vilakins | Distant Shores

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Distant Shores

We've been watching Distant Shores, yet another British series which has city people going to live on a remote island / in a remote village. But hey, I like them; they're pleasant and undemanding escapism. This one has Peter Davison as an irascible plastic surgeon (shades of Doc Martin, yes, I know) and Gareth Thomas as the island's priest. It's a bit predictable so far but it's a lovely dinner accompaniment which won't put me off my food as a coupe of my regular series have done recently.

Some aspects puzzle me though.

The island is called Hildesay which sounds vaguely Scottish to me. The incidental music seems Scottish and some of the characters do too going by their names. Others though just seem Northern and at least one's a definite Geordie (who sticks right out) who seems to be accepted as an islander and not the outsider we are told anyone who wasn't born there remains all their life. Where is this island and why does it have such a weird mix of people? Maybe quarryquest who knows a lot about accents and also saw this being filmed can help me.

A more spoilery question

IN a recent ep (I'm still on season 1) everyone panicked because someone had sex in the church several years before and they thought all the baptism, weddings, and funerals didn't take. OK, first up even I could tell that wasn't right: I've read that baptism is the one rite anyone can perform anywhere, and weddings can be done on beaches and in parks or on yachts (I've been to all three) which aren't consecrated. The priest finally hears just this from the mainland--but Laney and Duncan are still planning to get married? Why do that if their first wedding is still valid? And you know, the whole thing with Duncan and Lisa is not just incomprehensible to me (Duncan is rather yummy but Lisa is... desiccated) but annoying and predictable. I just knew Bill would see them in the dunes. Why the hell would anyone think in the sand dunes on a small island is a sensible place to meet?

Back to Heroes catching up and B7 rewatching tomorrow night. And probably more of that wonderful series From the Earth to the Moon which is just as excellent the second time round.

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In a sense, Geordies are almost Scots. After all, at one time the border between England and Scotland ran almost due west to east (as marked by Hadrian's Wall) instead of roughly WSW to ENE as it does now, so that a chunk of what is now England was inhabited by Picts and/or Scots. Also around 800AD the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria extended as far north as the Firth of Forth. So an island off the east coast somewhere betweem Edinburgh and Newcastle might be a possible location.

I imagine they'd have a fairly homogeneous accent though.

True. It's possible that islanders born and bred might have a different accent from those living on the mainland only a mile or two away, though.

The Geordie may well have been born their but he and his parents moved away when he was young enough to pick up the loacal accent of where they moved too. Some accents are hard to shake even when you go 'home' again.

Small communities have strange ideas, I can imagine the sex in the church scenario happening here in my childhood. It's not so much a question of law it's one of belief, being brought up in the general atmosphere that sex before marriage is wicked, someone having illicit sex in a church would deconsecrate it in the eyes of the congregation. By law it is the person who performs the ceremony that is important, by belief it is the place. Baptism by anyone is I think only possible in deathbed situations, I'll have to check that though. Laney and Duncan are probably of the side that believes in the place and not the person and no outsider is going to convince them otherwise. Any way a wedding is a good excuse for a party.

Actually, I fancied Lisa a lot more than Laney. But I suppose I'm quite desiccated myself.

Apparently the main location used was Craster (http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/vg/craster.htm), which isn't an island but a village on the Northumbrian coast (http://www.cheviotholidaycottages.co.uk/location.cfm). But it's not that far from the Farne Islands, so maybe they had those in mind.

I wouldn't think of Scots and Geordie sounding very similar, but then I'm not familiar with the Borders.

I was nodding when I found out they used Craster. Lovely place and a good base as they hi-jacked the pub the family usually have our lunch in when we visit and the castle they used for the Wicker Man parody is Dunstanburgh and only a ten minute walk away. They also used Holy Island (you can look that up on Wikipedia its there under Lindsfarne its other name) and I think Hildasay was supposed to be based on that.

I put a page with a few photos here:

http://www.geocities.com/hamstermoon/Craster.html

Perhaps "Hildasay" was intended to refer to St Hilda, as a Northumbrian princess?

In the Borders you get a mix of Geordie and Scots called Northumbrian. It sounds like both and depending on where you parents come from you can develop either southwards or Northwards.

p.p.s. Considering where Gareth lives Craster and environs were very suitable. He was telling me that that and Alnwick (the castle there was Hogwarts for a while BTW) was the area that he wooed Linda (his wife) in as she is from the North. The location was why they did Merlin not too far North from there too.

Where is this island and why does it have such a weird mix of people?

Brigadoon?

I think that questions about religious ceremonies (...which are only called sacraments in some faiths...) are very specific to the denomination. For example, baptism may be routinely performed on all infants, or may be a decision made by an adult, or may even be dependent on being approved as a person of virtuous life.

