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Z6s Daagse Van Vlaanderen Gent
Thursday Report
Return to Reports & Results
British 6-Day Correspondent
72nd Z6s Daagse Vlaanderen Gent - The 2012 Edition
Once again the wheels will whirr, the crowds will flock and the beer will flow at the 72nd Six-days of Flanders, Ghent (Zes-Daages Van Vlaanderen, Gent) starting in the legendary Het Kuipke on Tuesday.
With the big German sixes in Dortmund and Munich consigned to the history books 'Ghent's Classic' status is now undisputed and is the main event of the pre-Christmas European track calendar. An estimated 36,000 plus fans will create the atmosphere from the seated stands, and in something unique to Ghent, the standing room only track centre. On the old 166 metre boards the 26 cyclists will embark on their race to nowhere. That journey is never easy, as the programme is loaded with racing that by the weekend lasts for 6 hours each night.
The start list which Sports Director Patrick Sercu announced last week, does like last year, lack big names. However, the return of local hero Iljo Keisse to that list should be enough to keep the knowledgeable local fans happy. This is Flanders after all and a bike race is still a bike race, but this Six like any other needs a star attraction. Being born and bred in Ghent, Keisse is undoubtedly that. So despite a below par event, by the usual high standards last year, I will be heading out to Ghent for the 17th consecutive year hoping to see fast and furious racing.
Here is a look at the starting field:
The Favourites
The aforementioned Iljo Keisse starts as the favourite, although his 2012 partner Glenn O'Shea, is not exactly a Six-day veteran and has no victories in his palmares. That said, Australians have a long history of success in Ghent and his pursuit strength and Keisses' speed on his home track seem like a good match. After 130 days of racing this year, Keisse said he isn't sure how well he'll be going, but is aiming for his 6th win in Het Kuipke. If they gel, stopping them may be tough, as long as the rest of the field doesn't throw up an obvious winning pair.
Other Podium Contenders
Kenny De Ketele fulfilled his dream and conquered the Kuipke in his 7th start last November alongside Robert Bartko. The affable 27 year old from Oudenaarde has had a great year. He and partner Gijs Van Hoecke became the first Belgian World Madison Champions since six-day legends Etienne De Wilde & Matt Gilmore in 1998. They will race Ghent in the rainbow stripes and will in fact be the first Belgian team to ever wear the rainbow stripes as Madison Champs in Het Kuipke. Following a serious crash, Gilmore was unable to race with De Wilde in the 1998 edition. They are being touted as being among the favourites based on De Keteles pedigree in Het Kuipke, but Van Hoecke is an unknown quantity in Six-day racing. The rainbow stripes are no guarantee of six-day success, as the Worlds are won in one full on hour, not six tactically hard nights/days. That said, the jerseys alone should provide the extra motivation to get them close to the podium
Keisse described the big German, Robert Bartko, at the press conference as 'strong like a V8 engine'. The native of Potsdam has three career wins in Ghent to his name, and despite being a big man he copes very well on the short straights and tight bends. His partner Silvan Dillier from Switzerland, at 22, is only in his second year racing with seniors, but has track speed. So, with the experience of Bartko, not to mention that V8 engine, they remain close come Sunday afternoon.
The runners up last year were Dutchman Peter Schep, who was a winner in 2010, and Wim Stroetinga. On paper they are a classic Six-day pairing of endurance man, (Schep) and sprinter (Stroetinga), so they will rack up points and post fast times in the time trials (TTs) on the 166 metre track. Stroetinga does have a self professed dislike of the important elimination races, so he will need to do better in the chase for points. Last year he was sick during the race but maintained his speed, if not his stamina, for the first time at this level showing he can now last in the up and down, none stop nature of a Six-day race. With his extra strength and maturity alongside Scheps engine and track experience, this team may well be the leading challengers to Keisse and O'Shea.
Young Belgian hope Tosh Van Der Sande, once again teams with the experienced and classy Leif Lampater. This pairing came in 4th, just a lap behind the winners last year. Another year older and stronger after a season on the road with the Lotto team, Van Der Sande and perennial contender Lampater, are poised to make a run at the top step of the podium this time out.
The Rest of the field
Looking at the rest of the teams in number order below, gives a pointer (although only based on my knowledge), as to who may do what over the course of the week.
The Frenchman Morgan Kneisky took a fine 3rd place last year, with Marc Hester, showing himself as a very good Madison rider. This year he teams with countryman Vivien Brisse, someone I know little about. The best French team on paper would probably have been Kneisky and Bryan Coquard, but the latter is not here. It could be a tough week for the French.
As mentioned, Marc Hester was 3rd last year and had his first ever Six-day win at home in Copenhagen to finish his best ever season in February. The word was, the 27 year old Hester has matured and become a lot more serious about his racing after just being part of the peleton for a number of seasons. Challenging won't be on the agenda this year though, as he teams with fellow Dane Lasse Norman Hansen, the winner of the Omnium gold medal at the London Olympics. At 20, despite the gold medal, he is very much untried at this level of Six-day racing and how he'll perform is difficult to predict. With the foundations for Omnium gold being laid against the clock in those Olympics, perhaps doing well in the crowd pleasing TT's will be the goal?
This is one of a few Sixes that Franco Marvulli never won during his magical couple of seasons racing with Bruno Risi, something I'm sure he'd love to put right. It's unlikely that it'll be this year though, as he sets out on his first season racing with Swiss hope Tristan Marguet, especially as he (Marvulli) was ill earlier in the season, having to abandon in Amsterdam. With Zurich only a week away there lies another reason he is never been able to leave it all on the track in Ghent. But, although no longer the young gun at 34, Franco is still a talent, and if he and Marguet can gel well over the winter it maybe that he can play the veteran of the partnership and challenge for that elusive 'classic' win next year.
Munich native Christian Grasmann gets a second successive start in Ghent having been previously overlooked since 2006. With the pool of strong Six-day riders being thin, he's proved he can hold his place in the bunch for six 'full on' days. He'll partner South African novice Nolan Hoffman, who is making a run at being the first black rider to break into the Sixes since Brit, Maurice Burton in the late 1970's. He is another rider I know little about, apart from the fact he won a scratch race silver medal at the 2012 World Championships. He finished a whopping 23 laps back in Amsterdam, despite having a good partner. (Marc Hester) That said, the field is thin, so it may not be as bad for him, lap loss wise, as it might have been 5 to 10 years ago.
The Belgians
There are 10 Belgian riders on this years start list, something that reflects the trend amongst Six-day organisers for filling up the fields with local, and cheap riders. Of those 10, only Keisse, De Ketele, Van Hoecke and Van Der Sande have any chance of finishing near the top of the tree on Sunday. The rest face a hard six days.
Team 10 are Jasper De Buyst and Tim Mertens, the latter having raced here with reasonable success over the last 5 years or so.This year Mertens is cast into the role of looking after a young debutant. That rookie being De Buyst, another rider I know little about. There is not even a amateur placing to comment on.
Next up are Jonathan Breyne and Steve Schets. The debutant of this pair, Breyne, did ride the amateur Six last year, but wasn't even close to a win then. His partner, Schets made his Ghent debut back in 2005 when he and Kenny De Ketele were themselves the young hopefuls. Their careers have taken differing paths, as De Ketele has gone from strength to strength, Schets didn't even start last year, a reflection of some torrid times in Het Kuipke. In 2007 he suffered humilation losing over 80 laps with Ingmaar De Poortere. That performance meant neither man got a start in 2008. He returned in 2009 to lose 48 laps and despite a Worlds bronze in 2010, his last Ghent Six was another disaster finishing in last place with a 44 lap deficit. He did have back problems in the past, so if those are resolved he'll want to prove that the real Steve Schets was the promising rider seen in 2005 and 2006. However, with a novice partner it could be another long and painful five nights for Schets before Sunday afternoons finish.
Like Steve Schets, Nicky Coquyt had a tough few starts between 2007-2009 and with no improvement made, he seemed to have disappeared off the radar. But in these times of austerity he makes a return looking after another Belgian rookie, Moreno De Pauw, headed for a baptism of fire.
Unlucky 13?
Team number 13 is an all German affair, featuring rookie Max Stahr and Berlin born (Austrian national team rider) Andreas Muller. The young Stahr had some decent results in the UIV Cup last winter but this is a different proposition. The likeable Muller takes the role of taxi driver. His morale is always high and it'll need to be as they'll no doubt be losing laps night after night. The motivation will be to avoid the wooden spoon. He'll celebrate his 33rd birthday on Sunday and if 'Mulli' is in good condition they'll aim to finish ahead of a couple of the Belgian teams, avoiding not only being Team 13, but finishing 13th in the standings!!!
Full start list:
1 Kenny de Ketele - Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel)
2 Peter Schep - Wim Stroetinga (Ned)
3 Morgan Kneisky - Vivien Brisse (Fra)
4 Tosh van der Sande (Bel) - Leif Lampater (Ger)
5 Lasse Norman Hansen - Marc Hester (Den)
6 Iljo Keisse (Bel) - Glenn O'Shea (Aus)
7 Franco Marvulli - Tristan Marguet (Swi)
8 Christian Grasmann (Ger) - Nolan Hoffman (RSA)
9 Robert Bartko (Ger) - Silvan Dillier (Swi)
10 Jasper De Buyst - Tim Mertens (Bel)
11 Jonathan Breyne - Steve Schets (Bel)
12 Nicky Coquyt - Moreno De Pauw (Bel)
13 Max Stahr (Ger) - Andreas Müller (Aut)
The Six-day season so far:
The only two races so far saw the following results:
Winners - Morkov (Den) / Lighart (Ned)
Grenoble (4 Day)
Winners - Keisse (Bel) / Keisse (Bel)
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The Agricultural Syndicate of Bràfim was founded in 1930 with the goal of defending the farmers' production, improving the process of agricultural production and marketing the products of its associates.
Later on, in 1985, and according to the Law 4/1983 for Catalan Cooperatives; it changed its name to Agricultural Cooperative of Bràfim and Rural Bank of Bràfim, Cooperative Society Ltd. It is currently constituted by the Cooperative itself and a Loan Section.
The organisation has five sections: wine, nuts, Almàssera, deliveries/agro-shop and a loan section which is a kind of financial institution for cooperative members.
The company's activity is elaborating quality wines and from 1998 a new stage begins, where elaborated wine is bottled for its further marketing.
Our efforts in the production process have led to technical improvements and an optimal use of our resources in order to obtain a best quality wine.
The cooperative elaborates exclusively grapes from its members’ vineyards which are situated in the villages of Bràfim, Vilabella, Nulles, Puigpelat, Alió and Montferri and which belong to the 160 members, who are currently associated to the Cooperative wine section.
These vineyards are included in the DO Tarragona (regions labels/guarantee of vintage), DO Catalonia and DO Cava.
The Cooperative elaborates annually 15,000 bottles with the new trademark Trempera.
Joan Josep Raventós Coral
M del Carme Palau i Amill
Wine-producer
Joan Gil i Mestre
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The Mansion Gardens - Alan Morrison
Click on cover image above for a
full pdf download of the book
Paula Brown Publishing, 2006
perfect bound 172pp
ISBN 1-905168-11-X
£8 including p&p
order from paulabrownpublishing@btinternet.com or visit http://www.thepeoplespoet.com/paulabrownpublishing/themansiongardens.htm to download order form
http://www.thepeoplespoet.com/paulabrownpublishing/Mansionpressrelease.doc to download press release
Alan Morrison © 2006
Review of The Mansion Gardens
London Magazine, April/May 2007
It would seem from the three forewords to Alan Morrison's book that he is an unreconstructed socialist - 'a convinced and historically aware Socialist in the 21st century'; ...and, most unusual of all, one greatly influenced by that doyen of the Poetry Bookshop and apologist for the Georgian poets, Harold Monro. To a slightly lesser degree, Morrison's other great mentor is another Edwardian, the poet John Davidson who committed suicide in Cornwall. His three introducers also emphasise Morrison's possession of an individual voice in his verse. And verse he does write: varied and regular.
