Courtenay Bay Breakwater Lighthouse

 

Work on the Courtenay Bay Breakwater was started

sometime in the early twentieth century, and a 2,500-foot extension was completed in 1919. In 1927, an unwatched, white light was established at the outer end of the breakwater to show the entrance to Courtenay Bay. A year later, the light was moved 150 feet shoreward and re-erected on the breakwater.

 

The battery at the end of Courtenay Bay Breakwater was constructed during World War II to resemble, but not function as, a lighthouse. Rather, the guns at the battery were to engage any motor torpedo boats which might have been launched from a larger enemy vessel and to provide covering fire for a limited number of landing sites.

 

The battery was decommissioned after World War II and mostly dismantled in 1946. Today, a flashing red light is exhibited from the top of the battery's white, hexagonal tower.

 

In April 2018, the Canadian Coast Guard began work on installing aluminum siding and a lantern room atop the concrete lighthouse. These improvements will make the structure more visible, as will a planned upgrade to the light itself that will increase its brillancy by thirty to forty percent. Though most captains have GPS navigation systems, they still feel the breakwater lighthouse is an important feature for marking the harbour. The lantern room placed atop the breakwater lighthouse came from a decommissioned lighthouse.

 

www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1378

The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the Furness Fells in the English Lake District. It is 2,634 feet high, and lies to the west of the village of Coniston and the lake, Coniston Water. The fell is sometimes known by the alternative name of Coniston Old Man, or simply The Old Man.

 

The mountain is popular with fell-walkers with a number of well-marked paths to the summit. The mountain has also seen extensive slate mining activity for eight hundred years and the remains of abandoned mines and spoil tips are a significant feature of the north-east slopes. There are also several flocks of sheep that are grazed on the mountain.

 

The summit of the fell carries a unique construction, a combined slate platform and cairn. The popularity of this climb has resulted in the resident sheep being quite tame, and they show no fear in rifling unwatched rucksacks and bags for food.

 

The extensive view from the summit on a clear day includes much of the southern Lake District, Morecambe Bay, Blackpool Tower, Winter Hill in the Pennines, the Lancashire coast and the Isle of Man.

DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE IS SITUATED ON THE ARDS PENINSULA, APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILES NORTH EAST OF NEWTOWNARDS, ON THE IRISH SEA COAST.

THE IMPRESSIVE LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1836.THE TOWER IS BUILT OF CUT LIMESTONE, FLUTED, AND IN ITS EARLY DAYS WAS UNPAINTED IN NATURAL GREY COLOUR. THE TOWER, INCLUDING THE LANTERN AND DOME, IS NOW PAINTED WHITE WITH A BLACK PLINTH SINCE SOME TIME 1869 AND 1875.

AND WAS THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN IRELAND TO BE LIT BY ELECTRICITY

CONVERSION TO AN UNWATCHED ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE WAS MADE IN 1934 AND THIS MADE DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE THE FIRST IRISH LIGHTHOUSE TO BE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC, WITH CHAINE TOWER FURTHER NORTH IN LARNE FOLLOWING THE NEXT YEAR.

 

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY. THE WRITING ON THE LIGHTHOUSE READS “NO PASSAGE LANDWARD”.

 

By way of immediate action, a stand must first be made against thought, against mental processes. "I do not know" - it is said - "anything which, when unbridled, uncontrolled, unwatched, untamed, brings such ruin as thought, and I do not know anything which, when bridled, controlled, watched, tamed, brings such benefits as thought."

 

Thought, which everyone lightly says is "mine," is, in reality, only to a very small degree in our power. In the majority of cases, instead of "to think" it would be correct to say "we are thought" or "thought takes place in me." In the normal way, the characteristic of thought is its instability. "Incorporeal" - it is said - "it walks by itself": it "runs hither and thither like an untamed bull." Hard to check, unstable, it runs where it pleases. In general, it is said that, while this body may persist one year, two years, three years or even up to a hundred years and more in its present form, "what we call thought, what we call mind, what we call consciousness arises in one manner, ceases in another; incessantly, night and day"; "it is like a monkey who goes through the forest, and who progresses by seizing one branch, letting go of it, taking hold of another, and so on."

 

The task is to "arrest" thought: to master it and to strengthen the attention; to be able then to say: "Once this thought wandered at its fancy, at its pleasure, as it liked: I today shall hold it completely bridled, as a mahout holds a rut-elephant with his goad."

 

A few explanations.

 

If one day normal conditions were to return, few civilizations would seem as odd as the present one, in which every form of power and dominion over material things is sought, while mastery over one's own mind, one's own emotions and psychic life in general is entirely overlooked. For this reason, many of our contemporaries - particularly our so-called "men of action" - really resemble those crustaceans that are as hard-shelled outside with scabrous incrustations as they are soft and spineless within. It is true that many achievements of modern civilization have been made possible by methodically applied and rigorously controlled thought. This, however, does not alter the fact that most of the "private" mental life of every average and more-than-average man develops today in that passive manner of thought that, as the Buddhist text we have just quoted strikingly puts it, "walks by itself," while, half-unconscious, we look on. Anyone can convince himself of this by trying to observe what goes on in his mind, for example, when leaving his house: he thinks of why he is going out but, at the door, his thoughts turn to the postman and thence to a certain friend from whom news is awaited, to the news itself, to the foreign country where his friend lives and which, in turn, makes him remember that he must do something about his own passport: but his eye notices a passing woman and starts a fresh train of thought, which again changes when he sees an advertisement, and these thoughts are replaced by the various feelings and associations that chase each other during a ride through the town. His thought has moved exactly like a monkey that jumps from branch to branch, without even keep-ing a fixed direction. Let us try, after a quarter of an hour, to remember what we have thought - or, rather, what has been thought in us - and we shall see how diffi¬cult it is. This means that in all these processes and disordered associations our consciousness has been dazed or "absent." Having seen this, let us undertake to follow, without disturbing them, the various mental associations. After only a minute or two we shall find ourselves distracted by a flood of thoughts that have invaded us and that are quite out of control. Thought does not like being watched, does not like being seen. Now this irrational and parasitical development of thought takes up a large part of our normal psychic life, and produces corresponding areas of reduced activity and of reduced self-presence. The state of passivity is accentuated when our thought is no longer merely "spontaneous" and when the mind is agitated by some emotion, some worry, hope, or fear. The degree of consciousness is certainly greater in these cases - but so, at the same time, is that of our passivity.

These considerations may throw some light on the task that is set when one "ceases to go"; one reacts, one aims at being the master in the world of one's own mind. It now seems quite incomprehensible that nearly all men have long since been accustomed to consider as normal and natural this state of irrationality and passivity, where thought goes where it will - instead of being an instrument that enters into action only when necessary and in the required direction, just as we can speak when we wish to, and with a purpose, and otherwise remain silent. In comprehending this "according to reality," we must each decide whether we will continue to put up with this state of affairs.

 

In its fluid, changeable and inconsistent character, normal thought reflects, moreover, the general law of samsāric consciousness. This is why mental control is consid¬ered as the first urgent measure to be taken by one who opposes the "current." In un¬dertaking this task, however, we must not be under any illusions. The dynamis, the subtle force that determines and carries our trains of thought, works from the subconscious. For this reason, to attempt to dominate the thought completely by means of the will, which is bound to thought itself, would almost be like trying to cut air with a sword or to drown an echo by raising the voice. The doctrine, which declares that thought is located in the "cavern of the heart," refers, among other things, to thought considered "organically" and not to its mental and psychological offshoots. Mastery of thought cannot, therefore, be merely the object of a form of mental gymnastics: rather, one must, simultaneously, proceed to an act of conversion of the will and of the spirit; inte¬rior calm must be created, and one must be pervaded by intimate, sincere earnestness.

 

The "fluttering" of thought mentioned in our text is more than a mere simile: it is related to the primordial anguish, to the dark substratum of samsāric life that comes out and reacts since, as soon as it feels that it is seen, it becomes aware of the danger; the condition of passivity and unconsciousness is essential for the development of samsāric being and for the establishment of its existence. This simile illustrates an experience that, in one form or another, is even encountered on the ascetic path.

 

The discipline of constant control of the thought, with the elimination of its automatic forms, gradually achieves what in the texts is called appamada, a term variously translated as "attention," "earnestness," "vigilance," "diligence," or "reflection." It is, in point of fact, the opposite state to that of "letting oneself think," it is the first form of entry into oneself, of an earnestness and of a fervid, austere concentration. When it is understood in this sense, appamāda constitutes the base of every virtue. It is also said: "This intensive earnestness is the path that leads toward the deathless, in the same way that unreflective thought leads, instead, to death. He who possesses that earnestness does not die, while those who have unstable thought are as if already dead." An ascetic "who delights in appamāda - in this austere concentration - and who guards against mental laxity, will advance like a fire, burning every bond, both great and small." He "cannot err." And when, thanks to this energy, all negligence is gone and he is calm, from his heights of wisdom he will look down on vain and agitated beings, "as one who lives on a mountaintop looks down on those who live in the plains."

 

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excerpt from The Doctrine of Awakening by Julius Evola

 

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painting by Blake

 

Zebra on the Oldies station: Who's Behind the Door?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSZyezEhRhs

We sailed away - We walked two thousand miles and then we slipped away

Brad: (In the Dylan home, after the family dinner, Linda, Paradise, and Christopher are bringing dishes from the table to the kitchen and chatting, Brad draws Michael aside) Hey. Mom made her famous brandied pear pie for dessert. I thought I'd run down to the corner and grab some ice cream for some à la Mode action. You want to come along?

Michael: I'm not in the mood for an evening jog.

Brad: Is it because of the dead guys you and the Sheriff found? Didn't the coroner decide it was definitely some kind of animal attack?

Michael: Yeah, he did. I just can't help thinking if I'd written them up they might have taken me more seriously and not gone off to the woods. Or, if I'd driven them over to the Drift Inn myself.

Brad: The thing about "ors" is they still leave you up shit creek.

Michael: (surprised) Bradley! (lowers his voice) Don't let Mom hear you talk like that. (gives his smirking brother a shoulder punch) That's something Dad used to say. I didn't think you'd remember something like that.

Zebra on the Oldies station: Now we know - Just what the journey's for

Brad: I remember a lot of stuff. Mostly what a big jerk you are, but good things, too.

Michael: Sand flea.

Brad: Beach bum. (opens the front door) I'll be back in a few minutes.

Michael: Maybe I should drive you.

Brad: Seriously? If a bear or a puma got those guys, it's long gone by now. And if it isn't. (taps his right pocket) I've got lil' lightning with me.

Michael: I'm timing you. If I think you're even two minutes too late, I'm Fugitive-ing you.

Brad: (sarcastically, as he exits) Yes, Mom Deux.

Michael: (shakes his head and collects a couple dishes from the table, bringing them into the kitchen)

Tyler Griffin: (cruising along the main street of Village Green in his black, Fiat 124 Spider when a low, dark shape dashes across the intersection and there's a loud thump from the left front bumper and a loud, canine yelp of pain - he hits the brakes and jumps out of the convertible just into time to see a large black dog loping away, down the suburban side street) Hey, boy! Are you okay? Oh, man... (he checks the front of his car and doesn't see any damage, jumps in and turns to track the dog home, to alert its owners to potential internal damage)

Zebra on the Oldies station: Animals in their zoo

Chris: (In the Dylan home, is coming out of the kitchen, music following him, until the door swings shut, and spots Michael entering the foyer, reaching for his jacket) Dude, your mom can samba -- hey, just where do you think you're going?

Michael: Brad went down to the corner to grab some ice cream. I'm just going to take a look outside for him. He should be getting back by now.

Chris: If I'd known he had a way to escape helping with the dishes, I'd have gone with him. (smiles and slips his arms around Michael's waist) I'll go with you.

Michael: It's cold out. Stay in here.

Chris: You sound worried. If I stay inside I'll just be worried about you.

Zebra on the Oldies station: Because they don't know - Who opened up the door

(There's a knock on the front door, Michael opens the door to find Tyler standing there)

Michael and Tyler: What the hell?

Chris: Jinx! Now, you two have to kiss. (smirks)

Tyler: What?

Michael: (elbows Chris) Is there a problem?

Tyler: I didn't realize this was Linda's house.

Chris: You know Michael's mom?

Tyler: She works at the Green Griffin Gallery.

Chris: And you -- buy a lot of art?

Michael: (sighs) Sorry. Chris, this is Tyler Griffin. Tyler, this is Chris Valo.

Tyler: (nods at Chris)

Chris: I've heard your name.

Zebra on the Oldies station: How can we find out more

Tyler: (ruefully) In Village Green? I'm not surprised. Should I apologize now?

Michael: Is that why you're here? Going door-to-door, apologizing for your family?

Tyler: I don't have that kind of time. Actually, I was wondering if you own a dog?

Michael: Okay, I'll bite. (ignores Chris' snicker at that) Why do you want to know?

Tyler: I hit one, down the block.

Chris: Oh, no! Poor thing!

Tyler: It might be okay. I was barely doing twenty-five when I clipped it, and it took off down this street.

Michael: What kind of dog?

Tyler: I didn't get a good look at it. Big, black, furry, not a short-hair.

Michael: My mom doesn't have a dog, but the Tagliente's, at the end of the block, have a Newfie named Boz. (he points) Down there, yellow house.

Tyler: Thanks. I'll go ask them. (he passes Brad, carrying a plastic grocery bag, on the front steps and they give it other a nod)

Brad: What was Tyler Griffin doing here? (to Michael)

Zebra on the Oldies station: Who are the unwatched men

Michael: He hit a dog.

Brad: And he's so paranoid about his family rep' that he figured he'd better confess to the town deputy?

Michael: (snorts) The Griffins don't worry about their family name.

Chris: He seemed nice.

Michael: Based on this lengthy encounter?

Chris: He cared enough about that dog to try to find the owner. He's got a heart.

Michael: He probably wants to sue for car damage.

Chris: (gives Michael a smack on the shoulder) You're so cynical.

