Thanks to Linda and Mike for the lowdown on ginger wine. I can hardly wait to try it, whether I can find it locally or I brew up a batch myself. Cheers, George

A 5,000-year-old symbol from the Neolithic village of Skara Brae has been singled out by researchers as a potent symbol of arousal in men. According to an article in The Scotsman newspaper, following random testing of males in different parts of the country, galvanic skin responses showed arousal when they saw designs based on ancient fertility symbols. Skara Brae's "lozenge" symbol was singled out by the researchers as the most potent of all the designs used. The symbol is found scratched close to where female bones were found buried under the doorway of one of the huts. The survey has led to a reappraisal of jewellery market research, with new pieces now being designed in response to the unconscious signals being transmitted by the test subjects. The link to The Scotsman article along with a drawing of the design in question can be found at http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/lozenge.htm -- Sigurd Towrie Blackhall - Kirbister - Stromness - Orkney Heritage of Orkney: www.orkneyjar.com Home: sigurd@orkneyjar.com Work: sigurd.towrie@orcadian.co.uk

On 13 December 2003 12:45, Janis Counsell wrote: > Maybe the kirks are close to the sea as the ground there is > or was unsuitable for agriculture Most of the rural kirks I can think of are situated in very good land, and the graveyards are surrounded by cultivated fields. So I suspect the idea of using poor land doesn't apply. Mind you, that's not to say the land was always that good. Agricultural reform was a wonderful thing. -- Sigurd Towrie Blackhall - Kirbister - Stromness - Orkney Heritage of Orkney: www.orkneyjar.com Home: sigurd@orkneyjar.com Work: sigurd.towrie@orcadian.co.uk

Hi there! I am Giles, I'm an archaeology student (18) suffering...sorry, studying...in London. Can I first clear up that I have never been to the Orkneys despite the deepest desire within me, which I will hopefully (please) be able to fulfil this summer (2004), but a little more about that in a minute.... I have a particular fascination with the prehistory of the Orkneys, and especially the early Neolithic settlers. I have read books by VG Childe (skara Brae) as well as Renfrew, and the Ritchies, as well as regular visits to orkneyjar.com (thanks Sigurd ). This has turned from a fascination into an obsession one might say and my friends continually have a go because I never talk about anything else! Now the plea for your help, Orcadians! I am required by my course to do fieldwork anywhere in the world (great isn't it - that's why I'm on this particular course!) Any guesses as to where I chose to do mine? If any of you could provide me with contact details of people in the know who are concerned with archaeological excavations in the Orkneys, or might know people who do know (if that makes any sense), I would be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL. I know of the Orkney Archaeological Trust and have contacted them by e-mail, but so far without success. I have been involved on two digs during the past, and will have expanded my skills with a practical training course by the time the summer comes - so I won't be a burden, I promise! Anyway, thank you so much for reading this, and I can't wait to visit your wonderful place! Regards, Giles g.carey@ucl.ac.uk

Grumpy wrote: >Chilly weather greetings, > >Now before the animal activists get up in arms over the subject matter of >this e-mail, let me explain it's not as first it appears. > >Yesterday morning I took into my shed a old plastic bag that had been laying >outside for months, it contained a lot of bits and pieces that needed >sorting out. After about ten minutes of placing the bag in the shed, out >from the bag scurried "The Orkney Vole" alias "Microtus arvalis orcadensis" >as he sometimes likes to be known. Now "The Orkney Vole" is said to be quite >different from the mainland vole, hence the "orcadensis" part of his Latin >name. Another feature that differs between the two species, is their eating >habits, where as the mainland vole is a herbivore, the Orkney Vole's diet >consists entirely of bere bannocks and ginger snaps! > >My problem at the moment is how to evict Victor (that's the name I have >given him) from my shed. So far all peaceful negotiations have failed and he >his claiming squatters rights, something to do with his ancestors having >lived in Orkney for the past 5,000 years. As Victor is one of God's most >beloved of creatures I wish him no harm and I'm sure my shed is a far better >place to stay during an Orkney winter, also his survival rate will be >greater in the cozy environment of my shed. Quite clearly Victor is going to >need feed during the long and hard Orkney winter, and with his very large >appetite of 1 bere bannock and 6 ginger snaps per day, I am going to need >fresh and plentiful supplies of his favourite food. May I humbly take this >opportunity to ask everyone to give generously to this worthwhile cause, I >have a freezer so I can always freeze the bere bannocks and ginger snaps >should the response be over whelming. > >Take care > > > Grumpy, you'll need to learn to make a noise like either a hen harrier or a short-eared owl if you seriously want rid of Victor. Don't forget he'll need a drop of ginger wine too over the Yule :-) Seasonal greetings to you both -- Mike Clouston Who always gets homesick for Stromness at this time of year :-)

