Viking British Isles Cruise - Stones, Carvings, Tapestry, history...

The British Isles have such deep history... as evidenced by the The Ring Of Brodgar on Orkney Island, about which I made shots of the signage as a way to take notes for this far bit of 'later', when I won't & don't remember such details like that the word 'henge' means a 'circular enclosure'. So here in four images of the signage is a fair bit of such history... should you wish to explore further along with me. (apologies for the fuzzy photo... trying to remedy...)

 

 If not, pass on by... 

 

 

 

Alice, John & Mark enjoyed this walk with Stephen & me... even as I was lagging getting back on the bus. I was busy enjoying the flexible rubber matting laid down to encourage sod to replace the inevitable wear of many feet in the soil. As a gardener I'm always fascinated by such infrastructure, & I'd never seen any construct quite like this...

(if I showed you this before, that was a teaser... here is context...as are photos below) 

 

In contrast to the wide expanse open air of Brodbar's ancient sacred stone site, St Patrick's Cathedral in Kirkwall was a rather somber Romanesque structure -- shadowy, with few windows to add light or color. One can further see that sensibility in the very sturdy seating -- handsome, if lacking much suggestion of comfort.

Some floor level-stone mullions hint at old openings toward light, now bricked-in & offering only vertical space in those memories for yet another carved stone memorial slab.

Of which there were several in similar style

I found the lettering on this stone carving in Saint Patrick's Cathedral to be "familiar" --  it being quite similar to my own style of calligraphy... my This Is It bell design from the website grbbells.com

  is an example.

There were several such memorial slabs, each of which had "scull & crossbones" images at their bases which sometimes gave me a smile...

 

 But none has a smile quite like Bro-Mark! 

 While I have long believed the Barnett name to be German, I saw it in several contexts on this trip...

As we exited a side door I realized there was a more lyrical  period in the church's decorative history in addition to the severe interior...  

I watched from our stateroom's deck as we set sail again while passing a stately manor of some kind... giving me a quiet glimpse into yet another past.  

Plus a utilitarian bookend in the form of a lighthouse. A sweet parade as we headed out to sea 

  

  

Our ship had elevators, which were often busy... so we often used the handsome stairway, with its leather wrapped hand railing... handy for rough seas I suppose, but happily we never experienced that. 

 

I continue to be entranced by the large, extremely high resolution photographs of details from the Bayeaux Tapestry which spans the large walls of the ship's stairway. The landings were big enough to host the cruise's resident historian as she lead a group of us who were interested to go along on her 'progressive lecture' while walking us down the four or five flights while she explained the various stories of the ancient fabric which is obviously not a tapestry but is embroidery of wool tread on a hundreds of yards of linen canvas... sewn only a few years after the the battle of 1066 known as the Norman Invasion, probably by nuns at Canterbury, but commissioned by the French Cathedral then being built at Bayeaux.

 

Since returning home I've researched deeper this story, which is a thousand-year-long saga in itself! Current news stories, published during the last two decades of nation-to-nation negotiations tell that  permission has been granted to allow the piece to be moved from France, where it has lived for much of its life rolled up in a churchy chest. Thus it needs a great deal of curatorial attention. The plan is that it will return to England for that restoration & a temporary period of display before being returned to its permanent display being built in Bayeaux. That our ship's designer used these images so aesthetically & effectively is another example of Viking's creative finesse at education through art. 

 

One could study the stitchery of this fragile piece of textile as it would look if I were seeing it through my jewelry studio lens's magnification.

 

 

Another connection can be appreciated by these two photos:

The ship's interior & exterior 

 

But this photo I made from our deck of the boat's wake has the true flavor of the ship's best gift to me...

LONDON: While 'twas a first for me... 'twas barely a beginning...

  While I have been in this city several times I had never set foot out of Heathrow Airport until this trip. 

Stephen & I had designed a week with our friend Bill to explore the city together. That seemed a fine way to begin what would then become a two-week Viking cruise around the British Isles with our Minnesota family... making us a party of six sailors with numerous stories, some of which I intend to share over the next series of posts. 

I liked this sculpture, in the Tate Modern Museum, which now seems to offer useful notions, should one desire to map, or attempt to develop a 3D drawing... or a hologram of this "family" sextet. Stabilized slippage. Learning inside, under, over, ultimately finding smooth.

Bill Monson is Stephen's friend since meeting during junior high school & still lives in Minneapolis. I've come to know & appreciate him as well over the years we've shared in friendship. I have found a unique intellectual connection in our later years, while the two of them continue evolving the friendship which has deeper roots. The three of us have such new & vital currency in our own history. Hallelujah! 
 

I continue being enthralled in one of London's numerous small squares by a sculpture... or is "sculpture grouping" a better description?  So many archetypal stories in a delightfully complex cartoon of stories! "Aint we got fun?!"

 Stories presaging playnotes for this trip, perhaps?  

