MS Disney Magic Cruise Ship, Port of Dover, Kent, England UK

This video of the MS Disney Magic in Dover was taken on the 2nd of June 2020 and added to this blog post on the 4th:

Original post:

A zoomed snapshot of 900 yards showing Disney Cruise Line's MV Disney Magic passenger cruise ship soon after her arrival in the Port of Dover, Kent, England on Tuesday, 19th of May, 2020:

View from A20 Limekiln Street across Crosswall Quay to the MV Disney Magic.

The ship wasn't carrying any passengers because of the Coronavirus pandemic on cruise ships and the travel restrictions that were subsequently imposed.

However, the MS Disney Magic entered Dover harbour with crew members from the MS Disney Fantasy and the MS Disney Dream on board who are presumably awaiting repatriation.

Before proceeding to the live-update map of the MS Disney Magic's current position, and photographs of her during a pre-Covid-19 visit to Dover, note the green copper cupola projecting above the ship's stern:

Customs Watch House, South Pier.

This is the top of the Old Customs Watch House that was designed by architect Arthur Beresford Pite and built between 1909 and 1911.

Customs and Excise officers from here went to the nearby Lord Warden Hotel (blog post) to interview Louis Bleriot (blog post) after the first flight across the English Channel in 1909.

The MS Disney Magic's current location is shown on this A.I.S ("Automatic Identification System") map:





The day after the first photo was taken, the MS Disney Magic moved to the cargo area of the Dover Western Docks Revival, thereby enabling this photo of Goofy on the ship's stern to be taken on the 21st of May:

And this is how Walt Disney's Goofy looked on the 6th of July, 2010, viewed from the Admiralty Pier with the White Cliffs of Dover (blog video) in the background:

:
'S funny how Goofy never seems to age... (😀)


Photos from the cruise ship's earlier visits to the Port of Dover:


The MS Disney Magic manoeuvering in the Western Entrance of Dover harbour on the 12th of June, 2010:

The MS Disney Magic, berthed against the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks, and the Waasland Sea Barge, in port to remove the SS Spanish Prince WW1 block ship, on the 24th of June, 2010:

From the MS Disney Magic's homepage:

Created with your entire family in mind, the Disney Magic combines classic nostalgia and modern amenities with Disney’s signature service.

Step aboard for spacious staterooms that ensure everyone’s comfort.

Get lost in original Broadway-quality entertainment. Indulge in first-rate dining.

From bow to stern, set sail for unforgettable storytelling that only Disney could bring to life.

Ship's data (as of 2010):

Name: Disney Magic

Owner: Disney Cruise Line

Operator: Disney Cruise Line

Port of registry: Nassau, Bahamas

Builder: Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, Italy

Maiden voyage: July 30, 1998

In service: 1998

Status: In active service, as of 2010

Type: Cruise ship

Tonnage: 83,000 gross register tons (GRT)

Length: 964 ft (294 m)

Beam: 106 ft (32 m)

Draft: 25.3 ft (7.7 m)

Decks: 11

Speed: Cruising 21.5-knot (39.8 km/h), maximum 24 kn (44 km/h)

Capacity: 2,400 passengers

Crew: 945

Call Sign: C6PT7

IMO: 9126807

MMSI: 308516000

Covid-19 exercising: cycling route map and biometrics are on this Polar Flow web page.

Abridged versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter.

Saga of the Lost Covid-19 DIY PPE Face Mask, Dover, Kent, UK

Not overly confident with needle and thread, I had been inordinately pleased with a DIY PPE Coronavirus face mask that I made using a handkerchief, stapler, and an odd length of elastic.

Then, some four days later, on Friday the 15th of May, 2020, I arrived home from a shopping trip and shortly afterwards realized that my face mask was 'gone'.

This "rough and ready" video details the steps I took until the face mask and myself were (happily) reunited:

A (very) minor example of how perseverance can triumph over adversity!

As a 69 year-old pensioner, the video also illustrates the general principle of exploring all possible internal and external avenues whenever something unexpected, or unwelcome occurs in life, and then, irrespective of whatever the experience or outcome may have been, "moving on".

An approach that doesn't accumulate any psychological baggage! (Note 1)

Before I digress too far, here are some photos of the face mask and  notes on its construction.

A  Covid-19 D.I.Y. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) face mask, Mark 1 (altered to Mark 1A in the final photograph):


Basic Materials:

The box of three James Pringle mens handkerchiefs, stapler (staple gun), and bag of mixed lengths of elastic had been purchased at different times from various charity shops (thrift shops) in Dover, England.

