The Orkney Dream – DAY TWO – by Joanna Tinsley

It was 8^oC and it was hammering it down. Yet here I was, fully gortexed-up, barefoot on a beach on Orkney and heading for the sea. After a lifetime of stomping about the countryside in hiking boots, walking barefoot is a strange, but bizarrely enjoyable, experience. “Walking barefoot is a metaphor for how we should treat our environment,” explained our guide for the day, Malcolm Handoll from Five Senses, who had just persuaded us to throw off our socks and shoes and head down to the rocky, seaweed-covered beach in the rain. “It teaches you to tread carefully and engage with nature rather than trample all over it.” It also teaches you that that’s no stranger sensation than feeling bubbles of bladderwrack between your toes and, more conclusively, that when you’re at a latitude parallel with St Petersburg, the sea is painfully cold.

Back in the house, our numb feet began to thaw as we wrapped our hands around a mug of hot tea and watched as Malcolm demonstrated how the Neolithic people of Orkney made fire. After a quick lesson, which was interrupted when a hen harrier hovered inches from the window (wildlife always finds you when you’re least expecting it), it was our turn to create nature’s more basic yet elusive element.

First we constructed a tinder nest by tying a tight knot of dried grass, thumbing it out into a cup-shape and lining it with cotton grass. We then crouched over a long, flat piece of wood with an indentation and a notch, while Malcolm wound a wooden spindle into a primitive bow made from a branch and a rope. I clamped the wood with my newly-thawed foot, steadied the spindle with my left hand (using two limpet shells as a bearing) and held the bow with my right, while my friend Rachel grasped the other end of the bow. The idea was to push and pull the bow, thus spinning the spindle and creating enough friction to generate heat. It was trickier than it looked, but after a few wobbly attempts we saw smoke – lovely thick curls of smoke as the charred dust fell onto a piece of goat skin under the notch. After letting this smoke happily away to itself for a few minutes we gingerly tipped the embers into our tinder nests. Cupping our hands around our nests we then blew gently until the smoke grew thicker and a orange glow appeared. “This is it,” whispered Malcolm, “now take one deep breath and blow gently at first, then harder…” We did as we were told and within seconds were holding our very own flaming ball of fire in our hands. It was a truly a magical moment, exhilarating but a little bit scary. After much whooping we dropped the flaming nest and extinguished our handiwork in one quick step. Strangely satisfied, we were left babbling and smiley and smelling nicely of campfires.

Visit www.allfivesenses.com or wait for the August issue of the magazine to find read more…

Sat, 02/05/2009 – 23:42

Submitted by Joanna Tinsley

Go to BBC Countryfile Blog for more of Joanna’s adventures in Orkney.

Orkney Trees in Winter

I took photographs of some of the trees growing on Mainland, the largest of the Orkney Islands, for two reasons: To show that trees do grow in Orkney and to show how they cope with the strong winds and shorter growing season (sunlight).

I have taken the opportunity of snow to contrast against the limbs, thus showing up the tree shape better – and making some cool patterns in the bargain. All pictures were taken on the 10th Feb 2009, with cold hands. I hope you enjoy!

Sycamores and St Magnus Cathedral

Sycamores and St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney

Windswept Sycamore near Maeshowe Chambered Cairn / Tomb

Windswept sycamore near Maeshowe, Orkney

Sycamore sheltered in Finstown

Sycamore sheltered in Finstown, looking south

Track through Binscarth – Orkney’s largest wood

track through Binscarth - Orkney's largest wood

Not only Willows and Sycamore

One of many palm trees in Kirkwall

A bonus of exploring Orkney woodland

ice water hidden amidst the trees

The sun came out at Redland

sun catching the plantation at Redland

Five minutes later, brrr

Snow forces me to retreat into woods for shelter

Trees leaning towards the light in Binscarth

trees leaning towards the light in Binscarth

The sky above and branches outlined

Trees when viewed looking straight upwards

Going home!

Binscarth - note the prevailing wind sculpted canopy

There you go. I’ll be out more, but the snow is melting, and in summer it will look quite different when all the leaves are out and the many willows are all bushy too.