We arrived fairly early on coordinated flight schedules -- Seattle & Minneapolis meet London, within a few minutes -- just like fantasy. Our driver met us after we cleared customs, giving us time for hellos & debriefing into story.  It was too early to check into the hotel so we stashed our bags & decided to tour the city by riverboat on the Thames. Handel did not provide a soundtrack, but we got to view a parade of the great new modern buildings from a riverine viewpoint, at a relatively quiet pace... ideal for gentle antidote toward possible jet lag, which turned out to be quite mild.'

The Tower Bridge is so iconic for the city that it is often mistakenly called "London Bridge," but the true bridge of that name was long ago moved to Arizona, while I was living there! 

A friend of Stephen's who is familiar with current London proved to give us good recommendations, beginning with The Charlotte Street Hotel,  https://www.firmdalehotels.com/hotels/london/charlotte-street-hotel which we made our home, being the perfect set-piece in which to play... while happily knowing that none of us would wish such folly to become true.

Two rooms of a boutique hotel re-designed by decorators with deep chintz sewn up with their own stories. Our rooms... Bill's was a door down the hall wrapping around the elevator & service core...  were in the quieter walled-in hedged back space with a tidy industrial vibe below a healthy span of sky. 

 

A dressmaker's form was a feature in each room, icon to the very notion of design?

The hotel featured a great dining spot called -- Oscars... 

... offering a happy array of breakfasts ... 

 Which we often enjoyed in the sun at one of the tidy tables on a narrow terrace a bit higher than the sidewalk in front of the building... making for perfect people watching amidst the traffic of cyclists & morning delivery vehicles elucidating the neighborhood's morning slice of the city's life. 

Charlotte Street view at breakfast...

I alternated between tea with Bill or flat white coffee with Stephen, while I began to acclimate to such richness of choices. We would cogitate creating plans for our day. Several times the two of us paired off... giving Bill opportunity to tidy up of bits of work. 

One of our friend's suggestions was to visit the Soane Museum [https://www.soane.org] which we would no doubt have missed without his cue. 

 

 

We were pleased to be introduced to a 19th century architect who gifted his home & studio to the national trust as a perpetually free museum. Being within walking distance & the weather being quite gorgeous, we chose the delight of exploring into a bit of exercise. 

 

Only a few shots to share to entice your interest in his collection...

 

 

 

Because he also housed his school in this museum, there is a bold exhibit of contemporary conceptual drawings & models... as nicely presented as the other lower floors preserving his more classical bent. 

 

We have become quite aware of  the design of the exhibits we assiduously use & more actively & creatively critique since Stephen worked with the In & Out Exhibit. This one's exuberance enlivened this stately home museum's mission with a wink of stately sass! 

Another day gave us another differently similar opportunity to visit a much more grand & stately home, The Wallace Collection, of three generations of collectors. That included rooms full of armor & weapons, many of fascinating design. But the house is the showcase, part of a climb into the peerage. 

 

Our London was intimate, serving several varieties of function to our trio. As I've  intimated, we feel tantalized by the obvious need to return.

ENTERTAINMENTS:

THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL A water-themed orchestral Prom (a storied series of "promenade concerts")... 

A NORTH COUNTRY GIRL  A stage play inspired by Bob Dylan...

HAMILTON, which music I've enjoyed for the years of its success making tickets so unaffordable that one suspects many audiences attend for some other cachet than musical appreciation... 

The ABBA VOYAGE (actually, a matinee...) which was at top-height-to-broad-base, including light show with acres of twinkle & sparkle -- a production as immersive experience! 

To watch the crowd arriving, many living into our age-group, dressed as they might have for similar shows in their younger years. I saw three generations of a family gathered in the row in front of us, ranging from the grandparent walking with a match to my stick, soon to be abandoned to her very active dancing! We watched a parade of women in identical lighted headdresses, processing a fair distance through the crowd to find their seats, projecting a rather ceremonial manner... Such fandom consecreated this cash cow of a vast but temporary plywood venue specially built to ultimately become transportable when the current luster requires a new pasture to feed the holographic idols' egos to prove the longevity of what will someday soon become a group of deceased musicians embalmed in digital cryogenics. 

... HOWEVER...I must note that I was astounded by & certainly do appreciate this creation, especially  the technology involved in the entire experience!

The Cutty Sark became gradually became a landmark along our various comings & goings -- setting a note that it was from this dock that we will check-in/onto the Viking cruise around the British Isles for  the middle 2 weeks of this month of travel. We will be joined by Stephen's sister Alice & our brother in law & love, John Reimann...plus Mark Silha -- the three siblings, their partners & our family friend, Bill.

 

What a cast! What stories to tell! What better place for a beginning than the place where time itself begins ... or... where some English ego believe the cycle of time begins to turn. We are to set-sail from GREENWICH with the tide pulling us out of the mouth of the river Thames -- while we eat dinner at sea!