NaBloPoMo #6

The campaign for the General Election in the United Kingdom has formally commenced today. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, attended Her Majesty the Queen today to request the dissolution of Parliament for the purpose of an election. That request was granted, so for the next five weeks it's going to be election news all the way. On December 13th, Brexit will return to the top of the agenda. The main political parties are having a stumbling start at it, with the Conservatives bothered with a minister shooting his mouth of and another minister seeming to be embroiled with someone who wrecked a rape trial. I despair of Labour, who appear to be condoning the break-up of the United Kingdom. They would be prepared to grant the Scottish Government a Section 30 order, to enable a referendum on independence to be held. The Lib Dems are in cloud cuckoo land, by thinking they could be the party of government. Coming from just 20 seats (out of 650) to 313? C'mon, Jo Swinson, get real. Oh, she is the leader of the Lib Dems. One day down, 35 to go. Groan.

NaBloPoMo #5

Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Guy Fawkes night again, and people across the land will be letting off fireworks to commemorate the Gun Powder plot. In 1605, he had conspired to blow up Parliament - unfortunately, it did not work out as intended, He was captured, tried and found guilty, and put to death through torture and hanging. They didn't do measures by half in those times.

This year, a petition to Parliament has drawn about a quarter of a million signatures. They plead to Parliament to ban the sales of fireworks to private individuals. I quote

Every year more and more people, animals and wildlife get hurt by fireworks. It’s time something was fine to stop this. There are enough organised firework groups around for us to still enjoy fireworks safely so please help me stop the needless sale of them to the public!

The petition will be withdrawn from the website tomorrow, as parliament will be dissolved ahead of the General Election on December 12th. 

In the Netherlands, £60m worth of fireworks were sold to the public in 2018. It is a national passtime at New Year, and an entrenched habit (which I, personally, don't particularly like). Apart from pollution and distress caused to animals, there is a growing tide of violence against emergency service workers (police, firemen and ambulance workers), fuelled by excess alcohol. Many people illegally import fireworks from other countries, where the rules on fireworks are less stringent than in Holland. They commonly have more gunpowder in them and can cause death and destruction. Each year, dozens of people, many of them minors, attend hospital A&E departments with injuries to eyes, limbs, hearing and other parts of the body. Some permanently lose eye sight, hearing or limbs - and fatalities are known to occur as well.

Letting off fireworks is a specialised skill that private individuals do not have. Even if all instructions on the packaging are followed, the risks remain high. Too high, in my mind.

NaBloPoMo #4

Bit of an odd situation in the Westminster Parliament today, with a new Speaker being elected. It is Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who has been a deputy for 9 years or so. The oddness is about the fact that the House of Commons will be dissolved tomorrow ahead of the General Election on December 12th. So the news is now all about party political posturing. That's bad enough, but in Scotland, they're once more talking about an independence referendum. The Conservatives have said they'll never grant a Section 30 order, which would allow a poll on independence, but Labour would. Big mistake, in my opinion. I remain opposed to Scottish independence.

NaBloPoMo #3

Everybody merrily observes Hallowe'en, equally merrily forgetting what it is all about. It is All Hallows' Eve, in fact the last day of summer in the olden days.

November 1st, All Hallows, Samhainn in the Celtic tradition, is the first day of winter. In many parts of the Western world, it's the day in which we remember those that have gone on ahead.

I have a list of at least eleven names; one in Scotland (possibly more), four in Holland (including one relative) and six in J-land. These observances will have been part of church services today.

My names are:

• Joop, Jaap, Bep and Jos
• Sophia
• Donna, Cynde, Cindy, Jeannette, Jimmy and Merry

NaBloPoMo #2

As tonight's gale blows through, my memories go back a year today. We would not know for a couple of days, but one of life's bright sparks went out on the tide in the night. The tide, moving from An Radio to the stars, carrying the mermaid beyond the oceans of this world. Rest in peace. I'm glad you were happy, I'm glad you made so many happy.

A day later, it's this Monday, another bright spark was released from pain and suffering in upstate New York. A support to many in the on-line community we have come to know as J-land, an avid supporter of ice hockey and not averse to speaking her mind: Donna succumbed to the ravages of cancer, which gradually got the better of her through 2018. 

I'm not just missing those friends who have passed beyond the confines of this world. I'm also missing those who are not around me just now, for various reasons. These last few days have been very quiet, as one of my closest friends has had to go into hospital for tests. Being of advanced years, such is almost inevitable, but it is hoped a relatively simple procedure will fix whatever had gone wrong these last two weeks. Not changed in spirit, but as always when in hospital, you are dependent on the medics to decide your fate. I hope they will be back, installed in their home of many years, for a good while yet.

National Blog Posting Month

I was reminded that November is NaBloPoMo, when bloggers are expected to publish a post each day of the month. Therefore, my previous post (on Bolstering Bolstadir) is post #1 of NaBloPoMo. I'll attempt to keep the momentum going. This, by the way, is not post #2.

Bolstering Bolstaðir

I attended a talk by professor Donna Heddle of the University of the Highlands and Islands on Norse placenames in Scotland - and beyond. Viking is not a correct name, it is an action, not a descriptor. They referred to themselves as Northmen.

Did you know that Istanbul was known as Miklagarðr (Large Fort) by the Northmen, and that Russia was founded by the Vikings?

The talk was entitled Bolstering Bolstaðir, Bolstaðir being Norse for farm or homestead. Quite a few Bolstaðir about, it would appear. All indicative of Norse influences. The names are often corrupted, such as Bosta and Embo; Habost (high farm) and Swainbost (Swain's Farm). Leurbost is Muddy Farm; compare to Lerwick in Shetland, which means Muddy Bay.

We all know Shader, such as the village near Barvas, Shulishader (Sea Farm), Grimshader (Grim's Farm); favourite Viking boy's names being Grim and Glom. Hm.

The word Vik means bay, and is also incorporated in many placenames, often corrupted such as Stornoway. Steerage Bay. The town of Wick in Caithness speaks for itself, as does Uig in Skye; and the district in Lewis.

The suffix -øy denotes an island, such as Pabbay (priests' isle), Ensay, Killegray &c.

Fascinating stuff.

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