Orkney Archaeology Tours

The Ness Effect

2012-01-28T03:32:00.000-08:00

It's been a bit hectic here of late - ever since the TV programme on the excavations at the Ness of Brodgar (aka 'Orkney's Neolithic Cathedral/stone age temple') went out on New Year's Day we've been snowed under with enquiries and bookings. VisitOrkney has reported a doubling of hits to their website, and for the first week or so after the programme we had a fivefold increase on our own website - and a lot of these hits have turned into bookings which is very fine.

The programme itself was pretty good - quite a few of the dig team (names withheld to protect the guilty!) gathered to watch it together, and decided (since it was New Year's Day) to turn it into a drinking game - every time Neil Oliver mentioned the phrase 'stone age temple' would be the cue for a drink - this plan had to be abandoned quite quickly in the interests of staying sober enough to watch the whole thing through!

The reconstructions were quite fun - if you missed the show they're worth looking at - see Will MacNeil design

The excavation at the Ness of Brodgar this year is running from 16th July until the 24th August - I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of visitors.

Our new tour vehicle (top of the range Ford Tourneo, air con, alloys etc etc) has also come home - earlier than expected but better that than too late - and is now sitting in the showroom window in the Ford dealership in town - I don't want to register it until the 1st March when the new registration date starts so I can get a 12 plate on it. The dealership is happy since it makes a nice striking display and they're getting a lot of interest in it.

I've also got home some rubber matting which I'm going to get fitted over the existing carpets - Ford class the Tourneo as an 'executive vehicle' which means you get carpets whether you want them or not. They do look very nice at first, but that only lasts until the first tour - after that the muddy/sandy boot prints rather spoil the effect.

Orkney Archaeology Tours - for your perfect Orkney holiday

Neil Oliver at Ness of Brodgar

2011-12-17T02:44:00.000-08:00

Just had a email from the secretary of the Orkney Archaeology Society to say that finally the programme that Neil Oliver made about the Ness of Brodgar is due to be screened on New Year's day, BBC2 at 9pm. The blurb from the Beeb is as follows:

"A History of Ancient Britain Special: Orkney's Stone Age Temple

Neil Oliver reports on a newly discovered 5,000-year-old temple on Orkney. Built 500 years before Stonehenge, the undisturbed archaeology and artifacts found there, including wall decorations, pigments and paint pots, are helping to increase knowledge and understanding of the Neolithic people. Special effects are used to re-create the structure in 3D, allowing Neil to walk inside and explore it."

We were all a bit disappointed when it wasn't shown as part of the original 'History of Britain' series - they did the Ring of Brodgar then skipped straight to the Stones of Stenness without mentioning the Ness of Brodgar which is of course slap bang in the middle!

Especially as poor Nick (Card - the director at the Ness) had been dragged out at all hours filming - I think it was two years ago now, I know we had a film crew hanging around when I was on site - I think it was them. Certainly Neil Oliver's presence was causing a lot of interest amongst visitors. I seem to remember he & his crew even got invited to the end of site party but I don't think they went.

Should be a good programme & better late than never!

Orkney Archaeology Tours website

It's a bit blowy out the day

2011-12-09T02:48:00.000-08:00

Interesting week weather wise - last weekend we had a short vicious hailstorm completely out of the blue with a single massive peal of thunder and one lightning strike - didn't have time to unplug the phone line so phone & Internet connection fried. BT were snowed under with work so took them 4 days to reconnect us, meantime this meant heading off into Kirkwall to check my emails courtesy of my friend Malcolm who has wireless access at his hotel.

There are some advantages to using a hotel to check your emails - lots of possibilities for scrounging coffee & cake etc - but the weather had turned snowy & icy so glad when we were back online.

Not fully online though as the phone line comes into the kitchen at one side of the house & we used to run the Internet off extension leads run through to the office at the other side of the house - not a problem with our old Internet box but that got fried by the lightning so we had to dig out a wireless home hub that BT had sent us ages ago - & this refuses to work unless it's plugged in directly to the phone socket in the kitchen, and the wireless connection will not go through two 3 foot thick stones walls to get to the office.

Hence sitting in kitchen with laptop to check emails & doing lots of transferring files from laptop to main computer with data stick.

Rang BT & they are sending a replacement of the box that got fried to see if that helps - but not here yet since the whole of Scotland has ground to a halt on account of this slight hurricane we had last night.

It was a bit blowy out - there were sustained winds of over 100mph with gusts of 138mph recorded at the top of the new turbine in Hatston, haven't heard what like they were up Hammers Hill yet. Our own little weather station nailed to a post in the field next the house was recording steady winds of 65mph -storm force 11 - fairly early on.

It was a weird storm - the barometer pressure crashed - I've never seen it drop so far so fast, then the storm arrived very suddenly - usually they kind of build up slowly but last night it was practically dead calm straight to a storm almost instantly.

I was worried about our little turbine - especially since there were pictures on the Internet of a big turbine on fire in Scotland - you can monitor it from a box in the house but then the power went out so we couldn't - but thankfully it's still there this morning & there's no damage anywhere.

Most of Orkney seems to have escaped fairly lightly - there's a road washed out between Hoy & South Walls & a few other roads closed due to debris & all the schools are closed & there's no boats running but it doesn't look too bad at the moment. Of course we expect winter gales so we tend to pretty much have everything lashed down & build things to last - much more scary south where's there's things to blow down hit you.

It's still windy now & the weather forecast says there's blizzards on the way & should reach us in a couple of hours.

The cats are out having been shut in all night due to the weather - which they didn't appreciate at all. Why do cats sit yowling to go out when the wind is shaking the house & the hail is rattling the windows? You try explaining to a pack (or should that be a yowl?) of disgusted cats that forcing them to sit in front of a nice warm stove on a horrible night is not grounds for a cruelty charge - luckily they can't dial the SSPCA - furry paws too big for the phone buttons.

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Clava Cairns & Culloden

2011-11-25T05:38:00.000-08:00

Have been off on a jolly to Inverness for a couple of nights with my friend Pat. I was responsible for the itinerary & travel & she was responsible for getting us a good deal on hotel rooms. There was a slight conflict of interest - when I proposed an itinerary consisting of the Culloden battlefield, Fort George, the Clava Cairns, Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle, she rather plaintively inquired if there would be a visit to Marks & Spencers included too.

Had to bribe her with promise of shopping so she got her visit to M&S & we even included Brodie Country Fare on way back from Fort George (she shopped, I had scone with cream & jam & pot of tea in cafe & very nice too - I recommend their 'scone of the day' offer).

Still she had got us a very good deal at the Culloden House Hotel - big country pile near Culloden where Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed before battle of Culloden, which they make a big thing of in their publicity material. Slightly disappointed to find that nearly all the original house was knocked down in the 18th century & rebuilt, the only bit left from the original is the cellars & I don't think B P C would've gone into the cellars, but it does make for a good unique selling point.

Anyway it was a very nice hotel(although I wouldn't have wanted to pay full price for the rooms - mine should have been £290 a night & Pat's £320 - ouch!) & the staff were friendly, & they even valet parked the Landy (actually not my Landy but a courtesy Landy from the dealer as mine was in getting a service in Inverness - last one before coming out of warranty so wanted to get it done at a main dealer - although if I'd realised what a main dealer charges for a service I might have reconsidered - another ouch!).

We were lucky in the weather too - calm & dry & not cold at all, dead calm on the boats too. Glad we went last week instead of this as we've had a bit of a blow today & the boats are all pretty much cancelled - they were muttering darkly on the weather forecast about storm force 10 winds - same for the weekend too. We've also had hailstorms & I think they mentioned thunder - looks like winter might be here.

This time last year we had snow - in time to strand Pat at the BBC Good Food Show which is where she is now with the Orkney food stand. Lots of Orkney exhibitors are down there - Orkney Cheese, Orkney Herring, Argos Bakery, Shapinsay Islands preserves, Highland Park whisky etc & also Visit Orkney - they're there for 5 days & all come back exhausted. Got a call from Pat to say that the folk at the NEC had put the Orkney stand together wrong & they had to redo it - they've got lots of panels with big posters & views of Orkney to line the stand & it had been put together with all these facing inwards into the staff room bit so visitors couldn't see them. Looks good now it's the right way round.

Good news this week for the excavations at the Ness of Brodgar - the house of Lochview, adjacent to the site & under which a lot of the archaeology continues, has been bought by an anonymous American benefactor & gifted to the Orkney Heritage Society, so it won't be in the way if it's ever possible to extend the excavation, & in the meantime will provide facilities that can be used when the dig is running

Christmas is also fast approaching - we've got the West Mainland Strathspey & Reel Society Xmas do next week, then we're playing at the Tree Lighting Ceremony in Kirkwall - Orkney gets given a Christmas tree from Norway every year & various Norwegian dignitaries attend the ceremony followed by a reception. I was a bit worried that we'd have to play outside clustered round a tree but no apparently we play inside the town hall & then we get given free food & drink - my kind of gig! The following week we play for the Stromness senior citizens club then one last practise & it's Xmas - I don't know where the time goes!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/

New executive touring vehicle ordered!

2011-11-10T00:51:00.000-08:00

Headed off into town yesterday to get our new tour van ordered - have gone again for a Ford Tourneo, same as we had before, a 9 seat version of a larger minibus, but built to a higher specification.

We're getting the top of the range 'Limited' series which means alloy wheels, fully air-conditioned (don't laugh, it gets surprisingly hot in a vehicle in the summer even in Orkney), metallic paint etc. etc. It's pretty similar to the vehicle we've had before - all they've done for the new series is change the design on the front & put the gear lever on the dashboard instead of the floor, which will be fine as it means more room for the front seat passengers.

They're marketed as 'executive people carriers' & all the brochures show immaculately dressed executives getting in & out with their briefcases, and because of this they're fully lined & carpeted throughout, which is my only bone of contention with the vehicle.

If you get the ordinary minibus they aim at a completely different market - all the brochure pics show people on building sites with hard hats & muddy boots - and the flooring is heavy duty rubber, not carpet, because of those muddy boots.

Now whilst I want a comfortable touring vehicle, my guests also often have muddy or sandy boots, so I really don't want carpeting on the floor. But obviously no-one at Ford had ever considered this possibility, so you can't get rubber flooring as an option on the Tourneo.

I had the same problem with our old Tourneo - it doesn't work putting down rubber mats in the back because they move around too much, so I bought some sheet rubber flooring, cut it to size & glued it down - not as easy as it sounds. This time I'm going to get a carpet fitter to do it!

I also decided 'Mars Red' was too bright & have gone instead for the more discreet 'Avalon' - kind of pale blue/grey.

Off to Inverness next week for a couple of nights with my friend Pat - being Pat she's got us a good deal at a four star hotel where apparently Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed the night before Culloden. (It was a private house then although most of the bit where he stayed was subsequently knocked down & rebuilt, but I think the cellars are original).

We're going to go & have a look at the battlefield, the nearby Clava Cairns, Urqhart castle, Fort George & then on the way back the Grey Cairns of Camster & the Hill of Many Stanes. I'm not sure Pat's quite entering into the spirit of things here - I was outlining the itinerary to her & she wanted to make sure we included Marks & Spencers!

It's often like that with me & Pat anyway - this week she's been happy because she's treated herself to an i-pad & i-phone & I've been equally happily immersed in my new purchases - Abercromby's 1912 two volume masterpiece 'A Study of the Bronze Age Pottery of the British Isles and Ireland and its associated grave goods', & Archaeologia 43 with Thurnam's influential paper 'On Ancient British Barrows, especially those of Wiltshire and the adjoining Counties - part II Round Barrows' - all 260 pages of it.

This was such a long paper that when it was originally read to the learned gentleman of the Society of Antiquaries it was over the course of 4 meetings and two years - that's dedication for you - history doesn't record if said learned gentlemen managed to stay awake throughout. I love these old books - they spared no expense in publication, with lots of plates & really good illustrations - I've told Pat she can borrow them when she's tired of playing with her i-phone!

I think I would have been happy as a 19th century antiquarian - wandering around opening barrows at will, in the spirit of enquiry that was typical of the age. Sir Richard Colt Hoare was the most prolific, opening 465 grave mounds, which he then published in his 'Ancient Wiltshire' in the early 1800s - no plans to buy those, as they go for around £2500 a set!!!

Right, must get back to Ancient British Barrows - just getting to the exciting bits!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Time & Tide (& Tigger Tabbs) wait for no man

2011-10-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

The clocks went back an hour this morning to so we're now back on GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) as opposed to BST (British Summer Time) - that means it's definitely now winter & the nights are drawing in. It also means that theoretically we should have got an extra hour's lie in this morning having gone to bed in BST & got up in GMT, so today what yesterday would have been 7.15am is now 8.15am

(I never used to be able to remember which way it all went until my chemistry teacher at school told us it's easy 'you spring forward, but fall back' & I've had no problem with it since. The same teacher also taught us the way to remember the difference between stalactites & stalagmites is that 'mites grow up and tights come down' which is a slightly more risque mnemonic, at least for a class of giggling teenagers. Funnily enough I can't remember any of the chemistry he taught us!)

Anyway theoretically we should have had a lie in - unfortunately Tigger Tabbs - our oldest cat, now 17 & still going strong - doesn't hold with GMT & when we hadn't surfaced at 6.15am - or 7.15 in TTT (Tigger Tabbs Time) she came through from her snuggle basket in front of the kitchen stove to wake us up. She has a particularly loud and piercing early morning call - a kind of high volume 'mmmrrrrpppp' which wakes everyone up, including the dogs, who then start their own racket & none of them have a snooze button to hit. Hence no lie in - I wouldn't mind but as soon as she'd had her breakfast she went back to sleep.

You can also tell its winter since we've started getting disruption on the boats with the weather. The Northlink Ferries boat the Hrossey had a particularly bad time of it this week - sailed from Lerwick at 5.30pm, made it to Kirkwall late as she'd had to go slow in the bad weather, finally sailed from Kirkwall at 2.15am with an ETA at Aberdeen of 2pm instead of the usual 7.30am, but when she got to Aberdeen she had couldn't get in over the bar at the harbour because of the swell, so had to divert to Rosyth in the Firth of Forth, which they finally made at about 8.30pm.
I wouldn't have got on that boat unless it was a matter of life & death - I did wonder how many of the 95 brave souls on board could walk off at the other end.

We also had the Churchill barriers closed a few times - these are the causeways linking Mainland Orkney with Lamb Holm, Glimps Holm, Burray & South Ronaldsay, & they're bad to cross when there's a high tide combined with gale force winds from the wrong direction - you get waves coming across & big lumps of water dropping on vehicles.

I've been having fun looking at finds records of barbed and tanged flint arrowheads from Orkney and trying to work out just how many there actually are. The finest example is in the collection of a friend of mine having been found by one of his ancestors whilst clearing a field for cultivation - he kindly let me take some photos of it which I think I'll have to put in my PhD thesis as an illustration. The records are a bit patchy - there's quite a large collection of flint arrowheads supposedly from Orkney in the National Museums Scotland, but as with most of these things they were donated in the 19th century without provenance - and in archaeological terms if you don't know where something was found you've lost most of the useful information and the object becomes just another pretty find in a museum. In a lot of the Orkney cases for interesting Bronze Age finds, you only have a label that says something like 'said to have been found in Orkney' which isn't a lot of use to anyone.

I think the biggest shame is that we don't still have the Cursiter Collection in Orkney - J W Cursiter was a noted local antiquarian in the late 19th/early 20th century & published a fair few papers on local antiquities, but also had an extensive collection of finds. He was trying to find a home for his collection before his death & apparently approached Kirkwall Burgh Council with a view to forming a local museum- I'm not quite sure what happened but it finished up in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.

Anyway I'd better get back to my arrowheads - I've just managed to get a hold of a copy of the new Amesbury Archer publication ('The Amesbury Archer and the Boscombe Bowman Bell Beaker Burials at Boscombe Down Amesbury Wiltshire') and there's a nice section on the flint arrowheads they had there, plus some interesting references to chase. It feels like I've been up for hours (thanks to Tigger Tabbs!) but it's only 10.20am

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Wind, whales & Viking boat burials

2011-10-22T03:21:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling a bit guilty this week as my friend Pat has been out touring every day in all weathers - we've been having gale force winds, horizontal hailstones & thunder - fairly typical for late October.

I've been snug indoors since I took a policy decision this year to close for the winter on 1st October, instead of taking the odd day tour bookings whenever people are brave enough to go out like I usually do.

Several reasons for this, partly because it's good to have an official cut off date so I can get stuck back in to the PhD research without having to break off to do tours, but more particularly as I wanted to sell our tour vehicle ready for the new one coming home on 1st March and didn't really want to leave it sitting through the winter doing not much except going rusty before selling it.

The added advantage this year was I also needed to get minor surgery to straighten one of my toes out, which leaves you hopping around for 6 weeks. Plus I hate doing tours when you have to hide behind the stones at the Ring of Brodgar out of the weather. So I managed to kill several birds with one stone, closed on 1st October, vehicle now successfully sold, new vehicle about to be ordered once I decide on the colour, toe straightened, PhD stuck back into.

All fine - except the guilty feeling as I've been forwarding all my tour enquiries - for October, November and would you believe December - to my friend Pat, who consequently has been out this week in all weathers, whilst I've been sat with my foot up getting frequent cups of tea brought by my man Dave, and not having to do any cooking or washing up, watching the hailstones bouncing off the window.

Feeling slightly less guilty because I'm also forwarding work to her for next season as I'm already having to turn folk away as I'm already booked.

Winter activities start to take over - the Orkney Archaeology Society has some interesting lectures coming up, including one next week on the Pictish symbol stone that was found in Sanday earlier this year. Hopefully we'll get the stone itself back for the Orkney Museum after it's been conserved. There's been a good exhibit in the Westray heritage centre this year of the finds from the Neolithic site at the Links of Noltland, including the Orkney Venus aka the Westray Wife - a definite plus to have items displayed in the place they were found.

There's been a bit of excitement in the news this week about the Viking boat burial found at Ardnamurchan in the Scottish Highlands - nice warrior burial with sword & shield etc - previously the only Viking boat burials from Scotland were from Orkney. The Scar viking boat burial from Sanday is probably the best known - mainly for the Scar plaque, a really nice decorated whalebone plaque now in the Orkney museum - but we've also had examples from Westness, Rousay. There's a huge Viking/Pictish cemetery at Westness - but not very well known as they were excavated back in the 1960s & 70s by Sigrid Kaland of Oslo university - and have never been published, although I think the finds are mostly in the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh. Sadly I can think of a good many Orkney excavations from that period that are still awaiting publication - including the 1970s excavations at Skara Brae, at Grobust in Westray, Newark Bay in Deerness etc & don't get me started on the excavation publication backlog from the 1980s & 1990s. If you're not going to write it up you shouldn't be digging it in the first place!

Away from the archaeology side of things we had a sperm whale in Kirkwall Bay the other week - huge crowds gathered on the pier to get a look at it, but it didn't seem to be very well. Expert opinion was sought & suggested that the whale was looking for somewhere to die, so it was looking like it would be a disposal problem for the harbours people (dead whales are very big & smelly & usually have to be moved & buried). Thankfully the whale made a sudden recovery & followed a local boat out to deeper water then headed off looking quite happy, and hasn't been spotted since. It was said to have propeller marks on its head - maybe it headbutted a ferry & was just stunned?

Following this a dead badger washed up on the beach at Warebeth - very odd since we don't have badgers in Orkney - consensus was that it had washed up from Scotland somewhere. Not that unlikely - I once found a very large dead deer on the beach at Skaill Bay, below Skara Brae, that must also have come from Scotland. Much too large to carry - just as well or my man would have wanted it for his reference collection (see http://orkneyarchaeologytours.blogspot.com/2010/01/everyone-should-have-porpoise-in-life.html if you're interested in why!)

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Is Mars Red too bright?

2011-10-03T04:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's October already - where did the year go? We've just been spoilt by having lovely weather for the end of September, so the return of normal October weather - wet and windy - today feels a bit of a shock.

We're closed for the winter now, & it's been such a busy season it's just whizzed by - have been quite good about scheduling days off this year and have usually managed not to go more than 2 or 3 weeks without a day off. Next season's looking busy already - have double the bookings for next season that I usually have by now already, and have started to get day tour enquiries for next year too - and have also had to turn them down as already booked for those dates!

Our trusty tour vehicle is away getting its service and MOT prior to going up for sale, since we're having a shiny new vehicle next year. Have got the brochure and decided on the model, just trying to pick a colour now. I'm very tempted by a kind of orangey brown known as 'Mars Red' - they've got a car that colour outside the showroom in town, but I can't decide how it would look transferred to a larger vehicle. A lot of the colours are a bit bland - kind of bluey grey or greeny gray - I kind of feel it would be nice to have something a bit more cheerful, but I also don't want something too bright. The 'Mars Red' is a bit like a really nice summer sunset - the sort of orangey glow you get as the sun sets into the sea beyond the Brough of Birsay at midsummer. At least no one else would have the same colour, but there might be a reason for that!

I must get on and write the advert for the old van to go in the paper - hopefully someone will want it. My friend Pat suggested I should put it on ebay then we could go away on a jolly somewhere to deliver it - she sold her last car to someone in Birmingham & drove all the way there with it then flew back - don't fancy it though.

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Show time!

2011-08-13T03:30:00.000-07:00

It's County Show day today in Orkney - the culmination of a week and a bit of agricultural shows, starting with the Sanday show, then the East Mainland, the Shapinsay, the South Ronaldsay & Burray, the West Mainland aka the Dounby Show, followed finally by the County Show in Kirkwall. An exhausting prospect if you attend all of them, although I've been pretty busy all week with one of our 'Islands Extra' tours so have missed them all, although I might make it to the County later on.

We originally started the 'Islands Extras' as a one off, since some folk who'd done our regular holiday wanted to come back and do the rest of the islands, & it's really taken off - next year's two weeks are nearly full already, with a lot of folk this year booking to come back before they've even finished their first holiday with us.

It's great fun to get out to the rest of the islands - we go to Sanday, Wyre, Hoy (again - but this time to walk to the Old Man of Hoy), Westray, Papay (Papa Westray) and Shapinsay - a nice change for me as well as for the guests to get back out into the Isles.

We mostly had OK weather apart from one day when it blew a gale - we were out at the dig at the Ness of Brodgar & all the diggers were huddled around the site huts looking bedraggled. Later in the week I was chatting to one of the Ness volunteers - an old friend from London digging days - (when we were all part of the old Department of Urban Archaeology at the Museum of London) - & he said that they'd eventually been rained off site & gone to the local pub for a nice hot chocolate - a definite sign of middle age if you ask me!

Sadly we missed the puffins in Westray by 2 days - they're all off back to sea for the winter - but we were rewarded by lots of fluffy fulmar chicks everywhere we went, and also a herring gull who has decided that picnickers at the Old Man of Hoy are a soft touch for food - he was coming right up to our feet on the scrounge.

It is nice to have a day off today though - catching up on paperwork etc - it's amazing how many bookings are coming in for next year already - some of our holiday weeks are nearly full and the enquiries are flooding in - I'm amazed folk are so organised so far in advance - we've had bookings 18 months in advance this year.

Also catching up with other jobs - managed to get the pet North Ronaldsay seaweed eating sheep sheared last week, wormed the dogs today - not that easy any more as Jet - the big black lab/collie cross - can detect worming tablets even wrapped in bread & butter & spits them out. You have to give her each tablet wrapped in a big bit of bread & slathered in butter so it slips down before she realises she's been had! I also had to exercise restraint as there were black lab puppies in the paper this week - OK they were in Shetland so it was easier to resist than if they'd just been down the road. Four dogs is definitely enough - especially when we get back from our walk in the pouring rain & they all want drying.

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

July already!

2011-07-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's the middle of July already - I don't know where the time goes. We've been having some great weather recently - warm & sunny when not too far south from us were having torrential rain. Hopefully it'll hold for the weekend when we're one of the ports of call for the 'cruise in company' section of the Tall Ships race.

Monday see the start of this year's season at the Ness of Brodgar excavations - which can be followed as it happens at: http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/nessofbrodgar/

Been seeing a lot of short eared owls this year - more than usual I think, there was one hunting in the next field as I took the dogs out today, and there seems to always be one sitting on the fence post as I'm leaving in the morning.

Puffins have been very obliging down at the Brough of Birsay too - I'm always wary of promising folk puffins as they tend to not be there when you want them, but it's been OK so far this year. There were 3 sitting on a ledge just below us yesterday, posing happily for the camera, along with some razorbills. I feel a bit sorry for the other birds - it's just the puffins that everyone wants to see, the others must feel left out!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Orkney Folk Festival 2011 - some good!

2011-05-29T02:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick entry as I've as usual managed to get so caught up in the season that I've not had time to update this - every year I vow to schedule myself more days off in the season & every year I look at the diary & see that I've failed as usual. Not quite so bad this year as last - I've had one day off in a five week run of bookings, & I've got the whole weekend off now as it's the Orkney Folk Festival.

Just as well I'm not working today as we were out till 2am this morning - a combination of the 'Orkney Gathering' concert - all local musicians - followed by the Festival Club - the Inter Tunety match between Orkney, represented by the Chair, and Shetland - represented by Fullsceilidh Spelemanslag.

There's a long history of Inter County matches between us & Shetland & last year at the Shetland Folk Festival they held an Inter Tunety which the Chair won - the prize being Fair Isle - & this was the rematch. So we got two cracking sets from the two bands plus lots of extras joining in the fun - members of Broken Strings & Hadhirgaan - & finally both bands giving it their all together - Shetland was declared the winner on the loudest cheers of the audience but all in good fun as some of the Chair were definitely cheering for Shetland! Then of course many encores followed & we got home at 2am.

The Orkney Gathering concert was some good too ('some good' is the highest praise available in Orkney - corresponds roughly to 'they were really unbelievably brilliant'. This compares to the more usual 'no bad' which corresponds to 'very good indeed'). Bob Gibbon & Kris Drever had come up with the idea of an Orkney concert of Orkney folk & Douglas Montgomery of the Chair, Saltfishforty etc etc had sorted it all out - just about every top class musician in Orkney in a supergroup, with the opening act Shoramere - young fiddlers who are all members of our own West Mainland Strathspey & Reel Society either senior or junior. What more can you ask for on a Saturday night.

And to cap it all this afternoon is the Fiddlers Rally - I get to make my very own Folk Festival debut as a very small cog in a very fine festival - & we get Folk Festival artistes passes too. I'll be playing on the same stage as the Chair - albeit not at the same time - I imagine they're mostly still in bed sleeping off last night's excesses.

Had better go now & tune fiddle, rosin bow etc - one day in the far distant future I hope I might aspire to 'no bad' - but at the moment starting & finishing at the same time as everyone else & not dropping either bow or fiddle in between will do me fine

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Just because it's illegal doesn't mean you should ban it....

2011-04-21T01:25:00.000-07:00

The local cause celebre this week has been the police clampdown on blackenings. A blackening is an Orkney wedding tradition (leaving aside the question of how you define a tradition!) involving the ritual humiliation of both the groom -to- be and the bride -to - be, although not at the same time.

The general outline is the same for both male & female - their friends 'kidnap' them one Saturday close to the wedding, cover them in molasses and any other handy substances, sit them in the back of a pickup or flatbed lorry, together with several cases of beer, then the whole group drives round & round Kirkwall blowing whistles, banging drums etc.

The final act of the ritual is the cling filming of the victim to the Merkat Cross in front of the Cathedral - preferably naked but often the victim is allowed to keep their underwear on. The group then drives off, eventually returning for their victim, they all go & get cleaned up somewhere then finish off with more drinking.

All good clean (!) fun & although there's been mutterings about it before - usually on the grounds of the sticky mess left behind on the Kirk Green - generally most folk accept it & certainly in my experience visitors to Orkney think it's great - there must be thousands of photographs around the world of Orkney blackenings.

All well and good - but of course if you want to be fussy about it there is the minor technicality that it's illegal to drive around with folk in the back of a pickup/flatbed on account of how it's not licensed or insured for passengers, there's no seats, no seatbelts & everyone's drunk. For years the local police have sensibly dealt with this by turning a blind eye or being somewhere else on a Saturday & that's been fine.

However last Saturday a police car came past the Kirk Green - when apparently the blackening was nearly over & the last few boys were clearing up the mess - & not only didn't turn a blind eye but did a U-turn to come back & give the driver a ticket - 3 penalty points on his licence and a £60 fine for dangerous driving!!!

It appears that the police involved may have been new to Orkney (according to the rumour mill one PC asked what the boys were covered in so didn't appear to be familiar with the situation). Anyway they could have had no idea of the storm of protest that was about to break over their heads - you mess with Orcadian tradition at your peril.

It was a big story on Radio Orkney with the discussion continuing on Radio Orkney's facebook pages, the local newspaper the Orcadian were said to be running with it, lots of letters to Radio Orkney's postbag feature etc etc - in fact it's on the front page of today's Orcadian. Various discussion forums proposed setting up fighting funds to pay future fines & also lots of comments along the lines of 'haven't the police got anything better to do?' Plus the concern that the police could also decide to clampdown on the Kirkwall Ba next - where apart from the riotous behaviour of the players themselves, there's lots of public drinking from the spectators.

Well - it's all predictably turned out to be a storm in a tea cup - the police backed down so fast you could practically hear the screeching of them reversing their decision & announced that the fine & penalty points on the driver had been rescinded & they weren't going to do it again, honest! I feel a bit sorry for the two constables who started it all off - they're never going to live this down as long as they're in Orkney they'll be 'the police who tried to ban blackenings'

I've always had a soft spot for blackenings - goes back to my childhood when my dad had a milk round and a pickup truck and in the summer would come & pick me & my friends up from our junior school in it. We'd all scramble into the back of the pickup then he'd drive us home with all of us banging on the side of the truck & singing 'She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes'' at the top of our voices. Great fun for a gang of seven- year -olds - but no molasses & beer involved!

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Fame at last part 2 .................

2011-03-20T03:42:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night saw the annual West Mainland Strathspey & Reel Society concert at the Stromness academy - regular readers will know I joined their illustrious ranks back in November with a whole one and three quarter years fiddling experience behind me. Having been practising till my fingers bled (well not quite - but I've certainly got fiddling calluses) & having managed to not be thrown out for incompetence, last Friday was my first concert with the Society.

We had three sets & an encore, with guests in between including the junior Society, Orkney Traditional Music project, Aff the Kuff (other members of the Society who play together in s small group) and - fresh from her triumph at the BBC 'Young Traditional Musician of the Year' fiddler Kristan Harvey - her first concert on Orkney soil since her win.

I'd assumed it would be tickets on the night - but it was a sell out well in advance, which meant my man Dave, who'd not been terribly enthusiastic about going on account of how he's had to put up with me massacring all the tunes nightly for the last 5 months, couldn't go as he'd got no ticket.

So I can at least now say I've been on the same bill as Kristan Harvey - who was of course brillliant - how she gets that tone out of her fiddle I don't know - well I do of course- years of sweating over it & complete dedication. She used to play with the Society before heading off to university and greater things - she had a BBC producer with her so I think they're making a programme about her too, & she's coming back with her band to play in the Orkney Folk Festival in May so must get tickets.

All the concert was very well received - the hall seats 250 & it was standing room only. I managed OK but not great - I'm not really good enough yet to be playing with the Society although my long suffering man says I've got a lot better since I started going. I did at least manage not to forget any repeats & finish at the same time as everyone else & remembered which pieces ended with chords & which ended with a sudden stop - it's not so bad forgetting to do the chord but it is seriously not OK to end with a chord if it should be a full stop!

The traditional raffle was held at the interval - it has been remarked upon that the only events in Orkney that don't have raffles are weddings & funerals - and the Society is raising money for the concert tour of Norway so there were lots of raffle prizes & lots of tickets sold.

We now have 3 weeks off - which is a shame but it's the school holidays coming up & everyone but me wants a break. I'm just worried about not having enough time to learn the music for the Fiddler's Rally at the Folk Festival - it's at the end of May & so not much time to go now. Apparently we get stickers for our fiddle cases & also an artiste's pass for the event - I quite fancy strolling through Stromness with a pass & a fiddle during folk festival week

Had better close now as the Society has a fundraising stall at the Harray car boot sale & our presence has been requested to play at the event - I'm not sure about it, I need at least 6 other fiddlers there - if there's fewer than that you can hear me too much! Maybe I'll just help on the stall - probably safer all round

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Fame at last! Well, sort of......

2011-03-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a seriously surreal day couple of days here - all started quite innocently with a report from SCARF - the Scottish Archaeological Research Forum - of the latest research going on in the Scottish Neolithic, published by Archaeology Scotland. This included the work that my man Dave's been doing on the Isbister bones, which I've mentioned here before - lots of good evidence for disease, dietary deficiencies & interpersonal violence in the Orcadian Neolithic, people getting hit over the head with sharp pointy objects, that kind of thing.

All perfectly straightforward, but the next thing we know there's a journalist on the phone wanting to know all about the violence side of things, then there's picture editors wanting pics of skulls etc & of Dave - & preferably of Dave holding a skull. Well my man's a bit shy & didn't want his picture in the paper, so he just sent them some of the bone pics- duly published in The Scotsman & the Daily Mail with suitably gory headlines:

http://www.scotsman.com/news/Tomb-of-the-Eagles-gives.6730778.jp?articlepage=1

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1364489/85-New-Stone-Age-skulls-head-injuries-Orkneys-Tomb-Eagles.html

The Daily Mail got round the 'no picture of me ' by simply lifting one off our website without asking!!

Next we know we had BBC Radio Scotland on the phone wanting to interview him live for the Drive Time programme - he banished me & the dogs to the kitchen for that one - the dogs in cases they barked hysterically & me because I was threatening to pick the other phone up & yell our web address down it (some folk have no idea about advertising - honestly!)

Now the local ITV rep wants to film a piece for TV down at the tomb itself & interview him there - I'm trying to persuade Dave to hold up a banner with 'Orkney Archaeology Tours' across the top but he's not having any of it.

I think the funniest thing is some of the comments that people have been posting after reading the story - it's very odd, I suppose in the old days when you had to physically write to the newspaper they wouldn't publish letters written in crayon but it's a bit different now it's all instantly online.

It's also snowing again - any sign of spring having sprung has vanished & all the aforesaid lambs are shivering in the icy blast. Supposed to get worse over the weekend too.

To cap it all the van went in for its routine annual service ended up needing a cylinder head reboring. Started innocently enough - I always ask the garage to replace anything that looks even remotely dodgy at the service as better now than in the middle of the season.

So far so good - but got a phone call to say I needed new glow plugs as the old ones were rusty & likely to fail soon. No problem - I used to routinely remove & check/clean/replace the glow plugs on my old Landy every year. Not so, say the garage - it's a well known problem on Ford Tourneos/transits/etc - the glow plugs have a nasty habit of snapping off in the hole & needing drilled out - which you can't do on the vehicle as you get rusty metal in the engine, so the cylinder head has to come off, & then you usually can't cleanly drill out the hole, it has to go off to an engineering firm south to be rethreaded or something.

Question - do I want them to go ahead & replace the glowplugs? Urghhhhhh! Well on the basis that if I didn't go ahead the glowplugs were sure to fail in July & then there'd be the same problem only more desperate, I said yes go ahead & crossed my fingers all would be OK.

You can guess the rest - they got three out fine & the 4th snapped off - so off with the cylinder head, but they think that with just one they can get a local engineering firm to do it - 2 weeks with a bit of luck. I have three & a half weeks before the season starts so should be safe - more fingers crossed! Plus I don't even want to think about how much this is going to cost - about the only upside is I can now claim back the VAT on the repair bill!

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Spring is in the air

2011-03-07T11:36:00.001-08:00

For a few days it's felt like spring has sprung - warm, sunny, lambs in the fields, walking round with no jacket on, that kind of thing. The weather was so good we had some of the boys up on Saturday doing a bit of concreting for us to finish off the apron into the new shed. Jim who's in charge of the job is a perfectionist and was very concerned not to get any dog paw prints on his pristine surface, so he left it all fenced round with strict instructions not to go near it for 24 hours.

Unfortunately he failed to take into account the resident 7 cats, several of whom appear to have held an impromptu concrete dance on Saturday night including the feline version of 'Strip the Willow' (a very interesting traditional dance, I never quite got the rules straight but it involves flinging your dancing partner as hard as possible at the next person in line). They have also tried to dig the concrete up in several places (don't ask why!) - Jim is not going to be best pleased.

Have recovered from the VAT shock, slightly cheered by the realisation that I can go back 4 years & claim back the VAT on any equipment we've bought for the business & still have. Have also got our VAT reg form back (it came really quickly - funny how efficient the government are when they want money from you). Still don't fully understand the TOMS VAT scheme but from what I can gather from online forums no one else does either. I don't think it'll be that difficult to apply to our own business, it's just that all the HMRC information on the subject comes in 100 page documents that appear to have been written by someone who knew what they were trying to say but couldn't work out how to transmit the information to anyone else. Ho hum.

Have also managed to get a hold of a 2012 diary - you would think a lot of folk would need next year's diary now but they're surprisingly hard to find. We've managed to beat our own record having to produce the 2012 brochure in January 2011 so we could start taking bookings for next year, & have got quite a few bookings in for 2012 now.

Less than 2 weeks to go now before the West Mainland Strathspey & Reel Society concert - my debut performance! I'm going to sit somewhere near the back & play very quietly. We're busy fundraising at the moment for the concert tour of Norway in June - I can't go of course as I'm working. I think I'll suggest a trip to somewhere in the winter - does the Caribbean have a strong strathspey & reel tradition at all? Anyway better go & do some practice I think - I surely need it!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/

Orkney Fiddlers Fantastic

2011-02-04T05:53:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was a massive success for local musical talent.

Broken Strings, a local band of incredibly talented 14-year-olds, winners of the Open Stage at last years Orkney Folk Festival, capped this by winning the Danny Kyle Open Stage at Celtic Connections on Saturday night. OK not all of them play fiddles – there’s accordion, drums, guitars too – but they are amazing. I’d have loved to have seen the reaction of the other bands at being beaten by a group of schoolbairns!

Fiddler Kristan Harvey from Birsay (in fact she’s a neighbour – her family farms just down the road from us) followed this on the Sunday night by winning BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year in Glasgow. Her teacher is Jean Leonard, who seems to have taught just about every talented young musician in Orkney, and also knocks us into shape every week at the West Mainland Strathspey & Reel Society.

Another talented young Orkney fiddler is Jeana Leslie, who plays in a German folk band called Cara, and they made it a hat trick for Orcadian talent by winning Top Group in the Irish Music Awards 2010.

On as slighter different note but still fiddle related, the fiddle belonging to Orcadian explorer John Rae - of Hudson's Bay Company fame - is being renovated and will be played by Jennifer Wrigley in a special concert at the Stromness Museum.

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A windy night

2011-02-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

It was a bit windy here last night - one of those nights when you're lying in bed listening to the sound of the roof tiles rattling & rippling like a giant set of castanets. These are not lightweight tiles - they're big concrete tiles an inch thick, interlocking and doubled nailed at the top & clipped at the bottom. The wind simply lifts the whole roof slightly & shakes the house - quite a feat when the walls are 3 foot thick.

The highest recorded windspeed last night was 122mph at the top of the Hamars Hill in Evie, which is way off the Beaufort scale and comes in as a class three hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. Most of Orkney had gusts of around 80mph even in the sheltered areas, which is comfortably hurricane force. As I say, a bit windy.

We didn't have much damage - a few broken slates on the lee side - the vacuum created by the wind hitting the other side is what seems to do the damage. Our hen hut is also still standing (it's well lashed down) though there's pictures on the BBC Radio Orkney facebook page of some less fortunate sheds.

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CLIC Sargent Dip Photos

2010-12-26T07:19:00.001-08:00

Selection of photos from the CLIC Sargent Boxing Day dip

A very snowy Scapa beach

We're all waving at the photographer who's on the roof of the Sea cadet building
The dash into the sea - I'm at the front & swimming (did at least three strokes honest) but you can't see me for everyone else

That's me chest deep in the middle of the pic - I kept my hat on! Just coming out. And yes it was a little chilly

Some folk (probably the more intelligent contingent) only went knee deep

Wet & bedraggled

But still got the hat!

A big thank you to all who sponsored me - if you haven't yet but want to the online sponsorship link is still live at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CazMamwell

CLIC Sargent Boxing Day Dip

2010-12-21T06:36:00.000-08:00

In a moment of madness I have signed up for the Boxing Day dip at Scapa Beach. This is a fundraising event for the CLIC Sargent the children's cancer charity & is exactly what it sounds like - you gather on the beach then race into the sea (fancy dress optional). They don't like you to go in deeper than chest deep in case you drown but they do have rescue boats. I think there's no fear of drowning as you'd probably freeze to death first. It was started up two years ago & generally raises around £20,000 a year for the charity. I've been trying to drum up support among friends to join me but so far no takers. I think the rugby club are doing it also the 'Biking Vikings' who are fundraising bikers.

If anyone reading this wants to sponsor me you can do it online with your credit card direct to the charity at:http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CazMamwell

I was getting worried about getting back for Xmas since I've been stranded in Edinburgh since last Thursday - I'd been down to see my PhD supervisor & visit the National Museum & our flight back got repeatedly cancelled because of the snow, finally made it home on Monday.

Flybe did put us in a really good hotel for the duration so it could have been a lot worse. We were at the Dakota by the Forth Bridge - it has won awards for its decor but I'm sorry from the outside it looks exactly like the Borg Cube from the Star Trek Next Generation series. I kept expecting to be assimilated by a race of cyborgs ( see http://www.trekmania.net/diplomatic/borg.htm if you have no idea what I'm on about).

Handily though it's in a retail park right next to a Tesco - good for buying all those bits & pieces you'd not packed when an overnight trip turned into a 5 night. Even inside the hotel it's strange - comfortable but all very dark & the staff were eerily alike - mainly female but some boys too, & all young, slim & good looking - it was like they'd been cloned by the Borg to lull you into a false sense of security although more probably deliberately recruited to appeal to a mostly male business clientele. Anyway they were all really friendly & helpful & it was a lot better than sleeping on the terminal floor like all the poor folk at Heathrow. Did have a strange idea of decotr though - very dark paint on the walls & in your room they left a single green apple in front of the mirror - no idea why.

There was a big group of us at first then we dwindled as the more desperate got trains to Aberdeen to try for the boat home - I decided to sit it out as the boat gets in at 11pm five miles from the airport where I'd left the Landy - & the roads at home were so bad I'd probably not have got a taxi to take me there. I kept being phoned from home & given weather reports - along the lines of 'white out' 'blizzard' & 'waist deep drifts' so nothing to do but wait. I did get out to have a look at Roslin Chapel which I'd wanted to do for ages - nice but smaller than expected.

Still good to be home again - very nearly kissed the tarmac at Kirkwall airport. Managed to get back although the roads were very bad & my man had to dig our gate out of a drift to get it open for me - also needed low ratio & diff lock in the Landy to get up the track.

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Snow joke

2010-12-04T02:45:00.000-08:00

Snow still here but slushy & raining a bit today, but they're forecasting another freeze tonight with maybe more snow. We made a run into Kirkwall yesterday & stocked up mostly on fruit & veg - you know you've been snowed in for too long when you start fantasising about fresh oranges. The roads were fine as long as you could get out to the main road - the two miles between us & it was a bit dicey but since our non-tour vehicle is a Landy we have chunky tyres & 4 wheel drive. Couldn't have got down our track to the side road without it.

Wasn't sure if there'd be fresh stuff in the shops since the A9 has been bad but it was OK. We can now survive for a while & Spanish oranges are in season now so even better.

My friend Pat has been stuck in Norwich since last Tuesday, having taken a side trip there instead of coming home straight from the BBC Food & Drink show. I think the rest of the Orkney contingent made it back from Birmingham after 3 days delay - most Scottish airports being shut. Trouble with Norwich though is Flybe only go to Edinburgh from there & as Pat was booked all the way home through them she was well & truly stuck until Edinburgh sorted itself out. She did at least get put in a hotel at Flybe's expense all week but I'll let her tell it in her own words - she emailed me at 7am today Saturday:

''Well at last I reached Edinburgh airport at 0110 this morning!! Having checked in for 14 different flights at Norwich which were all cancelled, we even got as far as the departure gate 3 times.

Got to the stage where we were on first name terms with all the Airport Staff - the cleaners were saying "oh not you lot again", we even had invitations to the staff Christmas party for tonight (Saturday) if we had not made it out. Really you could not make it up if you tried.

On the plus side, got to meet some great folk and we all managed to keep each others spirits up - talk about "Keep Calm and Carry On" & some of the very poor jokes & puns will live with me for a long time.

Just the last leg home to Kirkwall to go - due at 0940 so fingers crossed. Very tired and now beyond P'd off- cannot imagine how I will feel if there is any problem with the Kirkwall flight when I check in at 0800.

So over and out (I hope) from the last remaining one in the long race we all had from BBC Good Food Show 2010 to Home - next time I will just sit on the pallet and let JBT take me home!!!!!!!!!!!!''

Hopefully she's home now although I spoke to her man yesterday & he couldn't get out of their farm even with four wheel drive so maybe she'll be coming back from the airport on a tractor - the final indignity!

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In the bleak midwinter....

2010-11-29T01:33:00.001-08:00

Well, winter's finally arrived with a vengeance. Snow started to fall on Thursday & after a weekend of heavy showers & blizzards conditions at times we're now pretty much snowed in. Monday morning now & all Orkney's schools are closed (you can probably hear the cheering from the schoolbairns) plus many of the roads are blocked - the snow's really fine & powdery - perfect for drifting. The cats are all sulking - they hate the snow - but the dogs think it's great - snow & ice counts as edible if you're a Labrador. It's a pest having to bring buckets of water out the house for the sheep & the hens but at least we don't have to go out - got plenty of food & coal in, which is probably just as well since this is forecast to last all week at least.

Probably means I'll miss another session at the West Mainland Strathspey & Reel on Thursday unless the weather improves a bit - the road from here to Stromness has some nasty steep bits with right angled bends - not the sort of road to be done at night in slidy conditions. I missed last Thursday too - partly because of the snow & partly because I'd been out at a funeral in the afternoon. Orkney funerals are proper traditional affairs - the majority of folk are still buried, in a Kirkyard with generations of their ancestors, so you do the whole thing - the Kirk, followed by the graveside committal with the family as pallbearers, with the Minister reading the service and then the 'earth to earth' bit, with special dry earth in a bucket for the purpose. Then back to the local hotel for soup & sandwiches & a warm up - believe me very welcome when you've been stood at the graveside in the snow. Thankfully the really heavy snow held off until the proceedings were over.

The other week saw the launch of the new VisitOrkney 2011 brochure just in time for them to be taken down to the Orkney stand at the BBC Food & Drink show in Birmingham. Orkney Quality Food & Drink go every year and VisitOrkney goes too - they have a miniature version of the 'Orkney Village' stand which used to go to the Bath & West show. It's a great idea - all the Orkney producers band together & support each other & therefore have a bigger presence at the show - all Orkney stands together, Orkney music playing, Orkney flags flying etc. It's a five day show finishing yesterday & Radio Orkney reported this morning that all the stands had sold out of everything, all VisitOrkney's brochures had been handed out & the Island Smokery had won a bronze & a silver medal in the National Cheese Competition for their smoked cheeses.

My friend Pat's the organiser on behalf of Orkney Quality Food & Drink so she'll be well pleased - also exhausted I should think. She'd been running around sorting everything out for weeks before - as well as organising all the logistics of getting everyone there, the lorries, the stands etc she's also in charge of remembering to take things that she knows from past experience that everyone else will have forgotten - like a dozen bottle openers for the Orkney beer for instance.

Once she gets there she has to get everything set up - I mind on one year she told me she was having trouble getting something sorted - lots of folk with clipboards telling her it couldn't be done - so in typical Pat fashion she nipped out the back to see the boys who were doing the work - couple of sides of Orkney salmon & bottles of Highland Park later all problems were fixed. All the other stands were very puzzled as to why the Orkney stand was ready so quickly & why Pat only had to lift a finger to be overrun with folk ready to do her bidding.

Hopefully they'll all get home today - various airports south are shut including Edinburgh, Kirkwall airport was due to open late after they'd cleared the runways yet again. Just had Pat on the phone & they're all stuck at Birmingham airport as the early flights have been cancelled - they're reviewing the situation at 12 o'clock but it doesn't sound too hopeful. I was right - she was exhausted & had lost her voice so badly I could hardly tell who it was when she rang.

Ho hum - better go & do some work on my PhD I suppose - I'm trying to edit my chapter on Bronze Age Climate & Environment - appropriate given the weather. The problem I'm having is my usual - my supervisor wants me to condense everything & be more concise - she reads what I've written and says things like 'that's really interesting - now get rid of it'. She generally wants me to condense 30 pages into 3, whereas I think they should increase the thesis word limit.

I am also snowed under with technical papers - how does anyone read all this stuff? There are huge numbers of journals, all with inspiring titles like Quaternary Science Reviews, Quaternary International, Quaternary Research and my particular favourite Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology - commonly referred to as the 3 P's - and a lot of them run to several thousand pages a year - making hundreds of thousands of pages on info - how are you meant to keep abreast of them all? I reckon everyone just reads the abstracts & conclusions & skips the details - you'd have no time to do anything else otherwise. The papers all have snappy titles too - how about 'Compilation of non-annually resolved Holocene proxy climate records: stacked Holocene peatland palaeo-water table reconstructions from northern Britain'

That's not to mention all the other publications - there's even a NATO sponsored conference proceedings Third millennium BC climate change and old world collapse - climate change being big news these days of course.

Right - better get down to it - so far all anyone appears to be able to agree about is that global climate changed abruptly at 4.2 ka event and 2.8 ka event BP (2250 & 850 BC or thereabouts) which meant it rained a lot in the north & everything dried up & blew away in the south.

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/

Fiddles & festivities

2010-11-21T03:58:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are again and it's nearly December again already - where does the time go? The council men are out putting up Christmas decorations in towns & villages throughout Orkney although the official lighting of the lights isn't until the weekend of the 4th December. That's when all the tree lighting ceremonies are held - Orkney's one of the few places where you'll see a Christmas tree with four point lashing - they usually manage to survive the wind pretty well.

November seems to be the month for conferences too - in the last couple of weeks I've been to the Sustainable Tourism conference (quite smugly as we're a carbon neutral company & we even have an eco policy & contribute to saving rainforests http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/our-eco-policy/4532705044)

This was followed by the Historic Scotland Neolithic Orkney conference - at which by far the most entertaining paper was by a certain Dave Lawrence on the human bones from Isbister Neolithic tomb.

Finally the Orkney Tourism Group industry conference - the main theme of which was 'Keeping Orkney Open' and extending the tourist season into October/ November. Slightly ironic that it was held on one of the worst days of the year with howling gales & lashing rain - I'm all for extending the season but within reason.

The weather has been a bit blowy recently with the usual boat troubles - some poor folk from Shetland on last weeks Sunday night boat from Lerwick direct to Aberdeen, sailed into a horrible gale - got stuck outside Aberdeen harbour as the boat couldn't get in - finally got diverted to Rosyth & arrived in the early hours of Tuesday morning - a day late! There's a local saying that covers boat trips like that: 'The only thing that kept me alive was the hope of dying!'

Cheered up by the publication of the collected last five years of 'The Giddy Limit' by local cartoonist Alex Leonard - published every week in the Orcadian. These are an absolutely hilarious take on local life with lots of in jokes that probably don't make any sense outside of Orkney - and also written in Orkney dialect which make them even more fun. They're all online too at http://www.giddy-limit.com/aboutthegiddylim.html

Have now survived two sessions at the West Mainland Strathspey & Reel Society - was a bit nervous (OK plain terrified & couldn't stop my hands shaking!) about joining. They were all very welcoming - I was expecting questions about my (lack of) playing ability, but it was just Hi - grab a seat, here's the music.

They are of course all way better than me & I'm also not used to playing in a group - when you're practising at home & you hear yourself going out of tune you can stop & play a few scales till you find the notes, but you can't in a group. And they play everything at breakneck speed & I'd not seen any of the music before - but on the plus side you get a coffee & cake break in the middle. I'm being forced to attempt music that I would normally not try as it looks too difficult - I believe it's called going outside your comfort zone.

I haven't quite worked out what's going on yet but Jean Leonard's in charge - she's a leading light of the Orkney traditional music teaching scene - & she tells us what to do, but we also have a leader who stands at the front - extremely talented young fiddler called Gina - & I think you're supposed to watch her for your cues. Frankly I'm in such a lather attempting to keep up I can't spare even half an eye for her yet.

We are practising for our big concert in March in the Stromness Academy but before that we apparently have to play for the Stromness Eventide club which we do every Christmas.

Following on from that the next big event on the horizon is the Orkney Folk Festival Fiddlers Rally - this is an open concert on the last afternoon of the Orkney Folk Festival http://www.orkneyfolkfestival.com/

All the local music groups get the music for it through beforehand & you all practice it, then a mass fiddle takes place - always sounded great fun & have secretly been hankering for the time when I'd be good enough to go along - so 29th May 2011 it is! I've blocked that day out in the diary & am refusing to take any tour bookings.

