Sardinia.
At an unremembered point in time, possibly a couple of years ago, I bought a Taschen book about Modern Art, as a first stop to begin appreciating specific modern artists. Amedeo Modigliani is found on page 186-7, along with a single representative artwork, Nude Sitting on a Divan (1917). While I do not regret buying this book to gain an overview of some artists, I find it most often easier to use Wikipedia for a more comprehensive introduction. Indeed, I was able to find appropriate information about Modigliani from that source. It was also interesting to read about the history of the Jewish community in Livorno.
Artwork announcing the centennary of Amedeo Modigliani’s (1884 – 1920) death. Of course Modigliani would have approved of this setting. As an adult, he continually fought against his bourgeois origins, and was inspired by a vagabond existence.
In addition to its port and ethnic minorities, Livorno is world-famous in Italy for its canal network. This is not Venice, with antiquated gondolas, and uniformed gondoliers. Canal boats are typically made of fibreglass, powered by outboard motors, carry goods, rather than tourists to and from factories and warehouses, rather than palaces and churches. I am attracted to industrial canals, like those in Livorno, in much the same way that I am attracted to industrial history, rather than the more refined history of royalty or nobles.
Livorno canal as seen by Alasdair. Note the vessels, typically made of fibreglass and powered by outboard motors.A canal in Livorno as seen by Brock.
We walked through Livorno, ending up at the train station. Here we took a train for about ten minutes, ending up at Pisa. In Pisa, it struck me that every tourist visiting the fabled tower, was required to take a selfie or some other photo, showing their skill at preventing the tower from crashing down. Below is my effort to capture Alasdair engaged in this activity.
Alasdair preventing the tower of Pisa from crashing into the landscape.
After an hour, we were on our way by train again, heading north to Geno(v)a. It was an interesting landscape with much of it flat and flooded, but with mountains in the background.
After our arrival in Genoa, we found our Best Western hotel, and spent the evening relaxing then sleeping. Am I a keen observer? Alasdair asked me if my room was red, like his? I said, I had not noticed any red colour, but thought it was beige. When I returned to my room, I took this photo to remind myself that the walls were not beige, but red.
This is what our hotel rooms looked like. This was my room. Alasdair asked me if my room was red, like his? I said, I had not noticed any red colour. When I returned to my room, I took this photo to remind myself that the walls were not beige, but red.
Our discovery of the city began the next day. Perhaps the best known person from Genoa is Christopher Columbus who, working for Spain, made some important geographical discoveries towards the end of the fifteenth century. Genoa has preserved the house where Columbus was born, and where his father worked as a weaver.
Alasdair, preparing to enter the house in Genoa where Christopher Columbus was born.
Not far from our hotel there was a parked galleon. In its day, it was undoubtedly attempting to intimidate people not just with its canons, but with its extensive use of gold. We had learned on Corsica, that Genoese imperialism was not always appreciated. While they had ships and coastal fortifications, the Genoese were not always capable of conquering inland territories.
The Galata Museum in Genoa is the largest maritime museum on the Mediterranean. It opened in 2004, and allows visitors to appreciate five centuries of maritime history, from the 16th century. One of the earliest reconstructions is a 17th century galley. There is also a major exhibit showing life onboard a steamer bound for the Americas in the early 20th century.
The vessel that impressed me the most, was one of the smallest, a dinghy, showing the use of veneer in its construction. I have admired this construction technique for the past 65 years, because of its high strength to weight ratio!
One of the last things we did in Genoa was to visit the Zecca–Righi funicular railway. Like many of the trains we have taken on Corsica, it is narrow gauge = 1 000 mm. It has a length of 1428 m, with a rise of 279m. There are two trains, each with two cars, carrying 156 people. There are seven stations, two terminal and five intermediate. It opened in 1895.
Zecca – Righi funicolar at Carbonara station (second from the bottom). Photograph: Piro, 2008-12-18.
We then walked to the main train station, where we took a departing train for Nice.
A Concluding aside: Genetics is one of those difficult arts. When I first had my DNA analysed by 23&me about ten years ago, segments of my DNA were placed in relatively broad categories, including: northwestern Europe, southern Europe, indigenous America. As time progressed, segments moved around, generally becoming more detailed in the process. Thus, after returning from southern Europe, and with 23&me facing bankruptcy, I was surprised to find that my DNA had more detailed information about my southern European origins: Spanish and Portuguese = 6.7%; Sardinian = 2.7% and Italian = 1.4%. Yes, my next trip to southern Europe already included a plan to visit Sardinia!
On the first of our 2025 trips, Alasdair and I headed off to Corsica. Because of a closed railway line, and a world skiing championship, I took an unusual routing between Trondheim airport (TRD) and Sandefjord airport, Torp (TRF) on friday, 2025-02-28, followed by a train journey to Drammen, where I was picked up by Alasdair and driven to his house in Åros, in Asker municipality, Norway. On saturday evening 2025-03-01, we travelled by train up to Oslo airport (OSL) where we stayed at the Radisson Red hotel, so that we could take an early flight sunday morning to Amsterdam (AMS), followed by a flight to Nice (NCE).
