Forfatter: Erik Ribsskog

Thanks Erik. We are waiting to receive the video material (and permissions) on the conference and hopefully you should be able to catch up on the Introduction and the other talks you missed at the start. This will also be of benefit to others, particularly the many people who wanted to attend but were unable to get tickets.

Paa gjensyn,

Steve

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From: Erik Ribsskog [mailto:eribsskog@gmail.com]

Sent: 10 December 2010 14:16

To: Steve.Harding@nottingham.ac.uk
Subject: Fwd: Viking DNA book – Apologies for problems with Amazon link, now resolved

Hi,

that is, I don't want to have this as a life-style, with football-games at the Wirral and be mate with the Icelandic guy from the Scandinavian Church, etc.

I only care about the viking-stuff on the Wirral etc.

Because I have a lot of different interests, like blog, genealogy, web-design, etc., etc.

So I haven't got that much spare-time.

So this isn't about the community-stuff, this is just about the vikingship and the conference.

Hope you include the questions from the audience, (from me and others), in the summary, since I brought up about the vikingship in Meols etc.

Hope this is alright, don't mean to be to direct/inpolite.

Best regards,

Erik Ribsskog

PS.

Maybe I'll go on a movie, or something, part of the Nordic festival, but I haven't got the time to go there all the time, unfortunately.

I thought about going on Max Manus, (the Norwegian was-movie), in the Scandinavian chruch last year.

And I asked a young Swedish woman, Amanda, who works at Netto, Weaverthree, if she had been at the Scandinavian Church, but she hadn't.

Also, I have an employment-case, against Bertelsmann Arvato Microsoft Scandinavian Product Activation:

http://www.scribd.com/groups/view/14830-arvato-services-ltd-s-microsoft-scandinavian-product-activation

Perhaps you know someone at the University of Nottingham, who could help me with this case, as a pro-bono-case, because this case involved/involves many Scandinavians living in Liverpool.

(My alumumni, at University of Sunderland, haven't replied).

Also, some of the employees there, had a lot to do with the Scandinavian Church, (and are included in the case), an Irish/Swede called Michael O'Shaughnessy etc., so I'm a bit vary about the Scandinavian Church, to be frank.

So I think I'll only keep this at the level it's been at, that I only go to the odd trip/event at my own choice.

Hope this is alright!

———- Forwarded message ———-

From: Erik Ribsskog <eribsskog@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 1:53 PM
Subject: Re: Viking DNA book – Apologies for problems with Amazon link, now resolved

To: Stephen Harding <Steve.Harding@nottingham.ac.uk>

Hi,

ok, perhaps I'll do that!

Thank you very much for your help!

I'll update you as soon as possible, if I hear something more from the Vikingship-experts in Norway.

Thank you very much again for your reply!

Best regards,

Erik Ribsskog

On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 10:22 AM, Stephen Harding <Steve.Harding@nottingham.ac.uk> wrote:

Thanks Erik

We'll put a summary up soon on http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve and may be able to include some videos of the talks – including the Intro – once we have permission from the speakers. If you like I can also put you in touch with Ingi Thor Jonsson – like yourself a resident Livepudlian – who runs the annual NICE (Nordic Cultural Events) Festival, I think you and Ingi would get on very well. There will eventually be a book based on the Conference but that won't be for some months,

Ha det bra

Steve

Vikings: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve

steve.harding@nottingham.ac.uk

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From: Erik Ribsskog [mailto:eribsskog@gmail.com]
Sent: 07 December 2010 14:53

To: Stephen Harding
Subject: Re: Viking DNA book – Apologies for problems with Amazon link, now resolved

Hi,

thank you very much for you e-mail!

I've now sent about the Vikingship in Meols, to the Norwegian Maritime Museum, at Bygdøy, in Oslo.

They are also experts on vikingships, and the conserving of these, like Cultural Historical Musum, in Oslo are.

I'll update you more, if and when I hear back from them.