Now all I have to do is practice until my fingers bleed.

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Bronze Age Swords

2010-11-11T06:57:00.000-08:00

One of the (many) problems with the Bronze Age in Orkney is the lack of bronze - if you have a trawl through the records and disregard the finds that have very doubtful provenance, are double entries or just plain not Bronze Age at all, you get a grand total of 12 objects from 11 find spots. Not terribly impressive considering the wealth of finds in other areas and one of the reasons that the Orcadian Bronze Age is considered 'dull' in some circles.

This is why my PhD thesis title is 'It rained a lot & nothing much happened': land use, settlement and society in the Orcadian Bronze Age. This has now turned into something of a joke among my friends - they ask me 'How's the Bronze Age - is it still raining? Obviously my stunningly well written & erudite thesis (!!!) will of course prove that although it may indeed have rained a lot, lots of really cool stuff did happen.

Even this small total of bronzes looks good compared to copper objects, of which we have none at all - as far as the metal work is concerned the Chalcolithic passed us by completely.

What we do have from the Late Bronze Age is the Grotsetter sword - a very nice replica in yew wood of a Ewart Park type sword. This formed the core of the paper I was attempting to write for Proc Soc Antiq Soc - have now decided not to submit this year as it was a bit of a rush - what was intended as something quite limited has now expanded as I got interested in wooden swords from the whole of Europe.

I showed what I'd written to an old friend (who's a curator at the National Museum & an acknowledged expert on all things BA in Scotland) who made some very useful suggestions for improvement such as including a gazetteer & illustrations of all other wooden sword finds and - the most fun - how about making a reconstruction of the sword itself? (He also suggested presenting it as paper at a conference which I probably ought to do)

I had thought of this before but not really gone into it - one of the issues with Grotsetter - & indeed other prehistoric wooden swords - is function e.g. weapon, practice weapon, ceremonial etc & it would be good (not to mention fun!) to make some replicas and whack things with them & see what happens to the blade.

There's a very good example of this for bronze halberds - these are big unwieldy blades set on wooden shafts at right angles, that everyone said must be ceremonial as they'd snap if you hit anything with them - until of course an Irish archaeologist had some made and spent a creative few days whacking (dead) sheep in the head and proved that they would indeed repeatedly penetrate skulls without breaking.

(For more info see: O’ Flaherty, R 2007a A weapon of choice – experiments with a replica Irish Early Bronze Age halberd Antiquity 81, 423-34

O’ Flaherty, R 2007b The Irish Early Bronze Age halberd: practical experiment and combat possibilities in Molloy, B 2007 The Cutting Edge: Studies in Ancient and Medieval Combat Tempus, Stroud, 77 – 89)

Another question with Grotsetter is how similar to a bronze sword would it have looked when made - yew is a kind of yellowy wood as well as being very hard, so it might've looked real. Of course I'll need a bronze sword for comparison, so have just taken delivery of a very good replica of a Late Bronze Age Ewart Park sword made by Neil Burridge http://www.bronze-age-craft.com/

It's strange to hold a replica bronze sword - & in fact also to see a shiny one - you tend to forget how shiny these things must have been when first made, since they're always greeny from the patina when they're found, & museum curators don't seem to go for applying Brasso to the blades for some reason

I went for an unstained ash wood hilt on mine - hilts are a bit of a problem since mostly they don't survive - there are some fragments of bone & horn hilts & most swords were cast with a tang for the application of a separate presumably organic hilt.

I'm now trying to get a hold of some suitable yew - most timber merchants don't stock it or it's not great quality but I have a hopeful lead in Wales.

A backup plan is buying a yew wood table & cutting it up (there's a possible on ebay but it'd cost a lot to get it home).

Once I have the wood of course I have to make the sword - or rather swords since I really need 3 or 4 as I suspect the damage factor is going to be quite high when the whacking starts. I was thinking of asking a fiddle maker for help then my man (who is currently furiously writing up a report on the human bone so far recovered from the evaluation down at the Neolithic tomb in South Ronaldsay - see http://www.orcadian.co.uk/archive/2010/banks.htm) announced that he'd once made a pair of oars from scratch using a spokeshave & thought he could manage a sword.

Neil Burridge who made the bronze sword has kindly offered to make some bronze tools to use, so it would be good to try at least one using non-modern methods - I suspect it will involve a lot of blisters. Every bit of yew is also poisonous (apart from the ripe fruit apparently) so it'll have to be dust masks & well-ventilated areas.

Anyway I better get off now since the dogs are wanting their last walk before we lose the light & then I've got to get organised - I've finally plucked up the courage to go along to the West Mainland Strathspey & Reel society for the first time tonight clutching my fiddle & with one & three quarter years of attempting to play under my belt & ask them to let me join. A friend who goes says I shouldn't be worried as all are welcome & I can just join in with the bits I can play & leave the rest - suspect I'll be leaving a lot! But on the plus side they do get music so I can take it away & practice. Wish me luck!

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Writer's block

2010-10-18T03:56:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to be writing a paper for submission to the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland - basically a heavily edited version of a large chunk of one draft chapter of my PhD thesis. It's a bit scary - the thought of the great & good of Scottish archaeology reading it critically - supposing it's ever (a) finished & (b) accepted for publication, both of which are seeming unlikely at the moment.

I'm suffering from writer's block - can't decide between phrasing things in a wishy-washy way - lots of 'possibles' & 'maybes' - which sounds as if you don't know what you're talking about - or being more positive with more 'it is' & 'this shows' - which sounds a bit arrogant.

My man already had two papers published in the Proceedings (on the Peedie Pict - pictish bone carving of a little man, & on Neolithic Mortuary Practice in Orkney) so he's an old hand - currently writing lots of detailed papers on isotope analysis. He's also given papers at a couple of osteoarchaeology conferences so will be published in the conference monographs too, so I'm feeling a bit left out.
I have given two papers at the local 'Orkney research in progress' conference - one on my own research & the other funnily enough on his, since he was away south at the time, as a result of which I can now not only spell craniosynostosis but also know what it means (premature closure of the skull sutures in case you're wondering).

The big news has been the discovery of another probable chambered tomb in the garden of a restaurant down in South Ronaldsay, hopefully to be excavated soon subject to funding being available - my man's happy as there will be more Neolithic bones for his PhD - as if he hasn't got enough to do.

We've got a contingent of blue badge guides from the STGA - the Scottish Tourist Guides Association - in Orkney on tour at the moment - they're the governing body who oversees our own Orkney Green Badge guides training programme. We're holding the graduation ceremony for our latest batch of green badges this week to coincide with their visit & I've got to attend since I'm the chairman of the Orkney Tourist Guides Association (I'm only chairman because no else wanted to do it & I hadn't upset anyone). This presents something of a problem as I'm by nature quite scruffy being an archaeologist and all, & also hate clothes & shopping, so I've got nothing smart to wear & will probably disgrace OTGAs good name. I get away with decent fleeces & sturdy breeks & boots for touring (my breeks were once described as 'tough no nonsense trousers' on a blog by some Australian clients - £12.50 plus VAT from Birsay farmers - bargain).

Was discussing this problem with my friend Pat who's always impeccably turned out except when wrestling sheep & she was horrified to find I have no idea what size I am in anything & is now threatening to take me clothes shopping to Aberdeen. As a stop gap measure she suggested the Blue Door charity shop - noted for its bargains - lots of folk send brand new clothes still with the tags on. The Blue Door is a great local idea - there's a lady in the Kirkwall that owns an empty shop & she lets local charities & community groups have it for free for a fortnight at a time - if you get a really keen group in there they can take £6000 in a fortnight, pretty good going when you think most things cost a £1. Last time Pat was volunteering in there she got a whole new wardrobe of brand new unworn clothes. Never thought of that - only thing I ever get in charity shops is dog blankets.
Not having time to get in there will have to rummage through my clothes box (Pat also horrified that I don't have a wardrobe - just various big wooden chests) & see if I can find a pair of black jeans & Judith Glue sweater - my usual 'posh' standby. Will just have to stand at the back if there's a photographer there.

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Shetland & Fair Isle

2010-09-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

Have just got back (well a couple of weeks ago but I've been busy) from a special week in Shetland & Fair Isle with a group. We don't normally tour outside of Orkney, but this particular group had been with us in Orkney two years running & wanted to do something different. In fact it was this same group who got me to start running the 'Islands Part II' holidays since they'd done our usual holiday week & wanted to come back for more. Anyway after last year's Islands week they all wanted to come back yet again- but I pointed out we'd mostly run out of islands to do in Orkney, so they said fine - we'll do Shetland & Fair Isle then.

It all went well- good weather for most of the week helped of course. I finally got to see Mousa Broch - last time I was in Shetland we didn't manage to make it - the weather was bad & the skipper (Mousa's on a small island reached by a very small boat) managed to land us but couldn't risk staying, so I'd been close to Mousa but not actually to the tower itself. Very impressive from the outside but a bit damp & claustrophobic inside.

Catpund steatite quarry was also great fun (apart from the midges who were thrilled to have visitors). Again last time I was in Shetland (with the Orkney Tourist Guides Association - we were on an exchange trip with the Shetland Guides) we didn't have time to make it there. The Viking/Norse period steatite workings are extensive & impressive despite some damage from a huge landslide back in 2003

Highlight of the whole trip was getting out to Fair Isle on the Good Shepherd IV - not a very big boat & a bit of a wallower although it was calm & sunny on the way out. We stayed at the Fair Isle Bird Observatory - last sighted being prefabricated on our pier here in Orkney but thankfully now up & open for business in Fair Isle & very comfortable too with good food.

It was very quiet - we were the only guests apart from some boys working on the site & a couple of Northern Lighthouse Board boys who were up to maintain the lighthouses on Fair Isle (there's two - north & south light). It really gets busy there for the migrating birds earlier & later in the season but in August there's not much doing on the birding front. Had a very good tour round the islands from an archaeologist friend of a friend who lives there & worked on the Fair Isle archaeological survey & also had time to just wander around.

Was a bit lumpy on the boat on the way back but not too bad - just good when it stopped.

The group are now considering what we'll do next year but I did put my foot down when they suggested the Faroes & Greenland.

Back home now & still flat out - booked solid till 22nd September then it finally quietens down a bit, although bookings are now coming in for next year.

Harvest time too - the barley's looking good this year & there's a definite end-of-year feeling when the combine harvesters start up the hill from us. Nights are starting to draw in too - be time to get back to the PhD soon. My supervisor took a print out of everything I've done so far off to her house in France this summer with the intention of sitting down & reading everything I've done so far & critically commenting on it - I hope I've not ruined her summer.

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What is it about Labradors & hedgehogs?

2010-08-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

Why do Labradors have a thing about hedgehogs? Our old Labrador Max used to find hedgehogs & carry them around in his mouth by gripping the spines - he didn't seem to mind that the spines made his mouth bleed. He never tried to hurt the hedgehog, just wanted to play fetch with them.

The new Labrador Skye (or Pointador given my doubts about her ancestry - see pic right) has an even greater fixation - she has a special hedgehog bark - well not exactly a bark, more a kind of high pitched excited squeal - she bats them around with her paws (which has got to hurt given the prickles) until she either succeeds in picking up the hedgehog or I get to her to stop her little game. None of the other dogs have ever shown the slightest interest in hedgehogs. Jet in particular (pic below) watches Skye's little performance with complete bemusement.

Jet is pretty laid back about most things but does enjoy being big enough to plant both paws on my shoulders so she can slobber all over me - usually when I'm trying to get out the door in a relatively clean state for work.

Having watched last night's Panorama programme about unwanted dogs I'm trying to convince my man that we've got room for another couple around here - after all we only have four of our own & occasional guests when friends are away on holiday. Looked after a friend's collie for a fortnight recently & really didn't want to give him back. The SSPCA website has a nice collie available down in Inverness that I've got my eye on - if she's still not got a home when I have any time to go down & collect her........

Was away in Westray & Papay with a group last week & got some nice pics of seals on the old slip below the guesthouse

Usually seals are a bit difficult to get as I only have a small camera but these were so close you could nearly touch them

Called in at the Links of Noltland excavations - still going strong & they have a possible pottery figurine now although having only seen the photo since it's away for conservation can't say I'm that convinced.

Will be down at the Ness of Brodgar excavations tomorrow with another group - the painted stone is causing quite a stir & they're getting huge numbers for the site tours. I think there's a BBC film crew around this week so it should be on the TV soon.

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Ness of Brodgar - Neolithic cathedral unwrapped

2010-07-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

The excavations at the Ness of Brodgar have started again - further work on the 'Neolithic cathedral' and lots more. Went down there today with a group for the first tour of the new season - unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) I'm so busy this year that I can't get down there to dig again like last year. Should maybe suggest to Nick (Card - the site director & he who coined the Neolithic cathedral tag) that he puts a geodesic dome over the site so we can dig in the winter then I can get down there. Still it was good to catch up with a few old friends who are back up for the digging season. They've got 6 weeks there and as usual the dig diary will be updated each day with photos & progress reports - available at http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/nessofbrodgar/diary.htm
You can also catch up on previous seasons work there too with lots of good pics.

Got out to Westray last week with a group so got to see the Links of Noltland dig again & also to visit the Westray Wife aka the Orkney Venus again at the Westray Heritage centre - who are having a bumper year of visitors thanks to her presence. Historic Scotland have produced replicas in resin & they're selling out as fast as they can get them in stock - you can get a fridge magnet, a keyring & a little stand up version. Not to be outdone Andrew Appleby (the Harray Potter http://www.applepot.co.uk/) has made some little pottery figurines to be sold at the Ness of Brodgar in aid of site funds & he's calling them 'the Brodgar Babe' or alternatively Effie - because she's an Effigy!

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Puffins & crab meat

2010-06-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy season so far - I've hardly had time to draw breath since the start of May and today is my first day off in a very long time. Orkney seems as busy as ever despite the recession -plenty of folk about and lots of bookings in the hotels. Long may it continue! Ive been so busy I can't remember what I've been doing - I really should keep a diary but probably wouldn't have time to write it up.

Went out on a little boat trip with some folk last week off Westray and got to see lots of puffins sitting on the water & diving just near the boat which was great fun. We were in Westray primarily to see the Westray Wife (aka the Orkney Venus), who's back for a summer season in the Westray Heritage Centre. Also had a chance to go out to the dig at the Links of Noltland where they're back on the rescue excavations until September - still a huge amount to do out there & not enough money to do it with. Had coffee & cake in Edwin Rendall's gallery - I'm pleased to report that the carrot cake is still every bit as good as it was last year. One of the folk I was with had an urgent desire for fresh Westray crab so we'd been in Westray processors & bought a big packet, & Edwin was kind enough to lend them spoons to eat it with. There was some left so I put it in the van's coolbox & brought it home for my tea, since they were all going off for a 3 course dinner at the hotel.

It's the St. Magnus Festival this week so the place is swarming with musicians & performers, & we also have the travelling International Market back in town. Haven't had a chance to see it yet - last year they seemed to sell mainly food & it was pretty busy.

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Election fever grips Orkney

2010-04-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

Here in Orkney we're managing to avoid the worst excesses of election fever - I've seen a couple of election posters, we've had a some election leaflets in the post and there's been a hustings meeting with all the candidates live on Radio Orkney but that's about it. We've had a Liberal MP since the days of Jo Grimond who won the seat in 1950 and went on to greater things as the leader of the Liberal party, succeeded by Jim Wallace, then Alistair Carmichael (now of course of the Liberal Democrats). We do share our MP with Shetland so maybe they're getting more worked up about it there.

Elections in Orkney are kind of different though since as it's such a small community you tend to know at least some of the candidates personally - the SNP candidate John Mowat used to be a teacher at the Grammer School & I was one of the trainers who trained him as an Orkney Tourist Guide, and the incumbent Alistair Carmichael used to go to the same fiddle class as me. He'd just bought himself an electric fiddle to play at his London flat (so he could practice with his headphones on & not annoy the neighbours) when all the fuss about MPs expenses came out. We did ask him if he'd put his fiddle on expenses but he hadn't - shame really as it would have made a great newspaper headline!

With Orkney being so spread out nobody comes knocking on the door to ask you to vote & out here in the country we don't get loudspeaker vans going round - I have a feeling I have seen one in the town at some point but that was in a previous election.

We've also got a Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur who comes from Sanday - when we were digging there in the 1980s we used to rent a house off his parents as diggers accommodation & I'm fairly sure he would have been at some of the 'diggers dances' that used to get organised for us. 'Dance' is perhaps a bit of a misnomer - none of us knew the dance steps, most of us were wearing steel toed boots & much beer was drunk - I can remember 'Strip the Willow' which involved a lot of bouncing off walls & hysterical laughter followed by a fine crop of bruises the next day.

Apart from the election all is quiet here - my season starts properly on Monday then pretty much fully booked until mid September with only a few last places left to sell on a couple of the holiday weeks. The weather's a bit strange - one day it feels like summer's just around the corner, the sun's shining, skylarks singing their little hearts out, walking the dogs in a T shirt - then the next day it's lighting the fire and full waterproofs. I have seen our resident short-eared owls again though - we've had a pair breeding somewhere nearby for the last few years and they hunt around our fields so it's good to see them back again.

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Flying visits

2010-03-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Had to head off down to Edinburgh last Tuesday for a meeting with my PhD supervisor at University of Edinburgh. One of the reasons I picked Edinburgh is that there's a direct flight from Kirkwall airport with an early flight south & a late flight home the same day so you don't have to stay overnight. The added advantage being that they have a good archaeology department - V. Gordon Childe of Skara Brae, Maeshowe & Rinyo fame was Abercromby Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology from 1927 - 1946 and had a huge impact on world archaeology. But the big attraction was definitely the there-and-back-in-a-day aspect - I hate cities with a passion - too many people, too much concrete & noise & you don't meet anyone you know in the street.

Flight down was fine - also on the flight were our MSP Liam McArthur & Jim Wallace who used to be our MP but is now Lord Wallace of Tankerness - I always think when they're on the flight if it went down I'd be one of the also-dead as in 'Lord & MSP killed in plane crash - others also dead' - happily we landed safely & 10 minutes early.

A good meeting with my supervisor followed by lunch, then I usually spend a couple of hours in the National Museum - archaeology section of course - before heading back to the airport. I have to watch myself in the museum - the archaeology section is fairly empty apart from me and the security guards (it's quite hard to find for one thing - down the stairs at the back & most people seem to go up to the recent Scottish history sections). Anyway there are lots of really brilliant finds from Orkney there - the Knowes of Trotty gold, the Skaill hoard of Viking silver, Brough of Birsay symbol stone etc. etc. - & I have a bad habit of wandering round going 'hah - that's ours!' the whole time. I didn't realise I was doing it aloud until I looked up once to find I was being discreetly tailed by two security guards who obviously thought I was going to start a smash-and-grab raid. I'm more discreet these days.

However I was so tired that I decided to just head straight back to the airport. I'd had a bit of a hectic week having also been south to Inverness on the Saturday (there-and-back-in-a-day again) to pick up the latest addition to our canine collection from the Scottish SPCA rescue centre. If you're a regular reader you'll remember Skye the Lab/pointer cross - the young hoolipup we got last September - she was getting a bit much for our older dogs who didn't really want to play as much as she did, and I'd been lurking on the SSPCA website (bad idea really!) with half an idea to get her a friend. Well to cut a long story short I spotted a year old lab cross in Inverness - said to be nervous so couldn't go to a home with children - that looked perfect, rang them up & went down to get her. She's absolutely gorgeous, jet black so renamed 'Jet' & quite big - possibly lab/german shepherd cross or similar but very sweet natured - & also a cat lover so she's fitted right in. She & Skye wear each other out galloping around the fields & the older dogs have a bit of peace - perfect solution all round. Well, we did have a spare dog basket after we lost our elderly lab (Max) last November and 4 dogs aren't any more trouble than 3 really.

Consequently I headed back out to the airport early- I did make a detour via Thornton's chocolate shop to buy their biggest box of chocs for my mum who was dogsitting for me, since my man's still down at Bradford doing his stable isotope analysis. Shuffled through security - which went smoothly now everyone seems to have got the idea that you have to put everything even remotely metallic in your jacket pockets & put it through the X-ray machine. Bought a bottle of water & found a recliner seat looking out over the runway & settled down with a book for the afternoon - bliss!

Flight back home also went smoothly & landed on time, so it was fish-and-chips on the way home and collapse with a cup of tea - I must be getting old. Don't have to go south again now until the winter thankfully - twice in one week is plenty for me.

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Crows flying backwards

2010-03-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those days - good strong south westerly gale force 9 gusting to 69mph which according to my Beaufort windscale chart is gusting 'force 11 violent storm'.
I can't remember where I downloaded my Beaufort scale from, but it has little descriptions by the strength of the wind telling you what it means in terms of what you observe - only they've used trees as their main example e.g. 'force 7 - large trees sway' 'force 8 - twigs are broken from trees'. Not much use in Orkney - I think my nearest trees are very small willows about 2 miles away down at Kirbuster Farm & they're always waving about no matter how strong the wind.

I think I might rewrite it for Orkney & today it's been 'force 9 - crows flying backwards'. Why do crows insist on trying to fly into the wind on a day like this? I thought Skye the Pointador (Lab/pointer cross if you're new to this blog) was going to catch one as it was not only flying backwards it was only about 3 foot above the ground - luckily it manged to get over the fence into the next field in time. Mind you it's all in the chase with Skye - she's not a killer dog (despite the hens) - it's the fun of the chase & grab - the kill is accidental.

She proved this last night when I was busy fiddling (yes still attempting to learn) and one of the cats (Tiffin) brought an Orkney vole into the house alive & let it go in our library (bit of a grand name for what used to be a cattle byre before conversion!) - under the table where some of the many boxes of books that won't fit on the shelves are stored. Had no chance of getting it out but retrieved the dogs who were doing their best to catch it & left it to the cats - Muffin had now joined her adopted sister Tiffin in the chase.

Finally finished my practice & looked round to see where Skye'd gone - found her lying down in the library wagging at me with that 'look what I've done aren't I clever' look on her face. Found that the vole had sought the only place of safety in the house - between Skye's front paws! The cats were looking on disgustedly, the vole was fine but a bit bemused & covered in dog slobber as Skye'd been licking it, so I fetched some gloves & rescued it to fight another day. Handy hint - never ever pick up an Orkney vole with bare hands - I've still got the scar from the first & only time I did - teeth like knives & not afraid to use them.

The wind's supposed to ease a bit tonight - the last two sailings of the day on the Pentland Firth have been cancelled & the Lerwick - Kirkwall - Aberdeen boat's not sailing till tomorrow morning. I did have some folk who were coming in today for a couple of days touring but they had to cancel & rebook for July. Just as well really since on a day like this they shut Skara Brae as it's too dangerous - you might get blown into one of the houses & break a leg. It's also not much fun driving in a fairly high vehicle like my van as it's quite light & catches the wind - plus the doors get dragged out of your hands & hit the nearest obstruction. No manufacturer seems to design vehicle doors with grab handles substantial enough to hold onto in an Orkney breeze. Maybe that could be another entry in my revised Beaufort scale - 'force 8 - van doors crash back'!
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Mills & hens

2010-03-14T01:56:00.000-08:00

Got a call the other day from Rae the Miller at the Barony Mill - just down the road from me - asking if I still had hens and if I wanted any feed for them, since last winter he kindly supplied me with some sweepings from the mill for the floor of the hen hut - much better than straw. Since I do still have some hens - despite the best efforts of Skye the young Labrador to finish them off - I jumped at the chance.

Skye incidentally is much better behaved these days and appears (fingers crossed) to have given up destroying things when left alone. We do have our doubts about whether she's really a Labrador - we got her from the Scottish SPCA so we don't know much about her background, although since she was handed in by a previous owner rather than being a stray we do have her vaccination certificate, and included in this was a form that had her kennel club registration number on it, so she is officially a registered Labrador. She doesn't look much like one though, & friends have said she looks much more like a pointer - the other week she proved this by finding a pheasant on the field & freezing in classic pointer mode - head & tale rigid, front paw up etc - & looked exactly like a blond pointer.
We reckon that an unscrupulous breeder had an accidental mating between a Lab & a Pointer & decided the puppies looked enough like labs to get away with it - it makes a big difference since pedigree labs sell for £400 each & crossbreeds get given away. This may account for why she's not as destructive as a real Labrador - I remember when our old lab Max (now sadly no more) was a year old I idly started to add up how much damage he'd done - I had to stop when I got to £1000 as it was too depressing! So Skye is now officially classed as a 'Pointador' round here or sometimes as a 'Labrapoint'

Anyway the Barony Mill is the last working water mill in Orkney, open to visitors in the summer but earns its keep milling in the winter. It was a bonny day & far too nice to be stuck inside so I was glad of an excuse to hop in the Landy & head down to the mill. It's a completely different place when milling than when open - you can't breathe for the flour dust for a start, or at least I can't - it doesn't seem to bother Rae or his apprentice Brian at all. Plus the noise is different as it runs at full power when milling properly - the whole place feels alive. Rae not only had suitable hen bedding but he had some sacks of grain in various stages of milling that they'd been using to clean the stones off when they reset them, plus some of last years oatmeal - all of which will be appreciated by the hens. Rae lifted all the sacks into the Landy for me - I don't know how because they're the biggest sacks you've ever seen - flour goes out in 25kg bags but the waste goes in sacks about three times the size. I did manage to lift the 25kg bag of oatmeal in - I'm not a complete weakling! Then I had the pleasure of the traditional stand at the mill door in the sun blethering with the miller - the old Orkney mills used to be a great place for the farmers to gather - there was a fire in the kiln room and homebrew used to go the rounds. It was the same with the Smiddy - always a favourite place to gather at the end of a days work - every district had a blacksmith now there's hardly any left -there was one just up the hill from us within living memory.

Finally had to head off home - took a while getting all the sacks into the shed but I did have a sack barrow to use - & of course when I finished I was white from head to toe with the dust - at least the hens will be happy - since it's turning lighter they've started laying again so I'll be snowed under with eggs soon. I'll have to start taking some to my mum - we have this system where I keep her supplied with eggs & she uses them to bake & keeps me supplied with cake. Speaking of which since it's Mother's Day I'd better get organised as I'm taking her out for lunch shortly.
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March already - where did the winter go?

2010-03-07T09:13:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's March already - but at last some better weather this weekend, warm & sunny with the skylarks singing - almost feels like spring. Makes a change from snow & bitter northerly winds - might even be able to take off my thermal vest soon.

