Mark here, reporting in about Father's Day Weekend 2015.
First, a couple of random pictures of Henry and Oliver trying on some of our gear from Royal Ascot. Henry looks dapper in my tuxedo jacket and Oliver looks dashing in Beth's fascinator.
Henry and Oliver reporting to duty.
Henry really likes tea.
Swabbing the deck.
Henry really likes swabbing decks, too.
Angry pirate face
Not such an angry pirate.
Beth reporting to duty.
Boat figureheads found off the coast of England over the years.
A short walk from the Cutty Sark is the Greenwich Royal Observatory. The Royal Observatory, home of Greenwich Mean Time and Prime Meridian line, is one of the most important historic scientific sties in the world. It was founded by Charles II in 1675 and is, by international decree, the starting point for each new day, year and millennium (at the stroke of midnight GMT as measured by the Prime Meridian).
The Observatory was built to improve navigation at sea and 'find the so-much desired longitude of places' – one's exact position east and west – while at sea and out of sight of land, by astronomical means.
The Prime Meridian (Longitude 0° 0' 0'')
A disaster at sea in 1707 killed over 2,000 men and prompted
greater calls for more reliable means of navigation. In 1714, Parliament
established a panel of experts, the Board of Longitude, and offered a massive
£20,000 reward (equivalent of about £2 million today) to anyone who could solve
the problem of finding longitude at sea. It took nearly 60 years for the prize
to be claimed. In the end it went not to a famous astronomer, scientist or
mathematician, but to a little-known Yorkshire carpenter turned clockmaker,
John Harrison.
Every place on the Earth is
measured in terms of its distance east or west from this line. The line itself
divides the eastern and western hemispheres of the Earth – just as the Equator
divides the northern and southern hemispheres.
Harrison's fourth timekeeper. Arguably the most important timepiece ever made, this watch finally proved that the timekeeper method of finding longitude was practicable, earning him the £20,000 prize.
The Prime Meridian also the reason why we have time zones. Since the late 19th century, the Prime Meridian at Greenwich
has served as the co-ordinate base for the calculation of Greenwich Mean Time.
Before this, almost every town in the world kept its own local time. There were
no national or international conventions to set how time should be measured, or
when the day would begin and end, or what the length of an hour might be. Think about it - how would you know when to call us without time zones??
By the 1880's, world trade, travel and communication demanded a global timekeeping system. An international conference in 1884 established the principle of 24 world 'time zones' based on the Greenwich Meridian; however, it was several decades before the new system was accepted by all the countries of the world. Radio enabled time signals to be broadcast worldwide in 1924 and the BBC introduced its now famous six short 'pips' to mark the precise start of a new hour.
Like Johnny Cash, we walked the line...
Sunday started with breakfast in bed.
Here they come
It was over in a flash!
Thank you Beth, Oliver & Henry for a wonderful Father's Day.
I love you!