Linda: (comes out of the kitchen) What is everybody doing in the doorway?

Brad: (pushes past them, presenting Linda with the bag) I went down to MomPops for ice cream.

Linda: (smiling) You didn't have to do that. (she and Brad walk into the kitchen) Is that dirt, on the bag?

Brad: Yeah, I dropped it, sorry. I don't think it hurt the container. (the door closes on their conversation)

Chris: (as Michael closes and locks the front door) When we met, I didn't peg you as the cynical bigot type.

Michael: Bigot?

Zebra on the Oldies station: Faith is a fading fear

Chris: Yeah. You've got a serious hate going on for the Griffins, and I don't think Tyler deserves it.

Michael: Because he may, or may not, care about hitting a dog with his car?

Chris: See, I think it really upset him. I think he actually cares, but you're too wrapped up in how crappy you think they are to even consider it.

Michael: You could be right.

Chris: (blinks) I could? Really? You admit it?

Michael: (shrugs) It doesn't change what I think about the Griffins, but I might be lumping in Tyler, when he hasn't done anything to deserve it.

Chris: (hopefully) You --

Michael: Yet.

Chris: (disappointed) You suck.

Michael: Can't help it. Until I'm proved wrong, a Griffin is a Griffin. Is this going to turn into a deal-breaker, for us?

Chris: No, I have to come to terms with being in love with an asshat. (smiles when Michael draws him close) Besides, I have to hang around long enough to see you proven wrong. At least about Tyler.

Paradise: (comes bursting out of the kitchen) Brad just said Tyler Griffin is here?

Michael: For a minute.

Paradise: Here? At our house?

Michael: It wasn't a visit. He was looking for a dog.

Paradise: My dream! (she runs to the door, and onto the porch) Tyler, wait!

Chris: Sweetie, he's long gone. (whispers to Michael) Her dream?

Zebra on the Oldies station: I hope they don't call me soon

Michael: I'll tell you later. (to Paradise) Hey, Par, come back inside. It's cold out there.

Paradise: You don't understand!

Michael: I get it, but I don't think this was the right time to talk to him. He just hit a dog and he seemed -- (glances at Chris) upset about it. (ignores Chris' smirk)

Paradise: (gives up looking around for Tyler and glumly returns inside) You should have asked him in.

Michael: He was in a hurry. Come on, let's get some of that pie before Brad eats it all.

Paradise: I'm not hungry.

Michael: (sighs) Par... (then he takes a different approach) You know, dreams are funny things. They don't always fit together.

Paradise: No, they fall apart.

Michael: What I mean is, different parts might happen at different times.

Paradise: (slowly looking up at him) What do you mean?

Michael: I had this dream once, where I had a puppy. We were playing fetch, and when I threw the ball into the kitchen, he was about two years old, and when we went outside, he was an old dog. It all happened in order, but there was time between each moment.

Paradise: So, coming to the door -- could have been one moment. And -- coming inside could be another?

Michael: Right, and each following thing, could be totally different times.

Paradise: (looking hopeful) Oh, gosh! That actually makes sense! (she hugs Michael before hurrying off to the kitchen)

Zebra on the Oldies station: How much more do you really think you know than a flower

Chris: That was a nice thing you just did.

Michael: Indulge my little sister's fantasy world?

Chris: You made her feel better, that's a good, big brother.

Michael: (fondly) Shut up.

Chris: (following Michael toward the kitchen) Who's my big softy?

Michael: I have handcuffs.

Chris: I'm gonna call you, Deputy Cuddles.

Michael: (as they enter the kitchen) Brad, can I borrow lil' lightning?

Zebra on the Oldies station: does about who's behind the door!

 

(Thank you to Seth for playing AND Tyler, and to Erebus for playing Michael)

Some attempts of unwatched photography - I adjusted the focus point to infinity and just shot from the hip. I like the results as they are unadorned and show exactly whats going on.

 

Hasselblad 500 C/M

Carl Zeiss C 4/50 Distagon

CFV-50 c digital back

Godrevy Lighthouse this morning whilst experimenting with long range long exposures using the good old sigma 150-600mm with a dinner plate size ND1000. The image comprises of 8 separate images in two rows of four.

 

The lighthouse on Godrevy Island comprises a white octagonal tower standing 26m high (b5), built in 1859 (b3) and shown on the OS maps of 1877 (b1) and 1966 (b2). There was a cottage to accommodate the keepers, of which there are visible remains, and an aerial ropeway connected the main island to a smaller one, providing access to a third landing place. The lighthouse was regraded to automatic, unwatched in 1934 (b5).

 

"Lighthouse; Keepers' cottages, store, front courtyard wall and perimeter walls. 1859. Designed by James Walker. Painted stucco over rubble. Cottages are slurried rubble. One cottage has grouted slate roof. Plan: octagonal plan. Exterior: 5 floors plus lantern. 4 small windows to each floor arranged on alternate faces so that there are alternately 3 windows or 2 windows to each face. Moulded cornice to walk with iron railings outside the lantern. Braced glazing and conical roof with finial with weather vane to lantern. Interior: not inspected. The cottages are small, rectangular on plan and single storeyed. Cottage nearest the lighthouse is roofless and 1 gable end has fallen. The other cottage has coped gable ends. Behind the lighthouse is a large store with mono-pitch roof. The lighthouse stands on level platform with walls at the sides. Another wall encloses an approximately oval shaped 'garden' with 3 entrances approached by steps to serve alternative landing sites (all potentially extremely hazardous). Before the lighthouse was built many vessels were wrecked on this stretch of coast, notably the iron-screwsteamer NILE which was lost on 30th September 1854 with all passengers and crew. Situated on Godrevy Island off Godrevy Point. Godrevy Lighthouse was almost certainly the subject of 'To The Lighthouse' (1927) by Virginia Woolf. Godrevy lighthouse was manned until September 7th 1934, when it became automatically activated by a 'Sun Valve' on top of the lantern roof. Since this time the Keepers' cottages have been neglected. Sources: S (PR) 2 46." (EH List Description)

has bravely stood vigil against the long nameless dark, that frightful blackness beneath the floorboards of its master's childhood bedroom. Left unwatched: a fertile spawning pit for all the terrors of a child's imagination. Yet unflinching stood the lonely blue headlight brick, forgotten and afraid, nonetheless loyally warding off those nightmares, determined to do its master proud.

 

Today was a good day, for at last it was delivered from that breathless void, released of its sacred duty, and honourably discharged from faithful service with an unblemished record.

 

It travels now to a new home, to be reunited with old family and new friends, to find a seat of honour and comfort until that day in which its master once more calls it forth to serve, this time out in the light.

And glorious shall be that day.

 

We salute you, Lonely Blue Headlight Brick.

By way of immediate action, a stand must first be made against thought, against mental processes. "I do not know" - it is said - "anything which, when unbridled, uncontrolled, unwatched, untamed, brings such ruin as thought, and I do not know anything which, when bridled, controlled, watched, tamed, brings such benefits as thought."

 

Thought, which everyone lightly says is "mine," is, in reality, only to a very small degree in our power. In the majority of cases, instead of "to think" it would be correct to say "we are thought" or "thought takes place in me." In the normal way, the characteristic of thought is its instability. "Incorporeal" - it is said - "it walks by itself": it "runs hither and thither like an untamed bull." Hard to check, unstable, it runs where it pleases. In general, it is said that, while this body may persist one year, two years, three years or even up to a hundred years and more in its present form, "what we call thought, what we call mind, what we call consciousness arises in one manner, ceases in another; incessantly, night and day"; "it is like a monkey who goes through the forest, and who progresses by seizing one branch, letting go of it, taking hold of another, and so on."

 

The task is to "arrest" thought: to master it and to strengthen the attention; to be able then to say: "Once this thought wandered at its fancy, at its pleasure, as it liked: I today shall hold it completely bridled, as a mahout holds a rut-elephant with his goad."

 

A few explanations.

 

If one day normal conditions were to return, few civilizations would seem as odd as the present one, in which every form of power and dominion over material things is sought, while mastery over one's own mind, one's own emotions and psychic life in general is entirely overlooked. For this reason, many of our contemporaries - particularly our so-called "men of action" - really resemble those crustaceans that are as hard-shelled outside with scabrous incrustations as they are soft and spineless within. It is true that many achievements of modern civilization have been made possible by methodically applied and rigorously controlled thought. This, however, does not alter the fact that most of the "private" mental life of every average and more-than-average man develops today in that passive manner of thought that, as the Buddhist text we have just quoted strikingly puts it, "walks by itself," while, half-unconscious, we look on. Anyone can convince himself of this by trying to observe what goes on in his mind, for example, when leaving his house: he thinks of why he is going out but, at the door, his thoughts turn to the postman and thence to a certain friend from whom news is awaited, to the news itself, to the foreign country where his friend lives and which, in turn, makes him remember that he must do something about his own passport: but his eye notices a passing woman and starts a fresh train of thought, which again changes when he sees an advertisement, and these thoughts are replaced by the various feelings and associations that chase each other during a ride through the town. His thought has moved exactly like a monkey that jumps from branch to branch, without even keep-ing a fixed direction. Let us try, after a quarter of an hour, to remember what we have thought - or, rather, what has been thought in us - and we shall see how difficult it is. This means that in all these processes and disordered associations our consciousness has been dazed or "absent." Having seen this, let us undertake to follow, without disturbing them, the various mental associations. After only a minute or two we shall find ourselves distracted by a flood of thoughts that have invaded us and that are quite out of control. Thought does not like being watched, does not like being seen. Now this irrational and parasitical development of thought takes up a large part of our normal psychic life, and produces corresponding areas of reduced activity and of reduced self-presence. The state of passivity is accentuated when our thought is no longer merely "spontaneous" and when the mind is agitated by some emotion, some worry, hope, or fear. The degree of consciousness is certainly greater in these cases - but so, at the same time, is that of our passivity.

 

These considerations may throw some light on the task that is set when one "ceases to go", one reacts, one aims at being the master in the world of one's own mind. It now seems quite incomprehensible that nearly all men have long since been accustomed to consider as normal and natural this state of irrationality and passivity, where thought goes where it will - instead of being an instrument that enters into action only when necessary and in the required direction, just as we can speak when we wish to, and with a purpose, and otherwise remain silent. In comprehending this "according to reality," we must each decide whether we will continue to put up with this state of affairs.

 

In its fluid, changeable and inconsistent character, normal thought reflects, moreover, the general law of samsāric consciousness. This is why mental control is considered as the first urgent measure to be taken by one who opposes the "current." In undertaking this task, however, we must not be under any illusions. The dynamis, the subtle force that determines and carries our trains of thought, works from the subconscious. For this reason, to attempt to dominate the thought completely by means of the will, which is bound to thought itself, would almost be like trying to cut air with a sword or to drown an echo by raising the voice. The doctrine, which declares that thought is located in the "cavern of the heart," refers, among other things, to thought considered "organically" and not to its mental and psychological offshoots. Mastery of thought cannot, therefore, be merely the object of a form of mental gymnastics: rather, one must, simultaneously, proceed to an act of conversion of the will and of the spirit; inte¬rior calm must be created, and one must be pervaded by intimate, sincere earnestness.

 

The "fluttering" of thought mentioned in our text is more than a mere simile: it is related to the primordial anguish, to the dark substratum of samsāric life that comes out and reacts since, as soon as it feels that it is seen, it becomes aware of the danger; the condition of passivity and unconsciousness is essential for the development of samsāric being and for the establishment of its existence. This simile illustrates an experience that, in one form or another, is even encountered on the ascetic path.

 

The discipline of constant control of the thought, with the elimination of its automatic forms, gradually achieves what in the texts is called appamāda, a term variously translated as "attention," "earnestness," "vigilance," "diligence," or "reflection." It is, in point of fact, the opposite state to that of "letting oneself think," it is the first form of entry into oneself, of an earnestness and of a fervid, austere concentration. When it is understood in this sense, appamāda constitutes the base of every virtue. It is also said: "This intensive earnestness is the path that leads toward the deathless, in the same way that unreflective thought leads, instead, to death. He who possesses that earnestness does not die, while those who have unstable thought are as if already dead." An ascetic "who delights in appamāda - in this austere concentration - and who guards against mental laxity, will advance like a fire, burning every bond, both great and small." He "cannot err." And when, thanks to this energy, all negligence is gone and he is calm, from his heights of wisdom he will look down on vain and agitated beings, "as one who lives on a mountaintop looks down on those who live in the plains."

 

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Julius Evola: The Doctrine of Awakening - Part II., Chapter 2. - Defence and consolidation (excerpt)

 

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painting by Vincent after Doré

  

Let's pretend we are not buying and selling.

This is Trwyn Du [Black Point] Lighthouse, one of several lights on Anglesey, the island off the coast of North Wales that must be rounded by coastal shipping making the passage up or down the western seaboard. It was established in 1838, shortly after the sinking of the Rothesay Castle paddle steamer when 130 people out of 150 on board lost their lives.

 

The lighthouse is situated on a low-lying rock surrounded by shingle beaches about half a mile south of Puffin Island. The circular stone tower is distinguished by three black bands to improve daytime visibility

 

The lighthouse was originally manned by two keepers, however these were withdrawn in 1922 when the lighthouse was converted to unwatched acetylene operation. It was converted to solar power in 1996. The lighthouse is now monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex.

 

DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE IS SITUATED ON THE ARDS PENINSULA, APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILES NORTH EAST OF NEWTOWNARDS, ON THE IRISH SEA COAST.

THE IMPRESSIVE LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1836.THE TOWER IS BUILT OF CUT LIMESTONE, FLUTED, AND IN ITS EARLY DAYS WAS UNPAINTED IN NATURAL GREY COLOUR. THE TOWER, INCLUDING THE LANTERN AND DOME, IS NOW PAINTED WHITE WITH A BLACK PLINTH SINCE SOME TIME 1869 AND 1875.

