Post 4/2022 Saturday 22 January . . . Need an escape? If you’re in the grips of winter, this escape will land you in summer in the southern hemisphere. But you really can’t get there. In person, that is. By the time you’d get to the land of constant sunlight, summer would have passed. I’m referencing South Georgia Island in Antarctica and the South Georgia Museum. If you’d be on a green rating cruise ship (Covid-free) you’d have free access (as in no admission charge) to the museum.

Here’s the tag line of what the South Georgia Museum says about itself: “The Museum is located in Grytviken, a former whaling station on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. The collections are owned by the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI), a British Overseas Territory in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. The museum is managed and operated by the charity South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) which is based in Dundee, Scotland.”

Owen Amos wrote a feature on South Georgia Museum, “The museum at the end of the world reopens at last,” BBC News (20 January). I found Amos’ feature utterly fascinating. I’ve excerpted details following.

The island has a history of whaling that took place during the lion’s share of the 20th century. It is home today to a ghost town, the museum with two or three staff, and 20 or so government officers and spouses of the British Antarctic Survey team.

The last leg of a trip to the island involves catching a fishing patrol boat for a 1,000-mile journey of 4-6 days. If one does that, the welcome party of penguins in itself probably would be reward enough, also a visit to the resting place of explorer Sir Ernest Shackelton, who reached the island in 1916 and died there on 5 January 1922.

All is not lost to the 21st century traveler. One can escape the confines of cabin fever by visiting the museum online at http://www.sgmuseum.gs.

Amos quotes museum curator, Jayne Pierce, who recently returned to the UK: “The escape from all the background noise is refreshing,” ‘says Jayne.’ “It soothes the soul.'”

Rest in peace, Ed Miller

Today we attended the memorial service for Edward “Ed” Miller who died 16 January at age 94, just shy of turning 95. We were part of the same church, the same Sunday school class, and shared the same regular ritual of a firm handshake. Notably, Ed maintained and operated the sound system at church for more than 50 years. Surviving is his wife of 59 years, Olive Grace Miller.

We learned that the 23rd Psalm was one of Ed’s favorite scriptures, a printed copy of which he constantly kept at hand.

Ed loved gospel and other forms of church music. The opening hymn was “Praise Him, Praise Him,” by Fanny J. Crosby (1869). “Praise him, praise him! Jesus, our blessed redeemer! Sing, O earth, his wonderful love proclaim!” James Krabill played a jazzed-up version of “Blessed Assurance,” another hymn by Fanny J. Crosby, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!” Krabill lent the best of his exuberant piano playing style as the congregation, largely masked, rocked in song. RIP, dear brother.

More of today’s morning sky

Peace.

-John