As to where weddings can be performed, it's often a hassle for people who don't want to be married either in a church or a municipal office to find someone who can and will perform the ceremony somewhere else. Often, the officiant is a judge or a minister from a non-traditional religious organization.

On the other hand, a lot of priests and ministers won't allow their churches to be used for the wedding of people who are complete strangers to the congregation, so a good deal of preliminary and postliminary churchgoing is often required to seal the deal.

If GT is the priest and not the minister or the vicar, then* he's probably Catholic and subject to a lot of rules about the care and maintenance of church buildings.

*Barring more sinister Wicker Man connotations

The English tend to use priest and vicar interchangeably.

For weddings the site has to be licensed for the ceremony to take place, and they regulations were changed only a few years ago to permit places like castles and golf clubs etc to have licences. The ceremony also has to have an official registrar, otherwise it can't be registered for legal purposes. Pretty much all Anglican vicars are registrars, but not ministers of other denominations or faiths. So you have to have a registrar sitting in as a witness to complete the paperwork. Signing the register is always part of a wedding, it's when the organist gets to play their party piece.

Hildesay is Old Norse (Hild's island) and the suffix -ay is common for islands in both Scotland and England, so it could be Northumbria. Hild/Hilda is certainly a famous woman's name up there, because of the abbess. Accents - Geordie isn't much like Scots to my ear; for one thing it doesn't have the rhotic r, and being neighbours doesn't mean they like each other, either - historically the main interaction between Scots and Northumbrians was cattle-raiding, with associated rape and pillage. I seem to recall that when that show aired here, there were comments that it wasn't precisely located; I guess it isn't meant to be.

The wedding thing is odd, but at one time on Fair Isle, which is a long way from anywhere and didn't have a live-in clergyman, couples could declare an intent to marry and then live together. Next time the clergy happened by, the situation would be regularised and any children born meanwhile would be legitimate.

Duncan annoys the shit out of me. Typical conveniently "handsome" "hunk" there. GRH. I like Lisa, wait until you get to the second series. I love Samantha Bond anyway, her eyes are like jade, and you can't say that of many people without sounding purple!:)

The irritating pseudo-goth daughter sucks. I don't like her very much. And I was facepalming SO fucking hard when they went to the village fest and she even had a PENTAGRAM on her shirt. Yeah. Right. "Goth" with a pentagram should not hate going to a Pagan-ish fest. But she's annoying and stupid anyway.

I love the little son though. He's fantastic. Boy can act!

And there's a lot more Gareth in the second series, he's really great. I recommend it highly for lovely Gareth moments. Steven Pacey is in almost all the episodes too, which is of the uttermost WIN!

From the Earth to the Moon is, indeed, wonderful.

(Haven't seen Distant Shores, so I can't comment on it, though. :))

An island that small might have a few outside accents (e.g. the priest and the previous doctor) but anyone born there should have the same accent. The Geordie isn't mentioned as being an outsider and apparently you're one for life. What's it like for non-Welsh people who settle near you? Are they accepted readily or foreign all their lives?

Duncan is however the son of the priest so he should know batter. And his father should refuse to marry them if they're still married. I suppose they could do a renewal of vows which some people do on major wedding anniversaries though I've never been to one.

No, you're not! Lisa is thin and dried out like a smoker and looks all closed and ungenerous. Mean, I know, but that's the impression I get. I like Laney better but she's a bit wet. So far the only female character who's got any gumption is the daughter Kate.

I did know where it was filmed because

quarryquest used to holiday there and went to see it filmed at least once. That doubtless also explains the trees which you don't get much of on Scottish islands, at least not the ones I went to (Skye and the Orkneys).

I wouldn't think of Scots and Geordie sounding very similar

They don't! The Geordie sticks right out. Maybe they'll explain him later. I'll have to look up the Farne Islands.

Thank you! Ha! Both of them have black eyes! A few spoilers there but I think I'll see those work out in the next ep.

I didn't realise Lindisfarne was there! I know it had a famous monastery but for some reason I associated it with Ireland, possibly because there's a Celtic-looking font called that. [looks it up] And an Irish monk called Aidan. Maybe he brought his font with him!

What's it like for non-Welsh people who settle near you? Are they accepted readily or foreign all their lives?
They are accepted but they never become locals. An example I can give is an old lady Mam looked after when I was a child. Mrs Evans was Welsh but she was west Wales not South. She had married a man from this village when she was 17 she was 92 when she died, she was accepted as a good neighbour, a true friend and a good housewife but she was still called an incomer.
An island that small might have a few outside accents but anyone born there should have the same accent.
Now I was thinking about my Irish cousins when thinking about the accents. I have four cousins of around my age who are the daughters of my mothers oldest neice and her husband a native of Dublin

They were all born and grew to talking age in London, then the family moved over to live in Ireland. Pat kept her welsh accent all her life but her three youngest daughters developed broad Irish accents before they were more than 2 years older and kept them even when they came back to London, in one case and wales in an other, to work for several years. That was the scenario I was thinking of for the apparently Geordie speaking 'native'.