AND WAS THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN IRELAND TO BE LIT BY ELECTRICITY

CONVERSION TO AN UNWATCHED ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE WAS MADE IN 1934 AND THIS MADE DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE THE FIRST IRISH LIGHTHOUSE TO BE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC, WITH CHAINE TOWER FURTHER NORTH IN LARNE FOLLOWING THE NEXT YEAR.

 

By way of immediate action, a stand must first be made against thought, against mental processes. "I do not know" - it is said - "anything which, when unbridled, uncontrolled, unwatched, untamed, brings such ruin as thought, and I do not know anything which, when bridled, controlled, watched, tamed, brings such benefits as thought."

 

Thought, which everyone lightly says is "mine," is, in reality, only to a very small degree in our power. In the majority of cases, instead of "to think" it would be correct to say "we are thought" or "thought takes place in me." In the normal way, the characteristic of thought is its instability. "Incorporeal" - it is said - "it walks by itself": it "runs hither and thither like an untamed bull." Hard to check, unstable, it runs where it pleases. In general, it is said that, while this body may persist one year, two years, three years or even up to a hundred years and more in its present form, "what we call thought, what we call mind, what we call consciousness arises in one manner, ceases in another; incessantly, night and day"; "it is like a monkey who goes through the forest, and who progresses by seizing one branch, letting go of it, taking hold of another, and so on."

 

The task is to "arrest" thought: to master it and to strengthen the attention; to be able then to say: "Once this thought wandered at its fancy, at its pleasure, as it liked: I today shall hold it completely bridled, as a mahout holds a rut-elephant with his goad."

 

A few explanations.

 

If one day normal conditions were to return, few civilizations would seem as odd as the present one, in which every form of power and dominion over material things is sought, while mastery over one's own mind, one's own emotions and psychic life in general is entirely overlooked. For this reason, many of our contemporaries - particularly our so-called "men of action" - really resemble those crustaceans that are as hard-shelled outside with scabrous incrustations as they are soft and spineless within. It is true that many achievements of modern civilization have been made possible by methodically applied and rigorously controlled thought. This, however, does not alter the fact that most of the "private" mental life of every average and more-than-average man develops today in that passive manner of thought that, as the Buddhist text we have just quoted strikingly puts it, "walks by itself," while, half-unconscious, we look on. Anyone can convince himself of this by trying to observe what goes on in his mind, for example, when leaving his house: he thinks of why he is going out but, at the door, his thoughts turn to the postman and thence to a certain friend from whom news is awaited, to the news itself, to the foreign country where his friend lives and which, in turn, makes him remember that he must do something about his own passport: but his eye notices a passing woman and starts a fresh train of thought, which again changes when he sees an advertisement, and these thoughts are replaced by the various feelings and associations that chase each other during a ride through the town. His thought has moved exactly like a monkey that jumps from branch to branch, without even keep-ing a fixed direction. Let us try, after a quarter of an hour, to remember what we have thought - or, rather, what has been thought in us - and we shall see how diffi¬cult it is. This means that in all these processes and disordered associations our consciousness has been dazed or "absent." Having seen this, let us undertake to follow, without disturbing them, the various mental associations. After only a minute or two we shall find ourselves distracted by a flood of thoughts that have invaded us and that are quite out of control. Thought does not like being watched, does not like being seen. Now this irrational and parasitical development of thought takes up a large part of our normal psychic life, and produces corresponding areas of reduced activity and of reduced self-presence. The state of passivity is accentuated when our thought is no longer merely "spontaneous" and when the mind is agitated by some emotion, some worry, hope, or fear. The degree of consciousness is certainly greater in these cases - but so, at the same time, is that of our passivity.

These considerations may throw some light on the task that is set when one "ceases to go"; one reacts, one aims at being the master in the world of one's own mind. It now seems quite incomprehensible that nearly all men have long since been accustomed to consider as normal and natural this state of irrationality and passivity, where thought goes where it will - instead of being an instrument that enters into action only when necessary and in the required direction, just as we can speak when we wish to, and with a purpose, and otherwise remain silent. In comprehending this "according to reality," we must each decide whether we will continue to put up with this state of affairs.

 

In its fluid, changeable and inconsistent character, normal thought reflects, moreover, the general law of samsāric consciousness. This is why mental control is consid¬ered as the first urgent measure to be taken by one who opposes the "current." In un¬dertaking this task, however, we must not be under any illusions. The dynamis, the subtle force that determines and carries our trains of thought, works from the subconscious. For this reason, to attempt to dominate the thought completely by means of the will, which is bound to thought itself, would almost be like trying to cut air with a sword or to drown an echo by raising the voice. The doctrine, which declares that thought is located in the "cavern of the heart," refers, among other things, to thought considered "organically" and not to its mental and psychological offshoots. Mastery of thought cannot, therefore, be merely the object of a form of mental gymnastics: rather, one must, simultaneously, proceed to an act of conversion of the will and of the spirit; inte¬rior calm must be created, and one must be pervaded by intimate, sincere earnestness.

 

The "fluttering" of thought mentioned in our text is more than a mere simile: it is related to the primordial anguish, to the dark substratum of samsāric life that comes out and reacts since, as soon as it feels that it is seen, it becomes aware of the danger; the condition of passivity and unconsciousness is essential for the development of samsāric being and for the establishment of its existence. This simile illustrates an experience that, in one form or another, is even encountered on the ascetic path.

 

The discipline of constant control of the thought, with the elimination of its automatic forms, gradually achieves what in the texts is called appamada, a term variously translated as "attention," "earnestness," "vigilance," "diligence," or "reflection." It is, in point of fact, the opposite state to that of "letting oneself think," it is the first form of entry into oneself, of an earnestness and of a fervid, austere concentration. When it is understood in this sense, appamāda constitutes the base of every virtue. It is also said: "This intensive earnestness is the path that leads toward the deathless, in the same way that unreflective thought leads, instead, to death. He who possesses that earnestness does not die, while those who have unstable thought are as if already dead." An ascetic "who delights in appamāda - in this austere concentration - and who guards against mental laxity, will advance like a fire, burning every bond, both great and small." He "cannot err." And when, thanks to this energy, all negligence is gone and he is calm, from his heights of wisdom he will look down on vain and agitated beings, "as one who lives on a mountaintop looks down on those who live in the plains."

 

--------

 

excerpt from The Doctrine of Awakening by Julius Evola

 

DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE IS SITUATED ON THE ARDS PENINSULA, APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILES NORTH EAST OF NEWTOWNARDS, ON THE IRISH SEA COAST.

THE IMPRESSIVE LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1836.THE TOWER IS BUILT OF CUT LIMESTONE, FLUTED, AND IN ITS EARLY DAYS WAS UNPAINTED IN NATURAL GREY COLOUR. THE TOWER, INCLUDING THE LANTERN AND DOME, IS NOW PAINTED WHITE WITH A BLACK PLINTH SINCE SOME TIME 1869 AND 1875.

AND WAS THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN IRELAND TO BE LIT BY ELECTRICITY

CONVERSION TO AN UNWATCHED ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE WAS MADE IN 1934 AND THIS MADE DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE THE FIRST IRISH LIGHTHOUSE TO BE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC, WITH CHAINE TOWER FURTHER NORTH IN LARNE FOLLOWING THE NEXT YEAR.

 

Taking at Elysion

DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE IS SITUATED ON THE ARDS PENINSULA, APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILES NORTH EAST OF NEWTOWNARDS, ON THE IRISH SEA COAST.

THE IMPRESSIVE LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1836.THE TOWER IS BUILT OF CUT LIMESTONE, FLUTED, AND IN ITS EARLY DAYS WAS UNPAINTED IN NATURAL GREY COLOUR. THE TOWER, INCLUDING THE LANTERN AND DOME, IS NOW PAINTED WHITE WITH A BLACK PLINTH SINCE SOME TIME 1869 AND 1875.

AND WAS THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN IRELAND TO BE LIT BY ELECTRICITY

CONVERSION TO AN UNWATCHED ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE WAS MADE IN 1934 AND THIS MADE DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE THE FIRST IRISH LIGHTHOUSE TO BE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC, WITH CHAINE TOWER FURTHER NORTH IN LARNE FOLLOWING THE NEXT YEAR.

 

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY. THE WRITING ON THE LIGHTHOUSE READS “NO PASSAGE LANDWARD”.

 

By way of immediate action, a stand must first be made against thought, against mental processes. "I do not know" - it is said - "anything which, when unbridled, uncontrolled, unwatched, untamed, brings such ruin as thought, and I do not know anything which, when bridled, controlled, watched, tamed, brings such benefits as thought."

 

Thought, which everyone lightly says is "mine," is, in reality, only to a very small degree in our power. In the majority of cases, instead of "to think" it would be correct to say "we are thought" or "thought takes place in me." In the normal way, the characteristic of thought is its instability. "Incorporeal" - it is said - "it walks by itself": it "runs hither and thither like an untamed bull." Hard to check, unstable, it runs where it pleases. In general, it is said that, while this body may persist one year, two years, three years or even up to a hundred years and more in its present form, "what we call thought, what we call mind, what we call consciousness arises in one manner, ceases in another; incessantly, night and day"; "it is like a monkey who goes through the forest, and who progresses by seizing one branch, letting go of it, taking hold of another, and so on."

 

The task is to "arrest" thought: to master it and to strengthen the attention; to be able then to say: "Once this thought wandered at its fancy, at its pleasure, as it liked: I today shall hold it completely bridled, as a mahout holds a rut-elephant with his goad."

 

A few explanations.

 

If one day normal conditions were to return, few civilizations would seem as odd as the present one, in which every form of power and dominion over material things is sought, while mastery over one's own mind, one's own emotions and psychic life in general is entirely overlooked. For this reason, many of our contemporaries - particularly our so-called "men of action" - really resemble those crustaceans that are as hard-shelled outside with scabrous incrustations as they are soft and spineless within. It is true that many achievements of modern civilization have been made possible by methodically applied and rigorously controlled thought. This, however, does not alter the fact that most of the "private" mental life of every average and more-than-average man develops today in that passive manner of thought that, as the Buddhist text we have just quoted strikingly puts it, "walks by itself," while, half-unconscious, we look on. Anyone can convince himself of this by trying to observe what goes on in his mind, for example, when leaving his house: he thinks of why he is going out but, at the door, his thoughts turn to the postman and thence to a certain friend from whom news is awaited, to the news itself, to the foreign country where his friend lives and which, in turn, makes him remember that he must do something about his own passport: but his eye notices a passing woman and starts a fresh train of thought, which again changes when he sees an advertisement, and these thoughts are replaced by the various feelings and associations that chase each other during a ride through the town. His thought has moved exactly like a monkey that jumps from branch to branch, without even keep-ing a fixed direction. Let us try, after a quarter of an hour, to remember what we have thought - or, rather, what has been thought in us - and we shall see how diffi¬cult it is. This means that in all these processes and disordered associations our consciousness has been dazed or "absent." Having seen this, let us undertake to follow, without disturbing them, the various mental associations. After only a minute or two we shall find ourselves distracted by a flood of thoughts that have invaded us and that are quite out of control. Thought does not like being watched, does not like being seen. Now this irrational and parasitical development of thought takes up a large part of our normal psychic life, and produces corresponding areas of reduced activity and of reduced self-presence. The state of passivity is accentuated when our thought is no longer merely "spontaneous" and when the mind is agitated by some emotion, some worry, hope, or fear. The degree of consciousness is certainly greater in these cases - but so, at the same time, is that of our passivity.

These considerations may throw some light on the task that is set when one "ceases to go"; one reacts, one aims at being the master in the world of one's own mind. It now seems quite incomprehensible that nearly all men have long since been accustomed to consider as normal and natural this state of irrationality and passivity, where thought goes where it will - instead of being an instrument that enters into action only when necessary and in the required direction, just as we can speak when we wish to, and with a purpose, and otherwise remain silent. In comprehending this "according to reality," we must each decide whether we will continue to put up with this state of affairs.

 

In its fluid, changeable and inconsistent character, normal thought reflects, moreover, the general law of samsāric consciousness. This is why mental control is consid¬ered as the first urgent measure to be taken by one who opposes the "current." In un¬dertaking this task, however, we must not be under any illusions. The dynamis, the subtle force that determines and carries our trains of thought, works from the subconscious. For this reason, to attempt to dominate the thought completely by means of the will, which is bound to thought itself, would almost be like trying to cut air with a sword or to drown an echo by raising the voice. The doctrine, which declares that thought is located in the "cavern of the heart," refers, among other things, to thought considered "organically" and not to its mental and psychological offshoots. Mastery of thought cannot, therefore, be merely the object of a form of mental gymnastics: rather, one must, simultaneously, proceed to an act of conversion of the will and of the spirit; inte¬rior calm must be created, and one must be pervaded by intimate, sincere earnestness.

 

The "fluttering" of thought mentioned in our text is more than a mere simile: it is related to the primordial anguish, to the dark substratum of samsāric life that comes out and reacts since, as soon as it feels that it is seen, it becomes aware of the danger; the condition of passivity and unconsciousness is essential for the development of samsāric being and for the establishment of its existence. This simile illustrates an experience that, in one form or another, is even encountered on the ascetic path.

 

The discipline of constant control of the thought, with the elimination of its automatic forms, gradually achieves what in the texts is called appamada, a term variously translated as "attention," "earnestness," "vigilance," "diligence," or "reflection." It is, in point of fact, the opposite state to that of "letting oneself think," it is the first form of entry into oneself, of an earnestness and of a fervid, austere concentration. When it is understood in this sense, appamāda constitutes the base of every virtue. It is also said: "This intensive earnestness is the path that leads toward the deathless, in the same way that unreflective thought leads, instead, to death. He who possesses that earnestness does not die, while those who have unstable thought are as if already dead." An ascetic "who delights in appamāda - in this austere concentration - and who guards against mental laxity, will advance like a fire, burning every bond, both great and small." He "cannot err." And when, thanks to this energy, all negligence is gone and he is calm, from his heights of wisdom he will look down on vain and agitated beings, "as one who lives on a mountaintop looks down on those who live in the plains."

