Keeley Schroder | May Mania: Challenge
Day 29. May Mania Challenge
A place you’ve visited but never want to again
(Names changed due to stupidity and embarrassment by the actual participants)
1998
A Greenpeace ship with 19 crew, three of them British, was arrested yesterday by the Norwegian coastguard after the Greenpeace ship intervened to stop a whale from being harpooned. The coastguard boarded the MV Sirius and smashed the bridge windows to take control of the vessel when the captain refused to unlock the doors.
Earlier, Norwegian whalers fired at and punctured a Greenpeace inflatable boat to try to prevent its two-man crew from shielding the whale. The whalers used rifles to kill the whales when the harpoon only wounded them, narrowly missing the activists.
After arresting the Sirius, the coastguard ordered the captain to sail to Stavanger in Norway on charges of “interfering with whaling” and “breaking Norwegian law”. Greenpeace said it was looking to press charges against the whalers for discharging a firearm. Last month British Greenpeace activist Harry Hogg was seriously injured when a Norwegian coastguard vessel rammed his inflatable. He is still in hospital with a shattered arm and pelvis.
John Smith, Greenpeace whale campaigner, said: “Norwegians break international law when they put lives at risk all for tons of whale meat and blubber for which there is no wide domestic market.”
Stavanger Prison
The medical services in Norway leave a lot to be desired for inmates. Yes, I was a guest of the Norwegian government, who, two weeks ago, sent a 1000 ton naval vessel to run down a rubber craft occupied by myself and a friend, trying to prevent a whale from being harpooned, and sadly failing.
The hospital wing of the prison isn’t what I was used to, even when put up against the English National Health Service! (I never said another bad word against the service after leaving Stavanger.)
Following the incident when my pelvis was broken, and the subsequent pins placed in what I can only describe as the toy version of a Meccano set scaffolding, I was released into open prison.
Had I been able to walk, I could have enjoyed the grounds, as most prisoners there were druggies, shoplifters, bag snatchers, etc.
During the five weeks I was held before the British Government saw fit to send a diplomat to organize mine and David’s freedom. The British Government kindly got us home and two weeks later sent me a bill for the hospital flight.
Oh dear, for anyone believing I’m a nice chap at heart? Not so, I have a rap sheet as long as your arm. Just sayin’.
“We must reaffirm Greenpeace as an important international environmental pressure group providing a counterbalance to the purely commercial interests of society. We are not going to stop the industrialization process, nor should we. Our best hope is to guide it onto the tracks of hyper efficiency and environmental friendliness so as not to repeat the mistakes of the West. In so doing, we may create an engine that can drive the rest of the world forward. Our challenge is to get this message across while inspiring people, not turning them off.”
Other wonderful writers engaged in this challenge. Read and enjoy.
If you’re not listed below and wish to be, Why? 😁
Send Keeley Schroder a nudge, you’ll be welcomed.
Adrienne Beaumont | Autistic Widower (“AJ”) | Brett Jenae Tomlin | The Sturg | Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles | Trisha Faye | Karen Schwartz | NancyO | Katie Michaelson | Bernie Pullen | Michelle Jimerson Morris | Amy Frances | Julia A. Keirns | Ravyne Hawk | Pamela Oglesby | Toni the Talker | Tina | Pat Romito LaPointe | Ruby Noir | K. Joseph | Brandon Ellrich | Misty Rae | Karen Hoffman | Deb Palmer | Susie Winfield | Vincent Pisano | Paari | Marlene Samuels | Ray Day | Randy Pulley | Michael Rhodes | Lu Skerdoo | Pluto Wolnosci | Paula Shablo | Bruce Coulter | Ellen Baker | Kelley Murphy | Leigh-Anne Dennison | Jennifer Marla Pike | Carmen Ballesteros | Marlana, MSW| Patricia Timmermans | Keeley Schroder | Jan Sebastian | And let’s not forget the indomitable, charming, incorrigible, the delightful, yes, please welcome Mr. Harry Hogg
More from Harry:
Hey, this is Harry. If I’ve written anything that caught your attention, made you smile, maybe shed a teardrop, would you buy me a coffee? How? I’ll explain, for a measly $5 you can read anything, all the writers, poets, songsters, idiots, and other monkey business that happens inside Medium. If you choose to join, and compliment me by using my link: Harry Hogg, I’ll receive a portion of your membership fee from Medium, a community that keeps its wallet closed tighter than a duck’s arse! Do I need the money? Will I die, starve, and not continue to drink alcohol? No, I’ll still live happily ever after, but with a smile on my face that someone liked what I’ve written and joined up to follow me and the other writers who make up Medium. Com
