MARK FLEMING
  • Home
  • About me
  • BrainBomb
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Articles
  • Music Therapy
  • My bands
    • 4 Minute Warning
    • Desperation A.M.
    • Little Big Dig
    • Axidents
    • Noniconic
  • Contact

epic trek across scottish waters: by canoe

19/8/2016

0 Comments

 
Union 2012 by Stuart McAdam and Neil Scott
In 2012 Stuart McAdam and Neil Scott built a canoe. Then they embarked on a grueling journey across Scotland, departing from the heart of Glasgow, arriving in Pittenweem on the Fife coast 10 days later, a trek that saw them navigating canals, rivers and the open sea. They filmed the building of their boat (posted on vimeo) and also their cross-country travels (entitled 'Union 2012'); the latter will be shown in an exclusive free screening at 2pm today and tomorrow, at DOK Artist Space in Leith docks.

The canoe was named after Helga Estby. In terms of epic quests, her story is surely one of history's most epic fails. A 19th century Norwegian immigrant to the USA, she married a fellow Norwegian, Ole Estby, settling in Minnesota before heading further west and buying a farm in Washington state. But cruel misfortune stalked the young family. Ole was badly crushed by a horse and unable to work for long periods. Their five year-old daughter Ida went blind. The farmhouse was badly damaged in a fire, the building uninsured. When severe economic depression struck America in 1893 the family faced financial ruin. Helga, now 33, came across an advert from a mysterious benefactor offering $10,000 to anyone who could cross America within seven months. A firm believer in women's suffrage, Helga was determined to win this prize. All she had to do was go for a long walk. All the way from Washington on the Pacific Coast to New York on the Atlantic: a journey of 3,500 miles.

In terms of epic quests, Helga Estby's story is surely one of history's most epic fails

Accompanied by her eldest daughter, 17 year-old Clara, with only a revolver for protection, the intrepid pair took odd jobs en route, their dogged progress documented in newspapers. Arriving at their destination on 23 December 1896, after facing wild animals, highwaymen and inhospitable terrain and wearing out 32 pairs of shoes, they trudged wearily into a metropolis bedecked in Christmas decorations, curious spectators trailing in their wake. But because they had set out on 5 May they were now 19 days beyond the deadline. The reward was refused and they had no option but to find lodgings until they could scrimp enough money for the train fare to Washington. Letters reaching them rarely lifted their spirits; especially when news came of Helga's 15 year-old daughter Bertha dying of diphtheria and her brother Johnny four days later.

Helga was shunned by the Norwegian-American community for having deserted the rest of her family on what was now widely seen as the wildest of goose chases. She decided to write a memoir about her trans-continental quest after Ole's death in 1913 as a way of generating badly-needed income. But her family had always regarded Helga's journey with shame, and after her death, two of her daughters, Ida and Lillian, destroyed the manuscript.

Helga's remarkable story remained to be passed on through oral tradition, as well as a scrapbook of newspaper clippings saved by her daughter-in-law, Margaret. She died in 1942 at the age of 81, embarking on the ultimate journey just as her adopted country was becoming embroiled in World War Two.
Helga and Clara Estby
Newspaper clipping about Helga Estby
0 Comments
    Picture
    MARK FLEMING
    ​EDINBURGH | SCOTLAND


    ​Categories

    All
    9/11
    Alan Brazil
    Amanda Prowse
    Amy Winehouse
    Andrew Mitchell
    Apples: Short Story
    Ari Up
    Armistice
    Arts Festival
    Ashdown
    Balconing
    Bankers
    Barack Obama
    Berlin Wall
    Bill Clinton
    Blackshirts
    Bobby Smith
    Book Censorship
    BrainBomb: Word Cloud
    Britains Got Talent
    Caroline Flack
    Chav: Sneering At The Underclass
    Child Cage Fight
    Citizens Advice
    Crash
    David Walliams
    Denise Johnson RIP
    Depression Awareness
    Desperation A.M.
    Dick Smith
    Disability
    DOK Exhibitions
    Domestic Violence
    Edinburgh Festival
    Faisal Shahzad
    Falklands War
    Finances
    Fortitude
    Frankie Abbbott
    Gary Speed
    Gerry Anderson
    Gettysburg
    Goodwin
    Gore Vidal
    Graham Crowden
    Ground Zero
    Guatemalan Stds
    Hacking Scandal
    Helga Etsby
    Hillary Clinton
    Hillsborough Justice
    Hiroshima 75th
    Homelessness
    Horrorshow
    Ian Curtis: 40 Years On
    Ibiza
    Ibrox Disaster
    Iraq
    It's A Kind Of A Funny Story
    Ivor Tiefenbrun
    Jake Bugg
    Jeremy Clarkson
    Jeremy Clarkson On PQ17
    Joe Strummer
    John Cormack
    John Hume RIP
    John Peel
    John Terry
    Keira Knightley
    Kelvin MacKenzie: Wants Police Apology
    Kristallnacht
    Leither Magazine
    Lemmy
    Llyr George
    Lying About Mental Health
    Malvinas V Falklands
    Marie Antoinettes
    Mental Health And Fat-shaming
    Mental Health Awareness Week 2018
    Mental Health During COVID-19
    Mental Health Prejudice
    Michael Portillo: Death Of A School Friend
    Middle East Peace Process
    Mosley
    National Rifle Association
    Neo Fascism
    News International
    Newtown Killings
    Nicolas Winding Refn
    Noel Edmunds
    One Love
    Organ Donation
    Ozark: Bipolar Disorder
    Paddy
    Penumbra
    Pete Shelley
    Picture House
    Poly Styrene
    Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
    Predator Drones
    Primal Scream
    Private Ellison
    Protestant Action 1930s
    Public Service Broadcasting: Lit Up
    Punishment Of Luxury
    Racism In Football
    Revenant
    Richard Ashcroft
    Rick Perry
    Robbie Hance
    Rupert Murdoch
    Samaritans
    Sarrazin
    Saughton Prison Visit
    Scars
    Scottish Tories
    Selfharm
    Sepp Blatter
    Sex And Violence
    Sex Pistols
    Shane Meadows
    Shaw Trust
    Silver Jubilee
    Simon Cowell
    Simon Weston
    Slaughter And The Dogs
    Smit
    Soldiers Suffering Breakdowns
    Stigma
    Stranglers Live Review
    Suicide
    Susan Boyle
    Syria - Crossing The Red Line
    Terry Jones
    The Clash
    The Damned
    The Slits
    The Sun - One-finger Salute To Lord Leveson
    The Wolf Warriors And Werewolves
    This Is England
    This Is England 86 Review
    Time To Change
    Tombstoning
    Tony Scott
    Tories
    Troy Davis
    Urban Noir Photo Exhibition
    U.S. Slavery Ends 1865
    Vic And Bob's Shooting Stars
    Wags
    Wayne Bridge
    Web Trolls
    World Alzheimer's Day
    World Suicide Prevention Day 2020
    X Factor
    X Ray Spex

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About me
  • BrainBomb
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Articles
  • Music Therapy
  • My bands
    • 4 Minute Warning
    • Desperation A.M.
    • Little Big Dig
    • Axidents
    • Noniconic
  • Contact