Women Writers EIBF 2017

Sheila  Rowbotham

Evelyn Glennie

Hera Lindsay Bird

Laura Albert

Lura Waddell

Katy Mahood

Elif Shafak

Caroline Brothers

Harriet Walter

Orkney Sagas

Life on the extremes – Orkney Stories and magical tones, light and colours.

Orkney is supposed to feed the soul and the subtle magical lights and tones here certainly lift hearts and minds. From the softest blues and gentlest greens, there is a pure quality to the light. There are sea bird sanctuaries, many ancient remains, and the islands sing with their Nordic sagas.

Orkney turns upon poles of light and has 70 islands, 20 of them inhabited.

Westray, Eday, Ronaldsay, Sandy, Stronsay, Hoy,...

“A summer midnight, the north is red with the twin lamps of dawn and sunset.” George Mackay Brown (the Holy Places- 1976)

The boat trip over on the Northlink ferry was EPIC!, with 60 mile an hour gusts and the boat lurching. Quite a ride!

We arrived at Stromness, a characterful stone built town, where we visited the museum and read of their history and stories - of the artic explorer John Rae and his statue here; the Earls of Orkney, the Norwegian settlements; Indian moccasins, a necklace made of human teeth collected by traveller John Rankin, Orkney was built on travellers of course.

 “From its central location between England and the Baltic, it became the great port of call for all the ships bound for the western ocean.“ Dairy Isaac Bennes 1789

- The first day we travelled over the north coast, where the strong gusts made powerful waves that crashed on the headlines. We visited the former 15^th century home of Robert Stewart, half brother of Mary Queen of Scots, near the Brough of Birsay. We were surprised, Orkney is richly cultivated and cattle are its biggest export. 

On Wednesday we travelled south across the wild Churchill barriers and stopped to photo the high waves. Strangely too the Scapa flow was the base of the British navy during the great wars.

At the very moving Italian chapel we read of the Italians held as prisoners of war at Camp 60 in 1942, who built the barriers. They built the tiny chapel to offer hope while they suffered great hardships, and so ‘there was still a part of them that was free.’ A place of wonder and of spiritual peace built amid great hardships. Thank you.'

The Italian chapel

- At Robertson’s café at St Margaret’s Hope, we spoke to a very blonde young lady – Scandinavians were the ‘gift never given back’ she told us. Margaret was the granddaughter of the Scottish King Alexander III, who was on her way home to be crowned when she fell ill. Sadly this all led to many years of Wars of Succession. (not Wars of independence or Secession. Scotland is an older nation than England and 'Britain' is a recent invention.)

(Scotland as a nation is older than England - 9th century - by several decades. This matters because after the Maid of Norway died in 1290 leaving no successor to the Scottish throne, it was not "The Wars of Independence" that followed, but aggression by Edward I of England to take over by conquest. At that time Scotland's population was 30% of Britain's and is now 8%, which shows the suppression of Scotland culturally and economically by London) .)

Stromness

- At Kirkwall the Old library has been refurnished and upstairs in the gallery is displayed the art of Sheila Scott and we notice that many had been sold. She also has impressive tapestries displayed at the Kirkwall airport. The shops here sell beautiful delicate jewellery based on Orkney’s natural landscapes. .(Sheila Fleet, Ortak, Aurora, Hume Sweet Hume.)  

  

Thursday at Scarra Brae the winds were howling hard and the seas were full of bright froths. This ancient Neolithic villages is 7,000 years old and is a miracle to behold. As the winds continued to blow, we took a guided tour of the impressive standing stones of the Brodgar of Ness – incredible to visit and quite mind blowing. The Orkney standing stones came from the different tribes of the islands – who brought them here perhaps by water. Did they bring them as symbols of working together? The stones sit on open land beside water with extensive panoramas. 

Ring of Brodgar

This ancient place is beside the Ness of Brodgar where they are busy excavating in the summer months, was discovered in 2003. It is believed that this settlement was an ancient temple that peoples travelled from far and wide to visit, and is older than Stonehenge.

"What a beautiful, spiritual place, where many ancient paths travel and stories meet."

Orkney is a rich source of artistry.

The composer Peter Maxwell Davies – ‘The sights and sounds of the islands, the brightness of mackerel shails, the calling of birds, the strumming and pounding of the wind and sea came to resonate in his music. It urges that we dance in step together to create peace and harmony among ourselves and with the natural world of which we are a part .‘

Scarra Brae

Stenness Standing stones

II   The Orkney islands are fiercely independent and proud of their Nordic stories and British mythologies and if you are looking for Scottish tartans, Gaelic or clans here, you'll not find them!

