In Kayak from Oslo to - almost - Copenhagen, June 1971

  3 indefatigable, optimistic, adventure-tuned members of the 6-man team from Klampenborg Kayak Club (north of Copenhagen) ready to board DFDS' Prinsesse Margrethe on the quay-side in Copenhagen, 4 June 1971, 1600 Zulu.    Me in psychedelic T-shirt model 1971

 

Kayaks stowed away on the car deck for the 15 hour voyage north.

General agreement: arrive rested and ready for a strenuous rowing trip back.

Subsequent events in the bar, on the dance floor and in the cabins belong to the individuals' sphere of privacy!

<--- Jean - undersigned - Manne

No one had considered the fact that there was a 2m drop from the Oslo quay side to the water.

Chasing around - with a hangover - in skips and bins for a solution resulted in a few meters of nylon rope, which we used to lower the kayaks. The panic was supported by the fact, that we hadn't had a dry-run stowing the kayaks, as two of them had been delivered only 1 hour before departure. Mine, for example, had had the linen deck replaced by wood, which had made it considerably heavier. That was a surprise when I started to manoeuvre with it!

I have no idea how we got into the kayaks - - - -

One person, though, kept her calm and showed everyone that 'It'd be all right in due time'.
Gammel Dansk - a speciality aquavit, that helps you keep the balance in a kayak - might also have had a calming effect on the initial uncertainty.

Mental and physical force slowly returning and after a couple of hours paddling down the sunny and almost windless Oslo Fjord, we stopped for a tea break at a small public beach at Spro.
The oil that has smeared both us and the Kayaks when entering the water in Oslo Harbour was removed after a visit to a water-side BP filling station, where we bought some oil-remover.
The water was great for a swim and the sun blessed us from a cloudless sky. Could easily have stayed!
But this was a sport-holiday - so on to new dicoveries.

Later in the evening we landed at the southernmost of 4 small islands, about 5 Km north of Droebak (level with Digerud) and a couple of Km south of the Welcome-Tower. Soft tall grass on a small sandy beach created an ideal place for our overnight stay. Oystercatchers did a few nosedive attempts to chase us away, but they relaxed, when it became clear we were not after their chicks that scurried around between the rocks. Navigation at this stage was by a tourist map, but we made an important observation: If you try to cross the fjord ahead of one of the arriving freighters, DON'T. They are faster than you! Wait.

With a little good will and 20-20 vision it should be possible to follow the thin blue line indicating our route from Oslo, down the fjord past Droebak towards Son.
Provided you get Nesoddtangen on your port side in the beginning (!), the first 50 Km don't require a better map than this at all.
Landfall is clearly indicated.

A very slow morning, Sunday 6 June.
Despite a white night - it never really became dark -
the ferry trip and the first day, accentuated by lots of fresh air, took its toll.
This was too good to be destroyed by obstinate ideas about rowing, sport, objectives of a certain distance pr day, etc.

Nevertheless - on towards Droebak and Hvitsten, where we succeeded pulling the local owner of the grocery store away from his lunch (it was Sunday).
There is no end to what you might forget, when planning a voyage like this. We already had 5 examples from the first day: drilling the stowing of the Kayaks; what food to bring for when; Sunday limitations; getting the Kayaks in the water; where to get water (!) - - but as the only woman on the trip always said: it'll be all right on the day!
Proved to make sense.

 Overnight stay on Jeloya and the service team in action.

Tried fishing. Didn't work
Thanks to careful and professional planning (!) jungle Oil provided for a reasonably quiet and undisturbed sleep, successfully rejecting the vicious ME109 attacks .

Moving on Monday 7 June towards Moss.
The morning packing had been eagerly supervised by a group of young cows.
We had great ambitions about living in and with nature, so when one person in the team had paddled ahead and found hospitality in a summer house, the rest of us refused. Sleeping on the sandy beach was perfectly comfortable, thank you.






Moss was quite a beautiful little town - but the stench from the local fishing industry was a bit too heavy.
We succumbed, however to a craving for beer and chocolate and had a good laugh about the text on the wrapper: "Healthy, nourishing and promotes high spirits".
We had a lot of it and it worked.

