This episode pays tribute to Ian Duff, former lighthouse keeper and President of the Association of Lighthouse Keepers (ALK), who passed away in November.   We share heartfelt memories and stories from Ian's friends, colleagues, and fellow ALK members. Ian's remarkable career spanned from 1976 to 1992, during which he served at numerous Scottish lighthouses. The episode also highlights Ian's deep love for lighthouses, his iconic red jacket adorned with lighthouse patches, and his invaluable contributions to lighthouse history and preservation.   Ian shares his own reflections on his career, making it a poignant homage to his life and legacy.   Key moments   00:00 Introduction to Ian Duff 01:04 Life as a Lighthouse Keeper 01:46 Environmental Observations and Wildlife Encounters 03:42 Tributes and Memories of Ian Duff 04:44 Ian's Legacy and Contributions 06:46 Personal Anecdotes and Stories 10:40 Ian's Passion for Lighthouses 23:33 Final Reflections and Farewell   We are extremely grateful to the Northern Lighthouse Board, Luke Saddler and BBC Blue Planet for allowing to share Ian's personal reflections at the beginning of the episode. 

KEEPING WATCH is a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk

In this episode of Keeping Watch, hosts Ed Peppitt and Melanie Charles discuss new lighthouse stories in the news, including the twinning of the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse in Stranraer with the Inubosaki Lighthouse in Japan, and the discovery of a 132-year-old message in a bottle at Corsewall Lighthouse.   Mel interviews Robert Fong, curator of the Museum of the Gulf Coast in Texas, about the history, challenges, and unique characteristics of three lighthouses in Texas: Sabine Bank, Sabine Pass, and Bolivar Point.   We also pay tribute to the late Ian Duff, the Association of Lighthouse Keepers' friend and president.   Key moments   01:06 Tribute to Ian Duff 02:12 Lighthouse Twinning Concept 02:49 Henry Brunton's Legacy in Japan 03:47 Characteristics of Scottish and Japanese Lighthouses 06:33 Message in a Bottle Discovery 11:01 Interview with Robert Fong 13:54 Sabine Bank Lighthouse History 24:27 Joining the Association of Lighthouse Keepers 25:02 Sabine Pass Lighthouse 25:42 Lighthouse Structural Integrity 26:49 Sabine Pass Lighthouse History 27:35 Civil War Skirmish at the Lighthouse 30:46 Post-War Lighthouse Challenges 36:21 Bolivar Point Lighthouse 38:41 Hurricane Stories and Lighthouse Resilience 43:39 Lighthouse Preservation Efforts 48:48 Museum of the Gulf Coast 51:14 Podcast Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser

KEEPING WATCH is a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk

In this episode of 'Keeping Watch,' Ed Peppitt and co-host Melanie Charles talk about some of the mysterious and spooky lighthouse tales, including the tragic story of Henry Hall at Eddystone, the eerie Flannan Islands mystery, and a death on Smalls.    Ed meets up at Galley Head lighthouse to talk with former keeper Gerald Butler about the impact of automation on keepers and their families. Gerald reflects on his transition from lighthouse keeper to fisherman and beyond, sharing personal anecdotes about the meaningful aspects of lighthouse life and the changes brought by automation.   Key moments   01:19 Gruesome Lighthouse Mysteries 01:56 The Eddystone Lighthouse Fire 05:35 The Flannan Islands Mystery 07:26 The Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy 09:35 Interview with Gerald Butler 11:14 Gerald Butler's Post-Lighthouse Life 14:43 Reflections on Lighthouse Life 16:16 The Importance of Time 29:15 Loneliness and Companionship 32:25 The Magic of Reading 33:11 The Great Lighthouses of Ireland 35:59 Life as a Light Keeper 41:42 Challenges of Automation 52:42 The Future of Lighthouses 01:01:14 A Lifelong Passion 01:03:50 Conclusion and Reflections  

KEEPING WATCH is a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk

In this episode of Keeping Watch, hosts Ed Peppitt and Melanie Charles pay tribute to former ALK patron Captain Richard Woodman, with insights shared by ALK founder Neil Hargreaves.   Ed and Mel discuss a recent BBC television programme about lighthouse keeping, including a maintenance visit to Chicken Rock; Mel discusses Linda McGuigan's recent talk for ALM members; And we are treated to an array of personal and eerie anecdotes from former lighthouse keeper Paul Murton.    Key moments   01:23 Tribute to Captain Richard Woodman 06:45 Catching Up with Mel 17:02 Paul Murton's Lighthouse Adventures 23:49 Exploring the Lighthouse 24:29 Radio Room Duties 25:04 Unsettling Experiences 26:45 A Night in the Radio Room 27:24 Injury and Hospital Visit 28:30 Meeting Mr. Dinsdale Again 28:58 New Assignment at Covesea Skerries 29:28 Life at Covesea Skerries 31:55 Transfer to Tarbert Ness 36:26 Haunting Memories 41:12 Resignation and Reflection 41:46 Conclusion and Next Episode Preview