We're about to start training new Orkney Green Badge Guides in a couple of weeks - to give the proper title they're going to be when qualified 'Orkney Regional Affiliates of the Scottish Tourist Guides Association' - easier to call them Green Badges. All good Orkney guides have their green badge - fairly tough 5 month training course covering a huge amount of ground & culminating in a series of written & practical exams. We're splitting the course this year with part before & after the season as none of the trainers (me included!) have time in the season.

It's a bit annoying to those of us who are qualified guides that anyone can guide without being properly trained, qualified or insured - there's no legislation preventing anyone setting themselves up as a guide & offering tours of Orkney or anywhere else for that matter.

The course relies on the students doing a lot of home study, but they do have a series of introductory lectures to point them in the right direction. I'm doing the archaeology lecture - from 8000BC - AD800 in an hour and a quarter - my first slide is entitled 'Don't Panic'!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Everyone should have a porpoise in life...

2010-01-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

Got a phone call this morning from my old friend Nick Card, who these days runs ORCA (the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology - http://www.orca.uhi.ac.uk/). I'm always a bit suspicious when Nick phones as usually it means he wants me to go & stand in a cold muddy field watching a machine dig holes, & it'll probably also be snowing - the joys of contract archaeology! Anyway today he was calling to tell my man Dave that there was a fairly well decomposed porpoise on the beach at Skaill, which should hopefully still be there if he wanted to go & get it. You might think this is a kind of odd thing to tell someone but Dave's an osteoarchaeologist and one of things any self respecting osteoarchaeologist must have is a reference collection i.e. bones of known creatures for comparative purposes (or in this case porpoises!).

Accumulating dead animals is a bit of an occupational hazard if you live with an osteoarchaeologist - at the moment we've got two dead sheep, a dead seal & two pigs heads buried in a corner of the garden to be dug up when the bones are clean. We went on holiday to Dartmoor once & came back with two Dartmoor ponies, three foxes, a calf & a sheep - other people just buy souvenir tea towels but where's the fun in that?

The problem with getting hold of marine mammals is that they tend to be pretty large & blubbery, hence heavy and impossible to easily carry unless they're already really well decomposed. Then the problem is that there are bits missing as the sea has broken up the body, so it's not easy to get complete specimens. We quite often gets calls from well meaning friends telling us about something that's washed up - I remember going after a whale on the beach at the Broch of Gurness that a (non-archaeologist) friend had said was bony, only to find it really wasn't at all. We managed to get a flipper bone & a vertebra but it took us ages & our jackets stank of dead whale for weeks afterwards.

Dave unfortunately is horizontal at the moment having hurt his back, so I hopped in the Landy with rubber gloves & plastic bags & wearing an extremely old jacket just in case & off I went to Skaill Bay. Found the porpoise easily & it was just right - complete and all the bones still articulated, all I had to do was drag it off the beach & put it in the back of the Landy in an old fishbox (very handy - last used for a similar job on the dead seal). Mind you I did have to drive home very fast with all the windows wound down as it was a bit ripe. Dave is very happy & it cheered him up no end - it's not every day you get given a dead porpoise after all!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T02:55:00.000-08:00

Have successfully survived Christmas & Hogmanay despite the treacherous road conditions - not much snow but what there was quickly turned to ice. Our track down to the road is still like a bobsleigh run - not so easy when there's a right angled bend onto the equally icy road at the bottom. Luckily our non-touring vehicle is a Landrover - but even in that it's been a bit hair raising at times.
Ventured out on Hogmanay afternoon to hear the Wrigley Sisters in concert in St. Magnus Cathedral - they are both fine musicians & Jennifer teaches our fiddle class. There are some good clips of their music on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr9IrXgfqVU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lltO52TBvSw&feature=related

They kindly gave their students free tickets to the concert - stamped 'VIP Student' which I thought was sweet of them - never been a VIP anything before! Excellent concert & Jennifer also played her new Hardanger fiddle in public for the first time - it's a Norwegian style of fiddle & as part of the twinning of Orkney with Hordaland in Noway she'd been across to learn it. The Hordaland Council gifted a fiddle to Orkney & Jennifer had a copy of it made here in Orkney. It's a strange instrument - has an extra four strings underneath that you don't play but vibrate to sound like a separate instrument. The concert was great & even better we didn't slide off the road on the way home.
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Christmas is coming....

2009-12-13T06:02:00.000-08:00

Feeling quite Christmassy everywhere - all the Council trees are up, and all lashed down securely in case of gales, the lights are lit, the shops are opening late, the first Ba' barricades are in place - and we're learning Jingle Bells & Silent Night at the fiddle class. We've already had the OTGA (Orkney Tourist Guides Association) Christmas do - booked the night back in August & I had to take the Saturday night as the Friday I wanted was already booked - I think I'll book it in January next time to beat the rush.

Away out last night to Stromness Town Hall for a Christmas special double bill - the Song Shop Choir and The Chair in concert. My friend Lynn sings in the choir & I'm a big fan of The Chair so a good night out. The Song Shop Choir is part of the Big Orkney Song Project - a lottery funded initiative to collect old songs around the County - they're up to 480 now I think - you can listen to some of their work on their website at http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/ORKNEYSINGERS/ They sing without any backing music & are really very good - I must admit I wasn't really bothered for seeing them not being a big fan of choirs but thought that Lynn would probably flatten me if she caught me sneaking in just for The Chair's performance - glad I did go to listen as they are really worth it.

The Chair are a brilliant local stompy folk band - won Scottish Folk Band of the year in 2008 & have played at festivals all over the place - used to be called Lazy Boy Chair but had to change their name when recording their first album in case the USA company sued them - their website is at http://www.thechairtunes.com/ and they're also on Youtube - this is them on their best behaviour & quite restrained at the Shetland Folk Festival http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LchOyEVtDKA

The Chair have two fiddlers, usually Douglas Montgomery & Fionn McArthur - both excellent - but last night another talented local musician - Louise Bichan was standing in for Fionn. Was watching their technique closely for pointers - think if I give it another 20 years or so I might get there! I noticed that Douglas wasn't holding his bow in the approved manner which made me feel much better since neither do I - I think there's an official way of holding it that you're taught then as far as I can make out all traditional musicians just hold it however they like - maybe if you're learning violin they worry about it more. Plus his fiddle was miked up & he had a wah-wah peddle on it which I'm fairly sure is frowned on in classical circles. And at one point they played a cover of AC/DC's Highway to Hell. They did play one tune I could've joined in with though - Jingle Bells! Pity I didn't take my fiddle - never mind, next year maybe.

In case you're wondering about the Song Shop/Chair connection it's simple - Sarah Jane Gibbon of the Song Shop is married to Bob Gibbon accordian player in The Chair. Cracking good concert all round though & it was well past my bedtime by the time it finished.

Headed back home to see what the dogs - particularly Skye the young rescue lab - had been up to in my absence. Skye's settling down well - she's been here for 2 ½ months now & finally most of the cats are giving her official dog privileges - purrs & cuddles - except when she forgets herself & bounds enthusiastically up to them and wallops them with her paw in greeting them slobbers all over them. She's got a very strong chase instinct particularly for birds - she has disgraced herself by getting into the hen run & killing two hens so much reinforcing of fences has gone on. I was wondering if there was a 'Labradors Anonymous' I could send her to:
Hi - my name's Skye & I have a problem - my hobbies are (1) killing hens (2) stealing food (3) eating books (4) bouncing hysterically (5) breaking things (6) slobbering on cats (7) getting myself into places I can't get out of

No. 7 is a typical labrador trait - I well remember our old lab Max (who sadly had to be put down a few weeks ago at the age of nearly 14) when he was young he had a habit of leaping into canals and rivers without looking to see if he could get out again - have you ever tried to get a full grown labrador out of a canal with a vertical three foot drop to the water?

Anyway Skye's speciality is going upstairs to the half loft - we have a space saver stair - it doesn't have full width treads, only a kind of paddle at each side to put your feet on - ok if you start on the right foot - & the dogs can't get up there. The other day Skye tried it for the first time & managed to throw herself at it with such momentum that she got all the way to the top - then when she tried to go down she fell all the way to the bottom & landed on her head - no damage done as labrador heads are solid bone. I thought she might have learned from this & she sort of did - the next time she managed to get up she refused to come back down again - just stood there & whimpered at me. Suffice it to say it's not the easiest thing in the world to get dog & self down without injury to either - you have to wrap an arm round the dog & one round the bannister & kind of shuffle down backwards.

Just as well I didn't break a leg really since I'm working this week - have out of season guests - Australians escaping their summer - for a couple of days and am praying for good weather.

Apart from that still slogging away at the PhD - I'm attempting to write a chapter on Holocene climate change & how it relates to Bronze Age settlement changes - all a bit heavy going - slightly surreal to then switch on the TV & get the reports from the climate change conference.

Must away to walk the dogs before the light goes - it's 15.15hrs now & the light's fading fast - roll on the Solstice and the return of the Light!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Still fiddling

2009-11-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

Have now been attempting to learn to play the fiddle for nearly 9 months & thought I'd better do a progress report in case anyone thought we'd all given up. Our original class of about 25 at the Wrigley Sisters (see March 22nd post) has been through a lot of changes. For weeks & weeks it seemed that 3 or 4 people would stop coming every week but a few others would take their places so numbers remained fairly static.
I've only just got back into going to the class after having no time over the summer since I was working nearly every Saturday, & numbers seem to have settled down at about 16 or so. I have been dutifully practising every night though which was a bit of an effort at times but I have definitely seen improvement - at least the dogs seem quite resigned to it now (or maybe they're just going deaf?)

It also helps that the class has now moved on from the 'Abracadabra' book (which had tunes like 'The Flintstones' & 'The Frog Chrous' in it-urggh!) to the Scottish Ceilidh Collection book 1 - at last proper fiddle tunes!! We're working up our first Ceilidh set - 'The Queen's Four Marys' into 'the Skye Boat Song' followed by 'The Green Hills of Islay' - pretty good huh? Jennifer is still being very encouraging about our playing - after we did our set all the way through without stopping for the first time last week she told us we were now officially fiddlers (though I suspect she wears her hair long to disguise the earplugs she surely inserts before teaching our class!)

We're also working on a couple of faster tunes & she's trying to get us to memorise one of them. I must say this is one of the many difficult things about being a fiddler (or rather trying to become a fiddler) - proper fiddlers play from memory, although you are allowed to use music when you're learning. The reasons for this seem to be lost in the mists of time - I suspect it probably goes back to the days when fiddles were homemade & people couldn't have afforded sheet music even if they could read it - but I could be wrong - but being able to read music can in some fiddle circles almost be seen as a crime. Some fiddle discussion boards (yes I admit I do lurk occasionally on such things) go so far as to say that it's impossible to play a good fiddle tune if you're reading it from music. I learnt to read music as a child (played in a brass band in my youth) and I'm perfectly happy reading music - but memorising tunes is a trial. Perhaps if you learn to play fiddle as a child & you're taught that way it comes naturally - does your brain hardwire differently?

On the plus side as fiddlers you don't seem to have to worry about playing in anything other than first position - this is where you anchor your thumb to give you the first set of notes. Classical violinists have to worry about moving their thumb down the neck of the fiddle - sorry violin - to seven different positions, but a lot of fiddle music is played in first position, so provided you anchor your thumb in the right place to start with it's not too bad. (You do get tapes on the neck of your fiddle at first to show you where to put your fingers - still not sure why fiddles don't come with frets except to make it harder for beginners).

I've still got my tapes on my first fiddle (my £30 second hand off ebay Czech Strad) but I've succumbed to temptation & bought myself a brand new 'intermediate' fiddle - that is to say a much better fiddle made out of better quality wood, properly set up with good quality strings that's supposed to be good enough to go up to grade 8 in the violin exam world (a bit beyond me really since the world of classical violin exams is quite hard - you can look at the syllabus online & I think I'm actually somewhere around borderline grade 1 - thankfully there are no exams for fiddlers). It's Chinese as most fiddles are (unless you're paying into the thousands) but sounds really sweet even with me playing it & in deference to its sweet nature I'm playing without tapes on the fingerboard so I really do feel a bit like a proper fiddler.

Quite a few in the class seem to have got new fiddles, although some folk started out with better quality fiddles in the first place. I think we're probably getting ideas above our stations - there's maybe a bit of blaming the fiddles for us not sounding better (although honest my new fiddle really sings!) My man says he's happy with his old fiddle - but then he did buy himself an electric fiddle on the excuse that because he has to spend some time in halls of residence this winter (he's in Bradford doing some stable isotope analysis for his PhD) he needed an electric fiddle so he could play it with the headphones on & not annoy his neighbours. I said he should play it amped up to shut his neighbours up if they're too noisy - when he was booking his place in halls the lady on the phone asked him if he was aware the others would all be young people & would he be able to cope?!!!!!

Anyway had better go & do my fiddle practise now - we have to memorise 'The Cockle Gatherers' for Saturday's lesson & work on our Ceilidh set - we're getting homework to do now we're fiddlers!!!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/

Sheep, Seaweed & Groattie Buckies

2009-10-24T01:59:00.001-07:00

Have just been down at the Brough of Birsay collecting seaweed for our North Ronaldsay seaweed eating (pet) sheep - Harry, Harriet & Tallulah - and got a bit sidetracked looking for Groattie Buckies since there was a really good patch of shelly sand washed up. The beach changes a lot down at the Brough depending on what the tides & currents are doing - sometimes lots of sand, sometimes all rocky - and you need the right type of sand for successful Groattie Buckie hunting. Groattie Buckies are miniature conch shells & a lot smaller than people think - as you can see in the pic compared to the size of a 20p piece they're tiny.

They're supposed to bring you good luck if you find them & it's a bit of an obsession looking for them - I always say you have to relax & attune yourself to the essential Groattie Buckiness of the search & then they just pop out at you - kind of a zen mind thing!

When I take a group down to the Brough of Birsay (technically to visit the archaeology on the Brough itself - Pictish & Norse site across the tidal causeway) - we usually indulge in a bit of Groattie Buckie hunting. It can be a bit of a problem if one person in the group can't find one though - I usually end up giving them one of mine so we can leave!

Eventually got around to collecting the seaweed & headed back to the sheep - they immediately started tucking in - they're in with the hens at the moment mowing the grass in the hen run instead of in the big field with our new proper sheep - and they're to be joined on Sunday by Harry's mum, who's retiring from her post as one of Kirbuster Farm Museum's resident sheep. Neil the custodian - who started our whole sheep keeping thing by getting me to take Harry as a caddy lamb (hand reared) - see earlier blog entries for the full story if you're interested - is retiring both the ram & Harry's mum & has got a pair of caddy lambs from North Ronaldsay home to take over from next year. The ram's being retired to a new home in Dounby as he's got a bit bad tempered & has a tendancy to head butt people - & even though he's only a half sized sheep he's got a fair set of horns.

Harry's mum is being retired as she keeps rejecting her lambs every year & they need to be caddied - we had Harry 2 years ago & her this season's lamb went to someone else - only thing is she's been running with the ram so there may be a patter of tiny hooves come March! Must remember to get in a supply of ewe replacement milk powder just in case as she'll surely reject it again. Could be slightly awkward as we're supposed to be off to Shetland for a pre-season break in April - the self-catering lets you take dogs - not sure about caddy lambs!

The 22 Cheviot sheep are all still alive & I'm checking them twice a day - sheep are constantly trying to find new ways to die & ours are no exception - found two lying on their backs on the same day last week. Sheep have a bit of a design fault - if they roll onto their backs - say to scratch an itch - they get stuck & can't roll back. This is dangerous - if you don't find them & roll them onto their feet in time they die as their stomachs stop working - so hence you have to check them morning & night. It's quite easy to roll them up again & then they stagger off all bloated but it soon settles down. You would have kind of thought that they'd know this & take care not to roll too far but apparently it's often the same sheep that does it repeatedly.

It doesn't seem to be something that the North Ronaldsay sheep do - at least ours never have - so perhaps the old native breeds are better designed - they're certainly more agile & a lot more intelligent - and better looking!

Pat & John (our sheep partners) keep trying to educate me in the language of sheep - I thought we had yows (ewes) but apparently we don't, we have hoggs. A yow lamb is a yow lamb from the time she's born until the autumn sheep sales, then she becomes a hogg or a hoggett, but then the following summer after she's sheared for the first time she becomes a gimmer (I think that's right- I tend to glaze over a bit during this kind of conversation). Then after she's lambed herself she's then a yow - a first season yow, followed by second season etc. etc. Finally at the end of her useful breeding life when she's sold to go into meat pies or whatever she's a cast yow (slightly confusing since according to my book on sheep a cast sheep is one on its back - but apparently that's an English term & not used in Orkney - don't think there's a special term for a sheep on its back in Orkney apart from a **** nuisance!).

Have also discovered from Pat that there's another bit of official paper I should have - she was having her Quality Meat Scotland inspection (which they passed with flying colours) - & discovered that she should have a licence from Orkney Islands Council trading standards department allowing her to mix her own sheep feed. Apparently if you buy in a sack of ewe feed & a sack of barley & mix them together in a big bin for feeding to your sheep that counts as mixing your own feed & you need a licence to do it. Sounds like bureaucracy gone mad to me - but the QMS inspector had the right form to hand & they filled it in so they're all legal now.

It's all to do with the Feed (Hygiene and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 which I attempted to read but quite quickly lost the will to live - but since we keep our various feeds in separate sacks & only mix them in a bucket or feeding trough I think we're ok - as long as we don't put them in a big bin & pre-mix them. Which reminds me I gave the Harry, Harriet & Tallulah their Dectomax jags (against worms & ticks etc) the other day & forgot to fill in the veterinary medicine acquisition record & the veterinary medicine administration record schedule - which have to be retained for five years - so I'd better go & do that before the sheep police turn up to take me away

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

The Orkney Venus aka the Westray Wife

2009-10-19T04:27:00.000-07:00

The 'Orkney Venus' - see pic on right - was found back at the end of August on the Historic Scotland sponsored dig at the Neolithic site on Links Of Noltland in Westray, Orkney.

It's tiny - only 3.5cm tall by the same broad - but is the only known example of a Neolithic carving of the human figure ever found in Scotland & joins only two examples known from Mainland UK (photo © Historic Scotland).

It's quite crude as you can see from the pic & some wit here has started folk calling it the 'Westray wife' - there was a letter in to the Radio Orkney letter slot (on Wednesday mornings & often very entertaining) by someone (presumably a Westray man) making some cheeky remarks about the appearance of Westray wives in general & their resemblance to the Westray figure - luckily for him Radio Orkney don't read out the names of the senders! Anyway the Orkney Venus (or Westray wife) is now on display at Edinburgh castle for a few weeks before embarking on a nationwide tour of Scotland, then finally coming back to Orkney for a stint at the Westray heritage centre. After that it will be up to the powers that be to decide where she finally stays - Orkney would be nice but I suspect that the National Museum might get involved - have to wait & see.

The site at the Links of Noltland is hugely important, with both Neolithic & Bronze Age settlement, all being rapidly eroded by the wind blasting out the sand dunes & the sea taking what's left. The next 4 pics on the right show this year's excavation trench - where the Orkney Venus was found - after a gale had filled them back in with sand - that's Neolithic stonework & you can see how close to the surface it all is. The fourth picture is particularly telling - showing Neolithic midden after the wind has stripped the sand away. The last pic shows a rather nice Bronze Age double house uncovered a couple of years ago - again suffering badly from erosion.

The first major excavations here were back in the 1970s and discovered basically another Skara Brae - good preservation & deep stratigraphy, and some really weird stuff like the the articulated skeletons (i.e. not butchered for meat) of 15 red deer. Unfortunately this site is still awaiting publication - the references below are really all there is:

Clarke, D V & Sharples, N 1985 Settlements and subsistence in the third millennium BC in Renfrew, A C (ed) The Prehistory of Orkney, Edinburgh 54-82.

Sharples, N 2000 Antlers and Orcadian Rituals: an Ambiguous Role for Red Deer in the Neolithic in Ritchie, A (ed) Neolithic Orkney in its European Context McDonald Institute Monographs, Cambridge, 107 – 116

A series of rescue excavations have gone in since then, mostly in the last few years, usually with the stated aims of evaluating the erosion problem and formulating a management strategy.
Anyone taking a stroll across the Links of Noltland cannot fail to notice that (a) there's a huge erosion problem & (b) there's nothing at all that can be done about it - the only solution is total excavation & recording before it's too late - 'preservation in the archaeological record' as it's usually known.

I'm sure Historic Scotland know this as well as anyone - after all they're not stupid & do employ archaeologists - but the problem as usual is lack of funding. Historic Scotland's archaeology budget for the whole of Scotland in 2007-08 was around £1.6 million - which is a drop in the ocean when you start factoring in the amount of coastal erosion you've got to deal with just in Orkney, let alone anywhere else.

So if anyone reading this has a few million they don't know what to do with I'm sure Historic Scotland would love to hear from you!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

End of season blues

2009-10-06T01:05:00.000-07:00

Done it again - survived to the end of the season - where did the summer go? I can't believe it's October already! Our last group of the year left on Sunday & that's it now apart from a day tour off the boat next week and a late booking for a short tour in December. I have warned them to wrap up warm & bring waterproof clothing - especially since they're Australian they might find an Orkney winter a bit more than they bargained for - although surprisingly Aussies seem very tough when it comes to weather - I think they find it a refreshing change from the weather at home.
Bookings are coming in for next season already and hopefully we'll have a good season again. Our Orkney holidays proved especially popular this year and all seven weeks sold out quite early so we're adding an extra couple of weeks next year http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/holidays/4530646491

It always takes me by surprise how organised some folk are about planning their holiday - we took our first bookings for summer 2010 back in October 2008 - which is not unusual for us. It has been a bit of a strain getting the 2010 brochure done with this season still going full blast - September's usually fairly quiet but not this year - especially since the laser printer we use (we do all our own brochures) decided to die just when it was needed most. However a new printer has been acquired and a stack of new brochures printed & bound ready for the brochure rush - although most people do download a pdf from our website which has been a big help
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/brochure-request/4530646507

I am now feeling the usual end of season blues - it's a bit of a shock to the system going from flat out touring to all this free time. Of course I have to get switched back on to the PhD - starting my third winter out of six so it's getting serious now - but I'm allowing myself a couple of days to readjust. I really need a holiday but that's not terribly practical with the collection of animals that live with us & in any case I get bored after about an hour of doing nothing so it couldn't be a 'lie on a beach' type of holiday - which is probably what I need!

We have however now finally solved the problem of what to do with our land - our three pet sheep (Harry, Harriet & Tallulah- North Ronaldsay seaweed eating sheep from the most northerly Orkney island ) don't eat enough grass - although they are soon to be joined by another - retiring from her duties at Corrigall Farm Museum & incidentally Harry's mum. My friends Pat & John - real sheep breeders - have talked us into going halves with them on some Cheviot ewes (this year's lambs). The idea is we keep them for a year then sell them on for breeding, hopefully make a small profit assuming not too many die, & we get the grass cut. The sheep arrived from the mart last Saturday as I was out working- I wasn't here but my man Dave was - a bit disappointed as I'd wanted to go to the sale. It was a truly awful day - blowing a gale with squalls coming in - driving home there were times that I couldn't see to drive for the rain.

Met Pat & John on the road leaving with two sheep in the back which seemed a bit odd- didn't have time to talk but got the story when I got in. There'd been some confusion at the Mart - because the sheep had been bought in several lots they were all in different pens, & when the last two sheep were added to the trailer the Mart gave us the wrong two sheep. Unfortunately this wasn't realised until all 22 sheep were in our field & Pat & John were back at the Mart washing out their trailer before heading back home when they got a call saying they'd got the wrong two sheep & the two we'd got in mistake were special sheep of better looks or breeding or something(they all look the same to me but apparently you can tell if you know what you're doing) & the rightful owner wanted them back. So they had to head back out to us with the right two sheep & conduct a round up in our field of the 22 sheep in a howling gale with horizontal rain coming in - & then sort through checking ear tags till the right two were identified & taken back to their rightful owner - all of which I missed (thankfully!).

Everyone being out in the field with the dogs being in the house gave our newest arrival - a six month old rescue labrador called Skye - chance to break into the bathroom & eat a bar of soap. Not sure why she thought soap was food but she is a labrador & from past experience the labrador definition of food is 'anything that can be chewed & swallowed' - bathroom now has a bolt on the outside to prevent a repeat performance.
She's only been here a week since her arrival from the Inverness branch of the Scottish SPCA - http://www.scottishspca.org/
I went down to collect her on a day off between tours. We'd had our home check from the local SSPCA inspector & this had been emailed through to our local centres - Thurso & Inverness - & I'd been keeping in touch to see if a suitable dog arrived. I was told that Skye liked other dogs & had lived with cats so would be fine in our house - although she was completely untrained as had been handed in by her owners who couldn't cope for whatever reason & had been keeping her in boarding kennels whilst they decided what to do with her. Skye wasn't her original name but since she was completely untrained & didn't answer to her old name anyway we changed it - I wanted a short name & unfortunately all the Orkney names we could think of were too long. An island name would be fine but there's only Hoy that's short enough & not really suitable. 'Skye' kind of makes sense -I 'went over the sea for Skye'
She's settled down fine & training has started - although our exisiting dogs are doing their best to teach her all their bad habits - the cats are not too impressed since they don't like being jumped on then pawed & slobbered over but hopefully that will improve with time.

Good news regarding the Fair Isle Bird Observatory (if you've been reading past blog entries) - after various trials & tribulations the pods are now safely in Fair Isle bolted together & being fitted out. They are refusing to take bookings until January just in case but I'm now confident we'll have somewhere to stay in Fair Isle next August.
As we're also heading to Shetland as part of that week we're planning an early season recce to Shetland in April - I've found a self catering that will let us take dogs & we can combine the trip with Dave's visit to the museum in Lerwick to look at some Neolithic burials from Shetland as part of his PhD.

