This week marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and the kerfuffle of commemoration may exceed the coverage at the time. When we lived in Halifax I arrived at Fairlawn cemetery a little early for a commital service and the funeral director pointed out that we were only a few metres from the graves of one hundred and twenty victims of the the disaster. Roughly a tenth of those who perished are buried in Halifax and since we lived there not long after the blockbuster movie the graves, particularly the one for the film hero, Jack Dawson, were festooned with flowers.
I saw the grave of the "unknown child" who has since been identified through DNA testing. I didn't know at the time that one of the band members aboard the Titanic, violinist Jock Hume (above), is buried there as well. As you probably know, survivors reported that the band continued to play as the ship sank. The repertoire included popular music of the day, but legend has it that they also played the hymn Nearer My God to Thee. The story was made famous in the film A Night to Remember. The opening phrase is inscribed on the gravestone of the bandleader, Wallace Hartley.The hymn begins:
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be nearer, my God, to Thee,
Chorus: Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
Do you have any interest in the Titanic story or do you wish this would all go away? Are you planning to see Titanic in 3D?
7 comments:
Titanic 3D is great. One of the best 3D movies out now.
Blogged and spoke about this with the class just last week.
My teen and tween are Titanic obsessed, although have realized their interest lies in the movie mostly...and perhaps, more accurately, in one actor in particular. They watch and re-watch the old tapes, and they loved the new 3-D version.
We did visit the Fairlawn Cemetery while in Halifax last summer, which was a good reminder that this was a tragedy before it was a romantic blockbuster....J. Dawson's grave marker attracted our older two daughters, while our youngest re-tells of the toys and coin collection on the tomb of the unknown child. I was moved by notes left on graves by family members of the victims who made the journey to Halifax so many years later to visit the graves.
I won't likey see the 3D version,rumour has it the ship still sinks, but will search out the film that you referred to, as that was an image that stuck with me from the original movie, the musicians playing through the panic and chaos.
Interesting article in the weekend Globe about expensive, Titanic commemerative cruises, dives to the place of wreckage, etc and makes one think about the whole idea of disaster tourism...?
I have a great movie about the Titanic called "The Night To Remember" If anyone wants to borrow it let me know and I will get it to you.
Thanks for mentioning A Night To Remember Laurie. I knew that was the title but miswrote in my blog. We can send Laura in the right direction!
I would like to see it Laurie...would it be appropriate/appealing for our older teens ?
I think so, it is an old black and white show. I have it on DVD. I am away this week, back on 23 or 24 of April. I can drop it off at the church office after that if you would like.
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