After a few hours rowing rowing, where the wind had increased (according to Murphy's law straight against us), we landed at Eloya southwest of Larkollen, where we waited for the wind to abate. It became a long wait and I spent some time having a good look at the island. I am quite convinced that the many 'bumps' represented old grave mounds or small tumuli. The island was beautiful, ranging from overgrown with shrubs and wild plants to the north to a more barren, rocky cost to the south, bearing witness to the white teeth of Skagerak !
Having stilled the hunger (some more than others),

we continued south at around 1900 Z towards the coast and tried to get around a point in order to hit a planned camping spot, but were beaten back by much too high waves.
This was one thing we had agreed upon: Minimal risk - if anyone was in doubt, we would stop.





This is the route from Moss over Ellinggaardskilen to Lyngholmen
The map has been divided in three along a vertical line to save space!
The details proved more than enough for this part of the voyage.







We 'camped it out' until 1100 Z the next day, Tuesday 8 June, but had to walk a couple of Km for water and 'edibles'.
Cold, freezing, but in high spirits and comeradeship, perhaps due to the special effects of the Norwegian chocolate!








Next stage, across the bay towards southeast, strong wind from the side or back, which resulted in some interesting surfing effect - landing at Solodden.
Navigation was now supported by proper marine maps, covered in waterproof, transparent plastic and glued onto the front of my Kayak. I was not too popular, when I mistook the direction by a couple of degrees and got us 2-3 Km up the Ellingaards Kilen! That's when I pulled out the compass and hung it around my neck. The popularity level rose visibly when I got us 5 litres freshly cooked prawns from a fishing boat. Afternoon luxury lunch north of Vikane in much improved weather.

It is incredible how uniform the land looks when you have to observe it from 50cm above the surface.

Moreover, sometimes a tough decision must be made: going the long but safe way amongst the islands - or cut across a few Km of open sea.

Only a recognisance trip ashore can help make that decision

We stayed a little and enjoyed a wonderful nature, shallow water with lots of oysterbanks and
overgrown islands.
This time we chose the direct route at about 1700 Z, rowing from Stroemtangen Lighthouse across Leira Bay close to Frederiksstad.
It was about 5 Km of open water and was an incredibly beautiful experience with the sea almost as a mirror. The master of the lighthouse applauded visibly.

From Hankoe over Leira Bay via Kirkoe to Stroemstad



I don't know how much time we spent trying to fish - both with a proper fishing rod and through dragging a line after the Kayaks.
No luck.
We had to buy the fish we wanted on the way - but so what? Mackerel with a little butter, lemon juice, bay leaf and a few peppercorns, all wrapped in foil and briefly cooked in the camp fire, is a truly Michelin starred experience.

Sometimes it was just impossible to see where the gap between the islands was - only the compass, the marine map and an idea about our present position could help you find out.
Well, it worked - but here I am in an obvious pondering situation.
The others observed me carefully - they knew, that if I looked up, we were rowing on a prayer - -
We stayed overnight on a small island, Furuholmen, the access to which had to be managed very carefully, as the ice-worn rocks were only centimeters below the surface.

Wednesday 9 June, up and onwards.
We had by now given up using camping gas and learnt to manage perfectly well with a small fire for the coffee and food and perhaps a larger one to stay warm. There was plenty of driftwood around and always a safe rock or sandy beach available.
Again the wind was against us. After a vain attempt of going East around Kirkoe, where the wind from Singlefjorden did its best to frustrate us, we changed the course westwards to Boelling Havn, where we foraged. Rest at Sjursholm, difficult navigation and landed at Sandoe. Bloody wind.

A fine rain made the stay less than memorable.
Several climbs to the top of the island, decided through drawing lots, and perhaps in the hope of being closer to some power that might have control over the weather, didn't help much,

The wind gone, but still with a light rain cooling the spirits, we paddled all the way into Stroemstad, where we had "varm korv och potatis mos"
(sausage and mash). Found shelter further out in the local open air bath house.

The detail of the map used from Hankoe to Stroemstad was excellent - and necessary!

Thursday 10 June, went shopping in Stroemstad - the weekly club evening had to be celebrated in style, so wine, beer and a few delicacies were on the list.

Weather improving, the passage from Stroemstad and onwards was a delight, supported by the beautiful nature.

