Orkneyology Podcast
In Orkney, we used to have an expression: "I'll be ower wi' the moon," meaning, "I will come and visit you when the moon is full, to light my way."In The Orkneyology Podcast: Ower wi' the moon, Tom and Rhonda Muir of the Orkney Islands in Scotland talk to fascinating and creative folk, both living in Orkney and also farther afield, usually with an Orkney connection. We chat about folklore, storytelling, books, history, life in Orkney and whatever else we find inspiring. We do hope you'll join us for a good blether. Look for the Orkneyology Podcast again on...
S2 E16 · Sat, April 12, 2025
The Orkneyinga Saga part II ~ with Orkney's Storyteller Tom Muir
Episode 16, April 12, 2025 - full "pink" moon: The Orkneyinga Saga part II: Christian Era Jarls - Orcadian storyteller and historian Tom Muir, MBE, tells the old stories of Orkney's jarls Tales in the Landscape Crowdfunder: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/tales-in-the-landscape WARNING: Tonight's chat involves some descriptions of gore and violence, as you might expect with the Vikings. Tom will tell us a few very old family stories by the light of tonight's full moon. We'll look deeply into Orkney's Viking history, as preserved in the Orkneyinga Saga. If you've ever considered reading the sagas, this episode of Ower wi' the Moon will set you up for a more informed first reading. You'll get a condensed overview of the myth, the stories, the culture and the thinking behind these tales, to prepare you to tackle the Orkneyinga Saga in full. This is part II of III. Tonight we discuss: What happens after the last pagan Jarl of Orkney dies at the Battle of Clontarf in Ireland in 1014? We hear about some rather unlikeable, greedy and grasping sons of Sigurd the Stout - Einar Wrymouth among them, who wasn't a very successful Viking Holding a Thing at Dingieshowe in Orkney's East Mainland (the assembly mound), where a young farmer, Thorkel, makes a bold move ... and lives to regret it. Sigurd's youngest son, Thorfinn Sigurdsson, gets involved in the fight for the family jarldom of Orkney Specific locations in Deerness where treacherous events took place A promising two-year-old hostage, Rognvald Kings being killed and Vikings getting around: Constantinople and Russia, for instance What Olaf's Wynd in Kirkwall has to do with the Vikings How Kirkjavagr (Kirk Bay, Kirkwall) got its name Papa Westray or Papa Stronsay - where did the malt for the Yuletime ale come from? The perils of a slip of the tongue A Pictish monastery on PapaWestray The old Christchurch in Birsay Making a bid for the English throne And along comes Magnus Barelegs - another great Viking name The early days of Saint Magnus Treachery in Egilsay and a mother's plea The connection between St Magnus and Orkney's skald, George Mackay Brown Tales in the Landscape Crowdfunder: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/tales-in-the-landscape Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 E15 · Fri, March 14, 2025
The Fairy Tellers ~ with Nicholas Jubber
The Fairy Tellers is a fascinating history of fairy tales told through the lives of seven tellers of fairy tales. You've likely have heard of one of these storytellers, but unless you study fairy tales, you'll probably not have heard of the others. Find out what you may have been missing! Support our heritage work here, if you'd like to: https://ko-fi.com/orkneyology Tom and Nick's conversation wends its way through the centuries touching on these topics and many more: • The "earthy" tales of Giambattista: Find out if it's true that "everybody likes a shart joke", where the cockroach hides and old versions of Cinderella and Rapunzel • Hannah Dyab, who was responsible for preserving Aladin and Alibab, among others • Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and her vision and backstory of Beauty and the Beast, and the difficulties of being a woman creative in her day • Dortchen Wild, and how did she benefit the brothers Grimm? And what does this woman have to do with the trope of girls doing housework in fairytales? • Ivan Khudiakov and Somadeva • Hans Christian Andersen: there's more to him than you might know, and isn't The Snow Queen an amazing story? • What can we get away with through satire when those in "authority" aren't paying attention? • Why are ogres the speakers of truth in some fairy tales, and why we should always listen to the "monsters". • Wicked stepmothers ... or wicked mothers? • Is a monster who can tell a story a monster? • Should the originator of the "gathered" stories be credited? • "Original" fairy tales, new and old • Is a selkie a monster? Read Nick's new book, Monsterland, and get his viewpoint! Nicholas Jubber's website and books Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 E14 · Wed, February 12, 2025
