5000 years ago on Thursday, May 31st.....

Skara Brae came into existence..... I have never been near such sophisticated existence of a Neolithic people.... stone houses with tiny ponds for holding large fish until it was time to eat them, wardrobe styled openings in walls, a sophisticated understanding of heat control and flow...... it was all present in these uncovered dwellings of Neolithic people who lived here in the Orkney Islands when it was warmer,,, So I absorbed Skara Brae

Slammed into the spiritual ice with the Stones of Brogdar.... a huge circle of standing stones covering a greater area than Stonehenge... on a hill ... but why?The the Sentinel and s on. Across the fields there were isolated standing stones waiting... but I cannot know for who.

It was a huge day as I went to some of the places that I wanted to find out about... and now my understanding of Viking history has improved....
More mounds of seafood for dinner...
Tomorrow we finish here at Orkney , travel back to the mainland and down a hidden road to Inverness then off to the West Coast and the vatius sights to be seen.....

I aso so tired... will take a day off when we get back from Scotland. Will organise a heap of pics when I get back,.....

Haunted room of Orkney

Soft pink blue skies over calm calm water..... treeless islands linked by WW2debris covered in solid block..... what islands are these?
Today has been amazing- driven from Edinburgh to Kirkwall, Orkney Islands - I have seen crofters' cottages with heather roofs; sheer layered cliffs dropping into the sea, solid stone fences /walls ; black highland cattle; black fat tailed sheep; deer; red squirrels; black headed woodpecker....... I have eaten divine coffee cream cake!!!!!!!! sipped spanish wine; devoured huge Orkney scallops ; licked my lips after Orkney black pudding and sighed with pleasure upon the taste of herring in oatmeal............. what a day!

Perhaps the biggest was that I walked the Fields of Culloden- the deathbed for so many Scottish men at the hands of the RedCoats..... huge burial pits were where the remains of the clansmen were thrown... Frasers, Robertsons, McTavish, you know the clans..... can I tell you of how it felt? The heather still grew and the yellow broom sent its heavy perfume across the fields. I will write more about this later but the Scots have a sound belief in the right of all to choose their own direction and not be subjected to the whims of the rich and powerful.... if a clan chief is not a good sort , his clan will not go with him...... these clans stood with their chieftains to the very end.......
What an experience!

We drove north , up the coast from Inverness and there were falling stone castles, once stood to bring fear into the hearts of potential conquerors.... fields surrounded by stone fences.... such history!
Tomorrow we look around Kirkwall and the islands and we go to see the neolithic homes, the ancient standing stones, ..... the antiquity of the cultures that built the Orkneys........

And so I dropped my camera this morning and it is zoo dead it isn't funny! Dead dead dead!!!!! Barbara lent me her camera but am going to have to buy another one......... when I do I will put up some pics.......

Oh yes... so we got to Kirkwall and there we're no hotel rooms...... yes there were NO hotel rooms....... except for the haunted room at the top of the Ayre Hotel which is where I am about to head........ I left the room earlier and was followed by footsteps.................. this room is so much in the attic, the bathroom( sort of) is down the passage and a small set of stairs........ and I will walk up there in a minute

I think summer was had on the 27th May.....

http://www.ivory-house.co.uk/My home away from home! Such a beautiful old home and where we are staying during our time in Scotland.

So we had the wedding on Monday at a place called The Vu which is in Bathgate. I was surrounded by a swinging sea of kilts and swirling sporrans , fascinating hats and humungous shoes. The wedding took place in a chapel that is right on a lake, high on a hill and the outlook is such that the view is totally all across the Lothian plains and hills- spectacular. A few champagnes and such later( and dinner) I crashed but at least it was not onto dinner. Had time to make an escape to the hotel we all were staying at....
Love the way I like to see all of daylight! So I got up at 6 and waited for all others to turn up!

