By Bernie Bell

Pic by McB

All over the world, through time – people have carved images of things which matter to them – often in places which matter to them.  https://theorkneynews.scot/2020/01/28/making-our-mark/

Walking on a nearby beach, in Orkney, Mike came across a big, flat stone, on which were scratched a moon, stars and planets, a cloud with rain, a heart, and – the outline of a hand.

For millennia, folk have left imprints of their hands on rocks and in caves – a way of saying  – This is me. These are us. This is our place. 

A human handprint, makes a statement.  https://theorkneynews.scot/2019/05/25/poetry-corner-the-swandro-stone/

Hand prints a now often used on banners by the Extinction Rebellion movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_Rebellion, in which children play a large part.

The size of the outline of the hand, on the stone, on the beach, indicates that children probably made those images, and it’s good to see that children are spending time outside, by the sea, engaging with the world around them, being imaginative and leaving their mark in a harmless way, for others to find and appreciate.

Maybe these are the same children who started, and continue to add to, The Rendall Snake?  https://theorkneynews.scot/2020/07/15/the-rendall-snake/

Snakes, hands, planets  – food for thought, and a little bit of wonder, on an Orkney beach.