Lighthouses of Wales, Smalls Lighthouse, Pembrokeshire. (late 1993 or early 1994)

[@lighthouseman17]

Served on The Smalls 1970-73. It was modernised from a Hood vapour light and explosive fog signal to an electric light and compressed air fog signal. My favourite posting. Happy days.

[@PeterHalil]

Hi fellow Keeper thanks for that information, I missed all the Hood burners and explosive fog signals. The Smalls I believe has been grit blasted back to granite so is no longer red and white, glad you liked the video, take care.

[@hl2418]

Fascinating. Lighthouses hold such a mystique and history. Equally the men who looked after them with such commitment. Enjoyed the film. Many thanks.

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you, glad you liked the video and obviously Lighthouses, take care.

[@MarjiFranklin]

This is fascinating! It amazes me the areas these lighthouses were built so long ago!

[@PeterHalil]

So glad you liked it, yes, the building of these lights, in the extreme places they are situated, must have been a monumental task. And I was a Lighthouse Keeper, cheers, take care.

[@terrancebrown87]

Thank you for showing us all that are curious!

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you very much. That's a great part of the meaning of life I guess, to be curious, and not dictatorial like some groups nowadays. Cheers and stay safe.

[@grahamsawyer831]

those seals are beautiful... basking in the sun, looking like they haven't a care in the world! I guess it's things like that you don't expect from the job. you're a lucky man to have had the experience - and thank you for keeping so many people safe over the years.

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you for your comments. I loved the nature aspect of my job. I can remember a Keeper who had been fishing for hours, with no luck, then up popped a seal, with a skate in its mouth. Whilst watching us, he would chew a bit off of the skate then let it go whilst having a chew. Then he would spiral down into the depths and come back up with the same skate! Cheers and stay safe

[@grahamsawyer831]

@@PeterHalil many thanks, you too!!

[@federicolopez1810]

Amazing story Peter. Thank you very much for share it.

[@PeterHalil]

Glad you liked it.

[@andrewcruz1931]

Amazing ! I’ve always been drawn to caretaker/isolation style type jobs. I wish these were still manned , I would LOVE the opportunity to be a keeper .

[@PeterHalil]

Sorry Andrew, that job may have gone forever, however the job of Attendant sometimes comes up. I wish they were still manned too, stay safe.

[@noahconnors8001]

Tell me, what's a timber-man like you want with being a wicky

[@JackiePrime]

Tell me, what’s a timber-man want, with being a wicky?

[@lighthouseman17]

Hello Peter, yes your correct it isn’t red and white any longer. I had the pleasure of the Hood lamps on Alderney and Foreland Point. The Smalls really was dump when I 1st. arrived, a lot better when I left. Can’t believe that’s nearly 50 years ago. Take care and all the best.

[@mattreid859]

My favourite lighthouse! No idea why :-). Another excellent film with interesting narration. Cheers Peter!

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you Matt, They have since put solar on it and grit blasted it back to granite, so no more red and white. Yes it is a fine looking Lighthouse, cheers mate.

[@hullygully-3599]

Really enjoyed the guided tour. Thanks Peter

[@PeterHalil]

thanks, glad you liked it, take care.

[@squeaksvids5886]

Another fantastic film, thank you.

[@PeterHalil]

Cheers Paul, glad you are enjoying them, stay safe.

[@stephendavies923]

Yet again thank you for sharing Peter. The only YT channel I follow where I feel the need to click the bell to get notifications from.

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you for being there and liking the videos, more to follow, take care.

[@Urgleflogue]

Another gem Peter, very calm and informative, well done, Sir! Stay in good health, and keep them coming :)

[@PeterHalil]

Cheers mate, will do

[@johnhutsenpillerjr1785]

A rugged life of loneliness ETC But very needed for shipping etc. Great video Sir thanks.

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you, glad you liked my video, take care.

[@thephantom2man]

Me again lol, still binging your videos! Those shots around 2 mins in looking down the tower, thats amazing that you can see that aerial jiggling with the tower from the sheer force of the waves! Still absolutely fascinates me, and as its my nearest local one, im planning an excursion around anglesea to south stack soon. Thanks again for these uploads

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you Josh, hope you enjoy your trip. I just did a day trip to Bardsey Island, to fill in some gaps in a future video, cheers

[@Langers.]

Great video as usual, I’ve always wondered why they always had 3 keepers at the same time, thanks for explaining that 🙂👍🏻

[@PeterHalil]

Cheers Claire, glad you liked it, thank you.

[@marthaperdew]

I loved this video! This is awesome and informative, thank you

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you very much Martha, glad you enjoyed it. Cheers and stay safe.

