# The Ben Cruachan tunnel tigers



## Theseus (Jul 3, 2017)

This is a way-out sort of question, and I would like to know if there are any parallels or accounts in Greek to this report. The Cruacchan tunnel has a direct link with me since I applied to work there but was refused on the grounds of it being a very dangerous job. There were no health and safety regulations in place and a lot of the 36 dead were Eastern Europeans. This is a report on the 50th anniversary of its construction.
http://unisondave.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/cruachan-power-station-and-those-who.html and 
https://www.theguardian.com/artandd...rnist-mural-buried-in-a-scottish-mountain#img. and 
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/men-who-built-cruachan-power-6637344.
I know it's a long shot but this forum might possibly provide a Greek link. Anyhow, the story is of interest in itself.:)


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## nickel (Jul 4, 2017)

Όχι. Δεν βρήκα τίποτα. Ούτε για Κρούαχαν ούτε για... Μπεν Κρουασάν. Μόνο κάποιος που αναφέρεται στο ιρλανδικό συγκρότημα, γράφει: 
«Υγ: Ούτε Κρούαχαν, ούτε Κρουασάν αλλά ΚρούαΚαν.»

Αλλά για το βουνό (ben) απόλαυσα αυτό το βιντεάκι:


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## Theseus (Jul 4, 2017)

Thanks, Nickel. The man who appears in the video clip is Sorley (Sam) Maclean' whose elder brother John taught me Gaelic & whose eldest daughter Ishbel I dated for a while. John, the rector of Oban High School & taught my younger sister Greek & Latin, had a formidable intellect. He translated the whole Odyssey into Gaelic hexameters. My signed copy is on my bookshelves.
I was looking for something in Greek about tunnel disasters & miners in hydro-electric schemes. You might like to see the finished product of this particular scheme after the loss off the thirty six:-


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## SBE (Jul 4, 2017)

nickel said:


> «Υγ: Ούτε Κρούαχαν, ούτε Κρουασάν αλλά ΚρούαΚαν.»



Και γιατί όχι Κρούαχαν, αφού δεν λέμε το τέρας του Λο*κ* Νες;

Btw, Theseus, Sorley is an actual men's name? Well, that gives a whole different meaning to Don't call me Shirley!


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## Theseus (Jul 4, 2017)

The word Cruachan is derived from the Gaelic 'cruach' which means 'a stack (of corn or hay), pile & (geographically) hill, mountain'. The sound of the ch is as in the symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨x⟩. In Cruachan and Loch the sound is identical with the Greek sound as in *Άχου*, τι όμορφο μωρό!
As to Sorley it is an Anglicising of the Gaelic Somhairle, itself from the Norse 'Sumarliði', meaning 'summer wanderer', a name used by his contemporaries to describe the Vikings. He was a famous Norse-Scot. 'Shirley' an unusual surname (now a female given name) is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from any of the various places called Shirley in Derbyshire, Hampshire, Surrey and the West Midlands. The placename derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "scir", meaning bright, plus "leah", wood, clearing. 
Sorley''s family came from very humble origins on a remote Scottish island off the coast. His mother was a serving maid. Many on that island bqelieved in reincarnation. Sorley himself went on to found, I seem to remember, the first comprehensive school in Scotland, revive the Scottish Gaelic language & become one of the finest modern Gaelic poets. :)


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## nickel (Jul 4, 2017)

SBE said:


> Και γιατί όχι Κρούαχαν, αφού δεν λέμε το τέρας του Λο*κ* Νες;



Εγώ _Κρούαχαν _έγραψα, αλλά ο άλλος αναφέρεται σε ιρλανδικό συγκρότημα και δεν μπλέκομαι στις ιδιοτροπίες των Ιρλανδών.


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## Theseus (Jul 4, 2017)

Pop groups don't really interest me but I should 'like' to read in the Greek news about the description of a mining or tunnel disaster, merely to widen the scope of my vocabulary. Thanks, Nickel.


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