May 19, 2015

Although we and the Scots all speak English, it's not exactly the same English. Some of their words are fairly well-known: "laird" for "lord," "loch" for "lake," "bairn" for "child," "brae" for "hill." And anyone who reads or watches the Outlander series knows Scots don't use contractions. "I can't do it" becomes "I canna do it."

But a few words are new to me. "Cairn" is a burial mound or any old mound, and "fash" means "panic" or "trouble oneself," as in "Don't fash; everything will be all right." A "kirk" is a "church," and a "close" is an alleyway or narrow lane, as in Mary King's Close in Edinburgh. "Broch" means "fort" and "firth" means "bay." I still don't know what "ness" or "brough" mean.

The signs are slightly different, too: "Give Way" instead of "Yield," "Way Out" instead of "Exit," "Mind Your Step" instead of "Watch Your Step, "Take Away" instead of "Take-out," "Toilets" instead of "Restroom." (That makes sense. "Restroom" suggests we're going there to take a nap.)

Even though Orkney is a bit desolate, it's got some amazing archaeological sites. Here are the places we visited today:

1. We went to Skara Brae this morning, facing raging winds and sidways rain that turned our umbrellas inside out. But umbrella misfunctions were a small price to pay to see this neolithic village. It was re-discovered in 1850 after furious storms sheared away some of the ground that had been covering it for thousands of years. It shows homes made of stone, with beds, fire pits, shelves, a cistern.

2. Broch of Gurness came next. We couldn't go inside the prehistoric homes in Skara Brae, but we were allowed to climb around this site. These were relatively modern structures, from the 5th century A.D. It looks as though it was not just a fortress but a carefully planned and organized community.

3. St. Magnus Church in Kirkwall  was built by the Norwegians in the 12th century. This non-denominational church belongs to the citizens of Orkney.

4. The Earl's Palace, also in Kirkwall, belonged to Earl Patrick Stewart, who increased taxes on the poor so he could live extravagantly. Fortunately, he got his comeuppance when he was executed for treason in 1615. Imagine applying that same punishment to our present-day politicians who try to penalize the poor to further enrich the already rich.

We were hoping to hear some traditional Orkney music tonight, but the show was sold out. We're going there tomorrow night (early!) to hear their free concert with accordian and fiddle.

The ice cream here is very tasty, and we can't get enough of it. I'm likely to be a couple sizes larger by the time we get back.