Read It

and weep

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is January 27th, annually marking the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Allies in 1945 along with marking the remembrance of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. In the UK, it is known as Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), and my local library set out a display of books on the subject. This year, I began my remembrance-month by watching Schindler’s List on the BBC. I then watched the 2025 film Nuremburg, which is based on the book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist (I highly recommend) by Jack El-Hai, which recounts the story of American psychiatrist Dr. Douglas Kelley who was assigned to evaluate the mental fitness of the eleven Nazis on trial for their crimes against humanity, the crimes of the Holocaust, crimes against peace, war crimes, and conspiracy to commit crimes. By February 27th I was ready to change topics, walked into the Stornoway library to return my completed armful of Holocaust books, and said to Jana, the omnipresent librarian, “I need to pull myself out of the Holocaust - do you have anything on the Titanic?”

Every year when April rolls around, I have my own “Titanic Remembrance Day” (month), as my Yoga students, friends, and family well know. I haul out my coffee table books, Walter Lord’s book, A Night to Remember, and my certified piece of coal from the wreck site that my friend Tony gave me in 1998.

Jana, the omnipresent librarian, mentioned that the school is currently studying Titanic, but she could bring out books from the archives. (The archives?) About 15 books migrated to the front desk from the back room, and I had a tough time choosing some. “Can I have four?” I asked. Two of the books I chose were heavy, and as one who is always on foot unless riding a bus, you really think about what you will and will not carry (how important is the purchase of a big bag of carrots for the horse and pony while at a store up in Stornoway when you can get them at a store at home in Tarbert? Not very.) Jana, the omnipresent librarian, kindly offered to take the heavier of the two books down to Tarbert’s library for me to pick up the following day, which I did.

And yes, I realize it is March and not April - I am getting a head start this year.

just the tip of the iceberg

When I was visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia in early September last year, I of course visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to see their Titanic Exhibit. It was a bit disappointing on the specific Titanic-front, as they only had a replica of one of the deck chairs (which I am reclining in at the top of this post) and a replica of a piece of driftwood from one of the carvings in the dining hall, in addition to all the placards about the history of the disaster. The rest of the museum was about boats and ships. Suh-nooze.

Of course, I also visited the Titanic Grave Site at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery where the salvaged bodies of the victims of the sinking were buried. I wrote about that experience here:

your own family

My headstart this year on all things Titanic is because I continue to be stationery through March, whereas in April I will be on the move a lot of the time with my large Samsonite suitcase, Greta. Part of that April-time will be spent in Belfast, Ireland, where the ship was built. After that bit of a letdown in Halifax, I am looking forward to visiting the museum in Belfast because it isn’t named as a version of a “maritime museum” - it is called Titanic Belfast. I am so there for it.

I will leave you with a little piece of Titanic Trivia here each week through April 14th, the anniversary of the collision (the sinking happened at 2:20 am on the 15th of April 1912).

After the 36-day British Inquiry on the sinking, it was determined that excessive speed in an ice region was the cause of the disaster.

But it was the combination of several - around 10 - different happenings that coalesced to create the environment for the possibility of the ship to founder.

Something to consider in 2026.

Love & Blessings & Happy Full Moon,

My Yoga student Lisa’s daughter’s cat looking out at all the snow in NYC