The Orkneyinga Saga ~ with Orkney's Storyteller Tom Muir
WARNING: Tonight's chat involves some descriptions of gore and violence, as you might expect with the Vikings. Tom will tell us a few very old family stories by the light of tonight's full moon. We'll look deeply into Orkney's Viking history, as preserved in the Orkneyinga Saga. If you've ever considered reading the sagas, this episode of Ower wi' the Moon will set you up for a more informed first reading. You'll get an overview of the myth, the stories, the culture and the thinking behind these tales, and of course, you'll hear a few rip-roaring Viking stories! Support our heritage work, if you'd like to: https://ko-fi.com/orkneyology Tonight we discuss: • Sagas are about people; Nordic tales of kin and myth • The powerful jarls of Orkney and how the stories were preserved (Thank you, Iceland!) ... and how many of the precious sagas were lost • Snorri Sturluson, Saxo Grammaticus Christians with a love for the stories of the old gods • Some familiar characters' names that Tolkien borrowed from the sagas • What saga would Tom recommend for a new saga-reader? • Fáfnir the dragon • The Orkneyinga Saga: the pagan jarls of Orkney - 874 through the year 1014, Brian Boru's Battle, or the Battle of Clontarf • Some great Viking names, such as: Harald Finehair; Rognvald Mørejarl ; Thorri the Dry One; Snær the Old; Aud the Deep-minded; Calf Scurvy, Thorir Treebeard, Halfdan Highlegs, Thorfinn Skullsplitter, Erik Bloodaxe, Einar Butterbread, Sigurd the Stout ... and many more! • How did the first Vikings end up in Orkney and Shetland, and where did they come from? • Deeper cultural understandings of the mythological beginnings of the sagas • The races of giants, and their relationship with the elements and seasons • The gods of the north • The weird revenge of the Pictish king, Maelbrigte the Tooth; and similar folk tales, including "the origin of the Kirkwall Ba' game" • The story of a strong and wise Viking woman, Aud the Deep-minded • The problem of the wild Viking raiders • The blood eagle • From Odal society to Fuedal society • Strong women and bad press • The story of Sigurd the Stout and the raven banner • The terrible weaving of the Valkyries • The Victorian obssession with Vikings, and the racial discrimination behind it Also mentioned in this episode: A Halloween Visit with Hjörleifur Helgi Stefánsson, episode 10 https://www.orkneyology.com/orkneyology-podcast.html Podcast theme music courtesy of Fionn McArthur. "Ower wi' the moon" artwork created by Jenny Steer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 E13 · Mon, January 13, 2025
King Arthur is Welsh! ~ with Ffion Phillips
On this January full moon evening we're visiting with Ffion Phillips, a talented storyteller from the Conwy Valley, North Wales. Ffion tells Welsh tales in her own way and in her own Welsh language, the lovely cadence of which you'll enjoy hearing tonight. Ffion is the winner of the 16-25 category at the Young Storytellers Festival of Wales 2023. You'll understand why when you hear her spin a few tales on this night of the Wolf Moon. Tonight you'll hear about: • Orkney: Where are all the trees? • Farming and language in Orkney and Wales • Inspired by storytelling at eight years old • The Welsh landscape in traditional stories: site-specific storytelling • Reimagining folktales from scraps • King Arthur is Welsh! • A few types of Welsh tales • Stories you'll hear in this podcast: The Eagle of Gwernabwy; Taliesan; The story of the Welsh flag • The Welsh language - preserving, learning, using and celebrating the language in all its dialects; compared to Scottish Gaelic • Losing the beautiful nuances of language and culture by the misuse of "Celtic" • A bit about the story of Taliesin and the Mabinogian Hear more Ower wi' the Moon podcasts on Orkneyology.com https://www.orkneyology.com/orkneyology-podcast.html Orcadian author and storyteller Tom Muir has been recognized with an MBE for his lifelong work in recovering, restoring and promoting Orkney Islands folk tales, heritage and lore. These various Orkney and Scotland-centered films, audio and podcasts are enhanced by the growing articles and stories on our Orkneyology.com website. https://www.orkneyology.com/ If you're moved to support our ongoing work of preserving and promoting the Nordic / Scottish folklore and heritage from the Orkney Islands, we gratefully invite you to encourage us with a wee dram on our Ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/orkneyology. As part of our work of preserving our islands' heritage and lore, Tom and I publish unusual niche books through our indie press, Orkneyology Press. We invite you to buy our books directly from our website, which is one way to give extra financial support to both publishers and authors at no additional cost to you. https://shop.orkneyology.com/collections/orkneyology-press-books If you'd like to help us continue and expand our Orkney folklore and heritage work, you can easily buy us a dram or two on our Ko-fi page. Many thanks! https://ko-fi.com/orkneyology All materials © ℗ 2024 Tom Muir & Rhonda Muir Hosted
S1 E12 · Sun, December 15, 2024
A Ghostly Little Book ~ with Gerald Charles Dickens
December 15, 2024 - On this midwinter full moon we're joined from across the sea by Gerald Charles Dickens, who talks with us about our favorite story - his great-great grandfather's classic Christmas ghost story, A Christmas Carol. Join us to find out all about Gerald Dickens' childhood memories of A Christmas Carol, its origins and its sly sleight of hand. What is it about A Christmas Carol that it remains such a classic and a powerful story? In defence of Scrooge the businessman - not a complete villain? Charles Dickens' early childhood with a father in debtor's prison, child labor, humiliation, lonliness and parental abandonment The importance of books and stories in Dickens childhood The Man who Invented Christmas Dickens' writings and his marvelous descriptions of food, celebration and togetherness The tradition of ghost stories for Christmas, and Dickens' love of ghost stories The haunting tale of TheSignalman , and its real-life, deadly inspiration Dickens' terrible PTSD related to rail travel Gerald Dickens' favorite A Christmas Carol films Gerald's American tour of his one-man show of A Christmas Carol and how he got started working as an actor with his grandfather's writings; the eucatastrophe of forgetting his notes! How Charles Dickens' stories lend themselves to actors' interpretations Favorite lines from A Christmas Carol Was Marley Scrooge's only friend? Noticing something new in A Christmas Carol every time we read it Dickens' influence on our now-traditional celebrations of Christmas Gerald Dickens talks about his own books, including his experiences over 30 years of touring with A Christmas Carol - Gerald Dickens: My Life on the Road with A Christmas Carol What it's like to stand on the same stages as his great-great grandfather Another book by Gerald Dickens, Dickens and Staplehurst: A Biography of a Rail Crash - the real life traumatic incident that led to the writing of The Signalman Mentioned in the podcast: On the Road with Gerald Dickens blog - https://geralddickens.wordpress.com/ Gerald Dickens' website, videos and books - https://www.geralddickens.org/ Charles Dickens' books read as audiobooks by Gerald Dickens: https://www.audible.co.uk/search?searchNarrator=Gerald+Dickens Denholm Elliott in The Signalma
S1 E11 · Fri, November 15, 2024
A Musical Gathering of Elders, with R Carlos Nakai and Will Clipman
We're bringing you a brilliant conversation on with this full moon night, with visiting friends R. Carlos Nakai, of Navajo and Ute heritage - and the world's premier performer with the Native American flute - and Will Clipman, passionate world percussionist, poet and performing artist. (Please pardon the scratchy voices and coughing in this epsode. We'd been having a lovely time together roaming around Orkney together with RC and Will and their wives, Pam and Sherry, for several days before we recorded this. Unfortunately, along with the stories, music and breaking bread we also passed around a pretty bad cold.) We're so pleased to bring you this far-reaching and musical conversation among friends. Join us to hear about these and many other things: R. Carlos Nakai speaks of ancient tribal history from his early home in Arizona About ceremony, culture, storytellers and gathering knowledge from the elders Will's early beginnings with drumming; being born to a musical family in Philidelphia; What's in the "boom boom room"? The musical marriage of RC's Native flute and Will's passionate percussion The Native "culture of women" - life creators RC: Learning how we belong - "Who are you?"; philosophies and stories of all of our clans all over the world Will: finding his Swedish Sámi roots; the Sami Pathfinder and the ceremonial drum Singing the songs of humanity, and the ancestors' residing in the music We all have one human story The magic of music, improvisation and what the listener brings to the music Anthropologists as listeners Shapeshifter and the wallaby dance Working with children: mythic creation, mask-making and storytelling; the power of saying, "Yes!" A musical treat, and a bit about how RC and Will approach performing together Singing to the sea; praying to the water Drumming inside the Dwarfie Stane Will tells a Sami raven tale, and other stories from RC and Will's Indigenous cultures The freedom of poetry and making music Elders in many cultures; the knowledge within us Website for R. Carlos Nakai: https://rcarlosnakai.com/ Website for Will Clipman: https://www.willclipman.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E10 · Thu, October 17, 2024
A Halloween Visit with Hjörleifur Helgi Stefánsson
This full moon October night, we're having a Halloween-appropriate visit with Hjörleifur Helgi Stefánsson: Icelander, author of Icelandic Folk Tales , fabulous traditional storyteller ... and Tom Muir's pet Viking. No Picts were harmed during the making of this podcast. A peedie warning: Not surprisingly, some of the conversation is a bit dark for the very sensitive, or bairns. See topics below and proceed informed. Join us for a blether between two storytelling northmen, mildly spooky at times as is suitable for the Halloween season, where you'll hear about: Storytelling traditions old and new in Iceland "Destination Sagalands" (EU project) - friends made in the Nordic lands, and fun personal stories Finding a unique voice for stories and storytelling Hjörleifur's book, Icelandic Folk Tales Storytellers like being admired! Hjörleifur's family stories tradition Life in an Icelandic turf house Hjörleifur tells the story, The Merman Laughs (and eating rotten shark!) The dark details of making of a supernatural slave to steal neighbors' milk from the cow; the primal fear of the people living in turf houses How to make necropants Raising the dead About Icelandic rímur, and samplings of rímur, "sung with gusto" by a man with a golden voice Iceland and her trolls A troll folktale An Orkney ghost story from Tom A comparison of Orkney and Icelandic tales Announcing a new book-in-the-making with Hjorleifur and Orkneyology Press! Hidden People tales Also mentioned: Cape Clear festival website https://capeclearstorytelling.com/ and Rhonda's personal Cape Clear video https://youtu.be/mEInv4Miz3A?si=CpvVk6pbwc1-VXK_ Hjörleifur's Icelandic Folk Tales book link: https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/icelandic-folk-tales/ Heather Yule, storyteller: https://www.heatheryulepapertales.co.uk/my-story Liz Weir: https://www.lizweir.org/ Terry Gunnell's Hidden People book: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/1687155.Terry_Gunnell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E9 · Wed, September 18, 2024
Ailsa Dixon ~ Scottish Storytelling Past, Present & Future
On this full moon night we had a visit from a young Scottish-Dutch storytelling friend, who is also a great grandneice of Orkney's beloved poet, George Mackay Brown. Please enjoy our blether with stories. In this episode you'll hear about: Ailsa's experience of learning about her heritage from Tom Orkney stories and their histories letting folk stories continue to grow in our own time encouraging new storytellers the delights of spontaneity in storytelling a wee tale from Aberdeenshire - Fittie's Portion "young" storytellers, and how not to be defined by age or other labels Ailsa's School of Storycraft for kids telling stories about things you care about; defeating apathy and reconnecting emotionally local history storytelling stories about kindness; "heart stories" Ailsa tells her heart story, Kate Crackernuts , which is not - as is commonly misunderstood - an English tale, but was collected in the Orkney Islands finding earlier versions of folktales Gaelic waulking songs ... and a bonus story, which Ailsa first heard from her granddad, Fraser Dixon: The Story of Tam Bichan - from Dingieshowe, Orkney contact Ailsa Dixon here: https://tracscotland.org/storytellers/ailsa-dixon/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E8 · Mon, August 19, 2024
Orkney Customs, with Tom Muir ~ Hatch, Match, Dispatch - part 2
