I think I may have found a question that hasn't been asked before. ( is that possible??) Where does the grenwich meridian cross the Camino Frances. Is it marked. I must have passed it without realizing it....
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Re/Down-size the photo, mark it differently as the original (so you'll know which is which) and attach it to the post.You can see a sign indicating the meridian in a field towards the latter part of the Le Puy route. I believe it is near the town of Nogaro. I have a photo, but I am getting a message that the file is too large to send. That always seems to happen to me.
You can see a sign indicating the meridian in a field towards the latter part of the Le Puy route. I believe it is near the town of Nogaro.
You could view it and then take a screenshot and then send the screenshot. The screenshot will likely be a much smaller file (in bytes) but will be large enough (in pixels) to display fine.You can see a sign indicating the meridian in a field towards the latter part of the Le Puy route. I believe it is near the town of Nogaro. I have a photo, but I am getting a message that the file is too large to send. That always seems to happen to me.
So, he unilaterally moved Spain from the GMT time zone (London and Lisbon) to the CET time zone (GMT + 1) (Paris, Berlin, and Rome).
Excellent! Reminds me of the town on the Canadian/US border where the "frontier" passes through the public library!Or you could drop by Meridian Primary (Elementary) School, Woolwich:
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In all fairness the French population were under a lot of stress in the summer of '40 so confusion is understandable! What I can't understand is why they didn't change the clocks back after Liberation.My grandmother told me people were a bit confused in 1940, in France, with summer time/winter time/German time...
What I can't understand is why they didn't change the clocks back after Liberation.
In all fairness the French population were under a lot of stress in the summer of '40 so confusion is understandable! What I can't understand is why they didn't change the clocks back after Liberation.
Most likely we'll finally be getting rid of this whole winter time/summer time malarkey ...
Seems though that some countries will decide to keep their summer time all year 'round, whilst others will keep the winter time instead.
Legal time in Spain is still about 2 hours off the mark though -- it was far better back in the 1970s and 80s when it was just 1 hour, but then the EU imperiously decided that Spain needed to be more closely aligned with the CET ... they did the same in France, but because France is significantly eastward of Spain, it's just 1 hour off for the time being (French natural midday is at about 1 PM in winter, 2PM in the summer ; in Spain, that's 2 PM and 3 PM, which BTW is a major reason why those starting their daily hikes at 5 AM really are disrupting the natural flow of things ; in real terms, they're basically starting their hiking at 3 AM, following their watches that are giving them the wrong time, instead of following the natural course of the Aster in the Heavens ... a lot of which, I would suspect, is from people never making even the slightest attempt to get over their jet lag ) (but the Germans seem to imagine that all European clocks should be aligned around Berlin, rather than being more sensibly centred upon Greenwich)
I think he referred to today's (EU) Germans ... well, this thread brought also some interesting new information. I had no idea that an imaginary line like the Greenwich Meridian aka Prime Meridian is marked on the ground anywhere else than at the observatory in Greenwich. Who hasn't visited and did not stand with their feet on each side of the line? And to think of the many many times I must have crossed the Prime Meridian without even being aware of it!!! Does something miraculous happen when you cross it?That was the whole point of the change in 1940
I think he referred to today's (EU) Germans ... well, this thread brought also some interesting new information. I had no idea that an imaginary line like the Greenwich Meridian aka Prime Meridian is marked on the ground anywhere else than at the observatory in Greenwich. Who hasn't visited and did not stand with their feet on each side of the line? And to think of the many many times I must have crossed the Prime Meridian without even being aware of it!!! Does something miraculous happen when you cross it?
And then there is of course also the Paris Meridian and the Madrid Meridian ... not to mention the Toledo Meridian, the Salamanca Meridian and the Cadiz Meridian.
But thank you to those who posted these images, I particularly liked the one on the motorway between Barcelona and Zaragoza although it could be aesthetically more pleasing in my humble opinion.
For information and fun there is the website https:www.timeanddate.com
Just from two pages for Santiago de Compostela I've found:
- The latitude and longitude
- The current time
- The time zone
- The dates for daylight saving
- The time difference between it and my location
- Time of sunrise, sunset, moon rise, moon set and the length of the day
- The direction to look to see the rises and settings
- Weather
- The time of solar noon (for SdC today it is/was 1:22 PM)
- And more
See:
I'm betting that @Kathar1na is really going to love this site.