So, don’t let anyone say again that trees do not grown in Orkney – here is the proof!

For pictures of the Standing Stones in snow, click here

We need some darkness in our lives

Tired? Try getting a little darkness back into your life! I believe we in the electric world need to recover the night and the soothing calm of darkness – and overcome fear at the same time.

Stars in the night sky (not my pic - apologies to photographer)

I really believe we need to get back in touch with nature and the night sky, with the rhythms of the days and seasons – and most of all, we need to give our eyes a rest – and thus give our brains a rest!

When did you last spend time in the dark, other than sleeping? It is wonderful, soothing and beautiful – and rarely pitch black. There is in fact much to see, its just that it is never normally seen.

Last night I took Rachel outside, into the garden. To her surprise (there is no clue of it when inside the house) the sky was littered with bright stars. The plough and north star very prominent but to the south we were dazzled by the beam from the lighthouse. Around about the individual houses of neighbours shed light too and far off, over the hill, the glow of the Flotta gas flare and street lights gave an ominous orange throbbing from the ground upwards, reminiscent of burning towns during the blitz (I guess). It is far from dark. I can watch the darker grey of clouds shifting slowely across from the west. I can see the stone walls white, then mere shadows, depending upon if the lighthouse beam hits them. Off across the fields a neighbours diesel generator is the biggest intrusion. The air is chilly, the grass wet with dew. The sea laps gently upon the shingle beach. The air is clean and fresh, infusing my lungs with the coolness of moist air. Delightful!

“We”/ society, generally now live in perpetual light and brightness, extending the day with electric lights to the point where we fear the dark. We then bombard our visual senses still further with car headlights, televisions and computer screens! It is exhausting, and stressful.

Lets reclaim the night, turn down the lights, turn off the tv and feel the stress slip away into the dark. Let your eyes open once more, explore the subtle and the previously unseen, delight in the stars, the moon, clouds and aurora. Last night we watched shooting stars and the shimmering light of a ship out on the bay. The cattle were munching across the meadow, birds were hopping about the walls. The clouds tumbled effortlessly across the sky, shrouding the hills and sea.

Needless to say, but I will, my other senses delight in being allowed to operate once more, after the loud noises, strong smells and bright lights have diminished. The warm breeze caressed my arms making my hairs stand on end, the air tasted salty – I was delighted to be awake, alive and free!

Give yourself time to become sleepy, put out the lights, or return to the warmth and gentle glow of candles. Try it! Just 10 minutes each night – let the natural world flood back into your life, and feel the benefits. It will also reduce your energy bill and carbon emissions.

Just imagine the endless barage of stimuli your eyes and brain are getting – from first waking to last thing at night. No wonder we are exhausted! No wonder it is hard to enjoy the subtle beauty of nature. We have pollution overload! We are shielding our senses from the full onslaught of brightness and information to be processed. I say, take a break! Give your eyes a holiday, a well earned rest, and feed your brain gentle images to calm the wave patterns and still the mind.

Dare to walk at night, in garden or lane. Try it without a torch even and be amazed!

If you cannot escape the pollution of streetlights, cars and houses, I feel for you – but I suggest you try all the more to experience a little less eye stimulation. Begin by turning off the lights in your house. Go for a walk in nature, exposing yourself gradually to the gentle light of night time. Put your torch in a bag or pocket. Save it for later. Try candles, and try just letting your eyes relax. Most important of all, give the television and computer a rest!

I promise you – life will be better if you trust your other senses. Even a walk under the orange glare of street lights is preferable to the retina burning brightness of indoors, the dazzle of car headlights, the intrusion of security spotlights.

The best books about stars in the night sky and Natural Navigation

My Top 10 Charities / Non-profits

I have this compelling need to tell you, mythical reader of this blog, of my chosen charities – ones close to the ethos of this blog, so potentially of interest to you.

My top 10 charities are:

• Survival International
• Water Aid
• Practical Action
• New Internationalist
• Amnesty International
• MSF -  Médecins Sans Frontières
• Greenpeace
• Friends of the Earth
• John Muir Trust
• Soil Association

Have a look at them and be inspired.

The avenues for positive change are open – we need only walk them.

