Graeme Jupp, talks Titanic
This week’s speaker was Graeme Jupp, who is a professional cartographer and appears to spend every waking minute thinking about the ill-fated ‘Titanic’.
Graeme’s talk was fascinating. It would be an understatement to call him a Titanic enthusiast. He owns more than 650 books on the subject, and has visited museums and memorials and consulted experts and fellow enthusiasts all over the world.
He has written an e-book from a new angle - a 366-day calendar of events relevant to the design, launch, sinking and its aftermath.
Why has the Titanic caught the popular imagination and remained an alluring subject to so many people ever since it sank? It was not, after all, the world’s worst maritime disaster. If you Google ‘Titanic’ it will produce over 64 million hits!
Graeme offered some reasons. It has been the subject of popular films; it raises some interesting issues for engineers; there were numerous famous people on the passenger list; there are bitter controversies surrounding the rescue of the passengers and crew, and interest was rekindled when the wreck was discovered and explored in 1987.
There is thus a mixture of scandal, rumour, celebrity, catastrophe, heroism, official failures and technical hubris which has proved irresistible.
Graeme chose not to market his book but has made it available as a free PDF on the internet. He explained that it contains material, especially images, which are subject to copyright and which have been freely given on the understanding they would not be exploited commercially.
Note: You can access Graeme’s E-book here
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!