Phil Gilmartin

@pmgilmartin.bsky.social

Eclectic posts from a retired Professor of Plant Molecular Genetics, now enjoying life house renovating, dog walking, gardening, & travelling.

@pmgilmartin.bsky.social

Delayed travelog day 9 (I may have miss counted, but this was the next day) 1) Sailing through the Unimak Pass from the North Pacific into the Bering Sea around dawn. 2) Heading north-west though the pass. 3) A close up view of the location. 4) Later that day, sunset over a very calm Bering Sea.

Just after dawn, sailing through the Unimak Pass, photo taken from the ships stern, the ships wake is directly behind us, the sea is calm, the two Aleutian islands that flank the pass are visible to left and right.An iPhone map view of our location showing Alaska to the top right, & the Aleutian island chain from right to left, with a blue dot showing our location. A close up iPhone map view of the Unimak Pass, a blue dot represents our position between Unimak Island to the east, & small un-named islands off Unalaska Island to the west as we head through the pass to the north-west. Sunset view from the stern of the ship, heavy clouds on the horizon over a golden sunset, with clear sky above us as we look out across a very calm Bering Sea.
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I bought Harry 26 years ago at the Cockermouth tup sales. He won 2nd prize in the Yorkshire Show that year, before foot & mouth shut things down. He survived & his blood line lives on in the Cumbrian fells & beyond.

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That’s a real shame, so much of the old building seems to preserved, it’s sad to see it change, but it’s 145 years since my great grandfather studied there, it’s just great to have been able to experience the old building.

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Great day at the Rosslyn Chapel, founded in 1446, but of more recent Da Vinci Code fame, we visited after a lovely walk to the gunpowder mill, where we saw dippers in the river, & then had lunch at Dolly’s, a cafe named after Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal cloned at the local Roslin Institute.

A side view of the Rosslyn ChapelSandstone cliffs with trees on the banks of the North Esk River. Several framed photos of Dolly the Sheep on the wall of Dolly’s Cafe in ToslinThe sign inside Dolly’s Tea Room with a caricature image of Dolly.
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Great Saturday evening with old friends in Edinburgh at the former Royal (Dick) Vet School building; now an arts centre, pub, brewery, & distillery. My Great Grandfather graduated here in 1891. Lovely to visit the old Vet School in its new role & imagine & reflect on his experiences in the building.

The brass door plaque at the former UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH ROYAL (DICK) SCHOOL OF VETERINARY STUDIESThe bar in the former Edinburgh Vet School with original teaching aids & signs, this wooden sign reads: UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH ROYAL (DICK) SCHOOL VETERINARY STUDIES HOSPITAL ENTRANCE 👉 My Great Grandfather’s graduation certificate from the Royal ‘Dick’ Veterinary College, Edinburgh University, from academic year 1890/1891.
@pmgilmartin.bsky.social

Delayed travelog, Day 8. Still at sea. 1) sailing the North Pacific, somewhere south of Anchorage. 2) another view of our location. 3) sea & sky. 4) a glass of red after a day at sea.

Apple Maps view of our location, approaching the Aleutian IslandsAn Apple map view showing our location at the top of the Pacific, almost a clear view south to Antarctica A view out to sea, with a cloudy sky. A glass of red wine at the end of the day.
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