Join Tom and Rhonda as we continue our discussion around old Orkney customs and traditions. This time you'll hear some quite surprising and amusing details of marriage and death customs in Orkney. A few things you'll find out in this Ower wi' the Moon podcast: Signs and dangers around the Orkney wedding celebration: good luck, bad luck and how to evade the trowies The costs of speerin' night, when the prospective groom asks the bride's father for her hand; warning: don't show up empty handed! The exact nuances of arranging the marriage banns in Orkney and its surrounding legalities About the Westray "dons" of the Spanish Armada, and what allegedly happened if they married "outside" the dons What did the moon, the tide and the "airt" of the wind have to do with the fortunes of an Orkney marriage? Old-style wedding invitations ... and drams (naturally) All about the Orkney foot-washing ritual, and the general hilarity that ensued Withershins - "going against the sun" The dangers of bodily bits as relating to curses; and what's this got to do with the king's poop? A wedding story from Noltland Castle in the island of Westray How to make your hogboon part of the wedding celebration, and why it's important to do so! The wedding walk - much longer than a walk down the aisle; hijinks along the way; and the importance of wiping out your tracks The origins of pre-wedding blackenings in Orkney The mesterhousel, the hansel wife, the bride's cog and other Orkney wedding celebration rituals Orkney wedding games, bog cotton (Loki's oo) stockings and feminine divination mysteries Baking. brewing, eating, drinking and dancing! Different kinds of Orkney cogs Curses, ill omens and selkie abductions: dangers to watch out for during weddings The tragic story of Henry Graham and his love Orkney death customs, traditions and beliefs Omens of death: rainbows, ravens and angels' music Wailing vardens and ganfers in Orkney The story of the Bokie Hound of the Balfours Forebodings of death in dreams The leekwak, touching the corpse and of ladies losing their senses The danger of grieving too much Supernatural Orkney death customs: good luck and bad, and getting the biggest blessing What did you do with a drowned sailor?
S1 E7 · Sun, July 21, 2024
A Letter from North Ronaldsay, with Ian Scott
On this full moon night, Tom speaks with one of our authors, Ian Scott - otherwise known as Ian o' Antabreck - lifelong resident of Orkney's most northerly island, North Ronaldsay. Ian has recently gathered together for publication his first decade of A Letter from North Ronaldsay, which he's written for The Orcadian newspaper for over thirty years. Tom and Rhonda have very proudly produced this first volume of Ian's Letters through our Orkneyology Press, which is now available for purchase through our website. We hope you enjoy this blether among friends. Join us to find out ... About North Ronaldsay toonships ... and what's a toonship anyway? Hogmanay traditions; North Ron as compared to Sanday (and other Orkney) traditions, where half of Tom's folk come from; where was the whisky, and what finally stopped the auld Hogmanay traditions? On home brew Old milling and brewing practices, which Ian observed in his miller-father's life and work The old and new North Ronaldsay standing stone Hogmanay traditions, and what's it all got to do with the full moon? The reluctant uptake of the Gregorian calendar in Orkney Cold evenings in warm places: visiting and playing games with folk in the mill ... and other warm places Orkney schooldays in earlier times: What was it like boarding in the hostel for school in Kirkwall Grammar School (and a year in Holm) as a bairn the old days, when they only returned home on rare occasions? Powdered milk, snowball fights, freezing "digs" and unmarried teachers. And what about those hair-raising postboat rides before the ferries and planes were available? Crops and old-style thrashing What it was like studying at Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen Orkney's thriving arts community Ian's paintings and sculptures, including his favorite sculpture: the Longhope Lifeboat Memorial Ian's lobster fishing days The North Ronaldsay praam, how it came about and why it's such a good boat design for Orkney sea conditions Ian's artistic study trips in Shetland, Iceland and Faroes About sculpting and Ian's most well-known public works, including the Longhope Lifeboat Memorial, the statue of Arctic explorer John Rae in Stromness, the George Mackay Brown busts and the Stanley Cursitor portrait, all of which can be seen in Orkney. Sylvia Wishart, Ola Gorie and other Orkney artists The story of North Ronaldsay's Old Memorial Hall <br
