Category Archives: General

Sunday 28 January: The Drama Group will present ‘Radio Aughton Live’ at the Sunday Social.

1.  The History of Martin Mere

Log boat dated 550AD

Bill Hale opened the meeting with a fascinating talk about the history of Martin Mere which included post ice age geological evidence about the local terrain and the impact of sea level changes on the post glacial landscape, flora and fauna over the millennia.

The size of the mere, its shape and islands before being drained in 1694 was evidenced in a series of maps and documents found in the Lancashire Record Office, by Bill and Audrey Coney whilst researching their book on Martin Mere. The landowners gained increased land and fertility from the draining but the local people (fishermen, thatchers and basket makers, etc.) lost their means of making a living.

Bill reviewed a list of winged visitors past and present as recorded by ornithologists and archaeologists, and showed images of the only extant log-boat (dated 550 AD) now in Southport Museum.

He also spoke of his own experience of the contribution the present WWT Martin Mere makes to sustaining habitat for migrating birds.

Oystercatcher with fresh-water mussel

2.  Proposed venues for 2018

Peter Hatfield presented his list of proposed venues for birdwatching in 2018.  Seven of last years reserves are revisited this year but in different seasons, three sites not visited by the group are introduced (Conway, Rivington and Delamere Forest) and two local venues not seen last year will be seen this year (Mere Sands Wood and Brockholes).

The full list is now on the U3A web site (see above).

3.  Review of 2017 visits and sightings

Peter Banks presented his detailed ‘species list’ of sightings for all of the venues, and the bird number tabulations for each venue including attendees.  At 4 venues we saw 50-62 species.  At 4 other venues we saw 40-49 species and the last group of 4 venues recorded 25-34 species. This was an improvement on the previous year, with the highest yield at RSPB Burton (no surprise).

The lists and tabulations are now also on the Group web pages of the U3A site (see below).

All of our monthly sightings are recorded on the group’s web pages and also logged at BirdTrack a national project run by BTO in partnership with RSPB (and others) that records distributions and migration movements of birds throughout Britain and Ireland.

4.  AOB

There was a discussion about future possible venues for visits.  Sizergh Castle near Kendal, Ribble Marshes between Banks and Hesketh Bank, Farne Islands Northumbria, and Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Head north Yorkshire.  Bill was also suggesting a visit to a wildfowl ringing venue.  More comments please, we look forward to an interesting year ahead.

Attendance: Sixteen members, including two new members of the group, attended this year’s AGM.  The list of attendees is recorded on the group’s database and available on request.

Peter Hatfield and Peter Banks joint leaders.

• Total species recorded in the year = 114 (+6)

• Total species recorded in 2016 = 103 (+2)

• A total of 21 members attended one or more visits in 2017 (2016 – 17 members)

Click ‘Continue reading’ for additional statistics and the full list of species seen:

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An excellent September day out combined with Maghull Beer Group, a visit to Moorhouses Brewery in Burnley.  A good selection of their many fine real ales all of which were in excellent condition. Plus some very nice Pie and Peas.  Very Impressed with the friendly welcome. The Md  looked after us Big Time.

 The Parbold 4,  in July – inc  Ferrits, and even several of Michael Portillos, well they were in the Railway beer garden and he does love trains.  Paul Furnival very happy to see a real Ferrit instead of a dinky toy !

Our Southport Sojourn in June – Hightown Hotel, The Pines Hillside, The Beer Station Freshfield and the Freshfield Hotel

Liverpool’s Fantastic Beer Festival in the Crypt, Metropolitan Cathedral, a wonderful Iconic Venue.

Support for our home towns smallest Pubs in Ormskirk

La Cantina, in the Malthouse Centre

The best of Wigan’s Micros – the Symposium and Wigan Central

We each received a beautifully wrapped but blank Tote Bag which members hope to decorate in individual ways

Early Christmas Party Time .    The RECORDERS & UKULEERS groups gave us a fantastic performance followed by festive refreshments…

 ‘A Chinese Tea ceremony’ was presented by members of the Confucious Institute of Edge Hill University,  followed by our traditional refreshments

Margaret Gibbon then talked to us about  ‘Some of her Favourite Ladies from Local History‘.

A great presentation about  Martin Mere Wetland Centre  by volunteer Eileen Seabright.

Tea, Coffee and cakes were followed by some poetry  read (and in some cases written) by our very own Sunday Social members

For our final outdoor meeting of 2017 we had planned to visit the Lancashire Wild Life Trust’s site at Lunt Meadows.  Because of the very cold weather and the lack of any shelter or facilities at Lunt the venue was changed at the last minute to Martin Mere where ten members of the group enjoyed a very good morning’s bird watching in the relative comfort of the well-constructed hides, and several of us stayed on for lunch in the reserve’s excellent cafe.

The bright but very cold weather made for excellent visibility, with closer than usual views of birds that were concentrated by the ice into unfrozen areas near the main hides.

Click ‘Continue reading’ for the full list of 48 species seen:

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One of our regular sites on the coast between Southport and the Ribble Estuary.  Eleven members of the group attended this visit and a total of 40 species were recorded on this occasion.

Click ‘Continue reading’ for the full list of species seen:

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Eight members of the group attended this visit and we had the benefit by being guided by a guest leader, Peter Twist.  We were very grateful for his considerable expertise in identifying birds by song as well as by sight.

The morning was spent on the RSPB reserve and the afternoon at the Dee Estuary, Denhall Lane.

A total of 64 species were recorded on this visit, the largest number recorded by the group on a single visit.

Click ‘Continue reading’ for the full list of species seen:

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The French Conversation Tuesday group prepared for the Festive Season with some fancy face decorations!

Some photos from early in 2016:

Celebrating Ephiphany

Gallette de Rois

Queen Linda

Enjoying the ‘tart’

Wednesday September 20:  A visit to Turbury Sanctuary to see the ‘Birds of Prey’ and have lunch and drinks, available at the cafe. – leaving by 2.30pm. Coach will leave Aughton Village Hall 10.30am.

Tuesday October 17:  An afternoon trip to Derby House which has a variety of indoor shopping and a cafe – open for drinks and snacks. Coach will leave Aughton Village Hall at 1.30pm.

Monday November 13:  Card making session with Jean Chambers at the Ministry Centre – 2.00pm-4.00pm.  Come and make your own Xmas cards.  Costs between £5 and £6.

U3A Football players past and present gathered at the Hop Vine on Monday 4th December for the traditional end of year Christmas Lunch.

Amidst the banter, a number of awards were presented…

• Our Player of the Year 2017 is Dougy (aka Graham Douglas), voted for by the other players.
• The Most Improved Player was given to Big John Gordon.
• Goalkeeping prizes went to Paul Chambers and Paul Furnivall.
• And finally, the ‘Old Farts’ award was presented to Geoff Maitland for winning the quiz

The picture shows most of our current squad lining up before a recent game – the only U3A Football Group in the country (even in the world?)!

LInda Burden, our Secretary, has received this query from Mike Morris, Secretary, Aintree U3A,

I was hoping to “pick your brains” as someone with local knowledge of the Aughton area. I am the co-ordinator of our walking group and on a recent “ramble” in the Clieves Hill area, we came across a large sandstone block (see attached images) by the side of Clieves Hills Lane near the viewpoint and the lay-by. Do you or any of your members know what this block is (or was)?

Click or tap on the photo Gallery below to view Mike’s photos of the object.

If anyone can identify this large sandstone block or know anything of its history, perhaps they may be able to assist?

Emails, please, to Linda at: Secretary@aughton-ormskirk-u3a.co.uk

Five members of the group attended this, the group’s second visit to this country park near Chorley.  There are a wide variety of habitats at this site and a total of 29 species were recorded.  Unlike last year, this time a kingfisher was spotted but again the dippers proved elusive.

