When we reflect upon news items, many times our empathy is driven by our own life experiences ......
I was born on a piece of land that could not have been much further from the sea than anywhere else in England, but from the age of 16.5 years of age my adult life has been dominated by ships and the sea ......
We may well see a ship in port and wonder how it's huge mass of steel could ever come to harm..... but in the middle of the Indian ocean as a navigating officer, on a ship a quarter of a mile long, and there were times I wondered if we might need to man the life boats ......
In more recent times, I only have to look at the vessel the MoL Comfort to see the power of the waves .......
Closer to home, it was the Herald of Free Enterprise, The Derbyshire perhaps ? - lost with all hands on deck, or what about the Titanic ? the list could go on.... it is countless.... the Costa Concordia was but a gnats breath away from the coast line.....
But to see the reports coming in yesterday about the enormous loss of such young lives on the Korean Ferry MV Sewol..... when I think back to my own experiences at sea, I was fortunate ..... the worst I ever encountered was being on a ship hit by lightening..... which on an oil tanker can be a risky affair .......
But the sadness of tales of those lives lost, perhaps one may say needlessly lost ..... Those told to stay put inside the ship, seemingly trapped.... all they did wrong was to do as they were told.....
But what ever turns out to be the reasons, one thing is for sure......... it is heart breaking.......
Modern technology is a blessing and a curse ...... mum this might be the last chance I have to tell you I love you .......
How painful for the mum ..... why ? I love you anyway ...... she has been reunited with him .... but for other parents .......
I was born on a piece of land that could not have been much further from the sea than anywhere else in England, but from the age of 16.5 years of age my adult life has been dominated by ships and the sea ......
We may well see a ship in port and wonder how it's huge mass of steel could ever come to harm..... but in the middle of the Indian ocean as a navigating officer, on a ship a quarter of a mile long, and there were times I wondered if we might need to man the life boats ......
In more recent times, I only have to look at the vessel the MoL Comfort to see the power of the waves .......
Closer to home, it was the Herald of Free Enterprise, The Derbyshire perhaps ? - lost with all hands on deck, or what about the Titanic ? the list could go on.... it is countless.... the Costa Concordia was but a gnats breath away from the coast line.....
But to see the reports coming in yesterday about the enormous loss of such young lives on the Korean Ferry MV Sewol..... when I think back to my own experiences at sea, I was fortunate ..... the worst I ever encountered was being on a ship hit by lightening..... which on an oil tanker can be a risky affair .......
But the sadness of tales of those lives lost, perhaps one may say needlessly lost ..... Those told to stay put inside the ship, seemingly trapped.... all they did wrong was to do as they were told.....
But what ever turns out to be the reasons, one thing is for sure......... it is heart breaking.......
Modern technology is a blessing and a curse ...... mum this might be the last chance I have to tell you I love you .......
How painful for the mum ..... why ? I love you anyway ...... she has been reunited with him .... but for other parents .......
Not a day for any music..... a poem perhaps ......
When soft the sea breeze blows, my voice will sound,
When soft the rain falls, my tears will cry,
When shadows dance upon spring tides,
You know i am here - i did not die.
When ships sail with the morning tide,
And gulls fish near our sun-kissed shore,
When the air falls with summer breeze,
You'll know i am with you - forevermore.
When the sky is yellow with the setting sun,
And horses gallop upon the noon ebb flow,
When you hear the sea whispering our names against sand,,
You will hear my voice and feel our spirits grow.
So no,my love, come rest upon rocky sands,
Feel the sea breeze caress your sullen mind,
Then will you hear my voice and see me hide,
upon the noon, upon the sea - upon the tide.
When soft the rain falls, my tears will cry,
When shadows dance upon spring tides,
You know i am here - i did not die.
When ships sail with the morning tide,
And gulls fish near our sun-kissed shore,
When the air falls with summer breeze,
You'll know i am with you - forevermore.
When the sky is yellow with the setting sun,
And horses gallop upon the noon ebb flow,
When you hear the sea whispering our names against sand,,
You will hear my voice and feel our spirits grow.
So no,my love, come rest upon rocky sands,
Feel the sea breeze caress your sullen mind,
Then will you hear my voice and see me hide,
upon the noon, upon the sea - upon the tide.
You will hear my voice and feel our spirits grow.
So no,my love, come rest upon rocky sands,
Feel the sea breeze caress your sullen mind,
Then will you hear my voice and see me hide,
upon the noon, upon the sea - upon the tide.
So no,my love, come rest upon rocky sands,
Feel the sea breeze caress your sullen mind,
Then will you hear my voice and see me hide,
upon the noon, upon the sea - upon the tide.
