The Isle of Skye: Armchair Travelling

A wise man once said: 'Skye is not a place but an intoxication.'

With others writing about their summer journeys and some doing that via armchair travelling, I thought a special destination (reluctantly only) via books would be in order now.
Let us now journey to The Isle of Skye. I've felt drawn to the Isle of Skye for many years, but haven't actually been there...yet; for I feel it in my bones that I will get there.  I also was interested in it as Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull owned part of it and the Strathaird estate from the late 1970s to the mid-late 90s.

It takes very little to transport me to that Scottish island feeling, that sense of timelessness and the carefree state of mind that one has in that kind of wild surroundings.  It could be the sound of the sea, a fiddle tune, the natural, delicate and varied colours of a woollen scarf, and the intense lure from distant ancestry.  It has inspired my own music and painting, I've painted several landscapes, for sometimes one just needs to paint a mountain!  Here is one of mine from years ago, using it as an idea for a logo for my Thistle Cottage Recordings musical cottage industry:

I've gathered a few books together from my shelves specifically about, or set in, the Isle of Skye. Shall we browse through the selection?   There is 'Portrait of Skye And The Outer Hebrides' by W. Douglas Simpson,  'Skye & the Western Isles' by James & Deborah Penrith, 'Skye:  The Island And It's Legends' by Otta Swire, and 'Old Skye Tales' by William Mackenzie.  Then two mysteries with a Skye setting:  "Wildfire At Midnight' by Mary Stewart (which I read last year), and 'Master of Morgana' by Allan Campbell McLean, which I began reading last night.

From the lone shieling on the misty island, 

Mountains divide us, and a waste of seas;

Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland,

And we, in dreams, behold the Hebrides.

 

" The Island of Skye-the 'Misty Isle' as it has long been called...is the largest but one of the Hebrides.  Its main mass lies north-west and south-east, running out at its broad upper end into three long promontories of Trotternish, Vaternish, and Duirinish, divided from each other by Loch Snizort and Loch Dunvegan.  Midway from the long western coast projects the squat mass of Minginish, flanked by Loch Bracadale and Loch Scavaig.   Beyond the latter the bold headland of Strathaird is isolated by Loch Slapin and Loch Eishort from the long transverse butt of the island, known as Sleat and Strath, which in shape is uncommonly like a gigantic fish's tale.  The island is 49 miles in length.  It's breadth varies from 7 to 25 miles.  But owing to the irregularity of the coastline, and the great number of fjord-like lochs, no part of the interior is as much as 5 miles from the sea.  The total length of coastline is over 900 miles.  Skye contains 690 square miles, most of which is moorland and mountain.  Of the mountains, three main systems may be distinguished. The principal one is the grand group of the Cuillins, in the south-west, forming the base of Minginish.  Without question these are the most magnificent of British mountains."  (Portrait of Skye and the Outer Hebrides, W. Douglas Simpson, 1967)

There is much folklore, history, many books on Skye, and fiddle tunes, folksongs, folk bands from there or about there. 

 

  "Thanks to its stunning scenery, romantic associations and accessibility, Skye is the most visited of all the western islands and has been for more than a century, since the railroads and steamships of the Victorians brought the islands of the Inner Hebrides that much closer to the bursting cities of the mainland.  There are some purists who insist that Skye is no longer an island, and that somehow it's not the same singing the Skye Boat Song while speeding over the bridge that has kinked it firmly to the mainland at Kyle of Lochalsh since 1995.   (Skye & the Western Isles, Penrith, 2007).

 

From traditional Scottish Folk band Ossian, the tune 'The Sound of Sleat:

 

 

  The 'Dun Ringill' video by Jethro Tull:

and Fish n' Sheep n' Rock n' Roll from 1987, about Ian Anderson's music and the salmon farm in Skye as well, which you can find easily.

 

The Corries with 'Skye Boat Song':

 

So we must gather our bags, not forgetting the Ordnance Survey map, sturdy walking boots, rain-proof jackets, some non-effective midge repellent, etc...and wend our way to the train station. 

The Folklore Of The Cotswolds

 

From my Interesting Book Covers series.  I bought this many years ago on holiday, I think from the 15th Century Bookshop in Lewes, Sussex.  It's an excellent volume in the Folklore Of The British Isles series by the great and legendary folklorist Katharine Briggs.  The artwork is striking and very good, but no matter how many times I see the cover, that face is rather alarming!

Agatha Christie: A Reader's Companion

 

'Agatha Christie- A Reader's Companion,' is a MUST if you are an Agatha Christie admirer.  It is a beautiful book and an absolute delight to browse through, being a compendium of all of her books and the date and synopsis of each story.  The most exciting feature of this book is the photographs of the artwork of the original dustjackets.

Another guide that goes into more depth than this one (but without the striking pictures) is 'The New Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie,' another Must Have for mystery readers.

 

   I've been an Agatha Christie fan since the age of eleven, but unfortunately I don't have a record of all her books I read in the early days, as I only started making a reading record several years later.  So, because there are so many titles, I sometimes wonder if I may have read a book in the past or not.  I have read some favourites multiple times, but I'm sure I have many more to read, and I'm glad that I haven't read them all....yet!

