Friday 5 July 2013

Laa Tinvaal

A happy Tynwald Day to you! It's the Isle of Man's national day today, which is celebrated on the island with the convening of parliament outdoors:
Tynwald is the world's oldest continuous parliament. Its President Clare Christian will preside over the event. 
The historic day was first codified by the Manx parliament on the hill in 1417. New laws are promulgated in both English and Gaelic. 
The ceremony is due to begin at about 10:30 (BST) when the island's Lieutenant Governor, Adam Wood arrives in St John's. 
Entertainments including folk stories, ceilidh and circus workshops are being run in the field behind the Tynwald ceremony.
So says the Beeb.

The BBC's photo gallery from the day's events are worth looking at, if only for the picture of the Vikings! If you're interested in hearing what Manx sounds like spoken, there's a video report about the Manx language school on the island (very weird to hear a Gaelic language spoken with such an English accent!)