Watching

This article was written by Roy Mason, and was published in the November 2007 edition of "Aspects of Lindal and Marton".

We all do it. We look out the window to watch what the weather is doing. We watch what is going on in the street or if the view is over open countryside what is happening in the fields. We turn on the telly to watch whatever is on the screen. So watching is a national pastime. Some people are more avid watchers than others. Some do it surreptitiously and watch behind net curtains, the more modern technique is to have a security camera deliver the image to a convenient television screen. The pace of modern technology is such that we can even watch each other on the third generation mobile phones that have become available.

From ancient times people have believed in a greater presence who watches us all through every moment of our life. Indeed the Victorians made jewellery, often a locket in the shape of a heart, inscribed with term Mizpah, the ancient Hebrew word for watch post. Their interpretation was ‘The Lord Watch Between Me and Thee When We Are Absent One From Another’. A tangible expression of the emotional bond that existed between a betrothed couple when parted from each other. However as often occurs the translation can misquote the context in which the word had originally been used. Before the days of the Internet we were fortunate to have a very learned student of the ancient languages resident in the vicarage here in Lindal. The Reverend David Gregg explained that Mizpah meant watch post in the context that the ‘The Lord ensure you do not get up to mischief whilst we are away from each other’; a less endearing explanation!

So to return to the present we are being watched over now, and in a very tangible form. There are passing in orbit over this planet many hundreds of satellites; some of them are equipped with very high-resolution cameras that can spy on your own backyard. With the aid of a computer and a broadband connection it is possible to access these images from a website called Google Earth. For the nosey neighbour these images are not real time but appear to have been taken a year or so ago, nevertheless they do reveal the landscape around the villages of Lindal and Marton as well as zooming in on individual buildings. Use the 3D facility to appreciate the lie of the land, and the swing facility to change the perspective. Did the assessor from DEFRA really need to pay a site visit to the farm to determine the level of subsidy?

No computer or no broadband link? Then book a session on the computer at the public library for a very illuminating visit to the countryside we think we know so well. For a surreal experience find a city with some skyscrapers and have some fun looking at the 3D images!