 

--------

 

excerpt from The Doctrine of Awakening by Julius Evola

 

--------

 

painting by Munch

 

By way of immediate action, a stand must first be made against thought, against mental processes. "I do not know" - it is said - "anything which, when unbridled, uncontrolled, unwatched, untamed, brings such ruin as thought, and I do not know anything which, when bridled, controlled, watched, tamed, brings such benefits as thought."

 

Thought, which everyone lightly says is "mine," is, in reality, only to a very small degree in our power. In the majority of cases, instead of "to think" it would be correct to say "we are thought" or "thought takes place in me." In the normal way, the characteristic of thought is its instability. "Incorporeal" - it is said - "it walks by itself": it "runs hither and thither like an untamed bull." Hard to check, unstable, it runs where it pleases. In general, it is said that, while this body may persist one year, two years, three years or even up to a hundred years and more in its present form, "what we call thought, what we call mind, what we call consciousness arises in one manner, ceases in another; incessantly, night and day"; "it is like a monkey who goes through the forest, and who progresses by seizing one branch, letting go of it, taking hold of another, and so on."

 

The task is to "arrest" thought: to master it and to strengthen the attention; to be able then to say: "Once this thought wandered at its fancy, at its pleasure, as it liked: I today shall hold it completely bridled, as a mahout holds a rut-elephant with his goad."

 

A few explanations.

 

If one day normal conditions were to return, few civilizations would seem as odd as the present one, in which every form of power and dominion over material things is sought, while mastery over one's own mind, one's own emotions and psychic life in general is entirely overlooked. For this reason, many of our contemporaries - particularly our so-called "men of action" - really resemble those crustaceans that are as hard-shelled outside with scabrous incrustations as they are soft and spineless within. It is true that many achievements of modern civilization have been made possible by methodically applied and rigorously controlled thought. This, however, does not alter the fact that most of the "private" mental life of every average and more-than-average man develops today in that passive manner of thought that, as the Buddhist text we have just quoted strikingly puts it, "walks by itself," while, half-unconscious, we look on. Anyone can convince himself of this by trying to observe what goes on in his mind, for example, when leaving his house: he thinks of why he is going out but, at the door, his thoughts turn to the postman and thence to a certain friend from whom news is awaited, to the news itself, to the foreign country where his friend lives and which, in turn, makes him remember that he must do something about his own passport: but his eye notices a passing woman and starts a fresh train of thought, which again changes when he sees an advertisement, and these thoughts are replaced by the various feelings and associations that chase each other during a ride through the town. His thought has moved exactly like a monkey that jumps from branch to branch, without even keep-ing a fixed direction. Let us try, after a quarter of an hour, to remember what we have thought - or, rather, what has been thought in us - and we shall see how diffi¬cult it is. This means that in all these processes and disordered associations our consciousness has been dazed or "absent." Having seen this, let us undertake to follow, without disturbing them, the various mental associations. After only a minute or two we shall find ourselves distracted by a flood of thoughts that have invaded us and that are quite out of control. Thought does not like being watched, does not like being seen. Now this irrational and parasitical development of thought takes up a large part of our normal psychic life, and produces corresponding areas of reduced activity and of reduced self-presence. The state of passivity is accentuated when our thought is no longer merely "spontaneous" and when the mind is agitated by some emotion, some worry, hope, or fear. The degree of consciousness is certainly greater in these cases - but so, at the same time, is that of our passivity.

These considerations may throw some light on the task that is set when one "ceases to go"; one reacts, one aims at being the master in the world of one's own mind. It now seems quite incomprehensible that nearly all men have long since been accustomed to consider as normal and natural this state of irrationality and passivity, where thought goes where it will - instead of being an instrument that enters into action only when necessary and in the required direction, just as we can speak when we wish to, and with a purpose, and otherwise remain silent. In comprehending this "according to reality," we must each decide whether we will continue to put up with this state of affairs.

 

In its fluid, changeable and inconsistent character, normal thought reflects, moreover, the general law of samsāric consciousness. This is why mental control is consid¬ered as the first urgent measure to be taken by one who opposes the "current." In un¬dertaking this task, however, we must not be under any illusions. The dynamis, the subtle force that determines and carries our trains of thought, works from the subconscious. For this reason, to attempt to dominate the thought completely by means of the will, which is bound to thought itself, would almost be like trying to cut air with a sword or to drown an echo by raising the voice. The doctrine, which declares that thought is located in the "cavern of the heart," refers, among other things, to thought considered "organically" and not to its mental and psychological offshoots. Mastery of thought cannot, therefore, be merely the object of a form of mental gymnastics: rather, one must, simultaneously, proceed to an act of conversion of the will and of the spirit; inte¬rior calm must be created, and one must be pervaded by intimate, sincere earnestness.

 

The "fluttering" of thought mentioned in our text is more than a mere simile: it is related to the primordial anguish, to the dark substratum of samsāric life that comes out and reacts since, as soon as it feels that it is seen, it becomes aware of the danger; the condition of passivity and unconsciousness is essential for the development of samsāric being and for the establishment of its existence. This simile illustrates an experience that, in one form or another, is even encountered on the ascetic path.

 

The discipline of constant control of the thought, with the elimination of its automatic forms, gradually achieves what in the texts is called appamada, a term variously translated as "attention," "earnestness," "vigilance," "diligence," or "reflection." It is, in point of fact, the opposite state to that of "letting oneself think," it is the first form of entry into oneself, of an earnestness and of a fervid, austere concentration. When it is understood in this sense, appamāda constitutes the base of every virtue. It is also said: "This intensive earnestness is the path that leads toward the deathless, in the same way that unreflective thought leads, instead, to death. He who possesses that earnestness does not die, while those who have unstable thought are as if already dead." An ascetic "who delights in appamāda - in this austere concentration - and who guards against mental laxity, will advance like a fire, burning every bond, both great and small." He "cannot err." And when, thanks to this energy, all negligence is gone and he is calm, from his heights of wisdom he will look down on vain and agitated beings, "as one who lives on a mountaintop looks down on those who live in the plains."

 

--------

 

excerpt from The Doctrine of Awakening by Julius Evola

 

--------

 

woodcut by Munch

  

I discovered this lovely Victorian house earlier this week. I have since learned that it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The information below comes from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form.

npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/da02787d-5a69-4348-8f9d-b...

 

I have omitted the detailed descriptions of the building's elevations, windows, doors and roof. I've also cut tedious details about the pool house and the landscaping. It is worth noting, however, that in 1980, the house was served by a curved driveway that extended all the way to the front steps. It is no longer there and, in fact, there is no access to house from N. Willamette Boulevard.

 

I gather that high expectations that the house would be restored, which go back to the 1980s, have yet to be realized. The first thing I would do is repaint the house, because otherwise it's akin to a piece of fine furniture that's been left out to weather on the front yard.

 

Introduction

The John Mock House is one of Portland's best-preserved examples of Queen Anne/Victorian architecture. It is excellently situated above the Willamette River and was designed and built by unknown person or persons on the site of two previous Mock houses, the oldest dating from 1853.

 

The interior is superbly detailed and is substantially unaltered from its original state. The Mock House has been continuously associated with persons and events vital to the evolution of Portland's architectural, political and cultural heritage and deserves recognition by the National Register.

 

Biographical Information About Past Owners

 

1. John Mock's Parents

In 1833 Henry Arnold Mock and his wife, Maria Elizabeth Meyer, emigrated to America from Germany. Settling in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, five years later on October 4, 1838, Maria gave birth to the couple's only child, John. In Mechanicsburg, Henry engaged in several occupations including that of a sailor, farmer, and shoemaker. By 1844, he had saved enough money to move his family to Platte County, Missouri, and purchase a forty-acre farm. There the family settled and worked the land for eight years.

 

In the spring of 1852, lured into the westward migration, Henry Mock sold his farm, packed both his family and his most valued worldly possessions into a wagon, and began their journey across the Great Plains to Oregon. By this time, John was fourteen years old and a man by pioneer standards. He proved himself particularly adept in the handling of the family's four-yoke oxen wagon, often with two additional cows hitched up. In fact, John was so skillful at driving the team that all six original animals survived the Plains crossing.

 

In the late summer of 1852, the Mock family arrived in The Dalles, Oregon. There they sold two of their oxen, loaded the wagon on a river scow, and drifted down the Columbia River. John, however, stayed behind, and drove the remaining oxen and cows overland, where he met his parents at the Upper Cascades. Here they disembarked from the scow and proceeded further down the river by wagon to the Lower Cascades. At the Lower Cascades, Henry and Maria again boarded the scow, John drove the oxen and cows overland, and by early fall both groups arrived in Sandy, Oregon. In Sandy, the family reloaded the wagon and made their way to Portland, arriving in October 1852.

 

The Mock family's first three weeks in Portland were spent camping in Sullivan's Gulch. Turning their cattle loose in order to graze, the animals ran off during an unwatched moment. In the search that followed, the Mocks stumbled upon what is now St. John's, where they met Dr. Charles Staples, Portland's first practicing and properly educated physician.

 

Dr. Staples convinced the family to occupy a house on his property and weather the winter storms there. Henry, Maria, and John remained guests of Dr. Staples until the spring of 1853, when, with the advice of Dr. Staples, Henry Mock took up a donation land claim of 317 acres in the vicinity of what is now the University of Portland. That claim included what are today’s North Portland neighborhoods of University Park, Mock’s Crest and Mock’s Bottom. With the aid of neighbors, the Mock's built their first log cabin, which was the family home until 1874.

 

2. John Mock

During his first four years in Portland, John Mock cleared, worked, and helped further develop the family farm. Yet, by 1857 and at the age of eighteen, John left home for a career in mining and running a pack train. Taking advantage of his pioneer experiences, John was apparently successful as both a miner and "mule skinner."

 

However, after six years he returned to his Portland home, lived with his mother and father, and began again to work the farm.

In 1867, Maria Elizabeth Mock died. At this point, John purchased the farm from his aging and apparently disheartened father. Gathering his savings, Henry Arnold returned to his native Germany where he was promptly swindled out of his small fortune. He was thus forced to return to the U.S., where he lived with his son John until 1883, when he died at the age of ninety-one.

 

On August 4, 1874, John Mock married Mary M. Sunderland, originally of Iowa. John immediately began the construction of a new family cabin of hewn log. Finished in the same year, the cabin was much more spacious and thus able to house an ever growing family. Included were his wife, Mary; his father, Henry; his oldest daughter, Mary Elizabeth; hisonly son, John Benjamin; his second daughter, Lillie Catherine;and his last child, Margaret Alice.

 

Tragically, in 1889, the Mock family cabin burned down, along with virtually all of the family's possessions. As a result, John Mock initiated the construction of the house that still stands today, known as Mock's residence. Completed in 1894, John Mock lived there until 1918, when he died.

 

John Mock, as one of the founders of Portland, was originally well known for his pioneering efforts in raising livestock and mining in the local area. Later, as a City Councilman, he was instrumental in developing and initiating a street-railway system that reached out to the St. John's area. Moreover, John Mock donated large tracks of land to the city for the implementation of a street system which led to the development of a fine residentia lcommunity. Finally, near the end of his life, John Mock donated the land for the building of Columbia University, presently the University of Portland.

 

Both Mock's Crest, near the University, and Mock's Bottom, near Swan Island, are named for John Mock, acknowledging his contribution to Portland as one of its original pioneers and most active and concerned of citizens.

 

3. Owners After John Mock's Death

After John Mock's death, the present home was subsequently owned and occupied by his children and in-laws at various times: Margaret Alice Mock, the youngest child who remained single her entire life, and who was noted for the creation of a generous scholarship fund for graduating senior at Roosevelt High School; Lillie Catherine (Mock) Amos, the second daughter of John Mock, and wife of the well-known physician and famous prohibitionist Dr. William F. Amos; Mary Elizabeth (Mock) Yeon, the eldest Mock child and wife of John B. Yeon.

 

Mr. Yeon was a well-known Oregon logger, builder, real estate developer, and is considered the "father of the Columbia River Highway." John B. Yeon is the grandfather of the noted architect, John Yeon.

 

In the mid-1950's, the family sold the Mock home to Harold LaDuke, for which the LaDuke Terrace addition is named.

 

4. The Owners in 1980

The Mock House is now owned and occupied by Mr. Lewis E. Alexander, and his wife, Fern T. Alexander. Both are Native Americans and hail from Oklahoma.

 

Mr. Alexander is of the Creek-Seminole people and Mrs. Alexander is of Oto-Missouria origin. Presently, Mr. Alexander is the Executive Director of the Portland Urban Indian Council, Inc., providing a variety of social services for the local Native American population.

 

In the recent past, Mr. Alexander has served both the Schrunk and Goldschmidt administrations in the Mayor's Office. Between 1970 and 1972, he was Manpower Coordinator for the City of Portland, in which he served as the Mayor's staff advisor on all manpower and related programs. Further, he was Chairperson of the Mayor's Manpower Area Planning Council and was instrumental in codifying and developing a program of evaluating the City's Manpower planning problems. Mr. Alexander has remained active in Indian cultural affairs throughout his life.

 

Former President of New Mexico Council of AmericanIndians, and presently a member of several other regional and national Indian organizations, in 1974, he was selected the administrative coordinator for the "Native American's Earth" presentation at Expo '74 in Spokane, and was an active member of Expo '74's general manager's staff,

 

In 1968, Mrs. Alexander was named the American Indian of the Year and travelled to Washington, D.C. to receive the honor. During the administration of President Kennedy, she was appointed "counselor" to the Department of the Interior in regards to Indian affairs~a position Mrs. Alexander still remains active in today. Like her husband, she is very active in local, regional, and national Indian affairs and participates in several related organizations. Presently, Mrs. Alexander is the

Chairperson and the Director of Communications for the North American Indian Woman's Association of Oregon.

