Purpose of the stone rings revealed

I say!

After a great deal of research and thought, I have solved the issue of what purpose many of the ancient standing stones found in the far, far north served. It is quite obvious once you have visited the sites in question.
For example, the Ring of Brodgar, a magnificent henge, shown in the following three snaps:


Once one has stood in the centre of the ring of stones, and glanced around, it becomes most obvious that this was the site where late Neolithic man played cricket. As it was in those far off times, so it now is, then and now the game was not always a large crowd puller, so the standing stones were erected not merely to mark the boundary, but also to give the appearance of full attendance.

A few yards from the ring are several mounds. I took the following snap from one of these.



These are obviously where the hospitality suites were located. They say that bones have been found beneath these mounds. The late Neolithic version of the game was obviously even more violent than the game as played today, and would have resulted in numerous fatalities. The unfortunate victims would have been interred on the spot, and their location marked by appropriate branding. "Sigurd the Slinger" or "Svein the Slogger" would have lived on, to be exploited by future sponsors.

As for the purpose of the nearly Stones of Stenness, shown in my previous post, this was where the umpires would meet, to pronounce on matters such as 'stone tampering' (I'm assuming the ancient game was played with stones, rather than balls).

As there are many examples of ancient standing stones throughout the world, one can clearly see how popular was the ancient game of cricket.

MM III

See previous post for text

Touch of malaria

I say!

Been rather under the weather recently, with a touch of malaria. Not too bad a bout, but enough to keep me out of action for a while. Silly, rather. I did not begin to take my prophylactics soon enough before returning to Kalimbuka, which is a warning to us all.

However, it was very pleasant to return home, to Mrs M and the staff, who insisted on lining up at the entrance to the compound, standing to attention, and saluting me. Quite over the top!

Absolutely no purpose in being tested for malaria - the hospital will always give a positive result, and I've had it enough times to know the symptoms, and the treatment.

Anyway, enough of my ills. Mrs M is a wonderful nurse.

Spending time inside has allowed me to read up on some matters, and here is a quiz question which has resulted from perusing a very enjoyable read:

Who used the pseudonym "Baron Renshaw" when staying at Shepheard's and the Taj?

Here is a lovely quote from my current read, which is a travel book, of course:

"A Grand Tourist in the 18th century would have arrived [in Rome] by coach, probably in the company of half a dozen other giggling fops, to be deposited in the Piazza del Popolo - the northernmost point in Rome at the time - where he would have found goats grazing at the base of the phallic Egyptian obelisk erected by Pope Sixtus V. Giddy with the Eternal City's erotic promise, he would have hired a cab and slipped between the bulging breasts of the twin-domed Santa Maria churches, penetrating the spread legs of the Via di Ripetta and the Via del Babuino by the tight labial opening of the Corso. Casting nervous glances down the side-alleys, he would have checked into an albergo and later - what a coincidence! run into one of his fellow travellers, freshly powdered and ready for revelry, on the streets of the world's first English tourist ghetto."

Here is another delightful passage:

"The shark-finned, canine-toothed, white-walled Matterhorn loomed at the ed of the street, a child's drawing of a scary mountain. Against a background of blue sky, a horizontal stream of cloud intersected the summit, as though the protruding peak was provoking a disturbance in the empyrean, and earth-claw raking the stratosphere. I thouh of the Paramount Picturs logo, muesli boxes, and Toblerone, trying to understand the mountain's impact with everyday trademarks. Rising white and alone from a pedestal of meadows and evergreens, it foiled all attempts at trivialization: the Matterhorn was a genuinely fear-inducing sight."

Wonderful, what?

I was hoping to post some snaps of the far, far north, but Bloger is being unco-operative.

MM III

Unsavoury image

My goodness!

Last evening I found myself in a rather nice restaurant. I experienced a call of nature, and retired to the cloakroom. Whilst proceeding at the urinal, an image of RobMcJ's reconstruction came into my mind, and would not leave. Not very nice.

However, the evening was much cheered by the wine list. It was so pretentious, as I'm sure it was meant to be, that it was quite humorous. How is this for a description of the 'house red':

"Think of summer sun on the brow and naked frolicking haemadryads in dance. This wine's deliciously deep, chocolate and cherry ripe earthy wine could well induce something resembling a chromatic dream"

Unfortunately, the only chromatic dream I later experienced was, once again, of RobMcJ's reconstruction.

MM III