Orkney Polar Bears

Orkney Polar Bears at Evie Pier

A very warm welcome from the Orkney PBs and a refreshingly chilly sea! Children of a mirror-writing age and a happy granny on the beach, no jellyfish anywhere within sight. And to cap it all, a long chat about the Nordic Studies Centre of the UHI with one of the lecturers (also a novelist).

The distinction between water-lovers and land-huggers reminds me  of Bruce Chatwin's division of the world into sedentary and nomadic people, with his own bias for journeys: “Man's real home is not a house, but the Road, and that life itself is a journey to be walked on foot.” (What am I Doing Here).

The 'on foot' can be quibbled with, as the existence of Sea Gypsies attests to (worth following the links to each of the socio-linguistic groups in this hub). For an audio slideshow with excellent photos see James Morgan's documentary 'Sea Nomads' on the Bajau-Laut. The National Geographic has an interesting article on the Moken, and here is a BBC photo-essay about them). Should the plight of the Sea Gypsies make you despondent about the state of endangered life-styles, here's an antidote:

"The Moken are born, live, and die on their boats, and the umbilical cords of their children plunge into the sea," we are told. This reminds me of the exchange between the Comte d'Orsay and Disraeli: "I was born French, have lived French, and shall die French!"
"Have you no ambition man?"