~ ~ ~

“Leave it a little better than you find it”

Can Gordon Brown play chess?

We know Russians are good at playing chess – and this encourages strategic thinking.

We know our politicians are becoming more dependent upon focus groups, media moods and swing voters.

Are our politicians doing the job we pay them to do, looking after the complex strategic issues of economy, defense, security, energy, environment – issues beyond our own personal control and influence? What smart plans do they have? Or are they so focused on the short term worries of re-election? Maybe the roll of energy governance should be with Whitehall, as interest rates are with the Bank of England?

You cannot win at chess against grand masters by only looking a couple of moves ahead. It is not poker! So too in world affairs. Our politicians need to stop watching their backs and start watching the future!

Energy, water, food, housing, health, global warming, security, war … these are all the fundamentals of survival yet they threaten us now in our affluent world.

What kind of miss-management is this? Have we become so lazy, so over confident and careless as to squander our wealth? Or are our politicians playing games with us, the electorate? I used to think they were smart but now I am not so sure. I now tend to think of them as overpaid.

What is our energy policy? When are we going to seriously reduce energy waste and over consumption of this scarce, expensive and politically sensitive stuff? In times of crisis we grew our own food, mined our energy and worked for the common good. We pulled together. So where is the message now to tighten our belts, reduce waste, be more self-sufficient and frugal, as a nation? Lead from the top Gordon, or leave the stage. We have a job to do.

If you cannot play chess – don’t pretend you can. Even little Harry Potter knew that! Independence and self determination nationally require smart, strategic thinking. If you mess up with Russia you end up cap in hand to the US. Oh I forgot, we already did that, TB.

The way out of the present economic slowdown is not to encourage growth, consumerism, housing capitalism and a binge party! Take the message of frugality, common interest and reduced consumption to the people! We don’t want more energy – we want better use of less energy! We don’t want higher house prices – we want higher living standards for all! We don’t want Big Brother – we want good governance, of our affairs. And we must demand this of our politicians – we employ them!

Anyone who thinks private enterprise is an efficient method for the provision of basic human needs – water, food, air, fuel, shelter, health, security – need only look at the world to see it is not. Look beyond capitalism and profit – use our brains to improve the world, not just struggle to slow the decay. We can do better!

Stop messing about with world religions (and clinging on to neo-conservative visions of a new world order) and thus fueling hatred (which is convenient for the war mongers, see blog) and get on with the basics. It is clearly too much for you to manage much else.

That is this morning’s rant out of the way, now I can proceed with the day sure in the knowledge that although this is public (I feel better getting it off my chest), no one will actually read it (and embarrass my naivety). Ahh, the world of blogging!

How did I become a good consumer?

I have looked back into my past to try and understand how I became the person I am today – how I became a good consumer? (By ‘good’ I mean effective, good at the activity, not pure and praiseworthy). I started by scribbling these notes with a pencil whilst my computer was searched for spyware – a common feature of life with Microsoft. My brain could not hold back, so pencil in hand, I wrote:

“Sirens of consumerism, seducing us with advertising.

Why do we need advertising? How much is information and how much is persuasion? Silver-tongued snake oil salesmen and the black art of emotional manipulation … politicians, traders, editors, marketers, speculators, sellers of advertising space … ordinary human beings and some of the most creative brainpower … going towards encouraging over consumption and deteriorating living conditions, in society and environment (one and the same). They have to feed the kids, roof their home somehow.

I have the image of drug addicts, chasing the dragon, of scrawny crack-cocaine addicts pushing pills to pay for that ache-relieving fix.

Where, I thought, does this process begin? What causes these bright brains and otherwise beautiful beings to a) want b) want more c) feed the addiction by selling? I need to understand how it happens so I can stop it happening and help people off the addiction. Using the power of memory, which is fading with neglect, I peer through old imagery in my head to my childhood and the origins of “me”.

