Skaill Bay - Orkney Islands

[Skaill Bay, Orkney - June 2018]

Nothing can match the beauty of light and colour that Orkney commands on a sunny day.

The Emperor was lucky to have some nice days on his most recent campaign to the Northern isles. The bay of Skaill is the location of the ancient World Heritage Site, Skara Brae - a Stone Age settlement dating to between 3180 BC and 2500BC. (Dates that would make Roman - and even Egyptian -  heritage blush)

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skara_Brae 

-------

The historian Tacitus reminds us that Roman power - at least at one time - extended as far as the Orkney Islands:

"But when you go further north [in Britain] you find a huge and shapeless tract of country [Caledonia], jutting out to form what is actually the most distant coastline and finally tapering into a kind of wedge. These remotest shores were now circumnavigated, for the first time, by a Roman fleet, which thus established the fact that Britain was an island. At the same time it discovered and subjugated the Orkney Islands, hitherto unknown."

[Tacitus, Agricola*, I.iv.]

-------

*Agricola was a military governor of Britain who campaigned extensively in the North of Britain between c.AD 78 - 84. Although the Romans did not ultimately settle Caledonia, there is little doubt that they explored and campaigned deep into the Northern lands, leaving forts and other physical evidence of campaign. 

More Strange Creatures

[A Iron-Cast Beastie - Ralia, Perthshire] 

Strange Creatures

There is perhaps not as many strange creatures in the woods these days as there might have once been.

But if you look hard enough with a keen eye, odd creatures are still to be found.

It reminds an Emperor of great, great, great .... Uncle Julius, who himself reported some fantastical beasties in the ancient forests of Germania ... way back in the day. 

------------------

[VI.25] "The [Hercynian] forest is known to contain many kinds of animals not seen elsewhere, some of which seem worthy of mention because they differ greatly from those found in other countries. 

[VI.26]"There is an ox shaped like a dear, with a single horn in the middle of its forehead between the ears, which sticks up higher and straighter than those of the animals we know, and at the top branches out widely like a man's hand or a tree. The male and female are alike, and their horns are of the same shape and size." 

[Wild beast in sports wear] 

[VI.28] "A [further] species is the aurochs, an animal somewhat smaller than an elephant, with the appearance, colour, and shape of a bull. They are very strong and agile, and attack every man and beast they catch sight of. The natives take great pains to catch them in pits and then kill them."

 [This one was a killer]

"... The horns are much larger than those of our oxen and of quiet different shape and appearance. The Germans prize them greatly: they mount the rims with silver and use them as drinking cups at their grandest banquets."

[Julius Caesar, Gallic Wars, VI]

Loch Earn Scotland

Just another Scottish heatwave ... (If it doesn't cool down soon, I might move to Australia)

On a recent tour of the Highlands the Emperor was fortunate to stop by the sun-drenched shores of Loch Earn - looking very good indeed.

Andalusian Horse Power

Granada, Spain: locals park-up their new one horse-power rides in advance of the Festival of the Cross.  

A tremendous sight. The Emperor was lucky to be in the city for this colourful and ancient festival. 

Adam & Eve

One can scarcely 'Adam & Eve'* it, but its been a full five years since the Emperor united in matrimony with the Empress!

5 years is traditionally marked as the 'wooden' anniversary and the Imperial couple were pleased to mark this anniversary with a lovely carving that they found while travelling in the beautiful city of Granada, Spain.

An anniversary reminder taking pride of place in the imperial household. 

Granada, Spain - made a real impression on the Emperor and he very much hopes to go back in the future. 

[Traditional Cockney rhyming slang: 'Adam & Eve' = 'Believe']

The Orkney Chair

The long awaited Orkney Chair (2 seater) came this week and it was well worth the wait. 

Individually measured to the shape of the Emperor and Empress and ordered on our travels last year, it was always going to be a long wait for such an anticipated prize. 

However, the wait was more than worth it for an Emperor that has for a lifetime admired the simple beauty of Orkney straw backs.

The Emperor's chair is a modern take on the traditional single seaters, but which utilises all the traditional skill and material of this craft classic. With an added sense of romance the imperial couple hope to mould their respective seats over many years to come.

Made of mahogany with, seagrass seats and the traditional woven straw back, its the simplicity of the lines, methods and materials that make Orkney Chairs an icon of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Kudos indeed to the master craftsman Fraser Anderson of Kirkwall for such a wonderful piece of furniture. It is already well loved here and I hope it will be for many years to come: http://www.orkneyhandcraftedfurniture.co.uk