Passing a typical small fishing village we landed at what can best be described as a quick wormhole-trip to a Pacific island.

No club-evening in the history of KKKK could beat the atmosphere around this camp fire, with wine, steaks and spirits that didn't need any improvement from Norwegian chocolate!

Friday 11 June.
One person would wake up the next morning praising his luck for not having been closer to the water's edge during the night

No - she's not trying to get into the Kayak.

The caption originally was "One always knows where to find one's things"!

From Stroemstad via Grebbestad to Bovallasund I had copied an original map that also included the stretch to Goeteborg - a little optimistic, as it turned out! 

Stopped over in Havstensund - again an opportunity to forage, chat to the locals and be reminded of a few of the good things about civilization, such as how to wash your hair in real shampoo under a cold water tap.

The map for this stretch showed very little detail, as it was in scale, 1:200.000.
I gambled on this gap to be a hole between to islands. (Marked on the map as "Vistnok et sund" = "probably a gap").
It was.
If not, we'd have had to go back too many Km for me to win a popularity contest.

Further south, the coast became quite rocky and barren. Landing the Kayaks was not always easy and some of us preferred to stay put, while those with a sore bottom took the opportunity to stretch the legs.
The principle with a map glued to the front of my Kayak with waterproof tape can clearly be seen.
When exiting a map, the route was drawn up with pencil and a new map installed.
It worked really well.

5-6 Km south of Havstensund we had to land again due to the wind. The weather was sunny and slightly chilly, but again we had a nice and relaxed afternoon, sunbathing and swimming.

We drew lots about who should jump into the water to check if it was cold.
It was.

Later in the evening the wind had finally decided to go to sleep.
At 1900Z we continued and found a nice landing spot 3 Km south of Grebbestad, where we made camp.

Time for fishing - and the result was actually one small cod.

Saturday 12 June.
Continued  towards Kampersvik, where we foraged for the weekend.  Then to Fjaellbacka, where we tried to repeat the success with the prawns, but hit a brick wall with tourist pricing.
Stuck to mackerels!

The view was enjoyable - and free.

Again a bit of civilization: at a camping place just north of the Soten Canal, where we had a warm shower.

Met with the question: "Where do you come from?"
Answer: "Oslo".
Reaction: Open mouth.
Someone actually offered us a free cottage for the night, but we declined with thanks. The open beach was now far preferable.

Sunday 13 June.

Had time to fool around.
Demonstration of the "Greenland turn" - 360 degrees while staying put in the Kayak!

Some of us only managed a 180 degree turn and had to be dragged ashore.

Others tried to row standing up.

- - - but only one managed that trick!

Monday 14 June.
The final leg was a hard piece of work, rowing to Kungshamn, where we had something to eat. Later we tried to row south from Kungshamn, but hit waves that would hide a person completely between the wave crests. We agreed this was madness and found a landing spot 1 Km north of Kungshamn - in darkness. Managed to get the Kayaks - and ourselves - safely ashore, contemplating we had been lucky.
Organised ourselves with whatever we could find as shelter.




The little curl on the route shown at the end is an indication of our battle with the elements.
Our final camp was close to the Abba Fishing Industry - forever chisled in our minds!

We had time to have a good look around.
Here Hasseloesund, as we had decided to - - - - -

send the biggest and strongest guy home, collecting a car to take us back. He returned Tuesdag 15 June and we all set foot on Danish ground Wednesday morning 0500Z, not exactly making it even  close to Copenhagen. A little more luck with the weather, the wind in particular, and a few more days - and we would have made at least Gothenburg. We spent a lot of hours waiting for a calm spot. But what a holiday!!!

In memory of Manne, Ib, Hutters, Kristian and Jean - a couple of whom are still with us!

Earliest known Yuri Gagarin signature 17 April 1961



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Yuri Gagarin, first man in space 12 April 1961

 

In Sept. 1961 I received a card with Yuri Gagarin's picture and signature, dedicated to a 17 year old radio amateur, OZ3CF - - me!

It is dated 17.4.61
It then went on spending the next 50 years in my files with other cards from my rather inglorious teenage years as a so called "Ham".

Recently I dug it out and began to research its story.

It is namely one of the earliest known signatures by the famous first man in space. How on earth did he manage to sign this only 5 days after his flight?

