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.
 

Real-time Map of Ships and Other Vessels, Port of Dover, UK

This is an interactive AIS (Automatic Identification System) map for Dover harbour with a live update feature that auto-refreshes every 600 seconds (10 minutes).

However, the map can be manually refreshed as often as required by clicking on the circular icon at bottom left:



The types of vessel that the map displays are: Cargo Vessels, Tankers, Passenger Vessels, High Speed Craft, Tugs and Special Craft, Fishing, Pleasure Craft, Navigation Aids, and Unspecified Ships.

A further two icons show if a vessel is Underway or Anchored.

Dover is noted for cross-channel ferries and cruise ships but there are no separate categories for these specific type of ships.

Disappointingly, there isn't a Nuclear-Powered Submarine category either.

Clicking on the "coffee filter" icon below the Search symbol at top left on the map shows which colour-coded symbol goes with which type, or category of vessel.

Screenshot:

Selecting, or deselecting the check-boxes of the "Vessel Filters" feature enables any combination of vessel categories to be displayed (the above screenshot has all categories selected).

AIS is intended, primarily, to allow ships to view marine traffic in their area and to be seen by that traffic.

This requires a dedicated VHF AIS transceiver that allows local traffic to be viewed on an AIS enabled chart plotter or computer monitor while transmitting information about the ship itself to other AIS receivers.

Port authorities or other shore-based facilities may be equipped with receivers only, so that they can view the local traffic without the need to transmit their own location.

All AIS transceivers equipped traffic can be viewed this way very reliably but is limited to the VHF range, about 10 to 20 nautical miles.

Panorama of Dover Harbour from the Western Heights on the 15th of April, 2020:

The White Cliffs of Dover are beyond the Eastern Docks and Eastern Arm pier on the left.

The English Channel is beyond the Southern Breakwater in the center, and the Dover Western Docks Revival project is right of center.

Wellington Dock and Granville Dock of Dover Marina are behind the seafront and DWDR area.

About the Port of Dover

The Port of Dover is Europe’s busiest ferry port, a vital international gateway for the movement of people and trade.

It is also an award-winning cruise port, the second busiest in the UK and hosts some of the world’s most prestigious cruise lines.

Other successful businesses include a cargo terminal, a top award-winning marina and several niche activities. The business mix is diverse.

Also see Port of Dover  on Wikipedia and Dover Harbour at Dover Museum.

The main photo was taken during a permitted Coronavirus (alt. Covid-19) Lockdown bike ride.

A cycling route map and biometrics can be seen on this Polar Flow web page.

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

Panorama of the White Cliffs below Dover Castle, Kent, UK

To the left, the White Cliffs of Dover descend to the River Dour valley and the town itself.

To the right, the cliffs dip briefly to a low point called Broadlees Bottom from which the A2 Jubilee Way flyover passes over the Eastern Docks before turning inland and dropping down to the A20 roundabout in the center of the photo:

Today, the cliff-top forms the southern boundary of the grounds of Dover Castle; earlier, it formed the base of an Iron Age Hill Fort.

Repairing the Cliffs of Dover

Before showing close-ups of three points of historical interest in the above image, there is also a one minute video film clip from a 1968 British Pathé newsreel showing three workmen suspended in a cradle as they repair unstable areas on this part of the cliff face.

One of the workmen is Graham Barker who is my brother-in-law - click the link on the left to have a look.

The first point of interest, left of center, is the concrete platform topped by a white mast that juts out from the cliff edge. This is the Admiralty Lookout and Port War Signal Station:

This structure is a Listed Building and had been in a state of dilapidation until it was subject to major conservation and repair carried out over three phases between 2005 and 2008 by the Radley House Partnership (Chartered Architects).

Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay's flag flew from this signal station at the start of the Second World War.

The obsolete Hospital Battery of 1874 (contemporary with St Martin's Battery on the Western Heights) was converted in 1905 to a Fire Command Post. Admiralty installations were added on top in 1914 (World War I) and the concrete roof in the photo was added in 1941 (World War II).

The second point of interest is found by following the cliff edge to the left of the signalling station until you come to a v-shaped notch in the vegetation. Immediately below is Casemates Balcony and the cliff entrance to what English Heritage describe as the Secret War Time tunnels:

Calling the chalk excavations, "Secret War Time Tunnels" focusing attention on their role in the Second World War although the tunnels were begun during the Napoleonic Wars (under Colonel Twiss, RE) and continued to be expanded in the Cold War with Russia.

On the left of the Casemates Balcony is a low red-bricked structure with a blocked-up window in front of which Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Field Marshall Jan Smuts (alt. Field Marshal) were photographed during the Second World War.

 Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay planned Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk in these tunnels.

The final point of interest is the very left-most house of the Georgian houses of East Cliff (Marine Parade) on the left-hand side of the main photo (those on the right are Athol Terrace).

Built in 1834, Number 8 East Cliff (Marine Parade) is the former home of Charles Lightoller who survived the 1912 RMS Titanic iceberg disaster in the North Atlantic:

Elizabeth House is the left-hand third of the Georgian Listed Building. Charles Lightoller moved here after being posted to the Royal Navy's "Dover Patrol" during the First World War and served on HMS Falcon.

Commander Charles Herbert Lightoller DSC & Bar, RD, RNR (March 30, 1874 - December 8, 1952) was the second mate (second officer) on board the RMS Titanic, and the most senior officer to survive the disaster.

Lightoller ("Lights") was decorated for gallantry as a naval officer in World War I and later, in retirement, further distinguished himself in World War II by providing and sailing the Sundowner (one of the "little ships") during the perilous Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo).

NB There is a single row of modest terraced houses behind East Cliff (Marine Parade) that is known simply as "East Cliff").

The main photo were taken during a permitted Coronavirus (alt. Covid-19) Lockdown bike ride.

A cycling route map and biometrics can be seen on this Polar Flow web page.

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

Dover Castle and White Cliffs from the New Marina Pier, Kent, UK

On the skyline from left to right:

The 12th century Norman Keep built by Maurice the Engineer for Henry II. It is surrounded by the Inner Bailey and then the Outer Curtain Wall that follows the embankments of an Iron Age Hill Fort.

A 1st century Roman Pharos, or lighthouse that was built in AD 46 during the reign of the Emperor Claudius.

The 10th century Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro, sometimes St Mary-sub-Castro, that was extensively restored by the Victorians.

The 19th century Victorian Officers Mess that had damp problems as a result of being built using the wrong kind of limestone.

Also visible part-way down the cliffs is the entrance to the Underground Tunnels:

All of the above mentioned structures are contained within the English Heritage Dover Castle site who have issued the following statement as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic:

In line with government guidelines, our staffed sites remain closed in the interests of public health. It is now clear that we will not be able to re-open on 1 May as we had originally hoped. Instead we will re-open as soon as government advice allows and only when we can ensure the safety of our visitors and our staff and volunteers.

Dover Castle is a scheduled Ancient Monument.

The photo was taken on the 5th of April 2020 during a permitted Coronavirus lockdown bike ride from the point marked "P1" on the map :

Cycle route: Tower Hamlets, Buckland Bridge, St Mary the Virgin church, Eastern Docks, sea front, Marina, Dover Priory station, then back to Robsons Yard in Tower Hamlets.

Original map and biometrics are on this Polar Flow web page.

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