Skip to main content

Loaghtan Manx

Once upon a time there were lots of kings who chased around the world robbing whatever land they fancied, locking people are in towers and hitting everyone with their swords/ sticks / spiky metaL balls on chains. It seems that at one point many kingdoms had a passion for claiming islands that were close enough to them in nature where sheep, climate and jumpers matched their homelands. Just because something is closest to me does it make it mine. Just because I run around shouting at everyone "Mine..mine..mine" does it actually mean that I have ownership? Unfortunately positioned in the middle of the Irish sea pretty close to Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and not too far from Scandinavian, it seems that Isle of Man was fair game for anyone with a boat. With boats there's not only the threat of invasion but smuggling is made a whole lot easier especially when you are surrounded by coast.

However this is an Isle of character, resilience against the takers of the earth and a flag flyer of individuality. The Manx triskellion - three conjoined armoured legs with spurs is not your average symbol. Then there's the link between the name, Isle of Man and an ancient sea God. Manx stands for everything from the Isle of Man. They have their own language, government and an emerging private space travel industry.


Most people have heard of the Manx cat. This cat, with its naturally occurring mutation resulting In a very short tail, is a native but not no.1 on my list of reasons for wanting to visit. The most influential factor in my fascination in everything Manx is the Loaghtan Manx Sheep. The legendary tale is that marauding Vikings with their imagined horned helmets brought the Loaghtan Manx with them on their escapades around the Northern part of the British Isles. Perhaps the writers of history got the stories muddled as they wrote by candlelight and mistook horned sheep for horned men. Unlike the evidence for horned Viking Helmets, the horns of the Loaghtan Manx are plentiful. It is not unusual for both the ladies and gentlemen of this breed to have anything between two and six horns. With their fabulous brown fleece and skinny legs, they look almost mythical. Apparently they have neared extinction three times but these guys are made of sturdy stuff. They hang out on bleak hills in the middle of the Irish Sea with all the weathers testing the durability of their wool. It bleaches in the sun providing an array of natural sheepy colours as a sustainable resource for knitters like me.




 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Pink Ladies

As we sat in our classroom inspired horseshoe, designed to encourage conversation, there was a slightly uneasy silence. Those of us who knew each other, stole furtive glances, others returned our smiles politely although they were not privy to the planning and discussion that had occurred in preparation for the evening. The time had slowed, 8pm seemed an age away. The silence was intermittently interspersed with brief attemps at small talk and the rants of a drunk outside on the city streets. The commanding presence of our WI advisor Dorothy, had the air of an experienced headmistress or well respected senior relative which in the event of such formalities made me feel foolish in my .....excitement. Some of us stifled giggles as advice was provided on the process, as we had already made the majority of our formal decisions but it was with noticeable nerves, that I raised my hand to the question of who wished to be President.   So that's it, another new chapter has open

Ridgeway Cottage Anyhow - How to add social media buttons to your blog

I know not everyone is excited by learning code and techie stuff but in my quest for website geekiness, this post is just one step closer. For all my lovely friends and family who do not care one hoot about what goes on behind the scenes of Ridgeway Cottage, here are some lovely photos of October life. (Those who do want to know about the buttons, social media and coding, please read on.) Social Media Buttons Anyhow You will need. Your blog open in layout  The URL of your social media places you want to link to Some lovely pictures of social media icons that you would like to use as your buttons A photobucket account which you can easily open here A small understanding of how the coding works  A rather large smattering of patience unless you are super clever at all techie stuff   What social media icons are you going to use? You can find some very lovely ones by searching on the internet or there are some here, here ,  or here . I liked these one because I do r

Granny square Christmas

When I was younger I fell in love with the granny square blanket my Nan had made. It was in her tiny little Welsh cottage near the mountains and was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. So many colours and combinations of colours, it was just truly amazing. I'm not sure if it's the happy childhood memories or my ever increasing passion for crocheting, but granny squares (and doilies) are something I could fill me life with. Even more delightful are the variations on granny squares. Star burst blanket, which used to be my favourite, but I have recently had a go at African flowers. They are quick and easy to make and so very pretty. Thanks to the brilliant free pattern that I found here , I have managed to make a little crochet Christmas stocking made out of 16 1/2 motifs. I am happy with the how the little Christmas stocking turned out and am now rather fond of African flowers, star burst and granny squares, well actually, all