Front view:

In the Mark II version, I'm going to attach the bottom ends of the elastic ear flaps further down the sides of the mask.

Note the "designer" folds at the bottom corners 😀 (actually intended to add a little weight so that the mask hangs closer to the face - a consideration for someone who has a nose as big as mine!)

Rear view:

Construction details of the homemade mask:

1) Fold the handkerchief twice length-ways so that you now have four layers of material.

2) Fold the short ends of the rectangle inwards until they meet in the middle as shown.

3) Staple across the folded ends so that the staples go through all eight layers of cotton.

4) "Double staple" the  ends of the elastic loops to the mask for durability.


A still from the Friday, 15th of May video:

Wearing the homemade face mask at the end of the New Marina Pier in the Dover Western Docks Revival (DWDR) area of the Port of Dover. The famous white cliffs and castle are in the background.


The Mark 1A revision (made on Sunday, 17th of May):

I decided to alter the bottom of the mask (using staples, of course) to better follow the contours of my amazingly manly lower jaw.

Once I had done so, I donned the mask and looked in a mirror and was very impressed with the results (more so than the above selfie might appear to warrant!)

However, I have since been plagued by vague but persistent impulses to either operate on people (à la Mathew Gee, a brilliant surgeon) or eat them (à la Hannibal Lector, a less than brilliant psychiatrist).

Watch this space... (or the news 😀)

Cycling route map and biometrics are on this Polar Flow web page.

Abridged versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter

Note 1:

In terms of "grumpiness", negativity, viciousness, and malicious gossip, all of which are of unnatural (i.e. of psychological) origin, and symptomatic of a deeper malaise, I've met "pensioners" who are barely out of their teens - and some who have not yet reached them.

And when something unexpected or unwelcome happens in the lives of such people, someone has to pay...

John Latter

Dover Blog - The Psychology of a Small Town

2/2 First Covid-19 Lockdown Cycle Ride, Dover Seafront, UK

A permitted Coronavirus cycle ride along the promenade from the Eastern Docks to the New Marina Pier, Port of Dover, Kent, England, UK.

After the video there are close-ups of numbers 11 to 20 of the mainly historical local landmarks that are mentioned in the commentary.

The previous post, 1/2 First Covid-19 Lockdown Cycle Ride, contains close-ups of landmarks 1 to 10 (nb "First" in both titles indicates that I'll be making another video of the same route):

The video was filmed on Sunday, 10th of May 2020, using a head-mounted GoPro Hero 8 Black action camera and its built-in microphones.

Time Lapse Video Start

Two days later I made a three-minute GoPro "Time Warp" (time lapse) video with commentary.

It contains a sequence that also shows the promenade from the Eastern Docks to the New Marina Pier.

Local landmarks, numbers 11 to 20:

Click on a thumbnail for a larger view, or any text link to go to the related blog post.

White Cliffs Hotel at Sunrise

Former White Cliffs Hotel, Waterloo Crescent

Where Prime Minister Churchill and President Eisenhower had dinner during the Second World War.

Now the Best Western Dover Marina Hotel and Spa.

Fairbairn Crane pre-restoration (2011)

Fairbairn Crane

Swan-neck tubular crane of 1868 on Esplanade Quay, ex-Ordnance Quay of Wellington Dock.

There's a working steam-powered version in Briatol

A Grade II Listed Building.

Grand Shaft, Pentax K100D  (2011)

The Grand Shaft

Triple spiral staircase built during the Napoleonic Wars.

Linked the Grand Shaft Barracks on top of the Western Heights cliffs to Snargate Street below.

View of the Keep from King's Gate

The Keep, or Great Tower of Dover Castle

Built in AD 1180's by Maurice the Engineer for King Henry II

Contains reconstructed medieval royal palace.

English Heritage Listed Building and Ancient Monument.

St Mary-sub-Castro and Pharos

Saxon St Mary-in-Castro Church and Roman Pharos

Church is 10th century AD, restored by the Victorians.

Lighthouse built AD 46, reign of Emperor Claudius.

Both lie in grounds of Norman 12th century Dover Castle.

HM Coastguard Station, Dover

HM Coast Guard Station Dover

Located at Langdon Battery, Swingate, on the White Cliffs of Dover overlooking the English Channel.

A2 Jubilee Way, Eastern Docks

A2 Jubilee Way Flyover

From Broadlees Bottom, low point in the White Cliffs of Dover, to the Eastern Docks.