S1 E6 · Fri, June 21, 2024
Orkney Customs, with Tom Muir ~ Hatch, Match, Dispatch - part 1
On this full moon night, Tom and Rhonda discuss some of the main rituals and customs necessary to safeguard important life events, from pregnancy through birth and baptisms, and onward to concerns and superstitions around courtship. Tom will tell us a few stories related to these customs and give a bit of history to help folk understand the very sensible reasons for these early Orkney practices. Join us to find out ... Why you should avoid insulting a witch when you're about to go sailing (which has nothing to do with our topic, but is interesting and perhaps valuable information nonetheless) Natural signs of an upcoming birth; precautions taken to avoid trouble during the precarious time of pregnancy and the earlierst months of life; how to avoid attracting the evil eye; keeping the trows from kidnapping mother or child All about the howdie wife - an important and respected woman who takes folk into the world and helps them out of it The Orkney meaning of "wifie" The story of the bairn of Langalour Different strengths of home brew, their names and when to drink them Christening stories Why Orcadians never let the hearthfire die Divining customs for discerning the identity of one's future spouse Why one of the Stones of Stenness has holes in it Tales from the Odin Stone, and the unbreakable Odin Oath (with a handy escape clause) The pathetic story of Pirate Gow and the Odin Oath Mentioned in this episode: The story of the Hudson's Bay Company man who was a woman: https://www.orkneyology.com/isobel-gunn.html In Part 2 of Orkney Customs: Hatch, Match, Dispatch Tom will tell us more about "match" customs - courtship and marriage - and also Orkney death customs. See you on the next full moon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E5 · Thu, May 23, 2024
Dr Erin Farley ~ Angus Folk Tales and Big Big Big Worms!
Tonight, Tom and Rhonda Muir of Scotland's Orkney Islands have a moonlight visitor - our very dear friend, author, researcher and storyteller Dr Erin Farley of Dundee. Those who love stories and Scotland will find much of interest, among these: Erin's abiding passion for worms: giant worms causing creation and destruction, the The Muckle Mester Stoorworm; Jörmungandr the world serpent, Ragnarök ... and a bonus: a charm against the worm in your tooth (toothache)! Looking at the landscape from a seafaring position Researching and preserving oral history in Scotland Stories of the old lighthouse keepers, including our mutual friend, Lawrence Tulloch of Shetland The Grey (bearded) Lady; and deep storytelling Sir Walter Scott in Orkney Acedemic writing as energy vampire vs. stories of the people Dundee roots: slavery; sufferagettes; carving out a place through poetry; William McGonagall; and stories around the Tay Bridge disaster Storytelling and the pressure to achieve; the rewards of taking things slowly A telling of the story of Jockie Barefoot from Erin's book, Angus Folktales - a tragic Angus tale of an evil lanlord The Twins of Edzel as performed by Tania Allan - A BSL interpretation of a Scottish folklore tale. Inspired by ‘Angus Folk Tales’ by Erin Farley. The Twins of Edzell is the story of a dedicated mother of deaf twin brothers and the hearing world that is unable to accept them. Filmed on location at Balvaird Castle, Perthshire. https://sfdh.org.uk/project/the-twins-of-edzell/ So come thee wiz, pour yourself a dram and settle in for a good old-fashioned blether among friends. Orkneyology website: https://www.orkneyology.com Podcast theme music courtesy of Fionn McArthur. "Ower wi' the moon" artwork created by Jenny Steer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E4 · Wed, April 24, 2024
Scottish Folk Tales of Coast and Sea, with Author Tom Muir
Tonight Tom and Rhonda Muir have a moonlit blether from their home in Scotland's Orkney Islands inspired by the publication of Tom's latest collection of folk tales: Scottish Folk Tales of Coast and Sea. We muse about life lessons embedded in all good stories, look at some differences in stories originating from inland areas as compared to tales told by those whose lives are constantly endangered and controlled by the sea, how Orkney differs from Shetland and how folktales in this area of the world were influenced by the Vikings. And Tom tells a really fun story from the book at the end! So pull up a chair, pour yourself a dram and settle in for a good, old-fashioned blether among friends. Be sure to drop by on the NEXT full moon, when we'll be having a blether with Scottish storyteller, researcher and author of Angus Folk Tales, Dr Erin Farley of Dundee. Show notes: https://www.orkneyology.com/orkneyology-podcast.html Podcast theme music courtesy of Fionn McArthur. "Ower wi' the moon" artwork created by Jenny Steer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E3 · Mon, March 25, 2024
