GGGGGGosh! I recently switched from 12 year old to the eighteen year old stuff to make me more mature. Now I'm 33.3% wiser, and more mellow. Now there then wee Georgie, it may seem unthinkable from your windswept vantage point, but yep, last two examples of natives sharing I know of are a new diamond mine in the NWT where they (Inuit) are cut in for something in the order of 35% (don't hold me to that figure). And near here, a new Casino, Casino Rama, nets our pal the Chief Sharon Henry (delightful gal) in excess of a million dollars every single day of the year for her little band! Check out the websites, Ekati Diamonds and Casino Rama. Natives also own a whacking big chunk of a little project (new) called Voisey Bay in Labrador, and in recent years have accumulated deeded ownership to millions of acres all across our little country. Voisey, by the way, is the largest nickel deposit in the world, in large part native. So "please" it was, right you are, my friend, and thankyou it was from our native brothers who hit the jackpot on these and other projects, and continue so to do. But hey, Shucks n' gollee Georgie, I gotta fess up. I ain't bin reel honest, and I'm feelin a tad poorly. Fer me and my cousins Gomer and Festus are fixin' ta come over tuh see y'all and figured on buyin us an island n raisin blue tics. And geepers, Georgie, Gomer figirs ifn ther h'aint no trees there'd be nothin to shoot septin gophers n' such, cause critters needs trees fer ta live, ceptin fish n' the like. Youze guys got any ducks? Whacha got fer ta shoot, Georgie? Oh yeh, are youze kin to the Coghills in Smoky Holler? Don't sound too Orkney, do it? Sure youze are frum where youze r at? Cheer up pal. Hug someone you love and have a nice weekend. Maybe cut down a Xmas tree, or chase a tumbleweed in the wind! don't take life to seriously or you'll end up like Bin Laden. All in fun and love..........Stephen .On Friday, November 21, 2003, at 03:53 PM, George Coghill wrote: > > --WebTV-Mail-4957-456 > Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit > > > Gentle Reader, > > Perhaps I should give in and adopt the e-message vernacular, peppering > my notes with those little sideways happy faces to avoid offending the > occasional reader who doesn't get irony, but as I mentioned to the love > of my life (whom I met through this list, which I will always be > grateful for), life just isn't worth living if you have to explain your > jokes. What I thought I was driving at was that the wind, the cold, > the > salt spray, the general change in the climate of northern Europe over > the past few thousand years, have gotten together and produced a rich, > unique and stunningly beautiful ecosystem in the Orkney Islands, one > that should be toyed with neither by developers nor by well-meaning > people who think every square foot of the Earth should be occupied by > trees. And as far as the birds, bugs and other "critters," they also > do > quite well in the heather and grasses that so beautifully cover the > land. I am aware that "landscape too is architecture," and I gave you > a > clue to that by mentioning the name of the most famous Landscape > Architect of all time in last night's letter, but do you really believe > that even the designer of the grounds of Blenheim Palace could improve > on the stark magnificence of Orkney as bequeathed us by nature's great > architect? > > Lastly, as a fellow North American, one line in your letter caught my > eye: > >> (Over here, nowdays, huge percentages >> of resources go directly to the natives.) > > Please! > > Good bye, all, and have a pleasant weekend (especially Grumpy). Please > think twice before trying to change a place of rare and subtle beauty > into an artist's conception of what that place may have looked like a > few ages ago. > > George Coghill, > of Orcadian descent, living in Olympia, Washington, USA > > > --WebTV-Mail-4957-456 > Content-Disposition: Inline > Content-Type: Message/RFC822 > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit > > Received: from smtpin-3202.bay.webtv.net (209.240.204.227) by > storefull-2177.public.lawson.webtv.net with WTV-SMTP; Fri, 21 Nov > 2003 07:35:10 -0800 (PST) > Received: from lists2.rootsweb.com (lists2.rootsweb.com > [207.40.200.39]) by > smtpin-3202.bay.webtv.net (WebTV_Postfix+sws) with ESMTP id > 05BA7FEC3 for <gcog@webtv.net>; Fri, 21 Nov 2003 07:34:50 -0800 (PST) > Received: (from slist@localhost) by lists2.rootsweb.com > (8.12.8/8.12.8) id > hALFQahm029325; Fri, 21 Nov 2003 08:26:36 -0700 > Resent-Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 08:26:36 -0700 > X-Original-Sender: stephen.davie@sympatico.ca Fri Nov 21 08:26:35 2003 > Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 10:28:41 -0500 > Subject: Re: [<orcadia>] The Forests of Orkney > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed > Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v551) > From: Steve Davie <stephen.davie@sympatico.ca> > Old-To: ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > In-Reply-To: <5872-3FBDF9A6-46@storefull-2178.public.lawson.webtv.net> > Message-Id: <62E387D6-1C37-11D8-8F8F-0003939E1D4C@sympatico.ca> > X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.551) > Resent-Message-ID: <T9DF3C.A.nJH.s6iv_@lists2.rootsweb.com> > To: ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com > Resent-From: ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com > Reply-To: ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com > X-Mailing-List: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/2480 > X-Loop: ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com > Precedence: list > Resent-Sender: ORCADIA-L-request@rootsweb.com > X-Brightmail: Message tested, results are inconclusive > > My my my, what have we here? > > With the greatest of respect, are you suggesting, historic evidence > aside, that the creator of this planet didn't ever impose trees some > places on Orkney? Trees aren't a "new age" imposing concept, save