Life on a Small Island

Before Banking Went Bad...

2012-01-29T11:21:00.001Z

...Orkney had The Otter Bank - a floating bank which sailed around the North Isles visiting it's customers! It was run by the National Commercial Bank (now the Royal Bank of Scotland - oh do NOT get me started on THAT topic!). But the RBS does still visit the isles on a weekly basis, only now it uses the small inter-isles planes. Above are the opening hours on the northern island of Stronsay and below is the bank!

Anyway this is a trip down the past - below is a YouTube film (24 minutes) of the floating bank filmed in 1964, and as well as the bank you get a flavour for the Orkney Islands and the folk that live here. Some things have changed (apart from banking...sigh), but many things remain the same.

Enjoy!

Kirkwall by night....

2012-01-28T11:07:00.002Z

These pix were taken by Steven Heddle (AllaboutOrkney), who is (in no particular order) a local Orkney Islands councillor (politician), IT guru, physicist, decent chap, some-time musician and trick cyclist (I almost made the last one up!). He was cycling up the top of a hill outside Kirkwall and took these shots. Brilliant! He kindly let me put them on my blog - hence the build up to the introduction ;-)

Anyway to serious matters. Kirkwall is the main town in Orkney. ~~Technically a city as it has a cathedral (any place in the UK with a cathedral is designated a city, whatever the size, apparently)~~.[[see note below amd comments! - I'm confusing Kirkwall with being a Royal Burgh, it was given this status in 1486 by King James III of Scotland]]. St Magnus Cathedral is magnificent and construction began in 1154. It's a must to visit.

The population of Orkney is about 20,000 folk, and most of them live in or around Kirkwall which is the main centre for the Orkney Islands Council, Orkney Health Board, Hospital, supermarkets, banks, leisure centre and a variety of other local shops, businesses and schools. Orkney's airport is just outside Kirkwall, planes fly to Scottish Mainland airports, Shetland, the North Orkney islands and, occasionally, Norway. Most of the North Isles ferries come into Kirkwall Harbour. The main ferry to and from Aberdeen berths at Hatston, which is on the edge of the town. I always refer to Kirkwall as "The Metropolis"!

But remember Orkney is North of Scotland - and in this photo you can see the Scottish mountains in the background - this is looking South!4. The lights in the mid-ground are on the island of Flotta, which has the oil terminal. Orkney gets a share of North Sea Oil (goes into the Council Reserve Fund), along with Shetland.

Note: - Bad me, making statements without checking the evidence! In England and Wales up until the 16th Century a town was recognised as a city if it had a cathedral. I knew THIS was true because Wales (the Land of My Fathers) has St David's. So I was a bad researcher and extrapolated this in a very unscientific way to the rest of the UK! See Wikepedia - what would we do without it! And bear in mind THIS isn't necessarily robust evidence either ;-)

Graemsay in winter...

2012-01-26T11:20:00.003Z

Here are some more photos from the other weekend when we had SUNSHINE! This week has been wet and windy again, although today (sshhh!) we have sun! It's been frosty but is clearing now. Blue skies, no wind.... bliss!

I missed an excellent display of the Northern Lights (Merry Dancers) on Sunday. While I was curled up with Button on the sofa watching re-runs of "Foyle's War", outside Nature was working her magic.....sigh.... I've been lucky to see several excellent displays over the years, but was sorry to miss this one. Ho hum.....

Anyway, back to Graemsay in winter - as I've said many times, this winter has been mild, but wet and windy. Very little frost and No Snow (yet!). I went for a walk up just a few hundred yards from the house and here are some of the old ruined crofts that show just how populated the island was at one time!

At the top of the post is the croft of Crookshouse (usually pronounced "Ce'euks" or something similar!). The land is still farmed, but the buildings are in ruins.

Below is Scarratain. It has a traditional Orkney turf roof which is very good insulation. The wee boats behind are creel boats, putting down creel pots. And some of the other Orkney Islands can be seen in the distance. Directly behind the boat on the right is the uninhabited island of Cava.

This wee house is on the way to the pier on Graemsay. It's called "Moan" - though pronounced more like "Mow-an". The land in the background is Orphir, on the Orkney Mainland.

These sheep (think they might be Rams - but I didn't get that close!) are fed regularly with silage and are grazing across a stubble field that has some green shoots in it. Again the hills of Orphir are in the background.

Meanwhile The Manse which IS inhabited, sits among a number of old ruined crofts, and the old School can just bee seen - a small white building. The Hoy Hills sit in the background.

Last weekend....

2012-01-23T13:57:00.000Z

....will probably go down in history as the only few days without wind and with sun for the whole of January. Such is winter in Orkney! But here are some photos to remind me of the lovely still days.

The above photo is of a bank of cloud coming in over the water. The buildings in the foreground are (on the left) the old steading (family house), and (to the right) my henny house! The henny house entrance is sheltered from the worst of the West wind, and the hens can get round to the old farmyard and buildings. The view is taken from just outside my "back-door".

