London Still Rocks!

First entertainment up on New Year's Eve was a lecture on the Sámi : D' you know, I was sure I'd seen him somewhere.. We were also introduced to a Sámi folk singer : The Sámi homeland is really widespread, although most are apparently based in Norway : There was a bit about the Sámi's role as reindeer herders: Mind you, they were also fisherfolk! And the Russian Sámi - well, certainly dress differently! Ah, back to the language - and wow, look how widespread they are on this map! Origins: I love the drums with the magical symbols - pity I couldn't have made the mythological talk later, but it clashed with dinner: She explained to us how they're peace-loving people - except for the Kautokeino Rebellion , apparently to do with the introduction of alcohol to the community, and its detrimental effect: And there was a sad tale to tell, about their indoctrination into Norwegian society, made to forget their language and culture: And I knew I remembered that guys face...

Yesterday saw my last  Meetup  of the year, with  London Museums from A-Z  (LoMAZ) doing their 2025 Xmas Pub Crawl! Not listed as an official Meetup event, it was advertised on their  WhatsApp  chat for people who have already attended a LoMAZ event - so restricted to people who've both attended an event and signed up for the WhatsApp group, and people they choose to invite. Now,  Helen  was also coming to town that day.. and when they amended their plans to include a pre-crawl lunch, she said she'd join us! So, we started at  Nando's London Bridge . She got there before I did - and when I got there, there were also a couple of the group outside. I hung around with her inside the door until our Master of Ceremonies - dressed festively in a Santa hat and jacket, stormed into the place (I told her she couldn't miss him, he was a big, boisterous hug of a person..) Well, sure enough, in he breezed.. and I think he had spoken to the place bef...