DiscoverKeeping WatchAutomation and redundancy: Gerald Butler reflects
Automation and redundancy: Gerald Butler reflects

Automation and redundancy: Gerald Butler reflects

Update: 2024-11-11
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In this episode of 'Keeping Watch,' Ed Peppitt and co-host Melanie Charles talk about some of the mysterious and spooky lighthouse tales, including the tragic story of Henry Hall at Eddystone, the eerie Flannan Islands mystery, and a death on Smalls. 
 
Ed meets up at Galley Head lighthouse to talk with former keeper Gerald Butler about the impact of automation on keepers and their families. Gerald reflects on his transition from lighthouse keeper to fisherman and beyond, sharing personal anecdotes about the meaningful aspects of lighthouse life and the changes brought by automation.
 
Key moments
 
01:19  Gruesome Lighthouse Mysteries
01:56  The Eddystone Lighthouse Fire
05:35  The Flannan Islands Mystery
07:26  The Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy
09:35  Interview with Gerald Butler
11:14  Gerald Butler's Post-Lighthouse Life
14:43  Reflections on Lighthouse Life
16:16  The Importance of Time
29:15  Loneliness and Companionship
32:25  The Magic of Reading
33:11  The Great Lighthouses of Ireland
35:59  Life as a Light Keeper
41:42  Challenges of Automation
52:42  The Future of Lighthouses
01:01:14  A Lifelong Passion
01:03:50  Conclusion and Reflections
 

KEEPING WATCH is a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

We're keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at alksoutheast@gmail.com. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at alksoutheast@gmail.com

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers:
www.alk.org.uk

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Automation and redundancy: Gerald Butler reflects

Automation and redundancy: Gerald Butler reflects

Edward Peppitt