Saturday 8th April

Britain-Dogglerand-Europe all joined

Today, through the post another book arrived - Mapping Doggerland by three authors.  Somewhat disappointed because mapping is about the only subject covered, I was looking for more archaeological evidence, but it is still exciting the idea of a whole mesolithic landscape inundated by the waters of the sea, caused mostly by glaciation  but happening over a period of 11,000 years.

At one time we were part of the mainland of Europe, that mass of land we are so busy trying to unleash ourselves from now - with what consequences heavens know! Now the North sea splits us from the continent but all those years ago a lost land of rivers, hills and plains existed over which settlers from Europe made their way to our country, to places like the Mesolithic Starr Carr just down the road from us.

Starr Car reconstruction

There is another book I am reading this is Naomi Klein's - Capitalism vs The Climate, just read this article to see how politically written it is, somehow I never saw me being part of the 'Green Movement' as a politically red/socialist move, still don't to tell the truth, maybe we all see the world in different colours.

In a way it sort of ties in with a 'lost landscape' of Doggerland which was caused by a natural disaster or happenings, whilst we are at the moment living through an era when all natural resources are up for grabs! My beef is the loss of species all over the planet, everyday I sign petitions against habitat loss, against cruelty and the continual rape of the Earth we live on - do I make a difference, doubt it.

So I shall return to my own corner of the world, which is beautifully sunny and warm for the weekend.  I see dozens of rabbits in the fields on the walk but today I saw a hare, puzzled for a second by long ears and long back legs my mind jumped with a leap of joy as I realised what it was.  Also saw a peewit/lapwing in the field, I wonder if these birds like the curlews are making their way up to the moors for breeding.  What else, not many bees sadly, but a bee-fly hovers over the lawn and a yellow brimstone, also an orange tip, the butterflies are starting to appear.  Our lawn which up to several years ago was a field, yielded bluebells last year and I also found two plantlets of the wild strawberry huddled against the wall. 

I am reading Massingham's anthology of a landscape before the second World War - The English Countryside (1939) at the moment as well. A quote from Elgee on the word Moor old Norse Mor, which signifies such land as peat, turf, heath, or ling.  The Anglo-Saxons use the word mor to define waste-land, a moor, or heath.  Elgee goes on to say that....

Many names are of Scandinavian origin and more or less describe the character of the particular moors to which they refer.  Such is Murk Mire Moor near Egton, the name of which has been derived from Old Norse myrkr signifying dark and myrr a moor or boggy place. Again the word "swang" is of frequent occurence - Glaisdale swangs and moss swangs, a word originating from the Old Norse svanger,  a hollow usually more or less boggy.....

A small video of a stream running from Murk Mire Moor