Interestingly it is connected to another famous Russian: Ernst Krenkel, polar traveller and radio man aboard the illustrious M/S Chelyuskin, that foundered in the Arctic in 1934.

Here is the story:

March 1961: Ernst Krenkel, President of the Federation of Radiosports in the USSR and I. Lemyanov, General Secretary, prepare for the Amateur Radio Contest USSR DX/MIR 1961.

They are also involved in the planning of a public ceremony to be held after Gagarin's now imminent spaceflight , where they will present him with a diploma celebrating the first human-to-human VHF-Contact (Very High Frequency) between Space and Earth - assuming he returns safely to Earth!

Ernst Krenkel, who is an avid radio amateur and who has retained the call sign RAEM used at M/S Chelyuskin, see: http://cookefamilytree.lefora.com/2011/02/03/ernst-krenkel/   prints a Gagarin photo-card with the info of the USSR DX/MIR-contest that will take place later on 30 April with the obvious intention of sending it to the top winning positions in the contest, some signed, some probably not, due to numbers.

12 April 1961: Gagarin spends 98 minutes in space.

 

17.4.61 Ernst Krenkel passes Space award to Yuri Gagarin

 

17 April 1961: Krenkel "stuffs" a handful of the Gagarin photo-cards in his pocket and goes to the ceremonial celebration and hand-over of the Communication diploma (See photo) - probably in Moscow.

The authorities could not wait slinging Gagarin onto a silver tray and serve him ready cooked to the world at large! This was way over medical check-ups in priority.

Krenkel passes a handful of the cards to Gagarin, explains, and asks him to sign (which Gagarin always happily did) - this time on the date of the ceremony: 17.4.61
Luckily for Krenkel, it was Gagarin who ascended into space and not Titov, the other potential cosmonaut! - - Or perhaps Krenkel also had a bunch of Titov-cards printed in advance?
As Robin McKie writes in an article in the Guardian in March 2011:
"Behind the scenes, powerful forces had been backing Gagarin [above Titov]. Khrushchev knew spaceflight was a potent propaganda weapon. Khrushchev and Gagarin were both peasant farmers' sons while Titov was middle-class, If Gagarin could reach the greatest heights, then Khrushchev's rise to power from similarly humble origins was validated."
A powerful propaganda blow had been dealt to the Americans.
Front man: Yuri Gagarin, who had almost perished during the descent from space in a capsule that wouldn't cut itself loose.
Brains and chief rocket designer: Sergei Korolev, who remained unknown till his death on the operating table in 1966, as his body proved inoperable due to the damage sustained in the Kolyma Gulag!

 

OZ3CF 1961

After 30 April 1961: USSR DX Contest; OZ3CF sends in his log to the ubiquitous P.O.Box 88, Moscow - the only Russian address that would accept incoming letters - except for Krenkel, who had specific approval to use his private address in Chapligin Str 1-A!

Considering the standard for contest stations in 2011, my 1961 station (left) could hardly inspire envy - - - the only boon was an incredibly sensitive and well performing 11 tube receiver and 40m of free hanging antenna wire to the chimney of the old Hotel Marienlyst in Helsingoer. I have forgotten the details of the transmitter, but believ it to be a Geloso VFO followed by a bird's nest of wires, a home-spun amplifier with an 6146 tube (60 Watts) and an antenna tuner.





USSR DX/MIR Diploma 1961



5 Sept. 1961: Contest adjudication is completed and the diplomas for the winners are prepared and signed by Krenkel and Lemyanov (picture right). My diploma has nr. 68. It is uncertain how many are issued, but I got a 2nd place for Denmark. 



Krenkel now 'grabs' the Gagarin cards and includes them with the diplomas. As they are issued uniquely on the occasion of the USSR DX/MIR-contest, proven by the text on the reverse (MIRU-MIR = Peace to the World!), all Krenkels cards are sent to participants and no one else, some signed, some not, depending on how many Gagarin had time to sign. There could easily have been 1000 contest participants, but it is unlikely there were more than a few signed cards.

And who knows how many of those have been lost with time, dumped with 'useless' old QSL-cards as the old guard of Radio Amateurs have morsed their last 73 (=kind regards)?

