Beacons of fire, beacons of hope...

The colours flapped in the fresh breeze, the beacon-fire threw tongues of flame skyward, and the sea beyond whispered to us like a fretful mother. We prepared to bed down for the night, and to keep a vigil over the commemorative fire. Tomorrow would be a new day, a new dawn, a new beginning, with fresh hopes and aspirations, the spiritual door to the rest of our lives and the birth of a new era.

The beacon of fire could be seen for miles around

We slept in turns and somewhat fitfully, our sleep accompanied by the crackle of the nearby raging beacon-fire, one of thousands lit throughout the land to mark our Queen's long and glorious reign, to celebrate her stalwart occupancy of the throne of this hard-bitten northern land whose proud people had faced countless trials over the centuries and come through every ordeal made stronger and more resolute.

This beacon and thousands of others lit on this chill-laden night, the most primitive and most ancient symbol of life, renewal and raw energy, proudly announced the rebirth of this scarred land and a belief in a strong and dynamic future. It would burn throughout the night and into the morrow before it gave up its last gasps.


I half-closed my eyes and half-looked towards the leaping fire ahead and the darkening sky above and I was not afraid anymore... it would be alright, there was hope and there would be a tomorrow springing phoenix-like from the flames of the present....

Awful Predicaments

Dear oh dear, some days just don't start right! This poor old polar bear is hanging on to that knob-end of ice for dear life, but it's not looking hopeful. Another couple of hours at most and that stub of ice will have melted beneath him and he'll be in the drink. And I think he knows it despite the look of feigned nonchalance! I just wonder whether he has a Plan B as he clings to his ice mushroom while he takes stock of his situation. If Plan B is for him to sink gracefully below the waves and drown, he's on to a winner, but if he hopes to come out of this predicament alive and kicking he'll have to come up with something pretty sharpish.


His options are distinctly limited. He can wait for a passing ship to spot him and rescue him - unlikely to say the least. He can sit tight in the hope that a larger ice-flow drifts his way - chances of this are slim as the knob of ice he's on hasn't got long to go. Or he can make a dash for it and try to swim his way back to firmer land. As we cannot see the bigger picture, it's impossible to know how feasible this is. And, frankly, he doesn't seem to have set his mind to the task. Nonchalance is all very well but some situations call for action. But maybe he's bypassed Plan B altogether for Plan C. Pray for a miracle! Not very practical, but it does give the comforting illusion of there being a number of alternative plans and therefore a chance of survival.


Well, there we must leave our intrepid Mr Bear as he ponders his fate in this vast expanse of ice-cold sea and perhaps devises a way to get out of this fix. But maybe he doesn't need to come up with anything and rescue is close at hand. After all, he's been caught on film, so what does that tell us?!

Two Beach Scenes

Just take a look at this picture and tell me if it's not your favourite beach set-up? A smooth sandy beach, a calm caressing sea, a warm-to-hot day, some deck chairs and a sunshade, and a marked absence of crowds to disturb your peace and tranquillity. It's as if this stretch of beach was made for you, you lucky bastard!

Now take a look at this other beach scene below and tell me which you prefer.

Well? Which is it to be? The first beach scene, tranquillity itself? Or the second beach scene, the nightmare scenario?! Where you could not even break wind without your neighbour getting a noseful of it. Where, if you have body odour, your fellow beach-bums will be the first to know about it. Where lying down is not an option 'cos there ain't the space! Where the water is a human cocktail of saliva and urine from the teeming bathers' secretions top and bottom.

I think I know what your answer is, assuming of course you don't appreciate sharing a beach with a stranger sat in your lap!

Homo Modernus

Is this paradise or what? Would you like to bathe in those balmy tropical waters? Take a nap in the shade of those palm trees? Roll about on that smooth golden sand washed by the said balmy tropical waters? Wake up every morning to a radiant sun set in a clear blue sky? Be lulled by the soothing sounds of a gently lapping sea? Fill your lungs with the clear invigorating air of a pollution-free environment? Be greeted by sweet birdsong echoing through the trees? Revel in the sights and sounds of natures' bounty? In short, would you turn away the chance of living on a paradise isle like this away from the hustle and bustle of teeming humanity? What's that you say? You would? Well, strangely enough so would I!

If you have answered yes to my question above, then you already know that the reality of it is that after a few hours of finding yourself on such a paradise island, hunger pangs would kick in and then what would you do? It's bad enough not having any toilet facilities but feeding yourself would be a major problem. With no McDonald's or Burger King in sight, the prospects of survival of a typical modern city-dweller would be pretty bleak. With no hunting or cooking skills (let alone cooking utensils) to speak of, any wildlife that might be on the island would probably be uncatchable and/or uneatable. Most plant life would as likely be inedible or even downright poisonous. And then there are the tropical storms, hurricanes and cyclones that would probably hit the island every so often. Before long you would sicken and, with no medical supplies or care, die. End of paradise existence! Would you still like to live on a paradise isle like this, be it with your significant other?

If you have turned down the chance of living on a paradise island as depicted in the first photograph, then I think I have just the thing for you. In this second photo we have again a paradisiac image just as lovely as the first one but this time we have all the mod cons that we cannot do without, or at least that we think we cannot do without. Modern toilet facilities are of course a must. A full food catering service is also a must. Comfortable accommodation is also in the same category. With all that in place we are ready to enjoy ourselves and make the most of the island's natural charms. If, that is, we can tear ourselves away from the tv, the swimming-pool, the bar, and any other amenities that are meant to make our stay as pleasant as possible.

The one catch of course is that in this alternative setting and set-up your time in such idyllic surroundings would be limited to the size of your bank balance. For most people this does not stretch to beyond two weeks as a maximum. In no time at all you would be back to your routine along with millions of other individuals fighting the good fight to survive in the frenetic and frenzied modern world that we have created for ourselves. And maybe it's just as well. Too much of a good thing ruins a person's character and turns them into a mere toy. Suffering, or at least a little hardship, is good for the soul. And in any case Paradise is for when we die... assuming of course we don't get sent down to that... that other place. Now that would be just too bad, wouldn't it?

Awestruck

There are some sights which are so beautiful, so wondrous, that they leave you staring at them open-mouthed. That's the effect the picture below has on me. This pure white wilderness, stretching as far as the eye can see, seemingly untouched by man, is a scene of absolute peace and calm. You can almost feel yourself breathing in the exhilaratingly cold fresh air deep into your lungs. The scene has a reassuringly permanent and unchanging quality about it. How long it will be before the hand of man brings an end to its changeless permanence is anyone's guess but that will be a sad day.

I feel a similar but different effect when I look at this second photo. The similarity is in the clean fresh purity of the scene, the difference is the movement taking place here. A powerful churning sea flows between the ice. You can almost sense the force of the body of water pounding against the mass of the ice floes. There is beauty here as in the previous image but there is also motion, force, energy. This scene does not have the reassuring permanence of the other one. There is no calm here. It is just a matter of time before the ice is broken up, worn down, and swallowed by the water.

Two powerfully striking scenes, both awesome in their own way. The first is a vast open landscape that transmits an air of permanence and total tranquillity. The second, equally awesome, is a depiction of the powerful forces of Nature, the foaming sea tirelessly pounding the ice that we know will eventually yield to the surging waters. In both instances we are awestruck by the beauty and energy of the natural world, a world which we are now all too aware is under threat from man's deleterious activities from one end of the planet to the other.