| |
 Log in |
Register
|
|
Links by GLADMAN |
Latest Posts |
|
Suffice to say, then, that mine is not an exercise in dryly cataloguing sites for the benefit of future generations - as much as I might try I haven't yet been able to embrace altruism to that extent - but rather an attempt to try and reconcile why I am so incredibly moved by these constructions of stone and/or earth representing a time when everything was, by all accounts, literally a matter of life and death. Yeah, just as an empty house appears to retain echoes of past humanity... the raw emotion that apparently sets us apart as a species... so does the stone circle, the chambered cairn, the long barrow and the mountain top funerary cairn. We may be only able to make an (hopefully educated) guess as to what forms the human interaction may have taken - but clearly it mattered. A lot. I make no special claim for my contributions, particularly since the majority of my earlier images are (variable quality) scans of archive prints.... and my opinions are, well... those of an enthusiastic amateur with a bog-standard 'comprehensive' education. Consequently I'd recommend visitors to TMA refrain from taking my - or anyone else's - word for anything. If you like what you see, why thank you! But please go see for yourself and post what you saw, relate what you think, share what you experienced... that is the greatest compliment you can accord me. Yeah, make up your own mind and do your own thing and help keep the facists, authoritarians and religious freaks from the door. As the great Ian Dury once said, 'Be inspired, be inspiring, be magnificent!' ... and thus the circle turns in on itself to go round again, as upon the great slabs at Bru na Boinne.... However... let's not get carried away. Steady now. In a society where computer generated fantasy is all too prevalent please be aware that reaching some of the more remote upland sites in the British Isles can be potentially dangerous, even life threatening, for the unprepared... or arrogant. Treat the landscape and weather with the respect they deserve (take map, compass, waterproofs etc) and you hopefully won't go far wrong. If in doubt, pop a question in the Forum. That's why Mr Cope puts up the readies to run TMA.... Thank you Julian. So cheers... to Mr Cope for being his inspirational, confrontational self, showing that field archaeology can be FUN! - hey, who'd have thought it? ...to my sister (Mam Cymru) for using her wondrous female 'macro' vision to help me see the detail throughout an ongoing re-exploration of the South Walian uplands, albeit upon dodgy ankles, knees etc... to my own mam for insisting 'young men should have adventures'.... and my Dad for unwittingly inspiring a profound love of high places. Oh, and to Aubrey Burl for those pioneering guides BC.... 'Before Cope'. For what it's worth some of my other inspirational people are: Charles Darwin (for his peerless humanity... amongst, er, 'other things'... although let's not forget Wallace for forcing the great man's hand with his own magnificent contributions); And then, in no particular order: George Orwell (peerless essayist with the ability to change his mind); Michael Collins (things are not often black and white... there are two sides to every story); Winston Churchill (for obvious reasons... but especially for all his faults); Martin L. Gore (my favourite songwriter...from just up the road!); Richard Dawkins (much maligned, yet helping to carry the torch of reason during an age of religious resurgence); Shane MacGowan (for making Christmas that little bit more tolerable); Sophie Scholl (words fail me); W A Mozart; Manic Street Preachers (the true spirit of South Wales, not the bleedin' Treorchy Male Voice); Pat Jennings; Stuart Adamson; Will Shakespeare; Harry Hill (there's only one way to find out!); Claudia Brucken (proving Germans do have passion); the (Allied) generation of WW2 for making all this possible; Mr Beethoven; Marc Almond; Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy; Christopher Hitchens; Mulder and Scully; John Le Mesurier (do you think that's wise, sir?); Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider.... not to mention anyone who has ever asked 'Why?' - the true legacy of punk. Last but not least, Gaelic beauty Karen Matheson... 'the call is unspoken, never unheard'. George Orwell - '...during times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act'.... Norman MacCaig - 'I took my mind a walk. Or my mind took me a walk — Whichever was the truth of it'. Alan Bennett - 'Life is rather like a tin of sardines, we're all of us looking for the key'. Martin L. Gore - 'Like a pawn on the eternal board; Who's never quite sure what he's moved toward; I walk blindly on....' Truman Capote - 'Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavour'. Winston Churchill - 'KBO'. My TMA Content:
|
Top of page