The Parish Magazine March 2023

feature — 3
the patamar as a locomotive. Then
it gripped the next descending or
ascending rope. As the five ropes all
moved at the same speed when the big
haulage engines were moving the rope,
all 10 ascending or descending trains
arrived at their various patamars at
almost the same time.
Using a signal system the grip
locomotives all gripped the next
rope at the same time. This closed an
electrical circuit and illuminated a
lamp at each engine operator's control
station. When the signal men at each
patamar moved their signal to green
all the big haulage engines started to
move at the same time and the whole
descending and ascending sets of grips
and cars moved off simultaneously.
NO DRIZZLE
There is a very heavy rainfall in this
part of the country, the average being
5.5m per year with as much as 1.24m
in one month and up to 19cm in 90
minutes. We had similar rain fall at
Furnas. It was always full on and wet,
or full off and perfectly dry. I never saw
a drizzly day in my 4 years there.
My train arrived at Piassaguera,
the foot of the incline and I changed
to a diesel railcar that took about 20
minutes to get to Santos.
This part of the journey was across
a waterlogged land notorious for insect
borne disease that caused many deaths
during the construction of the line.
After a good look around Santos
docks I caught an early evening train
to Sao Paulo. The next day I took a
coach to Rio and spent the rest of my
holiday in a very comfortable family
hotel in Copacabana.
The hotel was used by expatriates
from the Furnas dam job and was a
real home from home!
Rio de Janeiro.
F11photo, dreamstime.com
The Parish Magazine - March 2023 19
from page 17
Home from home Walking the Ridgeway
for fatherless children
Simon Gurney, dreamstime.com
Over the years we have written at length about Mothering Sunday (this year
it's on 19 March) and drawn attention to the fantastic job mothers have, and
are, doing for us all, but there has been one large group of mothers that we
have sadly neglected — the mothers of an estimated 2 million children who
bring them up in a fatherless home. Fortunately, they are not being neglected
by a Reading charity called Chapter 2 that Westy, St Andrew's Church youth
minister, is planning to help by taking a sponsored, 100km trek along the
Ridgeway path in a non-stop 24 hours walk or run that will end in Reading.
Chapter 2 was formed in 2018 in response to an increasing number of fatherless
homes and the affect it is having on children in all walks of life, particularly
with boys who are suffering the most. The statistics are shocking (see the
Chapter 2 website at http://chapter2.org.uk) and are well summarised by this
quote from David Blankenhorn of Fatherless America:
'Fatherlessness families is the most harmful demographic trend of this
generation. It is the leading cause of declining child well-being in our society. It is
also the engine driving our most urgent social problems, from crime to adolescent
pregnancy to child sexual abuse to domestic violence against women.'
The Centre for Social Justice — a UK independent centre-right think tank
co-founded in 2004 by Iain Duncan Smith, Tim Montgomerie, Mark Florman
and Philippa Stroud — describes the boys' plight as 'men deserts': 'Many boys
are growing up in the UK with no father and are further starved of any positive
interaction with men in general. They are lost in 'men deserts' with no clear path out.
This is a grave situation for a boy and the consequences can be profound. For every boy
is searching to understand the essence of masculinity. They need a tried and true path
to follow, trodden by men before them.'
Chapter 2 supports fatherless boys with a mentor and positive activities to
help them build a better future. Westy said: 'In Reading and the surrounding areas,
there are approximately 100,000 boys. By the time they are 15 years of age, roughly
1 in 2 of them will not be living with both parents. The vast majority will be living
with their mother and risk losing contact with their father. These boys will grow up
to face far more challenges than your average boy. Unemployment, academic failure,
depression, chronic illness, anxiety and poverty later in life are all far more likely for
fatherless boys.'
The sponsored walk Westy is doing will benefit fatherless children, and, of
course, their mothers. It will be held on Father's Day, Sunday 18 June and end in
Reading. To sponsor him and to find out more use this link:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Westy2023?utm_source=instagram&utm_
medium=fundraising&utm_content=Westy2023&utm_campaign=pfp-instagram&utm_term=c00
d5f4b8b6f440a98009937ed93e023