Views of North America
No 11 Portland Light & Bass Harbour Light
From Julia 
Here is a question for readers: Which prominent author was himself a student of engineering, and had a father who was an architect-engineer who designed and built lighthouses? A clue: this author was of Scottish birth, but lived for many spent the last years of his short life on Somoa, in the Pacific. Good readers will already have recognised Robert Louis Stevenson, author of 'Treasure Island', and of some of the best novels in the gothick tradition: 'The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde', 'The Body Snatchers' (referring to the fine old nineteenth century Scotch tradition of robbing graves in order to obtain corpses for anatomical dissection), and 'The Suicide Club'.
Robert Louis Stevenson

I admire Stevenson greatly, and consider him a most underrated writer. But here we are more concerned with the work of his father, Thomas Stevenson, who designed so many of the best known lighthouses along the coast of Britain. There is something immensely attractive about the lighthouse - the windswept loneliness, the sound of the turbulent sea and the cries of gulls, and the public duty of attending to the light, and keeping everything neat and in working order. It used to be a girlhood fantasy of mine to be a lighthouse keeper, but of course these days they are untenanted and automatic.

Julia, like Saffy, is an excellent photographer, and writes:

Dear Susan,
 
Attached are two pictures that may be of interest to you.

The top one is of the Portland Headlight at Cape Elizabeth, Portland, Maine. It is probably the most photographed lighthouse in the
USA. The next two are of the Bass Harbor Light, pictures of which you have already published in your magazine.
 
The first one has appeared on literally thousands and thousands of calenders.I've visited both of these places several times, and I
took the pictures, and have the originals.
Hope all is well,
Julia USA

Yes, all is back to normal. The magazine is continuing, although I know that it has difficulties at times. These are nothing to do with union disturbances, in fact Miss Gribble has been working harder than anybody to keep the magazine going. When they are really needed, it is often the most radical employees who put in the most. The Bass Harbour Light was featured in a magnificent picture taken by Anne and Timmy, and featured in the June issue. Here is the link: 

Bass Harbour Head Lighthouse

Julia's picture complements Anne and Timmy's photograph nicely with a close-up view. 

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