The TGV = train à grande vitesse = high-speed train, at Nice-Ville station. Photo: Alasdair McLellan 2025-03-02.
At this point I would like to comment on the YouTube channel, The Man in Seat 64, who said that there were always seats on regional trains in the Nice area. This was incorrect information. We could not find seats on any trains from Nice to Toulon, that would give us an opportunity to visit the French naval museum. However, we did find train seats later in the day. After arriving in Toulon, we then wandered its streets.
The Mega Express Four, in Toulon, preparing for its journey to Corsica. Note the city of registry is Genova, Italy. Photo: Alasdair McLellan 2025-03-02.
We travelled overnight to Ajaccio on the Mega Express Four. It was built in Germany in 1995 as the Superfast II for Superfast Ferries, used in Greece. In 2003, it was purchased by the Tasmanian government and renamed the Spirit of Tasmania 3. However, demand was less than estimated, so it was sold to Corsica Sardinia Ferries in 2006 and renamed Mega Express Four. It can carry 1965 passengers, with 909 berths. It can also carry 550 standard vehicles. Its service speed is 26 knots.
Artwork on the Mega Express Four ferry.
The above artwork is also found on the flags of Corsica (one head on a white background) and Sardinia (four heads separated by a red cross on a white background). It was adopted by General of the Nation Pasquale Paoli (1725 – 1809) in 1755 and portrays a Moor’s head in black wearing a white bandana above his eyes on a white background. Previously, the bandana covered his eyes. Paoli wanted the bandana moved to above the eyes to symbolize the liberation of the Corsican people from the Genoese.
My personal interest in this symbol is related to clan MacLellan = Mac-a-ghille-dhiolan (Gaelic) = son of the bastard (literal translation). It also has a Moor’s head on its coat of arms. Previously, references to the clan gave its name as Mac Giolla Fhaoláin, with a more polite meaning = servant of St Fillan, with Fhaoláin referring to a diminuative form of wolf, used to signify the saint. On Uist, in the outer Hebrides, where my family lived after Morar, on the mainland of Scotland near Oban, there is an alternative spelling of the last part of the name, Fhialáin, which refers to seagulls, often Na Faolanaich = The Seagulls.
We arrived at about 9:00 in the morning at Ajaccio, spending much of the day wandering its streets. French dictator Napoleon was born in this city, and we even walked by the house where he was born.
One of the reasons for visiting Corsica, was to take its narrow gauge railways up into the mountains. The railway uses modernish trains. The combination of narrow gauge with diesel meant that they were not particularly comfortable. Noisy and wobbly, were the two terms that best describe them.
Some of the trains on Corsica looked like this. Photo: Alasdair McLellanThe mountains of inland Corsica, from the train between Ajaccio and Corte. Photo: Alasdair McLellan
Our first stop was at Corte. If I had known then, what I knew now, I would have stayed longer in this mountain town. We stayed at Hotel du Nord. I am uncertain about the origins of the name, for Corte is more centrally located, than in the north. The owner of the hotel appears to be Loïc Colonna, who provides each room with a photo book about Corsica. There is also a display of old cameras in the hotel.
Cameras on display at the Hotel du Nord.The University of Corsica, in Corte.
Calvi
If Corte had the most interesting town, Calvi had the most interesting railway station. I especially appreciated its sculptures
Our hotel had some modernist art, that attempted to be as inoffensive as possible.
The third town we stayed in was Bastia. It will be remembered for its pizza provider that would not accept bank cards. The only reason I can see for not accepting card payment is tax evasion. We went next door to a restaurant that did accept them.
Bastia.
We left Bastia on the ferry early in the morning. This travelogue will continue next week, with a visit to northern Italy, especially the canal city of Livorno, Pisa and Genoa.
Margaret Thatcher and Katherine Hamnett in 1984-02. Yes, this is my favourite photograph of Maggie.
“There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families.” Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013), quoted in, Women’s Own (1987-10-31). Yet, Maggie could be charming, as shown in the above photograph from 1984, with Katharine Eleanor Hamnett (née Appleton; 1947 – ), an activist and English fashion designer best known for her political T-shirts, such as the one she is wearing criticizing American Pershing missiles in Britain. She was invited to a reception at #10 Downing Street, London, after being selected as fashion designer of the year, 1984. Hamnett was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours, for services to the fashion industry. Then, on 2024-02-20, Hamnett publicly relinquished her CBE distinction in protest against the UK government’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Wearing an all-caps t-shirt reading “DISGUSTED TO BE BRITISH” she said she was against Britain’s role in the Gaza genocide before disposing of her distinction in a rubbish bin/ trash can/ garbage can.
I have journeyed by train in England, for the last time.