I stare up at the blanched Van Gogh
by the toothpaste-spattered sink;
the ticking of the crippled clock
decides it isn't time to think;
I haven't read Davidson's poetry for many years, but from memory of his Collected Poems those lines do have the flavour of 'Thirty Bob a Week', a sad but great poem about a man's struggle against poverty to look after wife and child. Morrison, too, it would seem ('A Day at the Council Estates') grew up in poverty; this fact, coupled with a compassionate nature, destined him to struggle in his poetry against the Furies of Feeling. But like Davidson, he wisely has opted to hammer out controlling forms for his poetry; the 'form' is often well-disguised as in this stanza from 'Tales from the Empty Larder':
I can't stand scant catechisms
of tremors in an empty stomach;
the stench of hunger-scented breath
where a full belly's the only tonic;
the famished itch in-between the teeth
where only food can feed relief.
Morrison has a useful ear for formal verse....
...A sequence like, for instance, 'The Gospels of Gordon Road', where the urge is to memorialise, or 'The House of Sadness Past' where the poet returns
...through the ghostly photo
of hollow windows' gormless glare
an emptied relative's frozen stare;
grope up the slanting path into
its blossom-grey, cabbage-white
wintry circumstance, now time's
passed trace of us there...
there is an impulse at work subordinating form to the expression's greater purpose....
Morrison's central preoccupation is time and mortality, and the wrestle with loss of faith. He is a young and talented poet and one who can move our sense of pity and sorrow in the manner of Hardy:
I remember I was barely fed,
Eleven or twelve in a freezing bed
Damp with doubts, wanting outs,
Drift off and dream forever...
Thought I wanted to be dead...
'Go to sleep', dad said...
It would not be right, nor accurate, to conclude this perusal of The Mansion Gardens without mentioning some of the longer poems towards the back of the volume: poems which are informed by the poet's other great preoccupation: Socialism. In particular, the discursive pieces like 'Keir Hardie Street', with its London setting, or his poem 'Rats, Cats and Kings', which is Morrison's kind of homage to Orwell's Homage to Catalonia. These add an interesting dimension to the book and give promise of, maybe, an important long poem for the future.
William Oxley
Alan Morrison is an out of the ordinary writer. His work abounds with strangely named characters like Short Shanks the Shopkeeper and The Turpentine Prophet. The poetry in here will appeal to many a reader’s socialist feelings and includes a selection of Morrison’s epigrams, or as he refers to them - obverbs. There are also lengthy pieces like Rats, Cats and Kings, a homage to Orwell in Catalonia and a number of poems written in a kind of Joycean verbalesque manner. If you think you’d enjoy a mulligatawny of poetry served up, not by a flyblown waiter, but by a creative and thoughtful poet seeking to enrich the language, both with and without pub beer wisdom, then this handsome 172-page volume could be just the thing for you.
Gwilym Williams, Pulsar
"...violence in the city centre ('Battle
of Trafalgar Street') through to Hardyesque meditations on raw nature ('Mist'). Captivating"
Rocks Magazine, Brighton
"...superb – 'Martin Goth' has me in tears every time - it is so powerful; 'Deaths Breathtaking View' - brilliant! 'The Luxury of Despair', ‘Five Minute Infinity’… so many that I can relate to, enjoy, appreciate - I just read it and nod to myself! I keep talking to everyone about The Mansion Gardens - it is by a mile the best poetry collection I have ever read"
Sally Richards, poet
"I had to stop going back over things, give myself a stern talking-to about savouring and turn out the light... so many fine things. I shall be coming back to it for a proper wallow at the first opportunity"
David Savoury, FRSL
"Outstanding! I really enjoy the depth and passion of this poetry. I love the anarchy and the well drawn characters. Excellent, excellent book"
Carolina de la Cruz, poet
"...the ideas are excellent...A darting and practical mind infuses life into a wide range of issues with poetic fervour, which should not be lost to any audience, and the reasonable book price makes it well worth obtaining" - Eric Ratcliffe, New Hope International
"From this book, and from his previous collections, I do become aware of Morrison's definite personal voice, his own unique verbal DNA. This seems true even when, in snatches, I am reminded of Dylan Thomas, especially of his Under Milk Wood. Morrison is on the whole, probably at his best in autobiographical vein. ...plenty of very good touches throughout the book (e.g., in 'Dole and Genealogy', 'A Summer Night's Travels' and stanza 8 in 'The House of Sadness Past') as well as in 'Forgive-Me-Not'; 'Nostalgia'; 'The China Kingfisher'; 'My Life in the Shade'; 'The House of Sadness Past'; 'The Guilty Building'; 'A Photo of Vaughan Williams'; 'Beatitudes'; 'At Least Tomorrow's Wednesday'; 'Rats, Cats and Kings'; 'A Mighty Absence'. I am tempted to add 'Keir Hardie Street' for its strong imaginative narrative and its venture into a world of Blakeian optimism, bringing his vision of Jerusalem into the present day. This poem reminds me of Blake's impressive watercolour Jacob's Dream (1805). But for me the best poem in the book is undoubtedly 'My Life in the Shade'. It presents, poignantly and without frills, the quintessential Alan Morrison. Its brilliant beginning is sustained throughout the whole. It makes telling and meaningful use of an excellent refrain, a success not often encountered these days. In this poem Morrison has come to sharply-focused grips with himself without any striving for effect, telling it like he truly feel it is. To my mind this poem deserves to be in every anthology of 21st Century verse in English. – Norman Buller, poet
"Keir Hardie Street really is something else... It's up there with the likes of Walcott. I do love its verbal cartooning... But I love above all else the voices and the vision of this modern masterpiece" –
John O'Donoghue
Other Poetry, Series II/No. 32, Autumn 2007
In effect, this is a series of mini-collections between two covers. As such, it offers a true showcase of Alan Morrison's range. His poetic eye is restless in the best sense: tone of voice, choice of subject, angle of approach – all are varied. The ambiguously titled 'Life's Brief', for example, makes the concept of life all the more vivid by presenting it in terms that recall biblical images of the hereafter. This sense of life as after-life (and, perhaps, purgatory) is taken further in 'Timétations', a sequence in which time often takes material (and distinctly unpleasing) form.
Morrison can be equally interesting in character poems. 'Dark, Sun and Thunder' presents Miss Gayler, an archetypal landlady with stratagems galore to keep her lodgers just this side of uncomfortable...
Here and elsewhere, Morrison employs a form somewhere between discursive lyric and ballad, giving the speaker leeway to warm to his theme (and sometimes boil over to striking effect, as the Orwell-inspired 'Rats, Cats and Kings' testifies). At the other end of the scale come tight, aphoristic poems such as 'The Sound of Eating'. in which the speaker recalls his Fabian [great-] grandfather's concern for 'best ways of feeding/ empty bellies of the down-at-heel' – only to reveal that [great-] grandad himself ate in private...
The Mansion Gardens is indeed a worthwhile enterprise. To have so much Morrison in one volume is instructive and, very often, illuminating.
Michael W. Thomas
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Episode 33 - Camping in Style
In the previous Episode:
After a day of training, Kiel and Elaru return to Hot Pot, only to find two battlemages in Rroda uniforms waiting for them in front of Hot Pot. The two decide to avoid the men with unknown motives and not to return to Hot Pot.
Episode 33 – Camping in Style
Elaru scratched her head sheepishly. “Do you have any friends living in Ashar that would let us crash at their place for a night?”
“Me? I don’t have any friends in Beyd let alone Ashar! What about you? Aren’t you supposed to be an adventurer? Surely you know a lot of people who’d be willing to help out.”
Elaru chuckled awkwardly. “I guess we have no choice but to sleep in the forest?”
Kiel’s face turned sour. He looked back towards Hot Pot. “You know…now that I think about it…those guys might not be here for me at all. Why don’t I just go and have a little chat with them…hey! Where are you going? Come back!”
Elaru didn’t even wait for him to finish before she flew back in the same direction they came from. Kiel “tsked” but nonetheless chose to follow. Sleeping on the hard ground wasn’t that bad…maybe Elaru could do some magic and transmute the ground into soft sand? However, the trip back was a pain…
He wouldn’t have complained had he known the disaster he had just avoided.
If Elaru had been less observant that night, Kiel’s path as the student of the Ashar University of Magic would have ended then and there.
No. Actually, there were no ‘ifs’ involved.
Elaru was never “less observant”. For 18 years she had lived on the edge, one step away from the bottom of the cliff. It took only a second of negligence, a single slow reaction, a single misstep, for her to end up at the bottom of the cliff.
It wasn’t that she searched for irregularities and suspicious behavior. It wasn’t that she was paranoid and edgy. No. The closer she was to the edge, the calmer she became. Her constant flawless awareness of her surroundings had stopped being a conscious decision long ago. It had seeped deep into her bones becoming second nature. Something she didn’t think about, something that happened on its own.
It was the edge that pushed her to improve, to absorb all knowledge she came into contact with like a sponge, to constantly improve in every way. To not make mistakes.
Yet, no matter how she walked along the edge, she was unable to reach the summit of the cliff, to reach the top and look down at all creation.
What chained her back was time.
Time. The most valuable commodity that no amount of money could buy. Something effort and talent couldn’t surpass.
Time constantly went forward, never retreating or slowing down.
Time already passed was forever lost.
(Meanwhile in the Rroda Mainhouse, Ashar)
Venric Rroda looked at the large clock hanging on the wall of his office, a slight frown making its way to his face.
“Lawrence. Did you send someone to pick Kiel Rroda up?” The iciness of his voice was enough to cause people to shudder.
His mood was exceedingly sour. His men had combed through the estate two times already, not finding anything out of the ordinary. To anyone else, that would be good news. However, Venric Rroda didn’t view it in the same way.
If his men had found something out of the ordinary, the pechuh would be out of the bag. He would have found out the motive of Elaru Wayvin. No matter how capable or dangerous a person was, once their goal became clear, it would be easy to deal with them.
However, right now, he still knew absolutely nothing. That irked him to no avail. He was very clear on one thing: the most dangerous existences are those who cannot be seen through.
The most dangerous weapons were not giant great swords or axes. No; the most dangerous weapons were hidden weapons.
The most dangerous foes weren’t his most powerful enemies, but the ones that he didn’t even know he had.
Lawrence remained as calm as ever as if he couldn’t feel the icy atmosphere at all. “Yes, your grace.” He had indeed arranged some men to find the young master.
Venric eyes narrowed. “Why isn’t he here then?” Venric’s Mind always remained stretched to cover the whole estate. He could feel everyone coming in and out of the estate. And Kiel Rroda clearly was not among them.
Lawrence was wondering the same thing. How hard of a job could it be? He even sent two battlemages to ensure the job got carried out without a hitch. “Your grace, perhaps Kiel Rroda is no longer staying at the same inn? Or perhaps the men ran into some difficulty? I’ll send someone to inquire about the current situation.”
Lawrence observed his Lord closely, as Venric showed no signs of disagreement, he bowed and left the premises.
Having no place to go, Kiel and Elaru returned to the same clearing as before.
Elaru, once again, proved to be quite prepared. She found a nice spot, hidden from view, and with a slam of her foot, turned the earth in the radius of two meters into soft sand.
After that, she took out two rolls of green silk from her bags. The sheets of cloth seemed extremely thin and fragile.
She spread one of the rolls over the sand. Since the sheet was thin, the small roll managed to cover 4 square meters of ground – more than enough for both of them to lie comfortably on it.
She pulled out 4 small mana crystals from one of her pouches. She flicked them to fall on the corners of the silk blanket. Surprisingly, the crystals made the silk dip down into the sand, as if it was hit by a hammer.
Kiel’s eyes glittered in recognition. Those crystals were enchanted with a weight altering spell so they could become extremely light or heavy when used by a mage.
Elaru had altered their weight to become heavy so no wind would be able to blow away their blanket.
As he noticed that the thin blanket didn’t show any tears when hit by a heavy crystal, Kiel finally realized what the blanket was made out of – scaled spidersilk. Not only was it incredibly durable and flexible, but it was also resistant to heat and cold. It was an expensive material often used to create high-grade cloth armor.
Yet she was using it as a blanket?!
Scaled spidersilk as a blanket, weight altering crystals as anchors. Isn’t all of this a bit too extravagant? They were camping out in the open, yet she made their camp as comfortable as staying at an inn.
To top it all, she brought out her enchanted metal egg and aligned it properly to create a barrier around their campsite so no creatures or people could disturb them.
Then she laid down on the spread blanket and used the other roll of spidersilk to cover herself. Her face was blissful as if she was finally home.