Krenkel then writes the dedication "to OZ3CF" on top of the card. Although written in  the same colour as from Gagarin's pen, it cannot possibly be Gagarin writing this text - but Gagarin may have used Krenkel's pen to sign whatever number of cards Krenkel brought with him. It also looks as though Krenkel's signature on the diploma is produced using the same black ink/pen as on the Gagarin card. 

The enigma of one of the earliest Gagarin signatures after his space flight has thus been solved - with the help of Robert McLeod, an American collector of space memorabilia, and Mike Hewitt, G4AYO, an English radio amateur, who has researched Ernst Krenkel's history in minute details.

There are many fake celebrity signatures in circulation and Gagarin's is no exception. Even 'stamped' signatures produced after Gagarin's death exist,  but my story and the date create a unique provenance, that guarantees this one to be genuine.



SP5AHL, Henryk Kotowski,  Poland 1962



Nov. 2011.

On the wall of SP5AHL, my friend Henryk Kotowski, now SM0JHF, there's a banner reflecting the Sea of Peace, the East Block's pet name for the Baltic Sea).

I had this banner as well, but I have lost it in the chasm of time.

I thought for a while this pennant was sent to amateurs of the USSR DX/MIR contest - but he now tells me it was issued by the East German (DDR) radio organisation, presumably July 1961.
Memory is a joker!

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Wild Duck breast in red wine/cream sauce

Wild duck is in my opinion rather hopeless to prepare. Or was.
The meat is dry, the skin has little fat, plucking them is a total pain in the proverbial and roasting or grilling only produces un-chewable leather pouches.
So when someone gives you 4 freshly shot ducks, what do you do?

Here's a success story.

The main thing is to pluck them.
4 wild ducks in our case.
The village trick seems to be: pour boiling water over them and remove feather and down.
Right.
You try - not a simple task. And it stinks.

Having somehow succeeded, with feathers flying all over the garden, in the flowerbeds and the rather unpleasant smell of dead duck feathers (yeah - that's the verdict of a city dweller), we gave up on the plan to have 4 'duck steaks' for the freezer and proceeded to cut out the breasts and the legs - and dump the skin.
Lots of blood and dark meat!
There isn't that much meat beyond breast and legs anyway.

All went into the freezer.

Now for the preparation:
Wild duck is very dry, chewy and really not suited for oven, grill or a quick fry-up.
I decided to marinate the breasts in red wine and cognac for 2 hours (more would be better), cover them in thyme and chopped rosemary, wrap them in 3 pieces of streaky bacon each and slow cook them.

Make sure the joining points of the bacon are at the same side of the breasts.

Put the wrapped little darlings in the pan over low heat in a mix of a little oil and butter, cover, and roast-simmer for 20 min.
Turn them (the bacon is now glued firmly to one side of the breast) and continue cooking under a lid for 30 min.
Remove and keep warm.
Mind you - this is a recipe for someone NOT going for pink wild duck meat, which is dangerous at any rate.
There are ways to get around that, but that's beyond me.

Add chopped onion to the pan, a little of the marinade to loosen the tasty bits and let the onion simmer for 10 min.
Add the rest of the marinade and - if you have it - a little sweet wine like Marsala.
Simmer on, add cream, sieve to remove onions - and you have the most delicious sauce.

Serve with smooth mashed potatoes (Olive oil, butter, milk and lots of chopped parsley).
Heaven -

Dry wild duck?
Never again.

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Paintings Sept.-Oct. 2011



Storm over Kattegat, Denmark, Memory of many
5 hour crossings in the 1950s.    Oil on canvas, 50x70cm



My Canna explosion, summer 2011
Oil on canvas 50x70cm

Einstein's Relativity Theory crumbles

Proof of NO foreshortening of distance in Einstein’s Relativity
                                          Theory.


I shall use Einstein’s own preferred imagery - with an example nicked from Frank Atkinson's book "Time - the missing parameter in physics":

Consider a train on an embankment.

Mark the place on the rails where the first wheel touches the rail, call it F, and also the place on the rails where the rear wheel touches the rails, call it R.

Place an observer, Jim AlKhalili, on the train and another, Brian Cox, on the embankment.

Now place a trigger mechanism just in front of R (RF) and another just behind R (RB).
Use these triggers to ignite 10 Tons of Semtex, but ONLY if both have been depressed at the same time.