On British trains we encounted the phrase See It, Say It, Sort It, numerous times in the course of every journey. The details of this phrase will remain vague for some paragraphs, as I attempt to show how I am interpreting it, to gain greater control over my life, as it is forced to interact with rail corporations intent on profiting from me.
On Wednesday 2024-07-31, I was a passenger in coach 1 of a 12 car train from Stratford station in London to Gatwick airport. My estimate is that there are a minimum of 100 people aboard each car, or somewhere between 1 200 and 1 500 people in total. I am not sure what train it was because while numerous audio and video announcements are made including a listing of all of the stops the train will make, the train itself was not uniquely identified. At no time are we told we are on board train, say 12345 running on route 6789. So we are left with a rather vague time we left a particular station (if it is remembered).
I suspect this lack of a unique identification number is policy. It is a deliberate measure to ensure that there is no opportunity for passengers to summon help. Throughout the journey, we are given a coded message: See it, say it, sort it. Passengers are encouraged to speak to staff, or contact transport police. Yet, I interpret the phrase as a fictitious attempt to compensate for the lack of conductors, or any other personnel looking after the needs of passengers. There were no such personnel onboard many of the trains I was on. On some trains personnel came onboard to ensure everyone had a ticket. In other words, these people were solely looking after the needs of the various owners who operate trains, not the needs of passengers.
Incident 1: a woman with a first-class ticket and seating place, arrives in second-class to have a business conversation with someone by phone. While that someone cannot be heard, her voice dominates the soundscape, and we are given intimate, detailed information that should be kept private. After fifteen minutes, at the end of her conversation, she retreats to the privacy of the first class compartment.
Incident 2: a gang of youth enters the compartment and play Detroit rappers at high volume for their own entertainment and, I suspect, to deliberately make the journey less comfortable for the other passengers. A passenger, possibly aged 30, attempted to silence these youth to no avail. He then sat beside me, and said that he now understood his grandfather complaining about the youth.
… and so back again to the meaningless phrase, see it, say it, sort it. Sort it makes no sense. It is the transport police who will decide if and when they will intervene. When the train reached Gatwick and we left the train, there were still no police or staff available to deal with the youth. They simply carried on, undoubtedly disturbing new passengers for the rest of the journey to Brighton.
I have stayed at Travelodge, for the last time.
While every other place we have stayed at during our trip has offered free WiFi connected internet for the duration of our stay, Travelodge offers one half-hour free, or a surcharge for additional 24 hours of connectivity. This is unacceptable. In the future, I will be checking the fine print about internet usage.
Other complaints with Travelodge have to do with their breakfasts. They offered cold scrambled eggs, and lots of sugar and salt. Nutrition, not so much. I was particularly offended by the oranges. At the theoretical level, I have no issues with oranges wanting to reproduce themselves, but prefer to eat seedless oranges. In the offering from Travelodge every fruit sack had a large seed. In addition, the bread was unpleasant to eat. I have no issues with the bread I eat in Norway. Even in New Westminster, Canada, I grew up with a bakery 4 blocks from home, the National System of Baking. In contrast to other brands, it produced nutritious, edible bread.
Travelodge switches from left to right: Hallway light on, bathroom light off, bedroom light on. At Cliff Cottage all light switches act like the one for the bedroom light, on the right.
Then I read in several sources that Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Elko, Nevada, is adding two fees all guests must pay, in addition to the standard 15% tax: There’s a $12.95 nightly energy recovery fee and a 3% credit card surcharge. It was noted that credit card surcharges for hotels are incredibly rare, used only by rogue hotels. Then one comment noted that H Hotel near LAX airport has a Safety and Protection of their employees fee, at $10.00 plus $12.95 for each day.
I have flown Westjet, for the last time.
Westjet wants people who prefer to sit together to make an additional payment for this privilege. I am uncertain who they are expecting to put up with this policy, because the major carriers have understood that they cannot act in this way. Budget airlines are in a price squeeze, as they see it. They need the same prices as the majors to survive, because they have the same expenses, but want to appear cheaper. Their solution is to offer a cheap base price, and then to charge for addons customers want, so that the end price is about equal. The Southwestern style of humourous commentary, given by some cabin crew member, does not compensate for disrupting a basic primate need of a troop having to stay together. Westjet, Ryanair and other airlines know this. Those who don’t are encouraged to read Desmond Morris’ (1928 -), The Naked Ape: A Zoologist’s study of the human animal (1967).
Language usage
Yes, I am the sort of person your mother warned you about. I use language for dramatic effect. When I write that I have done something for the last time, there is an unspoken condition that clearly assumes this is the situation, unless something changes! What has to be changed is never mentioned.
