Pic: Devon 24

The new Severn Link FastCat ferry might have made a brief foray to Ilfracombe on Thursday but it still remains nameless, so local schoolchildren have been invited help put that to rights reports Devon 24. The vessel will be sailing from Ilfracombe to Swansea this Easter and by entering the Severn Link for Schools Competition, youngsters have the opportunity to make their mark on history, win a school outing aboard the ferry and the opportunity to be guests of honour at the Easter launch.

The competition is open to every school child in the North Devon area between the ages of seven-12 and is being rolled out through local primary schools.

It has three themed categories to choose from – Celtic mythology, local landscapes or famous people – so children can really get creative in choosing a name which represents the best of the Ilfracombe and North Devon area.

The service will be the first modern regular ferry route across the Bristol Channel, linking Ilfracombe with Swansea and the wider South Wales area.

Can you guess what our suggestion would be? Go for Celtic Mythology, kids! The ancient heroes of the Celts were related to places on the land as well as the sea- so all requirements would be satisfied. The question I would ask is: Who rode across the sea in a chariot of sea-foam?

Answers on the back of a salmon, please and no more than one fish per entry! lol

You can read the full story on the Devon 24 website.

This is a special explanatory show that we released to let all of our listeners know why we are having the delays in our release schedule. We wanted to let you know the Show is not dead, we’re probably going to be very irregular over the next year and that we really appreciate the fantastic support you guys have showed us. We also include a poem for you by the amazing poet, John Keats.

The Episode is available for subscribers on the feed, or you can download it or listen to it from our Episodes page. You can find the Shownotes for this episode in the Shownotes section.

If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

Pic: Rick Leche

Astronomy magazine has a website that tells us that on Friday night, January 29/30, if you think the Moon is shining down on you with a special brilliance, you’re right. That’s because it’s the nearest Full Moon of 2010.

At closest, our natural satellite will lie roughly 221,600 miles (356,630 kilometers) from Earth. Compare that to the Moon’s average distance of 238,855 miles (384,800 km) from Earth. This distance difference translates into a late-January Full Moon whose area is nearly 12 percent larger than average.

Astronomically, there’s nothing special about Friday night’s Moon,

said Astronomy Contributing Editor Raymond Shubinski.

But it does help teach that the Moon’s orbit is elliptical, not circular. Sometimes it’s closer to Earth, and at other times it’s farther away.

Along with the year’s biggest Full Moon, a special treat awaits skywatchers. In the early evening look for Mars less than 7° north-northeast of the Moon. You won’t have any trouble spotting Mars. The Red Planet will glow with an intense orange-white light, and only Sirius, the brightest of all the nighttime stars, will outshine it. But Sirius is blue-white and lies one-quarter of the way across the sky to the southwest.

Read the full article and find out more about the magazine at astronomy.com

Pic: BBC

The BBC reports that people from around the world are aiming to unlock the secrets of their ancestors during a trip to Tayside. Visitors from places including the US, Australia, Canada and the UK are involved in the first Angus and Dundee Roots Festival.

They will attend workshops on local surnames and tracing family histories and will visit graveyards and historic tourist attractions over the next week. Organisers are aiming to cash in on the growing ancestral tourism market.

It is estimated that there are about 2.5 million people with Dundee and Angus ancestry across the world.

Originally posted 2008-09-24 09:48:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Pic: Newgrange.com

At the 5000 year old Loughcrew megalithic cairn T in Ireland, the rising sun on the mornings around the equinox illuminate the passage and chamber. The Office of Public Works will have staff in attendance at Cairn T on the mornings of Sunday the 20th of September, Monday the 21st September and Tuesday the 22nd September from 7.15am until 8.30am.

 Loughcrew Equinox Dawn September 2009

The Office of Public Works will have staff in attendance at Cairn T, Loughcrew on the mornings of Sunday the 20th of September, Monday the 21st September and Tuesday the 22nd September from 7.15am until 8.30am.

Admission to the Chamber of Cairn T is free of charge.

As the chamber is quite small, only 5 or 6 people can be inside at a time. Visitors are requested to stay inside for only a few minutes so that everyone can get a chance to visit.

Please note that it is very important that visitors dress warmly and are wearing stout shoes. The climb to the top of Carnbane East is very steep and can be slippery after rain or on frosty mornings.

The Equinox occurs twice a year, the Spring Equinox in March and the Autumn Equinox in September. The Spring Equinox is an hour earlier because it occurs during our winter time, so take this opportunity of seeing the rising sun illumunation and have an extra hour in bed.