Here is one of my young hens "taking the air" - she has very pretty feathers - it looks like she has been painting them! Or is wearing a lacy shawl.

Meanwhile the other hens are also enjoying scratching about or preening their feathers in the sun. The hens that are mainly white with black "points" are an old English breed - Light Sussex. The one on the right is a young cockerel.

Meanwhile the starlings are also doing a spot of sunbathing on the chimney of the house. (Known in Orkney as the "lum" - there's an old Scottish saying "Lang may yer lum always reek"! Translated - long may your chimney smoke - meaning live long and happily (eg you always have fuel for your hearth and warmth for your house - not easy with current fuel prices!). Sandside used to have eight fireplaces, but all have been appropriately blocked off now - the house has underfloor heating and radiators.

Some more of the old buildings at Sandside. Both used to be homes for families. Both are now suffering from coastal erosion and about to slip onto the beach! The end of the building on the right used to be a forge and it's gable end wall is already on the shore. The west coast of the Orkney Mainland is in the background, the hill is Black Craig.

And here is a winter shot of the main picture on my blog! Looks a little bleaker now, though the grass is still green.

An interlude... Rousay

2012-01-22T11:55:00.000Z

OK the return of the bad weather and work = low energy, hence no blog posts since last weekend. Sorry about that! While I get my brain in gear and have another cup of tea, here is a short interlude. On YouTube below are some pictures of the island of Rousay. A lovely island with lots of interesting archaeology to explore too. I've visited several times and is one of my favourite islands.

And here is a film of the iron age broch house on the island (about 6 minutes long) - the one in my photo at the top of this post.

Enjoy! Tea and chocolate call.....

The joy of sunshine....

2012-01-15T12:48:00.000Z

....and NO WIND! Oh my goodness yesterday was just glorious. There was even WARMTH in the sun! It was such a joy to be able to walk about outdoors with little effort. Open and close doors without bracing myself. To stand still without leaning into the wind.

And the quietness - silence isn't the right word. But instead of the roaring of the wind I could hear the oyster catchers calling down on the shore, lapwings and other birds. I could even hear the waves lapping the shore instead of tearing chunks out of it. The sea was so still and calm. The day was like a balm for the soul.

Folk "south" speak of the bad winds they've had, and yes lots of areas have been struck by storm force winds. But few places have to tolerate the *constant* wind in winter. In Orkney nobody even mentions it being windy unless it's gets over Force 6 (25 to 30 mph)! Wind is a fact of life in Orkney in Winter, and often in summer too. So it is just so special when you get a quiet spell. This one has lasted three whole days so far.

So of course I was out with my camera. The photo at the top of the post is of Burra Sound, the water between Graemsay and the island of Hoy. The cliffs/hills you see are of Hoy. I love how the light shimmers on the water.

In Sandside Bay all was quiet and calm.

Here you can see the entrance to Scapa Flow. I watch the sun setting here in the West in the summer. The next land-fall out of here due west is Canada! Not a lot to stop the Westerly wind as you can see.

And sun shone into the house - Henry & George here soaking up the rays (You can see the thick walls of this lovely old house - they at least deaden some of the noise of the wind!)

Hitchcockian Hens....

2012-01-14T11:02:00.001Z

No, this isn't a new breed of hen! But I think my hens have been watching too much TV over the dark days of winter and have decided to follow in the claw-steps of their feathered friends in the Hitchcock film "The Birds"! THIS was what greeted me as I went into the porch to sort out the hens breakfast - a light tapping on the cat flap! I knew Button was still sound asleep so bent down to see what it was.....eeek!!!! Serves me right for having a bit of a "lie in" on a Saturday morning and being late with their breakfast!!

I still have lots of hens, a few young cockerels too, as well as the Patriarch of the flock, a lovely Light-Sussex cockerel. Some hens are still to go to new homes, and the young cockerels will - er - be dispatched! I want to keep some of the younger birds as some of my older hens will probably not lay this year. But they can stay as part of the flock for the rest of their days. Providing an egg a day for several years is hard work and they deserve a nice retirement!

The hens have hung about around the hen house for most of the last few months with the rain and the wind keeping them naturally confined. But I've seen them wandering a bit further afield these last couple of days. Making the most of the mild SUNNY weather with NO WIND, which we had yesterday and today!

A trip to Hoy

2012-01-11T10:50:00.001Z

And in a slightly brigher vein..... here is a YouTube video that I found on Facebook (Orkney Live) of A Trip To Hoy. It's about 9 minutes long, but gives you a flavour for the island that is next to Graemsay (Graemsay sits between Hoy and Stromness on the Orkney Mainland). The narrator has an Orkney accent, a lovely soft accent, unlike the usual Scottish accent (as I've mentioned many times Orkney doesn't consider itself Scottish!) Enjoy!

Gloomy weather....

2012-01-11T10:25:00.001Z

(Note: After some comments I'm making pictures larger on this blog. If it causes anyone problems please let me know!)

As a balance to all the sunny photos I post on my blog, I'll tell you about weather over the last month or so..... Apparently in December we had 8.4 hours of sunshine.......pause for a moment to consider that....and the fact that, in December, sun rise is about 9am and sunset about 3pm......sigh....

And the last rain free day was 20th November...... squelch.

And then there's the wind.... you've heard about the storms, but we've barely had a wind free day. And I don't mean "a bit of a breeze" which, in Orkney is anything up to Force 6. I mean gales that buffet you as you try and go about your daily business, even just getting in and out of the car is a challenge. Hang onto your doors! The cat flap is almost permanently battened. Button and I have had to develop a signalling system so she can shelter out of the wind till I open the door on the less windy side to let her in..... thankfully she is an intelligent cat..... (though as she's been stuck outside sometimes when I've forgotten, she thinks less of my intelligence!).

Orkney winters ARE characterised by lots of wind and rain,but this year has been exceptionally bad. It HAS been very mild with temperatures rarely below 9 degrees centigrade. However the wind-chill factor makes it feel much colder. The forecast is for the weather to get colder next week. I don't want *snow* - just some sunshine would be nice? It probably doesn't help that the last Orkney summer was less than good - again more rain, grey skies, cool temps. Ah well could be a lot worse! But it is usually the Orkney winters that are the last straw for some "incomers". I think it is said that incomers will stay either for three winters or forever. I've lasted 12 and have no intention of leaving Orkney. But I do long for the days when I can get outside and stand up without hanging onto something, go for a leisurely walk along the shore each day. Just the simple things!

As I look out the window I can see the "Hamnavoe", the ferry that runs between Scrabster and Stromness, coming "up the Flow" - which means it's windy out west on it's usual route and it's taken the slightly longer but more sheltered route through the islands up Scapa Flow.

But the days are lengthening....sun rise today (pah! what sun!) was at 8.56, and sunset is at 3.41. But I have plenty of work to keep me occupied and we are having an island Wii Bowling night tonight.

And there has been some sun this year

And there are signs of Spring!

Stromness

2012-01-06T13:38:00.001Z

This picture of Stromness was taken from a wee 8ft rowing boat in the water along the harbour by Vivienne Rorie. She kindly said I could share it with you. Stromness is my favourite town.

This photo clearly shows the backs of the houses which run along the main old street in the town. It was built along "Norwegian" lines (Orkney was part of Norway till only 400 years ago), with the gable ends of the houses turning "their shoulders to the wind". Each house had a pier and the houses on the other side of the street would have had access rights to the pier. Stromness was home to the herring fleet in the 19th century, and all the houses would also have had wee boats to go out fishing. Nowadays it's generally used by the home-owners for their wee pleasure boats.

But the harbour is still a thriving centre to the town. It's where the ferry from the north of Scotland docks, some deep sea fishing boats are based here, plus the smaller local boats which fish for crabs with creels. There are the dive boats, part of the tourist industry, with lots of wrecks around these waters for diving. More recently there are also the work-boats for the renewable energy industry as there are test centres around the West coast of the Orkney Mainland, as well as some workshops down in the flow.

Recipes

2012-01-06T13:28:00.003Z

I had a couple of requests for the recipe for the oaty cherry/raisin cookies I made at the weekend (see above), and for the Parsnip and Apple Soup. So thought I'd share it here too.

Parsnip and Apple Soup (sorry attribution unknown! Got it from the web years ago)
20g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion
3 medium parsnips
2 apples (cooking or dessert, if using large cooking apple, need onlyone. Also slightly less sweet than with a dessert apple)
1/2 teaspoon each of ground cumin and ground nutmeg
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (though I used dried)
1 litre vegetable stock (i use a cube)
To season to taste - salt and freshly ground black pepper
To season to taste - ground nutmeg
Optional 2-3 tablespoons cream or creme fraiche

Peel and chop the parsnips and onion and peel, core and chop theapples. Melt butter and oil in pan over a medium heat. Add the onion,parsnips and apples and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring now andthen. Add the cumin, nutmet and thyme and cook for a couple moreminutes, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15to 20 minutes, until te parsnip is soft. Add a little ot water if theconsistency is a little too thick. (Mine wasn't!)

With a stick blender or liquidiser blend until smooth, stir in cream orcreme fraiche, season and serve. Sprinkle on pumpkin seeds (orwhatever).