Traditional Crafts: The Rural Industries of England & Wales

The Rural Industries of England & Wales III: Decorative Crafts and Rural Potteries.

 This is a handsome hardback book I bought to add to my collection of traditional craft books, which has a preference for books from the seventies; there was a great number of wonderful crafts books produced in that decade.  It was the lovely cover design that attracted me.   This edition was published in 1978, but the original edition was from 1927.

The chapters are on: Decorative Crafts and Their Place In Village Life; Lace-Making, Home Crafts and Industries, Rural Potteries, Lapidary Workers.

I will be featuring many other traditional craft books.

The House of the Deer by D.E. Stevenson

 

On hearing so many good things about D.E. Stevenson's books, and being keen on a certain type of vintage fiction, I felt it was past time for me to begin reading some of her books and borrowed this one from the library (but with a less romantic cover).  Right away I liked her style of writing and knew 'The House of the Deer', from 1971, would be one I would enjoy reading, especially with it being set in the Highlands of Scotland, which I love. 

 

 Gerald Burleigh-Brown is coerced, by his boss and brother-in-law Sir Walter MacCallum, to take his place and spend a holiday in an old house in the wilds of Scotland with some good friends of his and participate in the deer culling in the deer forest there.  There is much description of deer stalking, which I momentarily thought might put me off, but this is a very good story with elements of mystery, gentle romance, and adventure, and I believe it would appeal equally to men and women.  There are some rather exciting scenes in the second half of the book involving a small gang of dangerous criminals, but I'm giving nothing away to spoil the plot.

 

Here is an interesting detailed description of the house itself:

 

"Gerald looked at the old house with interest.  It was on the side of a hill near a burn and was built of rough grey stone.  The windows were on different levels and were of different sizes and shapes:  some were large and square, others were small and oblong.  Those facing west were built into a kind of bow, like half a tower.  Above that the half-tower became a whole tower with windows facing in three directions.  The roof, which was made of slate, was steep and uneven; gables jutted out at all angles and twisted chimneys sprouted in unexpected places.  The pepper-pot turrets, which had been added "just for fun", gave the place a rakish appearance.   "I've never seen anything like it before!" Gerald exclaimed.  "No, and you never will," declared Mac, smiling.

The House of the Deer was unique inside as well as outside.  There was one large room which ran through the centre of the house on the ground floor and had windows facing east and west.  It was used as a sitting-room at one end and as a dining-room at the other.  This was the old part of the house, as could be seen from the thickness of the walls.  The windows were set in deep embrasures which were filled with cushioned window-seats.  Halfway down one side of the room there was a huge stone fireplace with a wrought-iron grate for burning logs.  The furniture consisted of large chairs upholstered in brown leather (which probably had been new in Victorian times) and large bookcases containing books about fishing and shooting and the habits of deer.  There was a work-basket, bulging with grey woolen stockings, on one chair and a pile of papers on another."

The characters and their interactions seemed very real, and I look forward to reading more stories by D.E. Stevenson.

Brasses and Brass Rubbing

 

This is a handsome little hardcover book with a beautiful cover image of medieval brasses of a knight and lady. 

Albion: The Origins of The English Imagination by Peter Ackroyd

 

'Albion' by Peter Ackroyd, is one of my favourite books.  It is utterly fascinating and when I read it a few years ago, I remember enjoying it and taking my time, slowing down my reading pace to deeply take everything in more fully, to absorb the bountiful prose relating to the miscellaneous subjects contained within.   This is a handsome book which successfully sets out to take the reader on a journey through the cultural history of England, beginning with the Anglo-Saxons and continuing through time, though not in an orderly, chronological manner, but in the manner of a delightful miscellany of topics and times.  This is a book in which one time-travels over the centuries and dips into a vast range of topics; including language, literature, religion, painting, theatre and music hall, music, architecture, philosophy, etc...

Bede, Beowulf, King Arthur, Chaucer, Shakespeare, the Bronte sisters, Lewis Carroll, Dickens, Hogarth, Turner, Purcell, Vaughan Williams, poetry, Romantics, Old English, London, Victoriana, Gothic style, trees, stone, cathedrals, ruins, gardens...the list goes on and on in the massive range of this book.  Open the pages anywhere and you will find interesting facts, fused with Peter Ackroyd's great talent for compiling and elaborating on history.  He never writes a dull, dry history book, his volumes are filled with fascination and imagination,  history is brought to life due to his method of going below the surface to reveal the facts and facets of everyday life in an entrancing way.

I found this section, in in the chapter, 'Among The Ruins,' to be illuminating:

"It is no paradox, therefore, that the culture of nineteenth-century England, which witnessed the development of an entirely new metropolitan civilisation, should itself have been similarly preoccupied with 'ancient times.'  It is none the less curious that the Victorian age of innovation should also be the age of restoration, that a fervent belief in progress should be accompanied by a deep need for revival, and that a period of unprecedented industrial and commercial expansion should also be a period of unremitting nostalgia...The close association with medievalism also provided an image of organic unity, of a civilisation established upon firm religious and cultural principles, in a period when every aspect of society was being called into doubt."