A Moonlit Blether with Bothy Ballad Singer Scott Gardiner
Tonight we have a moonlit chat with our very dear friend, Scott Gardiner. Tom and Scott have a lovely, wandering blether across the bothy ballad and traditional Scottish song scene, touching on the history of this unique music and how it stands today. They talk about the culture and lifestyle that created the bothy ballads, a bit about the bothy system in the Orkney Islands and reminisce about "Bothy Nichts", an old Scottish bothy songs television show. Tom and Scott speak about the sad passing of many of the great old singers and songwriters they both admire, including recently Orkney's own Billy Jolly. Scott tells of some of the singers who inspired him and he even favors us with a few of his favorite bothy ballad songs, including one of his own! So pull up a chair, pour yourself a dram and settle in for a good, old-fashioned blether among friends. In this episode, we're treated to these traditional songs: Guise o' Tough (traditional), 1890s Generations of Change, by Matt Armour, 1975 Princie and Jean, by George Corrigall, 1959 ... ending with a tongue-in-cheek song that Scott wrote for the Out of Doors Radio Scotland programme! Drop by again on the NEXT full moon, when Tom will talk about Scottish coastal culture and stories and tell a few tales from his new book with History Press, Scottish Folk Tales of Coast and Sea. Podcast theme music courtesy of Fionn McArthur. "Ower wi' the moon" artwork created by Jenny Steer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E2 · Sat, February 24, 2024
The Magic of Stories, with Traditional Orkney Storyteller Tom Muir
Well, it's a full moon again and time for another moonlit blether coming to you from the Orkney Islands. This month, Tom and Rhonda Muir talk about: the difficulties of childhood dyslexia (before there was a name for it) beloved childhood storybooks that helped Tom overcome traumatic school years how Tom stumbled into storytelling and overcame fear (terror, really) of public speaking how the Orkney Storytelling Festival first began warm reminiscenses involving some of the amazing storytellers and other people that Tom met through international storytelling opportuities (Lawrence Tulloch from Shetland, Bob Pegg, Donald Smith, David Campbell, Hjörleifur Helgi Stefánsson, Joseph Naytowhow, Stanley Robertson, Duncan Williamson and many more beloved friends) advice for newer storytellers and Tom tells a local Orkney story that took place in a mound site he once dug as an archaeologist! Drop by on the NEXT full moon, when we'll be having a blether with award-winning Scottish bothy ballad singer, Scott Gardiner. Podcast theme music courtesy of Fionn McArthur. "Ower wi' the moon" artwork created by Jenny Steer . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E1 · Thu, January 25, 2024
Ower wi' the moon, with Tom and Rhonda Muir of Orkneyology Press
In Orkney, we used to have an expression: "I'll be ower wi' the moon ," meaning, " I will come and visit you when the moon is full, to light my way. " In this first episode of the Orkneyology Podcast (with the encouragement of some steaming mulled wine for Rhonda's sake) we introduce ourselves: Tom Muir - Orcadian traditional storyteller, historian, author and publisher; and Rhonda Muir - an American expat who moved to the Orkney Islands to marry the love of her life (yes, Tom), writer, roamer in the wilderness of Orkney and publisher. We tell the story of our delighted surprise in finding each other from across the Atlantic later in life, and how we eventually came to build a life together in Scotland's Orkney Islands. We talk a bit about our website, Orkneyology.com, which explores Orkney life, travel, history, stories and archaeology. And we reveal a little about our plans for the Orkneyology Podcast, where we will be chatting with some fascinating folk in Orkney and elsewhere. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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