Childhood dreams of motorbikes, glory and adoration. Adverts and glossy pictures, gleaming paintwork and delicious curves captured in sharp and soft images. And the semi-naked woman adorning the bike, writhing, imploring me to … what? I didn’t know but for a teenage (just) boy her body lured my brain cells like metal filings to a magnet. A magnet with a bike attached. I guess my subconscious wanted her but my consciousness wanted the bike. I started to get pictures of bikes from the local bike shop. Super glossy A4 leaflets with a picture one side, technical detail the other. I drawled over the exquisite beauty of the Yamaha, the Honda, I imagined in astounding detail the roll of the wheel and the effortless acceleration (I knew how to ride a bicycle and also knew the effort involved and craved power). My head collected numbers, horsepower, torque, suspension travel, and the most magic of them all, the 0 – 60 mph, the acceleration – that which was beyond my physical capabilities and that would thrust me forward in adrenaline intoxication. Freud fans can read between the lines, I’m sure.

This was a time in the 1970’s, pre mobile phones, satellite media, internet, designer clothes – at least in my world. Heck, Britain was not long out of rationing and was deep in debt to the USA. This was a time of pocket money, toys, paper rounds and playground friendships. I knew no magazines or tabloid papers and adverts on tv seemed to be for housewives (not my mum) with their detergents and shampoos. All stuff I didn’t buy.

Yet slowly, the general culture of my society trickled into my head. There were the motorbikes and what other boys talked of at school. There was television and what was talked of the next day. Long before I saw vast wealth and fashion, in the face, I was learning to judge my existence relative to images instead of copying real people. This set up aspirations and then expectations, a sense of being different from those around me. My town was small and uneventful. Life went on at the pace of old ladies, shopping trolley in tow. I knew of other things – giraffes, skyscrapers, sexy women and motorbikes.

Most dominant in my growing up was my family and my parents. It was their lifestyle choices I was cultured in. No dinner parties, no magazines, no razzmatazz or show business. I grew up with reading comics as they read the Guardian; toy soldiers and football whilst they grew vegetables; annoyance at the news and neighbours which I copied. We went on camping holidays, ate together (7 of us, plus a dog), walked in the countryside, did chores, watched tv and I went to school. Television was dominated by sport (Saturday afternoon was religiously filled with the football results ritual, tea and two biscuits), nature programmes, news (it was the BBC after all) and the entertainment: starsky and hutch, kojak, star trek, 6 million dollar man, tom and jerry; plus blue peter, the good life, all creatures great and small. The outside world trickled into my quiet, secluded town.

Second was school. (There is a reason I love Pink Floyd). School was the slow, steady hammering of my brain into shape, in the forge of indoctrination. Subtle, repetitive beats that bruised and damaged me: Competition, class, distinction, difference, segregation, routine, rules, conformity, slow atrophication of creativity and spirit, flattening of humour, spontaneity and cooperation. We formed cliques, we were competing on a scramble up the ladder. We all new it. There was a hierarchy and we each had a rung to occupy. Some how I began to expect / dream of a rise to the top. Hard work and compliance would be the ticket out of this trauma – this ‘end of childhood’. I was not allowed to return to my games and imagination (except during play time and after school). There was one trap door marked “Future” and it required a pass – exams and grades and escape to adulthood in the freedom of independence – university, and a rise to the clear air of choice, self determination, control.

Expectations were set by parents and school – pass exams and get a career, grow up and be a man. Success, achievement, purpose, a good life. I was led to believe, like a lamb, that “others have this, you not only can but you ‘should’ have it too. Along side this were the other messages: You will be liked more, you will be admired, you will be ‘better’.

I was lucky. Whilst I was subjected to the mass culture, I was better off (in my opinion) than the rest. I was intelligent, well adjusted, healthy (umm, and male, white and well spoken). I was also heavily exposed to nature, not just the nurture of society. My parents did an excellent job in giving me experiences that I now treasure – the garden, badminton on the lawn and shuttlecocks stuck in the ash tree – sandwiches and tea and the sound of tennis balls thwacked at Wimbledon – the open spaces of Welsh hillsides and the rocky freedom of mountain tops – holidays in France and a tricky language – new potatoes and shelling peas – gathering mint for the Sunday roast – life by candlelight and the flicker of light from a wood fire – the smells and hisses of scots pine – the cackle of fulmars on the quarry wall. The list goes on in my head, for day, weeks, a childhood. This is what would eventually save me.