[@SIONARAFLORIDA]

If one is a solitary man, as i myself am, one can appreciate the isolation and with that- the duty: the tasks the chores the maintenance of upkeep all to occupy and interrupt the idleness of being somewhere far from populations and people. These Lighthouses are so much more than lore or statues or tourist trinket recreations. Lighthouses are complex stations with so much seemingly to do while on them, i dont suppose they paint themselves, their motors oil themselves or clean themselves, their lights when out do not change bulbs without men (although some do i've seen a system where a bulb is cued by mechanism to be installed if or when one goes out.). And any man can be proud that he does work almost unsupervised, with the tremendous responsibility of his sentient presence doing that which makes it whole, to operate and to work. These were and are very well engineered designs of what was then the latest in technology, still in need of men to control and operate them and to those men i say thank you as i am sure millions of shipping captains have who've steered clear and also noted positions while nearing land in seas. I would have enjoyed being a keeper of this i am sure, the duty and responsibilities would have been the reward for isolated government employ. And somehow it strikes me as profound- but i cannot express it. I can't find the words to explain how i feel about lighthouses because they are so damn beautiful they elude my ability to word about them. I love everything about these structures, from the paint to the systems to each incredible riveted steel assembly. I find it difficult to imagine how- even- they were built in places to begin with. There is nothing in this world like a Lighthouse and their keepers. Fascinating, absolutely i am fascinated by them. Peter thank you Sir, once more please.

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you for your very kind and thoughtful words, stay safe.

[@PHAROS23]

Norman thank you for words of appreciation of lighthouses and their keepers----- I am reminded of these words: Every native of our sea girt kingdom ought to feel an interest in the questions---What do we owe to our lighthouses? and what would our country be without them?---but we suspect that, from lack of information, these questions are not viewed with the attention they demand. A stormy wind may rudely drift the sleet against our windows and disturb our rest; and perhaps our sympathies may be awakened for the men who patrol our dark streets as guardians of our property: but seldom in those dismal nights do our thought extended to the solitary outposts of our land, where, confined to the narrow cabin of a lightship, or watching in towers on bleak headlands or sunken rocks, the true guardians of this country's naval greatness keep their quiet and unostentatious vigil unthought of, because remote and unknown. What, indeed would our country be without its lighthouses?----- A rugged inhospitable land truly. Lighthouses - David Stevenson 1864 To all keepers of all nations

[@philtripe]

being cramped into a tight space with two other men on a spit of an island would be overwhelming to me...i work alone and couldn't imagine being there with my wife let alone two other guys

[@SIONARAFLORIDA]

@@PHAROS23 Truly an esoteric philosophy doctrine. Perhaps a lighthouse, designed and placed by governments to aid and assist maritime safety, is one sure sign of an advanced civilization. To shoulder a responsibility seeing through the goods and lives the ships at sea transport. Not all seafaring nations do this. The light in the darkness shining the way to security as God the Light of this World has. In the tumultuous reckoning where void of illumination a man, Peter, works from within a concrete tube to insure you will see if not dim if not blazing flashes of light, pure and clean and should there be adherence there will be safe passage. Its to me like the angels of God, i suppose within the womb of the earth, creating the spark of life for the nation and the individual, and sailor. When i was a young man I painted on canvas and my very first painting was of a wave washed Lighthouse in the fog, done with purple hues and let me tell you it was a magnificent painting. It meant something i could not yet understand, and i knew nothing at that time. Thank you PHAROS23 for sharing David Stevenson prose i will keep this with me whilst on my journey through ....

[@davidbutler4363]

Brilliant vlog Peter,well done.😁👍👏👏👏

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you David, take care mate

[@sarkybugger5009]

Bloody hell, that looks really cramped. The worst you've shown, so far. Thanks for posting these, Peter.

[@PeterHalil]

Yes it is nothing on the huge Bishop Rock, cheers

[@jackharrison6771]

I hadn't realised I put my previous comment on the wrong video, oh well; another good one and great view from the helicopter.

[@jane1975]

I saw the movie they made about those keepers on the original wooden lighthouse recently, must of been hell for them. Great film and those seals are adorable.

[@PeterHalil]

Jane, yes, I've always loved the nature part of my job, some things I've seen are rather special. I also watched the wooden Smalls movie, glad I was born in this Century!, thanks for your comments and take care and stay safe.

[@jane1975]

@@PeterHalil You're welcome and same for you.

[@luqmanpilu]

What movie?

[@jane1975]

@@luqmanpilu en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lighthouse_(2016_film) and @ www.imdb.com/title/tt3520714/ The one in 2019 with Willem Defoe and Robert Pattinson was inspired by the movie and material. Plenty of tragedies have befallen lighthouses and their keepers, it's still a mystery as to what happened to the keepers on Eileen Mor in Scotland, and of course Eddystone has a lot of material to work with for a movie.