I can identify with this very much so, for as things in the world generally get more insane, aggressive, shallow, godless, high-tech, ugly, unnatural, etc..., I retreat into old books, art, good music, faith; the real and beautiful things that make one feel comforted, enlightened and inspired.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the cultural history of past times.

The Folklore of East Anglia

My Folklore and Interesting Book Covers series:

I've been collecting the Folklore of the British Isles series of books, which were published in the seventies.  These are worth picking up when you come across one, the cover art and illustrations inside are very good and mysterious.  Indeed I have quite a lot of folklore books and they are always fascinating to read.

Alan Garner: Fantastical Adventures

These books above are, unfortunately, the only books I have by Alan Garner, the great and legendary fantasy writer.  The first one I read was The Owl Service, from 1967, which is set in Wales and incorporated the ancient Welsh tales of the Mabinogian  beginning with a mysterious scrabbling sound in a dusty attic and the discovery of old dinner plates found there, decorated with an intriguing owl pattern.  This book is strange, but rather bewitching in a way, I also watched the 1969 film of it as well.

 I didn't grow to really appreciate Alan Garner's writing until the summer before last, when I read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.  This wonderful and exciting book completely captivated me and I found it hard to put down.   It was written in 1960, and concerns brother and sister Colin and Susan, who come to the countryside for a few months whilst their parents are abroad. On their rambles they very soon get caught up in a terrifying adventure with evil goblins, a good wizard, elves and so on.  They have some harrowing experiences which are even scarier because they are running about exploring in an unfamiliar landscape, with a freedom that children rarely have today. 

"Once over the ridge,  they found themselves in a dell, bracken and boulder filled, and edged with rocks, in which were cracks, and fissures, and small caves; and before them a high-vaulted beech wood marched steeply down into the dusk.  The air was still and heavy, as though waiting for thunder; the only sound the concentrated whine of mosquitoes; and the thick sweet smell of bracken and flies was everywhere.  'I...I don't like this place, Colin,' said Susan:  'I feel that we're being watched.'  Colin did not laugh at her as he might normally have done.  He, too, had that feeling between the shoulder-blades, and he could have easily have imagined that something was moving among the shadows of the rocks; something that managed to keep out of sight.  So he gladly turned to climb back to the path."

After reading this one, I immediately had to buy the book that continues the story:  'The Moon of Gomrath.'  

"They hurried now.  Whether the change was in themselves or in the wood, Colin and Susan felt it.  The Edge had suddenly become, not quite malevolent, but alien, unsafe.  And they longed to be clear of the trees:  for either the light, or nerves, or both, seemed to be playing still further tricks on them.  They kept imagining that there was white movement among the tree tops-nothing clear, but suggested, and elusive."

 I read little of fantasy type books but there are some I've enjoyed very much and I intend to add more Alan Garner titles to my library in the future ( indeed I've just bought a copy of Elidor which is also a Lions edition, like the last two).  He weaves many threads into his stories, using fantasy, mythology, Celtic legends, history, and uses the landscape in such a way that makes it extremely important. The landscape is a dominant character; it's hills and stones and trees and wildness are the backdrop to everything.  Many of his books are listed as children/young adult fiction, but with all good writings of that genre, the stories are for anyone of any age who enjoys a good tale.  

Alan Garner portrait by Andrew Tift

 

Barbara Pym Books

Better late than never, as here we are at the end of Barbara Pym Reading Week.  I first read Barbara Pym several years ago, have now read six or seven of them, and have always have rather mixed feelings over her stories.  I like some of them, but others not as well;  but they are still all well written.  I like the village settings and the more eccentric characters that sometimes pop up here and there, but along with the gentle humour, there is often an underlying melancholy tone throughout the stories, which can leave one with a slight sadness after reading them.  I remember two books that left me with a sadness being 'The Sweet Dove Died' and 'Less Than Angels.'  Another element is the subtle mocking of the characters, as if showing them to be rather silly or even pathetic, which can be mildly unnerving.  So one can begin reading the stories, feeling them to be light, fun, not-too-serious fiction, but soon knowing that there is much more depth and cunning behind the characters and storyline.

The week before last I read 'A Few Green Leaves' which I enjoyed, and this week 'A Glass Of Blessings.'  Both titles were interesting, but the last having a rather exasperating main character, Wilmet, who despite being self-assured, superior and highly observant and critical about others, was rather dim, passive, aimless and utterly self-centred, being blind about what was happening to those closest to her. I felt that she often wanted to be good and useful, indeed she did care about others to a small extent sometimes,  but generally expected to be led by the hand to do anything. This story did have quite a lot of funny lines in it, which I wish I had jotted down before I returned it to the library!

I possess four titles in my library (Crampton Hodnet, Some Tame Gazelle, Jane and Prudence, Less Than Angels);  1980s E. P. Dutton editions with attractively patterned covers and I must say that I was appalled at the covers of the new editions that have been recently republished.  They are cute, but tend to make the books look like just one more of the gang of dreaded "chick-lit" which I can't abide.  I can say the same for the new covers for Mary Stewart's books too.  It's worth seeking out the older printings for better cover designs.