The trauma of the end of childhood and the trap door to freedom led to the escape from school and on to university – from the frying pan into the fire! I was so let down, almost devastated by the disappointment of what was really a school for over 18s. It was the wrong time to give me such a sense of deprivation – my hopes were high and I was fuelled like a rocket – and my hormones were moaning. I’d had a near death experience and knew life could be snuffed out in an instant by some other’s error or a momentary lapse of judgement. Life was potentially short. Russia and USA were in an arms race to oblivion (still unfolding) and the human virus was sickening the planet. All around the end seemed just around the corner and I had two thoughts – avoid it happening and try to do something about it. That ‘end’, was not just the end of life but also the end of my hope, the hope of freedom, the life of my dreams. The aches of growing pains were in my heart as much as my limbs. I was an emotional animal, by now confused and misguided, bruised and beaten, lonely and vulnerable. It was the 1980s. I was ready for a quick fix.

So that is the process, as I see it, how ordinary people arrive at being addicted and controlled by their addiction. The purveyors of false dreams that we are told money will buy are just you and me (well, except you are just a bit-part dealer not a multi-national trader in virtual reality. I don’t believe they are going to read this blog, ever.

This reminds me of something my father once said: “If they are not trying to kill you – you are not threatening them”. Yes, big brother may be watching but we are mostly safely below the radar, doped up on dreams and alcohol. You don’t have to watch the rats to know they are safely locked in the sewer. (I grew up listening to the Stranglers, on an old record player, scratching my brother’s album with a 78 needle). Think of all the assassinations.

I guess one of the problems is that many addicts are quite happy in their haze, so long as they have enough of their drug, and it is hard to get them to give up voluntarily. Even if their behaviour is destroying them, spoiling your life and collectively screwing the planet’s ecosystems. Persuading an addict to get clean is the story of my life, now and into the future.

Now, I am a ‘bad consumer’ yet still a vast processor of resources. Still the planet is crawling with diseased specimens of a species that is heading towards collapse. And we know it. The best bit is, life is remarkably resilient, there are millions of us who are aware and are fighting the disease, and life today is amazing. The future for many may be bleak and for millions of humans living today it is (I learn via mass media, the lives of others who I have never seen but feel for … fellow humans) but I am living an amazing life as I try to do good. I try my best”.

What they are saying about Five Senses in Orkney, Scotland

Following yesterday’s post about attention to detail, here are some quotes from testimonials, feedback and letters of thanks, posted to me at Five Senses, here in Orkney, Scotland. I was preparing to put them up on the website but they also seem appropriate for the current blog theme, so excuse the praise and read the detail - it is all about the detail. [Italics and bold added by me].

Malcolm of Five Senses with Stinging Nettles

What is being said about Five Senses:

(See also The Scotsman Newspaper article)

Guests write:

“We cannot say enough about Malcolm and Rachel of Five Senses Tours. We had a great tour of the Highlands and Orkney and saw and experienced so much more than we would have on our own. Tailored to our needs and flexible, educational and fun! I can still taste the local food and drink!”

***

“I want to thank you for the day my daughter and I spent with you. Your tour was quite remarkable.

The Five Senses Tour experience certainly engaged all our sense, as promised, but it did more. It engaged our minds. As a guide you presented us with the tactile, olfactory, aural (I shall never forget the acoustics at the Stones of Stenness), and visual feasts, along with a terrific lunch. But you also asked us to consider what we saw, not to take it on face value. Too often a tour will tell you what the experts say and leave it at that. With Five Senses, you offered us competing theories and then you asked us what we thought, what we saw. I left enriched and excited…and my brain was wonderfully full.

Would that all tours were that wonderful.”

***

“‘Twas the most memorable experience of my two weeks holiday in Ireland and Scotland…”

***

“Just spent three amazing days in the Orkney Islands with the wonderful couple from Five Senses of Scotland. Learnt firelighting with a handmade wooden bowdrill, explored ancient sites – including singing and drumming inside a stone tomb until we found a pitch that caught its natural frequency and amplified our quietest voices many fold – hiked and camped through the lush island of Hoy, drinking delicious fresh water from a rippling stream, while learning to navigate with a compass, and sharing an old stone bothy with passing hikers and a roaring fire (and much more).