Chilly weather greetings, Now before the animal activists get up in arms over the subject matter of this e-mail, let me explain it's not as first it appears. Yesterday morning I took into my shed a old plastic bag that had been laying outside for months, it contained a lot of bits and pieces that needed sorting out. After about ten minutes of placing the bag in the shed, out from the bag scurried "The Orkney Vole" alias "Microtus arvalis orcadensis" as he sometimes likes to be known. Now "The Orkney Vole" is said to be quite different from the mainland vole, hence the "orcadensis" part of his Latin name. Another feature that differs between the two species, is their eating habits, where as the mainland vole is a herbivore, the Orkney Vole's diet consists entirely of bere bannocks and ginger snaps! My problem at the moment is how to evict Victor (that's the name I have given him) from my shed. So far all peaceful negotiations have failed and he his claiming squatters rights, something to do with his ancestors having lived in Orkney for the past 5,000 years. As Victor is one of God's most beloved of creatures I wish him no harm and I'm sure my shed is a far better place to stay during an Orkney winter, also his survival rate will be greater in the cozy environment of my shed. Quite clearly Victor is going to need feed during the long and hard Orkney winter, and with his very large appetite of 1 bere bannock and 6 ginger snaps per day, I am going to need fresh and plentiful supplies of his favourite food. May I humbly take this opportunity to ask everyone to give generously to this worthwhile cause, I have a freezer so I can always freeze the bere bannocks and ginger snaps should the response be over whelming. Take care Grumpy and Victor

My question is, has anyone thought to flash any fertility symbols at stodgy female bankers? Are there any Orcadian pictographs that turn them on? Inquiring minds want to know.... When faced with a choice of Orcadian jewelry (in the '70s), I went for the Maeshowe Dragon. Peggy

Hi G Maybe the kirks are close to the sea as the ground there is or was unsuitable for agriculture or house building or quite simply they wanted to!!!!!!!! Janis ----- Original Message ----- From: "Grumpy" <grumpy_in_orkney@btinternet.com> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 7:40 PM Subject: [<orcadia>] The dead end! > Evening greetings, > > Can anyone throw any light on why so many (although not all) of Orkney's old > graveyards are very close to the sea shore. Is this some old Orkney/Scottish > tradition that the final resting place should be so close to the sea. > > I did toy with the idea that it may have connections with the Vikings when > they used to place the dead on boats and set them on fire. And because the > early Stromness settlers had nicked all the trees for their Ba games, that > due to the lack of wood, the dead were then buried close to the sea. Or is > this just one of Grumpy's flights of fantasy! > > Take care > > Grumpy > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com > >

Mike Clouston wrote: >Don't forget he'll need a drop of ginger >wine too over the Yule :-) __________________________________ GINGER WINE?!? That sounds wonderful. Is that a home-made concoction, or something commercially available? An Orkney tradition, perhaps? I had some delicious beet root wine when I was in Orkney, produced by one of my cousins. Seriously, though, I am addicted to ginger and always happy to discover new ways to ingest it, so if you, Mike, or any of the other kind people on the list could clarify the ginger wine mystery for me, I would be most grateful. Wishing everyone a joyful holiday season. George Coghill Olympia, Washington USA