The Solent Flyer, a Griffon Hoverwork 12000TD hovercraft, produced in 2016. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
Some people may regard a hovercraft as a boat/ ship/ vessel. Those associated with providing hovercraft services do not. For them, it is an aircraft, belonging to its own special category. There are numerous varieties of aircraft: gliders = planes without engines. relying on natural air currents for lift; airplanes = engine-driven, fixed-wing, heavier-than-air craft; rotorcraft (including helicopters and gyroplanes); lighter than air craft (including baloons, zeppelins, dirigibles and blimps); and hovercraft. There are other categories involving parachutes, and weight-shift controls, not to mention rockets.
Hovercraft are distinct, differing from ground effect vehicles and hydrofoils that require forward motion to create lift. Hovercraft can lift themselves without directional movement.
There have been many people involved in the design of hovercraft, and it is incorrect to assign the design to any one person.
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772) first mentioned surface-effect vehicles, and used the term hovering in 1716.
John Isaac Thornycroft (1843 – 1928) explored the concept of an air-cushion vehicle in the 1870s, as a way of reducing the drag experienced by vessels.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857 – 1935), an aerospace pioneer, visionary and author of works on interplanetary space travel, space station construction and airship design, lay the theoretical groundwork for powered movement over a cushion of air.
Dagobert Müller von Thomamühl (1880–1956) built the world’s first air cushion boat (Luftkissengleitboot) in 1915.
The chronological order of people will be disrupted to insert Toivo J. Kaario (1912 – 1970). In 1932, he had decided to build a ground-effect vehicle. This materialized as Pintaliitäjäprototyypin = Surface Soarer Prototype built in 1934, and tested in 1935-01. Patosiipi No. 2 was tested in 1935-1936. The ground-effect wing of Kaario’s early designs had an almost non-existent ability to block the loss of air being blown down by the propeller. The Patosiipi No. 2 was able to lift, but the ground-effect lift was weak. Another full-sized prototype was built with a skirt underneath, which added to the lift by trapping the high pressure air that had been forced. This device was first tested on land and then on the water and was found to be slower but with more lift over an uneven surface.
An illustration with two conflicting claims: 1) A sketch made by Toivo J. Kaario, showing an advanced hovercraft design for the Finnish military ; 2) A L-5 hovercraft, for the Red Navy, by the V. I. Levkov Design Bureau.
Aerodynamicist Vladimir Levkov (1895 – 1954) experimented with sidewall hovercraft. He built models in 1927 and 1932. He built a prototype (L-1) in 1934. This could reach a speed of over 60 km/h, but proved to be unreliable. Another prototype (L-5) weighed 8.6 tonnes, was powered by two 664 kW engines. He was aware of the research of Kaario, and used this in his own work. On its cushion of air, it could achieve speeds of 140km/hr = 73 knots.
Levkov was dissatisfied with his results, especially the aviation engines designed to operate at colder temperatures . The Red Navy wanted to press hovercraft into service as soon as possible, and in 1938 some upgraded L-5s saw operational service. A L-5 hovercraft was used to transport the four-man crew of North Pole 1, a Soviet arctic drift station, to an icebreaker after their research was completed.
Cockerell’s hovercraft model from 1955 in the Science Museum, London. Photo: The Wub, 2024-04-22.
Christopher Cockerell (1910 – 1999) bought Ripplecraft Ltd., a small Norfolk boat and caravan hire company. This was not a very profitable venture, but left him time to work on ideas for a hovercraft. He tested his theories using a vacuum cleaner and two tin cans, and found them to have merit. By 1955, he had built a working model from balsa wood and had filed his first hovercraft patent: GB 854211. In the autumn of 1958, the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) placed an order with Saunders-Roe for the first full-scale hovercraft, designated SR.N1 (Saunders-Roe – Nautical One), based on the prior work of Cockerell. This craft was completed, and first crossed the English Channel From Dover to Calais on 1959-07-25.
Originally, a skirt was not part of a hovercraft design. It was an independent invention made by a Royal Navy officer, C.H. Latimer-Needham (1900 – 1975), who sold his idea to Westland (by then the parent of Saunders-Roe’s helicopter and hovercraft interests), and who worked with Cockerell to develop the idea further.
It should be noted that obtaining patents for ideas related to hovercraft was not always easy. Much of the work was regarded as military secrets.
Approximately, 20 years after the first crossing of the English Channel = la Manche, on 1979-08-03 Trish and I took a trip by Hovercraft from Ramsgate to Calais on a Hoverlloyd craft. Its name remains unknown, and we have no photograph of it. Our letter home, at the time read:
“We left the Roe’s [presumably the people renting us a room] early on Friday morning, stopping near the Ealing Broadway Tube Station for breakfast at the local Wimpy bar (2 eggs and chips, milk). We then took a bus to Acton Town, transferred to a second bus and enjoyed a leisurely ride through the suburbs of London. At Marble Arch we alighted from the bus, walked through Hyde Park ending up at Victoria Station.
“We purchased a ticket for the Hoverlloyd that flies from Ramgate to Calais (at about 2’ above the surface), then took the tube from Victoria to Euston Stations and the Britannia Air Coach Station. After a lunch at a local Italian café, we boarded a coach and enjoyed a tour of the English countryside.