Kiel was already turning numb to her surprises. He had an urge to open every single compartment Elaru had on her and check out what wonders hide within. None of the things she pulled out were shabby in any way. It made Kiel curious about what else she had inside. He even took note of the volume of everything she pulled out up to now and figured that there was still space inside her bags for more things.
After a while, he just sighed and lied on his back next to her.
What greeted him was a clear black sky, filled with countless glowing dots. The two moons circling Halnea were glowing brightly – one silvery white, one bright orange. In the depths, among the stars, one could even see vivid colored glittery clouds of dust.
Resting on the soft, silky blanket, surrounded by the beautiful scenery, Kiel finally understood why Elaru seemed to feel at home out in the open.
Her little gadgets removed all the bad sides from camping in the woods. No bugs, snakes or other critters could come through the barrier to bite them. No lupaxes or lunars could sneak attack them. The hard ground had turned soft and comfortable.
Without the drawbacks, all that were left were the benefits.
The beautifully lit night sky. The soft night breeze making the temperature feel just right. Countless quiet noises of the forest combined with the sounds of the nearby waterfall turned into a soothing lullaby.
Even though he was very excited for the tomorrow’s exams, even though his mind wasn’t quite ready to doze off. The tiredness of his body, coupled with the relaxing atmosphere overcame everything, lulling him to sleep.
His long eyelashes fluttered and soon his breathing became rhythmic and soothing.
Venric Rroda stared into thin air, deep in thought.
The report had just come in. Kiel Rroda and Elaru Wayvin never returned to the inn. Allegedly they left in the morning. When they had questioned the owner of the inn on whether they had checked out, the lady told them that Elaru Wayvin didn’t need to check out, since she had her own, exclusive room in the inn.
For a girl of unknown origin to have an exclusive room in an inn, didn’t leave him with a good feeling.
“Should I have their whereabouts investigated, your grace?” Lawrence, stood by his side, asking in a soothing tone.
“No.” Venric waved his hand in dismissal. “It is a pointless endeavor. Tomorrow is the first day of the exams. They’ll have no choice but to come take them. Send some men to wait for them in front of the University and prevent Kiel Rroda from entering.”
“Yes, your grace.”
Monday, 27th of August 1449 A.W.
Muni Exams: Day 1
When Kiel Rroda woke up that fine Monday morning, he was brimming with energy. Today was the first day of the exams. His rise to prominence started today!
Yet, instead of feeling thrilled, the first emotion that hit him was devastating regret.
Why?! Why didn’t I remember to place a fence between us?!
Although he felt warm and comfortable, his body stiffened and froze in place.
His arms were incredibly full. Full of warm, soft flesh, that, unfortunately, didn’t belong to himself.
Elaru was more lying on him than the blanket. She was using his chest as a pillow. Her body was tightly pressed against his. And to make matters worse, his hand was comfortably wrapped around her keeping her right where she was.
He couldn’t even blame it all on Elaru, because upon further inspection, it wasn’t her that made her way towards him during the night. No. Both of them had, again, congregated to the center of the blanket.
Kiel would have let out an anguished cry of “Why?!” if he wasn’t afraid of waking Elaru up. He needed to move out of this position, right now. This situation could only get more awkward with the passage of time.
But how could he move her away? She was lying on top of him. He couldn’t move at all. He couldn’t even use acceleration magic to make her float away from him gently because the vixen still had a dense layer of mage armor wrapped around her body.
How could she retain her mage armor in her sleep?? It made no sense!
His forehead was already drenched with cold sweat. From where their bodies touched, spread warm tingles that felt wonderful. Yet, Kiel didn’t find the situation wonderful in the least.
While his body was enjoying the sensation, his mind was in turmoil. This felt both absolutely right and undeniably wrong.
While his mind and body were sending mixed signals, even his heart joined in on the chaos – from his chest spread a dull ache.
Coming up in the next episode:
Yet, why is it that when he looked at her, he didn’t feel repulsed at all?
As soon as her body touched the floor, she jumped up like a frightened lunar, with its hair raised, hissing and puffing: “The heck?!”
Kiel let out an inward sigh of relief and jumped up on his feet. Disaster averted. God bless my quick wits!
Ashar University of Magic entrance exams, here we come!
When Kiel and Elaru arrived in front of the Ashar University of Magic, what greeted them was a large crowd of people filling up the entire huge courtyard.
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Chapel Bridge. The world-famous 660-year-old bridge, which burnt down in August 1993 and was reconstructed six months later, true to the original. See the paintings of the Swiss and local city history inside the covered bridge.
Lion of Lucerne (Löwendenkmal). “The Dying Lion of Lucerne“ figures among those monuments known all around the world. Globetrotter Mark Twain described the Lion of Lucerne as “the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world”. Denkmalstrasse (Bus no. 1 to Maihof, get off at Löwenplatz).
Glacier Gardens (Gletschergarten). The real history of the Swiss glaciers; a place not to be missed. Next to the Lion of Lucerne. Daily 10 am – 5 pm, admission CHF 12.-, students CHF 9.50, with guest card CHF 10.-. www.gletschergarten.ch
The Bourbaki Panorama, an 1100-sq metre circular painting, is one of the world’s few panorama paintings still existing. The scene is brought to life with recorded commentary (in English). At Löwenplatz 11. Open Mon 1 – 6 pm, Tue – Sun 9 am – 6 pm, admission CHF 8.- / students CHF 7.-. www.bourbakipanorama.ch
Collection and Picasso Donation Rosengart. The most recent museum in Lucerne. It owes its importance to two unique groups of works by Paul Klee and Pablo Picasso. Open daily 10 am – 6 pm, admission CHF 18.-, students CHF 16.-. Pilatusstrasse 10
Nature Museum (Naturmuseum) A permanent biological exhibition shows flora and fauna from Central Switzerland, and a variety of live animals can be seen in aquariums and terrariums. Kasernenplatz 6 (next to Spreuerbrücke), open Tue-Sun 10 am – 5 pm, closed on Mondays, admission CHF 6.- / students CHF 5.-. www.naturmuseum.ch
The Swiss Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus) is the biggest and best museum in Lucerne! A house full of attractions! More than 3,000 items are exhibited in a space as large as 40,000 square meters. Europe’s largest and most diversified transport museum has a planetarium , a giant-screen IMAX cinema (regular showings throughout the day), and the “Swiss Arena” – an eye-catching floor map of Switzerland and accompanying geographical puzzle. Lidostrasse 5 is 2 km east of the center. You can take a boat or bus no 6, 8 or 24 from Lucerne station to the “Verkehrshaus-Lido” stop, or else it’s a pleasant twenty-minute lakeside stroll. Open daily 10 am – 5 pm, admission CHF 24.- (museum only); CHF 16.- (IMAX only); or by a combi-ticket (museum and IMAX) for CHF 32.-. www.verkehrshaus.ch
Musegg Wall. A part of the rampart built in 1386; almost entirely intact. Three towers are open to the public: Schirmer, Zyt and Männli. The oldest city clock, built by Hans Luter in 1535, is on the Zyt tower. This clock is privileged to chime every hour one minute before all the other city clocks.
KKL (Culture and Convention Center Lucerne). The KKL (at Europaplatz, next to the station) is the work of the Parisian architect Jean Nouvel. It houses one of the finest concert halls in the world and the Museum of Art - the fourth largest in Switzerland
A major reason for coming to Lucerne at all is to explore the beautiful Lake Lucerne (not only in summer). All boats depart from the quay directly outside the station. Free with Eurail- and Swiss Pass, 50% off with Interail.
Mount Pilatus. An excursion to mount Pilatus (2,132 m / 7,000 ft) is an absolute must if you stay in Lucerne! www.pilatus.ch
The LucerneCard gives you unlimited travel on public transportation in the city, a 50% discount on admission to most of Lucerne’s museums and more. Costs CHF 19.- (24 hours), CHF 27.- (48 hours), CHF 33.- (72 hours). The LucerneCard is available at the tourist office and at the railway station.
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Feces is transported from Stockholm to the Archipelago.
Scientific articles Shit-pits and the archaeology of a lost economy
The skitgrop system was, to use popular words by today’s politicians, a “world-class re-cycling system” and a commercial practice that helped Stockholm handle its problems with garbage and feces. But more important is that the skitgrop system demonstrates the archipelago population’s trust in future farming. When buying feces and garbage for fertilizer, large economic and physical resources were invested
Published in the printed edition of Baltic Worlds BW 2019:2 pp 50-56
Published on balticworlds.com on juni 17, 2019
article as pdf Inga kommentarer till Shit-pits and the archaeology of a lost economy Share
Those who possess a treasure will guard it carefully and seek to preserve it or improve it.”1
It’s the end of May 2018 and I am returning to Stockholm from my family’s summer residence in the Stockholm archipelago. The property is from 1918 and I have spent my summers there since 1960, the same year that I was born. It was my maternal grandparents who bought the place after my English-born grandmother had inherited a sum of money. In those days the island had three farms, all more or less economically sustainable. Today there is only one left, and it will probably close down soon.
When waiting for the ferry, I talked with one of the inhabitants. When I asked her why she was not out on her jetty that much any more, she replied that there are too many sailing-yachts anchored close to it. She explains: “It’s like saying ‘Here I am, and who are you?’ It’s not that fun sunbathing when unknown people are watching you.” She also tells me that when her father came down to their jetty to use his boat, two young kids in a small rubber-boat asked him when he was leaving because they wanted his place at the jetty. Their parents were encouraging them from their sailing-yacht. He made clear that this was his property, but they did not take any notice.
She told me that she is worried about the island and that too many people are moving around on it, with too much pressure on the fragile environment.
Her mother was born and grew up on the island, and her father is from a neighboring island. Their families are inhabitants of the archipelago, and have been a part of the old economy, but a new economy is forcing them to step back, and it’s even taking their place, as shown in the example above.
They have a house on the island, where they live all year round, even in the dark winter months when the people from the new economy are absent. It’s in the forest and not on the shore, but their jetty is and it’s their property. According to the law those that enter the jetty are trespassing, but what can he do — call the police?
This example is typical. Those who live in the archipelago and who were once a part of the old economy are now facing a new economy and they are pressing back. I will in this essay try to explain why.
This essay derives from a small project that is generously funded by Helge Ax:son Johnsons Stiftelse. My sources come from archives, interviews, excavations and inventories, and published material. References to published material have been narrowed down to as few as possible and represent a rather diverse field of texts, ranging from scientific publications to popular books. The archived material comes from Stadsarkivet (City Archive). Inventories, excavations, and interviews have been carried out on the island. I have decided not to mention the name of the island, nor the names of the people interviewed. Instead, the island will be called “Island”, and the interviewed individuals will be called interviewee 1, interviewee 2, and so on. Five interviews were conducted: one woman aged 93 when interviewed and four men in the age span between 65 and 98 when interviewed. I have also talked to people about the issues discussed in this essay.
A story takes shape
Since the early 20th century, the summer population and the resident population have populated the archipelago.2 The majority of the summer population had and still have their permanent homes in Stockholm. The archipelago was first used in the late 19th century, but only islands close to Stockholm. Rich families erected huge villas in the style of national romantic architecture.3 The whole family, including servants, moved from the city to these fashionable buildings for the summer. This tradition, together with an equally old tradition of sailing in the archipelago, is an important myth in the new economy.
A summer population in the archipelago is of course not unique for Stockholm. A similar phenomenon can be found in Finland, and I assume also in other countries around the Baltic Sea.
As long as I can remember, I have been aware of small pieces of glass, ceramics, and metal fragments in the fields on the Island. A few years ago I wanted to know more, and I asked interviewee 1 what he knew. He told me that they used to transport feces and garbage for fertilizing from Stockholm to the Island. Skitgropar (shit-pits) that the farmers dug along the shore and close to the fields were filled. He did not have any experiences of the practice, but his father had told him that it ended during the 1920s, which I later found was correct.
That was not a sufficient explanation to dispel my curiosity. I contacted Stadsarkivet, Stadsmuseet (City Museum) and Sjöhistoriska museet (Maritime Museum) in Stockholm to find out what they knew. They were aware of the word skitgropar, but that was all. After some work, I came across archived material at Stadsarkivet and some literature at Kungl. biblioteket (Royal Library). An amazing story took shape, which apparently was almost forgotten, involving not only the archipelago, but the whole region surrounding Stockholm, and it all began in 1849.
