Orkney/Birsay Antiques Centre….‘Oh – Those Summer Nights’……Soapstone At Swandro…‘Freedom From Torture’….
by Bernie Bell - 07:50 on 28 June 2023
Orkney/Birsay Antiques Centre…
Having mentioned Alec at Orkney Antiques Centre…
http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=16363
……I ‘Googled’ to see how he’s faring these days…..
https://www.orkneyology.com/orkney-antique.html
It’s good to see that he, and his Emporium, have weathered the storms of the last few years – the power of having a positive attitude!
We haven’t seen him for a while - first we stayed home because of Covid – then some health difficulties limited our life - we’re now ‘coming back to life’ and maybe we’ll turn up at Birsay Antiques and forage for good things again….for example…..
An old ‘Orkney chair’ in which the straw was replaced with upholstery – it’s exceptionally comfy.
Jeanne…. https://jeannebouzarose.me/ ...gave us a painting of an Orkney Yole… https://frontiersmagazine.org/the-orkney-yole/
I wanted a port-hole to go round it – went to see Alec and told him what I was after. He pointed at the nearby wall where there was this…
….just what I was looking for and even the right size!
I like sticks - don’t actually collect them as such - just like them and, these days, need one when walking on rough ground. I wanted a stick holder – went to the Antique Centre - et voila – a groovy ‘60’s/‘70’s? stick holder…
Alec said they’re as hard to find as hen’s teeth – old glass fishing floats. You can tell it’s hand blown by the flat bit on the bottom - which is why it stands up…
I have a few outside too and when the light catches them….
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‘Oh – Those Summer Nights….’
When the sun stays up late
because it isn't a school night,
we spend the evenings
playing outside,
a pack of neighborhood kids
tossing a baseball, football, Frisbee,
whatever isn't stuck on a roof
or disappeared down a storm drain.
As twilight steeps the skies,
the first flashes of heat lightning
appear and we gather 'round
the streetlight like moths,
the moon in our mason jars,
chasing fireflies.
https://bartbarkerpoet.com/2023/06/26/summer-evening-sonnet/
That last couplet – catches it all…
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Soapstone At Swandro…
https://www.swandro.co.uk/post/steatite-and-whetstones
I didn’t know it was called soapstone because of its ‘greasy texture’ – life is for learning.
I was reminded of another Viking site where fragments of soapstone vessels were found - Kirkhouse, South Ronaldsay. I mention the site in this piece…
https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/07/27/two-go-oyceing-again-or-should-that-be-oosing/
..as follows….
“When we got home, we looked it up in the ever reliable Canmore, and this is what we found…. https://canmore.org.uk/site/9633/south-ronaldsay-kirkhouse-st-olas-chapel
Which helped to fill in the picture.
As the tale included bones eroding out of a burial ground, we also had a look in ‘Rising Tides’ by Julie Gibson - illustrated by Frank Bradford https://shop.orkneyarchaeologysociety.org.uk/product/rising-tides-revisited/, and sure enough, on pages 14, 15 and 16, we found Kirkhouse, or Kirkhoose, the burial ground, the farm and a link with a type of burial also found by Skaill House, Sandwick, where the skull of the person is protected by a ‘head box’ as mentioned here…… https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/01/09/bernies-stories-skaill-house-2/
The image on Page 14, is exactly where we’d been mooching about on the shore.”
Nota Bene….Julie retired as County Archaeologist earlier this year, and her role has been taken on by Paul Sharman – he’s now the one to contact if you find things….
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2023/01/11/julie-gibson/
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I received this from ‘Freedom From Torture’… https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/?
“It’s happening now. The Government is planning to dock their floating prison – a huge barge where they plan to house hundreds of refugees - in Portland Port this Friday.
I fled torture to come to the UK, and I’ve built a life here. Now, alongside other survivors, I’m calling on the CEO of Portland Port, Bill Reeves, to consider what he’ll be allowing to happen.
If we don’t stop this barge now, it will be too late. Survivors like me could be sent to live in this floating prison this weekend, likely to be cramped and inadequate for torture survivors.
Stand with us, and add your name in support of our message to Bill. Let’s hand him 10,000 names this week - and show him just how many people don’t want this barge to dock:
There’s a reason that experts, charities, religious leaders and survivors like us have all condemned the scheme. A floating prison is the last place people who’ve survived torture and war should be forced to stay.
Ports are places where holidays are embarked on. Where vital cargo is delivered. They have a choice to make right now.
Add your name, and together we can ask: Do you want this Government’s cruelty to become what your port is known for?
Together, we have a chance to stop the barge from docking and housing survivors of torture who deserve to be treated with kindness and compassion. We must act now.
Thank you for everything you do in the fight against this Government’s cruel policies.
Sepideh
On behalf of Survivors Speak Out”
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Here’s one I made earlier…. https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/12/26/the-brig-o-dread/
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