Moving the boundary - an international incident

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Earlier this year, a farmer driving his tractor noticed a large stone in his path, and moved it out of the way. Such an event would not normally cause headlines, but it did on this occasion, for the stone had been there for two hundred years, marking the border between Belgium and France. Thus, ‘on the ground’, the farmer was increasing the size of Belgium by about 7.5 feet, and reducing France by the same amount! It appears that he did not know the significance of his action, but it was serious nonetheless; for the boundary had been established by a treaty in 1820, and no-one had the right to move it.

Harry Ferguson Tractors

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

Often innovators and visionaries are derided and mocked in their lifetime and it can take years before people see them in a different and more positive light. There is a commemorative stone on the promenade in the town of Newcastle in County Down, Northern Ireland dedicated to the memory of a creative and determined character by the name of Harry Ferguson. The name ‘Ferguson’ is for many agricultural workers and farmers associated with tractors and Harry Ferguson was the inventor of the “Little Grey Fergie” tractor.  Yet the engraved stone on the sea front at Newcastle says nothing about his tractors.

It was in 1909 that Harry Ferguson became the first person in Ireland to fly a plane.  It had never been done in that country before and he was to achieve fame for paving the way for others.  In Belfast he had spent time designing a monoplane and then devoted his energy and creative ability to building the plane and making sure that all parts worked.  Eventually when it was all assembled to his satisfaction it was towed to the estate of Lord Downshire in Hillsborough Park during December 1909.

Can we trust our leaders?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

We all know that politics can be a messy business and that far more goes on behind the scenes than we realise. Thankfully, in a representative democracy, the elected representatives (i.e., the MPs) are held accountable for their actions and decisions. Whether through investigative journalism, various select committees or a public inquiry, the aim is to hold the government accountable and give the general population confidence to trust them.

Sought and Found

SOUGHT AND FOUND

In February 2013, an 18-year-old British backpacker went missing in the Australian outback for three days. He was young, healthy and very fit, since he was a keen long-distance runner. He had been working on a cattle station in Queensland and decided to go for a jog. In the heat of some 40oC he became disorientated and instead of running back to the cattle station and safety, he was going in the opposite direction. Thankfully, there were folks searching for him and he was found during a helicopter search of the region. It must have been a dreadful ordeal for this man and his family; almost unimaginable.