In this opening episode of Season 3 of Keeping Watch, a fortnightly podcast for lighthouse enthusiasts, Ed Peppitt and Melanie Charles reflect on the recent Association of Lighthouse Keepers AGM weekend in Stranraer, highlighting the camaraderie and fascinating tours of nearby lighthouses.   Mel chats with Chris Folds, a former lighthouse keeper with Trinity House, who shares captivating stories and experiences from his time serving on 32 different lighthouses between 1971 and 1989.   Chris fondly recalls both eerie and amusing incidents at various lighthouses, along with tales of shipwrecks and peculiar encounters, providing a fascinating glimpse into the life of a lighthouse keeper.    Key moments   02:10 Highlights from the AGM Weekend 04:09 Exploring the Lighthouses 06:31 Memorable Moments and Reflections 12:58 The Importance of ALK Membership 16:20 Interview with Chris Foulds 32:20 Navy's Intervention and Shell Disposal 32:34 The Wreck of the Mary and Other Shipwrecks 33:51 Hobbies and Pastimes on the Lighthouse 35:48 Exploring Dungeness and Other Locations 38:13 Life on the Lighthouse: Companionship and Challenges 39:47 Memorable Experiences and Adventures 46:10 Collecting and Restoring Vintage Items 54:27 Automation and the End of an Era 56:19 Final Reflections and Farewell  

KEEPING WATCH is a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk

This week we close Season 2 with a tribute to the Royal Sovereign Lighthouse, off the Sussex coast, which following decommissioning was largely dismantled during September and October 2023.

I meet and talk to the Royal Sovereign's last Principal Keeper, we'll hear archive recordings of other Keepers who served on Royal Sovereign, and I catch up with ALK member Richard Evans, who shares his own memories of the lighthouse, including the time he attempted to interview the principal keeper during thick fog.

On Friday, I drove down to the Ibstock Brickworks in Bexhill, where the Royal Sovereign Lighthouse lantern tower is in temporary storage, awaiting a bright new future as part of a maritime centre on Bexhill's seafront. While there, I met and spoke with Raymond Konyn and Gordon Smith from Bexhill Maritime, the newly formed charity that has been working closely with Trinity House to save the lantern tower from demolition.

But we start with a reflection on this second season of Keeping Watch.

01:06 Recap of Season 2 11:48 Interview with Dave McGovern, the last PK at Royal Sovereign 31:08 Interview with Tom Whiston, the first PK at Royal Sovereign 38:08 Stormy weather: Experiencing the Royal Sovereign 40:14 The Royal Sovereign fog horn 40:50 Reflections on Duty: A Keeper's Experience by Peter Halil 43:06 Attempting to interview the last keeper in thick fog 45:50 Richard Evans: Visiting the Lighthouse 57:00 The Lighthouse's New Home: Bexhill Maritime 01:09:57 The Future of the Lighthouse: Plans and Challenges

KEEPING WATCH is a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk

Just before Christmas, I was lucky enough to meet up online with music writer, journalist and broadcaster Jennifer Lucy Allen. I first encountered Jennifer as a presenter of Radio 3's Late Junction. If you've never listened to the programme, it's well worth staying up for. I defy you to find a more interesting, diverse and eclectic mix of sounds and music in one programme anywhere!

It won't come as a surprise, then, that Jennifer takes such an interest herself in non mainstream and experimental music. As a writer for The Wire magazine in 2013, she received an invitation to attend Foghorn Requiem, an open air performance on the cliffs at Souter Point Lighthouse, involving three brass bands, a flotilla of more than 50 ships in the North Sea and, of course, the almighty Souter Point foghorn.

It triggered what we lighthouse enthusiasts are only too happy to call an obsession, and a personal journey into the history of foghorns and the sound they make - something she so beautifully calls the disappearing music of the coast.

2021 saw the publication of her first book, The Foghorn's Lament. Naturally, I wanted to ask Jennifer all about the performance at Souter Point and how it led to her book, but I started by asking her where she first recalls hearing the sound of a foghorn. 

