Picto Diary - 19, 20 September 2019 - Hebrides
19 September 2019 - Noon departure of Seabourn Ovation from Belfast to Stornaway, Lewis Island, Hebrides, Scotland. TIMDT and Mwah (sic) hung out on the ship.
Above: TIMDT at Callanish Stones. Lewis Island, Outer Hebrides. Scotland. 20 September 2019.
Out and about in the Outer Hebrides.
The Callanish Stones are an arrangement of standing stones placed in a cruciform pattern with a central stone circle. They were erected in the late Neolithic era, and were a focus for ritual activity during the Bronze Age. They are near the village of Callanis on the west coast of the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
I love poring over maps. I've noted the Hebrides on maps for years. Isolated, is what comes to mind. I was curious....I like isolated places. But the Hebrides are a long way away...a production to get to. There are out of the way places in India where I'll make a special effort. But, The Hebrides?
Close to home, there are places where nobody goes, but easy to get to, that have a special attraction...WY southwest corner monument; Gilgal Gardens; City of Rocks etc.
It's the cruise that gets us to these obscure, far away obscure destinations. I would have never visited the Falkland Islands, and the incredible bird sightings there, but for the fact it was a destination on a 2013 cruise we took around Cape Horn.
Outer Hebrides. Always wanted to come here. Never thought I'd make it. So here we are! Thanks to Seabourn Cruise Lines. Ever curious about the obscure and still learning.
Above: TIMDT at Callanish Stones. Lewis Island. Outer Hebrides. 20 September 2019.
Out and about in the Outer Hebrides.
TIMDT channels Claire in OUTLANDER! She's watched the first four episodes of the series. Is she not happy where she is? She wants adventure in the Jacobite wars of the eighteenth century?
Note: Nothing happened. TIMDT, happily for Mwah (sic), is still with us.
Above: Harris Tweed weaver and loom. Harris Tweed Sample. Blackhouse Village. Lewis Island. Outer Hebrides. Scotland. 20 September 2019.
Out and about in the Outer Hebrides.
Harris Tweed is a tweed cloth that is handwoven by islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides (Lewis Island and Harris Island) of Scotland, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides. This definition, quality standards and protection of the Harris Tweed name are enshrined in the Harris Tweed Act 1993.
Bishop had a blazer made of Harris Tweed, roughly same color as image, by tailor, Lewis Copeland and Sons, Dublin, May 2019.
Above. Lewis Island Blackhouses. Blackhouse Village. Lewis Island. Outer Hebrides. Scotland. 20 September 2019.
As one of the most primitive forms of the North Atlantic longhouse tradition it is very probable that the roots of the blackhouse, in which cattle and humans shared the same roof, is well over 1000 years old.
Although the Lewis blackhouses have a look of real antiquity, most of the upstanding ruins were built less than 150 years ago. Many were still roofed until the 1970s but without the necessary annual repairs deteriorated rapidly; as people moved into more modern dwellings with indoor plumbing and better heating, most have fallen into ruin.
However, blackhouses are increasingly being restored, especially for use as holiday accommodation.
The immediate origins of the blackhouse are unclear as few pre-eighteenth century examples have ever been excavated. One reason for this is that, unlike their later counterparts, the early examples may have been made of turf and thatch and quickly returned to the earth once abandoned.
The Lewis examples have clearly been modified to survive in the tough environment of the Outer Hebrides. Low rounded roofs, elaborately roped, were developed to resist the strong Atlantic winds and thick walls to provide insulation and to support the sideways forces of the short driftwood roof timbers.
Addendum:
Good explanation of the differences in the whiskeys - I assume you enjoyed all 👻 did you notice any kitty cats usually they have many around to keep the mouses away 🙀
Markco,
Oxnard, CA
The “troubles” are a real problem on many fronts both social and economic. My daughter-in-law’s family lives 7 miles from what is now an open border. We visit frequently. There is terrible concern.
Thanks for bringing this into the picto dairy.
Best,
Flyingfish,
Palm Beach, FL
While you're wander around Ireland I was remembering that in October 1912 Carl Stearns Clancy and his pal Walter Storey (book is MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURER) arrived about October 18. Since Storey had never ridden a motorcycle before, they made a test ride in Dublin about October 20. Storey and a collision with a trolley, totaling his motorcycle, so when they left Dublin Storey rode pillion on Clancy's motorcycle. Back then a pillion rode in front of the driver with his feet on extensions of the front axle (also no front brake on that model). They left on a cold, wet day, October 23, headed towards Paris.
It was the wrong time of the year to be motorcycling. Eventually Storey's motorbike, having be repaired, and he were reunited and they arrived in Paris on a snow day. After some months waiting out the weather, Storey abandoned Clancy in 1913, threw in the towel on a ride around the world and rabbited back home to the USA, much the same as I was abandoned by my riding pal Livermore in Cape Town and and he rabbitted back home in 2017.
When we did the global re-ride of the Clancy first ride around the world in 2012 and 2013 the two Irish men who joined us from Ireland, on BMWs, left Dublin October 23. Again the weather was so bad the snow delayed their departure on day.
You photos show you're enjoying good weather. Sooooo, a good argument for global warming if one is a believer or scientist.
Best,
Dr. Gregory Frazier
Back on the road, this week in SE Asia
PS: Attached pic is Clancy...and his luggage (including a camera and typewriter). I do not believe he carried a much spare underwear :-)
On the 19th, my second day in Belfast... there for only a half day, I was on the point of hiring a taxi to take me fifty minutes ride to the Joey Dunlop memorial. Dunlop,a northern Irelander who died in a motorcycle race in Lithuania in 2000, was the most successful racer ever at the Isle of Man TT... a race where, average, two racers are killed each year. I didn't go... slept in... lazy... sorry, in hindsight.
I attended the TT in 2015. We stayed at a pub on the Sulby Straight, where the racers zoomed by at a speed of 180 mph. During an off period, I rode the Mountain Course on a BMW 1200 GS... didn't get above 80, though. Fast enough for me.
Dunlop is a legend in European motorcycle racing.
English and Irish authorities want to shut down the TT. Its too dangerous. However, the Isle of Man is a sovereign nation, and though much dependent on the UK and Ireland for defense, trade relations etc., they still have the right to call their own shots on the TT... and they continue doing it.
What St. Andrews is to golfing, the Isle of Man is to motorcycle racing. Glad I saw it. Sorry to have missed the Dunlop memorial.
There's your Xmas Card picture!
KAT,
Dallas, TX
saw similar looking pillars in many cliffs while driving through utah wyoming areas
KAT,
Dallas, TX
Loved the first chapter. What are you going to title the work? Perhaps, "Julian's Lost Masterpiece"? P.S. Kibbutizm is plural for kibbutz. Yer loyal fan,
KAT,
Dallas, TX