Also World War Two Swingate radar masts and former Coast Guard Cottages.

In front of Eastern Arm pier (2012)

Cross-Channel Ferries

P&O Ferries' MV Spirit of France is on the left and MV Pride of Canterbury is on the right.

DFDS Ferries also operates from the Eastern Docks.

MV Maasdam, Holland America Line

Western Entrance of Dover Harbour

Southern Breakwater on the left, Admiralty Pier on the right.

Lighthouses undergoing restoration in 2010.

POW Pier Lighthouse in 2010.

Prince of Wales Pier Lighthouse 

Built 1902. 46 feet high stone tower.

Very quick flashing green light VQ, 100+ flashes per minute.

Cycling route map and biometrics are on this Polar Flow web page.

Abridged versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter.

GoPro Hero 8 Timewarp Cycle Video, Urban Coast, Dover, UK

A first attempt (with commentary) at a time lapse video made on Tuesday, 12th of May 2020 - the last day of full Coronavirus Lockdown restrictions as they applied to exercise in England:

All I did was select "Time Warp", the resolution, a linear lens aperture (as opposed to "fish-eye"), and then pressed  the "Start" and "Stop" buttons on my GoPro Hero 8 Black action camera as and when necessary.

Every other setting was selected by the camera's software (I may start messing about with the controls before making another time lapse video, but quite frankly, there just aren't enough hours in the day!)

The video's resolution is 1080p at 30 frames per second. It is 3 minutes long and took over 8 hours to upload to YouTube.

I would shoot 1080p at 60fps, 2.7K or even 4K, if it wasn't for the upload time overhead (plus my clockwork computer isn't exactly sympathetic towards video editing).

Nevertheless, I'm still very pleased with the results 😀

First Seafront Cycling Video

A conventional video of a bike ride along the seafront promenade between the Eastern Docks and New Marina Pier identifies 20, mostly historical, local landmarks.

The time warp video route map (of what has become my "standard" daily bike ride) was plotted by a Polar Beat smartphone app in conjunction with a Polar H10 heart rate monitor (review):

Outward Route:

1-6 Robsons Yard Flats, Tower Hamlets, Dover in 2009.

6 Robsons Yard, West Street, East Street, Tower Hamlets Road, De Burgh Street, Templar Street, London Road, Buckland Bridege.

Buckland Avenue, Barton Road, Frith Road, Salisbury Road, Albert Road, Maison Dieu Road, Woolcomber Street.

A20 Townwall Street, East Cliff, Athol Terrace, East Cliff (Marine Parade).

Dover seafront promenade from the Eastern Docks to the New Marina Pier (Dover Western Docks Revival, DWDR).

Return Route:

Light Trails on Limekiln Roundabout at Night (2010)

New Marina Pier to the Esplanade, Union Street, A20 Limekiln Street to Likekiln Roundabout (that I called Limehouse Roundabout in the video!).

Limekiln Roundabout, Limekiln Stret, Prince of Wales Roundabout, Snargate Street, York Street Roundabout.

York Street, Folkestone Road Roundabout, Folkestone Road, Priory Station Approach Road, Dover Priory Rail Station, Dover Priory Roundabout.

Priory Station Approach Road, Folkestone Road, Folkestone Road Roundabout, Priory Street, High Street.

Tower Hamlets Road, East Street, West Street, 6 Robsons Yard.

Original route map and biometrics (after I remembered to connect my heart rate monitor!) are on this Polar Flow web page.

Abridged versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter.
 

1/2 First Covid-19 Lockdown Cycle Ride, Dover Seafront, UK

A permitted Coronavirus cycle ride along the promenade from the Eastern Docks to the New Marina Pier, Port of Dover, Kent, England, UK.

After the video there are close-ups of numbers 1 to 10 of the mainly historical local landmarks that are mentioned in the commentary.

A second post, 2/2 First Covid-19 Lockdown Cycle Ride, contains close-ups of landmarks 11 to 20 (nb "First" in both titles indicates that I'll be making another video of the same route):

The video was filmed on Sunday, 10th of May 2020, using a head-mounted GoPro Hero 8 Black action camera and its built-in microphones.

Time Lapse Video Start

Two days later I made a three-minute GoPro "Time Warp" (time lapse) video with commentary.

It contains a sequence that also shows the promenade from the Eastern Docks to the New Marina Pier.