The Coffee Shop at Loughcrew Gardens will be serving delicious breakfasts on Sunday and Monday mornings from 8am to 10am.

Pic: A Blog About History

Archaeologists in Perthshire, Scotland, have unearthed a spectacular early Bronze Age grave containing a gold-banded dagger still wrapped in its 4,000-year-old sheath, which means it is as old as the pyramids. According to a report in The Scotsman, while few traces survive of the body buried in the primitive stone coffin, found near the village of Forteviot, several clues suggest the remains are those of a tribal leader or warrior of “tremendous importance”.

More surprising were the organic materials preserved in the sealed grave. They include a wooden bowl, what may be a leather bag, plant fragments and tree bark.

There were gasps of astonishment from watching archeologists when the grave, which dates back to the time of the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, was revealed intact.

“The high quality of preservation is of exceptional importance for understanding the centuries when metals were first introduced into Scotland,” said Dr Kenneth Brophy, of the University of Glasgow.

Only two or three daggers from this period have been found in Scotland, but this find is even more unusual.

“It is also incredibly rare to find some kind of animal skin wrapped around the dagger. The metal is in good condition. It’s a spectacular and unusual find,” Dr Brophy said.

The materials have been brought to Edinburgh for conservation and examination, and are currently being kept in cold storage at the laboratory of the AOC Archaeology Group.

Rated of national importance, the finds are likely to become part of the National Museum of Scotland’s collection.

Markings on the underside of the capstone may be pecked carvings of an axe. Two more axes may also have been pecked into the stone next to where the head would have lain.

According to Dr Brophy, “They dug a huge hole, then placed a stone coffin in the ground, about a metre long and 70 centimetres across. The body would have lain crouched on its side. Then they placed a four-tonne stone on top of it. They would have used ropes and pulleys of some kind. It would have been very crude techniques.”

“The scale of the effort and the unique carvings are all pointing to a person of huge importance,” he added.

The grave had been laid in a bed of quartz pebbles in sand. The Bronze Age chamber was placed in a complex of Stone Age sites at Forteviot, dating perhaps as early as 3,000 BC.

Source

Pic: Alan Lee, onering.net

An awarding winning illustrator with a career spanning nearly forty years, Alan’s masterful watercolors and drawings have attracted world wide acclaim and defined the visual identity of numerous fantasy books, most notably J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic series, THE LORD OF THE RINGS. These illustrations attracted the interest of Australian director Peter Jackson and lead to Alan’s engagement as concept designer and art director for five years on the feature films for which he won an Academy Award in 2004 for Art Direction–Set Decoration (shared with Grant Major and Dan Hennah). Alan has also contributed concept designs to LEGEND, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE and KING KONG.International best-selling illustrator and Oscar winning Conceptual Designer Alan Lee is the Guest of Honor at FaerieCon International, October 10-12 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

 Faeriecon International is Alan Lee’s first US convention appearance. He will be presenting a slideshow talk featuring his work for THE LORD OF THE RINGS films and books on Saturday on the Main Stage as well as meeting fans and signing autographs at his booth each day. Alan will also be joined by his daughter, illustrator and sculptor Virginia Lee who worked on the film and sculpted some of the LORD OF THE RINGS plaques for Sideshow Collectibles. Continue Reading »

Pic: Snapzilla

Second Life is a free online virtual world imagined and created by its Residents. From the moment you enter Second Life, you’ll discover a fast-growing digital world filled with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the Independent State of Caledon whose Library, the Library Militant, is running a whole series of lectures on folklore, including Celtic Mythology!

Independent State of Caledon

Caledon is a small, windswept forested country at a temperate latitude. Wild creatures, country estate life, sights and sounds that were common well over 100 years ago are the hallmark of the land.

Technology is approximately that of the 19th Century, though some astonishing breakthroughs have provided for incredible wonders. Ground vehicles, airships, and even a device known as a ‘telehub’ are made possible through the power of exotic material properties and the wonders of Steam Technology.

The government is an expansionist monarchy, supported by a strong aristocracy (i.e., residents). Caledon once offered the opportunity for residents to take their turn at “Stewardship”, a post which can involve answering questions, restarting sims, banning obvious griefers &c. As the complexity of a large estate grew, the burden on one Steward’s shoulders became too great, and the role is now filled by a corps of about 10 estate managers appointed by the Guvnah–some serving openly, some quietly.

The Caledon Library & The Library Militant

The Caledon Library serves the Independent State of Caledon. We maintain a collection of materials for the use of residents and other interested parties. We also host exhibits, book talks, lectures, and the occasional donnybrook.