Set the train in motion and observe what happens. When the train’s front wheels hit RB, nothing happens – and nothing happens when the front wheels hit RF.

No surprise there. So far so good. Both Jim and Brian are safe.

Now repeat the experiment and accelerate the train to a speed being a major proportion of the speed of light and ask Jim AlKhalili what he saw exactly when the front wheels hit F.

“Yes, oh wonder, my old pal Einstein told me, that the embankment would shrink as I wuschj past R and F – and indeed it did! When my rear wheels should pass R, they actually hit RB instead and depressed the RB trigger, as the embankment had shrunk a little. And just as importantly: Einstein would have been happy to know, that I didn't observe any shrinkage of the train at all, just as he said”

Then let’s see what Brian Cox had to say.

“Hang on Jimmy boy – my embankment didn’t shrink – it is definitely you, who have shrunk! This confirms the relativity Albert talked about.  I saw it with my own eyes: as your train became a little shorter, the rear wheel didn’t hit R, when you said it hit RB. In fact it hit RF exactly at the moment your front wheels hit F”.

So clearly the train hit RB and RF at the same time, using Einstein’s favourite example.

Did 10 Tons of Semtex send Brian and Jim into orbit and did the unlikely event of the train being in two places at the same time really happen?
Of course it didn’t.

If at this stage you want to use the Lorenz Transformation to prove the above mathematically, be my guest! It will all be confirmed - but I promised to use no maths in this proof.
Quod erat demonstrandum!!!

Guys, face it: Einstein was wrong and Jim AlKhalili is now on his way to Primark to buy edible boxer shorts, as he promised.

Because: as there is no foreshortening of the distance travelled, when we move close to the speed of light, and as we know that such speeds cause a dilation of time, it now looks as though the speed of light barrier has been broken.

Of course, Jim might save an unappetizing meal by claiming, that it is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light. Pheew –  he is actually right!
Because the observed time depends on the observer. Does that mean that one can travel faster than 300,000 KM/sec when time dilates?
Definitely.

At the end of 2011 scientists were ripping their hair out, because a recent CERN experiment seemed to prove, that Neutrinos could travel faster than light here on Earth.
Yes - but Neutrinos have no mass?
Hmmm - just a tiny little mass, which according to Einstein would have made the whole CERN set-up implode with a big bang?
Ahh - so perhaps there IS a Higgs Boson?
I am afraid not.
It was all down to a mistake in the measuring equipment - a fact that was communicated at a 120 dB lower volume than the original result of the experiment.
Otherwise we would have been  back in almost medieval darkness.
And now the scientists at CERN have  declared, that their search for the elusive Boson might be abandoned.
It isn't there.
Did you hear me? It isn't there!!
Just as elusive or non extant as a cure for the common cold.

And as Dark Matter isn't there either (a bonkers idea in the first place, only invented to explain why our galaxies don't fly off the Universe faster than we can spot them), the only way forward is: Back to the drawing board, all you bright physicists, who are glued to Einstein with Araldite - and let go of 100 year old errors.
Start with an active physics parameter, fo rexample: TIME.
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Speed of Light revisited

and the limits of Einstein's E=mc2 revealed.

I knew it!
The Hadron Collider group has verified, that a particle can move faster than the speed of light in certain circumstances.
Well, they may have had their measurements in a twist - but even close to the speed of light is fine for the following purpose.

This means that a particle - even with an infinitesimally small mass - at close to the speed of light did NOT increase its mass to infinity, as predicted by Einstein.

I have mentioned earlier in this blog, that old Albert got it wrong.
In fact he knew it, but preferred to modify his equations and explain, that a train speeding along an embankment would increase its mass towards infinity, as the speed approached that of light.
The simple fact is that mass stays constant. Heureka!!!!
It is the speed of light that varies in the E=mc2 equation, due to the scientifically proven time dilation of the superfast train.
Now it is proven and the scientific establishment simply doesn't know what to do with it.
So they shut up.

Infinity is a strange thing, that we can only express mathematically, but not comprehend.
An infinite Universe.
An infinite mass.
Time that always was and always will be.
All rather esoteric for the human brain.
But try 1/0 (one divided by zero), or rather 1/0.0000000000000000000000000001 and you get the point.
Yes - a very big number.