Oaty Cherry/Raisin Cookies (from BBC Books Good Food 101 Cakes & Homebakes)
250g/90z butter, softened
50g/2 oz caster sugar
100g/3.5 oz light muscovado sugar
150g/5.5 oz self-raising flour
225g/8oz porridge oats
200g/7oz glacé cherries
50g/2oz raisins

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/Gas4/fan oven 160 degrees C.
2. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with non-stick baking paper
3. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugars together till light and fluffy
4. Stir in the flour and oats and mix well.
5. Roughly chop three quarters of the cherries, then stir these and the whole cherries and raisins into the oat mixture. (At this point the mixture looks quite dry but it's fine!)
6. Divide the mixture into 18 equal portions (actually I made 26!). Roughly shape each portion into a ball.
7. Put on baking sheets well apart to allow for spreading. Lightly flatten each biscuit with your fingertips, keeping the mixture quite rough looking.
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cookies are pale golden around the edges but still feel soft in the centre.
9. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Store any uncooked mixture in the fridge for up to one week, or freeze on the day for up to six months, defrosting before baking.

Enjoy!

Snow on hills....again...

2012-01-02T19:10:00.002Z

Snow showers on hills, but just cold, wet and windy at sea level today. I stayed in the warm and baked some biscuits/cookies - a new recipe for oaty cherry/raisin bookies. Yum... I love thinking of the women who have cooked and baked in Sandside in years past. Though in the 19th Century I doubt there was much in the way of luxuries like biscuits, mostly good solid fare for the workers in the fields and byres.

Back to work tomorrow - for me anyway, Button will snooze as usual ;-)

New Year's Day

2012-01-01T16:34:00.001Z

Happy New Year everyone. So far it's been a good one for me! Last night I went along to the farm "up the road" for the annual Hogmanay Party and a good time was had by all. Good company, good food, and er - yes plenty of alcohol. I got home about 2am. So I started the day with a lazy morning in bed, returning there after giving Button her breakfast. I love curling up in bed with a mug of tea and listening to the radio. So that was a good start to the day.

There is some superstition that says whatever you do on New Year's Day you will be doing for the rest of the year. Hmmm... no domestic chores for me today then ;-) Instead I made some parsnip and apple soup - one of the things I want to do more of is home cooking. Living on my own I tend to be a bit lazy in that department. Anyway Button seems to react to vegetables being chopped as if they were catnip! Parsnips seemed to do it for her today - as soon as I started peeling them off she went, rolling on the floor, yowling, rolling her eyes, then racing around the kitchen! She does this every time and I had thought it was possibly the onions being chopped that started her off, so I left those in the veg basket till the very last. No - it seems ANY veg sets her off. Oh dear and by the time I'd got everything simmering and thrown in the spices and herbs I feared for my kitchen! So I took her off for a walk, firstly to give the hens some extra rations. I love my chickens, they are pets rather than anything else and I enjoy spending time watching them scratching about. Then we set off along the shore.

It's been a lovely calm day, with sunshine too! Oh I do hope this bodes well for the rest of the year. I played around taking some photos (another thing I want to do more of this year) and we pottered along the shore.

The tide was in....

Button calming down in the fresh air

Old boats and an old boat winch above the high tide mark

Another photo of one of my favourite subjects

The poor battered trees hopefully getting some respite from the storm force winds.

Then it was back home for some soup and home made bread (OK slight cheat as I use a breadmaker). Then singing along to 70's music on the radio (my era when I was dancing around my handbag in the disco's of London....). And here ends my first blog post of the year. Last year I managed the most blog posts per year so far. A result of a more manageable work schedule resulting in a bit more energy for other things. i'm hoping this year remains the same. Now a relaxing evening is in order. A thoroughly wonderful start to the new year. I hope you have had the same.

For those of you in the UK...

2011-12-31T15:54:00.004Z

Tomorrow on BBC2 at pm is the programme A History of Ancient Britain. This episode features the Ness of Brodgar dig in Orkney which has been underway for the last two years and has revealed some fascinating things! Sorry - but I think it's only viewable in the UK..... But I'll try and post some photos of the dig and info this week for those of you outside Orkney.....

Hogmanay

2011-12-31T13:27:00.002Z

Today is Hogmanay, the last day of the year and a time Scots know how to celebrate well! There will be a party on the island tonight to see in the New Year, and then "first footing" around the island over the next few days.

In recent years we've struggled through snow, ice and gale to see in the New Year, but the weather seems very benign just now. Let's hope it stays that way for a few days. I'm tired of storm force winds!

Above - you can see we had a smattering of "snow on high ground" with the Hoy Hills lightly covered as if with dusting sugar. Make me think of cakes....so I baked one! A hazelnut and cinnamon cake....Yum!

I went for a brief walk along the shore today, and fed the birds on my way. I saw a small raptor in the garden - either a merlin or kestrel - I'm not very good on bird identification!

The neeps (swede) are doing well in my neighbour's field.

I love this decaying old boat with the old creels (once used for catching crabs).

And this is a mark on the front of the house - put there by the Ordnance Survey as a benchmark for height above sea level. I think this one denotes 10 feet.