Click ‘Continue reading’ for the full list of species seen:

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The session covered:

More exploits of the Irish Celtic warrior hero Cuchulainn, the greatest hero the world has ever known.

Cuchulainn was called Setanta when he was born and given the warrior name of Cuchulainn when he was nearly seven years old after he killed a guard hound in self-defence and replaced the hound by defending its owner’s property until a new one was trained.  The hound was owned by a smith called Culann, Cuchulainn means ‘The Hound of Culann’.

The wooing of Emer –  Emer was the daughter of Forgall of Leinster and was the most beautiful woman in Ireland.  Cuchulainn wanted Emer and she set him some trials to win her hand.  It was during these trials he travelled to Skye with the aid of a magical wheel provided by his father Lugh the Celtic sun god.  In Skye he trained with Scathach a great female warrior and became an accomplished warrior and gained Gae Bolga a barbed spear which would split into 30 barbs.  It was also here he had the prophesy that he would live three and thirty years and die at the peak of his glory.  Eventually Emer was his.

Throughout there was a discussion on how he met the list of attributes of the hero.

The Champion’s Portion – We started this rollicking and entertaining tale of the Champion’s Portion.  Bricriu was a Chieftain of Ulster who built the finest house in a year and a day and invited warriors Cuchulainn, Laoghaire and Conall Caernach, amongst others to a magnificent feast with the intention to cause discord.  Though they were wary and set conditions Bricriu managed to set seeds of dissension as the tale progressed.  The Champion’s Portion was a fabulous part of the banquet which would be given to the best warrior.  Bricriu told each of the three warriors they would have it and should send their charioteers to claim the portion as theirs.  The ensuing fight is described in detail with hyperbole, and continues until it is realised that Bricriu had a hand in the proceedings.  Bricriu then spoke in turn to Fidelma the wife of Laoghaire, Lendar the wife of Conall and Emer setting in motion another chain of events which involved unseemly sprinting and the near destruction and restoration of Bricriu’s new house.

This provided the storyteller with more opportunities to illustrate Cuchulainn’s strength and skills.

References:

Wayland D Hand, “Boundaries, Portals and other Magical Spots in Folklore”  Folklore Society, University College (1983)

Claire O’Kelly, “Concise Guide to Newgrave”

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The session covered:

The exploits of the Irish Celtic warrior hero Conall Caernach, including the story of the Boar of Mac Dathro, in which Conall got the better of the Connacht champion Caet Mag Macha.

There was also a discussion on the part hero/part fertility god aspects of Conall’s character, and the suggestion that he started his mythological career as a god, who was given a warrior hero persona over time, as his story was told and retold.

Started a new hero called Cuchulainn and discussed his unusual origins and childhood – tradition of a triple birth with a human mother and the sky god as his father, setting out for Emhain Macha to begin his warrior training when he was just five years old.

The session covered:

The cattle raid of Cooley involving Queen Medb of Connacht, her consort Aillil, a young Cuculainn, Ferghus Mac Rioch, Cormac and Conall Caernach.

There are recurring themes of betrayal, loyalty and honour.

Symbolism such as running water at a ford which is linked to magic, wizards could not cross, a crossing point from this world to the other world, so was an access point for gods.

The tale uses exaggeration to entertain the audience and for example to show how great a warrior Cuculainn was.

References:

Marie Heaney, “Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legends”, ISBN: 9780571175185, 1995

As at November 2017, this is available on the internet.

In addition there is a wealth of information on the stories and characters on the internet.

English Medieval Cathedrals in the North and Midlands

Speakers: Peter Goodrich, Peter Gateley and Peter Hatfield

English medieval cathedrals are widely admired both at home and abroad as both architectural masterpieces and touchstones of English History. Their stylistic diversity is remarkable reflecting their longevity and origins. Some cathedrals are descendants of former abbeys, others purpose built as cathedrals, all have seen major changes over the past millennium, and all continue to serve their primary purpose of providing a regional seat (cathedra is the Latin word for the Bishop’s throne) for the local Bishop or in the case of Canterbury and York, for the Archbishop. The series of talks covered their Anglo-Saxon origins, the impact of Viking raids and occupation, the Norman conquest and the English Reformation.