[@philtripe]

i remember in the early 1980's when these things were being automated here in the states when someone told me about the plan the put helipads on top of many lighthouses and i thought the idea was so crazy and was convinced the towers would eventually fall over do to the extra drag during storms and the idea of bringing diesel fuel via helicopter seemed disastrous

[@PeterHalil]

Yes and when you get up close to the helipad structures they certainly are substantial, so no light weight thing stuck up there, take care.

[@terenceweeding8240]

Landed the elder brethren for inspection back in the 60s on there by boat what an experience running through the channel

[@PeterHalil]

Thanks for that memory, I bet it could be very tricky there at times in a boat, cheers, take care.

[@hellooldchap]

15:34- ever see a green flash from a sunset? Great video again.

[@PeterHalil]

Never in all of my years of searching, but I will still keep looking.

[@thomasbrinkley9430]

Thank you.!

[@PeterHalil]

You are welcome, cheers

[@ulflyng]

When men still had space 👍 The best sub i've done.

[@PeterHalil]

Cheers friend take care

[@thomasbrinkley9430]

Hi Peter. What happens with the waste, since the advent of flushing toilets ?

[@PeterHalil]

I'm assuming the toilet waste goes straight out to sea, any other waste when workmen are out there comes ashore with them.

[@logan9920]

Amazing videos

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you very much. Take care and stay safe

[@PHAROS23]

Hi Pete Worth the wait, another first class effort. I'm guessing it would have been late 93, the concrete top on the landing tanks looks intact.

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you, I had a note in my note book that said late 93 or early 94 so I couldn't be sure cheers, are you on Facebook by any chance?

[@PHAROS23]

@@PeterHalil Afraid not Pete ----- social media ???? not sure I just had another look at your Royal Sovereign video did you know they are to decommission it starting 2020.

[@PeterHalil]

@@PHAROS23 No I didn't know that thanks, and the photo video I did of Sovereign I also did a movie which I'm also bringing out in the not too distant future, no I'm not in social media, I still only have a "Dumb" mobile Lol

[@PeterHalil]

Hi, can you tell me some bits about St.Anns please. what you used to monitor, the fog horn plus the engine room etc cheers.

[@PeterHalil]

@@PHAROS23 Brilliant, cheers mate

[@ВладиславаРусич]

Люблю маяки, люблю когда бушует стихия, это завораживает...💫

[@PeterHalil]

If you like lighthouses in stormy seas, check out my Wolf Rock lighthouse video, Thanks and stay safe.

[@ВладиславаРусич]

@@PeterHalil простите, не владею языком, не понимаю...⚘

[@PeterHalil]

@@ВладиславаРусич Google translate, I don't speak your language either

[@mackpines]

I thought Tillamook Rock Lighthouse in Oregon was small. At least there you can walk around the outside, you can't do that here.

[@PeterHalil]

Yes not a lot of room, I shall now google the Tillamook, take care

[@JuanRodriguez-xl6mp]

the film The Lighthouse brought me here

[@sinoperture]

Why is all the footage on 4:3 ? Recorded on VHS?

[@PeterHalil]

Hi, at a guess, thinking back 25 plus years, the footage from video cameras were for viewing on your television sets and they were all 4:3? back then.

[@duncanobrien4951]

Hi Peter how far offshore is this lighthouse? I heard its quite a long way from land about the 20 mile mark.

[@PeterHalil]

Hi, I think it was about 18 or 20 miles, so quite isolated, but you could see the other Islands etc cheers, take care

[@mrkiwijimmymrkiwijimmy2530]

When they were automated did they leave the beds etc?

[@PeterHalil]

Yes they still have the beds etc because the maintenance guys still have to pop on and off to work on any faults and servicing that may crop up which will probably mean a few nights or more on board.

[@arenalife]

Were you able to sleep through the foghorn when you were off shift or did it drive you mad?

[@PeterHalil]

Once you got used to it, you could sleep ok, cheers

[@andrewrobinson1664]

I would love to spend the night there.

[@PeterHalil]

Hi Andrew, Become a Trinity House Mechanic or Electrician and you will probably get your wish! Cheers.

[@2.7petabytes]

Even though these are automated now, I would imagine that there are still people that have to go out and give them a once over now and again to make sure things are copacetic, correct?

[@PeterHalil]

Yes they have the maintenance crews for the engines and electrical, don't know if anybody cleans the places and dishes out the TLC like the Lighthouse Keepers did.

[@bellou596]

This is so lovely. Thankyou Edit, I mean not the death.

[@PeterHalil]

Thank you for your kind comment, Happy New Year.

[@joe7663]

Why'd you spill yer beans?

[@StarWarsJay]

Peter. Did you ever hear a whale while onboard a lighthouse?

[@PeterHalil]

No never, sorry

[@StarWarsJay]

@@PeterHalil haha. maybe that was a bit of an over romanticisation of that life.