Yes people do retake their vows on certain occasions, in the case of my parents it was when Mam had to have her wedding ring removed when she broke that finger and it healed with a bump she couldn't get the ring over. Dad
bought her a new one and they went to church to have it blessed and renewed their vows.

And yes Duncan should know better ( I haven't watched the series so I don't know details)but perhaps he was just humouring his wife.

People get married here all over the place including the Winter Gardens (tropical area of the Domain). Ceremonies are performed by religious people or by 'marriage celebrants' who have gone through some sort of course and been licenced.

GT's character isn't Catholic as he has two sons, and I know that Anglican (like the US Episcopalian) vicars are also priests--a friend is one; the one whose best male friend was her chief bridesmaid! :-D I know from her that a vicar runs a parish but that all licensed clergy are priests (and that she can't do a civil union for her gay friends because those are specifically non-religious). Her assistant is a Priest Associate as a parish can only have one vicar. I'm not sure what Charles, the guy GT plays, is described as but he might be Presbyterian if they're close to Scotland, or Anglican. I don't know enough about the area to tell so I just used the generic term (AFAIK).

He's a nice character FWIW, the most likeable male on the island so far followed by his gay son. :-)

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I don't think the accents are at all alike which is why the Geordie character sticks right out. I can't have been very clear.

They did say that the name was Norse but I associate -ay names with Scotland, obviously wrongly.

That sounds extremely sensible. I heard somewhere that people did do just that all the time, then they started announcing it from a prominent place like outside the church, then inside, and it went from there.

I haven't seen Steven yet. Duncan and Lisa both annoy me, but you're right, the boy Harvey is brilliant. I think it's Harvey. The daughter isn't Goth any more: I don't know how she got all that black out of her hair because it's notoriously hard to do.

I look forward to more Charles because GT is indeed great. He comes across as warm and sensible and cuddly with it.

It blew me away when it was first shown here and now we have the DVDs. I love how each ep is so different and so well done. It is utter geek joy.

she was still called an incomer

They used that term in this program! And really much the same applies to small towns here.

Yes, I know lots of immigrants, some of whom lost their accents in a couple of years and others who never will.

I can understand renewing vows (did you go to your parents' ceremony?) but they're talking about a wedding--and at least one wants to have an affair with someone else. :-P I'm sure Charles (GT's priest) is sensible enough to work it out.

That makes sense, though an island wouldn't have so much outside contact. Perhaps it's the influence of TV.

It's lovely seeing this after reading about your experiences. I must reread your report. :-)

Ah. That might explain the attitude. It's quite different here; you can get married pretty much anywhere as long as you have a licensed celebrant (religious or otherwise) and the location is accessible to the public (so a yacht has to be moored at a pier or marina for the ceremony but can sail out afterwards).

Yes, licences here are issued by the government and signed at ceremonies along with the register, so that's pretty much the same.

OK, so it's a cultural difference and not so odd after all. :-P

did you go to your parents' ceremony?)

Yes I did, I think it was the first time Dad had been inside a church since he was married to Mam. He looked so uncomfortable he did hate to be the centre of attention.

Have you still got that?? I lost it when I had that disc failure and the back-up died with my comp at work.

There is a similarity between the Book of Kells and The Lindisfarne Gospels because of Iona.

I think Columba sent Aidan to Holy Island to try and create a similar set-up on the other side of the country.

I do! You sent to it GMail so I can send it to you now from work. At least I hope that's the one you mean. :-)

No, it's me not being clear - twasn't you who implied a similarity between Scots and Geordie but someone else. Actually "Scots" is hardly homogenous either of course - and very class-influenced; an upper-class Edinburgh drawl is as far removed from Glaswegian (or Hebridean) as can be.

You do get a lot of -ay names in, or rather off, Scotland, but then there are more islands up there! And further south it tends to be spelled -ey (Anglesey and Canvey for example. There is a real Hildasay in Shetland but that certainly isn't where they meant the series to be.

Fair Isle was a bugger to get to in the days of sail. One very dedicated 17th-century clergyman had himself rowed there, the winds being adverse, and arrived almost prostrated with sea-sickness.

And Highland and Lowland are very different too.

I hadn't even connected the -ey names with -ay. Interesting! I should reread my 'Story of English'.

Eep. In the episode I watched tonight, they were cut off by high winds.

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Distant Shores

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