If you want to immerse yourself in the land and culture of the Orkney Islands, I would highly recommend this group. Both Malcolm and Rachel are deeply friendly and caring about the people they work with and the land and work it self.”

***

“Thank you very much for giving us such a fantastic time, so much information, new skills and much food for thought, so, in a way it was an intellectual experience too!”

***

“Just want to say how fantastic the new Orkney Experience was. You are both such an inspiration.

Malcolm you are a talented person with such a special gift to see the world in all its wonder and be amazed. Thanks for sharing it.

Rachel, thanks too, for sharing your smile, warmth and sincerity.”

***

“Thank you again for such a memorable day!”

***

“I have arrived home from my wonderful vacation to Scotland and Ireland. What an amazing adventure it was! I wanted to thank you for hosting such a wonderful day in Kirkwall. It was so nice to be shown around by someone who truly loves their country and enjoys sharing this joy with others. I will be posting your contact information on the Cruise Critic web site. Perhaps a few cruise tours here and there may be helpful to you. Please stay in touch and let me know how your business plans are going. If there is anything I can do to promote All Five Senses on my end please let me know.

Again, thank you for a wonderful day.”

***

“Thank you for an absolutely brilliant evening yesterday – Ellie hasn’t stopped talking about it since. We have tonight made fire at Birsay and even demonstrated
it to someone else.

Thanks again.”

Making fire by friction - using your senses

“What an outstanding, thoughtful, insightful and unusual introduction to Orkney. Including tea on your fabulous sun porch was an added bonus!!

Thanks so much for a wonderful day.”

***

“We cannot thank Five Senses enough for our trip to Orkney and beyond, we saw and learned far more than we thought we would and ten times what we would have it we had done it on our own. Our only regret is not having more time. What probably sums it up the best is what happened at the Inverness airport, as we were leaving and they asked how many of us where flying we answered “six”, to which the seven year-old replied “yeah, six, we’re short one now”.”

***

“Well, I’m home now and looking back, the day spent with you in Orkney was the highlight of my trip. Thank you so much for sharing your stories, the fire-making and the special magic of Orkney.

It was such a blessing to meet you and to feel welcomed by your spirit to these ancient sacred places. I will always look back on that day with gratitude.”

Burnside cottage, Rackwick, Island of Hoy, Orkney

And there is more …

“It’s an amazing place; however, this can only really be appreciated if you do it with Five Senses. Out of all of the experiences that we had on our trip to the UK, meeting Malcolm and his wife Rachel and going to all of these ancient places and learning so much was the highlight of the trip. Not to mention actually being able to touch a part of the past.”

***

“We had a picnic with Malcolm on the last day in this field of heather. I still to this day remember what the food tasted like. It was incredible — we can definitely say that we experienced Orkney with all five senses. Not to mention we now know a lot of survival techniques that we learned from Malcolm while visiting Orkney.”

***

“Touring the island with Malcolm was truly a five sense experience. He not only introduced us to the topographical, geological and spiritual aspects of the environment, he and his lovely wife, Rachel, made us feel like family – one well worth a return trip.”

***

“Having used Five Senses I have to say that the quality of interaction with the children, the content of the experience, and the high motivation factor were all really impressive.

So much was this the case that I have booked a half day for my own school to launch our Fuel and Power Topic with a spark! Several other of the commonly used cross-curricular, science- or history-based Topics in Primary would be greatly augmented by such an experience as we had, especially several involving past civilisations or prehistory, or those considering materials and their properties.

The level was right, the risk assessment and health and safety issues were addressed, the personnel were SO enthusiastic and engaged the children without exception and for the whole duration of the afternoon. The children worked as a team eagerly, each having hands-on experience and all gaining so much knowledge, in theory and in practice, about materials, past times, the creation and maintenance of fire, its significance to various times, cultures and peoples, its dangers and safe management.

I have no hesitation in recommending colleagues to take a look at what these people have to offer.”

