GLADMAN

Hi, I’m Robert... aka The Citizen Cairn... with a passion for attempting to understand the lives of the pioneering prehistoric inhabitants of these British Isles, seeking out the remains they left behind in order to ask myself “why here ... why did it matter so... why such commitment?” Needless to say, I’m still pondering such intangibles. Just as an empty house appears – to me – to retain echoes of past humanity... so does the stone circle, the chambered cairn, the long barrow and the mountain-top funerary cairn. Visiting them, I think, helps engender a certain ‘connection’ with this land of ours, with ourselves – our past, our present and our future; a reference point for those of us perhaps struggling to make sense of this so-called ‘computer world’ Kraftwerk warned us was a’coming in 1981.... danke, mein herren.

Should my posts provide inspiration for others to venture into the Great Outdoors, please note that the hills and mountains of these Isles are unpredictable, potentially dangerous places. Weather conditions can and, in my long experience, DO change bewilderingly quickly, even in high summer. Check specialist mountain forecasts and ensure you ALWAYS have map/compass/waterproofs... and know how to use them. Don’t get caught out without them. They could save your life. Please engage with landowners wherever possible, since being a cartoon ‘class warrior’ might be jolly good fun for the narcissistic ‘rebel’ clown... but not for those who may choose to follow.

Above all, have fun. Suffice to say, our forebears sure knew where to put ‘em!

A few select comments from the more erudite:

Joni Mitchell – ‘Don’t it always seem to go; That you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?‘

George Orwell – ‘The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection.‘

Martin Gore – ‘Like a pawn on the eternal board; Who’s never quite sure what he’s moved towards; I walk blindly on’...

Truman Capote – ‘Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavour.‘

Oscar Wilde – ‘The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.‘

John Lydon – ‘It is a reward to be chastised by the ignorant.‘

Winston Churchill – ‘“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” [self evidently, for all his disagreeable tendencies and all-too-human faults, Churchill is the reason we are currently able to proffer personal views that are not [yet] dictated by a totalitarian state.]

Mark Twain (attrib) – ‘Never argue with stupid people, they will only drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience‘

Ultravox – ‘Taking shelter by the standing stones; Miles from all that moves....‘

Catch rough field videos from The Citizen Cairn at:

youtube.com/@citizencairn5230