Had better now head off to count the sheep - tried this morning but only got up to 20 before Skye had managed to get through the fence into the field to join me so had to make a swift exit - although she was more intent on jumping all over me than chasing sheep. Sheep are very hard to count - too low lying & they move around too much - but I'm paranoid they'll break out into next door's sheep - ours do look different though - Cheviots have big funny ears & shaggy tails. All very good for my sheep identification skills though - you'd be amazed how many people ask you what breed of sheep they've seen. I can confidently identify Texels as they're big bruisers with ugly heads, Jacob's sheep are easy as they're black & white, Suffolks have black faces & black legs - not to be confused with Black face sheep which I think have white legs & horns - all a bit confusing - plus there's Charollais which to me look very similar to Texels but with not quite as ugly heads. Anyway hopefully all ours will still be there & not scattered to the four winds - as happened 2 years ago with the cattle in our field who all but one broke into our neighbour's fields & we spent a very sweaty afternoon attempting to get them back.
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#

The New Fair Isle Bird Observatory

2009-09-02T03:06:00.001-07:00

The new Fair Isle Bird Observatory is currently under construction - not as you might think in Fair Isle - but right here in Orkney. A local firm - Andrew Wilson - has got the contract, and has built all the little pods out at Hatston industrial estate. The thinking behind this being that it's easier to prefabricate the sections here where you've got cranes & men then ship the bits to Fair Isle & bolt them all together. There is a small team in Fair Isle doing the groundworks but there's nowhere for more folk to stay as they've already demolished the old bird observatory. The barge is all loaded & ready to go - they tried to sail north yesterday but the swell was too great - the barge can only work in 25 degrees of tilt & it got up to 20 degrees before it cleared the String (the channel out to the open sea) & the Master decided to turn back before he capsized.
I have a vested interest here since I'm planning to stay in the new bird observatory next year - I'm taking a group up to Shetland & Fair Isle. I don't normally go to Shetland in a professional capacity but this particular group have been with me twice before in Orkney - once to do one of our holiday weeks http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/holidays/4530646491 & once to do one of our 'Islands Extra' weeks' - a week we offer only for folk who've been with us before & who want to come back & visit lots more islands. This year was the first time we ran the returner's week - mainly because one particular group wanted to come back so much - & it was a great success. We included trips to some of the outer North Isles - Sanday, Westray, Papay - & also Shapinsay, Wyre & Hoy - but in Hoy we walked to the Old Man. I've always been a bit loathe to include outer North Isles since it takes a lot longer to get there - you can get to the Inner Isles in 3o minutes, but the others can take up to an hour & three quarters, & Papay involves an extra boat or plane ride too. I've realised that I've got the typical islander's mentality - ferries are a necessary evil & should be avoided if at all possible. However I've realised the error of my ways since everyone loved the boat rides & thought that the sense of adventure made for a great holiday - I forget if you live in a big city south that boats are an adventure!!
Anyway the week was a big success & the group were a great laugh - & they wanted to go to Shetland next year - & Fair Isle too - so I've finished up organising it a & all 8 of them are coming back. So hopefully the Fair Isle bird observatory will get there safely & we'll be able to stay in it!
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/

Ness of Brodgar excavation again

2009-08-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

I'm back digging at the Ness of Brodgar this week again - hopefully for the whole week as long as no one rings up for a tour. I did manage to get three days in last week - Nick (the director) suggested I leave my phone off the hook!
Have been planning today & I think I might be stuck planning all week - we have a bit of a problem on site in that we have a lot of inexperienced folk who can't plan or who can only plan simple areas - so experienced hands have to deal with the difficult stuff, which is most of the site - lots of walls, flags & funny angles to deal with. Next week it''ll be all hands planning - all the supervisors plus Nick & anyone else capable as the whole lot has to be done before the site's closed up. The bit I'm planning is the bit I dug last week uncovering a nice paved area running around the outside of Structure 10 - we're not going down any further there this year so it makes sense for me do get it done now. The weather forecast is not that great though - I think it mentioned strong winds & heavy rain, so Nick was muttering darkly about having us all fill sand bags. We need a vast number of big bags full of soil to hold down all the plastic we'll be wrapping the site in after the end of the season, & it's the perfect job for a wet windy day - as long as you don't mind getting covered in liquid mud that is.
Lots of good finds coming up (in addition to the obvious massive Neolithic structures) including today a rather chunky macehead. Pretty big as you can see from the pics - that's Rascal the site mascot investigating it in the bottom picture - he's a young rescue dog who's convinced the world is edible at the moment.
We've had a lot of publicity this week with a double page spread in last Friday's Times & a piece in the Scotsman. Wonder if all the publicity will translate into some decent funding for the site?

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/

Ness of Brodgar 2009 excavations

2009-08-12T11:07:00.001-07:00

I've had a few days off this week after a really busy spell so have rewarded myself by going digging at the Ness of Brodgar excavations. I'd asked Nick (Nick Card, site director of ORCA - the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology - & an old friend from Sanday digging days) - if it was ok if I came along when I had spare time & he jumped at the offer. As usual the site is very short of money so any extra help is appreciated.

It's a really amazing site -massive Neolithic structures which you only really appreciate fully from above. A treat for us all today as Nick had arranged a loadall from Orkney builders to come along & we all got a chance to go up in it & take some pics.

Only one of mine came out very well although I did get some nice shots of the loadall!

For much better pics take a look at the official Ness of Brodgar blog at http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/nessofbrodgar/

The entry for August 12th has some really good pics Nick took with his wide angled lens. The strange linear feature you may see running through the middle of the site is the water main for the nearby farm which was put in years ago before there was any archaeological supervision of such things.

There's also lots of juicy finds coming up - lots of carved stones & we're getting ring marked stones & red sandstone uprights - odd when the nearest red sandstone is about 12 miles away.

It's been good to get back into some proper archaeology - usually I only manage to do watching briefs & evaluations in the winter (see previous posts) & I find myself in the evening hoping no-one's going to ring up for a tour so I can go in the next day.

It's a bit of a strange site to dig on as we get a huge number of visitors - we're right by the road that leads from the Stones of Stenness to the Ring of Brodgar so everyone sees us. We have official site tours twice a day for visitors, but also get lots of people wandering around to have a look, and all the day trip coaches going past pip their horns & the passengers wave at us.

The weather has broken a bit this week - last week Nick was wishing for some rain as the site had got so dry it was like digging in the sahara. Today could have done with less as was trying to take a photograph of my bit & the lens just kept fogging up. The forecast is better for tomorrow though.

I'm also feeling a bit old - my decrepit joints are holding up ok with the aid of kneepads & a nice lie down at tea breaks & lunch, but I we've got a lot of students on site & I think students must be getting younger - I'm sure some of them aren't old enough to be out on their own. They all seem to spend all their nights in the pubs in town too - you know you're getting old when you're digging & your idea of a good evening is feet up with a nice cup of tea & a book!

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/

Is it winter yet?

2009-07-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Have been neglecting the blog a bit of late as the season's been pretty hectic so far - have a day off today - the first in a month - so some catching up to do. Not sure a day off is a good idea since it's only when you stop that you realise how tired you are.
The weather's been a bit unpredictable of late - we had a heatwave a few weeks ago with temperatures of 26 degrees recorded - far too hot - all the roads were melting - you don't usually walk through Stromness & stick to the ground. Managed not to get sunburnt for a change by liberal application of factor 20 plus factor 50 sunblock stick & sunhat. Came back one day to find that my man had headed down to the open day at Windwick excavations - huge Iron Age complex - in South Ronaldsay then gone for an 8 mile walk but had forgotten the suncream - he was doing a fine impression of a lobster but did at least remember to take a sunhat & some water.
We just can't cope with weather like that for long periods - Max our labrador was suffering - he's 13 ½ & is on a wide selection of drugs to keep his heart & lungs going & we were hoping the weather would break before he did! He's reached the stage where the vets are saying 'you do know he's not going to last forever' & we're saying 'yes- give us more drugs'. He's happy though - still acting like a puppy but having to lie down a lot more - thankfully he's much improved since the weather reverted to normal. We've already lost Duke our ex Battersea Dogs Home collie this year to cancer at only 11 - haven't got another dog yet as would be unfair on Max - will probably wait until he goes then get a couple more rescue dogs to add to the collection. The SSPCA has a website with dogs up for rehoming http://www.scottishspca.org/ if you're interested - the only trouble being you look on it & want to adopt them all.
We also lost one of the North Ronaldsay seaweed eating sheep - Euphemia - who dropped down dead a few weeks back - happy & outwardly healthy one day & dead the next. Sheep do this apparently - our sheep owning friends have confirmed that sheep have only two states - alive & dead - & can go from one to the other with no warning whatsoever. I suppose on the plus side it cuts down on vets bills & is comparatively untraumatic for all concerned.
We were down at the Brough of Birsay today collecting more seaweed for the remaining sheep - who are all also fit & healthy although we were a bit paranoid for a while - got sidetracked watching hermit crabs - how do they fit into shells that small? Maybe they're like the Tardis & bigger on the inside? Week before last was out at Rackwick in Hoy with some guests on a beautiful calm sunny day & saw a basking shark trolling up & down just offshore - hadn't got a camera with me unfortunately but it was huge - much bigger than I expected.
Have just been back out to Papay with guests for an overnight stay - we were supposed to go out on the plane but unfortunately the airport was fogbound.
While we were waiting to see if the fog would clear I met a friend in the airport who is now the teacher in North Ronaldsay, & as such has much experience of the little 8-seater Islander planes. We were discussing if the flight would go & she said a lot depended on the pilot - some of the pilots being gutsier than others & willing to chance it - I said I definitely didn't want a gutsy pilot!! An old adage about pilots came to mind - no idea where I heard it - there are old pilots & bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots! Anyway we decided to get the boat instead to be sure of getting there - luckily it being Friday there was a boat nearly direct via Westray. Jim Hewitson met us at the pier since we were staying with him & the trip turned out to be a success - left by the plane the next morning as planned after excellent hospitality at School Place as usual. I don't think I could risk staying longer than overnight at the Hewitsons since Morag is such a great cook - I think I put a couple of pounds on as it was.
The excavation season is in full swing with work at the Brough of Deerness & Ness of Brodgar - for updates on all the season's digs & dig diaries with pictures see Sigurd Towrie's website http://www.orkneyjar.com/ Was down at the Ness for a tour yesterday - arrived with my group to find everyone huddled inside out of the torrential rain & the site filling up with water. Went to rouse the site director, Nick Card of ORCA (an old friend from Sanday dig days) out of the nice dry site hut - I think he thought I was pulling his leg when I told him I had a group for the 11am tour!
It's nearly August now which means the show season is coming up - the first week of August is all agricultural shows culminating with the County Show at the Bignold Park in Kirkwall on the Saturday - & as everyone knows 'summer's over after the County Show' - a bit pessimistic I always think but there is an end of summer type feel about all the same. However my summer doesn't end there - September's really busy too with bookings in till the start of October. Won't be able to get to any of the shows anyway since I'm working the whole time - probably just as well - all I ever do at the shows is eat too many sirloin steaks in a bun from the Orkney meat barbecue & much too much Orkney icecream - rhubarb & custard is my current favourite flavour. Baikie's stores in Finstown (on my usual route home) does huge cones of Orkney icecream & I have to resist temptation every night as it is.
Had better sign off now as I'm off to Sanday early in the morning with a group of folk who came on one of our holidays last year & have come back to do a week visiting the other islands with me - we're going to Sanday, Westray, Papay, Shapinsay, Wyre & walking out to the Old Man of Hoy - hope the weather's nice!
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/

Sanday

2009-06-19T00:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went back to Sanday for the first time in just over 20 years so I'm feeling pretty old as I write this. Sanday is one of the North Isles of Orkney and back in the 1980s it was a hive of archaeological activity, with big excavations at Pool Bay and Tofts Ness.

I just worked out if you add together all the dig seasons we must have spent the better part of a year living in Sanday - that was when we fell in love with Orkney. In fact there's quite a few of us old Tofts Ness diggers in particular living in Orkney now - of the 12 strong evaluation team we had at Tofts Ness for the first season there's five of us settled here, one of whom is still in Sanday.

There used to be around 40 diggers in Sanday every summer, with Tofts Ness following on from Pool Bay so lots of people worked at both sites, and in the season Pool & Tofts ran at the same time there must have been 60 of us. It made quite an impact on the island community who welcomed us with open arms - we invited everyone to our parties & we got invited to all the community events & they even arranged special 'diggers dances' for us where we all drank too much & danced strip the willow with a certain amount of vigour - you were black & blue the day after. We got one day off a week to coincide with the arrival of the main boat on the Wednesday - the old MV Orcadia - bringing much needed supplies especially to the pub since we usually drank it dry on the Tuesday night.

The Orcadia was a great little boat - none of your modern Ro-Ro - this was a hoist on hoist off cargo boat - to get our vehicles over you had to drive into a cargo net on the pier which they then hoisted inboard. She also shipped cattle - as I remember there was a side door they could open & they put a ramp down for the cattle to run down into the hold - it always got a bit hectic when they were loading up!

The Orcadia breakfasts were a great favourite too - the trip out to Sanday could take all day depending on which route they took & you could spend a fair amount of that eating breakfast - I seem to recall that they kept bringing you food as long as you were still at the table. The modern boats are all very well but a microwaved bacon roll doesn't really do it for me - but a daily Ro-Ro service has made a big difference - you can now do day returns into Kirkwall from most of the islands.

It felt very odd driving off at Loth, the new terminal down in the south end, & it looked even stranger with a big new roads & the Loth wind turbines. We spent the whole of the day driving round spotting what had changed - not very much really, although a lot of the old semi-derelict houses that used to be rented as diggers' accommodation seemed to have been renovated, & were now either lived in or respectable holiday cottages that wouldn't have let a scruffy digger through the door. I remember we stayed at Silverhall one year & woke on a night of heavy rain to find that part of the outer gable of our room had collapsed & the rain was pouring through. I think we just stuck a bucket under it & went back to sleep!

We managed to pack quite a lot in - among other things we went out to Quoyness chambered tomb, Start Point & of course out to Tofts Ness for a walk around the peninsular. You can still see a bit of the the roundhouse poking through the turf. We also went to the Kettletoft Hotel which had hardly changed at all except it's been through 4 different owners since our day & the pool table is now inside instead of in the shed.

I was also glad to find that the old island tradition of waving to everyone you meet when out driving hasn't changed - after we'd been in Sanday for a few hours it felt like we'd never left - we were even driving a Landrover - albeit a shiny Defender instead of my old Series III.

The excavations at pool & Tofts were finally published in 2007 - the references if you're interested are below - get them now before they sell out!

Hunter, J, Bond, J M & Smith, A N 2007 Investigations in Sanday, Orkney Vol 1: Excavations at Pool, Sanday A multi-period site from Neolithic to Late Norse times The Orcadian Ltd, Hatston Industrial Estate, Kirkwall

Dockrill, S J, Bond, J M, Smith, A N & Nicholson R A 2007 Investigations in Sanday, Orkney Vol 2: Tofts Ness, Sanday An island landscape through 3000 years of prehistory The Orcadian Ltd, Hatston Industrial Estate, Kirkwall

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/

Papay

2009-05-20T01:01:00.000-07:00

Managed to get a little break at the end of April before the season kicked in with a vengeance - decided to take a trip out to Papay (aka Papa Westray) and just relax for a couple of days.

We flew out with Loganair in one of their little 8 seater Islanders which is great fun. No messing about going through security at the airport, the pilot simply collects his passengers and you stroll out to the plane. Our pilot was clutching a kettle - a bit odd as you don't get any in flight refreshments - but all became clear when he used the hot water to wash the plane's windscreen before take off.

The safety briefing is a bit more relaxed too - pilot shows you which door handle you pull to get out then asks if everyone's strapped in, then just takes off.

The flight to Papay often goes via Westray, so you get to do the shortest scheduled flight in the world from Westray to Papay. My man - who read too many Biggles books as a child - just sat there muttering 'I want one' the whole time - he did briefly consider joining the RAF at the end of his University days & has a fascination with small aircraft -told him we definately cannot afford a private plane!

Landed safely in Papay to be met by Jim Hewitson from School Place B & B- definately the place to stay in Papay. Took us down to the house, where a large pot of tea, home made scones, jam & cake greeted us. His wife Morag is a wonderful cook further confirmed by the delicious 3-course meal served that night.

We then spent a happy 2 days wandering around Papay, taking in the peace & quiet & visiting the Knap of Howar, St. Treadwell's Chapel, St. Boniface Kirk & just generally chilling out.

We also took a walk around the North End bird reserve - not too many birds in evidence but we did see the rather sad little memorial to the last Great Auk shot in Orkney - poor little bird staring wistfully out to sea.

On the flight back we were the only passengers, direct back to Kirkwall in 12 minutes - it felt quite strange to be landing at a big tarmac runway instead of a field with a little hut next to it.

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Ness Battery Stromness

2009-04-20T01:34:00.000-07:00

I was recently lucky enough to get a tour of the Ness Battery in Stromness from Tom Muir of the Orkney Museums Service. It's owned by Orkney Islands Council but not open to the public, however Tom had kindly agreed to do a tour for members of the Orkney Tourist Guides Association http://www.otga.co.uk
There was originally a battery built there in the First World War to protect the Western approaches to Scapa Flow, the best natural harbour in Britain and an important Naval base in both World Wars. There's a very good book on the subject, which has been reissued in paperback : 'This Great Harbour Scapa Flow' by W.S.Hewison - well worth a read if you're into military history.
In 1938 a new improved battery was built at Ness Battery, with two 6 inch guns, with an effective range of 10 miles covering the arc of fire from the Kame of Hoy to the Black Craig. The gun installations are still there (the guns having long since gone) but are in a really sorry state - the iron girders have nearly rusted right through in places, even the reinforced concrete has started to crumble.
If you follow this link: http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/81794/details/ness+battery/ it will take you to the RCAHMS's Canmore website entry for the Ness Battery - it has some details & plans online of the original layout.
The Council's wondering what to do with the place - looking at it from a guide's point of view I'd not be very happy about taking guests there without a huge amount of work to make it safer. I do have lots of public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance, which costs me an absolute fortune every year, & I've never claimed on it (so far - touch wood!) - but I don't really want to have to see how good it is! I always worry about insurance - when they're training you as a guide it's absolutely drummed in to you that you must warn your guests about all possible hazards or your insurance won't cover you - I'm not sure if this is true or not but it's now second nature. It does cause amusement to some of my guests - after all most people have the common sense not to go too close to the edge of cliffs, or to look both ways before crossing the road - but you never know. There have been accidents at Skara Brae (not with my people!!) - one gentleman a few years ago managed to fall into one the houses and broke his leg - and there used to be a set of steps in the middle of the site - since removed - that you could almost guarantee someone would trip over.
I do also sometimes worry that I don't have enough insurance for some of the guests I have - I often seem to attract extremely wealthy people. How do you carry enough insurance to deal with an accident to someone who arrives by helicopter, leaves by the chartered plane that they keep on standby whenever they're in the UK (as their private jet, waiting for them at Edinburgh, is too big to land at Kirkwall airport) and is off to have dinner with the Prime Minister of Norway? And who wanted to spend the whole time on cliff tops photographing seabirds, was slightly unsteady on his feet and had poor eyesight! I spent the whole time hovering close enough to grab him if he slipped & wondering how I'd convince his lawyers that I'd warned him & it wasn't my fault. Thankfully all went smoothly & he had a great time but I think that tour turned a few more hairs grey.
At the Ness Battery there is talk of at least possibly doing something with the mess huts and accommodation blocks - there aren't very many examples of these left anywhere, & the Ness Battery has a hidden gem. In the last war a soldier from Devon - obviously a very talented artist - painted the inside of the Mess Hall to look like an English country scene, complete with village shop, pub, trees & flowers - scroll down below to see some pictures of the interior.
The facilities were used until the 1990s as the local Territorial Army drill hall, but after they left the place has been shut up and unheated - hence the unfortunate state of the ceilings and walls. Enough still survives that it would be worth preserving - the unsafe part of the battery would have to be securely fenced off and the paths improved, but I think it would be worth doing. In the meantime enjoy the pics:

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

On the fiddle

2009-03-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Life has been interesting of late & the house a lot less peaceful, cats all sitting outside in disgust & dogs threatening to report us to the SSPCA all because we're (attempting to) learn to play the fiddle. There's an awful lot of talented musicians in Orkney - the youngsters get the chance to learn at school, and there's also the Orkney Traditional Music Project http://www.otmp.co.uk/ which aims to keep up the tradition of fiddle and accordion music. Traditional musicians are a feature of lots of events, from dances to playing for visitors, and the number of times over the years I've sat there listening & thinking 'I wish I could play like that' followed closely by 'but I'm too old to learn now'.
Well - finally taken the plunge - I saw an advert in the paper for adult absolute beginner fiddle classes & quite fancied going along - mentioned it to my man who came over all enthusiastic & said he'd come too, so I rang up & put our names down before we could get cold feet. Then I rang my friend Pat (fellow guide & proper sheep keeper) & by some extremely fast talking persuaded her to come too (I had an unfair advantage - she was sleep deprived as it's the lambing season & she was getting up checking sheep every 2 hours & she'd have agreed to anything as long as I let her go back to bed).
Of course none of us owned fiddles - so I did what I usually do at this point & did some googling & had a look on ebay - found that there were an awful lot of student standard secondhand fiddles to be had quite cheaply- usually being sold with the tagline 'bought for son/daughter who had three lessons & gave up'. I managed to win three auctions - only one had arrived by the following week in time for our first lesson but they'd said we could borrow fiddles if we didn't have our own at first. Got to the class to find our friend Anne, another Orkney guide, had also signed up - Pat thought this was great -she has visions of us all on the pier playing for arriving cruise ships. Anne was also fiddle less so I said I'd get another off ebay for her too.
There were about 25 folk turned up for the class so it was a bit crowded - but our teacher said a lot of folk would drop out so there'd be more room! I should mention at this point that our teacher is Jennifer Wrigley - aided on the piano by her twin sister Hazel, & we're at the Wrigley Sisters Centre of Music http://www.wrigleysisters.com/
If you're not into folk music this probably won't mean much to you - but if you imagine going for your very first driving lesson & your driving instructor's Michael Schumacher, with Lewis Hamilton giving handy hints from the back seat & you'll get the picture. Pretty cool - & only £5 a lesson too.
Jennifer's a great teacher - very laid back & keeps us in fits of laughter - we don't always get the jokes though cos we're all so intently trying to do everything she tells us - she has to keep reminding the class to remember to breathe! I never realised fiddles were so complicated - I knew the fingering would be hard but I thought the bowing would be fairly straightforward - after all you just go up & down don't you?? Hmmm - just holding the bow correctly gives you cramp in your hand - & how exactly are you supposed to grip something & relax your hand at the same time?? While keeping your elbow down & leading with your bent wrist & hitting the right string & keeping the bow - which is nearly three foot long and has a mind of its own - on the strings at right angles - I mean who invented an instrument so fiendishly difficult to play? Did they do it on purpose or what? Plus you only have to look at the fiddle for it to go out of tune - not that you can tell the way we all play but Jennifer can - all sessions start with a mass tune up.
I have learnt a musicians joke though- I think Jennifer has a stock of them - Q. 'If you drop a banjo & a bodhran out of the window which hits the ground first?' A. 'Who cares?'
After the first couple of weeks we all had our own fiddles - mine's a genuine Stradivarius - the sort they made in Czechoslovakia (but you'd be amazed if you go onto some blog sites how many people are convinced that because their fiddle has a paper label in it saying Stradivarius it's worth millions!! I would've thought that giving £30 for it on ebay would be a bit of a giveaway but there you go) We are all now capable of holding our fiddles up without dropping them & can now hold our bows correctly - as long as you don't expect us to use our bows that is - knowing where to put your hand & keeping it there when you're playing is another matter. After 5 weeks we are on tune 12 in Abracadabra violin book 1 & we can now play notes with our first finger - we've got our first bit of tape on the fingerboard to tell us where to put it - fiddles not coming with frets for some reason.
Have also finally got around to buying local folk band 'The Chair's first album - Pat always raves about them & keeps wanting us to go & see them but all their gigs start about 10pm - I'm getting too old to be going out at that time of night! Anyway the album's brilliant & well worth getting - they used to be called Lazy Boy Chair but apparently they were in danger of getting sued by the USA company of the same name if they used it to record under so now they're just The Chair - http://www.thechairtunes.com/ They're playing at the Orkney Folk Festival this year again so we might have to go along - lots of local bands and also lots of good visiting bands - Stromness goes folk mad all the weekend http://www.orkneyfolkfestival.com/ Local Kirkwall Grammer School band Hadhirgaan are playing there again too - Douglas Montgomery who plays fiddle in The Chair is their music teacher - they're really very good & all youngsters as you're not allowed to stay in after you leave school http://www.bebo.com/Hadhirgaan - I can't decide whether hearing them would put us off or be inspirational. Pat's neighbour's 6 year old daughter is taking private lessons from Jennifer & has offered to help Pat out & practice with her if she gets stuck - unfair advantage I reckon.
As well as lots of talented musicians we also have talented fiddle makers - another Orkney tradition - just down the road from us there's our neighbour Colin Tulloch who makes seriously good fiddles - http://www.tullochviolins.co.uk/index.htm I don't think we're ever going to get good enough to warrant one of his fiddles - but I think his waiting list runs into years so perhaps I should get our names down now!!
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

Where's Orkney?

2009-03-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

Have just posted off my computer monitor to be repaired - after about 3 weeks worth of email correspondence with the company concerned. It all started when it went bang & started emitting black smoke a year & a week after I bought it - I assumed as usual it had gone just out of guarantee but dug the card out to check & found it had a 3 year guarantee. So far so good - instructions were to contact the company & arrange for a pick up at their expense (with a footnote to the effect that if I chose to send it back myself I would have to pay).
Emailed the company (who had probably best remain nameless) & awaited collection. Instead I got an email back from their repair depot in Plymouth - to ask me where Orkney was. This is something that happens more often than you'd think - I know of people attempting to book flights here through large national UK travel agents who have been asked if Orkney's in Europe!! So I gritted my teeth & emailed him back with a description of Orkney's location (you would have thought the postcode would have been a giveaway but never mind).
Got an email back saying their contract with DHL was only for Mainland UK pickup - and did I have a Mainland UK address I could use instead? Gritted teeth harder & said no unfortunately I didn't maintain a house in mainland UK for the convenience of delivery men - at which point they said I'd have to pay to post it back to them.
Gritted teeth so hard it hurt & dug out the guarantee card again - found their terms were quite clearly 'worldwide free collection' & there wasn't the usual small print 'mainland UK only'. Armed with this I emailed them back pointing out that it was hardly my fault that they had forgotten that the UK includes a fair number of islands when they arranged their DHL contract.
At this point got the response 'not our problem we're the service department - you need customer service'. OK - impossible to grit teeth any harder without needing a trip to the dentist - so forwarded whole email correspondence to customer services.
Customer services had to refer to a higher authority - who then wanted to know how much it would cost to post the monitor to them. Finally after several phone call from customer service & more emails it was agreed I would be refunded my postage costs - but to add insult to injury they won't even send it back when fixed - I have to make arrangements for collection, pay for it & send the receipt for a refund.
It's even more annoying as DHL have a local agent who will pick up here quite happily - I'm trying to decide if I can face writing to someone at the company's head office to complain - perhaps I should just send them a map of the UK with all the islands highlighted?
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

PhD Panel Survived

2009-03-14T03:09:00.000-07:00

I've just got back from my PhD panel meeting in Edinburgh (see earlier post) - have passed with flying colours and am now safely through my probation & confirmed as a PhD candidate. What a relief - it's all very well for your supervisor to say you'll be ok but I now have the written panel report confirming it.
It was also only the second ever powerpoint presentation that I've done which made it more nerve wracking, but that went well too. I had been manically practising it to an audience consisting of Tiffin the kitten - she was more interested in trying to eat the mouse cable so it was actually easier to do it for real.
Also managed to show them a photo of V. Gordon Childe at Skara Brae which they'd never seen before - I was a bit surprised as it's very well known in Orkney. It shows Childe down a ladder at Skara Brae with a couple of young ladies in 1920 'flapper' outfits & cloche hats - can't put it up here as it's copyright Orkney Library & Archive from the Tom Kent collection http://www.orkneylibrary.org.uk/html/photoarchive.htm
Gordon Childe was of course the first Abercromby professor of archaeology at Edinburgh so I thought a couple of pics of him would be nice considering he used to lecture in the very building I was giving my presentation in.
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/
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Sheep in the snow

2009-02-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

We've had a bit of snow here over the last few days - nothing like they've been getting south - but enough to cover the ground & freeze the water pretty hard. Took the opportunity to get a few pics of the sheep in the snow - that's Harry, Harriet, Euphemia & Tallulah the North Ronaldsay seaweed eating sheep (see earlier posts for cute lamb pics).