Dearest Victor: You now have a world-wide support group, intent in correcting the intolerable and excessive abuse foisted upon you by your unappreciative unstabale two-legged host. We are aware of the prisoners diet forced upon you and the unkept conditions in which you are unfortunately confined in that unheated, dimly-lit shed with no television or running water. As to your being denied visitors and phone calls, these things will soon be corrected by the local authorities. An international attorney is being appointed for you. It is the collective view of your international supporters, that you should lay low, ever vigilant, especially in the evenings when old Grumpy has been nipping on the Highland Park. Wait till midnight to make your moves in darkness, resting assured that big G has single malted himself into a night long oblique stiffness. Be careful not to be lured towards any Grimbister cheese bits or chunks of shortbread that might be suspended on a metal forkish thing, mounted on a shiny softwood plate. Taking that bait could be the last thing you do. Nestle high or low beneath or above old G's imagination or his easy reach, in daylight hours. I have made provisional application for your refugee immigrant status with the Canadian government. I should have the paperwork back and approved within a week. Your application scores high and wide above and beyond the minimum standards imposed by our Canadian authorities. You will be given free passage here, first class, in a British Airways jet, lodging at a hotel here, and expense money, until you can settle in to your new apartment (furnished) and report to work in your starting position as a Revenue Canada supervisor. If you don't like the job, the government will lend you the money to open your own convenience store. Counseling will be provided on an ongoing, as needed basis. Within one year you can sponsor your relatives for immigration, limited unfortunately to eight per year. However they in turn can sponsor eight each after one year. That gives you 512 family immigrants after year three, then into the thousands thereafter, each year. Meanwhile, if you can get a photo of old Grumpy, or even the location and name on his mailbox, we will have him brought before an international tribunal on various charges appropriate for his Vole-a-tile manner. In his position as member of parliament he cannot be taken lightly. Merry Christmas furry friend. Stop munching on his gardening gloves. It irritates him into fits that threaten your well being. Please don't chew on any more little trees till you get over here. Then you can chew away till your pulsing little heart is content. We're all cheering for ya! Help Is On The Way! Lay low and stay out of the snow. Grumpy follows those tracks, you know. Emigrant Orcadians of the Free World Inc. 1-800-C'MON-OVER On Saturday, December 13, 2003, at 08:42 AM, Grumpy wrote: > Chilly weather greetings, > > Now before the animal activists get up in arms over the subject matter > of > this e-mail, let me explain it's not as first it appears. > > Yesterday morning I took into my shed a old plastic bag that had been > laying > outside for months, it contained a lot of bits and pieces that needed > sorting out. After about ten minutes of placing the bag in the shed, > out > from the bag scurried "The Orkney Vole" alias "Microtus arvalis > orcadensis" > as he sometimes likes to be known. Now "The Orkney Vole" is said to be > quite > different from the mainland vole, hence the "orcadensis" part of his > Latin > name. Another feature that differs between the two species, is their > eating > habits, where as the mainland vole is a herbivore, the Orkney Vole's > diet > consists entirely of bere bannocks and ginger snaps! > > My problem at the moment is how to evict Victor (that's the name I have > given him) from my shed. So far all peaceful negotiations have failed > and he > his claiming squatters rights, something to do with his ancestors > having > lived in Orkney for the past 5,000 years. As Victor is one of God's > most > beloved of creatures I wish him no harm and I'm sure my shed is a far > better > place to stay during an Orkney winter, also his survival rate will be > greater in the cozy environment of my shed. Quite clearly Victor is > going to > need feed during the long and hard Orkney winter, and with his very > large > appetite of 1 bere bannock and 6 ginger snaps per day, I am going to > need > fresh and plentiful supplies of his favourite food. May I humbly take > this > opportunity to ask everyone to give generously to this worthwhile > cause, I > have a freezer so I can always freeze the bere bannocks and ginger > snaps > should the response be over whelming. > > Take care > > Grumpy and Victor > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the > word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >

... not to forget: RJ Berry & HN Firth (Ed.): The People of Orkney (Aspects of Orkney 4), The Orkney Press, 1986 Probably out of stock nowadays but you may get it as second hand. Lots of historical details and a good source to get something "like a feeling" for different aspects of the islands and their people ... (often copied, never quoted :-)).

On 12 December 2003 21:37, Richard wrote: > I am interested in reading up about the history of Orkney and > was wondering if someone could recommend some good books that > I could read. I have tried my local library but there is not much > there. First stop would definitely be WPL Thomson's "New History of Orkney" followed in no particular order by: "The Islands of Orkney" Liv Schei "The Orkney Book" edited by Donald Omand "The Orkney Guidebook" by Charles Tait. All available from www.orcadian.co.uk/orkneybooks or other bookshops. -- Sigurd Towrie Blackhall - Kirbister - Stromness - Orkney Heritage of Orkney: www.orkneyjar.com Home: sigurd@orkneyjar.com Work: sigurd.towrie@orcadian.co.uk

I am interested in reading up about the history of Orkney and was wondering if someone could recommend some good books that I could read. I have tried my local library but there is not much there. Thank you Richard

today in 1973 I celebrated my "first arriving/footing :-)" in Orkney ... well, celebrating means "we had a rough crossing" with the old mv Smyrill (the boat normally called in at Scrabster in those days) to Lerwick and changed to good old mv Orcadia (?) the most comfortable boat in these waters and a purpose built one compared with mv Hjaltland of today ... :-))

It's the same as the rest of the UK. You have to be 18 to drink in a pub, or to buy alcohol from an off-license. At 16 you can buy a glass of wine with a meal in a restaurant. I think you can drink your old mans home brew at any age (if he lets you). Robert On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 21:12:21 -0500, Pbainton@aol.com wrote: > > What is the legal drinking age in Orkney? It is 21 yrs. here in the USA. > Peggy in Va. >