 

Description of the House

The interior of the Mock's Residence consists of a 1,500 square foot basement; a 2,000 square foot first floor a 1,900 square foot second floor; and an attic with 1,000 usable square feet. The basement is used as a laundry room and recreational area, whereas the attic, though largely unfinished, has one insulated room for storage purposes.

 

1. The First Floor

The first floor was originally designed to and presently serves as the family living area. Likewise, the second floor was designed expressly for individual sleeping and dressing rooms, and remains so today.

 

The entry hall allows access from the front porch through the main doors to the main hall-foyer. The entry is 6' x 5'6" and contains an inner pair of 8' high doors, with stained glass inserts, that separate it from the hall-foyer. The floor is surfaced in ceramic tile, and the doors and wainscoting are natural-finish hardwood panels. The main hall-foyer is irregular in shape, approximately 22' x 8'6" in size. The floors are fully carpeted and the ceiling is textured with a cut crystal chandelier. The walls are painted, yet all doors and the accompanying wood decor are of natural finish.

 

An open curved stairway leads to the second floor. The newel post and rails are carved hardwood and given a natural finish.

 

Between the entry hall and stairway is an 8' x 5'6" cloakroom. It has hanging space for clothing on both sides and a sit down storage bench. This walk-in cloakroom is fully carpeted and has a half rounded stained glass window facing the front yard.

 

To the left of the entry hall as one enters the hall-foyer, is the sitting room. Measuring 14' x 17', one enters the sitting room through a 5' x 8' pocket door from the hall-foyer. The room has a textured ceiling, painted walls, and a bowed front window stretching the full width of the room. The sitting room is fully carpeted.

 

The living room, originally the parlor and music room, is to the right of the hall-foyer and is entered through a pair of 5' x 8' pocketed doors. The room is irregular in shape, yet averages 29' x 14' in size. A high cased opening topped with fancy spindle work and a cut out lyre separates the south nine feet of the room. This section of the living room is lined with built-in bookcases, except for the window areas.

 

The fireplace at the north end of the room is surrounded by a natural finish oak mantle and side sections with a beveled edge plate glass mirror back. It has a ceramic tile face and an iron plate fire screen with adjustable vents. The ceiling is textured, the walls are painted, and the floor is carpeted.

 

One gains access to the dining room via a 4' x 8' high pocket door at the north end of the living room. The ceiling was hand-painted by New York artist Charles Ammann in 1930. The chandelier has eight branches and is of Victorian design. The fixture was originally gas fueled, but has since been converted to electricity. The fireplace, at the southern end of the room, is similar in styling to the one in the living room. It has a ceramic face and hearth, an iron plate fire screen, and a natural finish oak wood mantle. However, the side shelves have more spindle work and there is a smaller mirror. The northern wall has a scenic mural of the "Villa d'Este." Painted in moss green and blue, it was done by an unknown artist at an unknown date. The woodwork in the room is largely painted in satin enamel, excepting the spindle work, the doors, and the dado inserts. The remaining walls are likewise painted and the floor is carpeted. The dining room measures 19' x 14'.

 

The breakfast room, presently serving as an informal bar, opens off of the dining room through a high cased opening topped by fine wood spindle work. Facing the east, the room is walled by two full sides of glass windows taking full advantage of the sun during the first half of the day. The remaining two walls and ceiling are painted to compliment the dining room, and the floor is completely surfaced with ceramic tile. The breakfast room measures 6' x 10'.

 

At the north end of the hall-foyer is the center hall. Measuring 3' x 10', it has a dropped ceiling topped with a fancy wood spindle work. The floor is carpeted, the walls are painted, and the center hall leads one to the main floor bathroom and to the office.

 

The office is 10' x 8'6" and has a dropped ceiling. This room does not reflect the architectural period of the house as do the other rooms. The office has wainscote-height paneling and built-in cabinets shelves. The floor is carpeted.

 

The main floor bathroom measures 7'6" x 15'. It has a built-in vanity with a large mirror and double swag lights, the ceiling is original hand painted, and has a wall-hung water closet. The bathroom has been fitted by a modern toilet and 4'6"tub with an overhead shower.

 

The kitchen is a modern "U"-shaped design with several built-in appliances. One can enter the kitchen from the rear hall or from the pantry via the dining room. The kitchen is 12' x 16'6", it has a 9' kitchen bar with an eating shelf and a 7'6" nook with space for a small kitchen table. The room is well lighted and fully carpeted.

 

The pantry is located between the dining room and kitchen and has access to both. The walls are lined with upper and lower cabinets for storage, and there is an open counter space. The pantry is carpeted and opens up on to the back porch.

 

The rear stair is three feet wide and leads off the rear hallway to the second floor central hallway. Given a natural wood finish, it has one landing and winders that provide for a ninety-degree turn.

 

2. The Second Floor

The second floor consists of a main hallway, a small rear hall, a bathroom, a master bedroom, and five additional bedrooms. All the rooms on this floor have wood panel doors with transom lights above each.

 

The main hallway averages 8'6" x 12' and opens off the main stairway from the first floor hall-foyer. The hallway runs north and south and thus divides the second floor into east and west sections. At the southern end of the hallway is a stained glass insert door leading onto the front balcony. The hall carpet is the same as that of the main floor: a gold acrilan over a 70-ounce foam pad with a high/low tip sheared pattern.

 

The rear hall, located at the north end of the second floor, ranges from four to five feet in width. Carpeted, it leads to the rear stairway which, in turn, takes one down to the first floor, providing easy access to the pantry and kitchen.

 

The master bedroom is irregular in shape, yet average 24' x 14' in size. It has ivory colored wallpaper, ivory colored woodwork finish, and a pink wool carpet. Both windows in the room are boxed out. The east window is an Austrian shade with over drapes and valances in green and gold antique satin. The front corner windows have draw sheers, with a draw drapes valance. The front corner window seat is covered with green crushed velvet.

 

The master bedroom has its own bathroom, while the remaining five bedrooms share the hallway bathroom. The master bedroom bathroom is now a modern facility with tiled floor and walls. Entering through café doors, the bathroom contains a marble-top vanity, a 3' x 4'6" shower, and a hung water closet.

 

Within the entry-hall of the master bedroom are the original hall lights above a large framed mirror. Further centered in the sitting area hangs a Maria Theresa cut crystal chandelier.

 

The remaining five bedrooms range in size from as large as 18'6" x 10'6" to as small as 12' x 8'. Located on both sides of the main hall, they now serve as guest rooms for visiting friends and relatives.

 

The northeast bedroom has double closets- and an off-white acrylic carpet, and washable pink wallpaper; the southwest bedroom' has two windows with a view of the city, a connecting door with the west-center bedroom, the walls are painted, and retains its original carpet; the west-center bedroom, adjoining the southwest bedroom, has painted walls, a wool blue carpet, and a set of boxed out windows with stained glass; the northwest bedroom is painted and is floored with a green nylon carpet; the final bedroom also serves as a linen storage room. With its original carpet, this bedroom has an entire wall devoted to storage containing doors and drawers. Further, the room has a walk-in closet with drawers and shelves for more storage.

 

The hallway bathroom is for the occupants of the five subordinate bedrooms. Measuring 8'x9' in size, it is a completely new and modern facility excepting its original six foot long bathtub.

 

The upper-half story serves as an attic for the Mock House. It is basically unfinished except for one room with a 1,000 square foot area. Serving as a storage room, it is insulated, contains several storage cabinets, and usually remains locked.

 

Of further interest: In 1971, a four-ton Rheem central air-conditioning unit was installed. It serves the entire main floor, the master bedroom, and two more bedrooms on the second floor.

 

The system's installation was an amazing feat, in that first it could be installed at all in a structure such as Mock's Residence, and second; that it was accomplished without compromising the home's appearance.

 

npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/da02787d-5a69-4348-8f9d-b...

 

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY. THE WRITING ON THE LIGHTHOUSE READS “NO PASSAGE LANDWARD”.

 

I discovered this lovely Victorian house earlier this week. I have since learned that it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The information below comes from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form.

npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/da02787d-5a69-4348-8f9d-b...

 

I have omitted the detailed descriptions of the building's elevations, windows, doors and roof. I've also cut tedious details about the pool house and the landscaping. It is worth noting, however, that in 1980, the house was served by a curved driveway that extended all the way to the front steps. It is no longer there and, in fact, there is no access to house from N. Willamette Boulevard.

 

I gather that high expectations that the house would be restored, which go back to the 1980s, have yet to be realized. The first thing I would do is repaint the house, because otherwise it's akin to a piece of fine furniture that's been left out to weather on the front yard.

 

Introduction

The John Mock House is one of Portland's best-preserved examples of Queen Anne/Victorian architecture. It is excellently situated above the Willamette River and was designed and built by unknown person or persons on the site of two previous Mock houses, the oldest dating from 1853.

 

The interior is superbly detailed and is substantially unaltered from its original state. The Mock House has been continuously associated with persons and events vital to the evolution of Portland's architectural, political and cultural heritage and deserves recognition by the National Register.

 

Biographical Information About Past Owners

 

1. John Mock's Parents

In 1833 Henry Arnold Mock and his wife, Maria Elizabeth Meyer, emigrated to America from Germany. Settling in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, five years later on October 4, 1838, Maria gave birth to the couple's only child, John. In Mechanicsburg, Henry engaged in several occupations including that of a sailor, farmer, and shoemaker. By 1844, he had saved enough money to move his family to Platte County, Missouri, and purchase a forty-acre farm. There the family settled and worked the land for eight years.

 

In the spring of 1852, lured into the westward migration, Henry Mock sold his farm, packed both his family and his most valued worldly possessions into a wagon, and began their journey across the Great Plains to Oregon. By this time, John was fourteen years old and a man by pioneer standards. He proved himself particularly adept in the handling of the family's four-yoke oxen wagon, often with two additional cows hitched up. In fact, John was so skillful at driving the team that all six original animals survived the Plains crossing.

 

In the late summer of 1852, the Mock family arrived in The Dalles, Oregon. There they sold two of their oxen, loaded the wagon on a river scow, and drifted down the Columbia River. John, however, stayed behind, and drove the remaining oxen and cows overland, where he met his parents at the Upper Cascades. Here they disembarked from the scow and proceeded further down the river by wagon to the Lower Cascades. At the Lower Cascades, Henry and Maria again boarded the scow, John drove the oxen and cows overland, and by early fall both groups arrived in Sandy, Oregon. In Sandy, the family reloaded the wagon and made their way to Portland, arriving in October 1852.

 

The Mock family's first three weeks in Portland were spent camping in Sullivan's Gulch. Turning their cattle loose in order to graze, the animals ran off during an unwatched moment. In the search that followed, the Mocks stumbled upon what is now St. John's, where they met Dr. Charles Staples, Portland's first practicing and properly educated physician.

 

Dr. Staples convinced the family to occupy a house on his property and weather the winter storms there. Henry, Maria, and John remained guests of Dr. Staples until the spring of 1853, when, with the advice of Dr. Staples, Henry Mock took up a donation land claim of 317 acres in the vicinity of what is now the University of Portland. That claim included what are today’s North Portland neighborhoods of University Park, Mock’s Crest and Mock’s Bottom. With the aid of neighbors, the Mock's built their first log cabin, which was the family home until 1874.

 

2. John Mock

During his first four years in Portland, John Mock cleared, worked, and helped further develop the family farm. Yet, by 1857 and at the age of eighteen, John left home for a career in mining and running a pack train. Taking advantage of his pioneer experiences, John was apparently successful as both a miner and "mule skinner."

 

However, after six years he returned to his Portland home, lived with his mother and father, and began again to work the farm.

In 1867, Maria Elizabeth Mock died. At this point, John purchased the farm from his aging and apparently disheartened father. Gathering his savings, Henry Arnold returned to his native Germany where he was promptly swindled out of his small fortune. He was thus forced to return to the U.S., where he lived with his son John until 1883, when he died at the age of ninety-one.

 

On August 4, 1874, John Mock married Mary M. Sunderland, originally of Iowa. John immediately began the construction of a new family cabin of hewn log. Finished in the same year, the cabin was much more spacious and thus able to house an ever growing family. Included were his wife, Mary; his father, Henry; his oldest daughter, Mary Elizabeth; hisonly son, John Benjamin; his second daughter, Lillie Catherine;and his last child, Margaret Alice.

 

Tragically, in 1889, the Mock family cabin burned down, along with virtually all of the family's possessions. As a result, John Mock initiated the construction of the house that still stands today, known as Mock's residence. Completed in 1894, John Mock lived there until 1918, when he died.

 

John Mock, as one of the founders of Portland, was originally well known for his pioneering efforts in raising livestock and mining in the local area. Later, as a City Councilman, he was instrumental in developing and initiating a street-railway system that reached out to the St. John's area. Moreover, John Mock donated large tracks of land to the city for the implementation of a street system which led to the development of a fine residentia lcommunity. Finally, near the end of his life, John Mock donated the land for the building of Columbia University, presently the University of Portland.

 

Both Mock's Crest, near the University, and Mock's Bottom, near Swan Island, are named for John Mock, acknowledging his contribution to Portland as one of its original pioneers and most active and concerned of citizens.

 

3. Owners After John Mock's Death

After John Mock's death, the present home was subsequently owned and occupied by his children and in-laws at various times: Margaret Alice Mock, the youngest child who remained single her entire life, and who was noted for the creation of a generous scholarship fund for graduating senior at Roosevelt High School; Lillie Catherine (Mock) Amos, the second daughter of John Mock, and wife of the well-known physician and famous prohibitionist Dr. William F. Amos; Mary Elizabeth (Mock) Yeon, the eldest Mock child and wife of John B. Yeon.

 

Mr. Yeon was a well-known Oregon logger, builder, real estate developer, and is considered the "father of the Columbia River Highway." John B. Yeon is the grandfather of the noted architect, John Yeon.

 

In the mid-1950's, the family sold the Mock home to Harold LaDuke, for which the LaDuke Terrace addition is named.

