Updating previous stories of mine in this space, after-the-jump:
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In April of last year, I profiled the late Irish poet and man-of-letters, Seamus Heaney— who won the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature for the breadth of his career: with prose, a playwright, an author of literary criticism and also literary translation. If he did nothing else, utilizing his studies of Anglo-Saxon in his modern translation in 2000 of Beowulf— which I recall as dreary reading in school — was far more meaningful to modern audiences, and which received nearly unanimous accolades across the literary world.
You can read my original career retrospective at this link.
Now …... an update
In my original essay, I noted a play he wrote in 1990 entitled The Cure at Troy— an adaptation of a play by the Greek dramatist Sophocles. On that day when Joe Biden was declared president-elect, Ireland’s national broadcaster (RTÉ News) signed-off its nightly newscast with Joe reciting the words of this poem. And on Inauguration Night, Lin-Manuel Miranda also read this (on television).
Through February 20th: this play will be performed at Philadelphia’s Quintessence Theater— and with a multi-racial cast as well, as Broadway World revealed that Seamus Heaney was not only inspired by The Troubles in Northern Ireland (as I had known) but also by Nelson Mandela’s release (which I hadn’t know).
One of the stories I have been updating on a few times over the years has been the Hillsborough Disaster — the 1989 soccer match in England (and its aftermath) in what has been described as "the darkest day in British football history". 96 fans of the noted Liverpool team were crushed to death at a match held at the neutral site of Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England — which remains in the news to this very day.
If you are totally unfamiliar with this event, please read at this link my original account — suffice it to say, what made a tragic day even more tragic were the actions of your-friend-and-mine, Rupert Murdoch — and his Sun newspaper, which blamed the disaster on unruly fan behavior leading to the crush — and also afterwards, where they falsely claimed fans disrupted police and rescue crews, urinating on (and picking the pockets) of the dead.
By 2011, events had already unfolded as to what had really happened - with poor decisions made by the police as what led to the crush. It took awhile for the truth to begin to emerge, as the police engaged in a cover-up that was forcefully assisted by The Sun. As one commenter in my original account noted, circulation for The Sun— up to this very day — has always lagged in the greater Liverpool region, dating back to this event.
I posted an update in 2014, where an independent commission led to a search for the truth, exemplified by an address then-prime minister David Cameron made to Parliament.
I posted yet another update in 2017, when criminal prosecutions were announced against six individuals (one in charge of stadium operations and five in law enforcement):
These six included Graham Mackrell, who was in charge of the stadium grounds for Sheffield (for safety violations and neglect), four members of the South Yorkshire Police, charged with obstructing justice (amending the testimony of police officers to fit an agreed-upon cover-up) … and the prime suspect: the police superintendent in charge of supervising the stadium that day, David Duckenfield— charged with 95 counts of manslaughter (the 96th person died a few years later, after the existing statute-of-limitations had run out … hence, no charges in that instance).
At the time there was optimism over not only the search for justice — that accountability could be established — but also that it made a difference in how Britain now responded to tragedies — with a then-recent case of the tragic Grenfell Tower apartment building fire as a hopeful sign.
Now …... a further, sad (and perhaps final) update
The results of the six prosecutions were … less than hoped for. The only conviction obtained was for stadium director Graham Mackrell on safety grounds and fined £6,500 (just under $9k US). Three of the accused were charged with obstructing justice (by changing dozens of police statements to present to a judicial inquiry) .. but because the judicial inquiry was not a statutory inquiry, it was ruled to be not illegal. A former police inspector had his charges of official misconduct (perjury and his role in trying to deflect blame to fans) dropped in 2018 as two key witnesses had died and two others’ reliability was now in question.
And the key suspect (police commissioner David Duckenfield, charged with gross negligence manslaughter) had his first trial in 2019 result in a hung jury. His retrial later that year resulted in an acquittal, with the jury believing his account that his actions were mistakes (and not criminal) and that any falsehoods he uttered were also unintentional. To the end, many commentators were upset that he was still trying to shift some blame to the fans.
Last year, the two police departments agreed upon a settlement (in a civil action) to more than 600 people who were affected by a cover-up which followed .. yet which still leaves families upset.
And lastly: in July of last year, someone else at the match (who had been severely injured) died at age fifty-five … some thirty-two years after that fateful day. And yet, the coroner ruled that Andrew Devine’s death could be tied to that events, as:
Mr Devine had died from aspiration pneumonia, which had been caused by a brain injury that resulted from oxygen deprivation and crush injuries.
Just recently, his name was engraved on the memorial outside the home stadium of Liverpool … making him officially the 97th victim of the event to die (though that may not be the final score).
Finally, another story I have profiled and updated is the story of the failed-yet-heroic mission of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his Endurance crew (to trek across the Antarctic continent in 1914) yet who made a daring escape on lifeboats after their wooden ship was destroyed by pack-ice just off the coast of Antarctica. Crucially, the ship’s carpenter weatherized one lifeboat (the James Caird) to enough seaworthiness to enable a six-man crew to safely make a harrowing 800-mile voyage to reach help at South Georgia Island … with all lives saved.
What first brought the Shackleton expedition to my attention was Caroline Alexander's 1998 book Endurance - not a book aimed at historians, but a terrific, not-too-long account written for the general reader: with a multitude of photographs by the ship's Australian photographer, Frank Hurley. If this book is in your public library: you truly won't regret checking it out.
If you are unfamiliar with this story: my 2011 essay is at this link and a 2014 update can be read at this link.
Now …... a further update
After a 2019 mission to locate the sunken ship The Endurance came close (but failed) — this week, a new attempt is being made, with the Weddell Sea (off the coast of Antarctica) considered some of the world’s roughest seas.
A South African icebreaker (S.A. Agulhas II) set off from Cape Town with a crew of 46 and a 64-member expedition team aboard, including scientists from top international institutions. It hopes to find the iconic shipwreck with state-of-the-art technology, exploring with two underwater drones and if found: will be left untouched but they will perform a 3D scan of it and broadcast it in real time.
One hundred and eight years after it set sail: it would indeed be a fitting ending.
Let’s close tonight with the veteran bluesman John Mayall, who is soon retiring at the age of eighty-eight. His landmark 1969 Turning Point album (of acoustic blues not from the Delta but more jazz-oriented) did not include this song on the original release, but did as a bonus track (this century).
Now, on to Top Comments:
(Nothing from the field ….. came in this evening)
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the front-page story about the document dump at Mar-a-Lago — blue aardvark begins a thread about security clearance ... which was amplified by a skeptical sneakers563.
Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful (and now eternal) *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment featuring that photo.
TOP PHOTOSFebruary 9th, 2022
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And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
5) They are different. Pro-COVID, anti- … by Lex Lurker +1207) Nobody expects Spanish liquid dishes! by novapsyche +1138) The tweets by Denise Oliver Velez +11220) Carny con, more like. by nailbender +88