To Hell with Future Generations
We do not inherit the Earth; we borrow it from future generations.
I took this photograph of Gordon McIntyre sitting at the dining table in Gough House in 1981. As Radio Operator it was Gordon’s duty to send six-hourly weather reports to the South African Weather Service HQ in Pretoria. Above his head is the portrait of Prince Philip that commemorates his brief visit to the island in 1957.
Gough is part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and South Africa operates its strategic weather station with the permission of the United Kingdom. That explains why the portrait was still on display despite the strained relations that existed between Britain and the Apartheid government. To the right of His Highness there was a framed picture of the State President of South Africa, the Rt. Hon. Marais Viljoen. A patriotic Afrikaner from a previous team had placed a toilet seat over Philip’s picture as a gesture of resentful disrespect. Loathing the Christian Nationalists as I did, I had no compunction in moving the piece of sanitaryware over for the President to stare through. I was then able to look up at his repugnant features without feeling an urge to spit or throw something.
This reminiscence was prompted by Prince Philip’s death on 11 April 2021 at the age of 99.
Here is a link to an article recording the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to Gough Island in 1957.
To view my longer work as an author, you can find me on Smashwords here.
This is my writer's blog and it's a pleasure to have your company. You’ll see that the site is designed to showcase my writing.
View ProfileXplorio is your local connection allowing you to find anything and everything about a town.
Read MoreWe do not inherit the Earth; we borrow it from future generations.
The relative who died was my wife's youngest of two sisters.
Two weeks after the Cardiac Ablation, which was supposed to correct my Atrial Flutter, I experienced a mild attack, and then, about ten days later, a more serious episode that lasted for over two hours.
This latest episode has confirmed my suspicion that I am on the way out. It could still take some years to get there, but I have the impression that the journey is now well under way.
My deteriorating eyesight forced me to give up driving twenty years ago. This has made me dependent on my wife and, to a lesser extent, my daughter, should I ever need to leave Pearly Beach, and that is why I could not travel back and forth to cancer...
When it was brought to my attention that November 19, my birthday, has been designated by the United Nations as World Toilet Day, I was mildly offended and thought that they had a bloody cheeck choosing that particular date.