The introductory talk on 25th October 2016 reviewed all those cathedrals (ten in all) which are included in the monthly talks, briefly covering their differences, special features and their local impact.

Subsequent sessions explained the development of floor plans, internal and external features, the evolution of the Gothic style and the archaic terminology used to describe their key parts, all accompanied by illustrations. We visited the origins of the Christian church from Roman times and the establishment of dioceses in the Saxon period and looked at surviving examples of Saxon church architecture.

The following four meetings showcased the northern cathedrals: Durham Cathedral, York Minster, Carlisle Cathedral, Ripon Cathedral and Chester Cathedral showing their origins, history and examining in detail their magnificent architectural features, stained glass and furnishings. This was also a visit to Chester Cathedral to illustrate many of the points made during the talks.

We concluded the series with the great cathedrals in the midlands: Lincoln, Southwell, Worcester, Lichfield and Hereford, with a second cathedral visit to Lichfield.

Durham Cathedral

Church History is back with York Minster

Ripon Cathedral

Carlisle Cathedral

Chester Cathedral

Lincoln Cathedral

The final Church History meeting of the series

J’essaie faire amitiés en dehors de “Facebook”, mais en employant les mêmes principes –donc, chaque jour, quand je me promène le long de la rue, je parle aux passants.

Je leur racconte les détails de ce que j’ai mangé aujourdhui, comment je me sens à ce moment-la, comment j’ai passé la soirée hier, et ce que j’ai l’intention de faire plus tard, et avec qui.

Je leur montre des photos de ma famille, de mon chien, et de moi travaillant dans le jardin, travaillant dans le garage, arrossant la pelouse, debout devant bâtiments célèbres, et faisant les activities que tout le monde fait tous les jours.

En plus, j’entends leurs conversations, leur donne le “thumbs up”, et leur dis que je les aime.

Et —-il fonctionne exactement comme “Facebook”! Me suivant, il y a deux agents de police, une journaliste, un pysychologiste, et un détective privé.

Pete Peterson

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This was the group’s first visit to Rostherne Mere and was attended by eight members of the group.  Access to the reserve is by permit only and we were guided on this visit by two of the volunteer wardens, Dave Clarke and Phil Dell.

A varied site with woodland and meadow habitats as well as the mere and a total of 28 species were recorded (for a full list of sightings click ‘Continue reading’ below).

A sighting of particular interest was a pair of Egyptian Geese.  This species of African origins is now established as a breeding bird in the UK and other European countries.  According to recent BTO surveys there are around 1,000 breeding pairs in the UK mostly in the Thames Valley and East Anglia but with scattered populations in Northern and Western England.  As these birds were on the far side of the Mere it was not possible to get a good picture, the photograph shown here was taken in Germany last year.

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Members of the U3A Guitar group  played and sang for us in August.  Refreshments were followed by Peter Gateley presenting Butterflies in your Garden.   An excellent afternoon was enjoyed by all.

PLAYING THE UKULELE has never  been more popular.   It all started in 1879 with immigrants from Funchal in Portugal going to Hawaii to work in the sugar plantations.  They brought with them a small 4-stringed guitar-like instrument called a ‘machete’, which the Hawaiians took to immediately – especially the Royal family.  They called it a “ukulele” – pronounced “oo-ku-lay-lay” and meaning “jumping flea” because of the dexterity of the players’ fingers.   So the instrument we know as the ‘ukulele’, far from being an ancient Hawaiian instrument as many people think, is actually less then 150 years old!

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June was away, this was a free group session.

The session covered:

A discussion driven by selecting heroes, this covered Beowulf, King Arthur/Lancelot and Robin Hood, and tying up their characteristics with the list provided. It was interesting to see how many different legends had evolved around each one.

It was a short high level session and it was suggested that these heroes could be discussed further in future.

Characteristics of the Mythological Hero – transcribed from June’s notes

1/. The hero generally belongs to the aristocratic warrior society of his time

2/.  The hero is superhuman, not like ordinary men.  He has superhuman strength, daring, courage, beauty.  The hero also has unusual origins that mark him out as special from birth (e.g. mixed god/human parentage).

3/.  The hero is not just a macho man.  He is cultured as well.  He does not always depend on strength and courage alone; he can use cunning and brain power to get himself out of trouble.

4/.  The hero is usually courteous, kind and fair in his dealings with anyone who plays fair with him.  But whenever he encounters rudeness or unwarranted aggression, or meanness, or cowardice, he will give as good as he gets.

5/.  For the hero fairness, honour, reputation, loyalty, are all-important, and must be safeguarded.  If a hero loses honour, or his reputation he has lost everything.  The hero follows the warrior code of conduct.  He fights strictly according to the rules, and respects his opponents, because his own honour and reputations as a warrior depend on doing just that.

6/.  The hero has a restless spirit.  He is not content to settle for the limitations of human existence.  He longs for adventure and goes to find it.  He tries to fight against his own mortality, and to do great deeds so that his name at least will live forever.

7/.  The hero often dies a tragic and/or untimely death.  He espouses the idea of a brief life filled with glory, again so that his name will live on after he is gone.

8/.  Through his career, the hero often has help from the gods, but this help is not unconditional.  I he offends the gods, they will turn against him.

9/.  The hero is very likely to offend the gods, because he has failings.  He knows the rules, and the importance of following the rules, but he does not always do it.  The hero can be rash, devious, mean-minded, boastful, ungrateful, overbearing, foolish, arrogant.  Worst of all perhaps, so far as the gods are concerned, he can get above himself and forget that while he is superhuman, he is not yet as god.  When the hero steps out of line, one or more of the gods, or Fate, will intervene to bring him back to earth.

The session covered:

A recap of some of the information about hero Conor Mac Nessa – the mythological King of Ulster.   Conor possessed all the most desirable qualities in a king- skilled warrior and wise and fair in his judgements, but there was also another less positive side to his character.

The legend of Deirdre and the Sons of Uisnech.  In this legend there was a beautiful girl called Deirdre, a nurse, a Druid, Conor Mac Nessa, a young handsome warrior called Naoise who was one of the sons if Uisnech and a prophecy concerning the future of Ulster.  All did not end well for Ulster via a very complicated narrative involving duty, symbolism, betrayal, and conflicting and unresolvable loyalties.

There were a large cast of characters including Ferghus Mas Rioch a Red Branch champion who was a complex character of prodigious appetites but a strong moral code.  It was suggested in earlier mythology that he was a fertility god who then morphed into a warrior hero.  Ferghus is also featured in the epic tale of the Cattle Raid of Cooley along with Queen Medb of Connacht.

These myths are very early, for example The Book of the Dun Cow was written in the 12^th century using language seen in the 8^th century.

References:-

Proinsias Mac Cana , “Celtic Mythology”,  Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1969

Michael Dames, “Ireland A Sacred Journey”, Element Books; New edition, 2000

Miranda J Green, “Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend”, Thames & Hudson; 2nd Edition,1997

As at September 2017, these are available on the internet.

Dr Colin Wright was the speaker on 7th September 2017. He gave a fascinating talk and demonstration of juggling and some of the maths behind the art.

Here are the links to the YouTube videos of his talk:

Colin Wright, juggler and mathematician – part 1 (30 minutes)

Colin Wright, juggler and mathematician – part 2 (30 minutes)

Colin Wright, juggler and mathematician – part 3 (20 minutes)

Hope you enjoy watching.

Seven members of the group attended this, the group’s second visit to this site.  It was a mostly cloudy but clear morning with good visibility across the Mersey Estuary where we could see there were lots of waders on the far side but they were too distant to identify even through a telescope.  A total of 25 species were recorded, mainly in the grounds and woodland surrounding the hall – for a list of species seen, click ‘Continue reading’:

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Great Crested Grebe on nest at Carr Mill Dam

Eleven members attended this, the group’s first visit to Sankey Valley Country Park and Carr Mill Dam, St Helens.  We benefited from having Dave Owen, one of the Rangers, to guide us round this extensive and varied site.

