Ever Feel You're Being Watched?

If you happen to be walking round the outside of the Cathedral in Kirkwall, look up, and you will see these wonderful carvings dotted around the walls and edges of the roof...

Now, I've usually referred to these as gargoyles, but I'm beginning to think that at least some of them would be more correctly referred to as grotesques (see the links for the difference)...

But whatever they're called, I think they're great!

Not My Cross To Bear

This is just kind of propped up against the side of the Cathedral...

Italian Chapel 2

Last few for the moment from the Italian Chapel, starting with the mural behind the altar:

Candles burning at the altar:

Statue of George & The Dragon, with the moon rising behind:

Why St George? It was a symbol of the prisoners' triumph over separation and loneliness.

Arctic Explorer And Orcadian, John Rae...

Well, not him obviously... his memorial in St Magnus Cathedral (my favourite bit of one of my favourite places... I remember being fascinated by this when I was young, because it looks so true to life... It was just like he was sleeping), and his grave in the churchyard...

Read about him here: Orkneyjar: John Rae (© Sigurd Towrie)
and here: Wikipedia: John Rae

The Memorial:

Such a humble, low-profile grave, tucked right up in the back corner of the churchyard:

Close up of the epitaph:

Definitely an unsung hero, and a victim of negative press at the time, because he dared to tell the truth.