#orkney

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Thursday 18 April 2024

In the shelter of a Polycrub I really enjoy growing tulips as a cut flower. The star at the moment is Tulipa 'Rasta Parrot' (tulip) which provides an explosion of colour with twisted, curling petals, of irregular shape and in unusual patterns.

Jill Raggett

#Tulipa #tulip #tulips #cut flower #bulbs #orange flowers #parrot tulip #plants #horticulture #polycrub #garden #orkney #container

[scotianostra]

Today is World Heritage Day

Oiginally known as the International Monuments and Sites Da it is a global celebration of this planet’s heritage. It’s all about increasing the awareness of the importance of the diversity of cultural and natural heritage and preserving this heritage for future generations..

In Scotland we’re lucky enough to have no less than six UNESCO World Heritage Sites. they are;

St Kilda.

The remote Hebridean island archipelago is one of only two-dozen global locations with World Heritage Status for both natural and cultural significance.

The archipelago shares this honour with natural and cultural wonders such as the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu in Peru and Mount Athos in Greece.

I'd love to visit, but it is a wee bit too expensive for me.

Edinburgh Old and New Towns.

Some people have asked me which part of Edinburgh is covered by this title, well the simple answer is all of it!

The capital is a city of many eras, and its World Heritage Site comprises both the old and new towns. The Auld Toon has preserved much of its medieval street plan and Reformation-era buildings along the wynds of the Royal Mile.

The (relatively) New town contrasts this perfectly with neoclassical and Georgian architecture in regimented order.

Antonine Wall.

I've explored many parts of the wall. Constructed around 142 AD by the Romans, the Antonine Wall marked the north-west frontier of their empire. Stretching from the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, the Antonine Wall separated the civilised Romans from the wild Caledonians.

The Heart of Neolithic Orkney

I've not visited The Northen Isles as yet, plans were in the early stages to go this year, but my friend ended up in hospita and is still recuprating, hopefully we can get something sorted when she becomes more able.

The Orkney mainland is synonymous with archaeology. It boasts the mysterious standing stones at the Ring of Brodgar and megaliths at Standing Stones of Stenness, as well as the 5,000-year-old settlement of Skara Brae and chambered cairn and passage grave of Maeshowe. Together these four sites form the heart of Neolithic Orkney, which was given World Heritage status in 1999.

The Forth Bridge

I remember as a bairn drawing and painting the bridge with a steam train going over it, but the train going over the "bumps!"

One of our most iconic and beloved bridges, the Forth Bridge was named a World Heritage Site in 2015 just after its 125th anniversary. The bridge was one of the most ambitious projects of its kind ever attempted at the time. When it opened it had the longest single cantilever bridge span in the world.

New Lanark

The last mill closed in the 1960s but a restoration programme saved the 18th-century village from falling into dilapidation.

It is an early example of utopian socialism in Scotland as well as a planned settlement – making New Lanark an important milestone in the historical development of urban planning. I have never visited, I must say I much prefer my ruined castles and abbeys.

#scotland #scottish #history #edinburgh #forth bridge #new lanark #antonine wall #St Kilda #Orkney

[ancientorigins]

Scotland’s Orkney Islands are home to an astonishing number of neolithic sites. From the settlement of Skara Brae to the Broch of Gurness, the islands are full of mysteries.

#Orkney #Lighthouse #Scotland #Stone Age #Skara Brae #Broch #Neolithic #ancient #history #ancient origins

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

This is a memorial from Roussay on Orkney to James Leonard, an early tennant organiser. He was ultimately evicted from his land by the infamous landlord Frederick William Traill-Burroughs. Following his eviction, three of his children died of diphtheria. But his work in organising the tennants and giving evidence to the Scottish government ultimately got more protections for the crofters and may have helped prevent other clearances on Orkney.

Despite this he failed to win protection in time for the crofters of Roussay, and the island's population has gone from over 1000 at the time of the clearances to less than 100 today.

James Leonard's words still ring true today: "I am prepared to speak the truth and will not be cowed by landlordism" and "We are under the despotism and terror of the landlord and we want that removed ; even though I should fail in this battle, I will fight it out."

Today, James Leonard's farm stands derelict, and the land he rented unfarmed. Meanwhile, Burrough's grand house was gutted by a fire in the 1980s and also currently stands empty.

#uk politics #uk history #tennants #organising #highland clearances #Orkney #Scotland #social history #workers history

[gwydpolls]

Time Travel Question 24: Ancient History XII and Earlier

These Questions are the result of suggestions from the previous iteration.

This category may include suggestions made too late to fall into the correct grouping.