A total of 47 species were recorded on this visit – for a complete list of sightings click ‘Continue Reading’:

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Access to this ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’ is restricted to permit holders and we were guided on this visit by Douglas Buchanan, a member of the Woolston Eyes Conservation Group.  From the ornithological point of view this site is home to a breeding colony of the rare Black-necked Grebe and we were fortunate enough to see about ten adult birds along with several chicks.  (None of us managed to get a good photograph this year however so this picture is one taken by group member Graham Cawdell last year.)

The conservation group’s website includes lists of sightings, photographs and other interesting information which can be reached by clicking here.

Another interesting sighting this year was a pair of immature (2nd summer) Mediterranean Gulls, one of which was ringed and the conservation group’s website includes an on 31st May showing where this bird has been recorded since it was ringed in 2015.

Six members of the group attended this visit and a total of 44 species were recorded.  For a complete list of sightings click ‘Continue Reading’:

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U3A golfers on holiday in the Algarve, March 2017, organised by Brad Millar.

Click on photo to enlarge

Billy Coleman sang some Sounds of the Sixties for us and introduced us to Just Midnight an Acapella Group who were ‘Just Marvellous’.   A great afternoons entertainment.

We are now on our summer break. (I’m just beginning to understand why retired people need one!) Meetings will resume in September, probably on the 11th. This is a double change, switching from the first and third Mondays to the second, which will allow us to use HQ and also reverting from twice to once-a-month.

Peter Lloyd’s popular Beer Appreciation group features in the June 2017 issue of “Sources”, the educational journal of the Third Age Trust. Written by Peter Lloyd and Barry Carr a year ago, the article has at last appeared in print.

Click on the small image for a larger version.

Bill Evans entertained us with his great selection of funny videos and clips.  Followed of course by tea and cakes.

The Philharmonic Concerts Group enjoyed a special occasion on 31st May this year, marking 50 years since The Beatles’ “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” revolutionised popular music. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra teamed up with the well known Bootleg Beatles to recreate all the tracks on the famous album, plus a few more for good measure.

Another Great day out in the Uk’s most friendly City – we cannot disagree – it really was great fun in Liverpool. We visited The Sanctuary – a new Micro Bar;  The Crown – where we enjoyed some very nice Pub Grub;  The White Star;  The Canarfon Castle;  The Victoria Cross and Ma Edgertons.  Great old pubs and brilliant atmosphere in them all.

Click on picture to enlarge

Another of our regular sites which we try to visit at different times of the year.  A lovely day, mostly sunny or light cloud and with little wind, made good conditions for bird watching.

The morning and early afternoon were spent at main site before visiting the hides located on the edge of Morecambe Bay for the final part of the visit.

Star of the show was the spoonbill seen at the Morecambe Bay hide:

For a complete list of sightings and more pictures from this visit, click ‘Continue Reading’:

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One of our regular sites which we often visit at this time of year when some of the winter visitors are still present and summer visitors have started to arrive for the breeding season. There is also always a chance at this time of the year of spotting migrating birds flying overhead or dropping in to feed before continuing their journey. Unfortunately the weather conditions – mostly cloudy with a strong and blustery northerly wind prevented any migrant sightings on this visit.

The feeding station near the woodland hide virtually guarantees sightings of bullfinches and many other woodland and garden birds.

The lack of leaves at this time of year makes it easier to locate birds heard singing in the trees, but they are still difficult to photograph as this picture of a Chiffchaff taken by Bill Hale illustrates:

Despite the weather conditions this visit was well attended, 15 members of the group being present.

Click ‘Continue reading’ for the full list of species seen:

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June was away this session so the group did some research and had a discussion.