A train with an infinitely great mass is a very heavy matter.
But a quantum sized particle at the speed of light would be an equally heavy matter, according to Einstein, as infinity remains infinity.

Can anything go faster than the speed of light?
Probably not (!!) - this is the limit in the time dimension in which it is measured.
Can anything go faster than 300,000 Km/sec?
Absolutely - if time can dilate or contract it all depends upon who is watching and measuring, as a second is not a second any more.
Time dilates
- close to a great mass (Galaxy),
- at very high speeds and
- at high temperatures
Otherwise it contracts.
This is an accepted, measurable fact today.

As
Speed = d/t,
where d= distance, t=time
even mathematically challenged people can see, that with a constant d and variable t, speed varies.
Einstein tried to circumvent the limit of 300,000 Km/sec by saying, that at speeds close to that of light, d would become shorter.
Rubbish - it is easy to prove this can't be the case, actually using Einstein's own arguments.
I shall return to that later, ramming a big, wooden stick through the Relativity Theory.

Once Stephen Hawking, Brian Cox, Jim Al Khalil and the other celebrity phycisists, who have stayed glued to Einstein, are forced to look scientific facts in the eyes (and they will have to sooner rather than later) a veritable revolution will take place, as we have to start with Newton again and scrap all the rest - - - or something to that effect.

Does E=mc2 work at all?
Yes it does - as a practical approximation as long as we stay within our Earthly time dimension.

Once the Earth was flat and the Sun circumnavigated the Earth.
Copernicus was ridiculed for his heliocentric postulate, which surely didn't make the Earth flatter or helped making the Earth continue to be the centre of the Universe.

The truth in science is never decided by majority votes.

I look forward to the cosmological revolution coming up.

Simested Aa (River), North Jutland

Many years ago I took a photo of an almost undisturbed Bronze Age landscape in the north of Denmark.
A small river winding its way through a meadow, backed by Bronze Age tumuli - a refreshing sight, compared with the disappearance of waterways through drainage or canalisation.

Ripe for a painting - and here it is.
An early summer evening with a full moon:
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Simested River, oil on canvas, 50x70cm, Jorgen Faxholm 2011

Les Vendanges 2011

Spotting a sunny gap in the rain and facing  a wet weather forecast for the next 7 days, I decided to pick my grapes Saturday 3 Sept.

The year had started promising with the warmth and sun in April and May, but June and onwards put paid to all hope of an abundant 2011, concluding with the wettest and coldest August in living memory.

The Triomphe d'Alsace in the front garden fought a brave battle and saved the day.

Triomphe d'Alsace grape bunch Sept. 2011

It played the role of General Bluecher, coming to the rescue of the otherwise lost battle of Waterloo in the patio, where constant rain and little sun caused the Brant grapes to be either green and unripe or downright rotten.

The best of the grapes held about 18 Oechsle - not like last year's 21!

The front vine produced no less than 2 full buckets of grapes and they were in excellent condition.

My refractometer told me: 23 oechsle  (sugar scale) - that is as good as it gets!

And here's what a typical Triomphe d'Alsace from the front garden looked like this year.

I will have to do something serious about the Triomphe d'Alsace in the patio, though.

Most grapes were small, even dry and with few exceptions not well developed .

Perhaps it is fighting another losing battle with roots that can't find a way under the Yorkshire slabs?

Normally vines are pretty good at sending their 'suckers' deep down - in Chateau Neuf du Pape up to 10m, but something is seriously wrong here.

Further investigation will have to wait till late autumn.

Once the condition has been clarified, I will try my luck with 3 Chardonnay vines, replacing 3 of the Triomphe d'Alsace branches. I have them prepared in pots at the moment.

Apparently Chardonnay is a late ripener, but I put my trust in the global warming, although this seems to have stopped around 1998.

A mix of Triomphe d'Alsace and Chardonnay is nice: a white grape with structure and character mixed with a red 'teinturier' - it must be a winner, if we can get them to become ripe at the same time.

So far 12.5 litres of must is bubbling away for the next 4 days.

This should produce 15 bottles, if 2 litres of pips and grape skins are taken into account.

Not good, but not too bad either.