Re: Jonah and the whale in Wales

Michael,

This is very interesting, thank you for filling me in. Please send me a
copy of the Times letter and any reply they might print.

A few years ago, incidentally, BBC radio ("Making History" program that
alleges four million listeners) put me on the air in response to a query
from a Scot who also claims descent from James Bartley--from three men of
that name, as it happens. He had inquired about which James Bartley it was,
that had been inside the whale. He also reported the standard story that
Bartley's grave, allegedly in Gloucester(shire?), has the inscription, "The
Modern Jonah." I never tried verifying that one, since everything else I
tried to verify came up either empty or even negative.

Sure, you could put him in touch with me. You might direct him to the asa
webpage (asa3.org), where he can read my whale story first.

I'd be surprised if Ray Gambell (retired head of the International Whaling
Commission) doesn't respond to the Times. He also looked into the Bartley
story, drawing similar conclusions to mine, though he mainly came at it from
the scientific and history of whaling angle, whereas I took the history of
popular writings angle. No whale there, either way. Ray lives in
Cambridge, I think. He appeared on the BBC program with me. He was also an
ASA keynote speaker a few years ago, where I first met him.

ted
Received on Thu Mar 18 22:18:44 2004