fotos4web

You show me yours and I'll show you mine ! R18

She's a Sheela-na-Gig.

In ancient times in Ireland and England they were carved and set up above the entrance to Castles and Churches (mostly because no-one else could afford them)

Let's see - how can I put this gently - oh OK She's flashing her ladies bits at you !

Traditionally the Sheela-na-Gig was a Wise Woman in the town/village who would produce/provide protective amulets,spells etc as protection against intruders,vikings,tax collectors etc who'd try to rob you. If the bundle of hers/stones/chickengizzards in a rag didn't work the it was also her job to stan over a fire (nude from the waist down) on one leg assimilating the energy from the fire into her genitals. She then dashed outside and gave the intruder a flash of her naughty bits and this would allegedly terrify the intruder into running away .
(I don't think I'd be too worried but that's another story)
Well to cut a long story short, it rains a lot in Ireland and it's pretty cold and miserable in the Winter so someone cam up with the great idea of stone figures doing the sheela-na-gig thing that could be cemented over the door and everyone was happy ever after ! So off I troll to photograph one of these laaaadies (statue not real lady - I don't think they do that any more except in Temple Bar Dublin on a Saturday night .. oh yes and in Newcastle too)
I eventually find the village and the castle - no sheela-na gigh - back to car , read erudite guidebook and discover it's 40 ft up a sheer wall near the top ... back to car for long lens. Now I've recently turned over to digital photography and it's fun. So when I pressed the button and the camera went click I though it had taken a phot - wrong - it took nothing !
Tried again half a dozen times,changed batteries - still nothing. Then I pointed it at a gorse bus and got a lovely picture. Back to Sheela - nope ! Gorse bush -lovely - Sheela - nada. So I started wandering off down the hill in despain and from behingd me I HEARD a smile ! I looked up and I swear the Sheela na gig was smiling. So like a ninny I started to reason with the statue and explained that I knew she was only protecting the castle but that when I say I'm TAKING a photo I'm actually MAKING an image of her and she'll be famous. After a good bit of this buttering up my camera started working again and I have some lovely pix of a really quite cute Sheela-na-gig.
And I don't have any other explanation ... truly !

posted by Keith @ 2:11 PM