Scapa Beach, St. Ola, Orkney
by John Leith
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Scapa Beach, St. Ola, Orkney |
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This is where the Scapa burn comes out and is just below the Scapa Distillery. It was a nice clear day when I set out to take this picture but the clouds were rolling in by the time I got to the beach. I liked the quality of the light so I took the picture anyway.
At the west end of he Scapa Beach there is the start of a cliff top path. This path passes beside the...
Orkney International Science Festival 2011, Vintage RallyThe OISF is an annual festival which has exp...
Orkney International Science Festival 2011, Vintage RallyThe OISF is an annual festival which has exp...
2010 saw the twenty fifth aniversary of the re-enstatement of the Riding of the Marches around the Bu...
Riding the Marches of the Borough of Kirkwall was re-started in 1986 and since then has taken place o...
Scapa is to the South of Kirkwall. There is a narrow piece of land between Kirkwall and Scapa. In tim...
A memorial to HMS Royal Oak which was sunk just a couple of miles south of this spot. There is a car ...
St Olaf's Kirkyard is the main kirkyard for Kirkwall.From here there is a good view over Scapa and in...
Muddisdale wood is a millenium project and is maturing nicely. It is a woodland and wildlife area nex...
In November, Shearer's which is a shop in Kirkwall sets up a room with an old fashioned Christmas the...
Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.
The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.
Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".
Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights.
In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states.
Text by Steve Smith.
