Luke’s life as a Harbor Master in Grimsby By SpiritualDictionary.com
Geoff – Right, now I am in a type of square, it is 4 or 5 story buildings all around me, looking in front of me is a big arch and as I walk through it I come out onto a cobble road, I come up to a concrete wall with arches so I can see through and I am looking down onto a harbor. It a major fishing port in Scotland I think.
Miriam (Ishmael) – In Grimsby actually.
Geoff – Oh right, actually that was funny because I got Grimsby, but thought “no” because I knew that was a fishing village. I see fishing boats, I see the water coming in, the stones, the clear water, it is very shallow at the moment, the ships are wooden, so this must be around 17th century I think.
Miriam (Ishmael) – Yes.
Geoff – Going back to the square, and one of the offices on the right hand side is the equivalent of the Harbor Master, he was in charge of the port, and the fishing vessels that came in and out, all vessels that came in and out, his job was to oversee things at the harbor, and to see fair play with the sale of the fish that came out. He was a very big man with a dark blue heavy coat, and a Pickwick type hat, and he had a gold type insignia on his cuffs, very big cuffs turned back. Two gold squares. There is a brass plate on the door, which was the office.
Inside there were four or five highly polished wooden desks with spindly legs, which was the furniture of the era. There were a lot of shipping souvenirs, brass things etc and lots of chart and maps, all in wooden storage areas on one side.
The office had windows that you could look out at the harbor, it was on the corner of the building on the ground floor. If you looked out of the window, the land dropped away, the road going down to the unloading area for the fish, there was a fish market behind there.
He used to inspect the catches and every day before the market he would walk through and inspect the catch before sales would commence.
Miriam (Ishmael) – Now why do you think he would inspect the catch?
Geoff – To keep up the good quality that Grimsby had for the fish. There were no rules or regulations about sizes like in these days, it was just the quality of the fish.
It was tradition that at the end of this walk around the market, because there were a lot of baskets laid out with fish, he used to get to the back which was the sales office and there would have a very short drink, probably rum, and this is like early in the morning and that would start the day.
Now he was quite wealthy, apart from powerful, or had a good amount of money, and going out to where he lives, which was in the city and I can see him walking along this cobbled road which has, it is a strange looking place, a very big wall, it is like smart terraced houses on a flat cobbled road which is very straight. They all had flat concrete fences and inside the house it was one big room downstairs and one room upstairs, only 2 rooms. The place had a nice golden glow about it from lamps downstairs, and it was decorated with bits and pieces of wooden ships, railings, and rope and there is a big chandelier in the room which has 5 oil lamps at the top, and it was lit with a long spill, or they could be candles.
Miriam (Ishmael) – They are candles.
Geoff – The reason I said candles was because next to the spill, there is a long rod with a small cone on the top for snuffing out candles. There is a short fat, dog there as well, a mixture, not quite a bulldog but close. Upstairs – I am trying to see a wife, but there is a big hammock, from his earlier days that he spent at sea. But hammocks even then in the 17th century were going out of fashion, it was thick rope but it was comfortable, and he loved it, and that is where he slept.
Miriam (Ishmael) – Yes much better than a bed for him.
Geoff – Now again no wife, but certainly not short of mistresses. His food was made by a woman either next door or something, some form of housekeeper used to bring his food, he never cooked anything himself, again a very comfortable life, had the respect and recognition.
Miriam (Ishmael) – I would like you to look in one of his drawers he has something very special there, I would like to see if you can find it. It is downstairs.
Geoff – There is a ruby which he brought back from his travels right in the beginning.
Miriam (Ishmael) – It is beautiful.
Geoff – Hmmm, he bought it in the beginning because of its value and it was beautiful, he never sold it because of its beautiful feel that it had, and I can actually sense the feeling he had as he held it.
Miriam (Ishmael) – That is why he kept it.
Geoff – As far as spiritual matters went, he knew that there was something but didn’t know what but the last third of his life, he make very sure that he lived the most correct life possible for his beliefs as far as doing the right thing to other people, you know not lying or exaggerating or leading people astray that kind of thing. And that was a discipline for him and he also simplified his life during the latter years. It was either yes or no – that was it, no half measures.