“The Hovercraft crossing took about 40 minutes. The stewardesses aboard were quick to offer duty-free drinks, etc. aboard. Then offer cigarettes, bottles of liquor, a second time. Immigration and customs are easier than at the US/Canadian border. The officer looks to see if you have a passport (he doesn’t even open it) , you are then cleared.
“We then boarded a second coach which toured the French countryside and enjoyed what we could of the trip. At the French/Belgian border, there was no passport control and customs was only interested in the registration of the bus.
“We arrived in Brussels at about 10:00 pm, just late enough for the youth hostel to be closed. Se we spent the first part of the night in a garage. After the wind picked up and made sleeping impossible we moved our shelter to the train station.”
End of quotation from letter.
Our 1979 journey was onboard a SR.N4 Mark II. The fuselage had a length of 39.68 m, a width of 23.77 m, a height of 11.48 m and a mass of 200 tonnes. This provided the craft with a capacity of 278 passengers and 36 cars. The four Rolls-Royce Marine Proteus gas turbine engines produced 2 500 kW of power.
A SR.N4 hovercraft inbound in Peggwell Bay, where Hoverlloyd had its British Ramsgate hoverport. Photo: Nick Smith, 1980-08-?.
There is a Hovercraft museum, at Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire with the SR.N4 GH-2006 Princess Margaret on display. Another opportunity to see ancient hovercraft in action is in the following films: The Princess Margaret appeared in Diamonds Are Forever (1971) SR.N4 GH-2005 Sure appeared in La Gifle (1974) and in The Black Windmill(1974). An unspecified SR.N4 appeared in Hopscotch (1980).
My next trip on a hovercraft was with Alasdair on 2024-07-18, almost 65 years to the day, after SR.N1’s first trip, and 45 years after my first trip. It was forward and back on the route from Southsea to Ryde, Isle of Wight. This service is provided by Hover Travel, which uses a pair of Griffon Hoverwork 12000TD craft, purchased in 2016. Griffon states that passengers will find this a high quality experience, with cabin noise below 75dB, fast entry and exit, at a top speed exceeding 45 Knots = 83 km/h. The 12000 in the name refers to the payload in kilograms.
Interior of the Solent Flyer. It will seat 80 passengers. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
Hoverwork’s goals with the Griffon 12000 TD hovercraft, were to create a robust yet light-weight craft, while updating technology and ensuring production quality improvements. They claim these hovercraft offer low running and maintenance costs. Vital measurements: Length = 23.7 m; beam = 12.8m; passengers = 80. Payload 12 000 kg.
From 2024, Oita Hovercraft is operating a 33-kilometre hovercraft route between the city centre of Oita city and Oita airport. Hovercraft were used from 1970 to 2009, but became financially unviable. A hovercraft takes 25 minutes, each way, in contrast to a bus that uses over an hour. Thus, a political decision was made by the Governor of Oita in 2020 to use hovercraft once again. Oita Hovercraft has acquired 3 x 12000TD hovercraft from Griffon Hoverwork, the same type that is used in the Solent.
While this weblog post is mainly about the civilian use of hovercraft, there are also civil defense (including ambulance and fire services) uses. Some uses, by location.
The Canadian Coast Guard uses hovercraft to break light ice. Numerous fire departments around the US/ Canadian Great Lakes operate hovercraft for water and ice rescues. The US Postal Service began using a Hoverwork AP1-88 in 1998 to haul mail, freight, and passengers from Bethel, Alaska, to and from eight small villages along the Kuskokwim River. Hovercraft service is suspended for several weeks each year while the river is beginning to freeze to minimize damage to the river ice surface. Similarly, since 2006, a cargo/ passenger version of the Hoverwork BHT130, has been used as a high-speed ferry for up to 47 passengers and 21 500 kg of freight serving the remote Alaskan villages of King Cove and Cold Bay.
In Scotland, a Griffon rescue hovercraft has been in use with the Airport Fire Service at Dundee Airport. It is used in the event of an aircraft ditching in the Tay estuary. Since 2008, the Red Cross has offered a flood-rescue service hovercraft based in Inverness, Scotland.
In Finland, small hovercraft are widely used for maritime rescue and during the rasputitsa = mud season.
On Madagascar, HoverAid, an international NGO, has used a hovercraft to reach the most remote places on the island since 2006.
Military Uses
In 1996, Lieutenant commander K. L. Schmitz, United States Navy, concluded a report: “The LCAC [Landing Craft Air Cushion] lift capacity, speed, and maneuverability provides greater flexibility to the Marine-Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) punch. It will keep the MAGTF at the center of the military’s power projection mission well into the next century. Both the LCAC and LCU [Landing Craft Utility] have served the naval forces well and each has plenty to contribute to future operations. The investment in LCAC has been made; they have proven their value to the naval expeditionary forces. Despite heavy maintenance and operating costs, now is not the time to consider LCAC retirement.”