I'm currently into The Greenwich Meridian site. It has two interactive maps with locations and photos of all the Greenwich Meridian markers known to man and woman that you can find on the ground in the UK, in France and in Spain. There are LOTS of them.I'm betting that @Kathar1na is really going to love this site.
It would have been unobtrusive if the stones weren't there. I bet the stones came later.I'm currently into The Greenwich Meridian site. It has two interactive maps with locations and photos of all the Greenwich Meridian markers known to man and woman that you can find on the ground in the UK, in France and in Spain. There are LOTS of them.
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... It says Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere on the two arms and they tried to make it look unobtrusive.
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I think he referred to today's (EU) Germans ... well, this thread brought also some interesting new information. I had no idea that an imaginary line like the Greenwich Meridian aka Prime Meridian is marked on the ground anywhere else than at the observatory in Greenwich. Who hasn't visited and did not stand with their feet on each side of the line? And to think of the many many times I must have crossed the Prime Meridian without even being aware of it!!! Does something miraculous happen when you cross it?
When that southern hemisphere drain thing comes up I say "And not only that but the sun rises in west!"Time flows down the drain clockwise on one side of the meridian and counter-clockwise on the other.
Probably through the geography section....Excellent! Reminds me of the town on the Canadian/US border where the "frontier" passes through the public library!
Probably through the geography section....
I think you meant the Equator not the Meridian?Time flows down the drain clockwise on one side of the meridian and counter-clockwise on the other.
I thought he did mean to say time and meridian. I thought it was brilliant. Made me giggle all day.I think you meant the Equator not the Meridian?
No, David is right. The Equator deals with space, matter and energy and the Meridian with time. Black holes form where they meet. Did you ever encounter someone who has returned from there?I think you meant the Equator not the Meridian?
And David's Time Meridian Postulate is much harder to demonstrate than the Water Equator Coriolis thing: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/03/27/flushing-out-an-equatorial-fraudNo, David is right. The Equator deals with space, matter and energy and the Meridian with time. Black holes form where they meet. Did you ever encounter someone who has returned from there?
I think the "experimenter" probably went to the same college as my hydraulics engineer - it's the shape and location dear boy!And David's Time Meridian Postulate is much harder to prove than the Water Equator Coriolis thing: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/03/27/flushing-out-an-equatorial-fraud
Time flows down the drain clockwise on one side of the meridian and counter-clockwise on the other.
I think .... beware the NON-serious thread ?I think you meant the Equator not the Meridian?
but the Germans seem to imagine that all European clocks should be aligned around Berlin, rather than being more sensibly centred upon Greenwich)
That was the whole point of the change in 1940 - they needed the railway system to run to a unified timetable (for obvious reasons) - I don't think they were too much bothered with the effect on the average working man. Something similar occurred in the UK when trains were first invented. Bristol (solar) Time was about 15 minutes later than London Time and caused confusion. I live just outside of Canterbury where the first commercial railway system was created and there was actually a "Canterbury Meridian" which if 4 minutes before London. Strangely enough it was mentioned on the local BBC news last night.
This is something different again. From https://www.seat61.com/Russia-trains.htm: Trains used to run to Moscow time in Russia, even where local time was 7 hours ahead of Moscow, and Russian rail timetables used to show Moscow time for all stops. However, after over a century Russian Railways ended this practice in August 2018, and you should now find online booking systems and station timetables showing local time at each stop. It makes things a lot easier to understand!IIRC, the former Soviet Union decided the same thing, placing all 8 or so time zones on Moscow time... I could be wrong on this... But, the factoid is lurking in the dustbin of my brain...
The longitude/latitude system is apparently a fascinating topic and many people, me included, know little about its importance throughout the centuries and the long quest to develop and establish it. As I indicated before, it's not primarily about when the train comes but about where the ship is. Today, most of us have a tiny device that can tell us immediately where we are on the surface of the earth. So easy.Really enjoyed reading through it. Glad to see that I am not the only one curious about it....
Try and find a copy of Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dana Sobel - I think you'll enjoy it.The longitude/latitude system is apparently a fascinating topic and many people, me included, know little about its importance throughout the centuries and the long quest to develop and establish it. As I indicated before, it's not primarily about when the train comes but about where the ship is. Today, most of us have a tiny device that can tell us immediately where we are on the surface of the earth. So easy.