Local landmarks, numbers 1 to 10:

Click on a thumbnail for a larger view, or any text link to go to the related blog post.

Charles Lightoller in Dover

8 East Cliff, Marine Parade

Former home of Charles Lightoller, survivor of the 1912 RMS Titanic iceberg disaster.

Moved here in 1916 during World War One after joining the Dover Patrol.

1 East Cliff (Marine Parade), Dover

1 East Cliff, Marine Parade

Former home of General Sir Henry Le Geyt Bruce, Knight Commander of the Bath, 1824-1899.

Transferred from Bengal Artillery to Royal Artillery after 1857 Indian Mutiny.

Seaplane Station

First World War RAF or RFC squadron location.

Moat's Bulwark, A20 Townwall Street

Mote's Bulwark, White Cliffs below Dover Castle 

One of King Henry VIII's 'little forts' of which there were three in Dover.

The other two being the Black Bulwark and Archcliffe Fort.

Dover Castle and Gateway Flats

The Gateway Flats

Built as a result of damage sustained during the Second World War.

The Gateway, with 221 flats that all have views of the English Channel, was completed in October 1959 at a cost of one million pounds.

Lord Warden House, DWDR

Lord Warden Hotel (now Lord Warden House)

Where Louis Blériot (link to blog post) had breakfast after the first flight across the English Channel in 1909.

Ex-HMS Wasp in World War II. Now used by freight agents.

Matthew Webb, Dover Seafront

Captain Matthew Webb

Bust (or statue) symbolically rests on fishes and seashell above  plinth,

First recorded person to swim the English Channel in 1875. Died Niagara Falls 1883 (USA and Canada border).

Charles Rolls facing Strait of Dover

Statue of Charles Rolls, Dover Seafront

In 1910, he became the first man to fly non-stop across the English Channel and back again.

Co-founder of the Royal Aero Club and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Every One Remembered Statue

WW1 Every One Remembered Statue

First World War Centenary Commemorative Sculpture by Mark Humphrey.

Located in Granville Gardens, symbolically facing the English Channel, France, and the Western Front beyond.

Dover Seafront Promenade

Sustrans Portrait Bench, Marine Parade

Silhouette sculpture of Jamie Clark, 2012 Olympic Games Torch holder; Dame Vera Lynn (WW2 song, There'll be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover; Ian Fleming, author of 007 James Bond novels.

Cycling route map and biometrics are on this Polar Flow web page.

Abridged versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter.

WW1 Every One Remembered Statue, Dover Seafront, Kent, UK

The World War One statue, "Every One Remembered" by sculptor Mark Humphrey was erected in July, 2019 to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the end of the Great War on November the 11th, 2018.

Contents:

The Sculpture and its Surrounds

Close-up  of the Soldier

Close-up of the Plaque

The statue forms part of the Dover Remembrance Art Trail.


The Sculpture and its Surrounds

The sculpture and its protective housing are located at the southern edge of Granville Gardens where it meets Marine Parade.

Camden Crescent at Sunrise, 2011

The building to the left of the statue is what remains of Camden Crescent following German shelling during World War Two.

In 1852, Charles Dickens stayed at the now-demolished number 10 Camden Crescent and wrote part of Bleak House there

The Waiting Miner Statue, 2009

A few feet out of shot to the right is the empty plinth where "The Waiting Miner" statue once stood.

In 2010 it was relocated to Fowlmead Country Park, former site of Betteshanger Colliery, Kent.

Close-up  of the Soldier

In remembrance: bedecked with poppies, the Soldier looks across the beach of Dover harbour and the English Channel towards the Western Front in France where so many were wounded and killed.

Verse four of the "For the Fallen" poem by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) that was published in The Times newspaper on the 21st of September, 1914:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Close-up of the Plaque

The Royal British Legion inscription reads:

We're saying Thank You to the WW1 Generation.

In this exceptional centenary year, we're leading a national movement to say ‘Thank You’ to all who served, sacrificed and changed our world during the First World War.
We will thank the people of all nations - not just those who fell on trhe battlefields; those who played their part on the home front and those who returned to build a better future. Join us in saying 'Thank You' and ensuring their  legacy is never forgotten.

The main photos were taken during a permitted Coronavirus bike ride on Thursday, 7th of May, 2020..

Covid-19 lockdown: links to cycling route map and biometrics are on this Polar Flow web page.

Abridged versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter.
 