They're not sure what to make of the snow - they do like the extra large breakfasts of sugar beet & barley that they're getting as there's no grass visible. Sugarbeet's great stuff - you put a few pellets to soak overnight in water & the next morning it's a huge bucketful. Have to watch the dogs for getting to the pellets though - would

dread to think what would happen if the labrador got to them - he'd probably eat so many he'd pop. I remember when we got Riff home from the SSPCA shelter in Thurso on his second day he broke into the dog food cupboard & tore open a sack of dry dog food & ate about a third of a sack. That was an interesting night - let's just say what goes in must come out & leave it at that!

Riff's a sweetie (as you can see from his pic)- he was abandoned by his owners in Thurso & taken to

the SSPCA shelter. We were in the market for another dog (one of ours having just died) but there's no SSPCA shelter in Orkney - nearest one is across the Pentland Firth - we do have an

SSPCA Inspector though. He came & did our home check which we passed with flying colours - he said he worried when he went to a really well kept house since he thought the folk there might be not be prepared for the mess created by a dog, but there was no problem with ours!!!

You can then go & choose your dog at the shelter - or you can do what we did & ring them up & tell them to put a dog on the boat for you- only stipulation being he had to like both dogs & cats. They went & checked what they had in stock & picked Riff & put him on the boat the next day (they have kennels on board) - we went & paid his fare at the ticket office & the steward walked him off

via the car deck.

Anyway the sheep are all still fine as can be seen from the pics - went down to the Birsay shore today to collect them some more seaweed - no wind at all & beautiful and sunny. Will have to get their bluetongue vaccinations sorted out soon - new legislation all sheep have to be jagged before April. Again the vaccine comes in huge bottles but luckily my friend Pat (the proper sheep keeper) is doing hers after they've finished lambing so I'll get some vaccine off her.

Boardhouse Loch was pretty much frozen over this morning - did wonder if it would have supported my weight if I took a stroll down there -

it looked very pretty but decided not to risk it.

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PhD Panel Approaches

2009-02-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

I'm now coming to the end of my second winter of my part-time PhD through the University of Edinburgh - you get 6 years for a part-time PhD as opposed to 3 years for a full-time. I have an arrangement where I basically work on it full time over the winter then stop when the main tourist season hits. This year my first guests are coming on tour on April 12th so it's quite early, but the main season doesn't really start until May. Orkney suffers a bit from the weather in the so called 'shoulder months' at the beginning and end of the season so it's hard to get people to come here outside of May to August. That being said we can have really good weather in April - we certainly did last year, and September was good too.

My PhD is on the Orcadian Bronze Age - full title ''It rained a lot and nothing much happened' -land use settlement and society in Bronze Age Orkney'. The first part of the title is a joke in honour of the archaeology curator at the Orkney Museum - a good friend and a really good lecturer - who once summed up the Bronze Age in those terms. I think more thesis titles should have a joke in them personally.

Anyway I'm busy trying to gear up for my dreaded PhD panel in March - some universities make you start on an MPhil then after your first probationary year (or 2 years part-time) you attend the panel meeting to see if they'll upgrade you to a PhD. At Edinburgh they do it slightly differently - they start you on a PhD then you have to convince them not to downgrade you to an MPhil (or even kick you out all together) -I don't know which approach is worst.

Anyway you have to provide a 'substantive' piece of work, chapter headings, outline of progress & any problems etc etc and a power point presentation in front of a panel of the great & good from your department - none of whom I know or have ever met before - and your own supervisor.

I'm paying my own tuition fees for this so I did think of taking the approach that since I was paying their wages they ought to be justifying to me why I should continue to grace their university with my presence - but my man didn't think this would be a very good idea for some reason. My supervisor is very relaxed & says I'll be fine & it's no big deal but I'm not convinced.

I have to fly down to Edinburgh for it (remembering to offset the carbon emissions for the flight of course in line with our ecopolicy although it's not a business trip )http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/ourecopolicy/4532705044

This means I won't have slept the night before as I never do when catching the early flight & knowing my luck it'll probably snow so I won't get there at all. I'll also be incredibly nervous about speaking in front of the panel - not a character trait most people would associate with an Orkney guide I know - I don't get nervous guiding professionally at all. It's the thought of having to speak in front of academics that's the scary part - still probably most of them haven't been to Orkney, and the Orcadian Bronze Age is pretty obscure even in archaeological circles so I should (hopefully!) know more than them.
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk

My man is doing his PhD full time - a collaborative project between the University of Bradford & the Orkney Museum on the Neolithic bones from Isbister tomb - so he has his panel next October sometime. His supervisor is coming to Orkney to check up on him in the summer - I said we could offer her a free tour in exchange for a favourable report on his progress but he didn't think that was a good idea either. I still think my fall back on my panel meeting of 'I pay your wages' might be worth a try!!!

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Wildlife tours - Orkney Archaeology Tours

2009-02-01T04:42:00.000-08:00

Don't let our company name fool you into thinking we only provide archaeology tours! Of course, being the only tour company in Orkney owned and run by professional archaeologists we do specialise in archaeology. However we are also qualified and accredited Green Badge Orkney Tourist Guides - this means in effect that our other speciality is Orkney and everything that goes to make up the Orkney experience - archaeology, wildlife, people, culture, history - whatever interests our guests. Our short breaks and day tours are completely private - that means our geusts can choose what to do & don't have to fall in with a fixed itinerary - and that means as much wildlife watching as anyone wants.

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/wildlifetours/4532721938

On our one-week small group holidays we always include some wildlife watching too http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/holidays/4530646491. The Brough of Birsay has an amazing Pictish/Norse monastic site, but its cliffs are home to breeding seabirds - last year we had diving gannets below us, with puffins scooting in and out of cliff crevices. I had a bit of trouble convincing one lady that what she was seeing was in fact a puffin - even through binoculars she wouldn't believe such a small bird was really the famous puffin. Luckily one of the group managed to get a good photo with a zoom lens, and showed it to her in the playback - digital cameras are wonderful things - & she finally believed. A colleague of mine (name withheld to protect the guilty) had a huge amount of trouble with a coach party from a cruise ship who were very very insistent that they must see puffins on their 4-hour drive round the Mainland - she finally in complete desperation picked the next large field full of oystercatchers & told them they were puffins - everyone was very happy!
In a similar vein I was once accosted in a cafe in Burray by a lady (not in my group) who'd seen my tourist guide badge & wanted to know where she could see puffins. I asked her long long she was in Orkney for - to be told she was leaving on the next boat and had 20 minutes to spare! The best I could suggest was keep a sharp lookout from the deck as the MV Pentalina went by the cliffs - don't think she was impressed!

Our holidays also include ferry trips to Hoy and Rousay, with wildlife spotting opportunities from the boat. Last season on every trip to Hoy we had diving gannets all around, and we had porpoises escorting us too on several memorable occasions. The smaller islands of Orkney are really worth a visit - too often people stick to the Mainland and the linked South Isles (joined by the Churchill Barriers) when there's so much more to see, often with only a 30-minute ferry ride
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/holidays/4530646491

We visit the Broch of Gurness for its archaeology - but there's a colony of Eider ducks there and usually seals too. Unfortunately one day when we were there two big old bull seals got into a bit of an argument - people tend to think seals are cute & cuddly but this argument was definitely X-rated.
We once got a brief glimpse of a whale in Eynhallow Sound - too brief to identify the species but possibly a minke whale or pilot whale. You have to be very lucky to see a whale, although eighteen species of whale have been recorded in Orkney waters. We do get a small number of strandings every year. At the moment there's been reports of a dead sperm whale in Scapa Flow - the last I heard it had come ashore on the island of Cava. If a dead whale comes ashore where it's going to be a public health problem then it's usually buried or otherwise disposed of. In the old days a stranded whale was a bonus - the blubber was rendered down to provide a free supply of oil for lighting.

The sea cliffs at Marwick Head are home to a huge colony of breeding seabirds - guillemots in their thousands, as well as the Kitchener Memorial - there's also a naval gun salvaged from the wreck of HMS Hampshire at the bottom of the path up.
Puffins can be seen in small numbers in the Mainland during their breeding season (the best months are May - July) and there are some large colonies in Westray. The hen harrier is our commonest raptor and can frequently be seen hovering close to the road whilst driving through moorland areas. Short eared owls are also fairly common and can be spotted just about anywhere out in the countryside.
We make no claims to be expert birdwatchers - if you want to know what that 'little brown job' you've just spotted is called we probably wouldn't know either - but we do have a good working knowledge of all Orkney's wildlife - and we know where to find it. I didn't realise that 'little brown job' or LBJ was a term used amongst bridwatchers - till last year when I took a group out and they were busily identifying birds, and kept seeing 'LBJ's -never having heard of an 'LBJ' I asked them what they meant. I thought it was quite a fun idea - I used to say all small brown birds divided into 'sparrows' and 'not-sparrows' which is pretty much the same thing.
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk
Seals are always a favourite with our guests - Orkney waters are host to around 4300 or about 15% of the British population of the Common (or harbour) seal Phoca vitulina, and around 25000 – 40000 or about 25% of the estimated British population of the Grey seal Halichoerus grypus. Grey seals come ashore to breed in late September and October, and give birth to a single white-coated pup which stays on the breeding beach for around four weeks before it is ready to go to sea. Common seals breed in June and July, with the pups being born in their adult coat ready to go to sea immediately. It would be hard to come to Orkney and not see seals - they frequently come into Stromness and Kirkwall harbours and are very curious - they like people watching.
In line with our ecotourism policy we take care never to disturb wildlife, especially during the breeding season - http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/ourecopolicy/4532705044
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Orkney Archaeology Tours Adopts a Dolphin

2009-01-31T03:29:00.000-08:00

Although we concentrate on the archaeology during our tours - we are professional archaeologists after all so it's best to play to your strengths - we are also happy to include wildlife in our tours. As qualified and accredited Orkney Tourist Guides we also have wide general knowledge of everything to do with Orkney including flora & fauna. My big issue with wildlife is it doesn't stay where it should - at least you can guarantee the Ring of Brodgar will still be there when you arrive! Last year was brilliant for gannets - they were diving really close inshore -and the puffins even behaved themselves at the Brough of Birsay - although I did have my usual quota of guests who wouldn't believe they were puffins as they were too small. Why does everyone think a puffin should be huge? The cliffs at Marwick head were great for their usual display of nesting seabirds - you can hear the noise well before you get there & then there's an unbelievable mass of birds - you think the cliffs a strange colour until you realise you're looking at thousands if guillemots clinging on for dear life - quite a sight.
We are sometimes lucky enough to see porpoises on our tours - going to Hoy on the boat last year was particularly good - I felt completely spoilt with gannets diving off the starboard bow of the MV Hoy Head & porpoises tracking us off the port bow & of course my guests loved it.
You can also see cetaceans from the boats crossing the Pentland Firth - I remember years back being on the deck of the old St. Ola on a particularly bouncy crossing during a bit of a blow. They used to call her the Roly Poly Ola for very good reason - I swear she could roll in four directions simultaneously - hence me being out in the fresh air. Saw some kind of cetaceans - they were big with white underbellies (ok not a very good description but I wasn't in a fit state to attempt proper identification) & they swam under the front of the boat & out the other side - almost made up for being on the boat. There's a tale I heard Tom Muir (our local brilliant storyteller & museum curator) tell about a crossing he was on years ago - I think the Ola was away at refit & the MV Orcadia was standing in for her crossing the Firth. Now the Orcadia was a lovely little boat that used to be on the North Isles routes when we were digging in Sanday. No direct boats then - the boat went via a circuitous route depending on the tide state. They gave you really good breakfasts too - you sat down at the table on the morning sailings & they just kept bringing you food - & it had a bar below decks that smelled strongly of cow - she was also known as the Coo boat because she carried the North Isles coos to market - 'Coo boat' was even painted on the side of the pier where she berthed. Anyway she was quite small, & Tom was on a particularly bad crossing of the Firth - and as he put it 'the only thing that kept me alive was the hope of dying'.
Anyway, cetaceans are wonderful creatures, and so in keeping with our Ecopolicy, http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/ourecopolicy/4532705044 we have now decided to support the valuable work of the Sea Watch Foundation through their 'adopt a dolphin' scheme.

The Sea Watch Foundation's mission statement is:

‘Working with the public, the Sea Watch Foundation is a national charity, dedicated to the conservation and protection of whales, dolphins & porpoises in British & Irish waters. Each year, cetaceans face depletion in their numbers and even possible local extinction due to continuing threats to their habitat such as capture and drowning in fishing gear, sound disturbance, marine pollution, over-fishing and climate change. Sea Watch, through its continuous programme of research and monitoring, provides invaluable information on changes to the status and distribution of cetacean populations and the condition of their habitats. This is used to raise awareness of any issues and prompt environmental change to help conserve & protect these mysterious creatures’

Since our logo is a dragon - the Maeshowe dragon to be precise, carved by 12th century Norsemen on the walls at Maeshowe chambered tomb - I felt we should really have adopted a dragon but they're quite hard to come by these days. Anyway there's always been some dispute about whether the Maeshowe dragon really is a dragon - it's also said to be a Ringerike style Lion. Or possibly a griffen - or anything else you care to name - as you can see from the pic it appears to have scales - not a very lion like attribute - but it also has paws rather than talons - not very dragony.

The difficulties of finding a dragon to adopt led to a dolphin, since at least you get dolphins in Orkney waters - and they didn't have any Orkney dolphins available, all their adoptee dolphins being Welsh - which is a sort of tenuous dragon connection with the Welsh dragon and all. Plus my man is half Welsh, wears a Welsh rugby shirt & supports the Welsh rugby team so there's another connection. I picked the dolphin called 'Flint' to adopt as having the most archaeological sounding name - even though there's not much real flint in Orkney - occasional nodules but that's about it. You get a members area where you can log in and see where your dolphin is - I think they're all tagged somehow - I'll let you know if he ever takes a trip to Orkney!
If you want your own dolphin all the links are on our website at:
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/meetourdolphin/4532723785

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Eco tours - Orkney Archaeology Ecotours

2009-01-31T01:04:00.000-08:00

It's official - Orkney Archaeology Tours is now Orkney Archaeology Ecotours - we are now carbon neutral and we have joined the growing ranks of Ecotourism operators - you can read all about it on our website at http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/ecotourism/4532703194

We've always been personally fairly green - we never replace a household appliance unless the old one is broken beyond repair, and choose energy efficent when we do, we reuse & recycle everything we can, we've always composted, and used energy efficient lightbulbs.

In fact I think I had one of the earliest energy efficient lightbulbs in the country - my dad gave it me for our student house back in 1983 - he'd got it from a sales rep who was trying drum up interest in this amazing new technology. It was huge - about ten times bigger than the modern ones, and it weighed a ton - the first time I put it up I thought the light fixing would come down - and nobody had ever seen one before. I carefully transported that lightbulb to everywhere we ever lived, and when it finally stopped working & I added up how long it had been in use it had lasted twenty years! They definitely don't make them like that any more - I wish they still did.

Since our tours involve driving around Orkney there's a limit to how green you can be - unfortunately the distances between many of the archaeological sites means that you have to drive. Of course having a full vehicle with 8 people means that there's only one vehicle driving around instead of maybe four or five which must help, and our tour vehicle is regularly serviced and gives a pretty good mileage. When we bought it we deliberately picked the smaller engine model for greater fuel efficiency - after all we don't race around madly, we drive at a gentle pace to let people enjoy the beautiful scenery. Of course having a professional archaeologist guide also helps - we take care to respect the archaeological sites we visit and never let our guests cause any inadvertant damage or disturbance to either the archaeology or the wildlife around it. This not only benefits the archaeological sites, but means our guests have a much more enjoyable and relaxing experience than they would have had on their own - as can be seen from the comments that many of them make on their experience with us: http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/testimonials/4530646501

It's amazing what some people get up to on their own - sometimes it's very hard not to intervene when I'm out with a group and I see someone else doing something they shouldn't. I remember one incident last year down at Midhowe chambered cairn in Rousay - an amazing site which featured in one of my early blog posts - see the 'Recce to Rousay' for more info. This tomb has been protected by a roof, and all around there are polite little notices advising people to stay behind the barriers and not climb on the walls as they are very fragile. I walked in with my group to find someone standing in the middle of the tomb taking photos, having climbed over said walls to get in. I'm afraid I forgot to be polite & yelled at him - incidentally you get a really good echo inside Midhowe' protective building - & he shot out of the tomb like a startled rabbit - my people were quite understanding - I mean it's one thing to not realise & accidentally do something wrong & it's quite another to climb over barriers ignore notices & clamber all over a fragile monument.

Anyway we have now gone the final step to make our tours ecotours and environmentally friendly by offseting our unavoidable carbon emissions, not just from our tours but also from our office, using the Carbon Balanced programme of the World Land Trust.
This is quite easy to do - you contact them with full details of your business operations and they work out your carbon footprint, and then tell you how many tons of carbon dioxide you contribute, and invoice you for the amount you need to pay to offset it. You can read all about their methods of sequestering carbon dioxide on their carbon balancing website http://www.carbonbalanced.org/ They have very strict criteria about the projects they run so as far as I can make out they really do what they say. If you're going to go down the carbon offsetting road you have to be careful about who you pick to do it - there seem to be some cowboys out there - a lot of the companies offering carbon offsets are profit making rather than charities - and some of their projects seem a little suspect. I found the World Land Trust's main website first - at http://www.worldlandtrust.org/ and they look to me like a pretty good operation - a registered charity and their patron is Sir David Attenborough - there's a message from him on the website. I can't see someone of his calibre being involved unless he really supported their work and thought they could make a difference - their main work involves saving rainforest and its habitats. I also think it's only common sense to support a registered charity rather than a private profit making company - that way you're maximising your contribution.

I know that there's some controversy about whether carbon offsetting works - or whether it's just a case of environmentally unfriendly companies 'greenwashing' their activities but carrying on as before. In our case having reduced our emissions as much as we could, I think offsetting the unavoidable emissions makes sense - so long as you use a reputable charity it must help to make some sort of difference and is surely better than doing nothing?

We've also decided to do something to help on behalf of our guests - after all you have to get to Orkney in the first place, and this produces carbon dioxide no matter which way you come. We've decided to 'save acres of rainforest' with the World Land Trust's saving rainforest acres scheme, to help reduce the negative impact of our guests' travel to Orkney. For every guest who takes a holiday or short break with us we will save 200 square metres of rainforest, and for everyone who takes a day tour with us we will save 50 square metres of rainforest. We've applied this retrospectively to last season and I was surprised at the total - it came out to four acres of rainforest saved - around 600 trees and countless species of wildlife. More details here: http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/rainforestacres/4532704730

We encourage our guests to offset their individual carbon emissions - if you look at http://www.carbonbalanced.org there's a calculator where you can enter details of the trip you're taking and it works out how much carbon you need to offset to compensate for this. For example a return flight from Kirkwall to Glasgow generates 0.23 tonnes of carbon, which you can offset for a cost of £3.45. Some of the airlines also now have a bit on their website where you can make a suitable donation at the time of booking.

We have formalised our ecotourism policy (listed below) and this is available as a download on our website if you're interested at: http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/ourecopolicy/4532705044

Our Ecotourism Policy

(1) We offset all our business carbon emissions, making all our tours carbon neutral, using the Carbon Balance Programme of the World Land Trust. We include all our tour carbon emissions, together with the carbon emissions from our office. We take steps to minimise our carbon footprint, including regularly servicing our tour vehicle and driving conservatively.

(2) In addition to offsetting our own carbon emissions through Carbon Balance, we help to save the rainforest on our guests’ behalf by supporting the work of the World Land Trust saving tropical forests and other threatened wildlife habitats. This not only benefits wildlife, but also benefits us all – figures vary, but rainforest destruction by burning releases around 120 – 160 tonnes of carbon dioxide per acre, whilst an acre of standing rainforest absorbs around 154.69 tonnes of CO2 in a 20-year period (7.7 tonnes of CO2 per acre per year). For every guest on one of our all-inclusive holidays or private short breaks we save 200m2 of rainforest, whilst for our every guest on one of our day tours we save 50m2 of rainforest. These rainforest acres will help to reduce the negative environmental impact of our guests’ travel to Orkney. See a copy of our yearly donation certificate on our website to see how much rainforest we’ve saved on our guests’ behalf.

(3) We encourage our clients to offset the carbon emissions caused by their travel to Orkney by using a recognised carbon offset scheme such as that provided by the Carbon Balance Programme of the World Land Trust

(4) We only use paper from Forestry Stewardship Council certified sources for our brochure and other correspondence.

(5) Our brochure and tour information is also available as downloads from our website, removing the need for printing and saving resources. We conduct as much of our business as possible via email, reducing unnecessary paper use. We do not employ unsolicited bulk marketing techniques and therefore do not send out ‘junk mail’ – our literature is only sent to those who request it.

(6) We use local suppliers wherever possible, and the hotels we use serve local produce where available, thereby reducing food miles.

(7) We respect the sites we visit and minimise damage by visiting sites with small groups, a maximum of only eight people, and timing our visits to avoid busy periods. Our groups keep to marked paths as appropriate and keep a respectful distance from wildlife and birds, to minimise disturbance.

(8) Our groups are encouraged to ‘take only photographs and leave only footprints’

(9) We visit the smaller islands of Orkney in order to spread the benefits of tourism to our more economically fragile areas, thereby helping to maintain a viable community in these islands.

(10)We support the work of the Orkney Tourism Group to develop and maintain sustainable tourism in Orkney, whose mission statement is: ‘Orkney Tourism Group will contribute to the growth of a quality tourism industry in Orkney by providing leadership, representation and support that helps tourism operators to develop and prosper in a sustainable manner’

(11)We recycle wherever possible and use low energy light bulbs throughout our office.

Orkney, tour, holiday, vacation, guide, tours, guided, tours, skara brae, maes howe, maeshowe, archaeology, archaeologist, orkney archaeology tours, orkney adventure, orkney odyssey, day tours, Orkney holiday, Orkney vacation, Ring of Brodgar, ecotours, eco tours, dolphin friendly, Ecotourism, eco tourism, wildlife, gannets, seals, whales, environmentally friendly

New Years Day Kirkwall Ba'

2009-01-03T01:27:00.000-08:00

New Years Day this year was sunny & crisp but not too cold so we decided a trip into town for the New Years Day Ba' was in order. As everyone probably knows this is a tradition played on both Christmas Day & New Years Day, Boys Ba' starts at 10.30 & Mens Ba' at 1pm (there's no Womans Ba' - it was tried at one point just after the last war but the men thought it was too violent so it was discontinued - apparently hat pins were involved).

There's two teams - the Uppies & the Doonies - and they come marching up from each end of the town and meet at the Merkat Cross outside the Cathedral. The Ba' is then thrown up at 1pm (a great honour to be chosen to throw up the Ba' - usually a past Ba' winner is chosen) and the game commences. The Doonie goal is in the Harbour basin & the Uppie goal is the wall at the corner of the Scapa road opposite the church.
The town is barricaded to stop Ba' players going through the windows & spectators have to be ready to move out the way quickly if play gets to close. The New Years Day Ba' is a bit of an occasion for meeting friends & wishing them happy New Year - whilst keeping an eye on the game to make sure they're not too close.

I did intend to take pictures but not being quite tall enough or willing to climb trees or walls to get a better shot none of mine came out very well - however my good friend Charles Tait of Charles Tait photographic was there & he has posted his extensive coverage on his website at http://www.bagame.com/ Along with excellent photographs he also has a section on Ba history, past results & lots of other Orkney photos which can be bought online.

This year the honours at the Christmas Day Ba had gone to the Uppies again - they're on a bit of a winning streak at the moment. The Doonies started strongly this year & managed to nearly get into the top of Albert street but got deflected into Castle street & held there, before a fast Uppie break - not sure what happened as just saw a big stampede of players & had to leap out of the way to avoid being trampled but I think the Ba' came out & was then kicked up Broad Street & along into Victoria Street.

We detoured around the pack and went up to the Uppies goal where the Boy's Ba' had just gone up again - there's then a big 'discussion' about who's awarded the Ba' to become that years winner before they hoist the chosen player up clutching his prize of the Ba' itself.
It was getting a bit cold by this time as the sun was going down so we took ourselves off home for hot soup - the Mens Ba' eventually went up as well making a clean sweep for the Uppies this year.

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/
Orkney, tour, holiday, vacation, guide, tours, guided, tours, skara brae, maes howe, maeshowe, archaeology, archaeologist, orkney archaeology tours, orkney adventure, orkney odyssey, day tours, Orkney holiday, Orkney vacation, Ring of Brodgar

Orkney Archaeology Society

2008-12-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

This week sees the official launch of the new Orkney Archaeology Society - formerly known as FOAT (Friends of the Orkney Archaeological Trust). Orkney based excavation used to be the domain of the Projects Unit of the Orkney Archaeological Trust (OATPU), and FOAT existed to support this work. Now OATPU is no more having become the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology, so FOAT decided a name change was in order. If you want to support archaeology in Orkney and also receive a very good newsletter with reports on excavation work, see the old FOAT website at http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/foat/ The website is in the process of being redesigned to reflect the name change, and is to be relaunched in the spring - in the meantime all the contact details etc. are there.

