For Those in Peril on the Sea
News that winds up to 156 km/h associated with Storm Barra were recorded earlier this morning at Fastnet Lighthouse made me think of the brave lifeboat crews who put to sea in such conditions to save lives around the UK and Irish coasts. That in turn put me in mind of the hymn Eternal Father Strong to Save which I used to sing in the church choir when I was a boy and of which I can still remember most of the words:
This hymn gains extra poignancy given the tragic incident in the English Channel a few weeks ago when 27 people drowned when their boat was swamped by water in rough weather.
Thinking of Storm Barra, the desperate refugees attempting to cross the Channel, and the reports of people attempting to stop a lifeboat from launching, I decided to make a donation to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and encourage you, if you are able, to do likewise. You can do so here.
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In the Dark 
December 8, 2021 at 9:43 pm
It is a deeply moving hymn, and although it is the Royal Navy’s pre-battle hymn I always imagine the women and children singing it in a fishing village on a stormy night when their menfolk were out on trawlers.
The RNLI is a magnificent organisation. Honour to them.
There are some things I don’t understand about the tragedy in the Channel. What was it about life in France that caused the refugees to risk their lives at sea?
December 8, 2021 at 9:44 pm
Well I know that one young woman who drowned was trying to join her husband in England.
December 8, 2021 at 9:47 pm
Yes, growing up in the North East it was always associated with the crews of the fishing boats.