In the report itself it was noted that LCACs can access 80% of beaches, while LCUs can only access 20%. From this and other reports one can conclude that military LCACs are expensive and temperamental, while LCUs are cheap.
Prologue
Yes, convention states that a prolog(ue) should be placed at the beginning of a work. As people may have noticed previously, I sometimes defy convention. This is one of those situations.
My son, Alasdair, had spent the beginning of July on a road trip through southern Norway, visiting places he had not seen before. He finished his journey at our house, spending a couple of days resting to begin the next part of his holiday, and taking me along as his accomplice.
My wife, Trish, accompanied us to TRD, Trondheim Airport, to drive Buzz home. We entered the terminal building, passed through security, then immigration to exit Schengen territory. We ate a poor, but overpriced breakfast, before we boarded the Norwegian plane, bound for Gatwick. Alasdair was asleep even before the plane alighted from the runway.
On arrival at Gatwick, we used an app to pass through immigration, then walked through customs on our way to the train station. We used a Welsh app to buy train tickets, but not everything worked as quickly as intended. Why a Welsh app? Because one can buy train tickets from numerous providers. For external providers of a journey, a surcharge is added. Except the Welsh are unique. They do not add that surcharge. We arrived at the correct train platform with two minutes to spare. We were on our way to Portsmouth Harbour.
Exiting the train, we bought some provisions at the local Co-op store, then walked south to Hover Travel, and from there soon onto the Solent Flyer.
Interlude on the Isle of Wight
After we arrived at Ryde, we decided to eat dinner. The main problem was that there was a discrepancy between map and terrain. The eateries that Alasdair had found online, did not exist in reality. We decided to eat some Sri Lanken food. It proved to be a foolhardy choice, possibly the worst meal of our trip.
The other task on Wight, was to take the local railway from Ryde to Lake. Lake is one stop past Sandown. One of Trish’s aunts, by marriage, was born at Sandown, but lived some streets away (W 32nd Avenue) in Vancouver, when Trish was growing up. This aunt’s brother, who was also born at Sandown, lived at the end of the block where Trish lived (W 37th Avenue).
The trip back to Ryde was more problematic, because the train was cancelled. It then was necessary to delay our departure time on the hovercraft by one hour.
Epilogue
Once the Solent Flyer arrived back at Southsea, it was time to take a train back to Gatwick, then the shuttle from the south terminal to the north terminal. We had booked accomodation at the local Travelodge. Despite knowing where both ends of the route lay, between the north terminal and the hotel, it was difficult to find the most appropriate pathway. We used about half an hour to cover the distance, walking (and to some degree backtracking).
Earlier, I read a comment from my sister-in-law, Aileen Adams. She wrote: Thank you for the map. It helps to put things in perpective.
I thought I could be more informative about Nordic geography, especially related to a recent trip which should produce a total of six weblog posts, in addition to this one. Four of those posts have already been published. This weblog post uses three maps. The map above shows Trøndelag county. Below is a political map showing some of the Nordic countries. In addition, at the end of the post there is a rail map.
Trondhjems Amt (Norwegian) = Trondhjem county (English) was created in 1687. In 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmark-Norway. Trondheim fjord provides some of the dividing line, with Stjørdal and Meråker being the most southerly counties in North Trøndelag. The western part of Trøndelag can be more difficult to understand, as Osen, Roan, Åfjord, Bjung, Ørland and the western half of Indre Fosen, previously called Rissa, were in South Trøndelag. From the eastern half of Indre Fosen, previously called Leksvik, we used to drive north into south Trøndelag! The counties were reunited in 2018 after a vote in the two counties in 2016. We live in Inderøy which is almost in the middle of the map. There is a sound = Skarnsund, between the letters d and e in the name. We live at the extreme south-east of that sound. Previously, the area west of that sound was its own municipality, Mosvik. The two municipalities merged on 2012-01-01.
Trøndelag (together with parts of Møre og Romsdal) was briefly ceded to Sweden in 1658 in the Treaty of Roskilde. It was returned to Denmark-Norway after the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660. During that time, the Swedes conscripted 2 000 males in Trøndelag, including boys down to 15 years of age, to fight against Poland and Brandenburg. Only about one-third of the conscripts ever returned to their homes; some of them were forced to settle in the then Swedish Duchy of Estonia, as the Swedes thought it would be easier to rule the Trønders there.
Norden = the Nordic countries, is a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It consists of Denmark, Faroe Islands (Danish autonomous territory), Finland, Greenland (Danish autonomous territory), Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Åland (Finnish autonomous region). The map does not show either the Faroe Islands or Greenland. In my mind, the former Soviet, current Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are increasingly associated with the Nordic countries.