And there was some excitement when I heard a helicopter landing in the field. It was the Northern Lighthouse Board helicopter with an engineer to do some emergency repair.

So, it's just left now for me to wish you all a very Happy New Year (for those of you who celebrate such things). May 2012 bring all that we need......

Eddie Reader singing Auld Lang Syne

The Versatile Blogger

2011-12-28T14:53:00.002Z

Some weeks (oh dear, maybe months) ago one of my blog readers, Perpetually In Transit very kindly nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. I was thrilled to bits. One of the conditions was I had to say five quirky things about myself, and nominate five other blogs. The tricky bit is coming up with 5 quirky things. Oh calamity - I am in despair at being so "normal"! I like to think of myself as SO eccentric, when in reality I am so NOT! Anyway here we go with the 5 quirky things

1. (OK cheating here) - I choose to live on a remote Scottish island far from shopping malls and 24-hour supermarkets, traffic jams and the chaos that was my life when I lived in Kent.

2. I'm very faddy about food - bordering on the weird rather than quirky. I don't like yellow food (bananas are white not yellow), and will eat red fruit but not red veg, and please don't mix my food together unless you stick it in a blender......oh I could go on.....

3. I dance and sing with wild abandon to anything from the 1960's

4. I love flying in a glider plane. Only had the chance once and it was absolutely brilliant! I felt like a bird. It was a magical experience. And no it didn't worry me that the plane had no engine......

5. I'm hooked on detective fiction. When I'm stressed or anxious, hand me a (non-gory version) detective thriller and I'll calm down immediately. My audio book of choice for sleepless nights is anything by Dorothy L Sayers from the "Lord Peter Wimsey" series.

So onto the nominations part. This is equally difficult. I follow many blogs for different reasons. But I've decided to nominate five SCOTTISH blogs so that you, dear reader, get to see a bit more of this wonderful country. This of course completely leaves out all the other blogs I thoroughly enjoy, some on my blog list here and others not. Many written by friends who became bloggers and some by bloggers who have become friends. Anyway here is my list of five (in no particular order).

1. The Wind and the Wellies - another Orkney blog, this one by "Orkney Flowers" who loves all plants, cooking, and recycling and reusing stuff. Also wears wonderful stripey socks! Now *she* won't have a problem with five quirky things - tee hee.

2. Dancing Beastie - insights into living in a castle in the Scottish Highlands

3. A Kilchoan Diary - a remote crofting village on the west of the Ardnamurchan pennisula

4. The Barefoot Crofter- stories of family life on a croft on the island of Lewis. I'm newly acquainted with this blog and loving every post.

5. Occasional Scotland - "From Edinburgh to Shetland and all points in between" - lovely landscape photos.

There..... now if your blog isn't named PLEASE don't be offended....sigh.... and thank you again to Perpetually in Transit for the award!

"About Graemsay"

2011-12-28T14:08:00.004Z

I've added a page (see in the right column under "Home") which, hopefully, gives folk a bit of info about the island. If you have any questions you'd like answered go ahead and ask!

Christmas traditions....

2011-12-27T17:22:00.002Z

There are religious and non-religious traditions that go towards making Christmas, well, Christmas. One tradition in Kirkwall, Orkney on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas, with a name from the dim and distant past) is the "Ba". There are two games, the boys Ba and the Men's Ba held later in the day. These are games of street football, though there aren't really any rules!

There are two teams - the Uppies and the Doonies, and the Ba (ball, traditionally and lovingly made especially for the event) is thrown into the heaving mass of humanity that makes up the two teams, waiting impatiently by the Kirk Green and St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. The "goal" is at each end of the town. For the "Doonies" this is in the sea in the Kirkwall Basin. The Uppies goal is up in the town. This year the Doonies won and you can see some excerpt from the Men's game below. I can't begin to explain it really so take a look at some more info here. No there are no obvious signs of which team the men are in - but everyone will *know* who is in their team! And yes there was a women's ba, but it is no more - rumour had it the women played too roughly ;-) The game goes on for hours, and yes it carried on, followed by a large crowd, in the pouring rain and wind...... deeply bonkers but rather wonderful!

All the buildings in the town have stout wooden bars put across all windows and doors to stand against the crush of the crowd as the Ba moves up or down the town. I remember on my first winter visit to Kirkwall thinking - gosh they must have a lot of trouble around here on New Year as all the shops are being boarded up. Little did I know it was an "amicable" game of street football.......

SunRISE!

2011-12-26T16:17:00.000Z

This was the view from the house up towards Windbreck this morning as the sun rose (Sunrise 09.04 and sunset 15.18). The "hydro poles" (electricity poles) rather appropriately silhouetted against the rising sun. I was still anxiously awaiting the return of electricity at this point!