The old woman (interviewee 2) that I interviewed was the daughter of a farmer on the Island mentioned in the archived material, but she had no experience of the practice. Many of the older generation know where the pits are situated on the different islands. They told me stories that as kids they used to stroll behind the plow picking objects out of the field. Among the most fascinating objects found were doll-heads.4 Many informed me that they have them at home somewhere, but cannot remember exactly where. I have never seen one and am beginning to suspect that they don’t want to show me them for various reasons, or as one person emphasized on a different occasion — “You’re not supposed to know everything.” The archipelago has its secrets.
When I published a short text about skitgropar in the local paper, I was advised by the editor to contact an old man. It turned out that he was 97 and that as a young child he had taken part when his father used the material from a pit. When I told the story about the pits to a man from the summer population, he remembered that his father had passed a pit as a child when fetching milk at the farm and that it had been horrible, the whole pit was full of crawling things.
Despite these stories, there is a gap between those who once used the pits, now dead, and a generation after them knowing about their existence but not the whole story.
It all began in 1849. That year the Stockholm City Council bought Fjäderholmarna, a cluster of small islands situated in the Salt Sea in between Stockholm and Lidingö.5 Today the islands are a popular tourist attraction and nobody remembers that the islands once were filled with garbage and feces.
Until 1850, garbage and feces were dumped around Stockholm, creating sanitation problems. Polluted water made its way down into the groundwater, and cholera epidemics killed scores of people. Something had to be done, and the islands were bought. A Kungörelse (public notice) from 1851 stated that feces and garbage must be placed in barges in the harbors surrounding the city. They were then transported to Fjäderholmarna.
In 1857, Anders Retzius (1796–1860), one of Sweden’s more prominent scientists, published the essay “An easy way to handle feces so that it becomes clean and useful.”7 Here he explains how to make fertilizer by combining garbage with feces. He also underlines that water should be kept clean. Accordingly, Stockholm now started to combine feces with garbage to produce fertilizer for sale. The archival material is very sparse from the first years, but it looks as if they sold feces and garbage from Fjäderholmarna as early as 1850.8 The production of fertilizer for sale became more extensive from the 1860s. Barrels of feces and garbage were placed in barges and towed out to Fjäderholmarna where the barrels were emptied and cleaned and returned to the city.6 Feces and garbage were placed in barges and transported by tugboats to the buyers.9
The stench from Fjäderholmarna was unbearable. A growing fleet of steamboats passed the islands and the passengers started to complain. The city therefore bought Löfsta and Riddersvik in 1885, two properties on the banks of Lake Mälaren.10 From this point the production grew rapidly.
In 1894 Karl Tingsten (1863–1952), father of Herbert Tingsten (1896–1973), who would become a famous professor in political science, a leading liberal, editor in chief, and a critic of Nazism, took over as a director.11 At this point the archived material is more reliable, and under his leadership they developed a new form of fertilizer called pudrett, a combination of feces and peat.
In 1885 there were 89 registered water closets in Stockholm. In 1927 they had increased to 106,18712 and the amount of feces declined rapidly. The city also started to burn its garbage. The skitgrop system would come to an end, but Stockholm would face a new problem, namely, the pollution of the Salt Sea and Lake Mälaren from the water closets. They had obviously forgotten Retzius’ appeal, but that’s another story.13
The skitgrop system was, to use popular words by today’s politicians, a “world-class re-cycling system” and a commercial practice that helped Stockholm handle its problems with garbage and feces. In popular language, the system was called smutsguld (dirt-gold) or folk-guano.
But more important is that the skitgrop system demonstrates the archipelago population’s trust in future farming. When buying feces and garbage for fertilizer, large economic and physical resources were invested. This is important to remember because there are not many farms left in the archipelago today. The fields are disappearing, and unproductive scrubland or houses for the summer population are shadowing an important part of the archipelago’s history.
The most important archived material is the order list, collected in two volumes. On hundreds of wafer-thin papers the orders have been noted by hand, with different handwriting depending on who took the order. Sometimes it is easy to read the order, sometimes problematic. To be able to deal with this material, with ten or more orders on each sheet, I had to focus on one island, and for obvious reasons my focus fell on the Island. In all I found 11 orders, between 1894 and 1916, but I did notice orders from all around Stockholm.
Orders for pudrett, feces, and garbage came from everywhere around Stockholm. Rich people in fashionable suburbs surrounding Stockholm, for example Djursholm, ordered fertilizer for their gardens. They did not handle the stuff themselves, but had gardeners to do the job. Counts from huge estates around Lake Mälaren ordered too, and so did ordinary farmers from Roslagen — mainland areas north of Stockholm — and market gardens around Stockholm.14
Trains were used to transport the material from Löfsta to Roslagen or to the suburbs. To counts around Lake Mälaren or to farmers in the archipelago, tugboats were used, towing barges. They used two tugboats named the Ferm and the Riddersvik. Kilander was in charge of the Ferm and Bengtsson of the Riddersvik. Transportation could only be done when there was no ice.
The year 1907 was a top year when 1,036 barges were transported to buyers around Lake Mälaren and in the archipelago: 911 contained garbage, 70 contained pudrett, and 55 contained feces. Transportation started on April 17 and ended on December 30. The total income was 17,264.70 SEK.15
In the new economy, tourists and the summer and archipelago population travel via high-speed ferries during the months without ice. Vaxholmsbolaget manages these ferries16, and each ferry travels approximately 21,000 nautical miles during one season.17
Three to five transportations took place every day, some only taking a few hours, others taking many days, depending on the distance. During an ordinary season the tugboats covered a distance over 2½ times the circumference of the equator.18 The circumference of the equator is 21,600 nautical miles, and 21,600 multiplied by 2½ is 54,000 nautical miles. If we divide that by two, each tugboat covered a distance of 27,000 nautical miles in an ordinary season. That is 6,000 nautical miles more than Vaxholmsbolaget’s ferries travel in one season, and the tugboats had only one captain each. This shows the massive scale of the enterprise and the hard work.
It’s possible to connect orders with existing pits, fields, and buyers. I have measured one of the empty pits, and according to my calculations it could contain a maximum of 74 cubic meters. There is an order from 1894 for feces to precisely this pit, and it is related to when, according the current farmer, the field was cleared. The order was for 800 barrels of feces. One barrel contained 60 liters,19 which means that the pit at this time was filled with 48,000 liters, or 48 cubic meters, of feces.
Prices between 1900 and 1909 were 0.20 SEK for a barrel of feces. The towing cost for each barge was 5 SEK for a nautical mile, but this could be reduced depending on how many barges were towed.20 From Löfsta to the Island it is approximately 30 nautical miles, which means that the farmer would have paid 150 SEK for towing and 160 SEK for the feces.
If we multiply this by the rest of the orders we find that roughly 480,000 liters of feces were used on the fields on the Island between 1894 and 1916 at a cost of around 1,600 SEK, a huge amount of cash for an almost cashless community.
The fertilizers did of course have a visible impact on the production, otherwise the farmers and others would not have bothered. It is, however, not possible to calculate the exact impact because there were no scientific calculations done, or at least not left in the archives. What they did was to study what pudrett contained. A Professor L. F. Nilsson did the study in 1895. According to him, pudrett contained 77.35 units of water, 17.57 units of nitrogen-free organic substances, 0.61 units of nitrogen as ammoniac, 0.49 units of nitrogen in organic compounds, 0.74 units of phosphorous, 0.41 units of ”Kali” (potassium), and 2.53 units of other minerals. They also calculated the amount of pudrett needed when fertilizing. For example, one hectare needed 3,000 kg or 60 hectoliter (6,000 liter) of pudrett for potatoes if the fertilizing was moderate, more if intense fertilizing was needed and less if the fertilizing should not be that powerful.
Regarding feces, it is explained that it is a rather nasty business to handle the stuff, but it is because of this very cheap compared with pudrett, and those that used it found that it was the most powerful of all fertilizers. 21
On the sea floor outside the pit there are broken ceramic and glass objects. These items came with the feces as garbage and were thrown into the sea because the farmer did not want the stuff in the field.
Small objects and fragments of objects ended up in the field. I have partly gone over the field with a metal detector, finding all sorts of metallic fragments of objects and a coin from 1878, but also small pieces of glass and ceramics when digging for the metal objects.
I have not been able to more closely study the metal objects found, but a man told me that he believed that I had found fragments of a harmonica. Other things are more problematic. I suspect that there is a rather large amount of lead in the fields and there might be other environmental toxic chemical compounds in the fields, too. But most of it has probably disappeared long ago.
When the skitgrop system disappeared, the farmers had to turn to other fertilizers. One thing always used is fertilizer from the animals at the farms and in modern times different forms of commercial fertilizers.
From 1907 it was forbidden to throw away non-organic objects together with organic garbage or feces.22 Any field that was fertilized with feces or garbage after 1907 therefore does not contain any fragments of objects.
Even though the skitgrop system bears witness to a faith in the future of farming in the archipelago, a new economy was on its way, which would dramatically change the conditions not only for farming, but for the whole archipelago.
A new society
It’s not a coincidence that the skitgrop system disappeared in almost the same year that the future for Swedish society was spelled out by the Social Democratic leader Per Albin Hanson (1885–1946). In 1928 he held his famous folkhem (people’s home) speech, pointing out a new direction for Swedish society. Two years later the Stockholm Exhibition displayed a new modern architecture, perfectly suited to a future society within a framework of functionalism.23 What can symbolize this new era better than water closets? Due to new vacation laws, a growing national tourism industry also took form.
In his excellent thesis, Bertil Hedenstierna takes us on a journey through the history of the archipelago. What he shows is the decline of the traditional way of life and how a new economy is slowly taking over. Hedenstierna can even demonstrate how the summer population was starting to own more land in the archipelago, and we should remember that his research was conducted during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hedenstierna writes: “The importance of the summer population for the archipelago is crucial and has in many areas led to problems that need immediate rational solutions.” He even points to a new category that he calls “The ‘nomadic’ summer population”, by which he means those who travel in the archipelago with their own boats.24
Strawberries and nails
Due to ideal climate conditions, there were 1.5 million strawberry plants in the archipelago in 1943.25 Today they are all gone. I was informed by interviewee 3 that a man once told him that there was more money in nails than in strawberries. What he meant was that there was more money in building things for the summer population than in farming strawberries.
Televisions and the collapse of history
It was a relief when electricity came to the Island in the late 1950s, but it would also have a negative impact on the community. One of my informants (interviewee 4), who has an incredible memory and knowledge of the Island and its history, told me that with electricity television soon appeared and that would mean the end of a long tradition of sitting together talking. Oral history is a well-known phenomenon,26 and this is exactly what my informant told me about. Coming together to talk was a question of bringing the history of the archipelago, families, relatives, and events into the minds of a younger generation, but also of keeping track of relatives on the mainland, sharing information, and telling anecdotes. When television was introduced a new storyteller stepped up on the scene, and from now on the families sat by themselves. The radio did not have the same impact, he told me. The introduction of the Internet has further widened the gap between the past and the present, as underlined by interviewee 2 when I interviewed her. She concluded that today everyone is lonely on the Island because they don’t talk to each other anymore.
Today the older generation that is carrying the stories and memories are passing away, and when there is no one left to hold on to the stories, place names, and traditional practices such as farming and fishing history will collapse and disappear, leaving the Island open for a new and exploitative a-historical economy, the economy of the nomads.27
The nomads — here I include day tourists — have no interest in history, traditions, stories, places, nature, or anything else that defines the archipelago. What they want is beaches, summer-warm cliffs, and entertainment — on land and on water — and bars and restaurants. Entrepreneurs from the mainland and some from the archipelago are doing what they can to serve these people. But to make money they must exploit the archipelago and open it up to as many as possible. One of the most problematic actors is the foundation Skärgårdsstiftelsen and to some degree Vaxholmsbolaget. The municipalities around the archipelago own the foundation. Its predecessor took shape back in the 1930s, and Bertil Hedenstierna became engaged in it, presumably because he thought that it might have a positive impact on the archipelago, and it probably did to begin with.28 Today it is the largest landowner with the overall agenda to direct, together with Vaxholmsbolaget, as many people as possible to the archipelago. Hedenstierna warned against this kind of exploitation, and it’s time that we take this seriously again. Compared to 1949, the population in Stockholm has not only grown enormously, it’s also much richer. At the same time, Sweden is promoting tourism on all fronts. Thousands of tourists arrive in Stockholm every summer and many visit the archipelago. No one has calculated the carrying capacity of the archipelago, a capacity that is probably already overexploited.
Mahogany pioneers
I mentioned earlier a tradition of sailing in the archipelago. It started in the early 20th century, and in those days the charts were primitive. The archipelago is dangerous waters, so the first to sail in the archipelago had to rely on the experienced archipelago population and on each other’s experiences. They used wooden or mahogany boats specially built for archipelago conditions. Books on how to navigate in the archipelago were published.29 Such pioneers are now mostly forgotten, but the myth of archipelago adventures is still active. Yet, today’s high-standard 40-foot plastic sailing-yachts are more like caravans that can be parked anywhere. The charts are digitized and cover every meter of the sea floor. These nomads have no interest in the history of the archipelago or even in sailing, and most of the time they use the boat’s engine.
A new economy
In his essay “Im Schwarm”, Byung-Chul Han addresses the digital age.30 Han explains to me what I have been trying to understand for years, which is the discrepancy between the past and the present on the Island and in the archipelago. The nomads and tourists have come with a new reality, the digital economy. The Island is digitized — not in realty, but it is visualized by the nomads and the tourists through the digital media. What is not possible to digitize does not exist, Han explains. For nomads and tourists, history has no meaning because the digital composition is not a narrative, which history is. As long as the Island is transparently the same as the image, the nomads and tourists will arrive. But if the Island changes, which it will when the farm is closed, the Island will take a different shape, which will not correspond with the digital potential, and the nomads and the tourists will stop coming because they are not interested in decline or in history. They are not interested in the depth, but only in the surface. A yacht’s anchor will, for example, bring with it huge amounts of seaweed. These weeds are ecologically and historically important for the bay, for the fish, for the seabirds, and for the people that once found their economy in the bay31, but for the surface-fetishistic nomads the seaweed is a problem. Therefore they have technical systems on board to get rid of the weeds, which sink dead back into the depth. For every anchor, the sea floor is ruined a little bit, and they are many, and they come every summer, these nomads, who cannot stand the depth, but only travel on a digitized surface that is completely transparent and therefore without history, narrative, or secrets. With no past in the present, there is no future either. There are no responsibilities for, as Han puts it, these narcissistic islands of egos32 that travel the archipelago. Therefore the nomads can ruin whatever they encounter. Bertil Hedenstierna emphasized the lack of historical consciousness, responsibility, and knowledge among tourists and nomads already in 1943.33
I read in the local paper in 2013 that the archipelago population is tired of cleaning up after day tourists and nomads.34 During a few summer months in the same year, 80,000 people — mostly nomads — visited a small cluster of islands in the archipelago, leaving behind 25 tons of garbage and 34 cubic meters of glass.35
Tourism is about moving and feeding people. Tourists do not produce anything or integrate with any society, city, or ecology. That’s why eco-tourism is a contradiction in terms. Tourists do not make new friends, nor do they meet with colleagues, and therefore they do not spread new ideas or cultural or scientific influences. Instead, they consume someone’s labor, an ecosystem, or city. Believing that tourism will boost the economy is dangerous. Instead, tourists, like nomads, often ruin what they encounter. Because it is based on a commodity, tourism lacks social and ecological responsibility. But tourists dislike the decline and the waste that they produce. Therefore, any ecosystem or city must be continuously cleaned. The responsibility is, as the local paper states, in the hands of the local people.
If the nomads and the tourists — because of their sheer numbers — have a negative impact on the archipelago, who is the summer population? The summer population is semi-nomadic. We arrive over weekends during the spring, stay for our vacation during the summer, and return for weekends during the fall. Sometimes we show up during the winter. Hedenstierna was right when he warned about the negative impact the summer population might have, but in contrast to tourists and nomads, the summer population was and still is engaged in the islands and their history and population. But a new trend is approaching. Tremendously rich people are buying old summer properties. They demolish the old houses and build new and architect-designed buildings including all the comforts of the city. They reach these places from Stockholm with aluminum boats or rib-boats that easily make 40 to 60 knots, and they have the same desire as tourists and nomads; they also want beaches, summer-warm cliffs, but their private beaches and cliffs, and entertainment — on land and on water — and bars and restaurants. Because they are a part of the new economy, these people don’t engage in the history of the archipelago, nor in its ecology or people.
In his essay, Han returns to Martin Heidegger’s farmer, who carries forbearance and constraint, fundamentally secured in the land and in the field. Han compares the farmer’s being with the digital being and finds no correlation.36 It’s almost ironic how right Han is, because in a few years the farm on the Island will no longer exist. Almost 300 years of farming will come to an end, and with that history, memories, secrets, traditions, place names, skitgropar, and knowledge will disappear into an unproductive scrubland, and the history of the Island will fade from memory.
To stop this from happening, I suggest that it’s time to develop an understanding of the carrying capacity of the archipelago, regulate the number of tourists, force the nomads to dock at special harbors, reduce speed, noise, and waves, and, most importantly, make sure that an economically, ecologically, and historically sustainable farming is re-introduced on islands that once had farms because, as we have seen, the fields are not only a resource, but history and narratives, through which the archipelago has existed since it rose out of the sea after the latest Ice Age. Only in this way can we make the archipelago ecologically and historically sustainable in the future.≈
1 “Den som har en klenod vaktar den noga och söker bevara eller förbättra den.” [Those who possess a treasure will guard it carefully and seek to preserve it or improve it.]” Torsten Brissman & Bertil Hedenstierna, 25 år i Stockholms skärgård (Stockholm: Skärgårdsstift., 1984), 7.
2 Bertil Hedenstierna, Stockholms skärgård: Kulturgeografiska undersökningar i Värmdö gamla skeppslag (Stockholm, 1949). [Stockholm archipelago: Cultural-geographic research in Värmdö old skeppslag]
3 Per Wästberg & Ann Katrin Atmer, Sommaröarna: En bok om stockholmarnas skärgård (Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand, 1982) [Summer-islands: A book about the Stockholm population’s archipelago]
4 The dolls were made of cloth with ceramic heads. When the cloth did not hold, the doll was thrown away. The heads have survived in the fields but not the cloth.
5 Karl Tingsten, Stockholms renhållningsväsen från äldsta tider till våra dagar (Stockholm: P.A. Norstedt & Söners Förlag, 1911), 22. [Stockholm waste-management from the oldest days to the present]
6 Stockholmskällan. Ungberg, Carl Fredric (1801—1877), Överståthållarämbetet (1634—1967) 18 August 1851 Norstedt.
7 “Om ett enkelt sätt att behandla latrinspillning, så att densamma blir renlig och nyttig.” Gustaf Retzius, Skrifter i skilda ämnen jämte bref af Anders Retzius samlade och utgifna av Gustaf Retzius (Stockholm: A.B. Nordiska Bokhandeln, 1902), 234—238. [Essays on different subjects and letters from Anders Retzius collected and published by Gustaf Retzius]
8 Tingsten 1911, 22.
10 Tingsten 1911, 30—31.
11 Ingemar Hedenius, Herbert Tingsten: människan och demokraten (Stockholm: Norstedt, 1974). [Herbert Tingsten: the man and the democrat].
12 K. Tingsten & J. Guinchard, Stockholms stads statistik. XIII. Renhållning. 1927 (Stockholm 1928), Tabeller, p. 4. [Statistics from Stockholm City Council. XIII. Waste-management]
13 Ylva Sjöstrand, Stadens sopor: Tillvaratagande, förbränning och tippning i Stockholm 1900–1975 (Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2014). City garbage: procurement, combustion and offloading in Stockholm 1900—1975]
14 Stadsarkivet, mapp: Renh.-verk. Utg. skrivelser. Leveranslistor å gödsel o.dyl. 1894—1902. B VI. N:o 1; 1903—1922. B VI. N:o 2. [Delivery lists for fertilizers etc. 1894—1902]
15 K. Tingsten & J. Guinchard, Stockholms stads statistik. XIII. Renhållning. 1909 (Stockholm, 1911), 12 [Statistics from Stockholm City Council. XIII. Waste-management]
16 Vaxholmsbolaget’s history cannot be discussed here.
17 I got this information from a person working for Vaxholmsbolaget. One nautical mile is 1,852 meters.
18 Tingsten 1911, 145
19 Tingsten & Guinchard, 1911, 15.20 Tingsten & Guinchard, 1911, 12.
21 Stadsarkivet, mapp: Cirkulär o prisuppgifter. Gödselförsäljningen 1895–1910. [Fertilizer sale 1895—1910]
22 Tingsten 1911, 55—57
23 Per I. Gedin, När Sverige blev modernt: Gregor Paulsson, vackrare vardagsvara och Stockholmsutställningen 1930 (Stockholm: Albert Bonniers förlag, 2018). [When Sweden became modern: Gregor Paulsen, beautiful everyday articles, and the Stockholm Exhibition 1930].
24 Hedenstierna 1949, 357—362. Sommarbefolkningens betydelse för skärgården har blivit av avgörande art och har på ett flertal områden lett till problem, som pockar på omedelbara rationella lösningar; Den “nomadiserande” sommarbefolkningen.
25 Hedenstierna, 1949.
26 Donald A. Ritchie, Doing Oral History (New York, NY: Twayne Publishers, 1994).
27 I’m aware of the problematic connotations of the word, and I’m not criticizing any individual tourist or nomad. It’s the needs and desires of the commercialized masses that are the problem.
28 Brissman & Hedenstierna, 1984.
29 Erik Jonson, I prickade och oprickade farleder: Seglingsbeskrivningar från Stockholms skärgård (Stockholm: Bonnier, 1929) [In marked and unmarked sea passages: Sailing descriptions from the Stockholm archipelago].
30 Byung-Chul Han, In the Swarm: Digital Prospects (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2017).
31 Sofia Wikström, Josefin Sagerman & Joakim Hansen, Hur påverkar fritidsbåtar undervattensnaturen? (Svealandskusten 2018: Svealands kustvattenvårdsförbund), [The impact from yachts on under water nature].
32 Han 2014, 61.
33 Bertil Hedenstierna, Skärgården som forskningsobjekt: Några kulturgeografiska studieglimtar (Meddelanden från Geografiska institutet vid Stockholms universitet. Särtryck. Ymer, h. 4, 1943), 233 [The archipelago as a research field: some cultural-geographic studies].
34 Carin Tellström, Skräpet ökar i skärgården (Skärgården June 22, 2013) [More waste in the archipelago].
35 Lina Mattebo, Mindre sopor om skärgårdsstiftelsen får bestämma (Skärgården April 2, 2014). [Less waste if skärgårdsstiftelsen may decide] See also Andrew Holden & David Fennell, The Routledge Handbook of Tourism and the Environment (London: Routledge, 2013).
36 Han 2014, 57; 65.
Johan Hegardt
by Johan Hegardt
Associate professor in archaeology at Uppsala University. Project researcher in “Art, Culture, Conflict: Transformations of Museums and Memory Culture in the Baltic Sea Region after 1989”, at Södertörn University.
Essays are scientific articles.
They have all been peer-reviewed by specialists. It is the scientific advisory council that is responsible for the peer-reviewing. A prerequisite for publishing scientific articles in the BW is that the article not already be published in English elsewhere. The scientific advisory council includes scholars from several countries and disciplines.
Would you like to contribute to Baltic Worlds? Click here!
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62-68 Eldon Street
Tel: (01226) 248 218
Senior Screen
CUSTOMER NOTICE: '1917' IS RATED (15) AND 'THE GENTLEMEN' IS RATED (18) - I.D. MAY BE REQUIRED FOR ENTRY
Our next Senior Screen is on Wednesday at 10.30am
Doors open at 9.45 and we provide free tea/coffee/hot chocolate and biscuits!
Tickets are just £5.00 and available in advance - you can even buy a ticket for the following week whilst you're here!
Our Senior screen performances are provided so that you can come down and enjoy one of the latest releases during the day, with people of a similar age.
We won't admit unaccompanied children, but the show is open to all.
Visitors who are clearly not over 60 will be charged at the normal rate.
