Book #3 The Sea Detective

The Sea Detective by Mark Douglas-Home
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once in a while a book like The Sea Detective comes along that is just so different. The genre of crime fiction is bursting at the seams and it must be very difficult to think of something new to bring to it. Well, for me this is it. This is one of the most unique crime novels I have read in a long time.

"The Sea Detective", first novel in the series featuring Cal McGill, an Edinburgh-based expert oceanographer and marine tracker, courtesy of Flotsam and Jetsam Investigations, is certainly different. All the elements you would expect in a book that deals with, well - with a murder investigation - are just not there. McGill uses shipping records, ocean currents and prevailing winds to track objects, including human bodies - at sea. And this is an intriguing story that grips from the opening page. And it starts in a grisly fashion - a Bedia girl from India is being trafficked by her family in exchange for money and there are some horrific scenes that I won’t go into. In the following pages McGill is being chased by police for something he has done wearing his eco-warrior mantle, but the story really begins when two severed feet wash up at two different locations off the coast of Scotland. Cal McGill’s expertise comes to the fore with his analysis of ocean currents but he soon ends up entangled in something far more sinister.

Cal McGill is an intriguing character, has little respect for the authority. Intelligent and unable to accept injustice in the world that he sees as hurtling towards another cataclysmic climate change. As an eco-investigator he finds himself out of his depth as the story develops. Becomes involved in circumstances beyond his standing. And as such he is a thoroughly likeable character.

The Sea Detective is a refreshing read for those who enjoy crime fiction. Yes, it is certainly different. Well done Mark Douglas-Home.

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60 North

60 North is the title of the quarterly publication issued by the Promote Shetland organisation. Not surprisingly the Shetland Islands lie approximately 60º North. Winter days are noticeably shorter than farther south while, in summer, there is no real darkness. In March, a visitor staying for just a week sees the day lengthen by nearly 40 minutes, more than anywhere else in Britain.

Characterised by bare, peat-covered landscapes and a convoluted maze of sea lochs, bays and inlets – or ‘voes’ as they are known, Shetland has a distinctive character and spirit that separates it from the rest of Scotland. As a historic hub of Viking expansion, the Nordic culture is still part of Shetland life. Not least celebrated on the last Tuesday in January with the pagan fire festival of Up Helly Aa, when a full size replica of a Viking longship is set fire to, heralding the return of the sun after a long dark Winter.

And return it does, for one of the great highlights of a visit to these islands is a midnight walk in mid Summer, when you can watch the sun set briefly below the horizon before rising again a short time later. The ‘simmer dim’ twilight of mid Summer adds a touch of timelessness to holidays.

I am planning to visit the Shetland Islands next year.  Shetland is famed for its miniature ponies but it is birds that dominate the islands. Filling the sky and cliff ledges, huge colonies of gannets, guillemots, fulmars and puffins migrate and nest in Shetland, making it an ornithologists paradise. Botanists have around 500 species of plants to discover, and for naturalists there are vast quantities of seals to watch, basking on the rocks, and otters to be seen in the remoter coastal areas. Whales, sharks, dolphins and porpoises can also be seen off the coast.

The one drawback is the cost of getting there. I will need to fly from Gatwick to Edinburgh and then Edinburgh to Sumburgh, situated on Shetland mainland approximately 40 kilometres from Lerwick. The return flight will cost around £600 ($960).

Time to start saving again....

The Flying Scotsman

Here is another fabulous model from Hornby - The Flying Scotsman - shown here in its LNER apple green livery, the model that I have added to my collection and looks stunning in its display case.

The Flying Scotsman began life as No 1472, an A1 Pacific-class locomotive. The Pacific class had a 2-6-2 arrangement of wheels, which enabled it to carry a bigger boiler, making it suitable for long-distance passenger services. Under ownership of the London and North Eastern Railway Company (LNER) it was renumbered the 4472 and christened the Flying Scotsman.

When it broke down and was taken out of regular service it was the ideal candidate for putting on show at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924 and 1925. It was an immediate hit with the public, and its fame was sealed when in 1928 it launched the regular 10am non-stop Flying Scotsman Express Service from King’s Cross, London, to Waverley, Edinburgh.

To cope with the 631km (392-mile) route the locomotive pulled a special eight-wheel tender that carried great quantities of water and coal. Since the crew had to be replaced during the eight-hour journey without stopping, a special corridor was built in the tender to allow the relief crew to pass between the train and the cab.

The Flying Scotsman became even more famous on 30 November 1934, when it travelled at 160.9km/h (100mph) breaking the world speed record.

In January 1947, the Flying Scotsman was converted to the A3 class that incorporated a larger boiler with a higher boiler pressure and, a year later, it was re-designated as the No 60103 under the ownership of British Rail. In 1963, it was sold off and went through several owners before being rescued by the National Railway Museum, York, in May 2004.

The locomotive shown here is in its later A3 configuration, 4-6-2.