The Shetlands, Orkneys, Hebrides and the Isle of Mann were once part of Norway. For example, the Vikings arrived in Shetland around 850 AD which resulted in about 600 years of Norse rule. This period shaped culture and traditions despite the transfer of the islands to Scotland in 1469. In 2020-09, the Shetland Islands Council voted to explore replacing the council with a new system of government which controls a fairer share of the islands revenue streams and has a greater influence over their own affairs, which could include lucrative oil fields and fishing waters. In 1967, 1986 and 2022, Orkney Islands Council voted for a motion to explore greater autonomy and Nordic connections.
Northern Scandinavia
Alasdair travelled via OSL Oslo airport Gardermoen while I travelled separately from Inderøy via TRD Trondheim airport Værnes to EVE Harstad/ Narvik airport, Evenes on Wednesday, 2024-05-08 to begin an exploration of northern Scandinavia. Alasdair flew on a Norwegian Airlines Boeing 737-800, while I took a Bombardier Q400 turboprop.
We stayed in Harstad the first night. A weblog post about the art of Harstad has been published. The next day we travelled by bus to Narvik, where we spent the next night, starting 2024-05-09. Again, a weblog post about the art of Narvik has been published. Both Harstad and Narvik can be found on the map, north of Bodø but south of Tromsø.
Originally, we had planned to take the train from Narvik to Kiruna on 2024-05-10, but due to a earlier train derailment, we had to use a bus for the first part of the journey. Since Norway, Sweden and Finland are among the 29 European countries to have signed the Schengen agreement, officially abolishing border controls at their mutual borders, we did not experience any border controls on our trip.
Kiruna was uncomfortably cold, but we enjoyed looking at the old and new towns. On 2024-05-11, we continued our train journey through Gällevare and Boden to Luleå. Those locations can also be found on the railway map, below.
We continued the train journey on 2024-05-12 to Haparanda in Sweden. We had to retrace part of our journey to Boden, then took a different rail line to Haparanda. The rail line is shown on the map, but Haparanda is not. Its sister city Torneo, on the Finnish side of the border, is. From there we bussed to Kemi, where we could once again take a train.
In the weblog post about Haparanda – Torneo – Kemi, the Merenkurkku (Finnish) = throat of the sea (literal translation) = Kvarken (Swedish) = Quark Ridge (English) a narrow region separating Bothnian Bay from the rest of the Bothnian Sea. Its approximate location can be found on the map between Vaasa in Finland, and Umeå in Sweden.
We continued our journey south to Oulu, where we spent the night. A weblog post about Oulu is being prepared. The following day (2024-05-13) we took a train from Oulu to Seinäjoki, where we changed trains. This second train took us to Vaasa. Another weblog post about Vaasa is also being prepared.
On tuesday, 2024-05-14, we took a bus to the VAA, the Vaasa airport. From there we flew on a SAS (Scandinavian Airlines Systems) Canadair Regional Jet 900 to ARN Stockholm airport Arlanda in Sweden. We then flew on a Airbus A220 jet onwards to TRD.
We were met at TRD by Trish and Buzz, who drove us back to Cliff Cottage in Inderøy. TRD is located in Stjørdal municipality, in the former north Trøndelag.
My son, Alasdair, and I arrived at the airport on Vágar, on Monday, 2023-07-10, for a short adventure that will last until Friday, 2023-07-14. After picking up our rental car, a Hyundai Kona diesel with manual transmission, we headed off towards the neighbouring island of Streymoy!
Unlike Iceland, which met us with desolation, we were met by fog which helped us suspend our judgement. We soon stopped at a food store, where we encountered three young workers who, true to tradition, complained about their elders. They were helpful, and we were able to purchase necessities for our domestic life.
We took the easy way out buying coffee that was already ground. The food store had a machine to grind coffee beans.
We then continued on to our accommodation at Kvivik, run by Petra Iversen. It was a comfortable basement suite, suitable for two people.
Domestic necessities
Healthy eating? Puffed wheat coated with honey and sugar, along with orange flavoured yoghurt.Safely stored in a freezer, two varieties of ice cream chocolate and licorice.We took the easy way out buying coffee that was already ground. The food store had a machine to grind coffee beans. Indeed, we later found that our hostess had a coffee bean grinder in her kitchen. This took me back to the early 1980s, when Trish worked at a coffee and tea store that ground coffee to the specifications of its clients.
Alasdair noted, correctly it turned out, that our accommodation had been outfitted by a woman. Appliances included a filter coffee maker and kettle, microwave oven, conventional oven, induction stove top, freezer and refrigerator, as well as a dishwasher and a battery operated, bagless vacuum cleaner. Dishes, plates, glasses, cups and flatware were found in abundance, in the cupboards. I especially liked her red, rubberized coffee cups. This place felt more like home, than any other place we had stayed in previously on this trip.
On Tuesday evening, we met our hostess, to pay for our accommodation. She had a coffee bean grinder in her kitchen. This took me back to the early 1980s, when Trish worked at a coffee and tea store in Molde that ground coffee to the specifications of its clients.