Has anyone written a summary from the viking-conference, which I could write about on my blog, since I have a travel-blog etc., where I write about my short travels from Liverpool to different Norwegian Viking places in the Wirral.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Yours sincerely,

Erik Ribsskog

On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 2:23 PM, Stephen Harding <Steve.Harding@nottingham.ac.uk> wrote:

Dear all,

Firstly apologies for the bulk nature of this email again and secondly apologies to those who have had difficulty accessing the book (with its marvellous foreword by Michael Wood) through amazon.co.uk.:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Viking-DNA-Wirral-Lancashire-Project/dp/1906823464

Although because of the demand (many thanks!) the site says "Out of Stock" if you click on the "2 new" you should be able to order the book immediately and in time for Christmas. Thirdly apologies if you have no interest in the Vikings!

All best wishes

Steve, Turi and Mark

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From: Harding Stephen

Sent: 02 December 2010 14:41
To: undisclosed recipients
Subject: Viking DNA book

Dear Colleagues (including many of you who took part in the genetic survey of northwest England, 2002-2007, or the Nordic Festival in 2008)

Apologies if you get this message more than once! We are writing to bring to your attention a publication we have just produced. It focuses on the first part of a genetic survey of northern England – the Wirral and West Lancashire project in the northwest – and explains the basis behind the DNA method to probe ancestry, the use of surnames to help to localize volunteers to specific regions of the country, and how genetic methods are being used in conjunction with historical, archaeological and linguistic evidence to learn about Viking ancestry. It also gives some examples from individual results and from comparing populations of people to help show what these new technologies can achieve.

Publication of the book has been supported by one of the UK Research Councils who have been supporting the study (the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) – and Nottingham University Press in conjunction with Countyvise Limited have very kindly produced this for us and indeed done a splendid job. We would like to stress that we as authors are not taking any Royalties or profit!

The book is introduced with a brilliant foreword by famous UK/BBC historian/broadcaster Michael Wood after which we set out to show as clearly as we can, with the help of full colour illustrations – what DNA is and how DNA methods can be used to probe both individual and population ancestry. For probing Viking ancestry it shows the importance of using DNA in conjunction with historical, linguistic, place name and archaeological evidence – again with the help of many colour illustrations, and explains how DNA can be used to probe paternal ancestry and maternal ancestry either for individuals or for populations of people, explaining also some of the sometimes complicated jargon that scientists use.

A major problem in studying population ancestry is the large population movements that have occurred since the Industrial Revolution. However there is a strong link between surnames and paternal DNA ancestry and the book explains how information such as Henry VIII’s tax rolls, , and even criminal records (including someone accused of killing a dog in 1348 …. found not guilty!) can be used to help establish the volunteer base for specific regions of northern England. Using these methods significant Scandinavian ancestry (up to 50% of the mixture of DNA from the old populations) has been shown for Wirral and West Lancashire. One youngster from Wirral was so impressed with the results for her father she wrote a School project “My Viking Dad and his Viking Dog”! The book finishes with a look towards the current testing of other regions of Northern England and the research currently being undertaken with colleagues in Norway to study the genetic profile of Scandinavia in the Viking Age.

This broadcast on BBC Radio 4 gives some more information about the survey: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/making_history/making_history_20080520.shtml (after the first minute or so)

So we think it will be a useful read for anyone interested in DNA ancestry and, after seeing what we have done in the North West, give people from other regions an idea of how their own past could be researched. The book is 150 pages long and extensively illustrated in colour. The book has just become available in all good bookshops in the north West or from Amazon.co.uk *and would make an excellent Christmas present.

Steve Harding, Mark Jobling and Turi King

Stephen Harding DSc(Oxon)
Professor of Applied Biochemistry

NCMH Laboratory,
University of Nottingham
Sutton Bonington
LE12 5RD, UK

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve

steve.harding@nottingham.ac.uk
*in case of difficulty contact us on this email address, and we will put you in contact with Nottingham University Press or Countyvise

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