A Customers View of the Shop

I received this from Skott Shaw last weekend and have his permission to share what he wrote with you. Skott and Jodi moved away from the Northwest a few years back so Jodi could further her education. I trust you will enjoy his writing as much as I did.
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When I close my weary eyes and loose the tethers on my mind.
The Traveler flies unobstructed,
unhindered,
and with wild abandon.
It bounces from projects in planning to mundane daily events
but eventually it always returns to a gusty, salty and gorgeous local.
It tiptoes in the salty ocean foam,
sips the sweetness of a White Rocket
and wanders the tourist strew streets.
Coming at last to an unobtrusive little shop.
Many come and go but the aura of this place is intoxicating, irresistible, and hurricane in force.
Inside, all the wisdom and humor of the universe is shared and passed from one soul to another.
It flies around the room bouncing off this trinket and that book filling the newest Grey souls that enter with light and warmth that is impossible to leave or forget.
At the center of that inspiration tempest is a teacher of passion,
a shaman of culture,
a priestess of the spirit,
a clansmen of the wind,
and a person of such power and respect that she outshines the sun.
Time changes in her presence.
One minute you feel the battlefields of old.
Then the next the golden towers of a shining future.
Every soul is captivated and at peace.
And though I must again rein in the traveler
my heart is never far from Seaside and
THE BARD AT LARGE.


Skott Shaw
February 21st 2009

Thanks Skott, for these kind and thoughtful words.

Cheers,
Linda

The Battlefield Band is back playing in the Northwest

Battlefield Band 2009 US Tour OR and WA dates:


3/6 Eastsound, WA
3/7 Forest Grove, OR
3/8 Bend, OR
3/11 Ashland, OR
3/14 Everett, WA
3/15 Corvallis, OR

Details below:

www.battlefieldband.co.uk

3/6 Fri 7:30PM $24
Orcas Center
917 Mt. Baker Road
PO Box 567
Eastsound, WA 98245-0567
(360) 376-2281
www.orcascenter.org

3/7 Sat 7:30PM $22
Pacific University, Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center
2043 College Way,
Forest Grove, Oregon 97116
(503) 352-2918
www.pacificu.edu

3/8th Sun
Tower Theatre
835 NW Wall Street
Bend OR 97701
(541) 317-0700
www.towertheatre.org

3/11 Wed 8PM $20-$22
Unitarian Center
4th and C Streets,
Ashland OR, 97520
(541) 535-3562
www.stclairevents.com

3/14 Sat 7PM $25-$50 benefit concert for Habitat for Humanity
Everett Civic Auditorium
2415 Colby Avenue,
Everett , WA 98021
(425) 258-6289
www.habitatsnohomish.org

3/15 Sun 7:30PM $18-$20
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331
www.cfs.peak.org

If your looking for a good night out, this band is a real crowd pleaser.

Cheers,
Linda

The Great King Brian Boru and the Battle of Dublin

Clontarf (AD 1014) or The Battle of Dublin, is soon to see the 1000th year anniversary date in 2014.

A passage of the NJAL's SAGA (according to Ronald Williams book 'The Lords of the Isles' published by House of Lochar, Isle of Colonsay, Argyll, Scotland 1997) reads as follows:

Clontarf

I have been where champions battled;
High in Erin sang the sword.
Boss to Boss clashed many shields,
Steel clanged sharp on warriors' helms.
I can tell of that fierce struggle;
Sigurd fell in storm of spears;
Brian fell but gained the kingdom
Ere the blood flowed from his wounds.
********************

King Brian Boru fell during the time of battle, but not on the battlefield.

This is a story that was told to me years back.
And, ...

If it was a truth that was told to me,
then it's a truth I'm telling you now.

King Brian Boru had worked hard and long to gather the needed strength of warriors
for his army, to take on the force of the Norsemen, who had their stronghold on the Isle of Man.
It is said, that it took Boru's men a fortnight to convince him, to not be on the battlefield with them. Although a great and powerful King and leader, they would rather focus on killing their enemy than protecting his life.
Boru, finally but reluctantly agreed, and he made his way up the rise to the hill above the battlefield with his trusted companion Donlan, who had been by the King's side since he was young.
They passed where the bards stood to watch the battle unfold, (so they could document in their stories and songs, who the heroes were, who fell with glory, and who fled the field.)
Boru and Donlan, went through the wood and found a grove, where they pitched a tent so the King could reflect and pray for his people's victory that day.

Every once in awhile he would rise and send Donlan out to see how the battle was going. The third such time, ...when Donlan returned he exclaimed to Boru, "The Norseman's standard has fallen and we no doubt have won the day!"
Boru jumped up and said, "Great! You go, ... and wait for my men, to come tell me of our victory!"
Donlan left his side, and Boru huddled down once again to pray, and be thankful.

It was during this same time, there were many Norsemen fleeing the battlefield, to save themselves. One such man came running out of the wood into the grove. He stopped when he saw the tent...then suddenly recognized the Great King, by his robe and his crown, huddled there in prayer. With his great battle-ax in hand this Norseman rushed forward into the tent...
cleaved the great King's head in half, ...rushed back out...(thinking he heard other Norsemen coming into the grove), and started to exclaim...
"I alone, .. have killed the Great King Brian Boru!!!! Me,... I've done it!" slapping his chest with his fists he repeated this again, then fell silent when, ...
he realized what he'd heard, in fact was Boru's men emerging from the forest.