The session covered:

Maya – This starts with a watery void with grandfather and grandmother deities.  These deities gave birth to twin brothers one of whom was known as the Maize God who married and fathered two sons.  Following a ball game the twins were summoned to the underworld where after a series of trials they were sacrificed.  The Maize God’s severed head magically impregnated the daughter of an underworld god who gave birth to another set of twin brothers who were called the Hero Twins.  The Hero Twins excelled as hunters, ball players and tricksters.  They tricked their half-brothers’ turning them into monkey men who were patrons of all the arts.

In the Maya myth the creation is an iterative process.  The creation is imperfect so the cycle ends and the god tries again.  The first beings were made from mud, the second from wood, third is flesh and the fourth is maize dough which is the current cycle.

Valleys of the Chibcha – These people lived in the mountain valleys of what is now Colombia to the North of the Inca empire.  Their myth starts with darkness then the god Chiminigagua sets the light within him free using a flock of great black birds to disperse it.  Later he sets up the sun in the sky and the moon.  This god did not make man this was done by a female god Bachue and her son and they procreated and their off-spring populated the world.

Inca Creation Myths – These accounts were recorded by priests, from information on pottery, architecture and the legends which survived amongst the native people.  The world started as covered in darkness then out of a lake, the modern Lake Titicaca, a god called Con Tiqui Viracocha emerged.  More detailed information on this can be found via the Crystalinks site, details in the reference section of this post.  Many familiar themes come up.

Inca –  Chac the god of rain who covered the four corners of the world.

Northern Andean Tribes – An all powerful divinity called Sibu who had the power to grow men and animals from seeds.

Rubber Ball – A new item is the rubber ball which comes up more than once and is something of an enigma.  The rubber ball had associated ball courts where sacrifices and prayers were made.

Common South American themes –

Dark world, water as a source of people, birds, maize, trees and tree of life.  The South American myths are bird orientated.

Common World Themes–

There are common creation myth themes such as a great flood.

Although the land masses were separate, due to climatic conditions there was a greater uptake of water into ice which lowered the sea levels considerably by around 300 feet.  There would have been land bridges which we don’t see today.  Changes in climate conditions would have encouraged people to migrate, taking with them their myths and folklore.  It is estimated that at one point the human population may have dropped to fewer the 10,000 people.

References:-

There is a lot of information available online and in books, some of the sources used in the discussion are listed below.

Link to the map of human migration on national Geographic Site :- https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/human-journey/

World Mythology in Bite-Sized Chunks-M.Daniels-(M.O’Mara Books 2016.) Useful handbook to dip into as reference/guide. Short bibliography & website info.

Mythology – An Illustrated anthology of World Myth and Storytelling “ edited by C Scott Littleton , published by Duncan Baird Publishers . ISN 1-904292-00-3. Second hand copies are available on Amazon from about £4 + p&p, more recent edition for £10

The Maya eight edition Michael D Cole, published by Thames & Hudson ISBN 978-0-500-28902-0

The Mesoamerican Ballgame by Vernon L Scarborough 1993 ISBN 978-0-8165-1360-4

Link to Crystalinks Inca Creation Myths – http://www.crystalinks.com/incacreation.html

An Afternoon at the Movies – Three short films selected by Denise which between the three of us we managed to present.   The popcorn went down well and we have delicious  cakes with our tea and coffee.

Our famous raconteur Pearl Webster entertained us and Pauline Jones made us laugh with her regional poems

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Ten members of the group attended this, our first visit to Marbury Country Park near Northwich, Cheshire.  The weather was cloudy but fine in the morning, brightening up after lunch.  Marbury is an extensive site with a wide variety of habitats and a total of 53 different species were recorded.

Definitely worth another visit!

Click ‘Continue reading’ for the full list of species seen:

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The session covered:

North America-

The myths of the people of the First Nations, this was an oral tradition so information was transcribed.

In the previous session we covered the Huron and Iroquois myths, they were located north of Lake Erie, around the USA/Canada Border.

