|
|
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 122
member
|
OP
member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 122 |
there is such poem by t.s. elliot "east coker". what the hell is coker??
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Apparently East Coker was the town from which T.S. Eliot's ancestor came to America.
EAST COKER
Written in 1940.
East Coker is a village near Yeovil, Somerset, Eliot's ancestral home. Andrew Eliot
left East Coker for the New World in about 1669.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624 |
Arrrr, they got some damned strange names down there in Zomerzet, belike.
- Pfranz
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
While the context of rav’s question has been explained, there is still the broader question of “What the hell is coker?”. Well this has nothing to do with Somerset, but still it is a word... Briefly, a 'coker' converts heavy crude oil into fuel-grade petroleum coke (not to be confused with the stuff you put in your stove!). Most oil refineries were designed to process mainly light liquid feedstock and were not well able to digest heavy crude. As the lighter, sweeter crudes have been used first, the quality of crude oil available has declined while final product fuel specifications have become more demanding to meet environmental regulations. As a result, many refineries have added, or are adding, ‘delayed coker’ facilities. This enables cleaner, more efficient processing of the cheaper heavy crude oil feedstocks, allowing the refinery to produce cleaner, higher-valued fuels at a lower cost. The refinery hits two birds with one stone by increasing its production of higher margin products, and improving its environmental conditions. If you really want more technical data try this link: http://www.lloydminsterheavyoil.com/upgraddecoke.htm
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear dxb: Can you tell us what "coker" meant in 1669?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
A possible derivation and a smattering of history:
Mentioned in Domesday Book (1086) as Cocre possibly meaning 'a conical heap of hay' from the Norsk kükkr. Before 1066 this was the property of Gytha, wife of Earl Godwyn, and mother of Harold II.
Many of the cottages in East Coker, one of the prettiest villages in Somerset, are built of local golden stone and thatched. None is more interesting than the long, low thatched home of the village's most renowned son, the great navigator and pirate William Dampier. He explored the west coast of Australia and was navigator on the ship that rescued Alexander Selkirk - the real-life Robinson Crusoe.
Until the late 19th Century flax was grown in many areas locally and every cottage had a loom for weaving 'Coker cloth'. The Twine and Webbing Mills, established in 1872, continued for over a century and ropes from here were used in Hillary's ascent of Everest and to lower Churchill's coffin at his interment. The Saw Mills were founded in 1880 by Joseph Perry to service the looms but closed in 1979. Perry invented the Twine Twisting Machine.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,371
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
756
guests, and
4
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