The Orkney Archaeology Society is the latest in an honourable tradition of Archaeology Societies in Orkney. The first was the Orkney Antiquarian Society, founded in 1922, who published 15 volumes of their Proceedings between 1923 and 1939. Unfortunately the Society didn't survive the war, but their Proceedings are still sought after - copies turn up fairly regularly at the Mart booksales & command high prices. (The Mart http://www.orkneymart.co.uk/ aka Orkney Aution Mart - sells mostly cattle & sheep but also has regular furniture sales, & Orkney book sales). After several years of being outbid have finally managed to acquire a bound set of all the Proceedings. I've been compiling a contents list since I haven't been able to find one anywhere, & they don't come with an index. I thought this might be useful to others, so the volume by volume list is below & I've compiled an A-Z by author list which is also below - some of the formatting e.g. italics etc. didn't survive the pasting operation, but I've put them on our website as a pdf download, so if you want to save the trouble of copying & pasting you can follow this link & download them (complete with proper formatting) instead:

http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/#/orkneyarchsociety/4532231094

Contents: Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society

1923 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall
Frontispiece: Incised figure on the Burness Stone, found at Chapel Knowe broch
Craven, The Ven. Archdeacon, Orkney Antiquarian Society Inaugural Address 9 - 10
Clouston, J S Old Orkney Houses I, 11 – 19
Marwick, H Antiquarian Notes on Sanday, 21 – 9
Fraser, J Some Antiquities in Harray Parrish, 31 – 7
Clouston, J S Old Orkney Houses II, 39 – 47
Cursiter, J The Orkney Brochs, 49 – 52
Marwick, H The Place-Names of North Ronaldsay, 53 – 64
Hibbert, J A General Night A 1734 Orkney Inventory (From Sheriff Court Record Room), 65 – 6
Marwick, H Old Orkney Games 66 – 7
Horne, D Kirkwall Games 67 – 9
Drever, J Papa Westray Games, 69 – 70
Begg, J Notes on the Origin of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 70 – 72

1924 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall
Obituary: The Venerable Archdeacon Craven
Frontispiece: The Greens Stone
Craven, The Ven. Archdeacon, Some Bible Superstitions, 5 – 6
Clouston, J S Old Orkney Houses III, 7 – 14
Marwick, H Antiquarian Notes on Rousay, 15 – 21
Map of Sandwick Parish, 22
Fraser, J Antiquities of Sandwick Parish, 23 – 9
Clouston, J S The People and Surnames of Orkney, 31 – 6
Robertson, D J Orkney Folklore, 37 – 46
Leith, P Orkney Folk-Lore, 47
Marwick, H Burial Cist Discovered at Crantit, St. Ola, Orkney, 48
Marwick, H ‘A Description of Orkney’ (1773) An Account of an Unpublished Manuscript of Rev. George Low, Minister of Birsay, 1774 – 1795, 49 – 60
Sketch of an Old Orkney Plough, facing page 52
Dickins, B Note on Maeshowe Inscriptions, XXII, and XVI – XVIII, 59 – 60
Clouston, J S The Orkney Lands, 61 – 8
Begg, J The Orkney Bailie Courts, 69 – 76
Spence, J Life and Work in Moorland Orcadia in Days of Old, 77 – 82
Table of contents of volume I of the Proceedings

1925 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall
Frontispiece: The Ven. Archdeacon J B Craven, D D
Clouston, J S The Goodmen and Hirdmen of Orkney, 9 – 19
Fraser, J The Antiquities of Birsay Parish, 21 – 30
Marwick, H Antiquarian Notes on Papa Westray, 31 – 47
Clouston, J S The Old Orkney Mills I, 49 – 54
Begg, J The Orkney Bailie Courts Part II, 55 – 64
Clouston, J S The Old Orkney Mills II, 65 – 71
Mooney, J Discovery of Relics in St. Magnus Cathedral, 73 – 8
Kirkness, W Notes on the Discovery of a Short Cist at Rendall, Orkney, 79
Archibald, G List of Antiquities Relating to Orkney in the National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh, 81 – 9
Marwick, H Note on Incised Stone found at Brodgar, 91

1926 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IV (Session 1925 – 1926), Kirkwall
Frontispiece: Decorated Archway, Langskaill, Gairsay
Clouston, J S Tradition and Fact, 9 – 14
Mooney, R B A French ‘Stone of Odin’, 15
Fraser, J Antiquities of Stenness Parish, 17 – 24
Mooney, J Deerness: Its Islands, 25 – 9
Clouston, J S The Old Prebends of Orkney, 31 – 6
Begg, J The Bailie Courts of Orkney Part III, 37 – 43
Scott, A B The Celtic Church in Orkney, 45 – 56

1927 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall
Clouston, J S An Old Kirkwall House, 9 – 14
Marwick, H A Record Miscellany I, 15 – 17
Petrie, G Primeval Antiquities of Orkney, 19 – 29 (written 1859)
Flett, J Kirkwall Burgess Ticket of 1734, 31 – 5
Marwick, H A Record Miscellany II, 37 – 40
Clouston, J S The Orkney ‘Bus’, 41 – 9
Fraser, J The Antiquities of Firth Parish, 51 – 6
Wood, A Supplementary Notes on Firth Parish, 57
Leith, P Hill Dike Agreement, 1761, 59 – 60
Marwick, H Antiquarian Notes on Stronsay, 61 – 83
Marwick, H Gallery Grave at Rennibister, 85 – 6
Marwick, H Underground Structure in Harray, 87 – 8

1928 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall
Frontispiece: Old Sketch of Earl’s Palace Birsay
Marwick, H Kolbein Hruga’s Castle, Wyre, 9 – 11
Marwick, H Sir David Menzies of Weem, 13 – 15
Marwick, H Two Unrecorded Stone-Circles in Rousay, 17 – 18
Marwick, H A Kirkwall Burgh Court Record, 1549, 19
Clouston, J S The Battle of Tankerness, 21 – 25
Marwick, H A Record Miscellany, III, 27 – 32
Mooney, J Further Notes on Saints’ Relics and Burials in St. Magnus Cathedral. With Appendix: Letters from the Marquess of Bute to Mr. J W Cursiter, Kirkwall, 33 – 41
Clouston, J S Some Orkney Heraldic Rubbings, 43 – 53
Windwick, J P The Ladykirk Stone, 55 – 57
Kirkness, W Dale, (Harray), and Other Kindred Structures, 59 – 67
Fraser, J The Antiquities of Rendall Parish, 69 – 73
Photograph of stone found at Earl’s Palace, Kirkwall, 75

1929 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929) Kirkwall
Frontispiece: The Kirkwall Tailors’ Flags
Clouston, J S The Evidence of Stone, 9 – 16
Marwick, H Skerrabrae, 17 – 26
Mooney, J Interments and Excavations in St. Magnus Cathedral, 27 – 32
Windwick, J P A Record Miscellany, IV, 33 – 7
Marwick, H A Record Miscellany, IV, Notes, 37 – 9
Fraser, J The Antiquities of Evie Parish, 41 – 6
Flett, J Kirkwall Incorporated Trades, 47 – 56
Clouston, J S Three Norse Strongholds in Orkney, 57 – 74
Marwick, H Urn Burial in Deerness, 75 – 6
1930 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall
Clouston, J S Six Orkney Seals, 9 – 15
Begg, J The Early Orkney Justiciary I, 17 – 25
Dickens, B The Runic Inscriptions of Maeshowe, 27 – 30
Clouston, J S Three More Seals, 31 – 4
Spence, J A Contribution on the Orkney Norn, 35 – 7
Flett, J Kirkwall Incorporated Trades II, 39 – 44
Marwick, H, Note on Bishop Andrew, 45
Dickins, B Orkney Raid on Wales, 47 – 8
Marwick, H A Glimpse of the Great Marquis, 49
Cursiter, J W Underground Chamber at Braebister, Hoy, 51 – 2
Marwick, H Sir Archibald Stewart of Burray’s Calculating Table, 53
Wood, W Description of Tumulus in the Island of Sanday (1824), 55 – 6
Clouston, J S An Old Norse Drinking Horn, 57 – 62

1931 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall
Frontispiece: The Orkney Arms
Marwick, H Modern Views of Ancient Orkney, 9 – 16
Callander, J G Some Orkney Antiquities, 17 – 20
Rendall, R Notes on a Collection of Flints From Wideford Hill, 21 – 4
Marwick, H Orkney Farm Name Studies, 25 – 34
Clouston, J S A Fresh View of the Settlement of Orkney, 35 – 40
Taylor, A B Some Saga Place-Names, 41 – 5
Corrie, J M Interesting Steatite Vessels Found in Orkney, 47 – 8
Mooney, J Deerness: The Kirk Session (1702 – 1706), 49 – 55
Clouston, J S The Orkney Arms, 57 – 9
Grieg, W M Prehistoric Cemetery at Lochside, Stenness, 61

1932 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall
Clouston, J S Tammaskirk in Rendall, 9 – 16
Mooney, J Kennedys in Orkney and Caithness, 17 – 20
Taylor, A B The Death of Earl Rognvaldr, 21 – 5
Marwick, H Notes on Viking Burials, 27 – 9
Dickins, B Old Norse ‘Trog’, 31
Clouston, J S Our Ward Hills and Ensigns, 33 – 41
Fraser, J The Orkney Fencibles, 43 – 7
Flett, J Kirkwall Incorporated Trades III, 49 – 57
Walls, C E S An 18th Century Orkney Litigation, 59 – 69

1933 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XI (Session 1932 – 1933), Kirkwall
Clouston, J S Something about Maeshowe, 9 – 17
Mooney, J Kennedys in Orkney and Caithness (2nd paper), 19 – 26
Mooney, J Laurence Abbot No Cistercian Monastery in Orkney, 27 – 9
Marwick, H The Feas of Clestrain, 31 – 43
Taylor, A B Studies in the Orkneyinga Saga, 45 – 9
Dennison, W T Remarks on the Agricultural Classes in the North Isles of Orkney, 51 – 7
Clouston, J S The Origin of the Halcros, 59 – 65
Flett, J Kirkwall Incorporated Trades IV, 67 – 71

1934 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall
Callander, J G The Bronze Age Pottery of Orkney and Shetland, 9 – 12
Marwick, H Impressions of Shetland, 13 – 18
Rendall, R Further Notes on an Orkney Flintfield, 19 – 25
Rendall, R Notes on an Underground Chamber at South Keigar, Deerness, 26 – 8
Clouston, J S The Origin of the Orkney Chiefs 29 – 39
Mooney, J Some Further Kirk Session Records, 41 – 5
Marwick, H Two Orkney 18th Century Inventories, 47 – 54
Marwick, H House of Burray Inventory, 1810, 55 – 8
Taylor, A B The Orkneyinga Saga: its Relation to Other Saga Literature, 59 – 62
Taylor, A B The Orkneyinga Saga: its Place of Composition, 63 – 4

1935 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIII (Session 1934 – 1935), Kirkwall
Leith, P The Smiths of Tormiston, 9 – 13
Marwick, H Leidang in the West, 15 – 29
Spence, W Inventory of Rentals, etc., Received at the Closing Down of the Earldom Offices in Kirkwall, Presented to Orkney Antiquarian Society by the Late William MacLennan, Esq., OBE, JP, Ex-Convener of Orkney, 31 – 2
Fraser, J Some Transactions of the Vice-Admiral Depute of Orkney in 1801-1803, 33 – 8
Spence, W A List of Orkney and Shetland Burgesses of Bergen, 39 – 40
Kirkness, W Notes on the Discovery of a Plate from an Early Bronze Age Necklace, 41
Flett, J The Orkney Agricultural Society, 43 – 9
Dickins, B St. Magnus and his Countess, 51 – 2

1937 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIV (Session 1936 – 1937), Kirkwall
Clouston J S The Aikerness Stone, 9 – 19
Fraser, J Three Years of Shipwreck, 21 – 9
Mowat, J Romance of the Orkney and Shetland Press, 31 – 7
Mowat, J St. Magnus Hospital, Caithness, 1634-1641, 39 – 40
Leith, P The Bellendens and the Palace of Stenness, 41 – 4
Rendall, R The South Ettit Flint Industries, 45 – 56
Mooney, J St. Magnus Cathedral – Proprietorship and Maintenance, 57 – 70

1939 Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XV (Session 1937 – 38 – 39), Kirkwall
Marwick, H Old-Time Orkney Weights and Measures, 9 – 13
Clouston, J S Orkney and the Archer-Guards, 15 – 32
Clouston, J S Orkney and the Archer-Guards – a Further Note, 33 – 4
Fraser, J Orkney Shipwrecks and Other Maritime Matters, 35 – 41
Mooney, J St. Magnus Cathedral – Proprietorship and Maintenance (2nd Paper), 43 – 52
Cook, J A Comparison of Stonehenge with Stone Circles of Stenness Area, 53 – 59
Clouston, J S James Sinclair of Brecks, 61 – 68
Mooney, J St. Magnus Cathedral – Proprietorship and Maintenance (3rd Paper), 69 – 87

Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society
A-Z Authors

Archibald, G 1925 List of Antiquities Relating to Orkney in the National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 81 – 9

Begg, J 1923 Notes on the Origin of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 70 – 72

Begg, J 1924 The Orkney Bailie Courts, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 69 – 76

Begg, J 1925 The Orkney Bailie Courts Part II, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 55 – 64

Begg, J 1926 The Bailie Courts of Orkney Part III, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IV (Session 1925 – 1926), Kirkwall, 37 – 43

Begg, J 1930 The Early Orkney Justiciary I, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 17 – 25

Callander, J G 1931 Some Orkney Antiquities, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 17 – 20

Callander, J G 1934 The Bronze Age Pottery of Orkney and Shetland, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 9 – 12

Clouston, J S 1923 Old Orkney Houses I, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 11 – 19

Clouston, J S 1923 Old Orkney Houses II, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 39 – 47

Clouston, J S 1924 Old Orkney Houses III, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 7 – 14

Clouston, J S 1924 The People and Surnames of Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 31 – 6

Clouston, J S 1924 The Orkney Lands, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 61 – 8

Clouston, J S 1925 The Goodmen and Hirdmen of Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 9 – 19

Clouston, J S 1925 The Old Orkney Mills I, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 49 – 54

Clouston, J S 1925 The Old Orkney Mills II, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 65 – 71

Clouston, J S 1926 Tradition and Fact, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society
Volume IV (Session 1925 – 1926), Kirkwall, 9 – 14

Clouston, J S 1926 The Old Prebends of Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IV (Session 1925 – 1926), Kirkwall, 31 – 6

Clouston, J S 1927 An Old Kirkwall House, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 9 – 14

Clouston, J S 1927 The Orkney ‘Bus’, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 41 – 9

Clouston, J S 1928 The Battle of Tankerness, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 21 – 25

Clouston, J S 1928 Some Orkney Heraldic Rubbings, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 43 – 53

Clouston, J S 1929 The Evidence of Stone, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929), Kirkwall, 9 – 16

Clouston, J S 1929 Three Norse Strongholds in Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929), Kirkwall, 57 – 74

Clouston, J S 1930 Six Orkney Seals, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society
Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 9 – 15

Clouston, J S 1930 Three More Seals, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 31 – 4

Clouston, J S 1930 An Old Norse Drinking Horn, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 57 – 62

Clouston, J S 1931 A Fresh View of the Settlement of Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 35 – 40

Clouston, J S 1931 The Orkney Arms, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 57 – 9

Clouston, J S 1932 Tammaskirk in Rendall, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall, 9 – 16

Clouston, J S 1932 Our Ward Hills and Ensigns, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall, 33 – 41

Clouston, J S 1933 Something about Maeshowe, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XI (Session 1932 – 1933), Kirkwall, 9 – 17

Clouston, J S 1933 The Origin of the Halcros, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XI (Session 1932 – 1933), Kirkwall, 59 – 65

Clouston, J S 1934 The Origin of the Orkney Chiefs Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 29 – 39

Clouston J S 1937 The Aikerness Stone, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIV (Session 1936 – 1937), Kirkwall, 9 – 19

Clouston, J S 1939 Orkney and the Archer-Guards, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XV (Session 1937 – 38 – 39), 15 – 32

Clouston, J S 1939 Orkney and the Archer-Guards – a Further Note, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XV (Session 1937 – 38 – 39), 33 – 4

Clouston, J S 1939 James Sinclair of Brecks, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XV (Session 1937 – 38 – 39), 61 – 68

Cook, J 1939 A Comparison of Stonehenge with Stone Circles of Stenness Area, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XV (Session 1937 – 38 – 39), 53 – 59

Corrie, J M 1931 Interesting Steatite Vessels Found in Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 47 – 8

Craven, The Ven. Archdeacon, 1923 Orkney Antiquarian Society Inaugural Address Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 9 - 10

Craven, The Ven. Archdeacon, 1924 Some Bible Superstitions, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 5 – 6

Cursiter, J 1923 The Orkney Brochs, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 49 – 52

Cursiter, J W 1930 Underground Chamber at Braebister, Hoy, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 51 – 2

Dennison, W T 1933 Remarks on the Agricultural Classes in the North Isles of Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XI (Session 1932 – 1933), Kirkwall, 51 – 7

Dickins, B 1924 Note on Maeshowe Inscriptions, XXII, and XVI – XVIII, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 59 – 60

Dickens, B 1930 The Runic Inscriptions of Maeshowe, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 27 – 30

Dickins, B 1930 Orkney Raid on Wales, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 47 – 8

Dickins, B 1932 Old Norse ‘Trog’, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall, 31

Dickins, B 1935 St. Magnus and his Countess, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIII (Session 1934 – 1935), Kirkwall, 51 – 2

Drever, J 1923 Papa Westray Games, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 69 – 70

Flett, J 1927 Kirkwall Burgess Ticket of 1734, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 31 – 5

Flett, J 1929 Kirkwall Incorporated Trades, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929), Kirkwall, 47 – 56

Flett, J 1930 Kirkwall Incorporated Trades II, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 39 – 44

Flett, J 1932 Kirkwall Incorporated Trades III, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall, 49 – 57

Flett, J 1933 Kirkwall Incorporated Trades IV, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XI (Session 1932 – 1933), Kirkwall, 67 – 71

Flett, J 1935 The Orkney Agricultural Society, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIII (Session 1934 – 1935), Kirkwall, 43 – 9

Fraser, J 1923 Some Antiquities in Harray Parrish, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 31 – 7

Fraser, J 1924 Antiquities of Sandwick Parish, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 23 – 9

Fraser, J 1925 The Antiquities of Birsay Parish, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 21 – 30

Fraser, J 1926 Antiquities of Stenness Parish, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IV (Session 1925 – 1926), Kirkwall, 17 – 24

Fraser, J 1927 The Antiquities of Firth Parish, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 51 – 6

Fraser, J 1928 The Antiquities of Rendall Parish, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 69 – 73

Fraser, J 1929 The Antiquities of Evie Parish, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929), Kirkwall, 41 – 6

Fraser, J 1932 The Orkney Fencibles, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall, 43 – 7

Fraser, J 1935 Some Transactions of the Vice-Admiral Depute of Orkney in 1801-1803, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIII (Session 1934 – 1935), Kirkwall, 33 – 8

Fraser, J 1937 Three Years of Shipwreck, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIV (Session 1936 – 1937), Kirkwall, 21 – 9

Fraser, J 1939 Orkney Shipwrecks and Other Maritime Matters, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XV (Session 1937 – 38 – 39), 35 – 41

Grieg, W M 1931 Prehistoric Cemetery at Lochside, Stenness, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 61

Hibbert, J 1923 A General Night, A 1734 Orkney Inventory (From Sheriff Court Record Room), Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 65 – 6

Horne, D 1923 Kirkwall Games Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 67 – 9

Kirkness, W 1925 Notes on the Discovery of a Short Cist at Rendall, Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 79

Kirkness, W 1928 Dale, (Harray), and Other Kindred Structures, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 59 – 67

Kirkness, W 1935 Notes on the Discovery of a Plate from an Early Bronze Age Necklace, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIII (Session 1934 – 1935), Kirkwall, 41

Leith, P 1924 Orkney Folk-Lore, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 47

Leith, P 1927 Hill Dike Agreement, 1761, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 59 – 60

Leith, P 1935 The Smiths of Tormiston, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIII (Session 1934 – 1935), Kirkwall, 9 – 13

Leith, P 1937 The Bellendens and the Palace of Stenness, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIV (Session 1936 – 1937), Kirkwall, 41 – 4

Marwick, H 1923 Antiquarian Notes on Sanday, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 21 – 9

Marwick, H 1923The Place-Names of North Ronaldsay, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 53 – 64

Marwick, H 1923 Old Orkney Games Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1922 – 1923), Kirkwall, 66 – 7

Marwick, H 1924 Antiquarian Notes on Rousay, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 15 – 21

Marwick, H 1924 Burial Cist Discovered at Crantit, St. Ola, Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 48

Marwick, H 1924 ‘A Description of Orkney’ (1773) An Account of an Unpublished Manuscript of Rev. George Low, Minister of Birsay, 1774 – 1795, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 49 – 60

Marwick, H 1925 Antiquarian Notes on Papa Westray, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 31 – 47

Marwick, H 1925 Note on Incised Stone found at Brodgar, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume I (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 91

Marwick, H 1927 A Record Miscellany I, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 15 – 17

Marwick, H 1927 A Record Miscellany II, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 37 – 40

Marwick, H 1927 Antiquarian Notes on Stronsay, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 61 – 83

Marwick, H 1927 Gallery Grave at Rennibister, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 85 – 6

Marwick, H 1927 Underground Structure in Harray, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 87 – 8

Marwick, H 1928 Kolbein Hruga’s Castle, Wyre, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 9 – 11

Marwick, H 1928 Sir David Menzies of Weem, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 13 – 15

Marwick, H 1928 Two Unrecorded Stone-Circles in Rousay, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 17 – 18

Marwick, H 1928 A Kirkwall Burgh Court Record, 1549, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 19

Marwick, H 1928 A Record Miscellany, III, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 27 – 32

Marwick, H 1929 Skerrabrae, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929), Kirkwall, 17 – 26

Marwick, H 1929 A Record Miscellany, IV, Notes, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929), Kirkwall, 37 – 9

Marwick, H 1929 Urn Burial in Deerness, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929), Kirkwall, 75 – 6

Marwick, H, 1930 Note on Bishop Andrew, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 45

Marwick, H 1930 A Glimpse of the Great Marquis, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 49

Marwick, H 1930 Sir Archibald Stewart of Burray’s Calculating Table, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 53

Marwick, H 1931 Modern Views of Ancient Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 9 – 16

Marwick, H 1931 Orkney Farm Name Studies, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 25 – 34

Marwick, H 1932 Notes on Viking Burials, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall, 27 – 9

Marwick, H 1933 The Feas of Clestrain, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XI (Session 1932 – 1933), Kirkwall, 31 – 43

Marwick, H 1934 Impressions of Shetland, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 13 – 18

Marwick, H 1934 Two Orkney 18th Century Inventories, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 47 – 54

Marwick, H 1934 House of Burray Inventory, 1810, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 55 – 8

Marwick, H 1935 Leidang in the West, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIII (Session 1934 – 1935), Kirkwall, 15 – 29

Marwick, H 1939 Old-Time Orkney Weights and Measures, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XV (Session 1937 – 38 – 39), Kirkwall, 9 – 13

Mooney, J 1925 Discovery of Relics in St. Magnus Cathedral, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume III (Session 1924 – 1925), Kirkwall, 73 – 8

Mooney, J 1926 Deerness: Its Islands, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IV (Session 1925 – 1926), Kirkwall, 25 – 9

Mooney, J 1928 Further Notes on Saints’ Relics and Burials in St. Magnus Cathedral. With Appendix: Letters from the Marquess of Bute to Mr. J W Cursiter, Kirkwall, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 33 – 41

Mooney, J 1929 Interments and Excavations in St. Magnus Cathedral, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929), Kirkwall, 27 – 32

Mooney, J 1931 Deerness: The Kirk Session (1702 – 1706), Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 49 – 55

Mooney, J 1933 Kennedys in Orkney and Caithness (2nd paper), Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XI (Session 1932 – 1933), Kirkwall, 19 – 26

Mooney, J 1933 Laurence Abbot No Cistercian Monastery in Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XI (Session 1932 – 1933), Kirkwall, 27 – 9

Mooney, J 1934 Some Further Kirk Session Records, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 41 – 5

Mooney, J 1932 Kennedys in Orkney and Caithness, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall, 17 – 20

Mooney, J 1937 St. Magnus Cathedral – Proprietorship and Maintenance, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIV (Session 1936 – 1937), Kirkwall, 57 – 70

Mooney, J 1939 St. Magnus Cathedral – Proprietorship and Maintenance (2nd Paper), Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XV (Session 1937 – 38 – 39), 43 – 52

Mooney, J 1939 St. Magnus Cathedral – Proprietorship and Maintenance (3rd Paper), Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XV (Session 1937 – 38 – 39), 69 – 87

Mooney, R B 1926 A French ‘Stone of Odin’, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IV (Session 1925 – 1926), Kirkwall, 15

Mowat, J 1937 Romance of the Orkney and Shetland Press, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIV (Session 1936 – 1937), Kirkwall, 31 – 7

Mowat, J 1937 St. Magnus Hospital, Caithness, 1634-1641, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIV (Session 1936 – 1937), Kirkwall, 39 – 40

Petrie, G 1927 Primeval Antiquities of Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 19 – 29 (written 1859)

Rendall, R 1931 Notes on a Collection of Flints From Wideford Hill, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 21 – 4

Rendall, R 1934 Further Notes on an Orkney Flintfield, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 19 – 25

Rendall, R 1934 Notes on an Underground Chamber at South Keigar, Deerness, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 26 – 8

Rendall, R 1937 The South Ettit Flint Industries, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIV (Session 1936 – 1937), Kirkwall, 45 – 56

Robertson, D J 1924 Orkney Folklore, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 37 – 46

Scott, A B 1926 The Celtic Church in Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IV (Session 1925 – 1926), Kirkwall, 45 – 56

Spence, J 1924 Life and Work in Moorland Orcadia in Days of Old, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume II (Session 1923 – 1924), Kirkwall, 77 – 82

Spence, J A 1930 Contribution on the Orkney Norn, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 35 – 7

Spence, W 1935 Inventory of Rentals, etc., Received at the Closing Down of the Earldom Offices in Kirkwall, Presented to Orkney Antiquarian Society by the Late William MacLennan, Esq., OBE, JP, Ex-Convener of Orkney, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIII (Session 1934 – 1935), Kirkwall, 31 – 2

Spence, W 1935 A List of Orkney and Shetland Burgesses of Bergen, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XIII (Session 1934 – 1935), Kirkwall, 39 – 40

Taylor, A B 1931 Some Saga Place-Names, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume IX (Session 1930 – 1931), Kirkwall, 41 – 5

Taylor, A B 1932 The Death of Earl Rognvaldr, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall, 21 – 5

Taylor, A B 1933 Studies in the Orkneyinga Saga, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XI (Session 1932 – 1933), Kirkwall, 45 – 9

Taylor, A B 1934 The Orkneyinga Saga: its Relation to Other Saga Literature, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 59 – 62

Taylor, A B 1934 The Orkneyinga Saga: its Place of Composition, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume XII (Session 1933 – 1934), Kirkwall, 63 – 4

Walls, C E S 1932 An 18th Century Orkney Litigation, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume X (Session 1931 – 1932), Kirkwall, 59 – 69

Windwick, J P 1928 The Ladykirk Stone, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VI (Session 1927 – 1928), Kirkwall, 55 – 57

Windwick, J P 1929 A Record Miscellany, IV, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VII (Session 1928 – 1929), Kirkwall, 33 – 7

Wood, A 1927 Supplementary Notes on Firth Parish, Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume V (Session 1926 – 1927), Kirkwall, 57

Wood, W 1930 Description of Tumulus in the Island of Sanday (1824), Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society Volume VIII (Session 1929 – 1930), Kirkwall, 55 – 6

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Scottish Iron Age Matters Research Seminar

2008-10-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

Have just spent a few days attending the SIAM seminars at Orkney College UHI - the aim was 'to present & discuss recent & ongoing research into the Scottish Iron Age'. It got off to a bit of a shaky start as we'd had gales on the Thursday, which meant the boats didn't go & a number of delegates were stuck in Thurso overnight. It was a shame as we'd gone into town for the public lecture, to be given by Professor Ian Ralston of the University of Edinburgh on the Rise & Fall of Princes & Princesses in the Earlier European Iron Age - only problem being that Prof. Ralston was still in Thurso. Martin Carruthers of UHI stepped in very kindly & gave a talk on Orcadian Earth houses so all was not lost.
The seminar itself was held over the Friday & Saturday & there were some very interesting speakers on a range of subjects. I particularly enjoyed Fiona Tucker of the University of Bradford on 'The Invisible Dead? The treatment & use of human remains in Iron Age Orkney & Shetland'. The problem being for Iron Age burials is that we mostly don't have any - or at least not in large enough numbers, only just over 200, the majority of which come from the recent excavations at the Knowe of Skea in Westray.
Sarah Jane Clelland, also University of Bradford, gave a very accessible talk on Archaeomagnetic Dating - including her work on dating lake sediments using this technique.
High Pasture Cave in Skye was covered by Jo McKenzie, University of Bradford - an amazing ritual site with mass slaughter/feasting activities from Late Bronze Age to Iron Age.
Jacqui Mulville, University of Cardiff, spoke on animal bone assemblages from the Western Isles, and odd depositional patterns including the cow bone lined hearth from Bornais.
Orkney Islands Council provided a reception on the Friday night with a free bar - not sure the Council had any idea of how much archaeologists drink! This was followed by a public lecture by Dr. Ingrid Mainland - originally from Rousay who I remember as one of our young volunteers from the days of digging in Sanday - now a lecturer at University of Bradford. She spoke on the animal bones from Minehowe in Tankerness -particularly unusual due to the high concentration of cattle bones in preference to all else - again ritual feasting?
Saturday evening was also notable for the Kirkwall City Pipe Band & Lerwick Jarl's Squad doing an Orkney version of Up-Helly-Aa parade from the Cathedral to the Peerie Sea, complete with galley burning. Not something staged for the delegates - this year's Guizer Jarl of the Lerwick squad has a daughter who plays in the Kirkwall Pipe Band, so the band went to Shetland for Up-Helly-Aa proper - and also grew beards for the event - & the Jarl's squad has been down for a few events since.
Sunday was a field trip to Orkney's Iron Age sites for those not familiar with them - considering what I spend my summers doing I decided to give this a miss - a good idea in view of the weather on the day - we have now definately settled into the October gales season.
For those of you not lucky enough to be in Orkney for the seminar, the proceedings are to be published in due course - hopefully after not too long an interval - and will also include the discussion session, held on the Saturday afternoon, in which delegates put forward their 'wish list' for projects they'd like to see in the years ahead.

Finally a kitten update - Muffin is doing well & has been joined by Tiffin - another waif - courtesy of the Friends of Orkney Ferals - settled in nicely as you can see from the pic. Well, we didn't want Muffin to get lonely - the big cats not being very impressed with kittens. The North Ronaldsay seaweed eating sheep - aka Harry, Harriet, Tallullah & Euphemia are also fine & sulking a bit at getting their concentrate ration cut to encourage them to eat grass -my friend Pat having assured me that at this tme of year they don't need supplementing.
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Muffin the T.V.P.

2008-09-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

It now being mid- September the season's finally winding down and all us Orkney tour guides are breathing a sigh of relief. Of course we love tourists here in Orkney as they're a major part of our local economy - probably as much as a third in total - but the season begins to get to us all eventually. Have just completed a 19 day run without a day off - a bit of a late season flurry - & was feeling a bit tired - but was put firmly in my place when collecting guests from the Lynnfield Hotel when Malcolm the owner said his last day off was on January 2nd! I honestly don't know why anyone goes into the hotel trade - Malcolm was looking particularly exhausted as he'd just had the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester plus equerry, lady in waiting & Royal protection officers staying with him.

It was a bit surreal turning up to collect guests at the same time - I never saw the Royals themselves but it was slightly unnerving having quite so many very large men in suits (with of course guns) hanging round the place - I swear some of them had to duck to get through the front door.

Was on my last day of day 19, out with a very nice group of American Presbyterian Ministers who were off to Iona for a Celtic Christianity retreat. They had told me they were Ministers - but not until I'd been in the Bishop's bedroom at Skaill House attempting to explain the rather convoluted history of the Church of Scotland & the fact that as Presbyterians we felt no need for Bishops. (I didn't feel quite as stupid as the time I was trying to explain DNA studies on ancient populations in very simple terms to a guest I later found out was a Nobel prize winning Harvard professor working on the human genome project - he was kind enough keep a straight face). I managed to reduce my Ministers to hysterical laughter at the Broch of Gurness when talking about the 'well' - I think my immortal phrase was something along the lines of 'since it's completely pointless & serves no useful function we think it may be for a religious purpose' - I have a feeling that's going to feature in sermons for some time to come.

Anyway we were heading out of Finstown on our way to our last stop at the Earl's Bu when a small black & white kitten threw itself in front of the van - luckily I was more alert than I thought I was & had braked hard before I realised exactly what I was braking for. Kitten then ran back onto the side of the road legged it. I pulled over & asked my passengers to excuse me for a moment whilst I chased after the kitten in the midst of the evening rush hour traffic - which luckily in Orkney isn't that bad - finally managed to grab the kitten which was contemplating another rush into the middle of the road. Kitten of course rewarded me with a fine collection of scratches & bites but I got it safely into the cool bag in the van - a handy emergency cat carrier (took out the ice packs & water first of course). Continued with the tour - the Ministers turned out to be cat lovers so of course when we got to the Earl's Bu they all had to view the kitten in the cool bag before we did the site - this being what's known as a T.V.P. which we're all warned about when being trained as Orkney Tour Guides. It's a pretty tough training course - run by the Scottish Tourist Guides Association - the same people who train blue badge guides - we're green badge guides trained specially for Orkney.

T.V.P stands for Top Visual Priority - put simply it's no use expounding about Skara Brae if all your guests are taking photos of the seals in the bay - Neolithic archaeology being all very well but nowhere near as exciting as seals - you have to deal with the T.V.P then get on with the tour. In my case it was kitten-in-the-cool-bag then Norse archaeology - although the Earl's Bu comes with a resident set of T.V.P.s in the shape of two collies from the nearby farm who always come for a cuddle in the middle of the tour - you cannot do the Orkneyinga Saga justice when there's a collie sitting on your foot.

Took the kitten home - wanted to call him Phin in honour of Phin the Irish soldier that Finstown's named after - but he turned out to be she so named her Muffin the T.V.P or just Muffin for short. Of course being a feral kitten she had cat flu, lice, ear mites, worms, diarrhea & was a thin as a lathe - but a bit of TLC, food, warmth, worming & a trip to the vets for antibiotics, lice & mite stuff & lots of bathing of sore eyes & she's coming on nicely as can be seen in the pics. One of these days I'm going to get a kitten that comes from a nice family home is fit & healthy & well-fed & doesn't start out by costing money at the vets- the ones they always tell you to choose - but we never seem to choose our kittens - they usually just arrive. We've got lots of feral cats in Orkney, being a rural farming community & there's a local group dedicated solely to helping them - the Friends of Orkney Ferals

Must now settle down for the winter and get stuck back into the PhD - although the weather's brilliant at the moment and have a last few groups out over the next couple of weeks. We've had a really good summer weather wise - much better than in the rest of the UK - hardly any rain at all - although in typical style in rained on the day of the County Show in August.

Bookings are also coming in for next season - have had some on the books for months - I'm always amazed by people who are so organised - some people have booked 18 months in advance & I had to publish my 2009 holiday dates in January 2008. Hopefully next year will be a good season for all concerned.

Visit our website - Orkney Archaeology Tours - for details.

Ness of Brodgar

2008-08-11T11:04:00.001-07:00

Have finally had time to get down to the dig at the Ness of Brodgar with a camera -it really is an amazing site. Neolithic structures everywhere, huge walls, loads of pottery, decorated stones etc.etc. There is a daily blog diary with more info & pictures at http://www.orkneyjar.com but the pictures below give you some idea. Those of you reading this that were out on tour with me earlier in the year will see how much has been done by a fairly small team in the last few weeks. Only another 2 weeks left to go - hopefully the brilliant results this year will give ammunition to the director - Nick Card of ORCA - the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology - in his never ending quest for funding! It's outrageous how little money is put into a site as important as this - a major component in our understanding of our World Heritage Site - the Heart of Neolithic Orkney - compared to the money that goes into similar projects in England. Anyway enjoy the pics!

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Summer digs

2008-08-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

We've been lucky this summer as there's a lot of excavation going on, some of which has coincided with our holiday weeks so we've been able to include site visits as an added extra. A recent visit to Hoy coincided with a two week dig at Outer Green Hill - a large mound near Cantick Head, previously suspected to be a Broch due to its size. The trial trenches however revealed the site to be a probable Neolithic chambered tomb, complete with revetting walls.

The site was run by ORCA - the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (see the June post for news of ORCA's launch), and supervised by Dan, one of ORCA's project officers. Dan very kindly gave my group a site tour of progress so far. The following week a second trench revealed the probable entrance passage to the tomb.

There's also been work out at the Brough of Deerness, in the Mull Head nature reserve. this is close to the Gloup- a massive collapsed sea cave (from the Old Norse gluppa, a chasm) - so after visiting the Gloup we headed on out to the Brough.

Access to the Brough is not for the faint hearted on anyone scared of heights - a steep cliff path with a long drop the other side.

The Brough was surveyed & had limited excavation on the Viking/Norse period church back in the 1970s, but nothing since then until this year. The team on the Brough was led by Dr. James Barrett, now of the McDonald Institute in Cambridge. I know Jamie from the Quoygrew excavations in Westray a few years back - he's obsessed with the Norse stockfish trade - the only man I ever met who gets excited over a fishbone. Jamie's leaning towards the theory that the Brough is a Viking chieftain's stronghold rather than a monastic site as has been previously suggested - no doubt all will be revealed in future seasons. Amazingly the tent in the picture (their site hut) lasted until the fourth week of the dig before blowing away in a gale. The dig team showed their dedication - not an easy site to work on when everything has to be carried down the cliff face & back up the other side.

One of the other major sites this year has been at the Ring of Brodgar - the henge monument that's part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. The only previous excavation was in 1973 when Colin Renfrew (now Professor Lord Colin Renfrew) opened up two trenches across the ditch and one across the putative bank. I almost met Professor Renfrew once - he came to visit the site of Pool Bay in Sanday, one of our North Isles, back in the mid 80s - making some sort of documentary film. He only spoke to the Director though - they didn't let him come near the scruffy diggers - probably thought we'd bite!

Did have a slightly surreal experience earlier this year when someone phoned up to enquire about a tour & said they'd been sitting next to Colin Renfrew at dinner & he'd insisted they must visit Orkney as it was a wonderful place with great archaeology. This threw me slightly & I managed to come out with classic line 'You're not bringing Professor Renfrew with you are you?' Luckily they weren't & came on their own - they did email him from their Blackberry in the back of the van to say they were having a lovely time though & he emailed back saying he wished he was here -definately surreal!

Anyway Professor Renfrew's excavations were part of his attempt to establish a sequence for the Orcadian Neolithic, using the relatively new technique of radiocarbon dating, and subsequently published as Investigations in Orkney - well worth a read if you can get your hands on it - long since out of print. The problem he faced was that radiocarbon techniques were not that advanced & you needed a large sample to get a result. He did get two dates at Brodgar - from the trench on the northern side of the Ring - but from peat deposits that were fairly high in the fill & gave dates between 295 - 510 cal BC. This trench flooded & wasn't completed, and the other trench on the southern side of the Ring didn't have any organic material that could be dated.
The work this summer has reopened the 1973 trenches and have succeeded in bottoming both of them without flooding. Samples have been taken for dating and the excavation team are optimistic that at last we will have a date for the Ring of Brodgar. It was certainly a privilege to be able to see the amazing rock cut ditch - 3.5m deep and cut using hand tools - antler picks & stone tools only. The trenches have now been backfilled and the work will go on in the lab to hopefully get a date out - no finds were made during the dig so it all rests with the specialists. A tomography survey (detailed geophysics) was also undertaken & located a number of stoneholes for the missing stones - suggesting that possibly there were more than the ususally quoted figure of 60 stones in the Ring.

There's also work going on at the Ness of Brodgar - a Neolithic settlement site between the Stones of Stenness & Ring of Brodgar - unfortunately forgot my camera when there last week but will go back the next chance I get for pics.

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Sheep update

2008-06-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

Good news on the North Ronaldsay lambs - Harry, Harriet, Euphemia & Tallulah - all are alive & well & growing like weeds - still on two bottles a day although the youngest - Harry - is 7 weeks old today. The concept of eating the green stuff that grows on the ground doesn't seem to be quite as appealing as a nice warm bottle of milk - there's going to be a riot next week when they're down to one bottle a day. We had to make a four-lamb feeding station for the bottles as it's impossible when you're on your own to feed just 2 lambs at once without the other two creating chaos. They have decided that the best solid foods are willow leaves from our attempt at persuading trees to grow & hawthorn leaves from our attempt at planting a hedge. They will eat seaweed which we are still collecting for them - they like a little after dinner nibble of seaweed -dinner being their bottle of warm milk. My friend Pat (the proper sheep farmer) reckons I'm just a soft touch - but then when she cut off her caddy lambs milk she put him to some land they own 10 miles away so she can't hear him bleating pathetically for his bottle. We have it in glorious quadrophonic sound - they don't really bleat - more yell at the top of their lungs.They have decided they like the hens layers pellets - though they're not too keen on the bruised barley. They're not supposed to be eating layers pellets but as you can see they have developed their technique pretty well. The one thing they are steadfastly refusing to eat is the specially formulated lamb food & sugar beet pellets. The idea is you soak the sugar beet in water overnight then add some 'Lamb 18' to it to make a kind of delicious mushy porridge that's like baby food for lambs - only problem being they won't touch it - the hens love it though. Lamb 18 on its own is equally ignored - too much effort to chew when you can have a bottle. Since it's nearly July & everyone else's caddy lambs are weaned most places haven't got any more ewe milk replacer - so sooner or later they've got to eat grass.They had a big day yesterday - their first vaccination - as they're sheep you don't have to get the vet to do it you just buy a bottle of the vaccine & some syringes & do it yourself, which saves a lot of money - although the smallest vaccine size is 50ml & you only need a course of two 2ml jags for each sheep - next year I'm just going to get some off Pat but couldn't this year as she'd used hers. Never having vaccinated anything before we looked it up in the sheep book & it seemed fairly straightforward. Fill the syringe, invert, tap to release air bubbles, tent the skin & jag - taking care not to go all the way through to the other side, or to inadvertently vaccinate your man who's holding the sheep - apparently it's not dangerous if you do accidentally vaccinate yourself but he wasn't convinced he needed protection against pulpy kidney etc. It all worked fine once we got the holding the lamb bit sorted out - they need another one in 4 weeks time then annual boosters. Now if it was just legal to do the dogs & cats yourself I could save a huge amount of money. Duke the ex-Battersea collie is having a whale of a time - runs endlessly around the fence from one side to the other watching 'his' sheep - although when you take him into the pen he's not quite sure what to do. He's ok if they've got their backs turned - then he does the 'run in & nip at their heels' bit like a proper collie - but if they're looking at him he gets a bit worried - if they come towards him he runs away.

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Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology Launch

2008-06-28T02:07:00.000-07:00

As well as seeing the arrival of our junior sheep, May saw the official launch of ORCA - the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology http://www.orca.uhi.ac.uk/ Formally know as OATPU - Orkney Archaeology Trust Projects Unit - this is the unit that tenders for contract archaeology work in Orkney. There's not a huge amount of work of this sort in Orkney - contract archaeology as distinct from research archaeology is the bread-and-butter of archaeological work in the UK. Put simply if there's a development going ahead which may be going to destroy something of archaeological importance, the developer can be required to pay for the excavation work. The big project in Scotland at the moment is the M74 extension - here in Orkney our contracts are usually a bit more modest - sometimes just a day's work watching a JCB digging the foundations for a single house, or small-scale evaluations ahead of construction. There's a group of us who work freelance for OAT/ORCA - Nick in the office rings us up & sends us off somewhere 'your mission, should you choose to accept it....'. Nick knows he can't have either me or my man Dave in the tourist season apart from the odd day that can be slotted in around other things, so most of our work is in the middle of winter. Forget the Time Team - archaeological evaluations & watching briefs in Orkney in January involve a lot of standing in a cold wet field in a gale watching a machine dig trenches. You have to dress a bit differently too - my usual winter watching brief wardrobe consists of 2 pairs of woolly socks, steel-toed wellies, thermal longjohns, fleece lined trousers, hi-vis overtrousers, thermal vest, t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, thin fleece top, thick fleece top, hi-vis jacket, 2 pairs gloves, thermal balaclava, woolly hat & hard hat on top. If it's raining (& it usually is) an extra pair of waterproof trousers under the hi-vis trousers as for some reason hi-vis trousers only come in showerproof not Orkney weather proof. This outfit causes much hilarity amongst digger drivers sitting in their centrally heated cabs with heated seat, radio, CD players etc.etc. but does have the advantage that if you get blown over by the wind then at least you bounce - you think I'm joking but this has happened to me - an evaluation in Dounby January 2007 gale force northerly wind & horizontal sleet, snow & hail. Couldn't drive home at the end of the day until I'd sat for a while as my hands had set in place & I couldn't bend my fingers.

January 2008 saw me in a field on Hatston industrial estate where the Council wanted to build some industrial units - the site is adjacent to a Bronze Age burnt mound which is a scheduled ancient monument, so an evaluation was needed both to define the extent of the mound so it could be avoided by the development, & to see if there was any associated activity in the area. I jumped at the chance when Nick called as my PhD is on the Orcadian Bronze Age, and burnt mounds are the commonest non-burial site from the period. A burnt mound - sometimes described as 'one of the dullest sites an archaeologist has to deal with' are mounds of fire-cracked rock associated with a trough of stone, wood, or in some areas a simple pit. Theories vary as to their use - hot-rock cooking, saunas, cloth fulling, brewing - but work in some areas such as Fair Isle has shown them to be very good survivors even in an agricultural landscape, and as such they may be useful indicators of Bronze Age settlement patterns.

Had no trouble defining the Hatston mound - nice machine trenches with a mini digger took care of that - good dark burnt mound material on orange clay as you can see in the photo-but the problem came in the evaluation trenches around the mound. Hatston industrial estate used to be HMS Sparrowhawk Fleet Air Arm base in World War II - the main road through Hatston follows the old route of the runway. In the post-war years the base was removed & the area converted back to civilian use, & a huge amount of material was simply bulldozed off the edge of a convenient slope - the area around my burnt mound - which was then skimmed over with soil & seeded with grass. So instead of the usual 40cms of ploughsoil onto subsoil, I had in places over 2.5 metres of ex-HMS Sparrowhawk onto subsoil - in some areas it was so deep the digger couldn't reach. To make matters worse the site was crossed by field drains which filled the trench with water as soon as they breached. I wanted to use this photo on the front cover of my report but thought Nick at OAT would have a sense-of-humour failure if I did. Plus this was my digger drivers first job after getting his ticket & he'd never driven this type of digger before - only had to leap for cover a couple of times & he was pretty good by the end of the fortnight.

Anyway now we have the new all-singing, all-dancing ORCA it's hoped we can tender for bigger projects possibly going further south than we do at present. Nick sent us to Caithness last winter for a walkover survey but that's previously been about the limit of operations. Now it's summer there are a number of research excavations starting up again including some in the World Heritage site area. There's to be more work at the Ness of Brodgar on the Neolithic settlement site, and hopefully a small trench at the Ring of Brodgar at one of the ditch terminals in another attempt to get some dating evidence out - it being fairly embarassing that we don't have a date for one of the major monuments of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.

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Our latest recruits

2008-05-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

The newest recruits to our team: four North Ronaldsay seaweed eating sheep - well four caddy lambs to be precise. The native sheep of North Ronaldsay graze almost exclusively on seaweed beyond the island's sheep dyke, a drystane dyke built in 1832, 12 miles long around the whole island and originally 6' high. The breeding ewes are brought inside the sheep dyke for lambing, but otherwise the sheep live quite happily on the foreshore. They have become so adapted to eating seaweed - which has a very low copper content - that if they are switched suddenly to normal good quality grass they die of copper poisoning. Recent work on analysis of isotope ratios in a 4th millennium BC sheep tooth from the Neolithic chambered tomb at Holm of Papa Westray North suggests that sheep were also grazing on seaweed in prehistory. The sheep are thought to be descendants of traditional native breeds before improvement of the breeding stock & are about half the size of a regular sheep.

Corrigall Farm Museum in Harray keeps 2 North Ronaldsay sheep - this year they've lambed and produced between them 3 lambs - one set of twins & a single lamb - very popular with visitors as you can imagine. I took a group there a fortnight ago when the lambs were 6 days old - very sweet - except the single smallest lamb which wasn't being very well mothered. I got a call next day from the Corrigall custodian my friend Neil who was desperate for someone to take on the littlest lamb as his mother was now refusing to feed him at all & he needed to be bottle fed. Being a sucker for a sob story it didn't take long for Neil to persuade me that I wanted to be surrogate mother to a caddy lamb (Neil knows I'm a soft touch - 2 years before it was two Corrigall kittens that needed a home) so it was off to Corrigall to collect him. Called at the vets on the way to buy some replacement milk - vet nurse said best only take a kilo in case he died (sheep in general are very good at dying even when not small scraggy caddy lambs) - we already had feeding bottles left over from the feral kittens we'd hand raised (as I said - a sucker for a sob story). The lamb was looking very sorry for itself - stood in a corner hunching its back - never a good sign in a lamb - tucked him inside my fleece jacket for warmth & took him home where he was installed in the cat basket in front of the kitchen stove - much to the disgust of the cats! He took to the bottle straight away & decided being a house lamb with a warm stove & regular meals was just the thing he needed. We called him Harry - we were discussing naming possibilities & I reckoned we should call him 'Harry - the sheep who lived' & hope that he did (Harry Potter fans will understand the reference - my man Dave wanted to call him Harry Trotter - I vetoed this on the grounds he wasn't a pig). Harry was totally unfazed by our 4 dogs - although he did try to suckle off Max the labrador - Max hasn't moved that fast in years! Duke the Staffie/Border collie cross has been wanting sheep of his own since we got him from Battersea dogs home back in 1998 - he's had to herd cats in the meantime.

So all was going well when I phoned my friend Pat (a proper sheep keeper who breeds pedigree Texels & wins prizes & a general fount of all sheeply knowledge ) to tell her of our new arrival - life then got quite a bit more complicated. I discovered Harry was not a caddy lamb but an illegal contraband sheep & I could expect a visit from the sheep police in short order - there are apparently a vast number of regulations covering owning sheep, moving sheep & tagging sheep even if they're pet sheep not meant for the food chain. Pat also told me that I now had to get more sheep - preferably ewe lambs so we could breed if we wanted - to keep Harry company - dogs & cats being all very well but not sheepish enough - I was starting to glaze over a bit at this point (2am feeds taking their toll) & didn't really take in the wide range of vaccinations he would apparently also need - luckily Pat has bottles of the stuff & promised to sort it out for us.

A trip to SEERAD (Scottish Executive Environment & Rural Affairs Department if you're interested) sorted out the legalities - & Harry was no longer liable to be arrested (actually I think it's me they arrest - I'm not sure what happens to the sheep). Did have a bit of trouble with the movement order though - didn't seem to be a place under the section on transportation method to put 'tucked down the front of a snuggly jacket'. A phone call to North Ronaldsay resulted in a cardboard box with airholes coming off the boat containing 3 ewe lambs to keep him company, duly installed in their pen with temporary shelter & introduced to Harry - who decided he was a sheep after all & not a dog. One of the ewe lambs could've been Harry's twin - so obviously Harriet - a beautiful white ewe with fluttery eyelashes deserved an extravagant name & so became Tallulah & the third - black with a white bib and kohl eyeliner we called Euphemia (after Euphemia Tait who kept a diary of the excavation of Mine Howe in 1946).

Proudly phoned Pat to say problem sorted - apparently not - the girls would be too young to breed this season (although capable of breeding) so we would need to segregate them from Harry - so he would need another ram lamb to keep him company - or he would have to be castrated. I felt this was all getting rapidly out of hand so Pat agreed to come round with her man John & the rubber castrating rings - we'd apply the rings whilst the men stood outside crossing their legs & drinking whisky. So there we were in the kitchen feeling Harry's testicles - too small & not in the right place so we couldn't do the deed - decided we'd have to take him to the vet when he's a bit bigger & get them snipped - a temporary reprieve & relief all round!

All four are doing well & not dead yet - on four hourly feeds still - which are a bit difficult to work in with the visitor schedule - thankfully most of Dave's tours are half days so he can race back to feed lambs - if he's out for longer my mum has been roped in for emergency cover. It's been suggested that I include a lamb feeding stop on my tours which would solve the problem - not sure how that would go down - but would it make them a visitor attraction & therefore tax deductable? Tallulah & Euphemia are happily eating seaweed too - they did however turn their noses up at the specially bought lamb feed.

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