Orkney

Orkney /ˈɔːrkni/ (Scottish Gaelic: Arcaibh), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, United Kingdom. Situated off the north coast of Great Britain, Orkney is 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, Mainland, often referred to as "the Mainland", has an area of 523.25 square kilometres (202 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall.

The name "Orkney" dates back to the 1st century BC or earlier, and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years. Originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts, Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. The Scottish Parliament then re-annexed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride, Margaret of Denmark. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kirkwall Airport

Kirkwall Airport (IATA: KOI, ICAO: EGPA) is the main airport serving Orkney in Scotland. It is located 2.5 NM (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) southeast of Kirkwall and is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited. The airport is used by Flybe franchise service, operated by Loganair.

History

The airport was built and commissioned in 1940 as RAF Grimsetter for the defence of the Scapa Flow naval base. In 1943 the Royal Naval Air Service took over, as RNAS Kirkwall then HMS Robin. Control passed in 1948 to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and in 1986 to Highlands and Islands Airports.

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Ring of Brodgar

The Ring of Brodgar (or Brogar, or Ring o' Brodgar) is a Neolithic henge and stone circle about 6 miles north-east of Stromness on the Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.

General information

The Ring of Brodgar (or Brogar, or Ring o' Brodgar) is a Neolithic henge and stone circle in Orkney, Scotland. Most henges do not contain stone circles; Brodgar is a striking exception, ranking with Avebury (and to a lesser extent Stonehenge) among the greatest of such sites. The ring of stones stands on a small isthmus between the Lochs of Stenness and Harray. These are the northernmost examples of circle henges in Britain. Unlike similar structures such as Avebury, there are no obvious stones inside the circle, but since the interior of the circle has never been excavated by archaeologists, the possibility remains that wooden structures, for example, may have been present. The site has resisted attempts at scientific dating and the monument's age remains uncertain. It is generally thought to have been erected between 2500 BC and 2000 BC, and was, therefore, the last of the great Neolithic monuments built on the Ness. A project called The Ring of Brodgar Excavation 2008 was undertaken in the summer of that year in an attempt to settle the age issue and help answer other questions about a site that remains relatively poorly understood. The results of the excavation are still preliminary.

Robert Llewellyn

Robert Llewellyn (born 10 March 1956, in Northampton, Northamptonshire) is an English actor, comedian and writer best known as the mechanoid Kryten in the hit TV sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf and as a presenter of the TV engineering gameshow Scrapheap Challenge. He is a science and technology enthusiast, a promoter of renewable technologies and electric cars and an atheist and skeptic who frequently gives talks at science and technology events. He is also active online.

Early career

Llewellyn's first foray into the world of show business started out as a hobby, organising a few amateur cabaret evenings in a riverside warehouse overlooking Tower Bridge in London. The shows were a great success and he eventually helped form an alternative comedy theatre group called the Joeys. Within six months he had stopped working as a shoemaker and started performing professionally with the group alongside Bernie Evans, Nigel Ordish and Graham Allum. The group toured Britain and France in the early 1980s with an initial idea of exploring sexual politics between men. Llewellyn wrote much of the material, and also began writing novels. The group split in 1985, having toured for years and done thousands of shows.