and > except for the toxic artificial ones made with oil from the sea off > Orkney and elsewhere. They aren't a threatening foreign concept. > > I too am not a fan of hairclipped hedgrows that by design highlight > extravagant entrances to modern-day castles flaunting unconscionable > consumerism. However, on behalf of grouse, hares, songbirds, various > bugs and other critters, those historic Orkney residents now reduced in > numbers, it is fair for anyone on planet earth to look at this unique > ecosystem and compare the current form against what was years ago. Not > an unhealthy exercise. Look at how you oogle over the 3000 year old > architecture. Well, landscape too is architecture and worth examining. > Over here in gadget-guzzling America we haven't done that sort of > evaluating enough, obviously. > > You know, your Orkney yesteryear theme is a great idea for Disneyland! > Kind of an elaboration of their "Pirates of the Caribbean." I envision > a brightly decorated honey coloured wooden vessel on an invisible > track, traveling at 9.3 kph for 19 minutes on a circuitous route > through stone crofts and bleating sheep, attacked occasionally by > sword-wielding bearded Vikings, with screaming women with kicking feet, > flopped over their broad shoulders, their blood curdling cries > amplified in perfect digital stereo over speakers hidden from view by, > oops, trees. And judging by the pumping of "Orkney, the Tourist > Destination", if you aren't careful, you are small enough that you > could become a theme park! Seems like it is close enough to the UK > mainland that it becomes a smog-free affordable summertime retreat for > city-weary Londoners who's overtaxed incomes don't stretch to the Yukon > or south Africa. Think that's not a serious threat? Go to any of the > islands in the world from Malaysia through the South Pacific and the > islands England exploited such as Tortola the British Virgins, > Jamaica,Turks and Cacos, Barbados and countless others. Islands are > fragile, often complex but restricted (waste disposal, drinking water, > fuel,vegetation) and individually unique. Single malt instead of rum. > Oil instead of gold. That's why examining what was and comparing it to > what is becomes valid and natural. The more natural islands are, the > more unique in this exploited shrinking world. In this regard, Orkney > has benefited from a situation where the current population is less > than it was in 1750. Less people--less pressure. Magnificent. Unique. > Breathtaking. A population in reverse. > > Time may well be nigh to prepare for post-oil Orkney. Don't see much > in the way of significant cultural contributions to Orkney from those > international corporate giants who vacuum the black gold from beneath > your fish. (Over here, nowdays, huge percentages of resources go > directly to the natives.) Course, the demands for deductible > gratuitous expenditures have more political propellent on the U.K. > mainland. That's where the numbers are, and the political benefits. So > why contribute to Orkney in any long-term meaningful way if you aren't > even asked? It would be of no benefit to mainland political forces and > needed federal approvals, approvals to dig deeper and longer for more > oil at more risk. Better the oil giant should build, with Orkney oil > money, a football stadium in Manchester. I mean, did you ever ask > yourself how politically impotent your elected representation of > twenty five thousand shrinking fragmented islanders, unconnected by > roads, must be in London or Edinburgh? Sortof like a British > Newfoundland. They have oil beneath codfish as well. And their local > input matters not one iota. But they get even provincial with tax laws, > laid out before sea oil was discovered. They are on the edge of change > that may not be good. > > Thing to do is slip around the Globe a few times and have a current-day > peek. What they don't want you to see is seldom on the internet. Gota > buy the ticket. Lots of chainsaws out there(Brasil, Peru, Canada). > Lotsa future demand for oil (China). Lotsa traffic to Disneyworld! > > So what caught my attention? You say let the trees fall where they may? > I say, let the trees grow where they once fell--even in Orkney! Hats > off to the chap who responded that he is planting 25 hectares this > spring in Orkney. That is a positive, admirable and unselfish move, and > thank goodness likely representative of great, responsible Orkney > stewardship. Stewardship essential for survival as a cultural pearl in > an unspoiled natural setting. And he is paying the lot out of his own > pocket. Bravo! > > Gee, it's friday:..........Have a nice weekend folks..........Stephen > > > On Friday, November 21, 2003, at 06:40 AM, George Coghill wrote: > >> >> My Dear Friends, >> >> Is there a movement afoot, led by some modern incarnation of >> Capability >> Brown, to turn Orkney into a well-manicured new age conception of the >> forest primeval, a manor park rather than one of the most naturally >> beautiful landscapes on the planet? Sigurd, don't let them take my >> rugged rocky silhouettes softened and given a barely tangible subtlety >> by the heather and other shrubbage (not a word, I know, but I like >> it). >> The odd tree or grove, tough survivors as were our Norse ancestors, >> are >> admirable and beautiful, but the thought of disfiguring the openness >> of >> the land with hedgerows and other major plantings makes me a touch >> queasy. I smell a conspiracy, and I think Disney must be behind it, >> turning Orkney into an American style theme park. Or perhaps a German >> Uber-Konglomerate, to turn ancient Orca into Deutschneyland! >> >> Let the trees fall where they may. >> >> Your overseas cousin, >> George Coghill >> >> >> ==== 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 >> > > > ==== 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 > > > --WebTV-Mail-4957-456-- > > > ==== 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 >