Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest
Northern Lights, Or the Lack Thereof
quote:
I've always been fascinated by the countries to the North and how they cope with the darkness in Winter.
Even here in Northern Scotland, the sun only reaches a height of about 10 degees at noon. What must it be like in Hammerfest, Norway or in high Lapland?
So if you're living in any of the Northern countries, I'd be interested to know how high the sun gets at noon where you are!
Hey Ron,
I spent a winter in Oslo, and it was indeed dark. Oslo’s not really all that farther north than Scotland, and I’m sure it’s nothing compared to the REAL north, but it was a pretty interesting experience for me, at least (Especially since I had spent the previous four months in Hawaii. That was a particularly odd episode of culture/climate clash!). I found that I was really ill-equipped to handle the advanced level of drinking that my host and his friends were working at, so there were a number of late mornings to account for some of those long nights, and there were days were I didn’t see more than an hour of daylight. It was around this time that I was turned on to the fish oil.
I met a woman who was from a small island village in the far north. She told me a story about how, in her parent’s or grandparent’s generation, when modernization came along and processed food started to replace their natural, fish-based diet, everybody on the island got really depressed in the winter until they figured out that the absence of vitamin D from froth either the sun or the fish was the culprit. I’ve been taking the stuff ever since.
I’ve always been fascinated by places in the far, far north and have regular fantasies about running off to Resolute or Longyearbyen. I’ve always been really disappointed that I didn’t get farther north when I was over there…
Whereabouts are you located in Scotland? It’s always been pretty high on my list of places to visit. I’ve never shared the tropical vacation desires that most people have. I always dream of vacationing in St. Petersburg or Estonia or Greenland or wherever.
RE: Northern Lights, Or the Lack Thereof (in reply to srshea)
Hi Adam, I live near Aberdeen. Its about 57.2 degrees N (about the same Latitude as Churchill, Manitoba).
I've been to Tromso, Norway and then to about 400miles North of the Arctic Circle when I was working on an oil exploration ship, but it was in the summer!
The Northern lights were pretty awesome...infact even a bit scary in the sheer scale of the phenomenon...it made the hairs on the back of my neck bristle!
We get some pretty weak effects here, but they are pretty much masked by the light pollution from Aberdeen.
When I was about 18, I met a girl who came from Hammerfest in Norway, which is the most Northerly town in Europe and she told me some local stories and legends and superstitions and this definitely got my appetite going!
At midnight on New Year's Eve we have a "Fireball swinging" procession in Stonehaven. Nobody is really certain of the origins, but it definitely seems kind of "Viking stuff" to me...Those Vikings seemed to like fire a lot!
Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest
RE: Northern Lights, Or the Lack Thereof (in reply to Ron.M)
Good lord! That swinging kilt/swinging fire combo seems a bit iffy. I'm assuming that the original aim of this ritual was to ward off evil spirits/wood gnomes? Or maybe it's just fun to play with fire when you're drunk.
Have you been to the Shetlands? I'm always fascinated by those sorts of places that are caught between two or more cultures. The Shetlands are equally if not more Nordic/Norwegian than Scottish in culture, yes?
RE: Northern Lights, Or the Lack Thereof (in reply to srshea)
quote:
Have you been to the Shetlands? I'm always fascinated by those sorts of places that are caught between two or more cultures. The Shetlands are equally if not more Nordic/Norwegian than Scottish in culture, yes?
Hi Adam, Yes, I think I'd agree with you on that. I've been to Lerwick, which does really look like "Middle Earth", as Estevan puts it. Really quaint and slightly surreal place.
quote:
Good lord! That swinging kilt/swinging fire combo seems a bit iffy.
Yeah, "iffy" is definitely the word! However I've had a look at the fireball construction and they are pretty well made, with strong chains etc and the guys who swing them are folk like fishermen, who are used to dealing with heavy equipment under dangerous conditions, or are participants in the tough game of "shirling" at the weekends.....
RE: Northern Lights, Or the Lack Thereof (in reply to srshea)
I was in Norway once on winter hollydays. 30celcius below cero. Mountains covered in snow. An overdosis of oxigen and some 20 - 30km on ski every day. Man did I sleep well..... I´ve also been on a tropical Island in the Caribean. I slept very badly and I was bored. Snorkling with turtles etc. was fun though.
Printable Version
) 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread