Radio Orkney

Yesterday...via the magic of the internet...I was able to listen to a fifty five
minute program on Radio Orkney. Now...why would I do a thing like that?...to discover
traditional folk songs and tales of the islands off the coast of Scotland?...or
connect with the wisdom of the ages from a distant place?. No...it wasn't for any of
those reasons. In a recent posting I wrote about other realities available to us...
that we should remember...given we can become so embedded in the one we're living in...that we begin to think it's the only one there is. Radio Orkney underlined for me that there are legions of other realities operating in places distant from each other...in our world...not to mention different realities based on what we each can
carry inside of ourselves. It's true that the long arm of homogenous culture has
reached into this part of the world too...evidenced by musical requests for songs by
Faith Hill and James Blunt...but I was happy to hear the reels and jigs were still
very much alive in the place from whence they sprung. I enjoyed the public service
announcements...like..."fairy concellations due tae awfu' waithar-r"...a request from
someone returning home soon for a relative to have ready "a good feed wi' tatties etc. etc." Then there were the place names like Stromness...Westry...and Stronsey...
conjuring up visions of fishing boats...mountains...and cobbled streets. It was also
heart warming to hear a form of English turned to music by the ancient inflections...
pronounciations...and word usage...of Gaelic speaking people. Yes...for fifty five
minutes yesterday...and beyond...my connection with my fellow human beings was
expanded...giving me another place to visit...undeterred by distance...now that I've
found a way to bring Radio Orkney...into my home..........Quester.