Off to the town of Linlithgow then . http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/linlithgow/linlithgowpalace/The main reason was to look at the old palace there where Mary Queen of Scots was born and the Scottish Kings and Queens lived. How dramatic and splendid it would have been as a place of majesty.

The town is so old..... You can look ate the walls of various houses and , there on the front are the outlines of old doors and windows, bricked up and gone. A wonderful thoughtful law, from Engalnd  of course, decreed that the Scots should have to pay tax on the amount of daylight their houses received!!! So the poorer people, duly changed what their houses got and bricked up doors and windows so they could reduce tax!

Am desperate to keep this a secret from world governments!
And, here I am at 5.30 in the morning ready to get up soon as we are off to Orkneys today and it is a long drive up to Scrabster where we will catch the ferry over to Stornaway......... http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/

TRy this little vid on the HIStory of the Orkneys and their pagan background...  this is where we are going.

Made it ......

See! We got to Abu Dhabi first... hence the top display then , upon arrival in Heathrow, we needed to taste the local produce....

So arrived in Edinburgh to the sunniest skies ever seen in Scotland, the hottest weather for 200 years and the greenest grass!!! So here we are.... but my luggage wasn't!

yes thats right..... spending half an hour watching the luggage carousel go around is more of a tense situation than one would presume.....
The fun feeling soon dissipated and I stood.... lonely and lost.. and almost asleep. I remained cool calm and collected......

Oops .. gotta go.... am off to a Scottish wedding over at Bathgate..... and I need to get moving...

Belly Dancing with the Girls...

So have you all tuned in then? Sorry ... costumes left at home...
The dubious joys of flying need to be mentioned as I sit, sockless and shoeless... Rbn oya is the same.........We gaze across the desert sands and misty skies of the Arab Emirates. Having never been in this part of the world, the desert stormed me. Only a short time to wait then onto the plane for London.... Have just done 14 hours across the world but out is not too bad when sleep occurs at the right time. So.... feeding and sleeping and watching movies......... It was ok. No snores emanating from Row 29.......
It is the same whenever I begin looking at the world.. I see so much diversity with so many people being important in their own microcosm but , on a plane full of other microcosmic egos... they become more equal. In crowds of colours and words and movement, there is no time for one face to be of greater importance.... can I say that we are reduced to commonality and we become part of the rational community with our voice being only about food and wine!!!!! Got a beautiful pic to upload later. Don't think I will have time as we will need to be moving soon.
Must say though to those who stay at home..... we miss our doggies..... John.... give those beasts a cuddle from Roya. And Catherine, to my sausage string!!!!!
Got to go... will come on later when we get to Edinburgh tonight. It is now 7.15a.m. 

Itchy itchy .......

So it is raining and raining and raining........ tomorrow I won't care! All behind me and gone......
What will I leave behind this time?
New shoes... yes I did but I really needed them and they were on special! Now my foot comfort will be high when I languish vertically in Cattle class.
The dogs know that something is happening....
My presentation is fine. The images garnered from cooperative students posing( thanks Stella) have been digitised and contorted beyond belief and now they are ready for exposure on the global stage. My writing is fine.....

So I will settle in for this evening of leisure, and wonder what the next six weeks will bring.... adventure? new people? old friends? all waiting...... and yes.... I am going to ride a horse on the Camargue and I am going to speak French without hesitation.... I might even hold a conversation!
The joys of travel! And, funnily enough , life will be changed because of these few short weeks of venturing into another landscape and another world........

One would think I was keen!!!!

The blog seemed naked! It was seven weeks that I said but it is now 9 days......... if I don't get away soon , I will have bought a whole new wardrobe and I didn't mean to! I am now ceasing such frivolous behaviours and focusing on other things.
Just organising car hire- this is going to be a riot!! Well, I hope not...... being a wholesome law abiding Australian citizen who drives on the correct side of the road, I am about to be forced into going against my natural inclinations.

It is all done
I am almost ready
The images on my presentation need to be changed..... I have to do that.