The electric came back on about 11.30. Apparently some houses in Stenness and Orphir, across the water on Orkney Mainland, were also without power. The island of Shapinsay had a power cut this morning too. It seems that hydro poles were catching fire around the county due to the high winds. (Shetland recorded winds of 101 mph last night! Not heard what our highest recorded wind speed was here).

Let's hope the power remains on now - more high winds are forecast for later in the week and it's still a bit breezy out there - gusting to about 50-60 mph.

I have plenty of food (and if the power goes off for any length of time I may need to eat it all pretty quickly!) and can keep cosy under blankets and with hot-water bottles (Hotties) if need be, but it does get a little boring. Fortunately I have a battery radio for company, but it's been so cloudy that it was very dull and dark indoors and not easy to see to do things without carrying a lantern around.

I was thinking of the families who had lived in the house in the 19th Century, with just candles and Tilley Lamps (oil lamps) for light. And the light of a real fire too of course - which I no longer have.

As it was the gas ran out while I was cooking my Christmas dinner yesterday! There is no "mains" gas in Orkney, so everyone uses bottled gas. I have two cylinders outside so when one runs out I just need to turn a switch to put the next one on. However, it always runs out when it's dark and wet! But fortunately the wind had died down a bit so it wasn't too bad going out to sort it out. Though I did manage to skin my knuckles trying to turn the rather stiff switch. But all was well and I got Christmas dinner! But poor Button managed to get shut out for about half an hour in the wind. I didn't hear her yelling and it was only when I sat down and wondered where she was that I missed her. She was jolly glad to be let in and told me off in no uncertain terms - she has a mouth like a fish-wife ;-) She was still sulking during the night and didn't come up to bed at all. Mind you, given another half an hour I'm sure she would have moved the bricks blocking up the cat flap and fought her way in!!

No power!

2011-12-26T09:27:00.001Z

Power off since 9.30 last night (yes Christmas Day!). Thank goodness for battery operated radio! Battery on laptop low, so next time you hear from me we'll have power. Thankfully weather is mild so house shouldn't cool down too quickly. Also although it's windy, nowhere near as bad as yesterday. Have fun people.....

NOT a White Christmas!

2011-12-25T14:48:00.002Z

Er - currently wind has been recorded in Kirkwall gusting over 80mph. We have a severe weather warning in place for winds to get up to 90mph. It's a little scary around here at the moment. I am safe indoors as is Button, but the noise is tremendous! Windows and doors are rattling and i've put tape over the doors and key holes to stop the draught! There was a "calm before the storm" moment at about 9.30 this morning so I got out to feed hens and Charlie the barn cat. NOT planning on going anywhere else at the moment!

As you can see above the sea is "smoking"! Wonderful to watch, just hope everyone is safe and snug on this Christmas Day.

The sun came out and there was a rainbow in the sea spray

Wild sea in Hoy Sound

And yes in this photo it looks so tranquil.

I've added a "weather widget" to my blog - on the right hand side down the bottom - so you can see the weather around here!

Silent Night...

2011-12-24T17:18:00.003Z

...not much chance of that with another weather warning for severe gales and the wind howling around the house! But I'm just back from the island nativity play and carol service and feeling warmed with mince pies and good cheer! It was a lovely service with all the island children (the teenagers will be cross with me lumping them in with the wee ones!) taking part, readings and carols. The children were very good and played their parts well.

Now I'm going to relax for the evening. That's all my Christmas celebrations over. I choose to spend Christmas quietly. I gave up years ago travelling to spend it with family. Winter travel from Orkney is expensive and liable to delays and cancellation! So I save my trips away for sunnier times.

I don't share in the religious meaning of Christmas, but do like to celebrate it as a mid-winter festival and enjoy the coming together with friends to eat! Earlier in the week I met up with a group of friends in Stromness to have a proper Christmas dinner. It was delicious!

I missed out on the island Children's Christmas Party earlier in the week as I was still feeling a little unwell after the "bug" last weekend. But apparently a good time was had by all. Irene of Breckan sent me these photos so I thought I'd share them with you. As you can see, we may be a remote island, but Santa still finds his way to us.

And party games were played!

So I'm off to watch "Carols from Kings" on TV. An old family tradition! It just remains for me to wish you all Festive Season's Greetings!

Winter Solstice

2011-12-20T17:53:00.002Z

I posted this link last winter but think it bears repeating, particularly for those of you new to my blog. It was compiled by "Red Orkney" - no idea who that is but love their stuff. This is of the Winter Solstice 2010, the shots are of Hoy and the West of Graemsay (Hoy Low Lighthouse), and around Stromness and the West shore. So enjoy!

(Note: thanks for all the good wishes. Am recovering from my "bug" but still feeling a bit weak and
wobbly. And no the telephone/internet has NOT been fixed but I now get daily phone updates from a very nice person at BT customer service.....).

Greedy Pheasant!

