Enjoy 'Life on a Small Island'

Following her blog for almost a decade spontaneously ;-) I decided  to ask Sian if I may add her to my 'Seldom Boring's', and: The Lady gave her placet.
Thus, here we go: Enjoy Sian's and Button's Life on a Small Island.

I can vividly imagine the fabulous few friends of Omnium will soon ask how, by all means, I could be so lazy and introduce them to such a fine blog with ten years delay.
Just in time remembering why the devil beat his grandmother (she did not have a good excuse), I hasten to say that I only wanted to wait until there is enough stuff to discover – 1223 lovely posts, so far.
The peace of the night.

... or: Eight Songs for Mad Presidents

 
Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) 

Eight Songs For a Mad King

Farewell to Stromness

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) 

The Yellow Cake Review

Rah Rah

Raven
Raven Ale
Orkney.

Shortcut

. . .

Good Spirit

You ought to be 21. Veryfy!

Homage to Sir Chris Hoy

As I did not yet have the pleasure to portrait Sir Chris Hoy
this is my way of bowing not only to a 'Flying Scotsman'
but to a great sportsman.

Key to Demorkneycy ?

If when it comes to politics you tend to roll your eyes, shrug your shoulders and say 'I don't care about politics / I am unpolitical / I can't change anything, anyway / The world is as it is / Politicians are selfish bucking fastards ... etc. etc. -  ahem: all these are political comments.
It's the polis where politics begins.
Actually, it begins within your four walls.
No?

Oh well, then hurry on to the next most thrilling blog.

End of the beforegoing.

"High quality education … support for vulnerable people … ferry services for our scattered communities … waste collection … roads maintenance … council housing.

Just some of the many services run by your local Council. Our work touches almost every aspect of life across Orkney. As we prepare for Tough Times and Tough Choices I’m posing six questions on this blog.  There is a reply form below for your ideas and suggestions. I look forward to hearing from you."

A Council Convenor's introducing 75 (!) words to - what I think - a remarkable blog.

Why (would I make a post of this)?

Well, the other day I took the time and read all - yes: all - contributions re 

- priorities
- roads
- education
- transport
- care
- other ideas

and afterwards thought: that's an interesting attempt.
What a feedback. If only  Orkney's elected representatives will take serious what those wrote they are representing. This blog is a chance! Do they know?
 
Now are the Orkney islands inhabited by approximately 20,000 people, about as many as are living in the little town where I was born once in the past millennium.
Such 'thing' wouldn't work in London, New York, Tokyo, hm? Not to speak of Great Britain, the U.S.A., Japan etc., let alone India and China.


Well, it would. At least, it could.
It's - repeating myself - the polis where politics begins.
Actually, it begins within your four walls.
No? 

End of the beforegoing.

Following the links given above you will find one contributor writing:

It is quite obvious that this entire blog has only been set up to give the impression that 'we' are somehow part of whatever solution the council comes up with and so are helping to decide our own fate. This is not actually the case. [...]

I wish s/he (who in the following wrote down some good thoughts) were wrong; because - repeating myself - if  Orkney's elected representatives will take serious what those said they are representing, they will be giving evidence of that they understood what they are: representatives.


End of the beforegoing:

And here a tiny service for those visitors from the U.S.A. who normally watch Fox News and only accidentally landed at Omnium and would not immediately know the whereabouts of the Orkneys.
 

 Got it?

 

Drink Drive Campaign

ORKNEY police stopped 11 drivers during Northern Constabulary's two week Safer Summer campaign, but thankfully* none tested positive for drink driving.
Full article here.

Imagine, dear readers: During their campaign Orkney's busy Policemen within two weeks stopped 11 (in words: eleven) drivers.
Blimey!! That's one driver every 30 hours 54 minutes and 54 seconds!!!

Didn't I save a drop of Highland Park for special moments?
Ah. Yes. ...

Here's to the brave Orkney policemen,
to Sergeants Pluck and MacCruiskeen
and the busy bees of Orkney Today. Sláinte!

 

* 'thankfully?! I thought it was a Drink Drive Campaign!

Orkney's Italian Chapel

A herewith highly recommended post at Sicily Scene about the Churchill-made Arandora Star-tragedy, reminded me of my surprise when on my first visit to a certain island I 'stumbled' upon ...

this very chapel.

Imagine you had been one of 550 Italians captured in North Africa and in 1942 being brought to the Orkney Islands, being forced to construct causeways to block German U-Boots from accessing Scapa Flow.

The name those four causeways got, by the way:

Churchill Barriers (sic!).

As you can read (at least) the essentials here, I do allow myself to indulge one of my favourite passions - do I detect a knowing simper on the lips of my experienced readers? :) - and restrict myself to offer some photographs.

The chapel

Its inside (photo taken freehand, without flash)

The 24 prisoners of war who did it.

Not il duce

 

And here some more lines in Italian, just for Lady Limoncello (and those whose native tongue is Italian).

Epilogue:

Why would an agnostic write a post about some Italians who a) were so stupid to follow a megalomaniac 'duce', b) be so stupid to let capture themselves, and finally c) in their rainy and stormy detention centre would start to build a chapel for someone/something who/that has - so far - not introduced her-/him-/itself as Her/His/Its godish Highness?

Answers:

1. (the ironic one) Just because it's a sign of hope. After all, out of approximately 500 prisoners of war only 24 were such silly full stop

2. (the first of two serious ones, and I do cut it but short): It's just amazing! Just amazing.

Finally, two questions:

Would Major T. P. Buckland have allowed to build a mosque?

Would a Muslim-Major (have) allow(ed) his Christian prisoners to build a chapel?

And a last thought for tonight; a thought that is ... yes! ... permanent part of Omnium: We all (!) could (!) know from history how ... have no adjective here ... war is. And still ... and still ... there has not yet been the one generation who was willing and able to immunise their children against those roothless and greedy few (!) who'd do their best to instigate envy and hate and ... wars.

And therefore:

Past is. Is presence. Impossible to let bygones be bygones or even forget about. It’s there. Is presence. And maybe herein lies the reason that we remain unable to learn from the past.

Up til infinity?

For how many years, decades ... millennia the majority will keep silence?

Refreshing forecast

Whenever it's hot - as it is these days in and around Seanhenge - it is refreshing to check the Orkney weather.

The Old Man of Hoy