|
Wolfshead
Wolfshead
As you were persistent enough to find
this page, you will know that I am a Robin of Sherwood aka ROS fan!
Wolfshead
is a period term for an outlaw. (Robert
Wolfshead, July, 1992, pg. 15)
Updates:
* * *
***
MIND MYTH & MAGIC GROUP
***
RIG SVENSON
http://www.runewebvitki.com/
" Rune Divination Authenticity
"
Die realen Geheimnisse
der runen
(The real secrets of the runes)
on Thursday 30th March 2006
We meet on the
Last Thursday of each
Month
at the Kynnersley Arms
in Leighton,
( The B4380 >
Ironbridge to
Shrewsbury
Road )
7.30 for
8pm
The
Kynnersley Arms is a pub - but one with a difference! Channel 4's
Time Team recently visited and helped unearth even more of its 1,000
year history. The pub used to house a mill which ground corn. The
millstones took their power from a giant water wheel, fed by a nearby
pond, which in turn was fed by several springs originating on the
Wrekin. The mill was still grinding corn up until 1936, and a glass
floor panel in the pub enables regulars to catch a view!
ALL ARE WELCOME
£2 towards the Speaker fund incl. Raffle prize
* * *
* * * * * * * * *
http://www.robinofsherwood.org/
My Secret
Chiefs Talk
The
Secret Chiefs (formally Talking Stick) meet fortnightly in Central
London on Wednesday evenings in the upstairs room of the Princess
Louise Public House at High Holborn (50 yds from Holborn Tube). The
room opens at 7p.m. and the talks start at 8.30p.m. Admission is £2.
http://www.pflondon.org/html/secret_chiefs.html
I was
kindly invited by Michael Binghas who now runs the venue. The travel
time to London from the Midlands via Virgin Trains took around 2
hours, as you have to allow for the stampede, avoiding at all cost not
to get trampled over whilst disembarking your train on arrival in
London. It was dark when I arrived in London on my own around 7p.m.
To add to the commotion, it was raining and the London taxis seemed
reluctant to take me there because of the roads being blocked off at
that time of the year?
Great I
thought having not allowed for the rain and armed with a briefcase
plus large flip chart, I attempted to convince another taxi driver to
get me as close as possible. This he did good chap and much to
alleviate my concerns about getting there dry. I had prepared several
bottles of fresh herbs a week prior to the talk, taking them with me
in small glass bottles each with their own cork. I also brought a
flip chart on which I had written down all the relevant bullet points
I had hoped to stage. I arranged it like a story line. One rune
scram knife and a set of stick runes I also brought with me.
One of
the women present there bought me a drink and started to talk to me on
my arrival. This followed by more doing the same and the atmosphere
was very easy going and friendly. Caroline Robertson was also there
to greet me and was an eloquent host to me. The pagan guys and gals
in London are in my opinion a great bunch.
The
first few seconds of any talk usually makes or breaks you. I remember
being very hot and bothered. Being a teacher, this can be embarrassing
but the golden rule is to prepare well and know your subject matter.
Once you begin, you must follow through your subject till question
time. You will always get someone who asks of you a question you have
no immediate answer to. I made a remark early in the talk that the
most ancient runic symbol was found in China. Imagine the feedback
you get from this.
In any
case, they all enjoyed the first part of my talk after which was an
interlude for liquid refreshments. The second part was even better.
Question: Could the high mortality rate in Viking women and Children
be due to the high infancy mortality? One of the audiences was
suggesting this to be the case as I had suggested that WÖlwas
life span in Viking times averaged around the mid 30s. Hence they had
to learn their craft inside 20 years starting as a child.
My
Answer:
Life Expectancy in
Viking Age Jorvik (York)
Infant
and childhood life-span
It has been
estimated that about 17% of the population died in infancy, before
reaching five years of age. About 16% did not survive to around 20
years of age. In all, more than 33% of the population did not reach
adulthood.
Adult
life-span
Having reached
adulthood, the survival prospects for men and women were very
different.
As this chart shows, 50% of adult men died between 21
and 30 years of age and this may be because of warfare and the
generally turbulent times. For women, the risks were in pregnancy and
childbirth and 35% of them did not survive beyond 30 years. The 31 to
40 year olds were the 'middle-aged' people of the Viking Age and 50
years of age would be thought of as 'old'. Women seem to have had an
especially high death rate in the age group 41 to 50 when compared
with the men, but this is because about eight out of ten of the adult
men had already died at an earlier age.
It was exceptional for anyone to reach what we would
today call 'old age'.
Ref:http://www.viking.no/e/england/york/life_expectancy_in_jorvik.html#
There
are three basic rules to presentation:
-
Tell
the folks what you are going to tell them
-
Then
tell it to them
-
Go
over in brief what you have just told them
Make it
interesting, there are off course many ways you can put it over
better. Visual aids such as flip charts, objects make it more of a
night for all. I spoke briefly about poisonous herbs and that got them
very interested. Then you have spells of invisibility or love charms
potions. Enough said. Sex is a powerful interest area. Remember also
that the best of plans often come unstuck. Improvise and don’t be too
rigid. I tried to demonstrate galdror (rune sound/phonetics) timing
using a carrot and a small scraping knife. Someone in the audience
burst out laughing. It is professionalism that sees you through every
time. I focused on my presentation and carried on. My flip chart
shouldn’t have been a problem but I somehow mistimed the pages.
Perhaps this was due to nerves or being hot and bothered at the time.
What always gets me through is preparation, preparation and
preparation. It is hard to speak in front of your peers, let alone to
an audience of strangers.
All in
all, it was a good evening much helped by support from both Michael
Binghas and Caroline Robertson not forgetting the fantastic
London folks of Secret Chiefs. Secret Chiefs is a very pagan
friendly venue to present lectures and I was told by the folks there
that they loved my work :-).
Music:- Robin
(The Hooded man) Artist: Clannad
Quick Links:
 |
