Daily Archives: August 1, 2006

A death at sea

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I went into Killybegs this morning to buy the papers and parked by the quay. Just after I arrived, two police cars and a coastguard jeep arrived. The cops sealed off the slipway. Shortly after that a hearse arrived, followed by a priest. It was clear that there had been a death at sea and they were waiting for the body to be brought ashore.

After about 20 minutes, a coastguard launch appeared, and a body was carefully lifted ashore. There was a pause while the priest said some prayers over the body, which was then placed in a plastic coffin and loaded into the hearse, which departed quietly. Only then did I notice a small group of men, standing smoking and talking quietly at the end of the slipway.

As I left, they were led off by the cops to the local police station. My guess is that they were the dead man’s shipmates. The consensus on the quay was that they were from a Russian ship which was anchored round the coast near St John’s Point. It was all very quiet and dignified and efficient. An everyday tale of life and death at sea.

Evening in Donegal

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The kids and I are on holiday in Donegal. We’re staying in a lovely house which looks out on the Atlantic. One of the great pleasures of the place is a stroll down to the sea at the end of the day, passing this inlet. The wonderful thing about the West coast is how long the daylight lasts. This was taken at about 9.40pm on July 31st. It was light until well after 10pm.

The passion of the Mel Gibson

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The NYT usefully draws attention to the fracas surrounding Mel Gibson’s arrest for drunk driving.

Almost as stunning as Mel Gibson’s anti-Jewish tirade when arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in the early hours of last Friday was the speed at which the scandal unfolded, doing serious damage to one of Hollywood’s most valuable careers along the way.

In a little over 24 hours, Mr. Gibson’s arrest and subsequent behavior in Malibu had already prompted talk of a claimed cover-up, an exposé, worldwide news coverage, an apology and then a full-blown push for alcohol rehabilitation, even as his representatives and executives at the Walt Disney Company rushed to catch up with the event’s effect on the filmmaker’s movie and television projects with the company…

The key factor in igniting the storm, says the Times, was that the news appeared not via the usual mainstream media channels but because on last Friday evening a celebrity website, TMZ.com, posted four pages of a sheriff’s report describing what the arresting officer said was Mr. Gibson’s belligerent behavior and a series of noxious remarks, including several deeply offensive comments about Jews.

Disney has — surprise, surprise! — cancelled a proposed miniseries about the Holocaust starring Mel! And the mutterings about the implicit anti-semitism of his film, The Passion of The Christ, have resurfaced. It’s tough being a global celeb.

I avoided the ‘Christ’ film for two reasons. As the child of a fanatical Catholic household, I had had quite enough of the so-called ‘passion’ to last me a lifetime; and I thought the second definite article in the title was a typo.