The Maidu people were located in what is now known as California.  If you have access to the internet for browsing there is a web site which covers this legend in detail http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheCreation-Maidu.html, there are other sites available.  It starts with a dark water filled world with two ‘persons’ floating on a raft, Turtle and Father-of-the-Secret-Society.  The Earth-Initiate came down from the sky onto the raft, his face is never seen but his body shines like the sun.  Similar to the Sky Father in other myths.  From here the land is created by tiny amounts of mud brought up from the sea bed by Turtle.  The Earth-Initiate calls his sister the sun and his brother the moon, he called the stars and they appeared.  Humans were made from the red earth.  Life is made to be easy but when the Earth-Initiate went back above the Coyote brought hard work.  When people die they go to the spirit house in the West.

Tuscarora people are one of the 6 nations of the Iroquois from where North Carolina is now.  It explains how the Sky Holder made the world and the plants and animals.  A long time later he created 6 pairs of humans and told each pair where to live.  The Sky Holder took the Tuscaroras further south towards the Roanoke River, and stayed with them and taught them.  They were the preferred people as he did not stay with any of the others.

Haida people were located along the coast of what is now British Columbia.  The Raven is the central figure who created rocks out of the water so he could rest.  These became the Queen Charlotte Islands.  The Raven made two women from sea shells and only later was a man created by throwing limpet shells at one of the women.

These myths have the common themes such as the ocean/water similar to the primeval sea, a mother earth type figure, sky spirits, good/evil.  There are similarities between the North America and Australia myths where people are seen to have animal ancestors.

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Useful Reference – A. W. Reed Aboriginal Myths, Legends and Fables, 1982, Reed New Holland, Sydney, 2000.

This can be found by searching on the internet and may be available second hand book shops.

The session covered:

Australian creation myths continued-

Great Spirit Father – this was a belief in the south east of Australia, he was  known by a number of names and in the new South Wales he was called Baiame, he was thought, non-corporeal.  He shaped the earth and all on it by thought alone.

The session looked more deeply at two myths associated with Baiame.  Baiame and Marmoo and Baiame and Man.

• Baiame and Marmoo – how the world created by Baiame was changed by Marmoo the Spirit of Evil and the opposite of all that was good.
• Baiame and Man – the creation of the world by thought, how day and night were created.  The creation of man incorporating the wisdom and majesty of Baiame and the subsequent creation of woman.

Great Mother Myth – Most of the myths are male dominated but in some parts of the Northern Territories there is the Great Mother.  The Great Mother wandered the Earth in Dreamtime and gave birth to all living things.

Diverse Themes – The Ancestor Myths which are very physical and the Spirit Myths are very different.

The group discussed how this could come about.  It has been suggested ancestor myths are older than the Great Spirit myths and reflect an earlier belief system which was replaced as people became more sophisticated.

An alternative view is that the Great Spirit myths were influenced by contact with Europeans/Christians.  There is a contra view which is that these were likely to be much older than that as they occur in areas where there was little or no contact such as the outback.

North America-

Covering the myths of the people of the First Nations.  This was an oral tradition.

Huron and Iroquois myth. – In 1874 information was recorded from a Huron Chief when he was 70 remembering the traditions from when he was young.  A woman fell from the sky and a Great Turtle  brought earth from the sea bed to make land for the woman to live on.  This grew larger to form a great country which was borne on the back of the Great Turtle.  The woman had twins a Bad Brother and a Good Brother.

This topic will be completed next session.

We were highly entertained by Dee with Keyboard Music and a great story quiz supported by Pat then Peter Gateley gave us a most informative and entertaining talk on Leaves

Leaves

Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff in flight – photo by Bill Hale

Black-tailed Godwit – photo by Tony Leigh

Ten members of the group attended our first outing of 2017, with four staying on for the afternoon.  The weather was fine and sunny in the morning but increasingly cloudy after lunch.

A total of 52 species were seen with large flocks of Whooper Swans; Pink-footed and Greylag Geese; Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff being among the highlights of this visit.

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