2011-12-18T20:12:00.000Z

This photo was sent to me by the same friend who sent me the picture of the Loch earlier today. She was watching a pheasant on the wall eating food put out for the birds - but she had sparrows, blackbirds and starlings in mind - NOT this pheasant. She said the blackbird patiently stood by till the pheasant had finished!

I haven't set foot outside today, apart from feeding the hens and Charlie. I've spent the afternoon curled up on the sofa with Button, while I recuperate. I watched a recorded programme from a detective series, then spent two hours watching the annual horse show held at Olympia in London. It brought back happy memories as I used to go there every year with friends from the stables where I kept my pony. It always heralded the start of Christmas!

Now I have a "bug"...sigh...

2011-12-18T12:34:00.001Z

Have some sort of stomach bug - or at least have been very unwell. Feeling better today but very "wabbit" (nothing to do with Bugs Bunny - Orcadian for washed out). Just taking things easy. Technical difficulties continue too - so thank goodness for mobile phone coverage!

Anyway J. emailed me the above photo of Kirbuster Loch in Orphir today. We have a light dusting of snow but all is calm.

Hopefully full normal service in all departments will be resumed soon!

Technical difficulties continue

2011-12-16T17:45:00.001Z

After the torrential rain earlier in the week my phone went off again and my broadband speed is almost non-existent.... sigh.... bored now!

Anyway above (if it loads!) is a photo of a calm and frosty morning outside my "back door" looking towards to the henny hoose and Hoy Sound.

Who knows when "normal service" will be resumed...... it's at the whim of BT (the telecoms company) at the moment. I've been trying to persuade them that FOUR outages in THREE months means there HAS to be something wrong that needs a more permanent fix than a "flick of a switch" at the Exchange. But so far I am failing in my misson...... in cyberspace can you hear me scream?

Orkney in Winter

2011-12-13T11:49:00.001Z

Still busy with work, so here is a wee Youtube Interlude to keep you amused! I may have shared this before (it was filmed last winter), but I love it and think it's worth sharing again! The first shot of the film shows Hoy High lighthouse on Graemsay with Sandside chimneys visible to the far right in the same shot. The rest of the film is taken on the Orkney Mainland and shows the stone circles of the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness, as well as the towns of Stromness and Kirkwall. (The song is Saylon Dola by Chamelon)

Sun is shining!

2011-12-12T13:31:00.002Z

There's a bit of a fresh wind but nothing compared to last week. I'm busy working today, sitting in the kitchen, at my laptop, enjoying the sun streaming through the window, while Button snores on her blanket behind me!

Here's a link to some Orkney webcams you might enjoy - one is in Stromness overlooking the harbour. You can't see Graemsay but it's just to the right of the Kirk (church) steeple. The next webcam is Broad Street, the main street in the town of Kirkwall, pointing towards St Magnus Cathedral, then one of Kirkwall Harbour (you will see the North Isles ferries in the picture) and the final two are out at the airport. You can see the propellor planes that fly up from Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Also the small planes that fly out to the north isles.

http://www.visitorkney.com/webcams.asp

I'll stop pleeping now......

2011-12-11T14:33:00.001Z

OK I've calmed down and I'll stop pleeping (moaning) now. Compared to folk on the West Cost of Scotland who have been without electricity and WATER for several DAYS since the storm, I am VERY lucky. I have a warm house, plenty of food, the house is safe and so am I. My phone is working for incoming and outgoing calls and the internet is working - although the speed is v-e-r-y slow.

But you can read about the poor folk on the Ardnamurchan peninsula here

In Orkney the clear up operation is underway. The weather is calm and sunny, helping folk repair byre and shed roofs before the winds return this week. The causeway linking South Walls with the rest of Hoy and Walls has been repaired so traffic can cross, and there was a report of a poor orphaned seal pup being rescued and taken to the Orkney seal rescue centre run by Ross Flett in South Ronaldsay. The grey seal population in Orkney pup from September onwards. This particular pup was washed up onto a farmer's field in the storm. It will now be cared for till it can be returned to the wild.

Bizarrely given the amount of rain we have had recently, Scottish Water are asking people on the Orkney Mainland to conserve water! Apparently one of the lochs is low and the treatment works can't keep up with demand. "Water, water everywhere and not a drip to drink!" as the saying goes. Last December we had our own problems with lack of water on Graemsay - thankfully not repeated. Our water comes from Sandy Loch on Hoy but also has to go through a treatment works which is unable to process the quantity needed....sigh.

Anyway I'm back from a bracing walk along the shore. Wonderful to get out into the fresh air and not battle the wind! The picture at the top of this post is looking towards the town of Stromness, with a flock of lapwings in flight - I startled them as I walked along the shore..... sorry birdies - as if you haven't had enough to contend with recently.

Here's is a local farmer gathering up seaweed for fertilizer - I'm hoping some makes it as far as my garden!

As you can see lots of seaweed blown onto the beach - but it looks like it protected most of the sand being washed away. Some winters the sand almost disappears. Some remaining snow on Ward Hill on Hoy, but no snow or ice on Graemsay now.