The next Senior Screen is on
WEDNESDAY 29th January:
Screen 2 (ground floor):
SORRY WE MISSED YOU (15)
Kris Hitchen, Debbie Honeywood, Rhys Stone, Katie Proctor 1hr 45mins
Emotional drama directed by Ken Loach. Ricky and his family have been fighting an uphill struggle against debt since the 2008 financial crash. An opportunity to wrestle back some independence appears with a shiny new van and the chance to run a franchise as a self-employed delivery driver. It's hard work, and his wife's job as a carer is no easier. The family unit is strong but when both are pulled in different directions everything comes to breaking point.
Screen 1 (upper floor):
George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong 2hrs 05mins
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield and Blake, are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers — Blake’s own brother among them.
Parkway Cinema, Eldon Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2JL
Box Office: 01226 248218 Website and booking by Admit One
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SquEEing for Glee: Gay Kiss
Filed By Jake Weinraub | March 17, 2011 4:00 PM | comments
Follow jakeweinraub
Filed in: Entertainment
Tags: blaine, blaine anderson, chris colfer, Darren Criss, FOX, gay kiss, Glee, kurt, kurt hummel
On Tuesday evening GLEEks around the world squealed in ecstasy (or squEEed: a Glee-induced squeal, as coined by my friend Caity) when two of the show's queer characters, Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, finally kissed.
The tension had been brewing all season, and this was after we had accepted the fact that they would just be friends after Blaine sang to that boy in the Gap and Kurt admitted he thought Blaine was going to be singing to him and Blaine told him he wasn't ready for a relationship even though they had both stolen so many furtive glances at one another that may or may not have been noticed and then Blaine was worried that Kurt didn't know a lot about sex so he asked Kurt's dad to say something and then Kurt and his dad had a really cute sex talk. Ugh do you see what this show does to me?
I've tried to explain the show's appeal to my friends who think it's ridiculous, and basically you just have to buy into its world where the most popular boy at an all-boys private school is a homo and everyone is super talented and sexy. It's kind of a nice break, like drugs or frosting.
This was also one of the first times I've seen a real gay kiss on primetime TV. It was the center of the scene, and it lasted; it wasn't quickly cut out or somewhere in the background. I'm not saying Glee is a beacon of truth or even exemplary queer media representation, but damn that kiss was satisfying.
So how did other gleeks react? Check it out after the jump.
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Gus | March 17, 2011 4:55 PM
I can’t imagine this show when I was a freshman in high school…1969.
Is it OK if that makes me cry for joy… for today’s kids. YAY!
Regan DuCasse | March 17, 2011 5:52 PM
I posted a comment over at Joe My God regarding the reaction to Kurt and Blaine's kiss.
Glee IS ridiculous.
But I mostly like it, so I watch it.
I think the most important thing about their kiss is that is wasn't furtive or without mutual feeling.
Those boys have had a developing closeness (not just lust) so that you know they love each other. They've been bonding through music. Well, that's what ALL those kids do. So Kurt-aine doing the same isn't news.
I think I have been warmed by the reaction of the young people in the room. A mixed group of boys and girls.
See, kids are so de sensitized to violence that they cheer at beat downs, shootings, stabbings and bombings.
Look at another viral video showing this little bantam cock bully of a kid, punch a bigger kid right in the face and KEEP doing it as his friends taped the whole thing.
Until the bully got picked up and body slammed to the ground.
Violence directed at gays is more acceptable on the street than affection between gay people.
Which is an insanity that makes me despair sometimes.
If there are young people out there cheering at the sight of love between two people something is right with the world.
We SHOULD cheer love, friendship and witnessing it should warm us and make us feel better and gentler towards those who express it, whoever they may be.
Andrea D | March 17, 2011 6:20 PM
My reaction? "About damn time". Seriously is it that I'm 30 now and nothing surprises me? Hell I got more emotional and actually cried a little when they did Blackbird.
RJC | March 17, 2011 9:00 PM
Thanks, Jake. I am almost ashamed to say I've never watched Glee, BUT I also have seen that kissing scene on just about every website I've opened recently. And I must say, the romance of the scene nearly brought tears...and maybe it's more--like the incredible significance of someone my age seeing two men kissing on TV. I can only say, despite all the work that still must be done, it's a privilege to see this. Thanks for the column.
Desiree Renee Arceneaux | March 18, 2011 12:21 AM
I find Glee rather sickening because it goes out of its way to be gay positive and trans negative.
Marcus | March 18, 2011 3:55 AM
then don't watch it
MonicaHelms | March 18, 2011 6:51 AM
It was about time they kissed, but you seemed to have gloss over the on-again, off-again lesbian relationship that has long preceded this kiss. You don't have to be a gay man to appreciate the kiss. However, it would be nice if you, as a gay man, would as least acknowledge that there are lesbians characters in the show, too.
Bil Browning | March 18, 2011 9:23 AM
I'm really into the subplot of the lesbian romance. Thanks for bringing it up, Monica.
Jake Weinraub | March 18, 2011 11:59 AM
Brittana rules, I think they're the queerest thing about the show. They deserve a whole post of their own! But you're right I should I have mentioned them in this.
Steveck | March 18, 2011 11:38 AM
Well said Regan. And I like Kurt-aine so much more than Blurt. ;)
db | March 18, 2011 11:50 AM
I am glad that there was a gay kiss, but it was totally unrealistic (not that Sue beating up on the kids is any more realistic). Yeah, you could all harsh on me for this but, let's be honest, Blaine is way out of Kurt's league. Blaine is hot, the most popular guy at school, and I could totally see him with the hottie at the Gap not Kurt. Kurt is whiny and a bit shallow and not cute (cute, perhaps, in a "stuffed animal"-type of way but not in a "I would love to sleep with him" kind of way). I think it is kind of annoying that just because there are two gay guys on a show that they have to become boyfriends. Just like when you are a gay man who is single at a wedding, everyone is going to try to fix you up with the one other gay guy at the wedding even if he looks like someone from the Addams Family. You know, if there are two gays there, they must like each other...
Paige Listerud | March 19, 2011 2:57 PM
I'm so glad that Blaine got over that whole disappointing, not to mention disgusting, bi phase so that he could finally kiss Kurt in perfect Kinsey 6 queerness. Nothing like two perfectly queer boys kissing to restore innocence to man on man action.
Am I the catty bisexual? Yes, I am. Plus, I know plenty of bi guys in successful relationships with gay men. Oh well, we can have a TV show all about that next decade.
Desiree Renee Arceneaux | March 19, 2011 7:06 PM
That's kinda my point. Cis gays and lesbians are too busy partying over how GL-positive Glee is to pay any attention to the fact that it is nastily biphobic and transphobic, and when we point it out all they want to do is bitch at us for spoiling their fun.
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--[ Selecione ]--APRESENTAÇÃO GALERIAS - Anos 50/60 - Anos 70 - Anos 80/90 - Anos 2000 - Anos 2010 PUBLICAÇÕES - Edições no Brasil - Edições no exterior - Textos selecionados SOBRE A OBRA - Resenhas - Reportagens - Entrevistas NOTA BIOGRÁFICA INFORMAÇÕES E ATUALIDADES CONTATO
Anos 50/60
Edições no Brasil
Edições no exterior
Textos selecionados
SOBRE A OBRA
INFORMAÇÕES E ATUALIDADES
Hercules Florence 1833: a descoberta isolada da Fotografia no Brasil
H. K. Henisch
Hercules Romuald Florence was 21 years old when he came to Rio de Janeiro in March 1824. Trained as a painter, he soon obtained employment with the Russian naturalist Baron von Langsdorff, who needed his services in connection with an expedition into the interior of Brazil. Langsdorff and his distinguished companions set off in September 1825 and did not return to the capital until March 1829. Every phase of the journey was recorded in Florence’s diary, as was much of much of his subsequent work as a researcher, e.g. on problems of musical notation and of characterizing the sounds of animals. The idea of recording images by means of the camera obscura appears to have come to him in August 1832, and he did indeed succeed to a remarkable degree during that year and in 1833. Designs of a camera and of printing frames have been found, and so have several photogenic drawings (based on silver nitrate and fixed with ammonia from what might be called ‘natural sources’), but no actual photographs made with the camera. Remarkable as it may seem, Florence also used the word photography many years before it was ‘re-coined’ by Herschel in England. The matter has already received a good deal of publicity in recent years.
In this book the inventions are documented as far as the surviving records permit, and there is no reasonable doubt of their authenticity; it is their significance that concerns us here, and on this point there are at least two schools of thought. According to one, nothing is significant that is not influential, and this line of thought tends to confine historical studies in this field to a few well-known figures: fox Talbot, Daguerre, Scott Archer, etc. Implicitly it urges us to ignore brilliant men like Bayard, for no better reason than that they did what they did in the wrong place at the wrong time. Underlying this outlook are the beliefs that intellectual achievement matters less to us than its practical and economic consequences, and that we are able to make general judgements about the world of photography by the increasingly detailed explorations of well trodden ground. Another viewpoint is that we are concerned primarily with the history of ideas no matter where formulated, that we do not really know the history of photography until we know it everywhere, and that the notion of who influences whom is rarely simple; According to the conventional wisdom, photography was invented because ‘society was ready for it’, but the Hercules Florence episode shows that it (or something close to it) could be invented in a colonial society which was very different from that of England or France, and far from ‘ready’. In a similar way the Bayard episode proves that society may be ‘ready’ without necessarily showing itself alert to new possibilities. At this stage no sensible commentator is likely to claim that art and invention proceed in ways independent of society’s pressures (to be sure, Florence was a product of his European upbringing), but the laws which govern their relationships can never be exact laws. Mellowed by personalities and circumstances, they tend to offer more nourishment to hindsight than to prediction. When we admire human achievement, we certainly feel that we are admiring more than the achiever’s automatic response to social forces. It pleases us to think that there is room in the world not only for an intelligent response to needs, but for spontaneously inventive genius.
Boris Kossoy is an architect, writer, and photo-historian who began his researches in 1972 with the support and encouragement of Florence’s descendents. For those who (like this reviewer) do not read Portuguese without constant and tedious references to a dictionary, a short version of the text is available in English.
Boris Kossoy, Image. Vol.20 (1977), p.12.
H.K. HENISCH. Resenha de Hercules Florence 1833; a descoberta isolada de Fotografia no Brazil, by Boris Kossoy, Faculdade de Comunicação Social Anhembi, São Paulo (1977), 144 pp. In:HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY an international quarterly – January 1978.
© Boris Kossoy. Todos os direitos reservados.
Design: Anna Turra | Desenvolvimento: Sisson Studio
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology. - Carl Sagan
Aug 24 - Sept 15: Vuelta a España
Sept 7 - 14: Tour of Britain
Sept 13: GP de Quebec
Latest completed racing:
Sept 8: GP de Formies
Sept 7: Brussels Cycling Classic
Sept 1: Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
Aug 21 - 25: Tour of Denmark
Aug 25: EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg
Aug 21 - 24: Tour du Limousin
August 21: Veenendaal - Veenendaal
August 12 - 18: BinckBank Tour
August 12 - 18: Tour of Utah
Aug 15 - 18: Arctic Race of Norway
Vuelta a España stage fifteen reports
We posted the organizer's stage summary with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Sepp Kuss' Jumbo-Visma team:
Sepp Kuss has won the fifteenth stage of the Vuelta a España in a sensational way. The American from Team Jumbo-Visma was the best climber of today’s breakaway. The victory for Kuss on the Puerto del Acebo is the fifth in his young career. The win is number 44 of the year for Team Jumbo-Visma.
Sepp Kuss wins Vuelta stage fifteen.
After his beautiful win(s) in the Tour of Utah last year, this win can be be seen as the next step in his career. The 24 years old American attacked six kilometres from the top of the final climb. No other breakaway rider could follow his high pace.
“This is amazing to believe”, says Kuss. “The Vuelta is incredible for us at the moment. This is an incredible day. We were attentive from the beginning and at the front. Some of the the teams sent dangerous guys up to the front, so I decided to go with them. The gap was big enough to go for the stage win. Otherwise I was going to help Primoz on the final climb. I had no strategy on the final climb, I just went full gas, I celebrated the final kilometre with the fans. The passion they have is fantastic and that is why cycling is such a big sport. On bad days they are there for you, they shout you to the top. They always support, that is why I love cycling.