Scottish Mythology :  

The “Received opinion” – in studies by ancient history experts on our islands ignore Scotland with an emphasis on Irish and British mythology. This discovery at Brodgar has shown that civilization did not start southern Mediterranean, as has been the 'Received Opinion', and in fact travelled northwards. Ancient Greek mythology spoke of a ‘a circular temple at Hyperbores” – the Brodgar is well before Stonehenge. Did the megalith culture spread out from Orkney, or the Hebrides, and travel by skin boats 5,000 years ago, to Greece and even to Africa? - claims historian Stuart McHardy.

There are more Cuilleachs in Scotland than Ireland, ancient Scottish goddess of restoring life a system of belief based this dual goddess who has mountains named after her - her name meant ‘veiled one’; Ben Nevis, Lochnagar, Ben Wigins and Ben Cruachan. There is the Maes Howes cairn tomb at south of the standing stones, 

A Celtic speaking and belief system warrior tribal society lived in Scotland until the 18th century which was "rooted in the landscape and is truly indigenous.'

Woodie Guthrie “Some will rob you with six guns/ Some will rob you with a fountain pen.”

“Every nation has one central theme at it  score. In Canada it ‘survival’.” Margaret Atwood. In Scotland it is extremes and travel.

**BOOKS

“Scotland’s future history”, Stuart McHardy

“If This is your Land, Where are your Stories” J Edward Chamberlin

“Arts and the Nation”, Alan Riach, Alexander Moffat, John Purser

Small personal café

Photos of stormy seas

Ruins of a castle

Magical stones

Indians moccasins

Necklace of teeth

Ancient remains and tombs

Empires collapse the distance separating the west from other places…In the 18^th century we may have needed empires (or the Romans) – but today we have fast travel and fast internet communications –

Do we need huge centralized empires anymore? What we do need is independent nation states in larger trading blocks that co-operate on trade and security. We need a new treaty of union between Scotland and England - the old 1701 treaty is not fit for purpose anymore (if it ever was)

Edina Footsteps

 

My Royal Mile Meeting Places

Its strange how time loops meet….

I am my own journeyman…making my travels back, back to my roots.

Edina 2017, is not the Edina of 1787, it is 240 years ago when Burns ventured there, and yet much remains. I have it easy today on the train – by contrast Burns travelled through the Lowlands for several days on his horse. I travel over small bridges and under tunnels, the corn reels are all harvested and dotted on the golden autumn fields. For my visit the sky was calm with clear soft blues.

Burns had sold his share of the farm to his brother Gilbert. And his first book of poems had recently sold out.

‘I was so fortunate, the Earl and Lady of Glencairn welcomed me on my first visit to Edina to his grand home, Coates house, and encouraged my work and not only this, they encouraged others including the Caledonian hunt to subscribe. He introduced me to Henry Erskine, the Duchess of Gordon and importantly William Creech – the publisher - who would publish my Edinburgh Second Edition in 1987. My dearest existence I owe to the noble house of Glencairn.” Robert Burns.  

It’s another year and it is now late September and the festival is past. I want to be here when there are no festival frenzies.

So time spreads its wings and flies onwards to horizons new.

Later at dinner I met a couple from San Francisco who had been in Edinburgh in 1977. After I went to listen to live music - Inn on the Mill, Oak folk club, Sandy Bells pub Forrest road.   

The early morning sun shone across Arthur seat, and from my fifth floor hotel window I can see over to the Bass rock.

I walked down to St Mary’s street, and visited Kilberry, makers of Highland Scottish chanters, and chamber pipes where we talked of the very talented Martyn Bennet and his incredible Grit album concert. I stopped for lunch at a nice small café. At the Canongate Kirk I saw the graves of Adam Smith, Agnes MacLehose, Robert Fergusson and other famous names, and I thought of my time at college there – right at the heart of so much history. Back in the 18^th century Edinburgh 800 people lived in huge tenements, and the wealthy lived higher up and there was no sanitation and a great deal of disease. But it also meant a great meeting of minds at the Mercat Cross each day, beside where the Parliament used to meet.

I walked back up the high street, photo’d the statue of the enlightenment giants Adam Smith (Economist who also wrote the Theory of moral Statements of Human Empathy’ and campaigned against slavery) and of the great philosopher David Hume. 