KEEPING WATCH is a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk

Welcome to Episode 10 of the second season of KEEPING WATCH - a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

This week, we’re talking books. I meet with artist and author Roger O’Reilly - who has spent the last few years researching and illustrating nearly 350 lighthouses around the UK and Irish coast.

Roger’s new book - Legendary Lighthouses of Britain - will be published in early Spring by Watkins Publishing, and it’s available for pre-order now on Amazon.

First, I caught up with prolific author and historian Ken Trethewey to talk about his new book about the breakwater lighthouse in Plymouth. Called Plymouth Breakwater and its lighthouse, it’s the most wonderfully detailed history of the lighthouse, with documents and artefacts reproduced in full colour, along with the photographs of the inside (and outside) of the lighthouse that Ken took himself when he was able to take a group of ALK members onto the breakwater earlier in the year.

Copies of Plymouth Breakwater and its lighthouse are available from the publisher’s website: www.jazzfusionbooks.co.uk

Ken’s other lighthouse books are also available from the website, including The lighthouses of Cornwall and Devon and Light on the Forelands.

To view (and perhaps buy) mounted and/or framed prints of Roger’s lighthouse illustrations, go to:

www.lighthouse editions.com

Roger’s book - Legendary Lighthouses of Britain - will be published by Watkins Publishing in April 2024. It is available for pre-order now - on Amazon, or from wherever you buy your books.

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk

Welcome to Episode 9 of the second season of KEEPING WATCH - a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

This week Mel and I tracked down former Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) keeper, John Boath. We discovered John was the last ever keeper on the Bell Rock. 

What inspired John to join the lighthouse service? Believe it or not, it was an episode of Blue Peter!

John turned out to be a natural and very accomplished public speaker, and the conversation flowed so freely that Mel’s and my questions barely seemed necessary. So I took the decision to edit out almost all our input, except where absolutely necessary. Personally, I think It’s a lot better as a result. 

So settle down with a mug of tea or coffee and enjoy hearing about John’s rich and enjoyable career. 

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk

Welcome to Episode 8 of the second season of KEEPING WATCH - a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

This week our new co-host Mel makes her full podcast debut, when she talks with Russian born Vasily - a lighthouse lover and ALK member who moved to Europe with his family several years ago. He had been involved in a number of lighthouse projects in Russia, and so was particularly excited when the chance came to take part in a worldwide lighthouse research and mapping project organised by the Chance Heritage Trust. 

The project focused on the work of the Chance Brothers Glassworks in Smethwick, a pioneer of British glass-making technology, which operated between 1824 and 1976, before finally closing its doors in 1981. The company became a production hub for lighthouse lenses, which were used in over 2,500 lighthouses around the world. 

As you can imagine, records are lost, and of course lighthouse optics are modernised, replaced or installed in other lighthouses - so the project’s aims were to map where the Chance Brothers lighthouse lenses ended up, and discover what they are doing now. Are they still in working lighthouses? Have they been decommissioned? How many can be visited today? 

With around 2,500 lighthouses to map, the project pulled together lighthouse enthusiasts and willing volunteers throughout the world to explore these connections, and locate them all.

From the Cape Race lighthouse that received the SOS call from the Titanic, to the Longstone lighthouse from where Grace Darling and her father William launched one of Britain’s most courageous rescues, the lenses that were made at the Chance factory in Smethwick ended up in some interesting places, and in close to eighty countries around the world.

Vasily was one of a number of ALK members who took part - and the result is an explorable online map that shows exactly where these lighthouses were located, along with photos, technical details, and the key information about their history that brings each one to life

Mel caught up with Vasily last week, who starts by describing his twin passions - of sailing yachts and lighthouses. 

Link to the Chance Brothers Map: https://new.opengreenmap.org/browse/maps/6241b7a8d63fa5010056589b/map-view 

  Link to the list of the lighthouses on the Chance Brothers Map: https://new.opengreenmap.org/browse/sites?map=6241b7a8d63fa5010056589b   This is one exciting story about Tory Island Lighthouse (see the Chance Brothers Map): https://new.opengreenmap.org/browse/sites/62ce053e88d2b90100788882   Link to the video with Vasilisin Lighthouse (with English subtitles) on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xYtvxzRFh-A?feature=shared    Location of the Vasilisin Lighthouse on Google maps: https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=8bf09de0-1fcf-47f7-90e3-a05056a33594&cp=61.806144%7E35.686432&lvl=18.0&style=h&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027    LAMP Issue 103 with the Kurbatova lighthouse which I’ve mentioned (copy is here http://www.mayachnik.ru/node/1230 English text at the end of the page)

 

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk