My Covid Walk: 3. Shannon Island

Where would I have reached if my year of walking in various lockdowns had been in one direction instead of daily ambles around North London?

My third idea takes me North West.  This would have required mostly walking on water and, even more alarmingly, above the place where the Titanic failed to stay on the surface, let alone me.

Leaving the physics to one side, would I have reached North America?  The answer is YES!

Shannon Island.  I couldn't make it to Canada or the U S of A, but the eastern coast of Greenland is in reach - and that includes Shannon Island, which I choose because I was born in Ipswich, Suffolk.  Let Wikipedia explain: 

Shannon Island is a large island in Northeast Greenland National Park in eastern Greenland). It was named by Douglas Clavering on his 1823 expedition for the Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon, on which he served as midshipman under Sir Philip Broke. Broke was born at Broke Hall, Nacton, near Ipswich. He was educated at Ipswich School, where a house was later named in his honour.

Is it Covid-safe?

Couldn't be safer. 

On the Plus Side:

Social distancing (from humans - there are none).  Wildlife to look at but . . .

On the Minus Side:

. . . the wildlife is dangerous!  I can't outwalk a polar bear !  Also cold and windy even in summer.

Has it got a Football Team?

No (Greenland itself only just about has a football team).

Has it got a Baptist Church?

Er, no.

Prospects out of Ten:

Two.  Safe and beautiful in some ways but lonely after such a long walk . . .

My Covid Walk 2. Arkhangelsk

If, during my year of walking in the pandemic, I had walked in a straight line sort of North East (and across water) I would have reached Arkhangelsk (or Archangel as traditionally in English atlases) in the Russian arctic.

Encyclopedia Britannica says . . .

Founded in 1584 as the fortified monastery of the archangel Michael it was the first port of the Russian Empire to conduct trade with England. The port reached the height of its prosperity in the 17th century but subsequently declined with the founding of St Petersburg (1703) and the exorbitant customs dues introduced by Peter the Great to divert trade to his new town. Arkhangelsk later revived with the building of a railway from Moscow in 1898.

Is it Covid-safe?

Not too sure about Russian cities, but this April it is moderately OK - at least it has big city medical facilities. 

On the Plus Side:

Emerging from its winter deep freeze with a riverside promenade and some sights to look at if they're open, including the brand new Orthodox Cathedral which is part of the Russian Nationalist resurgence.

By Екатерина Борисова - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68543618

 On the Minus Side:

Fairly bleak urbanscape and a winter to avoid at all costs (for 6 months).

Has it got a Football Team?

Bandy (sort of Ice Hockey) is unsurprisingly the thing here - but it has/does have some low level football - as far as I can tell the only professional team went out of business in the 1990s.

Has it got a Baptist Church?

Yes, at least two, including the Arkhangelsk Bible Church which appears to meet in part of a shopping centre.

Prospects out of Ten:

Five.  Based on arriving now in late April into tolerable weather, and finding someone who knows about the city's positive historical connections to England and so is anglo-friendly.

Franklin

Approaching the Royal Wedding fixes our thoughts on Westminster Abbey and marriage.  A marriage with an extraordinary end is commemorated there and today is important in the story.

Among the very many monuments in what is our National Shrine is a monument to Sir John Franklin - 'This monument was erected by Jane, his widow, who after long waiting and sending many in search of him, herself departed to seek and find him in the realms of light.'

Today is his birthday and his birth is a lot easier to understand than his death.  For sure his remains are not in the Abbey.  Indeed they are somewhere quite unknown and very, very cold.

Born on April 16, 1786, John went to sea at age 15 with Admiral Nelson. He survived the Battle of Copenhagen then returned to England only to leave again, this time on a voyage to chart Australia. He next joined the Battle of Trafalgar, and later the attack on New Orleans.

He fell in love with Arctic exploration, and when the ships were forced to return to England, he joined another expedition to chart the northern coasts of Canada.

One of his crew wrote of him, "We have church morning and evening on Sunday. The men say they would rather have him than half the parsons of England."

In 1845 he sailed from England to look for the Northwest Passage and to explore the Arctic. Two letters came from him, then news ceased. Years passed.  His beloved wife Jane spent a fortune searching for him. Finally a boat was found frozen in the north complete with two of the crew's skeletons  - and Sir John Franklin's Bible.

Psalm 139.9,10 was underlined: If I. . . dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 

A hand that reaches further even than the hand of a loving wife.