Went for a nice swim today in the Forth. I love Queensferry, named after St Margaret and the ferry run by monks( whose priory still stands in the town) for pilgrims making for St Andrews. Of course of more importance is the beautiful seal statue outside the Hawes Inn, mentioned in Stevenson's "Kidnapped"- thhe inn that is not the statue. The above picture is of the Burry Man. Every August he travels the town getting drunk in all the pubs. Originating in the mists of our Pagan heritage it is a post handed down through generations. On the right is John Nicol, against whom I at one time played bowls. I believe his son took on the post but no someone else has the honour. The visit took me to the old harbour where in the 17th Century persecuted Covenanters awaited high tides( Protestant Tides) to enable them to escape to the Low Countries where a more tolerant attitude prevailed( although not to Catholics as the Church of Our Lord in the Attic in Amsterdam testifies). The frightened people would hide in the nearby buildings in homes sympathetic to their cause to await the ship. I wonder what they would make of today's Netherlands and its secular culture? Perhaps they would feel a Pandora's box was well and truly opened ! Anyway I'm back home now.
Blimey, looks like a scene from 'The Wicker Man', but Britt Ekland not to be seen anywhere! I'm pleased you acknowledge your 'pagan' heritage, a tradition as rich and as valuable as any religious movement since (arguably better). Altogether now... "Sumer is icumen in, Lhude sing cuccu!"
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil- I'm told the alcohol intake reaches heroic proportions as the get up is so hot inside. The area around here has less pagan monuments than the north but there are a few- Huly Hill and, more importantly, Cairnpapple ( hill of the breast!)
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