Unusual Design of Sergeant-Major's House, Dover Castle, Kent

English Heritage have converted two buildings in the grounds of Dover Castle into "Holiday Cottages" that are available for rent by the general public.

The buildings are described on this blog at The Sergeant-Major's House and Peverell's Tower.

This supplementary post is about unusual architectual features of the Sergeant-Major's House.that was built towards the end of the seventeenth, or in the early part of the eighteenth century.

Click on any photo to see a larger view. .

The left-hand photo shows the south-facing "front" of the building (with Peverell's Tower behind), and the right-hand photo shows the north-facing rear

In most respects the Regimental the Sergeant-Major's House is classically Georgian in architectural style but the first thought that struck me was:

"Why are the doors at the ends of the building, rather than in the middle?"

Well, I can think of two non-mutually exclusive reasons:

1) The exposed position of the Sergeant'-Major's House on top of the Eastern Heights.

2) The building consists of two houses in one - but as described below, not necessarily identical "houses".

In support of the first suggestion, notice how the dormer windows in the hip-roof are facing north where they have nothing in particular to see.

House is at bottom, right of center.

If, on the other hand the dormers faced south, then there would be stunning, not to mention interesting views across the southern part of the town, part of the Port of Dover, and the English Channel beyond.

And, of course, north-facing dormers miss out on all the sunshine!

This would be an important consideration in Georgian times as indicated by the fact that the basement windows containing the kitchens are facing south.

Gatton's Tower.and Knight's Road.

Kitchens don't just need light to get in, they need opening in order for hot air to get out.

In addition to privacy, the privet hedge around the south garden shown in this 2009 view from Gatton's Tower would be an effective wind break for the lower floors of the house.

The round tower with the conical roof on the left is part of Peverell's Gate.

North side of Sgt-Major's House

I've repeated the photo of the north-facing side of the house because I think the sloping treetops to the left of the dormers provide a first clue that the exposed position of the Sergeant-Major's was indeed a factor in its design.

Peverell's Tower Drawbridge.

Looking south along Knight's Road from the drawbridge of Peverell's Tower and you can see how the growth of the treetops has been affected by the prevailing winds.

The copper-coloured privet hedge surrounding the south garden of the Sergeant-Major's house is visible above the left-hand fence of the drawbridge.

The fact that the entrances to the building are at either end because it once contained two houses doesn't detract from the suggestion that its design was, at least in part, determined by its location.

If the "houses" were identical then each would consists of four rooms, one above the other, and with separate staircases - a most unusual design!

I suspect something else is far more likely, and to illustrate why I think so, take a look at these former Married Quarters in Windsmoor Road, RAF Binbrook, Lincolnshire:

Google Earth Street View: Windsmoor Road, RAF Binbrook, Lincolnshire

At first glance you might think that this is a semi-detached double-fronted (ie rooms either side of the front door) house, but this isn't the case:

The front door of 23 Windsmoor Road in the center of the photo is the entrance only to the rooms immediately to the door's left.

The entrance to 21 Windsmoor Road is on the gable end of the building and largely obscured by the conifers to the left of the lean-to.

Okay then, you might think, so these are pretty standard "two up, two down" terraced houses.

Some of the time they were - but some of the time they weren't...

The two smaller bedrooms at the rear of 21 and 23 Windsmoor Road shared a party wall that had a door in it.

Locking and unlocking the appropriate doors could convert number 23 into a three bed-roomed house and number 21 into a one bed-roomed house - and vice versa, of course!

(While serving in the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals I worked at NATO FSS Stenigot but lived at 21 Windsmoor Road from 1975 until 1978).

If the Sergeant-Major's House once contained two separate "houses" then I suspect that they weren't identical (four rooms on top of one another reminds me of lighthouses rather than houses!)

Regimental Sergeant-Majors, or Garrison Battery Sergeant-Majors, are important personages who bridge the gap between Garrison Commanders and their Other Ranks.

Constable's Gate, Queen Mary Tower

In addition to an office at Garrison Headquarters (perhaps at Constable's Gate), I can imagine the Regimental Sergeant-Major also having an office at his home for a clerk, perhaps a batman, and for dealing with those Other Ranks who would otherwise make the Garrison Headquarters look untidy! ( 😁 )

My overall impression of the Sergeant-Major's House is that it should be viewed as a military Georgian house, not a civilian one.

The photos of the Keep and Constable's Gate were taken during permitted Coronavirus bike rides.

Covid-19 lockdown: links to cycling route maps and associated biometrics are on their respective blog pages.

Abridged versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter.