est. 2007

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Election Day in St. George North

Today the electorate of St. George North will vote for a member of parliament to fill the vacancy created by the ‘retirement’ of Gline Clarke. The blogmaster’s assessment is that it will be a straight contest between Floyd Reifer (DLP) and Toni Moore (BLP). Of the so-called third parties Grenville Phillips should retain third option in the number count. We can debate if Barbadians are ready for a third party or is this a case of the quality of the options presented. The blogmaster respectfully suggest the latter.

The result of the election will answer a few questions for political pundits.

  • Has the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) regain its standing as the credible alternative in the eyes of voters?
  • Despite managing the affairs of state in the most challenging period post independence, will the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) be able to convince the SGN electorate that it is the most competent to govern at this time?
  • Will Grenville Phillips increase his penetration of support in the constituency to forge the way for third parties in the future?
  • How large will the protest vote be which has been fomenting in a climate of austerity for the last 3 years?
  • Has the last 90 days of campaigning confirm the urgent need for electoral reform in Barbados?

So far by-election activities has been largely peaceful in keeping with Bajan tradition. Let us continue to make the country proud by delivering an uneventful event. The blogmaster’s vote will be cast for David Walrond, the agriculturist and community practitioner.

895 responses to “Election Day in St. George North”

  1. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    The last ninety days has confirmed that barbados is being lead by a despot taking barbadians on a path of becoming a dictatorship
    Actions and words are matching and fitting together like hand and glove

  2. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Up early. Here trying to figure out the
    reason for the order of names listed above.
    Have a great day Barbados.

  3. David Avatar
    David

    Steuspe

  4. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    It is important that voters in St George North go out and vote for anyone but Toni Moore. The incompetent, arrogant, autocratic, over-confident president must be given a bloody nose.

  5. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    We will see if the people call for BARABBAS again.

  6. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    This post would have the least responses today showing more evidence that this website is being controlled by the blp party and the usual suspects like lorenzo Enuff and yardfowl hypocrite Artax the one with all the sense would be no where to be seen or heard for obvious reasons
    In any case what does the submitted post purports to tell anyone just a bunch of gobbly gook posted on a blp campaign sticker

  7. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Oh btw heard that hampers on eve of election day were being suspiciously given to the peoplebif SGN by blp operatives
    Cud dear almost 2 years govt and operatives now have a heart for the people of SGN
    My oh my
    Oh i heard these hampers were only given to the blp supporters
    What a dam shame
    So much for the politics of inclusion Mia talks about

  8. David Avatar
    David

    Lower Estate Dump and Toxic Odours

    After learning of alleged dumping occurring at the Lower Estate quarry, I investigated the matter. I did this because the quarry is located in St George North, and as an Environmental Engineer, I am qualified to investigate such matters.

    I visited the surrounding communities down-wind of the quarry and experienced persistent skin irritation, and persistent noxious odours. I then visited the quarry and received permission from the owner to inspect the bottom of the quarry.

    I can confirm the following observations.

    1. It is not possible for any vehicle to reach the bottom of the quarry, since the access road is completely blocked with stones and boulders.

    2. The bottom can be accessed by foot, but it is extremely dangerous to do so. I was able to do so because I am accustomed to climbing over collapsed buildings following earthquake and hurricane events, and I had adequate safety equipment (it is normally kept in my work-vehicle).

    3. The bottom of the quarry was extensively and thickly overgrown with shrubs and grass. There was no evidence of any tracks from pedestrians or vehicles in the abandoned quarry.

    4. There was evidence of inert materials at the south-eastern corner of the quarry, but no noxious odours or skin irritation were detected.

    5. There was no evidence of any material being dumped into the quarry from any of the quarry’s sides.

    From these observations, it would appear that the source of the noxious odours is not from the decomposition of stored materials in the quarry, or the dumping of new materials in the quarry. Instead, the likely source is the burning of waste materials. There was no evidence of burning of any materials in the quarry.

    It is recommended that the prevailing wind direction to the affected communities be analysed, and used to trace the source of the odours.

    Grenville Phillips II is an Environmental Engineer, and the Solutions Barbados’ candidate for St George North. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

  9. poah2 Avatar
    poah2

    Vote for Toni Moore..from Tyrone New York City

    On Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 4:53 AM Barbados Underground wrote:

    > David posted: ” Today the electorate of St. George North will vote for a > member of parliament to fill the vacancy created by the ‘retirement’ of > Gline Clarke. The blogmaster’s assessment is that it will be a straight > contest between Floyd Reifer (DLP) and Toni Moore (BL” >

  10. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Wuhloss Dictatorship at work
    Big works. Dennis Johnson of vob apologises
    Dictatorship at works
    Big works

  11. David Avatar
    David

    If you listened to the podcast with understanding you should have gleaned that Johnson apologized after he was informed it was a paid BLP broadcast. What you should have asked is why was the ‘press conference”posted to the GIS website.

    https://www.facebook.com/BarbadosLabourParty/videos/650112962533670

  12. David Avatar
    David

    The Sheriff

    I have received several messages asking where and when I will be voting. While I have spent most of my life living and voting in St George North, I got married, and now live and vote in St George South. So, none of the votes that I receive today will be from me or my family.

    The people of St George North can be assured that if I am to be their representative, then I will also be a sheriff of sorts. I will investigate every instance of illegal dumping in St George North, and have it meaningfully addressed.

    Every issue that government departments do not address in a timely manner, I plan to investigate and address. Whether it is getting insurance payouts for car accidents, illegal drugs, sick buildings (including schools), etc. I also plan to file claims in court to get justice for the people of St George North.

    Whomever the people select, may he/she properly represent the people of St George North – for all of our sakes.

    Grenville Phillips II is a Structural Engineer, and the Solutions Barbados’ candidate for St George North. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

  13. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    (Quote):
    After learning of alleged dumping occurring at the Lower Estate quarry, I investigated the matter. I did this because the quarry is located in St George North, and as an Environmental Engineer, I am qualified to investigate such matters.

    It is recommended that the prevailing wind direction to the affected communities be analysed, and used to trace the source of the odours. (Unquote).
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    As an environmental jack of all engineering trades why don’t you do the same ‘analysis’ and use it to trace the source of the [irritatingly obnoxious] odours?

    You can always send the invoice to the relevant government department as services rendered to the people of SGN.

    Such a humanitarian gesture to protect the health and safety of the people of SNG (and its environs) would definitely boost your political CV come 2023.

    BTW, we are confident that you have electrical engineering also in your polymath’s portfolio.

    Then you can advise the government on the future of that forex-guzzling fossil-fuel-polluting power-generation dinosaur in the Spring Garden oasis.

  14. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    “This post would have the least responses today showing more evidence that this website is being controlled by the blp party and the usual suspects like lorenzo Enuff and yardfowl hypocrite Artax the one with all the sense would be no where to be seen or heard for obvious reasons.”

    @ Mariposa

    Because “this post (may) have the least responses means Barbados Underground is being controlled by the BLP party?” Are you serious? Surely it’s evident you did not put much thought into your contribution.

    Firstly, you are essentially suggesting contributors such as Donna, WARU, Miller, GP, NorthernObserver, Mr. Codrington, Mr. Skinner, TheOGazerts, John, 555dubstreet, PLT, et al….. will refuse to ‘participate in this discussion’ because they are BLP sympathizers………….

    ……………. or, contributions to this article will be censored by David BU. That he is going to examine each contribution’s contents to suppress anything therein he considers to be politically acceptable to the DLP.

    If it’s the latter, not only would it be hypocritical, but deceitful of you as well, to accuse the blog-master of any such undertaking when prior to the May 24, 2018 general elections, you, Fractured BLP, Carson C. Cadogan, Kevin, Alvin Cummins, NationBLPnewspaper and all the other DLP supporters I cannot remember at this time, were given free rein (i.e. ‘unhampered freedom of speech’) in this forum.
    And, I’m sure the records would probably indicate you have the record of posting the most contributions in any one year from 2013 to 2018, whether you used names from ‘ac,’ to Mariposa.

    Secondly, since I’ve never mentioned on BU I’m “the one with all the sense,” to quote a BU regular, “then, any such claim must be in the demented minds of those making the claims. In other words, a total fabrication.”

    I’ll await closing remarks from your attorney.

  15. John2 Avatar
    John2

    Any idiot can run a blog

    If BU is B controlled what stopping the Ds from getting their own blog?

  16. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “Whether it is getting insurance payouts for car accidents,”

    i don’t even know what to say…

  17. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Artax if i belch or fart u would response
    So far what i say about the responses hold true
    As for the website being blp controlled the numerous articles presented between 2008 to 2018 which were all anti dlp is sufficient evidence of proof when compared to the rabbit hole articles now being presented as window dressing which takes away from present govt failures
    Needles to comment on times or periods Mariposa has commented
    However this i will say there are other cobtributors in the running whose comments would have surpassed mariposa
    Go check

  18. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Mariposa
    Do you remember the Americans who died while jet ski-ing and their bodies have never been found? Do you remember officer Gittens who shot his neighbour, was given bail, and is yet to face a trial? Is he still on full pay? Was the gun a service weapon or his personal one?
    I can go on, the point I want to make is that Dale Marshall is one of the most incompetent officers holders in the post-independence history of Barbados.
    Do you think the voters of St George North should vote in a way that gives even more power, and in particular more confidence, to this shower?
    Voters must give them a bloody nose.

  19. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    The BLP will win this by election.

    The people of SGN will do what is in their best interest at this time.

    Floyd Reifer should continue working towards the 2023 elections.

  20. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    Mariposa, “………. Artax the one with all the sense would be no where to be seen or heard for obvious reasons.”

    Since ‘Artax’ was mentioned, I responded and now you’re quarreling? Can’t please you at all. However, it seems as though we’re suffering from similar issues relating to ‘belching or farting.’

  21. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    So far all you have done today is belch and fart.

    What is left to do but wait for the stupid results????

    Only yardfowls get excited about this sort of crap. At the end of today what will have change? DBLP, one party!

  22. John2 Avatar
    John2

    Standby for the excuses

  23. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Correction – changed

  24. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    See what i meaning a belch or fart u would response
    Yeap

  25. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    How many responses so far
    Yeap mariposa right on all points made earlier in comments
    Blp yardfowls got an unexpected licking going into the election
    Now in hiding

  26. Tony Avatar
    Tony

    @ David

    Holliday Greetings

    No Chinese Chop Chop

    Bon Appetite Old Chap..

    BATTLE OF BRITAIN 🇬🇧

    1) Battle of Britain, during World War II, the successful defense of Great Britain against unremitting and destructive air raids conducted by the German air force (Luftwaffe) from July through September 1940, after the fall of France. Victory for the Luftwaffe in the air battle would have exposed Great Britain to invasion by the German army, which was then in control of the ports of France only a few miles away across the English Channel. In the event, the battle was won by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fighter Command, whose victory not only blocked the possibility of invasion but also created the conditions for Great Britain’s survival, for the extension of the war, and for the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. army was in no way prepared for such an undertaking. The staff had not contemplated it, the troops had been given no training for landing operations, and nothing had been done to build landing craft for the purpose. All that could be attempted was a hurried effort to collect shipping, bring barges from Germany and the Netherlands, and give the troops some practice in embarkation and disembarkation. The German generals were very apprehensive of the risks that their forces would run in crossing the sea, and the German admirals were even more frightened about what would happen when the Royal Navy appeared on the scene. They had no confidence in their own power to stop the enemy, and they insisted that the responsibility for doing so be placed on the Luftwaffe. Air Marshal Hermann Göring expressed confidence that his planes could check British naval interference and also drive the RAF out of the sky. So it was agreed that Göring would try his preliminary air offensive, which did not commit the other services to anything definite, while the time for the invasion attempt would be postponed to mid-September.

    Beginning with bomber attacks against shipping on July 10 and continuing into early August, a rising stream of air attacks was delivered against British convoys and ports. Then, on August 13, the main offensive—called Adlerangriff (“Eagle Attack”) by Hitler—was unleashed, initially against air bases but also against aircraft factories and against radar stations in southeastern England. Although targets and tactics were changed in different phases, the underlying object was always to wear down Britain’s air defense, and indeed the effort severely strained the limited resources of Fighter Command, under Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding. The British disposed slightly more than 600 frontline fighters to defend the country. The Germans meanwhile made available about 1,300 bombers and dive-bombers and about 900 single-engine and 300 twin-engine fighters. These were based in an arc around England from Norway to the Cherbourg peninsula in northern coastal France. For the defense of Britain, Fighter Command was divided into four groups, of which the most hard-pressed during the Battle of Britain were Number 11 Group, defending southeastern England and London and headquartered at Uxbridge, Middlesex; and Number 12 Group, defending the Midlands and Wales and headquartered at Watnall, Nottinghamshire. The other two groups were Number 10, defending southwestern England, and Number 13, defending northern England and all of Scotland. Each group was divided into sectors, which received reports from group headquarters about approaching Luftwaffe formations and mobilized squadrons of planes from numerous airfields to fight them off. The British radar early warning system, called Chain Home, was the most advanced and the most operationally adapted system in the world. Even while suffering from frequent attacks by the Luftwaffe, it largely prevented German bomber formations from exploiting the element of surprise. To fight off the bombers, Fighter Command employed squadrons of durable and heavily armed Hawker Hurricanes, preferring to save the faster and more agile Supermarine Spitfire—unsurpassed as an interceptor by any fighter in any other air force—for use against the bombers’ fighter escorts.

    The British thus found themselves fighting with the unexpected advantage of superior equipment. German bombers (mostly lightly armed twin-engine planes such as the Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88) lacked the bomb load capacity to strike permanently devastating blows, and they also proved, in daylight, to be easily vulnerable to the British fighters. The Germans’ once-feared Junkers Ju 87 “Stuka” dive-bomber was even more vulnerable to being shot down, and their premier fighter—the Messerschmitt Bf 109—could provide only brief long-range cover for the bombers, since it was operating at the limit of its flying range. By late August the Luftwaffe had lost more than 600 aircraft and the RAF only 260. Nevertheless, Fighter Command was losing badly needed fighters and experienced pilots at too great a rate to be sustained. Number 11 Group in particular was in a fight for its life—and, by extension, for Britain’s life as well. Acknowledging that the country’s fate hung on the sacrifice of its airmen, Churchill declared before Parliament on August 20, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

    In addition to technology, Britain had the advantage of fighting against an enemy that had no systematic or consistent plan of action. At the beginning of September, the Germans dropped some bombs, apparently by accident, on civilian areas in London, and the British retaliated by unexpectedly launching a bombing raid on Berlin. This so infuriated Hitler that he ordered the Luftwaffe to shift its attacks from Fighter Command installations to London and other cities. Beginning on September 7, London was attacked on 57 consecutive nights. The bombing of London, Coventry, Liverpool, and other cities went on for several months, but it had the immediate benefit for the RAF of relieving the pressure on Number 11 Group and also bringing more German bomber formations into the sectors of the formidable Number 12 Group.

    By mid-September, Fighter Command had demonstrated that the Luftwaffe could not gain air ascendancy over Britain. British fighters were shooting down German bombers faster than German industry could produce them. To avoid the deadly RAF fighters, the Luftwaffe shifted almost entirely to night raids on Britain’s industrial centres. The “Blitz,” as the night raids came to be called, was to cause many deaths and great hardship for the civilian population, but it contributed little to the main purpose of the air offensive—to dominate the skies in advance of an invasion of England. On September 3 the date of invasion had been deferred to September 21, and then on September 19 Hitler ordered the shipping gathered for Operation Sea Lion to be dispersed. On October 12 he announced that the operation was off for the winter, and long before the arrival of spring he decided to turn eastward against Russia. Plans for an invasion were definitively discarded; the campaign against Britain henceforth became purely a blockade of its sea approaches, conducted mainly by submarines and only supplemented by the Luftwaffe.

    2) Anglo-American Chain of Command in Western Europe, June 1944

    When U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at the Arcadia Conference (December 1941–January 1942), they began a period of wartime cooperation that, for all the very serious differences that divided the two countries, remains without parallel in military history. Anglo-American cooperation was formally embodied in the Combined Chiefs of Staff, which was not so much a body as a system of consultation, reinforced by frequent conferences, between the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Between conferences, the British Joint Staff Mission, based in Washington, D.C., maintained contact with the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff on behalf of their counterparts in the United Kingdom.

    For the invasion of northwest Europe, the Combined Chiefs created the temporary position of Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force and assigned it to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, an American with a proven ability to work amicably with the often considerable personalities who directed the Allied armies in Europe. Eisenhower’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) had authority over all the branches (air, sea, and land) of the armed forces of all countries whose contribution was necessary to the success of Operation Overlord (the planned Normandy invasion). These were grouped for the invasion under the Allied Naval Expeditionary Force, the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, and the Twenty-first Army Group (the expeditionary ground force)—all commanded by Britons. For the duration of Overlord, the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe and the Royal Air Force Bomber Command were placed directly under the supreme commander’s authority, ensuring the contribution of those very important commands to the overall invasion plan. The European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army, was to direct the gigantic effort of supplying an entire invasion army as it crossed the English Channel and advanced into the Continent. French General Charles de Gaulle, president of the French Committee of National Liberation but by no means the universally acknowledged head of the French government-in-exile, maintained a liaison with SHAEF through the commander of the Free French Forces in Britain.

    Below the level of expeditionary force or army group, the various air forces, naval task forces, and armies were divided into British or American commands (the First Canadian Army achieving coequal status during the Normandy campaign). Even at the operations level, however, the cooperation among the fighting units reflected the binational structure of SHAEF and the Combined Chiefs of Staff. In this manner the Anglo-American allies managed to avoid the division of responsibility that was built into the German chain of command and that proved fatal to the Germans’ war effort from D-Day on.

    3) German Chain of Command in Western Europe, June 1944

    The military command structure of German forces in Europe in mid-1944 reflected the growing megalomania of the Führer and supreme commander of the armed forces, Adolf Hitler, as well as the rigidity of the Nazi state. All military operations in the western theatre were placed under the direction of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW; Armed Forces High Command); this body reported to Hitler separately from its rival, the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH; Army High Command), which ran the war on the Eastern Front. Under the OKW, the defense of western Europe against a possible Allied invasion from Britain was entrusted to the Oberbefehlshaber West (OBW; Commander in Chief West), Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. Yet even this veteran army commander had no direct authority over Navy Group West or the Third Air Fleet, which were crucial to the security of his theatre. Both of these forces reported to their own high commands, which in turn reported to Hitler. The same situation applied to the theatre armoured reserve, Panzer Group West: its commander was to deliberate in concert with the OBW, yet none of its well-armed, mobile divisions was to be moved without the explicit permission of the Führer. Finally, through Army Group B, Rundstedt directly controlled some 30 infantry divisions and air force field divisions, as well as several armoured units from Brittany to the Dutch-German border; yet even the commander of this group, Erwin Rommel, having been awarded the title of field marshal, was entitled to appeal personally to Hitler with pressing tactical concerns—a resource that this determined general was not loath to exploit.

    The military disaster implicit in this inefficient structure was made even more likely by deep social cleavages in the German command. Many commanders in the west came from the Prussian nobility or from the pre-Nazi military elite. Between these professionals and the Nazi ideologues in Berlin there was little common purpose except defense of the fatherland. Indeed, some of the commanders were aware of plots against Hitler, and a few actively conspired to depose or even assassinate him in the hope that his removal would spare Germany from total destruction.

    4) English Channel, also called The Channel, French La Manche, narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France and tapering eastward to its junction with the North Sea at the Strait of Dover (French: Pas de Calais). With an area of some 29,000 square miles (75,000 square km), it is the smallest of the shallow seas covering the continental shelf of Europe. From its mouth in the North Atlantic Ocean—an arbitrary limit marked by a line between the Scilly Isles and the Isle of Ushant—its width gradually narrows from 112 miles (180 km) to a minimum of 21 miles, while its average depth decreases from 400 to 150 feet (120 to 45 metres). Although the English Channel is a feature of notable scientific interest, especially in regard to tidal movements, its location has given it immense significance over the centuries, as both a route and a barrier during the peopling of Britain and the emergence of the nation-states of modern Europe. The current English name (in general use since the early 18th century) probably derives from the designation “canal” in Dutch sea atlases of the late 16th century. Earlier names had included Oceanus Britannicus and the British Sea, and the French have regularly used La Manche (in reference to the sleevelike coastal outline) since the early 17th century.

    The contemporary English Channel probably is the result of a complex structural downfolding dating from about 40 million years ago, although signs of a downwarp tendency occur as early as 270 million years ago. The direct ancestor of the channel may well have been a sea occupying the downfold one to two million years ago, with a sea level 600 to 700 feet higher than the present level.

    The withdrawal of water by the glaciers of the late Pleistocene Epoch (about 25,000 years ago), produced a sea level at least 300 feet lower than the present. Later the melting of the ice raised the sea level to its present mark, and the ecologically important land bridge across the Strait of Dover finally was submerged about 8,000 years ago.

    5) Physiography

    The seafloor dips fairly steeply near the coasts but is generally flat and remarkably shallow (especially in relation to nearby land elevations); its greatest depth, 565 feet (172 metres) in the Hurd Deep, is one of a group of anomalous deep, enclosed troughs in the bed of the western channel. The channel has been shaped by the effect upon its rock strata (with their varying degrees of hardness) of such forces as weathering and erosion (when much of the area was dry land), sea-level changes, and contemporary erosion and deposition by marine currents.

    The floor of the western channel generally is 200 to 400 feet deep and is relatively flat and featureless, reflecting fairly uniform rock types, mostly limestone. Harder igneous rocks cause shoals to emerge—as in the case of the Scilly Isles and Channel Islands—and submerged cliffs and narrow depressions provide some additional variety.

    In the central channel (150 to 200 feet deep), depths are fairly uniform over chalk outcrops, but alternations of clays and limestones give rise to an undulating terrain, with deeps reaching almost twice the average. A continuation of the Seine River valley system north of the Cotentin Peninsula of Normandy complicates the relief forms. Farther east again, the seafloor is smoother and the geology simpler. Depths range from 6 to 160 feet, with such elongated banks as the Varne and the Ridge greatly constricting shipping lanes.

    Because the English Channel, unlike the Irish or North seas, lay beyond the action of Pleistocene glaciers, superficial deposits are either very thin (three feet or less) or entirely absent. They represent a complex reworking of deposits of various ages, and their distribution reflects tidal streams. Where the streams are strong, the seabed is bare except for pebbles; decreasing velocities give rise to sand and gravel ribbons and waves (the latter up to 40 feet thick) and to thick beds of fine-grained deposits in sheltered areas, notably the Gulf of Saint-Malo.

    6) Hydrology

    Tides in the English Channel generally are strong, especially in the Strait of Dover, and may be visualized as an oscillation (modified by Earth’s rotation and configuration) about a north-south line through the centre of the channel—i.e., with a rise to the west accompanying a fall to the east. The central portion experiences semidiurnal (twice-daily) tides (helpful to shipping movements at Southampton, which has a double, or prolonged, high tide), and the Gulf of Saint-Malo experiences the greatest tidal range, 28 feet or more.

    Surface temperatures range from 45 °F (7 °C) in February to 61 °F (16 °C) in September, although shallow coastal waters are warmer in summer. There is little temperature change with depth in the well-mixed eastern waters of the channel, but bottom-water temperatures fall to 41 °F (5 °C) in the west. Surface salinities decline eastward from slightly less than the Atlantic level of 35.5 parts per thousand; coastal salinity readings are further reduced by the influx of river water, especially from the larger French landmass. There is an overall water flow through the English Channel to the North Sea, with complete replacement taking about 500 days.

    7) Climate

    The weather over the English Channel is highly variable. Often, but especially from October to April, it is cloudy, chilly, and wet, with strong winds and poor visibility. At other times, it is fair and dry, with light winds and good visibility. During periods of unsettled weather, daytime high temperatures rise to about 54 °F (12 °C) in winter and 68 °F (20 °C) in summer. When the weather is clear, temperature extremes can range from a winter morning low of 23 °F (−5 °C) to more than 86 °F (30 °C) on a summer afternoon. Precipitation averages 28 to 39 inches (700 to 1,000 mm) per year. Gales may blow from any direction but most commonly come from the southwest or west.

    8) Economic Aspects
    Resources

    Connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, the respective waters of which are rich in warm- and cold-water plankton, the English Channel is favoured from the latter with cod, herring, and whiting and from the former with hake, pilchard, and mullet. The traditional fishing industry declined in the 20th century with the development of deep-sea fishing, the exhaustion of resources, and the advent of pollution problems, but coastal fishing remains important in Brittany.

    HomeGeography & TravelPhysical Geography of Water

    English Channel
    channel, Europe

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    WRITTEN BY
    Cyril Ernest Everard See All Contributors
    Former Senior Lecturer in Geography, Queen Mary College, University of London.
    See Article History
    Alternative Titles: British Sea, La Manche, Oceanus Britannicus, The Channel
    English Channel, also called The Channel, French La Manche, narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France and tapering eastward to its junction with the North Sea at the Strait of Dover (French: Pas de Calais). With an area of some 29,000 square miles (75,000 square km), it is the smallest of the shallow seas covering the continental shelf of Europe. From its mouth in the North Atlantic Ocean—an arbitrary limit marked by a line between the Scilly Isles and the Isle of Ushant—its width gradually narrows from 112 miles (180 km) to a minimum of 21 miles, while its average depth decreases from 400 to 150 feet (120 to 45 metres). Although the English Channel is a feature of notable scientific interest, especially in regard to tidal movements, its location has given it immense significance over the centuries, as both a route and a barrier during the peopling of Britain and the emergence of the nation-states of modern Europe. The current English name (in general use since the early 18th century) probably derives from the designation “canal” in Dutch sea atlases of the late 16th century. Earlier names had included Oceanus Britannicus and the British Sea, and the French have regularly used La Manche (in reference to the sleevelike coastal outline) since the early 17th century.

    The Baltic and North seas and the English Channel.
    Arromanches, France; English Channel
    The Baltic and North seas and the English Channel.
    Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    Arromanches, France; English Channel
    Arromanches, France, on the English Channel.
    © mountaintreks/Fotolia

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    Giant’s Causeway, Antrim, Northern Ireland. Basalt columns, UNESCO World Heritage Site
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    The contemporary English Channel probably is the result of a complex structural downfolding dating from about 40 million years ago, although signs of a downwarp tendency occur as early as 270 million years ago. The direct ancestor of the channel may well have been a sea occupying the downfold one to two million years ago, with a sea level 600 to 700 feet higher than the present level.

    The withdrawal of water by the glaciers of the late Pleistocene Epoch (about 25,000 years ago), produced a sea level at least 300 feet lower than the present. Later the melting of the ice raised the sea level to its present mark, and the ecologically important land bridge across the Strait of Dover finally was submerged about 8,000 years ago.

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    Physiography

    The seafloor dips fairly steeply near the coasts but is generally flat and remarkably shallow (especially in relation to nearby land elevations); its greatest depth, 565 feet (172 metres) in the Hurd Deep, is one of a group of anomalous deep, enclosed troughs in the bed of the western channel. The channel has been shaped by the effect upon its rock strata (with their varying degrees of hardness) of such forces as weathering and erosion (when much of the area was dry land), sea-level changes, and contemporary erosion and deposition by marine currents.

    The floor of the western channel generally is 200 to 400 feet deep and is relatively flat and featureless, reflecting fairly uniform rock types, mostly limestone. Harder igneous rocks cause shoals to emerge—as in the case of the Scilly Isles and Channel Islands—and submerged cliffs and narrow depressions provide some additional variety.

    In the central channel (150 to 200 feet deep), depths are fairly uniform over chalk outcrops, but alternations of clays and limestones give rise to an undulating terrain, with deeps reaching almost twice the average. A continuation of the Seine River valley system north of the Cotentin Peninsula of Normandy complicates the relief forms. Farther east again, the seafloor is smoother and the geology simpler. Depths range from 6 to 160 feet, with such elongated banks as the Varne and the Ridge greatly constricting shipping lanes.

    Because the English Channel, unlike the Irish or North seas, lay beyond the action of Pleistocene glaciers, superficial deposits are either very thin (three feet or less) or entirely absent. They represent a complex reworking of deposits of various ages, and their distribution reflects tidal streams. Where the streams are strong, the seabed is bare except for pebbles; decreasing velocities give rise to sand and gravel ribbons and waves (the latter up to 40 feet thick) and to thick beds of fine-grained deposits in sheltered areas, notably the Gulf of Saint-Malo.

    Hydrology

    Tides in the English Channel generally are strong, especially in the Strait of Dover, and may be visualized as an oscillation (modified by Earth’s rotation and configuration) about a north-south line through the centre of the channel—i.e., with a rise to the west accompanying a fall to the east. The central portion experiences semidiurnal (twice-daily) tides (helpful to shipping movements at Southampton, which has a double, or prolonged, high tide), and the Gulf of Saint-Malo experiences the greatest tidal range, 28 feet or more.

    Surface temperatures range from 45 °F (7 °C) in February to 61 °F (16 °C) in September, although shallow coastal waters are warmer in summer. There is little temperature change with depth in the well-mixed eastern waters of the channel, but bottom-water temperatures fall to 41 °F (5 °C) in the west. Surface salinities decline eastward from slightly less than the Atlantic level of 35.5 parts per thousand; coastal salinity readings are further reduced by the influx of river water, especially from the larger French landmass. There is an overall water flow through the English Channel to the North Sea, with complete replacement taking about 500 days.

    Climate

    The weather over the English Channel is highly variable. Often, but especially from October to April, it is cloudy, chilly, and wet, with strong winds and poor visibility. At other times, it is fair and dry, with light winds and good visibility. During periods of unsettled weather, daytime high temperatures rise to about 54 °F (12 °C) in winter and 68 °F (20 °C) in summer. When the weather is clear, temperature extremes can range from a winter morning low of 23 °F (−5 °C) to more than 86 °F (30 °C) on a summer afternoon. Precipitation averages 28 to 39 inches (700 to 1,000 mm) per year. Gales may blow from any direction but most commonly come from the southwest or west.

    Economic Aspects

    Resources

    Connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, the respective waters of which are rich in warm- and cold-water plankton, the English Channel is favoured from the latter with cod, herring, and whiting and from the former with hake, pilchard, and mullet. The traditional fishing industry declined in the 20th century with the development of deep-sea fishing, the exhaustion of resources, and the advent of pollution problems, but coastal fishing remains important in Brittany.

    A good climate, sandy beaches, and an attractive coast have encouraged the growth of tourism on both sides of the channel, starting with the fashionable resorts of the late 18th century. The English ports of Portsmouth and Plymouth have declined from their former levels of naval and commercial activity. Cherbourg on the Contentin Peninsula has changed little in character, but Southampton and Le Havre have lost wpassenger traffic while gaining tremendous container and oil-refining capacity and also experiencing a general commercial growth. Both England and France use channel waters for cooling nuclear-powered generating stations, while the tidal-power generating station on the Rance River (in Brittany), utilizing a tidal range of 35 feet and more, is a unique feature.

    9) Transportation

    The English Channel is a major route for passenger and freight traffic. Crossings are provided by ferry and air services. Hundreds of watercraft traverse the Strait of Dover daily, and this frequency, as well as the increase in ship size and speed, has led to the introduction of sophisticated navigational safeguard systems, including radar tracking of all ships in the strait.

    The idea of a channel tunnel was first conceived in 1802, and in the late 19th century such a tunnel was actually initiated and then abandoned. In 1957 the idea was revived, and in 1973 Britain and France decided to carry out the project (the “Chunnel”) jointly. Work was begun, only to be canceled early in 1975, but in 1978 the matter of a channel crossing was again raised, this time by the British and French national railways and the European Communities. Construction resumed in 1987 on twin single-track railway tunnels and a central service tunnel for ventilation, maintenance, and emergency evacuation, and by 1990 the service tunnel had been completed. The Eurotunnel (as it came to be called) connects the road and rail networks of Britain and the Continent by carrying both rail freight and automobiles. The terminals are located at Folkestone in England and Calais in France.

    10) Study And Exploration

    From earliest times, depending on historical factors, the English Channel served as a route for, and a barrier to, invaders of Britain from the Continent. Early Stone Age people crossed the Strait of Dover; later invaders crossed the western end of the channel, trading the copper, tin, and lead they found in Devon and Cornwall, and successive Bronze and Iron Age invaders followed the same route. Julius Caesar’s invasion of 55 BCE again favoured the Dover route in the east, while William the Conqueror in 1066 crossed from Normandy to Hastings. With Britain’s later loss of Normandy, the channel again became a defensive line. In the 20th century its strategic role was critical during the two world wars, particularly during the Allied invasion of France in 1944.

    Scholars adduced reasons for the English Channel’s existence as early as the 17th century, but detailed scientific study awaited the first official hydrographic surveys (French coast, 1829; English coast, 1847). The geologic map of the seabed based on borings made in 1866 was the world’s first of its kind. Further studies were associated with early plans for a channel tunnel, and modern surveys done since World War II have made the channel seabed one of the most intensively studied seafloors in the world.

    11) Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding.

    1st Baron Dowding, (born April 24, 1882, Moffat, Dumfriesshire, Scot.—died Feb. 15, 1970, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Eng.), British air chief marshal and head of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain (1940) in World War II; he was largely responsible for defeating the German Air Force in its attempt to gain control of British skies in preparation for a German invasion of England.

    A squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, Dowding remained in the new Royal Air Force. After serving in command, staff, and training positions in Britain and Asia, he became chief of the newly created Fighter Command in 1936. He vigorously promoted the development of radar and the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters that contributed significantly to the defeat of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. Although the Fighter Command was outnumbered, Dowding’s strategic and tactical skill enabled it to retain air superiority and thwart Germany’s aims. He retired in November 1942 and was created baron the next year.

    12) Albert Kesselring

    Albert Kesselring, (born November 20, 1885, Marktstedt, Bavaria, Germany—died July 16, 1960, Bad Nauheim, West Germany), field marshal who, as German commander in chief, south, became one of Adolf Hitler’s top defensive strategists during World War II.

    The son of a town education officer, Kesselring joined the army as a cadet in 1904. After serving in World War I and remaining in the army under the Weimar Republic, he transferred to the Luftwaffe (air force) in 1935 and a year later was promoted to lieutenant general and chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe. Early in World War II Kesselring commanded air fleets in Poland (September 1939) and France (May–June 1940) and during the Battle of Britain (1940–41). Having already had experience in the bombing of civilian population centres such as Warsaw and Rotterdam, he apparently concurred in Hermann Göring’s decision to redirect Luftwaffe bombing toward London. This proved to be a fateful decision because the resulting discontinuance of attacks on British airfields gave the Royal Air Force Fighter Command time to recover and eventually defeat the German air offensive against England.

    After participating in the attack on the Soviet Union (summer 1941), Kesselring became commander in chief, south (late 1941), to bolster Italy’s efforts in North Africa and against Malta. Though unable to take Malta, he commanded Erwin Rommel and the Axis campaign in North Africa. After the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy in the summer of 1943, Kesselring fought a brilliant defensive action that prevented an Allied victory in that theatre for more than a year. Injured in October 1944, he became commander in chief, west, in March 1945, replacing Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, but proved unable to stop the Anglo-American drive into Germany and surrendered the southern half of the German forces on May 7, 1945. He remained loyal to Hitler to the end.

    In October 1945 Kesselring was called as a witness in the first war crimes trial to be held by the Allies after the war. Kesselring’s subordinate in Italy, Gen. Anton Dostler, was accused of having ordered the execution of 15 Office of Strategic Services (OSS) prisoners of war in March 1944. The commandos were in uniform and thus should have been afforded the protections of the Geneva Conventions. However, Dostler ordered their execution in keeping with Hitler’s “Commando Order” of October 1942, which decreed that all captured Allied commandos should be summarily shot. Dostler claimed that he simply had been following orders (a defense that would be invoked by many at the later Nürnberg trials), but Kesselring disavowed any involvement in the act, and Dostler was found guilty and executed in December 1945.

    In 1947 a British military court in Venice tried and convicted Kesselring of war crimes—for ordering the shooting of 335 Italian civilian hostages in the so-called Ardeatine cave massacre of March 1944, an atrocity committed in reprisal for an attack by Italian partisans on German soldiers. Sentenced to death on May 6, 1947, Kesselring later won commutation to life imprisonment. In 1952 he was pardoned and freed, and he became active in veterans’ organizations. Decades after Kesselring’s death in 1960, evidence was uncovered that showed he had perjured himself at both Dostler’s trial and his own. There was incontrovertible proof that Kesselring had approved the execution of the OSS commandos and had subsequently concealed evidence of that act. By denying his role in the executions, Kesselring had violated a central tenet of the officer’s code—he had knowingly allowed a subordinate to suffer the consequences of his own actions. Kesselring wrote Soldat bis zum letzten Tag (1953; “Soldier up to the Last Day”; Eng. trans. The Memoirs of Field Marshal Kesselring.

    You got a RUSH, did you….?

    God save the Prime Minister 🇧🇧

  27. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    All the people in St. George gotta remember is that as soon as they vote for these black face politicians and give them a miniscule amount of power over their lives….they immediately turn ANTI-black and start doing the bidding of the no good, low class racists on the island…they’ve been doing it, turning traitor, on their own, once elected, since the 1940s, rotating in and out of the haunted house aka parliament…dying off and BEING REPLACED with the same mutation of treacherous negros……..a vicious cycle that will never end until the PEOPLE END IT…

  28. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    https://www.facebook.com/246784233190/posts/10158100126623191/

    Floyd a mam of moral standing

  29. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Floyd filed the injunction yet or he busy talking about the “improvisement” of Bajans or passing out epsom salts?🤣🤣 Piss in muh RH pocket do. Would be comedy central to listen to Reifer weekly in the lower house.

  30. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ Hants November 11, 2020 11:16 AM
    “The BLP will win this by election.
    The people of SGN will do what is in their best interest at this time.

    Floyd Reifer should continue working towards the 2023 elections.”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Good call on the obvious outcome of the SGN by-election.

    Voters, generally, do not change their preferences ‘overnight’.

    Having silenced the major voice in any Labour opposition to its pending harsh policies as it is forced to restructure the Bajan economy and social welfare system, the BLP would be prepared to make the SGN constituency a sacrificial lamb in the next general elections; not this time around for the obvious image control (politicking) reasons.

  31. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    (Quote):
    Would be comedy central to listen to Reifer weekly in the lower house. (Unquote).
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    He would be no different to Kellman or even the Physical Deficit Jester Ince who would have done a verbal demolition job had he been elected to be the genuine LoO.

    At least the man does not pretend to be any educated bullshitter like many of those occupying seats in the national rum shop.

  32. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    @David
    I got my first steupse. Demotion or promotion?

    @Tony
    What was the point. Two words;look them up; precis and summary.

    @all
    Not a sympathizer, just calling it as I see it.

  33. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    @Mariposa
    SGN election has been discussed as nauseam for quite some time.

    Your contribution to this blog is “it will not be discussed because of a bunch of BLP supporters”.

    That is not enough to stimulate a new conversation.

    To use one of your phrases “wheel and come again”.

  34. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Looka Floyd can’t tell the difference between expose and espouse. Y’all serious about government and governance? Hypocrites.🤣🤣

  35. Tony Avatar
    Tony

    @ David/TheOGazerts

    Winston Churchill had a special cigar for Hitler’s ass. He alluded the allied forces by way of U boat to Antartica via Argentina 🇦🇷

    US Admiral Byrd later went after his Luftwaffe base with the latest ships, aircrafts, fighting machines and men. They were met by a resistance that was out of this world, as we knew it.

    We got our asses kick

    According to an article of 2016 “ In the last few months, the world’s political and religious leaders have been making trips to the continent at the bottom of the world – Antarctica”.

    Were they having meetings with de penguins?

    Please read these books “Operation Paperclip & Empire Beneath the Ice”.

    You think you got a RUSH ?

    Get someone to tie you up and use a teleprompter…please…

  36. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @Enuff
    I just listened to the interview with Reifer and many people (not you of course) would have been hard pressed not to hear the word “expose” rather than espouse in the interviewer’s question.

    Stop catching at straws

  37. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    I am not catching at straws. It is a pattern–epsom salts, improvisement, expandable people etc, etc. I repeat, y’all can’t be serious about government and governance. Even the comments bout the dump mek muh bawl–a hump a shite. He filed the injunction yet to close the closed dump? Would love to see him respond to the budget. 🤣🤣

  38. Tony Avatar
    Tony

    @ David

    Add Operation Highjump to the list of books…

    Happy reading Sir…

  39. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Where is the president?

  40. David Avatar
    David

    @Tony

    Thanks

  41. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    These fowls are the head ones to boast about the “high level” of education on the island, but yet are also the first to criticize and condemn each other for the lack of intellectual or oratory skills…read…lack of slick talking corrupt politicians skill of sweet talk, empty promises and outright LIES, who have not been able to upgrade the island since the 1960s and have gotten even worse in the last 30 years, with the island billions of dollars in debt, billions more missing from taxpayer funded state entites including the pension funs……so how does that even make sense to fowls, ah guess they are too overeducated to see any of that…..dummies..

  42. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ Enuff November 11, 2020 5:01 PM
    “I am not catching at straws. It is a pattern–epsom salts, improvisement, expandable people etc, etc. I repeat, y’all can’t be serious about government and governance. Even the comments bout the dump mek muh bawl–a hump a shite. He filed the injunction yet to close the closed dump? Would love to see him respond to the budget.”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    You might not be “catching at straws” but you are sure lowering yourself by condescendingly scraping the bottom of the barrel to find dirt to throw at the political rookie.

    All those nasty things you are saying about the man from your ivory tower of supercilious stupidity still do not prove the man to be unfit for office.

    At least he has not shown himself to be a person lacking in integrity.

    He made NO promises to a black woman to seek justice for her dead son.

    Neither has he strutted around, like some red painted peacock on any platform holding a ‘blue and yellow’ bag containing ‘imaginary’ evidence while promising to make his friends pay for any financial crimes committed against taxpayers.

    Now go and wet your bed, ya little pissy boy!

  43. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Miller…not one fowl can say that the dude WROTE OFF 1 BILLION DOLLARS IN VAT STOLEN FROM THE PEOPLE, or wrote of hundreds of thousands more of taxpayer’s money for tax evading relative….never heard he SOLD out Black PEOPLE on the island to RACISTS…never heard his name calling in STEALING ESTATES from the elderly and their beneficiaries, or stealing bank accounts and dead bodies from QEH..or corrupting the supreme court so badly that it’s now too DYSFUNCTIONAL to even hand down timely decisions in personal injury cases, even when they include the elderly..

    so i don’t know how lacking all of those anti-black CRIMINAL skills would make him unfit for office….

    Fowl Slave Enuff is a jackass…with a beak and feathers…

  44. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Is there an exit survey. Where is Peter Wickham?

  45. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    Lloyd Smith, Mencea Cox, Neville Maxwell,
    Hamilton Lashley, Ermie Bourne, Reynold Weekes, Trevor Prescod, Lloyd Brathwaite,
    Patsy Springer, Deighton Mottley, Frank Walcott, Lloyd Brathwaite, Gertrude Eastmond, Morrison , Bourne( Christian makes escape me at this time)

    All of the above former MPs had PhDs in English Language.

  46. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    The funny of all Enuff comments lies in the blp snobbish approach to degrade floyd
    In three weeks Floyd shamed govt a govt who promised for ten years to make things better
    Yet between 2018 2019 2020 nothing waa done for the people of SGN
    The govt and their yardfowls got big talk and can dish out lowlife criticisms however when all is said and done the shaming of this govt by Reifer would stay a talking point in the minds of SGN for better

  47. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    So do the members of the present Cabinet. They are all more familiar with the English language than Henry Watson Fowler or even Shakespeare. Is it their pedigree?

  48. Lorenzo Avatar
    Lorenzo

    Enuff i thought i read the Dem lest we forget saying Mr Reifer improved Maybe he has but based on what you are saying he clearly struggling and should stick to coaching.As someone said he clearly ain, t ready maybe in 2023.However i do not see him winning especially with the political nightwatchman at the helm but dtranger things has happened so let us wait and see.

  49. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Lorenzo wunna just cant help exposing wunna snobbery
    Yuh have Tom Adams rolling up his car window in a down and out man face whilst the man begs for bread
    Yuh have Bradshaw calling Cricketers idiots
    Yuh have minister of education another Bradshaw talking about pedigree
    And now the blp yardfowls continuing the drum beat using Reifer one again to espoused wunna ignorance
    Truth be told the apple dont fall from the truth meaning the blp yardfowls and the party are cut from the same dutty cloth
    If Reifer only fault is reading from a script then he is in good company and have nothing to fear from the blp party or the yardfowls

  50. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    That’s the problem right there, dummies who believe they got an intellectual prize, when in reality it’s a booby prize, the day they were finally allowed to learn STANDARD ENGLISH…and ended up misusing it and still don’t know their asses from their elbows in any english context, no matter how much they pretend they are more english and racist than the english themselves……..they don’t know that they’re STILL part of a colonial story, fantasy and experiment and always have to be reminded on daily basis…….. am yet to hear any pretentious scholars come out and warn the public that all the colonial countries would have to rob Africa TO PAY THEM ANY REPARATIONS……🤣🤣🤣🤣..the people had to find out from the BU blog…yet everyone is so versed in English…yall have no damn shame..

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