 

4. The Owners in 1980

The Mock House is now owned and occupied by Mr. Lewis E. Alexander, and his wife, Fern T. Alexander. Both are Native Americans and hail from Oklahoma.

 

Mr. Alexander is of the Creek-Seminole people and Mrs. Alexander is of Oto-Missouria origin. Presently, Mr. Alexander is the Executive Director of the Portland Urban Indian Council, Inc., providing a variety of social services for the local Native American population.

 

In the recent past, Mr. Alexander has served both the Schrunk and Goldschmidt administrations in the Mayor's Office. Between 1970 and 1972, he was Manpower Coordinator for the City of Portland, in which he served as the Mayor's staff advisor on all manpower and related programs. Further, he was Chairperson of the Mayor's Manpower Area Planning Council and was instrumental in codifying and developing a program of evaluating the City's Manpower planning problems. Mr. Alexander has remained active in Indian cultural affairs throughout his life.

 

Former President of New Mexico Council of AmericanIndians, and presently a member of several other regional and national Indian organizations, in 1974, he was selected the administrative coordinator for the "Native American's Earth" presentation at Expo '74 in Spokane, and was an active member of Expo '74's general manager's staff,

 

In 1968, Mrs. Alexander was named the American Indian of the Year and travelled to Washington, D.C. to receive the honor. During the administration of President Kennedy, she was appointed "counselor" to the Department of the Interior in regards to Indian affairs~a position Mrs. Alexander still remains active in today. Like her husband, she is very active in local, regional, and national Indian affairs and participates in several related organizations. Presently, Mrs. Alexander is the

Chairperson and the Director of Communications for the North American Indian Woman's Association of Oregon.

 

Description of the House

The interior of the Mock's Residence consists of a 1,500 square foot basement; a 2,000 square foot first floor a 1,900 square foot second floor; and an attic with 1,000 usable square feet. The basement is used as a laundry room and recreational area, whereas the attic, though largely unfinished, has one insulated room for storage purposes.

 

1. The First Floor

The first floor was originally designed to and presently serves as the family living area. Likewise, the second floor was designed expressly for individual sleeping and dressing rooms, and remains so today.

 

The entry hall allows access from the front porch through the main doors to the main hall-foyer. The entry is 6' x 5'6" and contains an inner pair of 8' high doors, with stained glass inserts, that separate it from the hall-foyer. The floor is surfaced in ceramic tile, and the doors and wainscoting are natural-finish hardwood panels. The main hall-foyer is irregular in shape, approximately 22' x 8'6" in size. The floors are fully carpeted and the ceiling is textured with a cut crystal chandelier. The walls are painted, yet all doors and the accompanying wood decor are of natural finish.

 

An open curved stairway leads to the second floor. The newel post and rails are carved hardwood and given a natural finish.

 

Between the entry hall and stairway is an 8' x 5'6" cloakroom. It has hanging space for clothing on both sides and a sit down storage bench. This walk-in cloakroom is fully carpeted and has a half rounded stained glass window facing the front yard.

 

To the left of the entry hall as one enters the hall-foyer, is the sitting room. Measuring 14' x 17', one enters the sitting room through a 5' x 8' pocket door from the hall-foyer. The room has a textured ceiling, painted walls, and a bowed front window stretching the full width of the room. The sitting room is fully carpeted.

 

The living room, originally the parlor and music room, is to the right of the hall-foyer and is entered through a pair of 5' x 8' pocketed doors. The room is irregular in shape, yet averages 29' x 14' in size. A high cased opening topped with fancy spindle work and a cut out lyre separates the south nine feet of the room. This section of the living room is lined with built-in bookcases, except for the window areas.

 

The fireplace at the north end of the room is surrounded by a natural finish oak mantle and side sections with a beveled edge plate glass mirror back. It has a ceramic tile face and an iron plate fire screen with adjustable vents. The ceiling is textured, the walls are painted, and the floor is carpeted.

 

One gains access to the dining room via a 4' x 8' high pocket door at the north end of the living room. The ceiling was hand-painted by New York artist Charles Ammann in 1930. The chandelier has eight branches and is of Victorian design. The fixture was originally gas fueled, but has since been converted to electricity. The fireplace, at the southern end of the room, is similar in styling to the one in the living room. It has a ceramic face and hearth, an iron plate fire screen, and a natural finish oak wood mantle. However, the side shelves have more spindle work and there is a smaller mirror. The northern wall has a scenic mural of the "Villa d'Este." Painted in moss green and blue, it was done by an unknown artist at an unknown date. The woodwork in the room is largely painted in satin enamel, excepting the spindle work, the doors, and the dado inserts. The remaining walls are likewise painted and the floor is carpeted. The dining room measures 19' x 14'.

 

The breakfast room, presently serving as an informal bar, opens off of the dining room through a high cased opening topped by fine wood spindle work. Facing the east, the room is walled by two full sides of glass windows taking full advantage of the sun during the first half of the day. The remaining two walls and ceiling are painted to compliment the dining room, and the floor is completely surfaced with ceramic tile. The breakfast room measures 6' x 10'.

 

At the north end of the hall-foyer is the center hall. Measuring 3' x 10', it has a dropped ceiling topped with a fancy wood spindle work. The floor is carpeted, the walls are painted, and the center hall leads one to the main floor bathroom and to the office.

 

The office is 10' x 8'6" and has a dropped ceiling. This room does not reflect the architectural period of the house as do the other rooms. The office has wainscote-height paneling and built-in cabinets shelves. The floor is carpeted.

 

The main floor bathroom measures 7'6" x 15'. It has a built-in vanity with a large mirror and double swag lights, the ceiling is original hand painted, and has a wall-hung water closet. The bathroom has been fitted by a modern toilet and 4'6"tub with an overhead shower.

 

The kitchen is a modern "U"-shaped design with several built-in appliances. One can enter the kitchen from the rear hall or from the pantry via the dining room. The kitchen is 12' x 16'6", it has a 9' kitchen bar with an eating shelf and a 7'6" nook with space for a small kitchen table. The room is well lighted and fully carpeted.

 

The pantry is located between the dining room and kitchen and has access to both. The walls are lined with upper and lower cabinets for storage, and there is an open counter space. The pantry is carpeted and opens up on to the back porch.

 

The rear stair is three feet wide and leads off the rear hallway to the second floor central hallway. Given a natural wood finish, it has one landing and winders that provide for a ninety-degree turn.

 

2. The Second Floor

The second floor consists of a main hallway, a small rear hall, a bathroom, a master bedroom, and five additional bedrooms. All the rooms on this floor have wood panel doors with transom lights above each.

 

The main hallway averages 8'6" x 12' and opens off the main stairway from the first floor hall-foyer. The hallway runs north and south and thus divides the second floor into east and west sections. At the southern end of the hallway is a stained glass insert door leading onto the front balcony. The hall carpet is the same as that of the main floor: a gold acrilan over a 70-ounce foam pad with a high/low tip sheared pattern.

 

The rear hall, located at the north end of the second floor, ranges from four to five feet in width. Carpeted, it leads to the rear stairway which, in turn, takes one down to the first floor, providing easy access to the pantry and kitchen.

 

The master bedroom is irregular in shape, yet average 24' x 14' in size. It has ivory colored wallpaper, ivory colored woodwork finish, and a pink wool carpet. Both windows in the room are boxed out. The east window is an Austrian shade with over drapes and valances in green and gold antique satin. The front corner windows have draw sheers, with a draw drapes valance. The front corner window seat is covered with green crushed velvet.

 

The master bedroom has its own bathroom, while the remaining five bedrooms share the hallway bathroom. The master bedroom bathroom is now a modern facility with tiled floor and walls. Entering through café doors, the bathroom contains a marble-top vanity, a 3' x 4'6" shower, and a hung water closet.

 

Within the entry-hall of the master bedroom are the original hall lights above a large framed mirror. Further centered in the sitting area hangs a Maria Theresa cut crystal chandelier.

 

The remaining five bedrooms range in size from as large as 18'6" x 10'6" to as small as 12' x 8'. Located on both sides of the main hall, they now serve as guest rooms for visiting friends and relatives.

 

The northeast bedroom has double closets- and an off-white acrylic carpet, and washable pink wallpaper; the southwest bedroom' has two windows with a view of the city, a connecting door with the west-center bedroom, the walls are painted, and retains its original carpet; the west-center bedroom, adjoining the southwest bedroom, has painted walls, a wool blue carpet, and a set of boxed out windows with stained glass; the northwest bedroom is painted and is floored with a green nylon carpet; the final bedroom also serves as a linen storage room. With its original carpet, this bedroom has an entire wall devoted to storage containing doors and drawers. Further, the room has a walk-in closet with drawers and shelves for more storage.

 

The hallway bathroom is for the occupants of the five subordinate bedrooms. Measuring 8'x9' in size, it is a completely new and modern facility excepting its original six foot long bathtub.

 

The upper-half story serves as an attic for the Mock House. It is basically unfinished except for one room with a 1,000 square foot area. Serving as a storage room, it is insulated, contains several storage cabinets, and usually remains locked.

 

Of further interest: In 1971, a four-ton Rheem central air-conditioning unit was installed. It serves the entire main floor, the master bedroom, and two more bedrooms on the second floor.

 

The system's installation was an amazing feat, in that first it could be installed at all in a structure such as Mock's Residence, and second; that it was accomplished without compromising the home's appearance.

 

npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/da02787d-5a69-4348-8f9d-b...

 

After a couple of minutes speeding through Gotham I make it to Officer Kenneth Baum. According to the GCPD’s records he’s a clean police officer. No known connections to Falcone or Cobblepot, which is rather uncommon for officers in the GCPD outside of Jim and his closest allies in the department. I can only assume that it’s because of his lack of associates that he deals with Darb instead of either of them. Then again everyone is so focused on trying to remove the people in the GCPD that are aiding Cobblepot and Falcone that Darb is near enough completely unwatched so it’s no wonder Officer Baum is dealing with him.

 

Why he’s dealing with Darb is irrelevant though. I’m not concerned with why he’s chosen to supply Darb with firearms, it’s more how he’s able to get his hands on these military grade weapons and who was the one that paid him to arm the Mayor’s killers. I park the Batmobile a block away from Baum’s location and traverse the rooftops to his location. There he is, exactly where Alfred said he would be. He’s in an old chevy corvette parked up with his lights off. A quick infrared scan shows that he’s on the phone. In an ideal world I’d be able to intercept his phone call and see exactly who it is that he’s calling but the batcomputer takes too long to successfully trace a call remotely and I don’t have time to waste tonight. The trail I’m chasing is already cold after I left the case to see Jason awaken so I’m playing catch up at the moment. Looks like we need to do this the old fashioned way.

 

I drop down from my perch on the roof and land on the roof of his car catching him by surprise.

 

“What the fu….”

 

Before he can complete his sentence I smash through the windscreen of his car drag him out of the car much to his horror. It happens so fast that he winds up dropping his phone and in between the swearing given out by Officer Baum I keep hearing the odd blurt out of his phone from the person on the other end. I reach over to grab it but Officer Baum thinks it’s a good idea to take a swing at me. He achieves exactly what he hoped to. His fist collides with the side of my cowl.

 

Big mistake.

 

I lift myself up and throw Baum at the nearby bin. Not everyday someone lands a punch on me. As he lets out his screams of pain I reach back into the car and pull out his mobile but by the time I manage to get my hands on it the caller on the other end has hung up. Damn, looks like I won’t be getting a trace on the call. Looks like I’m going to have to get Officer Baum to tell me everything.

 

As I walk over to him he tries to reach for his gun, he’s shocked when he finds it in my hands and not in his holster. I choose to start the interrogation off as painless as possible, Jim’s never a big fan when his officers come out of a conversation with me with broken limbs. I point the gun at him taking him by surprise. Clearly he’s aware of my rule or he’s just shocked to have someone pull a gun on him, both are perfectly viable options really I’m just not sure these days.

 

“What the hell are you doing with that?”

 

“What does it look like?”

 

I keep the gun pointed at him and he says nothing. Worse. He laughs. Guess he knows.

 

“I’ve heard the stories behind you. Especially the big one. You won’t kill.”

 

I pull the trigger causing a bullet to narrowly miss his foot by a couple of centimeters. He flinches, as you’d expect. Good. He’s clearly on edge given how much he jumped from me pulling the trigger, just what I need.

 

“Alright man alright! What do you want?”

  

“You provided Edbard Darb with the military grade weapons he supplied to the ones who killed Mayor March.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

I say nothing and just stare at him, that's seemingly enough for him to piece it all together.

 

“Darb. That bastard. When I get my hands on him.”

 

<b.“You won’t. Not where he's going.”

 

“You didn’t….”

 

All I did was have the GCPD arrest Darb and they'll probably have him put in Blackgate for his smuggling operation. Baum clearly thinks I did much worse than simply leave him with a couple of broken bones. Rather than correct him I choose to go with it. Clearly the thought is racing through his mind, I can tell from how his right arm is shaking.

 

“Who bought the weapons from you?”

 

“What did you do to Darb?”

 

"The same thing I'm going to do to you if you don't tell me what I want to know."

 

I close the gap between he and I causing him to move his right hand behind his back. Clearly he’s reaching for his pocket knife I saw in his back pocket. I continue to close the gap and sure enough what does he pull out?

 

“Stay away from me! You hear me? Stay away or I off myself!”

 

Unexpected. Normally people threaten to kill me with the knife instead of threatening to take their own life, clearly whoever else is involved with this has him scared. Before he can put the knife to his neck I remove the clip from his gun and throw it straight at him knocking him back and allowing me to force the knife out of his hand.

 

“Who bought the guns!”

 

“Ah fuck man what was that fo…”

 

“Who bought them!”

 

I grab hold of his uniform and vigorously shake him.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

I punch him in his left cheek. He spits out a small amount of blood as my fist connects with his. It's never best to start with the head when interrogating someone but if they're going to squeal immediately it's always a punch in the face.

 

“The name! Who bought the guns!”

 

“I can’t he’ll kill me if I talk!”