Happy Holidays all. I attempted contact earlier, but sent it to the wrong place which is rather typical of me I'm afraid. My name is Kathy, I live in Maryland, USA a few houses down from the Chesapeake Bay. We are blessed with a long area of shallow water which keeps the view open, free of marinas. I spend many a sunrise looking over the water, watching the water fowl and work-boats in the distance. It is indeed a blessing to be near the water. Last August I made my first visit to Scotland. I only spent a couple of days in Orkney and feel in love. That place opened me up like a Champagne bottle. I've arranged to come again the end of May for the Folk Music festival. I want to thank Sig for all he's done in sharing the beauty and heritage of such a wonderful place and allowing us to share with each other. Thanks to all of you also and a good and Happy New Year too. Kathy __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/

In a message dated 12/10/2003 12:46:02 PM Eastern Standard Time, grumpy_in_orkney@btinternet.com writes: Hello Nora, I may be wrong but I don't think you are writing from Orkney, in which case that is not an Orkney grown willow messing your yard. An Orkney willow is like an Orcadian, strong, never yielding under pressure, ready to brave the fiercest storm, feet firmly planted, but with a soft centre. Take care Grumpy You are no wrong. I am in the US, New York, where they don't appreciate the trees we have. I am on this list because as i watch these beautiful forests here destroyed to create more suburbs, I can read about a place where the old traditions still survive and where there is still community. That's why I don't post much. i really enjoy this list, and maybe someday I'll get to visit Orkney Nora

(Redirected by "Sigurd Towrie" <sigurd@orkneyjar.com>) *********** BEGIN REDIRECTED MESSAGE *********** as sigurd will no doubt amplify, traditionally kirks were built near the shore throughout the islands, Northern and Western as well as in mainland Scotland. This is no doubt for several reasons, access being perhaps the most important for times when there were no roads or wheels. However I feel that the tradition probably goes back much, much further, indeed to the time of the first people who arrived after the ice retreated in Mesolithic times upwards of 8,000 years ago. These folk had a "hunter-gatherer" lifestyle and especially relied on the sea of a livelihood. They tended to live in seasonal camps rather than permanent settlements. Due to the rise in sea level since the last Ice Age it is thought that much of the evidence (already scant) left by these people has been submerged. However with the coming of farming (whether by new people or not) settlement did develop and by this time sea level was at about the same level as today. I think that there were certain coastal sites which were important to the people in these times, whether as burial places, for worship or whatever, and that these same sites were later taken over by the Christians rather than developed by them. The coastal siting of most of the brochs should also be noted in this context. While sandy places are easy to dig, they are also good places for other species to forage and dig, as well as for erosion, so that in many of these kirkyards bones come to the surface or the shore erodes, exposing skulls and things. Christianity only goes back at most 1,400-1,500 years, and was introduced or imposed on an existing set of beliefs which no doubt went back to long before the mesolithic. here endeth the lecture. Oh by the way most of these places are really nice to visit.... -- Charles Tait Photographic Limited, Kelton, St Ola, Orkney, UK KW15 1TR Tel 01856 873738 Fax 01856 875313 Mobile 07785 220269 All outgoing and incoming mail is checked by Norton Antivirus 2003 email charles.tait@zetnet.co.uk website http://www.charles-tait.co.uk *********** END REDIRECTED MESSAGE ***********

Graveyards by the sea... I was in Westray at the weekend and the explanation that was given to that question was that apparently it says in the Bible that the sea will rise to claim its own, and hence the bodies of those who died at sea (and others) were buried close to the sea, presumably to save it rising too much. Steven ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Clouston" <mike@mikeclouston.co.uk> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 8:04 PM Subject: Re: [<orcadia>] The dead end! > robert@scarth.net wrote: > > >I think the reason is practical: sandy soil = easy digging. > > > >Robert > > > > > >On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 19:40:53 +0000 (GMT Standard Time), "Grumpy" wrote: > > > > > > > >>Evening greetings, > >> > >>Can anyone throw any light on why so many (although not all) of Orkney's > >> > >> > >old > > > > > >>graveyards are very close to the sea shore. > >> > >> > > > > > > > > > Certainly the case in Stromness, built on the side of Brinkie's Brae > which is solid granite. Out at Warbeth where the kirkyard is it's nice > and sandy. Fine and easy to dig, although a bit of shoring up is usually > necessary. > -- > Mike Clouston > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >

What is the legal drinking age in Orkney? It is 21 yrs. here in the USA. Peggy in Va.