Donlan was so aghast at the sight of his life-long friend and King; lying there in a pool of blood, ...that he and Boru's men disarmed the Norseman, stripped him of his armour and garments. Donlan sliced open the man's gut, ...pull out part of his entrails, ...
marched him over to a tree, attaching his guts to it, and made him walk around the tree while it disemboweled him. Then they put him to death.

Gruesome yes, ...but not nearly as some things done "in that day and age".

Now the purpose of this story is to show how important the family coat of arms symbols can be.
If you look at the Donlan family Coat of Arms of Ireland you will see a naked man that looks like he's tied to a tree, ...but on closer examination you may actually be able to distinguish that... it's not a rope you see there at all, ... but something quite different indeed.

Shop Hours and Days Update

Starting:
On the date of 13 Feb. I will be open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10am - 3pm.
I will monitoring how busy town is on Monday and may open for a few hours because of it being a Monday holiday.

The work on the book is going well, and we are still on track for a Tartan day release,
at the shop. I have (tentatively) secured of Piper (bagpipes) to play for the event.
Finger-crossed!

Slainte,
Linda

Glencoe and the Pinky

In 1689, James Stewart (Catholic) King of Scotland was removed from the throne and fled into exile
with his family. William of Orange (Protestant) had married James Stewart's daughter Mary, and was given the power and the crowns, in both Scotland and England. Many Scots were well opposed to this forced change, in their land and the Jacobite movement to return their 'rightful King" to the throne, got it's start. The loyalties of Scotland now being split by religious belief, also saw battles and grand upheavals, that soon followed.

In the midst of this turmoil, William forced his hand on the Highland Chiefs and demanded that they sign a oath of loyalty to him as their King. This is what eventually led to the Massacre of Glencoe.

It was at this same time, ... that this young Highland man had signed up to be a member of this King's army and the Argyll Regiment. Having a new born son and beautiful wife to support he found himself with little choice in the matter. Work was hard to find and he had little skills, but handling a sword and pistol well, were two he not only possessed, but took pride in. And the pay was a fair amount, that would suit his needs of everyday life.

His first mission with his new found 'work' was to march south with his regiment into the valley of Glencoe.

For the most part he thought that this work would be easy and found no problem in being 'quartered' with the MacIains of Glencoe. They had been very good hosts and each night seemed to bring a round of gambling, drink, good food, stories and songs...not unlike those he'd experience at home with his own kith and kin.

But by the time the end of the first week had come, in their scheduled fortnight (2 weeks) stay, things started to seem a bit strange. There seemed to be some secretive rumblings among the other soldiers that made him a bit suspicious. He tried to shake it off.

Then, in the early hours of Feb. 13th, 1692, his worse fears came to reality.
Orders were read as to the action this regiment was to take on their hosts.
As the others in his regiment moved to take their positions at the homes of the clan members, he went to his superior officer and made an objection to this:

"I can't do this...it goes against everything I was taught as a child... and goes against the code of Highland Hospitality!" he blurted out in his confusion and anger.
(Now in the Highlands of Scotland a code of hospitality was such that if someone came to your door with a death warrant and the host took them in and fed them, and drank with them and showed them the care they would extend to their own...that person could do them no harm.)
The massacre had started and you could hear the shots and screams all around...
this lads commander shouted back at him,
"You will do it! You will go behind the building and dispatch that woman and her young child...and you will come back and show me proof of blood on your sword! Or I will kill you here...where you stand!"

The lad seeing that he once again had little choice, made his way to the croft where the child's cries could be heard.

As he approach he heard the woman quieting the bairn with a Highland lullaby, ...the same lullaby that his wife had sung to their own son the night before he'd left home.
He knew he could not do this treachery. But what was he to do?

He approached the woman and tried to calm her fears. Then said, "I have been sent to kill you and your child, but I can not....I have to show proof of blood on my sword or surely I will be dead before this day is finished. I will make sure that you get safely away, but first I must assure all of our safe escape." Then he pulled his knife, picked up the child's hand and lopped off his pinky.
The mother was screaming the child was wailing, and surely anyone hearing this would think that he was in fact carrying out his orders. He took the finger and squeezed blood onto the sword blade, helped to bind the child's wound and waited there while the woman and child fled for their lives on the route he said for them to take.

He went back to his commander and showed this proof of his act to him.

Many years later this same lad now quite a bit older, was in a Inn Pub having a pint and dram.
The barman had been making small talk with him when he said, "Well you're about the right age and you come from the right region, ...so tell me were you there ...in Glencoe ...during the massacre?"

The lad told his story about what had happened to him on that fateful day.
The barman's face turned white, as he lifted his hand from behind the bar rail and said..."You saved my life and the life of my mum." The barman spread his hand open and there was no pinky finger there. "You sir can have free room and board here at my Inn for the rest of your life!!" And that's where the lad(now man) and his wife spent the rest of their days, at that Inn, where the owner and the sacrifice of his finger had saved all of their lives, from the Massacre of Glencoe.

This story was told to me by an old gentleman in the Highlands of Scotland many years ago. It is a great story of how honour can survive in the darkest time.

The Scots have always tried to share in times of wealth and huddled together in the darkest of times.

Cheers,
Linda