 

“Wrong answer.”

 

I throw him down on the floor and pull out my grapple. He wants to play games, but I’m not in the mood for games. I use the grapple to take both of us up to the roof and he quickly tries to escape, to no avail.

 

“Look man I want to help you, but if I do he’ll kill me!”

 

"He's the least of your worries right now.

I slowly walk up to him and stare him down. He’s terrified. I can see it in his eyes. Unfortunately he’s not given me the name so I have to press on. I come to a halt in front of him, he’s a nervous wreck but I need him to think he’s going to die, he won’t squeal otherwise. With that in mind I have no other choice. I kick him off the roof.

 

The fall would be enough to kill; fortunately for him I know Gotham and all its buildings. Including where the perches on each building, one of which Officer Kenneth Baum has just landed on. I jump down onto the perch and push him far enough off the perch so he’s only just clinging on to it. I have no intention of letting him fall but he doesn’t know that. As far he’s concerned I’m more than willing to let him drop to his death, which is good. It’ll make him honest. The fear of death does that to a lot of people.

 

“I won't ask again. Who bought the weapons!”

 

He starts breaking down in tears; clearly he’s terrified for his life.

 

“I swear you. I don’t know. Please I’m telling the truth!”

 

Damn. Dead end. Looks like he genuinely doesn’t know who bought the weapons from him. I walk over to him to lift him up but he interprets it as me coming in for the kill.

 

“NO! NO! I DON’T KNOW WHO BOUGHT THE GUN BUT I KNOW HOW YOU CAN TRACK THEM!”

 

I pause. Looks like there may be something here after all.

 

“Talk."

 

I bring myself to a halt and scan his heart rate. He isn’t in any position to lie but I need to be sure before I let him go.

 

“The weapons. I tagged them.”

 

“Tagged them?”

 

“Yes! I tagged them using a small tracking device hidden in the handle of each gun.”

 

His heart rate tells me that he’s not lying but it sounds far too advanced for a mere corrupt GCPD police officer to carry out. There’s also the question of how did he manage to acquire said tracking devices. Fortunately for me he’s not going anywhere until I help him up.

 

“What are the tracking devices you used?”

 

<I.“They’re small microchips I stole from the GCPD evidence locker. The same ones used by.."

 

Small microchip trackers? He’s using the tracking chips I gave the GCPD a year ago belonging to Elliot Caldwell aka the one who calls himself Wrath. I’ve been unable to turn him over to the GCPD but I’ve been able to give them all the evidence needed to arrest him should he return to Gotham. The trackers were found on every patrol car in the GCPD allowing him to know where every vehicle in the GCPD was at any given time. I handed in a device designed to trace these trackers for the GCPD’s use so they could trace Wrath if he ever returned to Gotham. Looks like Baum got his hands on that as well as well as the trackers themselves.

 

Clever. Baum clearly got his hands on the trackers and has reused them so he can track the guns he sells. Guess that explains how he’s viewed as the GCPD’s greatest homicide hunter. He sells them the guns and then uses the trackers so he can hunt down his clients and off them before they can rat him out to the GCPD. Clever system. He’s viewed as the GCPD’s finest and he keeps his pockets lined.

 

“Wrath.”

 

“Yeah, yeah him! That’s whose trackers I used!”

 

I’m impressed by how well he’s constructed this system for himself it’s a shame he’s wasted his potential really. But he’s a criminal, and like all criminals he needs to be punished for his crimes. I lift him up back on to the perch and he breaths a sigh of relief.

 

“Right. You know how to find the weapons, now please let me go.”

 

He thinks I’m just going to let him go? Clearly he doesn’t know me at all.

 

“If you insist.”

 

I push him back off the perch sending him flying down to the ground. Fortunately for him the perch he was just pushed from is directly above a set of bins of the pillow factory so he has a soft landing. A shame for him that I’ve got his confession recorded. But fortunately for me now that I have a way to track his weapons. Hopefully whoever killed the two gunmen will have kept the gun he used and the trackers will lead me right to him….

 

You're never unwatched

Vienna, 2017

 

IMG_4594

Perfumes are the feelings of flowers, and as the human heart, imagining itself alone and unwatched, feels most deeply in the night-time, so seems it as if the flowers, in musing modesty, await the mantling eventide ere they give themselves up wholly to feeling, and breathe forth their sweetest odours. Flow forth, ye perfumes of my heart, and seek beyond these mountains the dear one of my dreams! ~Heinrich Heine, "The Hartz Journey" (1824), Pictures of Travel, translated from German by Charles Godfrey Leland, 1855

HSS

 

A little reflection will enable any person to detect in himself that setness in trifles which is the result of the unwatched instinct of self-will and to establish over himself a jealous guardianship.

 

-Harriet Beecher Stowe

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY.

 

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY.

 

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY.

 

www.newportharbourcommissioners.org.uk/lighthouse.htm

  

The East Usk Lighthouse

  

The East Usk Lighthouse was constructed in 1893 by Trinity House and is one of two lighthouses that mark the entrance to the River Usk. Still in operation, the lighthouse sends out 2 flashes every ten seconds into the Severn Estuary. It is a vital navigational aid for ships approaching Newport and for over 100 years has played a vital role in marine safety and the economic prosperity of Newport Docks.

  

Originally built on legs, these were eventually covered as the level of the land increased due to the tipping of fly ash from the Uskmouth Power Station. Originally lit by 12 gas cylinders, which would last a year, it was converted to electricity in 1972.

  

It was the first Trinity House lighthouse in the UK to use the Dalén Sun Valve, an ingenious device for turning an unwatched light on and off using daylight. Combined with the flashing apparatus, the sun valve saved 94% of the gas compared to having the light operating all the time.

 

The lighthouse is now owned and managed by Newport Harbour Commissioners, a Board established by an Act of Parliament, responsible for safe navigation, dredging and pilotage within the Newport Harbour and River Usk up to Newbridge-on-Usk.

 

The lighthouse is situated within the Newport Wetlands. and is a popular and much photographed attraction for visitors. This nature reserve offers a haven for wildlife on the edge of the city, but is a great place for people too with a new RSPB visitor centre, a café, shop and children's play area.

 

Cetti's warblers and bearded tits can be seen and heard in the reedbeds, and ducks, geese and swans visit the reserve in large numbers during the winter. You'll enjoy spectacular views of the Severn estuary all year round.

 

Newport Wetlands is a partnership between the Countryside Council for Wales, Newport City Council and the RSPB

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY.

 

DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE IS SITUATED ON THE ARDS PENINSULA, APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILES NORTH EAST OF NEWTOWNARDS, ON THE IRISH SEA COAST.

THE IMPRESSIVE LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1836.THE TOWER IS BUILT OF CUT LIMESTONE, FLUTED, AND IN ITS EARLY DAYS WAS UNPAINTED IN NATURAL GREY COLOUR. THE TOWER, INCLUDING THE LANTERN AND DOME, IS NOW PAINTED WHITE WITH A BLACK PLINTH SINCE SOME TIME 1869 AND 1875.

AND WAS THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN IRELAND TO BE LIT BY ELECTRICITY

CONVERSION TO AN UNWATCHED ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE WAS MADE IN 1934 AND THIS MADE DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE THE FIRST IRISH LIGHTHOUSE TO BE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC, WITH CHAINE TOWER FURTHER NORTH IN LARNE FOLLOWING THE NEXT YEAR.

 

DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE IS SITUATED ON THE ARDS PENINSULA, APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILES NORTH EAST OF NEWTOWNARDS, ON THE IRISH SEA COAST.

THE IMPRESSIVE LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1836.THE TOWER IS BUILT OF CUT LIMESTONE, FLUTED, AND IN ITS EARLY DAYS WAS UNPAINTED IN NATURAL GREY COLOUR. THE TOWER, INCLUDING THE LANTERN AND DOME, IS NOW PAINTED WHITE WITH A BLACK PLINTH SINCE SOME TIME 1869 AND 1875.

AND WAS THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN IRELAND TO BE LIT BY ELECTRICITY

CONVERSION TO AN UNWATCHED ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE WAS MADE IN 1934 AND THIS MADE DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE THE FIRST IRISH LIGHTHOUSE TO BE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC, WITH CHAINE TOWER FURTHER NORTH IN LARNE FOLLOWING THE NEXT YEAR.

 

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY. THE WRITING ON THE LIGHTHOUSE READS “NO PASSAGE LANDWARD”.

 

texture by skeletalmess and kerstinfrankart

 

Toward The Space Age by Mary Oliver

  

We must begin to catch hold of everything

around us, for nobody knows what we

may need. We have to carry along

the air, even; and the weight we once

thought a burden turns out to form

the pulse of our life and the compass for our brain.

Colors balance our fears, and existence

begins to clog unless our thoughts

can occur unwatched and let a fountain of essential silliness

out through our dreams.

 

And oh I hope we can still arrange

for the wind to blow, and occasionally

some kind of shock to occur, like rain,

and stray adventures no one cares about --

harmless love, immoderate guffaws on corners,

families crawling around the front room growling,

being bears in the piano cave.

By way of immediate action, a stand must first be made against thought, against mental processes. "I do not know" - it is said - "anything which, when unbridled, uncontrolled, unwatched, untamed, brings such ruin as thought, and I do not know anything which, when bridled, controlled, watched, tamed, brings such benefits as thought."

 

Thought, which everyone lightly says is "mine," is, in reality, only to a very small degree in our power. In the majority of cases, instead of "to think" it would be correct to say "we are thought" or "thought takes place in me." In the normal way, the characteristic of thought is its instability. "Incorporeal" - it is said - "it walks by itself": it "runs hither and thither like an untamed bull." Hard to check, unstable, it runs where it pleases. In general, it is said that, while this body may persist one year, two years, three years or even up to a hundred years and more in its present form, "what we call thought, what we call mind, what we call consciousness arises in one manner, ceases in another; incessantly, night and day"; "it is like a monkey who goes through the forest, and who progresses by seizing one branch, letting go of it, taking hold of another, and so on."

 

The task is to "arrest" thought: to master it and to strengthen the attention; to be able then to say: "Once this thought wandered at its fancy, at its pleasure, as it liked: I today shall hold it completely bridled, as a mahout holds a rut-elephant with his goad."

 

A few explanations.

 

If one day normal conditions were to return, few civilizations would seem as odd as the present one, in which every form of power and dominion over material things is sought, while mastery over one's own mind, one's own emotions and psychic life in general is entirely overlooked. For this reason, many of our contemporaries - particularly our so-called "men of action" - really resemble those crustaceans that are as hard-shelled outside with scabrous incrustations as they are soft and spineless within. It is true that many achievements of modern civilization have been made possible by methodically applied and rigorously controlled thought. This, however, does not alter the fact that most of the "private" mental life of every average and more-than-average man develops today in that passive manner of thought that, as the Buddhist text we have just quoted strikingly puts it, "walks by itself," while, half-unconscious, we look on. Anyone can convince himself of this by trying to observe what goes on in his mind, for example, when leaving his house: he thinks of why he is going out but, at the door, his thoughts turn to the postman and thence to a certain friend from whom news is awaited, to the news itself, to the foreign country where his friend lives and which, in turn, makes him remember that he must do something about his own passport: but his eye notices a passing woman and starts a fresh train of thought, which again changes when he sees an advertisement, and these thoughts are replaced by the various feelings and associations that chase each other during a ride through the town. His thought has moved exactly like a monkey that jumps from branch to branch, without even keep-ing a fixed direction. Let us try, after a quarter of an hour, to remember what we have thought - or, rather, what has been thought in us - and we shall see how diffi¬cult it is. This means that in all these processes and disordered associations our consciousness has been dazed or "absent." Having seen this, let us undertake to follow, without disturbing them, the various mental associations. After only a minute or two we shall find ourselves distracted by a flood of thoughts that have invaded us and that are quite out of control. Thought does not like being watched, does not like being seen. Now this irrational and parasitical development of thought takes up a large part of our normal psychic life, and produces corresponding areas of reduced activity and of reduced self-presence. The state of passivity is accentuated when our thought is no longer merely "spontaneous" and when the mind is agitated by some emotion, some worry, hope, or fear. The degree of consciousness is certainly greater in these cases - but so, at the same time, is that of our passivity.

These considerations may throw some light on the task that is set when one "ceases to go"; one reacts, one aims at being the master in the world of one's own mind. It now seems quite incomprehensible that nearly all men have long since been accustomed to consider as normal and natural this state of irrationality and passivity, where thought goes where it will - instead of being an instrument that enters into action only when necessary and in the required direction, just as we can speak when we wish to, and with a purpose, and otherwise remain silent. In comprehending this "according to reality," we must each decide whether we will continue to put up with this state of affairs.

 

In its fluid, changeable and inconsistent character, normal thought reflects, moreover, the general law of samsāric consciousness. This is why mental control is consid¬ered as the first urgent measure to be taken by one who opposes the "current." In un¬dertaking this task, however, we must not be under any illusions. The dynamis, the subtle force that determines and carries our trains of thought, works from the subconscious. For this reason, to attempt to dominate the thought completely by means of the will, which is bound to thought itself, would almost be like trying to cut air with a sword or to drown an echo by raising the voice. The doctrine, which declares that thought is located in the "cavern of the heart," refers, among other things, to thought considered "organically" and not to its mental and psychological offshoots. Mastery of thought cannot, therefore, be merely the object of a form of mental gymnastics: rather, one must, simultaneously, proceed to an act of conversion of the will and of the spirit; inte¬rior calm must be created, and one must be pervaded by intimate, sincere earnestness.

 

The "fluttering" of thought mentioned in our text is more than a mere simile: it is related to the primordial anguish, to the dark substratum of samsāric life that comes out and reacts since, as soon as it feels that it is seen, it becomes aware of the danger; the condition of passivity and unconsciousness is essential for the development of samsāric being and for the establishment of its existence. This simile illustrates an experience that, in one form or another, is even encountered on the ascetic path.