The collecting policies of the Caledon Library have two main foci: the 19th century and Caledon’s defining literary genres, Steampunk and Alternate History. Within these areas, we collect, first of all, primary source material: 19th-century novels, nonfiction works, and periodicals, along with materials from earlier eras considered important in the 19th century; and of course defining works in Steampunk and its parent genres. Second, we collect  research materials concerning the world of the 19th century and its imagination, and secondary materials useful for studying Caledon’s important genres.

This site draws its name from the Chivalric Order of the Duchy of Caledon Primverness.  The order was founded by the Duchess of Primverness, who is also the head of The House of Wu, the Library’s main source of support.  Members of the Order take vows of Literacy, Obstinacy, and Bibliomancy.*  

The Independent State of Caledon is located in the virtual world of Second Life.

Folklore Lectures

New Series at the Caledon Library!
Folklore of the British Isles with Afsaneh Metaluna
3rd Mondays, 4pm

Inaugural lecture, Mon, April 20, 4pm – 5pm
Tinyville Library, Tinyville, Caledon Tanglewood
 http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Tanglewood/23/214/23/

Folklorist Afsenah Metaluna will guide us in a new exploration each month; with illustrative stories and her own commentary she’ll expose to our understanding some facet of the rich and varied folklore of the British Isles. In the Storyteller’s Own Words…

“Rather than a repository of Märchen (wonder tales more or less of the “Grimm’s” variety) much of the folklore of England is comprised of local legends that combine references to beliefs and customs and aspects of daily life, particularly rural life. This is contrasted with English ballads and broadsides, which have a strong tradition of their own, as well as the folklore around customs, dance and belief. The wonder tales exist too, though more in the Celtic regions.”

This month and next, to get us started, she will tell and comment on short tales from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. 

English Lore
The Apple Tree Man – a legend that deals with customs as well as systems of land tenure and inheritance, this story is kind of a microcosm of the strength of English narrative lore. 

Welsh Lore  
Later in the series, we will have a session entirely devoted to the relationship between Welsh traditions (including the somewhat heroically invented or compiled Mabinogion,  analogous to, though less well known than, the Finnish Kalevala) and the stories of King Arthur and the wizard Merlin. To start this topic off,  this time we will hear “The Cave of the Knights.”

Irish Lore
To explore this tradition means to follow the threads in a perfect Celtic knot of history, myth and folklore and Christianity and Celtic belief.  One place to begin is to  situate this is relation to stories of The Children of Lir. As our series continues, Afsaneh will put The Golden Fly (which her fans heard recently at the West of Ireland Library) in context for us as a forerunner to the the story cycle of Conary Mor. 

Scottish Lore
A Selkie story, of the kind we will encounter in future discussions. This time, Afsaneh will explain why she sees this tradition as exemplary of Scottish lore, with its ties to the environment, and its status as a cautionary tales where actions in one realm are mirrored in another.

This Month’s lecture will be presented using SL voice.

A race of tiny, magical beings lives on Earth today. They dwell in elaborate tree homes and mysterious underground sanctuaries. Because of an ancient dispute, however, humans are unaware of their hidden civilization. So says the author, James Priest, on the Podiobooks page for this stimulating audiobook. Does that sound like the Fey to you? It does to me which is why I thought you guys might be interested in this book. Let’s find out more.

They are kirins.

For thousands of years they lived in peace. But a deadly menace now threatens their existence. A party of daring explorers, led by the wise magician Speckarin, is sent on trained ravens to destroy an evil lurking a continent and an ocean away. Failure of this mission would mean death to the voyagers and the entire kirin race. But their success will depend on aid from a truly unexpected source, human beings.

Fly with these adventurers and witness today’s world as it has never before been seen. You’ll find yourself looking to the skies for this mystical race of beings, because maybe, just maybe . . .

The Spell of No’an is the first book of the KIRINS trilogy. Mary Logue, author of DANCING WITH AN ALIEN, SNATCHED, and numerous other books, says this about the work:

Having read all three books of James Priest’s wonderful trilogy, I have nothing but praise. The scope of this work, which takes us from the middle of North America across the Atlantic on the backs of birds to Stonehenge, is extraordinary. I enjoyed every moment I spent with the kirins. Priest’s work resembles LORD OF THE RINGS, but is more rooted in nature and gentler in tone.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Now all I have to do is find time to listen to this as well as the other wonderful podcasts in my queue!

[Source]