I went to visit the Old Parliament Sq and the impressive Signet library – where lawyers were strolling back and forth. I met and had a nice chat with a very charming Norwegian. He was there to film, about the Norwegians who were trained in Scotland during the war. I told him, unlike Norway, Scotland had no oil fund, he asked where the money went – good question! After I stopped at the National library.

(There are many Unionist and Anglo/Scots labels and statues here though, and no statues or women, that jar with the grand stories of Edinburgh's rich and enlightened past. They tell of the suppression of Scotland culturally and economically, in particular the Great Tyrant Henry Dundas who annoyingly sits astride St Andrews Square.)

It is now late afternoon and the sun in the west was shedding late light shadows down the high street, shedding perfect light. In Edina with its small hills there are always grand vistas and dramatic light and at Calton hill there are the city’s historic skylines.

People still sell their wares in the Edinburgh streets – tartan hats, and scarfs and other trinkets. And I wondered what Burns would make of it all now……

There is much to discover on Edinburgh’s historic high street – Literary journeys, Publishers, Libraries. Edinburgh was once a Publishing capital of Europe and led the way with education for all.

Saltire Society

Signet library

National library

St Giles

Advocates library

Publishing

Anchor close

Grassmarket

Gerry Hassan and Michael Keating (Professor of politics Aberdeen) at EIBF 2017

Gerry Hassan and Michael Keating (Professor of politics Aberdeen) - 'THE EVOLUTION OF DEVOLUTION'
They discussed debates on how to build bridges, with many questions over frictionless borders and if this is possible to preserve communities. They felt that there was too much noise and not enough silence or consideration. Hassan criticised the SNP timidity in government, and claimed that there are no leading thinkers who identify with social democracy and its values are not nurtured. I wasn't sure I understood this comment because I read many informed and educated journalists in both the Herald and National newspapers who believe in social democracy.

They asked, how can we nurture non-party spaces? A future Scotland cannot be about certainty, or the conditional politics of independence or unionism. How do we move on from the entrenched divides, and that we require more 'open mindedness'. The voices of middle Scotland have many 'close-minded warriors' who don't want to have a debate between independence or union. There are important questions over what kind of self government is required for our economic and social project? How to find a shared destination and how do we get there?

They said there was an absence of a think tank not made up of political parties, for a new national project. They spoke of the evolution of Scottish devolution and that London’s shadow over the UK (with 40% of the UKs GDP) was similar only to Moscow’s over Russia. Other issues raised included - taxes for a fairer Scotland.; welfare powers; childcare are ways of tackling poverty; and social inclusion. 

The Westminster parliament was an empty vessel and they spoke of the hope for more self-government within an EU framework. Bulgaria has a huge amount of power and socially more equal than Scotland. Is there a contradiction between social growth and equality? Smaller countries are often more socially equal.

The constitutional questions have several levels – the nature of the state and federalism and devolution as positive forces.

The Smith commission was a political compromise. Political society asks the right questions – but the parties don’t listen - they only fight and not hearing the bigger issues. There has not been enough post mortem since Indy Ref, too much silence.

Then there was the 'British nationalism' and the talk of borderlands, such as by Rory Stewart. – perhaps we only disagree on the framework? Borders are both entrances and exit and there is the innovation of open borders and frictionless borders. They wondered about the peace process in Northern Ireland and the border there. National is both good and bad.  However Brexit has thrown all of this out of the water.

The hope to address what kind of society are we going to look like? There was far too much short termism and they felt that politics was too emotional. Politicians not offering more self government and in fact it is far from certain what they are offering? How is independence formulated are and not what people want – the question are more about the kind of self government. They felt that many have not understood what Independence means or the degree of sovereignty.

Then there is the decline in unionist Scotland – society and power changing with catalysts for further change. Political parties in pockets of money. The economy is unbalanced and the economic model is not working and the banks have not been reformed. The redistribution of money is only slightly more under Labour, Corbyn offers managed capitalism with fixed exchange rate. 

They argued for opening up politics and not having professional politicians and for Scotland cultural change and a second revolution. Civic Scotland is engaged in this debate. There was no discussion over the lack of any Scottish media. Is Scotland going to stay in Europe? The SNP have to change with the times and with the rate of change they suggested. What is the differences between Devo Max and independence  anyway – the difference is miniscule.