Team Jumbo-Visma allows Kuss to grow step by step. “To grab this kind of victory is not easy, I always work hard to be in a good shape. The team gives me opportunities. This is the third Grand Tour I've participated in. I get chances to race for myself, like today. I'm really grateful to the team."
Primoz Roglic's Bora-hansgrohe team sent me this report:
After yesterday’s flat stage, the race went back into the mountains for a challenging stage 15. The peloton started from Tineo into the 154-kilometer mountain stage, which finished on the Santuario del Acebo, a category one climb. It was clear to be be another tough battle for the overall of the Vuelta a España, as the riders had to face three category one climbs before heading onto the final 7,3 km long uphill finish.
No shortage of challenges in stage fifteen.
Right from the start attacks were flying and high speeds marked the first hour of racing.GC contender Rafal Majka always stayed at the front of the race together with teammate Pawel Poljanski, before on the descent after the first climb of the day, a big breakaway of 17 riders distanced themselves with a small gap. Pawel Poljanski represented BORA- hansgrohe's colors in it and with 55km to go, shortly before the penultimate ascent of the day, Pawel’s breakaway group had more than three minutes advantage.
When the race finally reached the last climb, both, the break and the peloton split up almost immediately. While at the front S. Kuss was the one to lead the race, A. Valverde made an early move a little further back. Only P. Roglic was able to follow the Spaniard, with Felix Großschartner taking control in the chase group. When Astana forced another split, Großschartner was dropped, but Majka looked confident following Lopez and Pogacar while N. Quintana was in difficulties.
Pawel Poljanski now waited for Majka and also supported his leader in an important situation. When Kuss took the win on the Santuario de Acebo, Majka lost contact to Lopez and Pogacar on the last two kilometers. But the BORA – hansgrohe leader was able to keep a high rhythm, finishing 14thin the end. Majka is still sixth on the overall, but now just around two minutes behind Quintana.
From the Finish Line:
“It was really a tough day, with attacks and fast speeds right from the start. We had with Pawel one in the day’s break and in the final he and Felix rode really strong. Felix brought me into position and increased the pace to force a split among the chasers. We are in the final part of this Vuelta and have to be concentrated. We will do our best to achieve at the end a result we can be proud of.” - Rafal Majka
“It was another tough stage, four category one climbs and the battle for the GC. I think we showed in the past days, and also today, a really good performance. Pawel and Felix were with Rafal until the final climb and helped him as long as they could. Then he crossed the line surrounded by the other favourites and secured his 6th place on the overall.” – Patxi Vila, Sports Director
UAE-Team Emirates sent me this:
UAE Team Emirates’ Tadej Pogačar moved another step closer to taking a podium finish at his first ever Grand Tour, after matching his main GC and Youth Classification rival, Miguel Angel Lopez (Team Astana), pedal stroke for pedal stroke during stage 15 of La Vuelta.
Tadej Pogacar after winning stage nine. Sirotti photo.
It was a stage that saw the breakaway riders have their day, with Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) crossing the line first after battling 154.4kms of mountainous terrain from Tieno to Santuario del Acebo. The race came to life for the GC contenders on the final climb of the day, with a select group of riders fracturing as the gradients got tougher. Pogačar (photo Bettini) rode the perfect race, letting Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Promoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) ride away with 7km to go as they went head to head for first and second place. Meanwhile, Pogačar calmly marked his man Lopez, responding to each acceleration and ensuring no time gaps were opened up. The intelligent and measured performance allowed the 20-year-old Slovenian to retain third place in the overall classification – 17 seconds ahead of Lopez – and take the white ‘young riders’ jersey into stage 16.
Pogačar commented: “It was another really fast day and the start was really hard. Towards the end it was getting hotter and hotter and we still went full gas on the last climb, so I am really happy that I could hold third place in the overall and the white jersey. When Valverde attacked, I was a little tired, but also I didn’t want to waste more energy by accelerating so early on the climb. Instead I decided it was best to follow Lopez as he is still the closest to me in the GC”.
Stage 16 will be another tough race for the GC riders as they take on a 144.4km mountain course from Pravia to Alto de la Cubilla Luba. The stage features three climbs en route and ends with yet another summit finish, 1690m above sea level.
Tour of Britain Stage two news
We posted the report from winner Matteo Trentin's Mitchelton-Scott team with the results.
Here is the race organizer's report:
Former European champion Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) moved into the race lead of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain after sprinting to a dramatic victory in Kelso, Scottish Borders, on Sunday.
Trentin pipped Jasper de Buyst (Lotto Soudal), Mike Teunissen (Team Jumbo – Visma Cycling) and Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy) to the line after a reduced peloton caught brave solo attacker Alex Dowsett (Team KATUSHA ALPECIN) within 50 metres of the finish line.
Matteo Trentin takes stage two.
Trentin, who placed third in Saturday’s opening stage in Kirkcudbright, gained crucial time bonuses on the line as a result of his win. This, combined with the distancing of overnight leader Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo – Visma Cycling) on the final SKODA King of the Mountains climb of Dingleton, put the Italian rider into the overall lead of the race.
After a three-rider breakaway had toiled in the warm Scottish Borders sunshine for much of the day, the race burst into action on the Scott’s View SKODA King of the Mountains climb, with Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon Circus) and Frederik Frison (Lotto Soudal) attacking and bridging to the three leaders.
That spurred an intensified chase and catch on the run to Melrose, with Trentin grabbing three bonus seconds at the intermediate Eisberg sprint in Melrose at the foot of the final climb at Dingleton.
Over the climb Pavel Sivakov (Team INEOS) went clear but was reeled in by the chasing of Mitchelton-SCOTT on the front of the bunch, which split the field in half, with overnight leader Groenewegen in the rear part of the peloton.
Attacking with three kilometres to go, Dowsett looked like he was going to upset the remaining sprinters, but despite being welcomed into Kelso’s main street by a wall of noise the British time trial champion was caught with 50 metres remaining, holding on to finish seventh on the stage.
Trentin now leads by 11 seconds overall from Cimolai and De Buyst, while also taking the Cetaphil points jersey lead. The Eisberg sprints jersey moves over to breakaway rider Gediminas Bagdonas (AG2R La Mondiale), while Jacob Scott (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) retains the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey. His team-mate Peter Williams won the public vote for Wahooligan Combativity award for his efforts in the day’s breakaway.
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C. P. Lesley, Novelist
History, Fiction, and Publishing in the Internet Age
Love and Magic on the Steppe
It’s always tremendous fun to release a new novel. The blood and angst that went into creating and revising the story washes out in production, leaving a finished text that looks like any other printed book. One by a bestselling author, say, or a prizewinner. (We can dream, right?) Except that it isn’t by someone else. It’s one’s own work, sent out like a beloved child to take its chances in the big, wide world.
And the thrill never gets old. The thrill of holding a physical book in your hand and knowing that you wrote it, especially. It’s one reason I hope print books never go away—at least during my lifetime. Seeing a book on an e-reader or tablet is cool, too, but nothing like the joy of hefting a novel in one’s hand, flipping through the pages, admiring the crisp text and vivid cover, the carefully chosen type ornaments and fonts—then placing it on a shelf next to all the other books.
Tuesday’s release of Song of the Shaman is the tenth time I’ve had that pleasure, not counting the second editions and the box sets—fifteen books or collections all told. In some ways, this novel is special: it took a long time to connect with the heroine, Grusha, despite having known her since I typed the first words to The Golden Lynx back in 2008. Finding her character eight years after her original appearance in a major secondary role, even an antagonist (although far from the main one), and her conflict in her new role as the shaman of Ogodai’s Tatar horde took time and multiple rewrites and rethinks. But here she is at last, and I hope her search for happiness, for herself and her young son, will pull you in and make you want to spend a few hours or days accompanying her on her journey.
But don’t take my word for it. Terry Gamble, author of The Eulogist and other novels, puts it so nicely in her endorsement on the back of the book: “A vividly told tale full of magic and mysticism, passion and betrayal. The story of Grusha will grab you by the heart and throat as you travel through the medieval world of Russia and the steppe.” You can find out more about Terry’s wonderful books from her interview at New Books in Historical Fiction.
So, may you enjoy the excerpt below and the novel itself. While you read, I’ll be rereading and revising Song of the Sisters so I can revel in the excitement of publication again this time next year.
And here is an excerpt from chapter 1 of Song of the Shaman.
East of the Don, June 1542
Smoke—stinging, acrid, redolent with sage and the heavy odor of dried dung—filled my nostrils. Flakes of ash floated before my eyes, and I coughed as I reached for my drum. All around me, the tent rocked with the pounding rhythm of an instrument not my own, held in hands more experienced than mine, summoning me to the dance. Suzukei—the shaman of this camp, my teacher—whispered to the spirits of the hearth fire, the ancestors of the horde.
Squinting, I settled the plaits over my face to remind the snake spirits, guardians of wisdom, that they had chosen me, too, to serve them as a journeyer among the realms above and below. When I’d hidden my features, I lifted the rimmed circle, large enough to conceal my torso from waist to shoulder. The familiar heft of the drum, the smooth wood clapper in my other hand, the steady bam-bam-bam-bam as I beat the tanned hide—these things drew me out of myself despite the blistering smoke. The rhythm of my strokes, regular as the beat of my own heart, worked its way into my body, resonating in my chest and pulling me away from the present, into the places that lie beyond the middle lands of earth and water.
Against the crackle of the fire, each upward leap of the flames releasing another swarm of ash flakes, I heard the steady croon of Suzukei’s voice. Moving to the outer rim of the tent, I joined her song, matching her tone as best I could, adding the stamp of my own felt-clad feet. Strings of beads and shells, interspersed with metal shapes etched with sacred symbols, hung from the drum’s rim, adding sounds soft and sharp. I imagined them whispering my name to the listening spirits—Gru-sha, Gru-sha, Gru-sha. I loved the shushing of those beads and shells.
As Suzukei and I danced around each other, I watched her for clues. I couldn’t see her face, because like me she had concealed it behind several dozen plaits—black tinged with gray in her case, light brown in mine. Although half a head shorter than I, she appeared taller, the result of the red felt circle stitched with beaded eyes, nose, and mouth tied around her head and extended by a set of plumes as long as my forearm. Her leather robe, which fell loose from her shoulders, added to the sense of her being larger than life.
“O ancestors,” she called to the spirits of the hearth fire. “O grandmothers, save this child.”
“O grandmothers,” I echoed. “Return his soul to his body. Make him well.” Bam-bam-bam-bam, bam-bam-bam-bam—I punctuated each word with a drumbeat. Suzukei nodded her approval.
In response to a second nod, I redirected my dance in an inward spiral, aiming for a spot closer to the fire, beating my drum with every step and adding my prayers to Suzukei’s. She had charged me with monitoring the condition of our patient, the three-year-old Sibai Sultan—second son of Ogodai Khan, ruler of our horde. The child lay sick unto death on a pile of felts next to the rough stones that contained the fire, motionless except for the occasional sobbing breath and croaking cough. As I moved in, she spiraled out, as if we were two puppets pulled by the same set of strings.
“Grandmothers—bam—come to us—bam—see the child—bam-bam—your own descendant—bam-bam—save his life—bam-bam-bam—so that he can grow strong—bam-bam—and one day sire children to continue your line.” Bam-bam-bam-bam. I spoke to the drum as much as the ancestors, and the drum spoke to me, a wordless conversation.
https://www.fivedirectionspress.com/song-of-the-shaman
Posted by C. P. Lesley at 9:00 AM No comments:
Sisters, Alone and Together
What would you do to reunite with a beloved sister? Very few of us—encountering the choice that faces Effie Tildon in The Girls with No Names, released this past Tuesday—would go to the lengths Effie does. As the book’s author, Serena Burdick, explains in my latest interview for New Books in Historical Fiction, Effie is somewhat naive. That’s understandable, given that she’s a protected thirteen-year-old whose beloved older sister, Luella, has disappeared without a trace—or so it seems to Effie.
But Effie’s choice has dire consequences. The child of a well-off Gilded Age family, Effie comes up with a plan to secure her own commitment to New York City’s House of Mercy, a home for wayward girls and women. She does this because she’s been raised all her life with the bogeyman-type threat that bad behavior will lead to her parents’ sending her to the home. Lively, outgoing, rebellious Luella has often been the target of such efforts at verbal “correction.” So when Luella disappears not long after a blazing row with her father, what could be more logical than Effie’s belief that Dad has sent his disobedient daughter to the House of Mercy?