Weird fact and totally nothing to do with the Camino. Spain changed from GMT to European GMT+1 after Franco was an hour late for an appointment with Chancellor Adolf Hitler at Canfranc station on the French / Spanish border. The late arrival at the meeting was put down to a misunderstanding about which timezone the appointment was in.It is interesting to note that:
1. Portugal remains in the same time zone as London (GMT).
2. Geographically and logically, Spain ought to be in that time zone, and it was...
3. In 1940 (IIRC) Gen. Franco (then the dictatorial ruler of Spain) decided to align his country's time zone with that of his friends and partial allies (Germany & Italy). So, he unilaterally moved Spain from the GMT time zone (London and Lisbon) to the CET time zone (GMT + 1) (Paris, Berlin, and Rome).
Read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Spain
This is also why, when you walk the Camino Portugues from Valenca to Tui and cross the Eiffel-designed girder bridge, you must change your watch one-hour ahead (losing one hour).
I love to learn new facts.
Hope this helps.
I'm not that fascinated with Hitler and Franco minutiae but read a thing or two about the whole timezone issue, both historical and contemporary and a lot of it even in Spanish , and just now I did a very quick Google search about the meeting in Hendaye (not Canfranc) in October 1940 since this added a totally new element to this saga for me, and, frankly, I think it just takes the whole Nazi time zone myth to a new level .Spain changed from GMT to European GMT+1 after Franco was an hour late for an appointment with Chancellor Adolf Hitler at Canfranc station on the French / Spanish border. The late arrival at the meeting was put down to a misunderstanding about which timezone the appointment was in.
Coming back to time: In the many news articles and TV reports about the case of Spain that are floating around in the internet, you alternatively read that they changed hours either in 1940 or in 1942 to supposedly please Hitler.Canfranc had massive platforms
The longitude/latitude system is apparently a fascinating topic and many people, me included, know little about its importance throughout the centuries and the long quest to develop and establish it.
Thank you for telling us about this book, Jeff. I bought and just finished reading Illustrated Longitude: The True Story ........., with lots of pictures of original drawings and notes, and of course the time pieces, and found the book absolutely fascinating. Having grown up in the West Indies, naturally I've been aware that ships sailed those waters for centuries and I've always wondered how they managed - or didn't manage - to do so, so I found it particularly interesting that some of the time pieces mentioned in the book were tested in our waters. The book was a really good read.Try and find a copy of Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dana Sobel - I think you'll enjoy it.
It is interesting to note that:
1. Portugal remains in the same time zone as London (GMT).
2. Geographically and logically, Spain ought to be in that time zone, and it was...
3. In 1940 (IIRC) Gen. Franco (then the dictatorial ruler of Spain) decided to align his country's time zone with that of his friends and partial allies (Germany & Italy). So, he unilaterally moved Spain from the GMT time zone (London and Lisbon) to the CET time zone (GMT + 1) (Paris, Berlin, and Rome).
Read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Spain
This is also why, when you walk the Camino Portugues from Valenca to Tui and cross the Eiffel-designed girder bridge, you must change your watch one-hour ahead (losing one hour).
I love to learn new facts.
Hope this helps.
Quite a good system for locating a spot without a postal address - I'd noticed them on a site I frequently used to locate addresses but could never be bothered to look and see what they mean! I think that's the only draw back - you need to know what it's all about before you can use it but they are gaining ground all the time (Mercedes Benz use them for in-car navigation!) and now Google are trying to play catch up with their Plus Codes:There is a new approach to get positioning; three words can define a 3m by 3m square anywhere. This was developed by the people at https://www.what3words.com
For example, km 0 of the camino can be seen at
https://map.what3words.com/keener.spot.receive
The following webpage describes how this location method is useful:
https://what3words.com/2018/11/every-airbnb-is-now-easy-to-find-with-a-3-word-address/
Maybe if you can remember the correct spelling of receive.but keener.spot.receive is probably easier to remember than VFJ3+6P Santiago de Compostela, Spain
?? How else would you spell receive?? You can always go with Spanish: dudar.emisora.platos or even Zulu amalambu.ixukuze.ziyazanaMaybe if you can remember the correct spelling of receive.
Not dealing with the Prime Meridian but with the International Date Line I just learned that there can be three calendar days on Earth at the same time, not just two.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Date_Line#Facts_dependent_on_the_IDL