Please add new suggestions below if you have them for future consideration. All cultures and time periods welcome.

#Time Travel #Picts #Caral-Supe Civilization #Neanderthals #Early Humans #Mycenaeans #Germanicus Julius Caesar #Germanicus #Plague of Athens #Hermes #Athens #Alcibiades #Ancient Greece #Ancient Rome #Bronze Age #Orkney #Corn #History of Food #Mesoamerica #Qin Shi Huang #Ancient China #Karahan Tepe #Pre-Celtic Britain #Homo Heidelbergensis #Pre-sapiens Homids

[aerkame]

An example of why I won't have any of the neighbors be nice to outsiders (unless they were taken or invited to Home). Finfolk are some of the meanest people in folklore.

For context in this story, this guy basically sailed this Finman across the sea a few times and got friendly with them, seeing the stranger at a pub or something one day. Then the finman whips out this dust and permanently blinds the poor man. Because he saw the finman.

In short Finman/Finwife are pretty people but not so much on the inside.

#finfolks #finfolk #folklore #orkney #welcome home finfolk au #welcome home

[nocturna7]

Inside the crossing at the stunning Italian Chapel from floor upwards. Click on pic for full screen.

The chapel was built by Italian POWs on the little island of Lamb Holm during WW II.

Domenico Chiocchetti one of the POWs was a painter and he hand painted the frescoes.

#orkneyuncovered #orkney #scotland #🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[vox-anglosphere]

The Ring of Brodgar on Orkney predates Christianity by millennia, so the term pagan is used quite loosely. It was all our ancestors knew.

#Ring of Brodgar #Orkney #Scottish islands #standing stones #pagan monuments #stone circle #prehistoric #ancient britain #UNESCO World Heritage #mystical #remote #Scotland #UK

[superbeans89]

Perfect excuse for a ‘feeding the five thousand’ joke

#shitpost #current events #orkney #isle of sanday #Easter egg mishap #Easter

[curiouscatalog]

From: Transactions - The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. 9. 1823.

Q41 .E2 v. 9

#spectrum #science #illustration #hand colored #orkney #hailstorm #maps #fata morgana #mirage #greenland #india #buddhist #hindu #art #history #libraryofva #specialcollections #rarebooks #19thcentury

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Friday 1 March 2024

It was only a few days ago I wrote about Iris 'Blue Note' (Reticulata) but my friend had such a lovely display of this small, early bulb, protected by a frame of Cornus alba (dogwood) stems, that here it is again!

Jill Raggett

#Iris #irises #cornus #dogwood #purple flowers #red stems #plants #horticulture #gardens #garden #containers #bulbs #bulbous perennial #orkney

[ancientorigins]

An unprecedented Neolithic tomb discovery in Orkney, Scotland offers a fascinating glimpse into ancient burial architecture. 14 human remains and artifacts uncovered were in a well preserved state.

#Neolithic #tombs #human remains #skeletons #chamber #stone #Orkney #Scotland #solstice

[hyperions-fate]

The body-spirit dichotomy, or the body-intellect dichotomy, is a bitter prideful cleaving of the wholeness of a man's nature. Earth and man and sun and bread are one substance; they are made out of the original breath-smitten dust. Men must never despise the flames and darknesses they have come from. The best earth-gold is the cornstalk in August.

George Mackay Brown, Magnus (1973)

#George Mackay Brown #Magnus #Scottish literature #Orkney

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Mervyn Rendall took this striking picture of lenticular clouds over Orkney.

#mervyn rendall #photographer #landscape #lenticular clouds #clouds #orkney #scotland #nature

[auntieblues]

“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

#henry wadsworth longfellow #quotes #landscape #nature #auntieblues #orkney

[aerkame]

Question but what books do you read when doing research on finfolk? Are they physical or digital ones? I’d like to research them as well.

I look at both physical and digital books. I found out about Finfolk after I was flipping through Orkney stories (it mainly had Selkies, witches, and ghosts, but finfolk caught my eyes).

The two physical books I have are:

Orkney Folk Tales by Tom Muir The Mermaid Bride, also by Tom Muir

I noticed that Tom Muir has a big role in almost all the folk lore books for Orkney, I feel like I should do research on him sometime.

Here are some links on where I get my information:

https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/The-Finfolk-of-Orkney-Folklore

Youtubers that actually go over it (surprisingly it's been trending since 2021 to just recently?):

Hope this helps! It seems that in recent years finfolk have been becoming more well-known so I'm sure more stories will come out eventually.

#welcome home finfolk au #finfolk #folklore #orkney