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Re: [OM] Battery gunk

Subject: Re: [OM] Battery gunk
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 08:25:55 -0500
Yes, I realize that driving through Wales is not exactly like driving a 
US Interstate highway through the plains states.  :-)  By direct travel 
I only meant that I don't recall stopping off at any other points of 
interest along the way.  But I do recall taking some pictures of the 
mountains of Snowdonia along the way and remember them reminding me 
somewhat of the Catskill mountains of New York which are about the same 
height.  At the time we lived in Woodstock, NY which is in the Catskills
(yes, the same Woodstock).  On the return trip to London to catch our 
flight home I also took some photos at RAF Honington where my father was 
stationed during the war.  I well remember that little photo shoot since 
it stirred up the plainclothes security folk who were on me in very 
short order.  Hmmm.  I wonder where those pictures are.  Probably amidst 
the many thousands of old prints and negatives my wife has recently 
begun trying to sort out.  She says there's no way we should leave this 
mess to our children.  :-)

I hadn't recalled the exact year of the disaster but consulted the notes 
in the bible which agree on 10 December 1880.  But that it was December 
11 when I was looking it up didn't occur to me.  Since retiring and 
rarely having to be any particular place at any particular time I'm 
typically unaware of today's exact date except maybe +/- a half week or 
so. :-)

By family tradition (at least as I remember it being told) my wife's 
greatgreatgrandfather, John Morgan, was the sole survivor.  However, 
Wiki and the links it points to say 101 of 106 were killed and list the 
names of those killed (but not the survivors).  Still amazingly good luck.

One small surprise when visiting Pen-y-graig was in trying to locate the 
site of the long closed colliery.  We had to query many people on the 
street who all claimed not to know of any prior disasters in Pen-y-grag 
let alone know of the precise location of that particular one.  Finally 
we encountered an elderly gentleman who not only knew of it but pointed 
out the entrance to the old mine which was probably not more than 1/4 
mile from where we were standing.

ps:  This mail is on-topic since the referenced photos were taken
      with an OM-1. :-)

Chuck Norcutt


On 12/12/2010 6:19 AM, Piers Hemy wrote:
>> From childhood memories of regular summer holidays not far from Caernarfon,
> Chuck, the idea of "direct" travel in North Wales is amusing, because the
> crows sure don't fly along the roads there, but the A470 would have taken
> you from Pen-y-graig towards Caernarfon, (most of the way there, in fact)
> and through the Beacons.
>
> Did you realise that the colliery disaster was 130 years ago almost to the
> day? 10 December 1880. Very starnge coincidence, no?
>
> http://tinyurl.com/2e7lgwv
>
> Piers
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chuck Norcutt [mailto:chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: 11 December 2010 18:58
> To: Olympus Camera Discussion
> Subject: Re: [OM] Battery gunk
>
> Thanks,
> I see that it's only about 40km north of Penygraig which was the main reason
> my wife and I were visiting Wales.  Her greatgreatgrandfather (John Morgan)
> was one of 5 survivors of an 1880 coal mine explosion there that killed 101
> other miners.  We have a Welsh bible given him by the people of Penygraig in
> remembrance of the explosion and his survival.  I'm glad he survived else I
> wouldn't have the wife I have.  :-)
>
> I don't remember our route but from Penygraig but we drove fairly directly
> to north Wales through Snowdonia to Caernarfon.  So it's quite possible we
> drove through Brecon Beacons as well.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
>
> On 12/11/2010 11:00 AM, JOHN DUGGAN wrote:
>> Chuck,
>>              The Brecon Beacons (National Park) is situated in South
>> wales, Snowdonia is North Wales. Both spectacular in their own way.
>>    Within the boundaries of the Brecon Beacons National Park there are
>> approx 40 aircraft crash sites. these are NOT all of 1939/45 vintage.
>> these sites include wellington, Mustang, Vulcan, Liberator, Spitfire,
>> Lysander,  Flying Fortress, Thunderbolt A10, Blenheim, and Lightning
> crashes.
>>
>> http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/07/30/booklet-reveal
>> s-where-warplanes-crashed-in-beacons-91466-26960503/
>>
>>
>> The illustration for this article is incorrect, it shows the crash
>> site of wellington MF509 on Carreg Goch. However the article does
>> refer to the crash site we visited. Due to mist and fog visibility was
>> about 15/20 yds. We left the site after about 45 mins and immediately
>> the mist blew off giving 10ml visibility! My misinformation was when I
>> said crew was on a training flight, they were actually returning from
>> bombing Bordeaux and descended thinking they were over east Anglia, a
> fatal mistake!
>>    The Canadian training flight that crashed was on Waun Rhydd the next
>> peak across.
>> The Brecon Beacons National Park does a good pamphlet on Aircraft
>> Crash Sites.Regards John Duggan, Wales, UK
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Chuck Norcutt<chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> To: Olympus Camera Discussion<olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Saturday, 11 December, 2010 10:57:39
>> Subject: Re: [OM] Battery gunk
>>
>> Is that within Snowdonia (the only Welsh mountains I'm familiar with)?
>>
>> Chuck Norcutt
>>
>>
>> On 12/11/2010 3:56 AM, JOHN DUGGAN wrote:
>>> Thanks Chuck,
>>>                         Thats exactly what I was looking for. Should
>>> have
>> googled
>>> it myself but was half asleep as well as suffering from a head cold.
>>> Just
>> about
>>> to leave for a service of remembrance for a Canadian crew of a
>>> Wellington bomber which came down on one of our local mountains
>>> during a wartime training
>> flight.
>>> It is a bleak spot at the best of times made even worse by our
>>> present spell
>> of
>>> bad weather.
>>>     Regards
>>> John Duggan,
>>> Wales, UK
>>
>>
>>
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