The coffee cup, turned upside down.Tvis Køkken = kitchen, from Holstebro, Denmark.
On this trip I have decided that my role is to look at culture rather than nature. Thus, I was delighted to find two works of art from our accommodation that are included here for everyone’s enjoyment.
On our last evening, we were given a sample of Faroe cuisine, complete with whale blubber and mutton.
On Monday, 2023-07-10 it was time to leave Iceland, and to head to the Faroe Islands. Excitement that morning consisted of an earthquake warning, followed almost immediately by a few earth-shaking moments that appeared to do no damage. We were up and showered before breakfast at 8:00, with a departure at 8:30, in order to return our rental car before the 10:30 deadline. The only problem was that our flight’s departure was delayed by four hours. So we had lots of time to explore the town of Keflavik.
A minor volcanic eruption had already begun as we drove across the Reykjanes Peninsula. We were told that no volcanic ash has been emitted, but noticed an unusual mist as we approached Keflavik Airport. Later, we learned there was a 200-meter long fissure on the slopes of the Litli Hrútur mountain, from which lava emerged as a series of lava fountains.
Unlike the day when we first rented our car, there were more staff than customers at the Budget/ Avis airport office. Alasdair reported the broken windshield, and paid the deductible for the damages. His travel insurance later refunded this amount.
We spent much of our time in Keflavik visiting a municipal park. Photos on our way there are shown below. There were many children in the park, and their activity of choice seemed to be standing in front of robotic lawn mowers, waiting for them to stop, then turn to avoid the human obstruction.
Later, we also walked into the business district, where we found a store that sold flags large enough for our flagpole, a typical souvenir for us. We were surprised to find that it was cheaper to buy an Icelandic flag in Norway, than in Iceland.
Necessities: Microwave communications tower, and water tower
Höfn is the Icelandic term for harbour. It is also a place in the south-east of Iceland, which has a model of the solar system. This weblog post is about this model. It is fairly accurate in terms of relative distance between solar system bodies, with the exception of the location of Pluto.
There are several characteristics to enjoy about a model like this. One of the most important is that it can be reproduced almost everywhere in the world. So, you too could create one, at a smaller scale in a room or garden, or at a larger scale across your county/ state/ province/ country. In this particular case, it is 2.8 km long. However, it could be any length desired. Then there is the data, with all sorts of interesting facts about the sun, and each planet. An example is the sun’s diameter in real life (1.4 million km = 1.4 Gm), and on the model (45 cm). The solar system model bodies are illustrated in two different ways. There is a photographic representation, as it would be seen through a telescope. There is a more naive representation, made by a pupil at the local school.
Not everyone is able to respond to scaled proportions appropriately. I remember one test to see if people understood the scale of the universe. Ask them if the moon or an elephant is larger. I thought it was a dumb question to ask, until one person seriously replied that an elephant is larger.
The Sun
The Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
The Asteroid Belt
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Weaknesses. I may criticize others for not knowing the true size of the moon. Yet, I have my own failings. No one would describe the photographs of the solar system information panels as professional. They were taken with a smart phone on a sunny day, which meant that because of my light sensitivity, I had to wear sunglasses while photographing them. Most of the time, I failed to capture the entire sign. Even when I did, it was not centred.
I explored the first part of the solar system, closest to the sun, with others, then went out on my own to explore the rest of it, some hours later. I was able to trace it, but unable to retrace the route back to our accommodation. I hadn’t recorded the accommodation address, so had no reference point to use on my smartphone map. Fortunately, I was able to give my location to Alasdair, who rescued me. It was totally undramatic. Yes, I may understand scale, but I don’t have a geographic sense of position, a fact well known to the others in my family.
Venturing into Seyðisfjörður involved about 20 km of driving in fog. While there, much of the fog lifted, so the return drive only involved about 10 km of fog over the 600 m high Fjarðarheiði mountain pass.
The area has a history dating back to the tenth century. It has also been the site of the world’s first modern industrialized whaling station, established in 1864. In 1906, the first telegraph cable connecting Iceland to Europe (and the world) made landfall here. In 1913, it was also the location of Iceland’s first high-voltage AC power plant, that included a hydroelectric dam. During World War II, it housed a British/ American military base.
While for most of the post-war period the economic focus was on fishing, today, it is tourism. the Icelandic port for the Smyril Line ferry M.S. Nörrona, built in 2003, that connects Iceland with Hirtshals, Denmark and Tórshavn, in the Faroe Islands.
The village was also a filming location for the Icelandic crime series, Trapped.
On 2020-12-18, the largest landslide in an Icelandic residential area hit, destroying thirteen houses and the Technical Museum of East Iceland! Many other buildings also suffered damage. Within hours, the entire village was evacuated.
Now, near the Smyril ferry terminal, a display explains the landslide in detail, especially the fate of individuals, complete with photographs by Katja Goljat and Matja Rust.
The Landslide Project
Yes, there are about 30 additional images and text like the previous two!
