We have been on holiday.
Where? Here’s a clue, spotted on a building in the town centre.
Our heads though are still with the Vikings. We have been reading the sequel to ‘The Riddle of the Runes’, featured in last month’s blog post about Vikings. https://www.janinaramirez.co.uk/way-of-the-waves
Viking heroine, Alva, and her wolf, Fenrir, set off on a new adventure overseas. 
We first meet Alva in ‘ The Riddle of the Runes’. 
The story is set in a Viking village in Scandinavia. 
Busby identified very strongly with Fenrir. Scroll up or down in the image below to see whether he is right to do so. 
These books are aimed at readers aged 9+. As an adult, I appreciated the author’s depth of knowledge evident in the story. 
For adults, I’ve also been re-listening to this book. It is based on a true event: the abduction in 1627 by Barbary pirates of 400 Icelanders. This is the imagined story of one of those abducted and sold into slavery in Algiers.
Should we tell him?!
We have been thinking about kennings.
The Vikings used these in their sagas. Kennings are phrases of two words that replace a noun, for example, Thor’s laughter meaning thunder. You can find out more about these and write your own on these educational websites: https://www.step.education.ed.ac.uk/resources/learning-through-stories/polonius-the-pit-pony/create-a-kenning-poem/ (younger readers)
For older readers, here: https://ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk/workshop/land-of-the-ocean-noise-create-your-own-kennings/
The poem below has been taken from the above (Poetry Society) website. You can read the full version there.
Vinden belg sakte (The wind bellows softly)
by Isobel Sheene
Silent bellower,
Unheard words echoing
In the hushed tones of waves
As they ripple softly out to sea.
Invisible flag-whipper
Beats the red-backed blue cross
Held together by white borders
And rips the woven snake that ties it down.
Branch-pusher rustles
Through the emerald leaves.
Spruces sway from the giants’ breath,
As he climbs to the mountain top.
Clouds exhaling in a gust.
Washing-dryer, useful, good.
Tree-toppler, deadly, bad.
Blowing ships over the ocean.
Picture: we created it – with DALL-E.
We have been listening to this very short, calming piece of music by Icelandic composer, Olafur Arnalds.
You can listen to the original, hauntingly beautiful, choral version, here: https://youtu.be/qdDGdOFKvSY
We have been trying out a much better wildflower App.
Leaf Snap is an App that’s free (and also efficient) at identifying wild flowers. It even had a go at identifying the photo on the left, that we took in Brittany. Look closely: escargots anyone?
You can find out about Leaf Snap, here: https://plantidentifier.info/#block39
We have been watching groups of swifts (the collective noun is a scream!) and wondering how they coordinate with each other at such high speeds
So, we were fascinated by these images. The photo on the right, by Katheryn Cooper, is not a tornado, but one of a series of time-lapsed photos of starling murmurations. You can find out more about her work, and view other stunning photos, here: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2023/jul/21/stillin-motion-time-lapsed-montages-of-starling-murmurations
We have been inspired by the starlings to watch some humans achieve perfect synchronisation.
And finally …
Thank you…
everyone who has signed up to follow this blog. Every time we see a new name, I feel great and Busby feels (p)awesome.
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