 

The discipline of constant control of the thought, with the elimination of its automatic forms, gradually achieves what in the texts is called appamada, a term variously translated as "attention," "earnestness," "vigilance," "diligence," or "reflection." It is, in point of fact, the opposite state to that of "letting oneself think," it is the first form of entry into oneself, of an earnestness and of a fervid, austere concentration. When it is understood in this sense, appamāda constitutes the base of every virtue. It is also said: "This intensive earnestness is the path that leads toward the deathless, in the same way that unreflective thought leads, instead, to death. He who possesses that earnestness does not die, while those who have unstable thought are as if already dead." An ascetic "who delights in appamāda - in this austere concentration - and who guards against mental laxity, will advance like a fire, burning every bond, both great and small." He "cannot err." And when, thanks to this energy, all negligence is gone and he is calm, from his heights of wisdom he will look down on vain and agitated beings, "as one who lives on a mountaintop looks down on those who live in the plains."

 

--------

 

excerpt from The Doctrine of Awakening by Julius Evola

Despite the smiles on my blog, I’ve been working myself to the bone. I’ve gotten a few hikes in, but my books sit unread and my Netflix unwatched as I work long hours and weekends. Tonight, though, I had tickets for Next to Normal, so I left my computer, enjoyed a pint at the Fox and Goose, and cried my eyes out at the theater.

 

Jacket, Allen B. Blouse, Sans Souci. Shorts, Arizona (thrifted). Tights, We Love Colors. Shoes, Sole Obsession. Sunglasses, Girl props.

 

Maybe I should have chosen a lighter show for my first night out, but crying about other peoples’ problems was certainly cathartic! (And at least I didn’t worry my date with my sobbing. Just the strangers next to me.)

The US Navy ship USS Mount Whitney visiting Stockholm on June 25, 2016.

 

Was digging for some other material, but sort of got stuck looking at pictures from last summer, previously untouched, unwatched.

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY.

 

DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE IS SITUATED ON THE ARDS PENINSULA, APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILES NORTH EAST OF NEWTOWNARDS, ON THE IRISH SEA COAST.

THE IMPRESSIVE LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1836.THE TOWER IS BUILT OF CUT LIMESTONE, FLUTED, AND IN ITS EARLY DAYS WAS UNPAINTED IN NATURAL GREY COLOUR. THE TOWER, INCLUDING THE LANTERN AND DOME, IS NOW PAINTED WHITE WITH A BLACK PLINTH SINCE SOME TIME 1869 AND 1875.

AND WAS THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN IRELAND TO BE LIT BY ELECTRICITY

CONVERSION TO AN UNWATCHED ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE WAS MADE IN 1934 AND THIS MADE DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE THE FIRST IRISH LIGHTHOUSE TO BE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC, WITH CHAINE TOWER FURTHER NORTH IN LARNE FOLLOWING THE NEXT YEAR.

 

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY.

 

DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE IS SITUATED ON THE ARDS PENINSULA, APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILES NORTH EAST OF NEWTOWNARDS, ON THE IRISH SEA COAST.

THE IMPRESSIVE LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1836.THE TOWER IS BUILT OF CUT LIMESTONE, FLUTED, AND IN ITS EARLY DAYS WAS UNPAINTED IN NATURAL GREY COLOUR. THE TOWER, INCLUDING THE LANTERN AND DOME, IS NOW PAINTED WHITE WITH A BLACK PLINTH SINCE SOME TIME 1869 AND 1875.

AND WAS THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN IRELAND TO BE LIT BY ELECTRICITY

CONVERSION TO AN UNWATCHED ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE WAS MADE IN 1934 AND THIS MADE DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE THE FIRST IRISH LIGHTHOUSE TO BE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC, WITH CHAINE TOWER FURTHER NORTH IN LARNE FOLLOWING THE NEXT YEAR.

 

Trwyn Du Lighthouse (Penmon) was one of the later lighthouses to be constructed in this area, and was, like many, built after a major loss of life nearby. It marks some rocks that are on the end of land going out towards Puffin Island, but also marks the north entrance to the Menai Straits.

 

Coastal shipping making the passage up or down the western seaboard goes around the island of Anglesey, off the coast of North Wales, and as a consequence of its position, in a busy seaway, has several major lights. Skerries Lighthouse was built first, followed a century later by South Stack Lighthouse and Point Lynas Lighthouse.

 

Penmon lighthouse was built following a major loss of life, on 17 August 1831, when an old steamer, 'The Rothsay Castle', ran aground and broke up on or near Puffin Island.

 

The old steamer was on its regular passage between Liverpool and the Menai Straits, and to be described as "old" in 1831, must have meant it was really quite ancient, or perhaps not in the best of condition. The ship left Liverpool with 150 passengers aboard and ran into very difficult sea conditions beyond the Mersey Bar.

 

It struggled against the headwinds and had not reached the halfway point of her journey after 4 hours and according to passenger accounts, passengers wanted to turn back but the the Captain refused their requests. It struggled on.

 

The Rothsay Castle had left the Mersey at 11am and it was now midnight, 13 hours had passed, and she still had not reached her destination. About an hour later 14 hours out, at about 1am she struck the Dutchman Bank, bounced off and continued without much control along the channel. A further series of collisions with the sand banks and appalling sea conditions resulted in her starting to break up.

 

Survivors recount how there was total chaos on deck even before the funnel broke off and pushed the Captain and his officer overboard, deteriorating more from that point. Of the 150 passengers on board, 130 were lost and 20 survived, being rescued by the Beaumaris Lifeboat, supported by a pilot boat from Penmon.

 

Nearby is an old lifeboat station, built in 1832. This lifeboat was responsible for saving 116 lives from 50 rescue attempts, however in 1915 it closed.

 

When constructed the lighthouse was manned by two keepers, but these were withdrawn in 1922 when the lighthouse was converted to unwatched acetylene operation. In 1996 it was converted to solar power. Work to modernise the station included the development of a unique operating mechanism to work the 178Kg fog bell.

DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE IS SITUATED ON THE ARDS PENINSULA, APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILES NORTH EAST OF NEWTOWNARDS, ON THE IRISH SEA COAST.

THE IMPRESSIVE LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1836.THE TOWER IS BUILT OF CUT LIMESTONE, FLUTED, AND IN ITS EARLY DAYS WAS UNPAINTED IN NATURAL GREY COLOUR. THE TOWER, INCLUDING THE LANTERN AND DOME, IS NOW PAINTED WHITE WITH A BLACK PLINTH SINCE SOME TIME 1869 AND 1875.

AND WAS THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN IRELAND TO BE LIT BY ELECTRICITY

CONVERSION TO AN UNWATCHED ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE WAS MADE IN 1934 AND THIS MADE DONAGHADEE LIGHTHOUSE THE FIRST IRISH LIGHTHOUSE TO BE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC, WITH CHAINE TOWER FURTHER NORTH IN LARNE FOLLOWING THE NEXT YEAR.

 

This light is classified as a sea light as distinct from a harbour light although it does mark the entrance into Lough Swilly which forms a natural harbour of refuge.

    

In 1812 the frigate Saldana was wrecked on Fannet Point, as it was called then, and became a total loss except for the ship's parrot which bore a silver collar inscribed Saldana. Soon after the loss of this vessel Captain Hill of the Royal Navy in Derry, whose experience of the north-west coast from Blacksod to Lough Foyle was second to none, wrote to one of the members of the Corporation for Preserving and Improving the Port of Dublin (the Ballast Board) suggesting that a lighthouse should be placed on Fannet Point. He also backed up his request by stating that the Saldana would not have been lost if there had been a light on Fannet.

    

Without question the Board approved Captain Hill's request and they approached Trinity House, who gave their sanction in July 1814.

    

The Admiralty Signal Tower on Fannet was taken over ostensibly to be used as a Keeper's dwelling and also to prevent local inhabitants dismantling it for their own devices but it seems to have been taken down and used by the Corporation when the lighthouse and dwellings were built. These were designed by the Board's Inspector of Works & Inspector of Lighthouses, George Halpin. The first lighthouse was similar in size to two other towers being built around the same time, one at Mutton Island off Salthill, Galway Bay, and the other at Roche's Point on the eastern entrance to Cork harbour. They were 5 feet 9 inches inside diameter by three stories high-ground, first floor and lantern.

    

(Roche's Point was subsequently replaced by a larger 11 foot 6 inch diameter tower; the original small tower was taken down and rebuilt at Blackhead, north-east of Duncannon Fort on the east side of the entrance into Waterford Harbour to form a leading light with the already established light at the Fort. The Fort light became the front light and the Blackhead light became the rear or North Duncannon light.)

    

The Deed of Conveyance for the property at Fanad Head was signed and the money paid to Lord Leitrim in Leitrim in April 1818 in accordance with the Inquisition dated October 1814.

    

Fannet Point Lighthouse was first lit on 17 March 1817. Its fixed or non-flashing catoptric light showed red to sea and white towards the Lough, and could be seen for fourteen miles in clear weather. The optic consisted of nine Argand sperm oil wick lamps and parabolic reflectors. The seaward lamps would have had red coloured lamp glasses.

    

One of the first requests for better lighting in the immediate vicinity of Lough Swilly came from the Duke of Abercorn backed up by numerous signatories in a memorial dated March 1871. The request was referred to Trinity House who inspected the area in 1872 and in their report recommended Fanad Head to be converted to a second order dioptric fixed lens with a red sector over the Swilly Rocks. They also agreed that lights should be established at Dunree Head and Buncrana Pier. Work went ahead on both these lights and they were established on 15th January 1876.

    

Fanad was slower in its change over. During 1875 the Board's Engineer, Mr Sloane, estimated for improvements at Fanad together with a light to mark the Limeburner Rock. Then in 1876 gas was suggested instead of colza or rape seed oil. This would have meant the construction of a gas works similar to Tory Island and certain other rock and mainland stations. Trinity House made yet another recommendation in 1877, this time that Tory Island be altered to a first order group flashing light and the old Tory Island lens to be fitted into a new tower built at Fanad with a sectional light to show from the base of the tower over the Limeburner Rock. Still nothing was done until 1880 when the Inspecting Committee recommended adopting the Engineer's and Inspector's report (Mr W. Douglass and Captain Cole) for an occulting second order light using paraffin showing white with a red sector over the Swilly Rocks and a lower white sector light over the Limeburner Rock. Construction went ahead and a new larger and higher tower, close to the original tower was built together with an extra dwelling. In both cases a connecting corridor joined the tower to the dwelling. The new lights went into operation on 1 September 1886, the main light was occulting white and red every thirty seconds with its fixed catadioptric second order lens and circular occulting screen around the burner turned by a small clockwork rotation machine which gave a character of 30 seconds. An auxiliary fixed white light in one of the windows at the base of the tower shone over the Limeburner Rock. The character of this light was changed in August 1932 to one white flash every 3 seconds (fl 0.33, ec 2.66) visible from 102 to 112 over Limeburner Rock.

    

In August 1906 the Board's Engineer, Mr C.W. Scott, presented an estimate to the Board to change the light to group flashing with an incandescent paraffin burner. Trinity House modified the proposed character so as not to be confused with Tory Island. On 12 August 1909 the new revolving third order 500mm focal distance lens turned by a weight driven clockwork rotation machine together with a vaporised paraffin mantle burner was exhibited giving a character of six flashes every fifteen seconds and increased candle power.

    

Fanad Head Lighthouse was struck by lightning on the night of the 20-21 December 1916. The Principal Keeper reported the incident to the Inspector, Captain Deane who, in his report to the Board, submitted extracts from the rules of the Lightning Research Commission of the Royal Institute of British Architects for the erection of lightning conductors as none of our stations were properly protected. He also suggested contacting Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board.

    

The following week the Board's Engineer, Mr C.W. Scott, stated that the Commissioners conformed to the rules and that it was not necessary to contact Trinity House or the Northern Lights; in any case the damage to the station was very small. The Board approved the Engineer's report.

    

Perhaps one of the most revolutionary changes to occur in the Lighthouse Service happened towards the end of 1969 when helicopters were introduced to effect the reliefs of rock stations from Fastnet in the south west to Inishtrahull on the north coast. Fanad Head was chosen as the land base for Tory Island and Inishtrahull.

    

The 1906 apparatus was completely replaced in 1975 when the light was converted to unwatched electric, that is the night watch was discontinued and the light character altered from Group Flashing six white and red 15 seconds to Group Flashing five white and red 20 seconds and the nominal range of the auxiliary light was increased to 15 nautical miles. The Auxiliary light over the Limeburner Rock was discontinued in 1977 being replaced by another red sector in the main light, the other red sector is over the Swilly Rocks. The light is a 300mm catadioptric cylindrical refractor with electric L24 1.5kW lamps in a UVLA40 lampchanger.

    

Early in 1978 the Assistant Keeper was transferred making the station a Principal Keeper station. On the retirement of the Principal Keeper on 30th September 1983 the station was re-classified as an Attendant station.

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY. THE WRITING ON THE LIGHTHOUSE READS “NO PASSAGE LANDWARD”.

 

THE PRESENT TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE, OR KNOWN LOCALLY AS PENMON LIGHTHOUSE IS 29M TALL AND WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WALKER AND BUILT IN 1835-1838. THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A STEPPED BASE DESIGNED TO DISCOURAGE THE HUGE UPSURGE OF WAVES THAT HAD AFFLICTED EARLIER LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SITE AND REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER.

AT PRESENT THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS A 15,000 CANDELA LIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN 12 NMI (22 KM) AND HAS A WHITE FLASH EVERY 5 SECONDS. TRWYN DU LIGHTHOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY MANNED BY TWO LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, HOWEVER THESE WERE WITHDRAWN IN 1922 WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO UNWATCHED ACETYLENE OPERATION. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO SOLAR POWER IN 1996, WORK TO MODERNISE THE STATION INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE OPERATING MECHANISM TO WORK THE 178 KG FOG BELL, WHICH RINGS EVERY 30 SECONDS 24 HOURS A DAY.