Furthermore, Effie suffers from a heart defect. No one knows when she will die, but since birth she’s been living, in effect, on borrowed time. The chances that she will survive to adulthood have always been poor, and her frequent “fits” of breathlessness constrict her actions. In the House of Mercy, however, hard work and harsh punishments are a way of life. The older girls enforce the rules every bit as savagely as the nuns who run the penitential laundry that is the central element in the House of Mercy’s financial success. And two of those older girls decide that Effie just might be their key to escape.
The rest of this post comes from New Books in Historical Fiction.
Effie Tildon loves her older sister, Luella. Sixteen to Effie’s thirteen, Luella has long taken the leading role in deciding what the two sisters do, even when it leads them in directions their parents would not approve of. Those three extra years are one reason that Luella directs Effie rather than the reverse, but another important reason is that Luella is strong and healthy and rebellious, whereas Effie has lived in the shadows since her birth—the result of a congenital heart defect that, although entirely curable in our own century, in 1900 has left everyone in the family certain that Effie may die any minute.
So when Luella leads Effie to a Roma camp on the outskirts of New York City, then disappears one day without letting her sister know where she’s headed, Effie is determined to find her, even if it means confronting her fear that their father has had Luella committed to New York’s notorious House of Mercy, a home for wayward women and girls. Effie comes up with a plan to abandon her privileged Gilded Age life and check herself into the House of Mercy. Her plan succeeds admirably—until the moment she discovers her sister is not there. That’s when Effie realizes that getting out of the House of Mercy is a lot more difficult than getting in.
In The Girls with No Names, Serena Burdick, whose previous novel Girl in the Afternoon won the International Book Award for Historical Fiction in 2017, turns a spotlight on the world of “Magdalene laundries” and the many nameless women who passed through them between their founding in the Victorian era and their abolition in the 1990s. In so doing, she paints an absorbing portrait of relationships within families and the ways they can go awry, as well as the hidden strength on which even the seemingly weakest and most damaged among us can draw in times of need.
Ushering In 2020
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions as a whole. The annual promises to lose weight, exercise more, master a foreign language or a new musical instrument, and read more books than there are weeks in the year tend to lose their charm—or at least their credibility—after several decades of repetition. That said, I do have goals that I hope to achieve as a writer in 2020. Even if there is no real penalty to not meeting the goals, having them keeps me on track.
Which I guess is also the reason for promising to lose weight, exercise more, and so on ...
Anyhow, here are the writing goals. Those others are between me and my waistline.
(1) Publish Song of the Shaman (Songs of Steppe & Forest 2), on schedule in mid-January. This novel follows the attempts of Grusha, another secondary character from the Legends series, to balance her Russian heritage with life in a steppe horde and her own needs against those of her six-year-old son, whose future presents an increasingly pressing problem as he approaches the age when his training for adulthood will begin.
This one is pretty much a done deal, because the print edition is already available and the Kindle edition up for preorder, with a delivery date of January 14. But I didn’t want to skip its place in the publication sequence, plus there is so much that goes into marketing a new book that its appearance becomes an ongoing project for several months.
(2) Produce a final manuscript of Song of the Sisters (Songs 3) and sketch out book 4, Song of the Sinner.
Songs 3 is actually in its third draft, resting except for collecting comments from my writers’ group before undergoing another round of revision for publication. So that should be doable by the end of the year. A full rough draft of Songs 4 is a longer shot, but I am starting to come up with ideas, so it’s worth including here.
(3) Complete my half of the rough draft of my first historical mystery novel, co-written with P. K. Adams and tentatively titled These Barbarous Coasts.
After a slow start over the summer, this one is roaring along. Patrycja and I have agreed on a full outline (although the plot is already twisting a bit, as my plots tend to do, and I’m struggling not to let it twist so much that I drive her crazy). She’s drafted the prologue and chapter 1, I’ve drafted chapter 2 and sketched the opener for chapter 5. And I have three more full writing days in my holiday leave before I have to go back to full-time work and writing weekends.
Will we make it? Who knows? But the chances are good, and the process is both entertaining and educational, since I’ve never collaborated with another novelist before.
(4) Conduct twelve New Books in Historical Fiction interviews. Also submit links to recent interviews every four weeks for featuring on the Literary Hub.
I have interviews scheduled through June, and the volunteers keep appearing in my mailbox, so I’m hopeful that I can meet—even exceed—this goal. I just sent in January’s interview for processing and interviewed Gabrielle Mathieu about her latest book—which is fantasy based on medieval Europe and can be cross-posted to both our channels—so I’m getting off to a good start.
As for submitting to LitHub, that’s a privilege, so barring memory lapse or computer disaster, I will certainly do my best to fulfill that goal—for my authors’ and the New Books Network’s sakes as much as my own.
(5) Typeset/proof, produce e-books, and in some cases edit Five Directions Press titles scheduled for 2019. The exact lineup is still in play, but in addition to Song of the Shaman (historical fiction/romance), I expect to work on Champion of the Earth—the second book in Gabrielle Mathieu’s YA fantasy series, Berona’s Quest—and River Aria, the third and last novel in Joan Schweighardt’s Rivers trilogy.
Not much to say here. If the books come in, I’ll find time to work on them.
(6) Stay current with online marketing efforts and outreach. This goal includes keeping up with my weekly blog posts, maintaining my website and the Five Directions Press website, and participating regularly in such group features as “Books We Loved” and “Five Directions Press Authors Dish”—as well as regular if not daily appearances on Facebook (as my author self and Five Directions Press), Twitter, and Goodreads.
This one is always a challenge, because there are so many other tasks to fill my days, and neither marketing nor social media are really part of my natural skill set. But we try.
And as always, I wish everyone a splendid new year, with love and success and happiness for you and those you love!
Image purchased by subscription from iClipart.com, no. c1869314.
Roundup for 2019
As always (at least since 2014, when I started this tradition), here in the final post of December I review my goals for 2019 and how well I met them, in preparation for setting new goals for 2020 next week.
On the whole, I met and in some cases exceeded this year’s targets. See below for details.
(1) Publish Song of the Siren (Songs of Steppe & Forest 1), on schedule in late February.
Met. Song of the Siren launched on February 19 with a number of lovely endorsements from fellow writers and, although nowhere near bestseller status, has done well in comparison with my other novels. It has also spurred sales of my earlier books, especially The Golden Lynx and The Not Exactly Scarlet Pimpernel.
(2) Produce a final manuscript of Song of the Shaman (Songs 2) and sketch out book 3, Song of the Sisters.
Exceeded. Song of the Shaman is available for sale as of today and ready for its formal launch date on January 14, 2020, by which time I expect Amazon to have linked the print and paperback versions. Song of the Sisters is now on its second draft, and I have developed a complete outline for a historical murder mystery to be co-written with P. K. Adams and set in Muscovy in 1553. We hope to start the writing any day, with the idea of producing a full draft by next summer and, with luck, eventually a trilogy set in Poland-Lithuania as well as Russia.
(3) Conduct twelve New Books in Historical Fiction interviews.
Exceeded. Demand was heavy from January on, and at one point it looked as if I would have twenty by year’s end, but for various reasons I topped out at eighteen. I also hosted Q&As with authors on this blog about once a month in addition to the podcast interviews for the New Books Network, and I reviewed a number of other books either at length or as part of my quarterly Bookshelf rubric—most often both.
(4) Typeset/proof, produce e-books, and in some cases edit Five Directions Press titles scheduled for 2019.
Met. For a while, it looked as if Song of the Siren might be our only title this year, but in the end we had three. I edited Joan Schweighardt’s Gifts for the Dead (Rivers 2) while she edited Gabrielle Mathieu’s Girl of Fire (Berona’s Quest 1); then I typeset them both and produced the e-books after they finished proofing the typeset files.
(5) Stay current with online marketing efforts and outreach. At a minimum, I plan to keep up my weekly blog posts, maintain my website and the Five Directions Press website, and participate regularly if not every month in such group features as “Books We Loved” and “Five Directions Press Authors Dish.”
Met. Although heavy work commitments meant that I was absent from social media more than is either desirable or wise for a small-press author, I did manage to keep up with my blog, maintain and update my website (hint: book links are now separated by series rather than all crammed into one page) and the Five Directions Press site. I submitted entries for “Books We Loved” in eleven out of twelve months and contributed at least three “Authors Dish” posts, as well as a Spotlight interview with P. K. Adams (conducted before we established the parameters of our joint project).
So not a bad show, all told. Check back next week to find out what I have planned for next year. In the meantime, my best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a peaceful and productive 2020!
Image: Purchased by subscription from iClipart.com, #c1219315_b.jpg .
As luck would have it, I’ve never visited Hawaii. I’d love to, someday, but so far I have not.
I first heard of the islands as a schoolchild in the UK, as the place where Captain James Cook died. In those days, Hawaii was an independent kingdom, although portrayed as a savage, uncivilized one in the colonialist textbook of my primary (elementary) school. Of course, this was the same textbook that reduced the six-year American War of Independence to a paragraph stating that King George III kindly released the colonists from their obligations to the crown in response to a few disturbances. When I moved across the Atlantic at the age of eleven, I soon learned the other side to that story, and it wasn’t hard to imagine that the Hawaiians might have had good reasons for objecting to Captain Cook as well.
There in Chicago, I learned about Hawaii as the fiftieth state, an island paradise where folks from the other forty-nine wanted to hang out on their vacations. Sun, beach, sea, mountains—even a kid in junior high school could appreciate the appeal. There was a casual mention of annexation in my US history classes, but that appeared as little more than a footnote on the way to rounding out the national roster—glossed over along with all the other stories of conquest and exploitation in favor of emphasis on the Louisiana Purchase and the $7 million that William Seward paid for Alaska. A different picture, for sure, stripped of the savage and uncivilized element, but not much more accurate for all that.
The Hawaii portrayed in Katherine Kayne’s Bound in Flame, the subject of my latest interview for New Books in Historical Fiction, is, in contrast, a vibrant and multifaceted place—still wrestling with the reality of US annexation, the loss of the islands’ independence, the overthrow of its royal family, and the assault on its ancient culture. There are certainly beaches, mountains, and flowers by the cartload, but the story behind the story is darker, grittier, and more realistic than the glorious photos of Waikiki with which we’re so familiar. Richer, too, since this is a tale of an island kingdom that valued education, experienced a deep attachment to the land and its creatures, and supported strong and assertive women—riders, spiritual leaders, rulers—at a time when much of the mainland insisted that females should see themselves solely as “angels about the house.”
As always, the rest of this post comes from New Books in Historical Fiction.
Leticia Liliuokalani Lang, better known as Letty, has good intentions, but her strong will and quick temper tend to get in her way. Banished from her Hawaiian home due to a conflict with her stepmother, Letty winds up in a California boarding school, where she decides to devote her career to healing animals—even though female veterinarians are scarcer than the proverbial hen’s teeth in 1906.
On the ship back to her beloved islands, Letty notices a beautiful racehorse and realizes the horse’s trainer is abusing him. An accident in the harbor sends the stallion into the ocean, and Letty dives in to save him without a second thought. That sets her on a collision course with the horse’s owner and trainer after she insults the former and reports on the latter’s mistreatment. All this before Letty even reaches her home and confronts the stepmother who sent her away.
Letty learns that she has a magical gift that challenges her self-control but acts as a source of strength and connection. She is one of nine Gates, bound to the earth, born with the ability to harness its power—represented by the flames of her spirit—to direct her intentions, for good or for ill. But Letty resists her destiny, knowing that her gift comes at a cost: a lifetime alone.
In this delightful debut novel Katherine Kayne sweeps us back to a Hawaii still mourning its lost kingdom, where ladies—their ballgowns covered in yards of protective fabric—gallop across the mountains and down the city streets on their way to polo matches and parties, men dance the hula as well as women, and flowers are everywhere. It’s no accident that Bound in Flame kicks off a brand-new series, aptly called The Hawaiian Ladies Riding Society.
Image: Lei © Sanba38 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Posted by C. P. Lesley at 11:06 AM No comments:
Talking about Song of the Siren
Five months ago to the day, Five Directions Press released Song of the Siren into the world. And in a happy coincidence, Terry Gamble—wh...
Song of the Shaman
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