Limpets are survival food

***

“Planting a naked foot on a board, Malcolm used a bow and hazel ‘drill’ to create flame. Even in these hi-tech days fire still has a magical power to thrill.

These are experiences the children will never forget. Science is all about seeing, enjoying, discovering, trying things out – and, sometimes, being so enthralled by a moment that it changes the way someone thinks for ever.”

Fire Making Class with Malcolm

***

“Five Senses showed our family of 4 plus my sister and her husband around for a week. It was incredible. The highlight of 3 weeks in the UK – and we plan to return. We could not have seen 1/3 of what we saw without Malcolm. It was not a “okay so look at this for 20 seconds” type event. Malcolm asked us all kinds of questions for weeks before we arrived. Once there, he learned more about us — and surprised us with a stop off at a rare breed sheep farm, as well as a combination wool shop / bookstore, to satisfy all 6 of us. I would highly recommend Malcolm and Five Senses to anyone. It is not costly when you realize how much you end up doing, seeing and experiencing.

We shall be back”.

***

“The rest of our trip was nice but we really feel the highlight was the week we spent with you and can’t stop talking about it. Kudos to you Malcolm”.

Tool Sharing – Reduce Storage and Wastage … Freeconomy Community

How about we start local tool share “libraries”? Instead of books, let’s share tools. So instead of everyone being consumers and having their own lawn mowers, why not share them?

I bet there are tools in your shed gathering dust, rarely used, taking up space, going rusty, costing you money.

Garage Clutter by GregPC*

I bet there are many families, especially new ones, who do not have the tools to repair things themselves, so are locked into a cycle of consumerism, trying to break free by buying the tools they need. Well, let’s share! You might not like to lend tools out to everyone – so you need a way to keep track of who has what.

Freecycle, my local library, lift share schemes, hospitality and couchsurfing websites … they are all good ideas … so let’s go one better. Neighbours do it a bit and often fall out over it, because it is not organised. Business does it and keeps costs / cashflow in check. Farmers share combine harvesters. Why not lawn mowers?

How much time does a lawn mower spend being used and how much does it just clutter up your shed? What about bulky ladders? The list is huge, if you want it to be. A simple website can keep track of who owns tools, who borrowed them, when and when due back – and the owner can have the right to recall a tool at anytime they need. repairs are paid for.

We don’t need to pay tool hire firms all the time – and anyway, that can involve a journey into town to collect, when there will be neighbours nearer with sheds full of under used stuff. Start to share and help each other out! Reduce your personal clutter and consumption. Get quality tools that will last, instead of cheap plastic rubbish!

Don’t look at the problems – look at the solutions – and the world will be changed. Start small, in local groups. Next thing you know, your neighbours will be helping you out. If you think everyone wants to use your tools at the same time – I say that is the making of a community and a picnic or barbeque. In reality, I bet your tools are not doing much at all.

Who is with me on this?

News update – I have just discovered The Freeconomy Community website which is doing exactly this, go to www.justfortheloveofit.org and join now and start a local group! Let me know if you are in my area.

And whilst I am on the subject of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – the old mantra of the environmental movement which spawned sites like Freecycle and Freeuseit, and I suppose they led to Freeconomy, (plus the Virtual tag giving us vskips, etc) … the drive towards Zero Waste means more “re”s need to become popular:

• restore
• repair
• renovate
• reclaim
• recreate
• recover
  

All that “stuff” has got to be found good uses – and that is going to require creativity, exactly that which has been degraded (if not lost) by the consumerist capitalism of this affluenza diseased society. Look to the arts, the odd-balls and the favelas of poverty to see lateral thinking at work.

And a weed is not a weed – if it is useful (edible, fibre, medicine, dye etc), maybe even beautiful and prefers growing where your imported and pampered plants struggle (aided by herbicides to kill the “weed” and plump up the profits of Monsanto, et al … let the natural (local) plant grow! Nettles, thistles, dock weed? OK – this is going to be another blog, on wild foods, and there I’ll write about salmonberry and Knotweed, rabbits and squirrels. Not now.

* Picture courtesy of GregPC

***

The most eco-friendly house is the one where Mr Frugal lives (me). A re-used, rented, repaired house where energy is eeked out with miserly care, and I dress properly.

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John Rae – Arctic Explorer Survival – on BBC

Thanks to BBC iplayer it is possible to watch Passage – a two part documentary about the amazing Arctic Explorer, Dr John Rae, from Clestrain, Orkney, in Scotland. A story of survival.

I have just watched part one with part two being shown on BBC 2 this Sunday 10th August, 2008. Both should be available on iplayer.

The 60 minute, ‘documentary style’, (part one) follows the team of film makers preparing to make a film about John Rae, based upon the book Fatal Passage, by Ken McGoogan (about the failed Franklyn Expedition to find the North West Passage). The film is being made by John Walker Productions.

John Rae should be well known for his own achievements – not just for being the barer of ‘bad news’ regarding the Franklyn expedition, whilst mapping for the Hudson Bay Company.

To read more about this unsung hero of 19th century British exploration, from Orkney, Scotland, go to:

• BBC – Dr John Rae
• Orkneyjar
• Wikipedia

For a good book about John Rae, read No ordinary journey : John Rae, Arctic explorer, 1813-1893

or see Amazon for Fatal Passage

Amazon – No Ordinary Journey

(I live next door to the Hall of Clestrain, Orkney, where John Rae grew up. His statue is in St Magnus Cathedral, in Kirkwall and a grave in the same graveyard is all that remains of this amazing guy, who unlike other officer gentlemen of the British navy (Scott, Franklyn), managed to live to old age, largely by learning from and respecting the indiginous people and their experience in cold climates. rather like Amundson, who was another impressive explorer!

For an interesting story of the rubber boat used (and on display in Stromness Museum, Orkney) see the “cloak boat”

The Halkett boat - cloak, used by John Rae

Image sourced from the National Maritime Museum

Camping in Scotland – Rackwick on Hoy is a real treat.

Rackwick Bay – Bothy and Campsite – Hoy, Orkney, Scotland: A superb location beside the Atlantic at 59 degrees north.

Rackwick Bothy and Camping at "Burnside", Hoy, Orkney

The ‘bothy’, provided by the Hoy Trust, is a wonderful, simple shelter, ideal for cooking and socialising. An open fire can be maintained using driftwood and seaweed from the adjacent beach.

The scenery is breathtaking, beside the Ocean, surrounded by cliffs. Excellent, easy walking all around. Highlights include the Old Man of Hoy, Ward Hill, Dwarfie Stane, Berriedale and the local croft called Craws Nest. Best of all though is the campsite and bothy – very hard to leave!

Facilities include running water (untreated), toilet (paper too) and washing soap, use of the bothy and a stone walled grass camp plot, big enough for a dozen tents. Fires and BBQs are common.

Note: I left plenty of tinder and fuel for a fire – please consider others and replennish this supply. “Leave it a little better than you find it“. The fireplace is the heart of the room so treat it carefully and avoid setting fire to the place – especially the lovely heather thatched roof.

Donations for upkeep can be left in an honesty box. Please do help.

Rackwick Bay is beautiful. It is 4 or 5 miles walk from the Moness Pier (ferry to Stromness) and the cafe there is very handy (the pub has closed I believe). No shops. Bring enough food for extra days!!! A telephone and a scattering of houses are nearby, in emergency, but it is otherwise quite remote. A very popular bothy and camp site – expect other people, even in winter – and groups must book in advance. Hoy is magic! Go, enjoy, and respect the fragile nature all around. Tred gently!

There is also a small SYHA hostel in Rackwick, up by the telephone and the path to the Craw’s Nest / path to Old Man.

The bothy – a basic shelter with a concrete floor and no lighting - is in the house called “Burnside” on maps.

Rackwick means ‘rock bay‘ in old norse – you’ll see why when you get there! So you don’t need the word ‘bay’ after it. I have a picture of the rocks in Fire Your Imagination.

Go to Five Senses for info about holidays and getting to Hoy, Orkney, with Malcolm.

See the first BASE jump off Hoy and the sad story of one of the jumpers, here.

Old Man of Hoy - Orkney Islands, Scotland