This is the "shell" beach - lots of shells and cold-water coral still on the shore. Again some winters this almost disappears completely.

The sun hiding behind some clouds

and then.....

2011-12-10T16:09:00.001Z

..... I climbed into my snow boots (we don't have snow but it's icy), thick coat, hat, gloves, scarf and drove to Irene and Bobby's house up the road to use their phone to report the problem..... and the telephone company (BT) after re-routing me three times and my telling them THREE times that NO, I did NOT know my account number as I was phoning from a neigbours, they then said THEIR systems were down and they couldn't divert my phone to my mobile EITHER! Ah well I had a nice blether (chat) with Irene and her wee puss cat, Squeak, and am now home and about to have yet more tea and cake, which seems to be the only thing keeping me sane (relatively speaking)!

Button has been outdoors quite a bit today, enjoying "taking the air". For the last two days she's been "under the duvet" (actually under the throw that's over a sofa).

"Disturb me at your peril!"

Weapons remain on display in case there was any doubt.....

Sometimes I HATE technology!

2011-12-10T13:12:00.001Z

So....my phone is down, and internet is dodgy though I can just about limp along. I'm trying to report the fault (because yesterday BT cleared all the fault reports on Graemsay and all my neighbours are back on but ME!) and I really don't want to spend a fortune on my mobile phone going through the BT Call Centre Dance, so am trying to report online AND divert my calls to my mobile......and the BT webiste gives THIS message! ARRRRGH

Busy improving BT.com

We've temporarily closed part of your BT website so we can work on keeping it a great place to visit.

The new, enhanced site will be up and running soon.

Which means I CAN'T REPORT A FAULT!

I shouldn't complain really - I'm have power, have plenty of food, house is safe and warm, all is well AND the radio is back on (came on yesterday). But.... well I admit it..... I'm kind of addicted to modern telecommunications and am fretting when they are absent. Ah well..... no excuse not to get on with some "domestic" duties now then....sigh....

Thanks for all the messages and emails. I have to admit I *was* scared during the worst of the storm force winds. But I had neighbours mobile phone number and they had kindly said I could phone any time night or day if I needed to - they wouldn't come out, they joked, but I could phone! It did help to know I could phone SOMEONE in case of catastrophe..... not having a radio didn't help. But it's all behind us now. And I DID choose to live on a remote island!

OK but no phone and poor internet!

2011-12-10T12:03:00.001Z

Thanks for all messages here and in email! MUCH appreciated. Sunny day here and all well EXCEPT no phone and now internet on blink (speed is 1.31 when it's usually over 6mbwhatevers). In cyberspace can you hear me SCREAM?!

This is what....

2011-12-09T16:14:00.001Z

..... battened hatches look like! Button's cat flap... covered in vinyl held on with velcro (which stands Force 8 gale) but I knew would fly off in this (it's done so before - I fear for the conservatory windows). So piled up concrete blocks just to make sure! The wind has been from the North West which is bad for the rear of the house AND the conservatory windows....

2011-12-09T15:55:00.001Z

Photos of various bits of damage around Orkney can be viewed here on the Radio Orkney Facebook page
(You don't have to join Facebook to see it).

The causeway on the island of Hoy got washed away in the storm (photo from Radio Orkney Facebook Page). For safety the road is closed and South Walls is effectively cut off. Still at least they have the shop and the pub!

This is an amusing piece on what has been termed "Hurricane Bawbag" This footage is from the Scottish mainland.

Surviving!

2011-12-09T15:50:00.001Z

This is a short post because internet access is intermittent. But all OK on Graemsay. No major damage from the storm last night. At it's peak wind was recorded in Kirkwall at 100mph (sustained speed!) with gusts up to 135 mph.

It was scary, very scary last night. I didn't get much sleep. But house OK, chickens and Charlie (barn cat) all present and correct for breakfast this morning (well late breakfast).

Damage around Orkney but mostly tin off roofs on Graemsay and the pier railings (photo above courtesy of Jo Mowat who went to the pier to inspect things this morning!). Boats and planes cancelled throughout Orkney though our boat has done a couple of runs.

Phones off on the island, most are back on now, but mine isn't....sigh....which means it will be a while before it is as they have to come out to the island.

But - I have a warm house, plenty of food and am OK (oh but radio was off and Radio 2 still not back - I need that as a comfort at night in this weather!!).

Gales getting up again but not to be as bad as last night..... will post more but in bits....

Rainbows....

2011-12-05T11:00:00.000Z

Yes I know - more weather! But I couldn't miss this beautiful double rainbow. The photo was taken outside my back door as the wind was howling and I didn't want to venture further!

Last week we had gales, severe gales and regular gales. Thankfully no damage to the house and all is well. But the wind screamed around the house, rattled the windows, and tried it's very best to find a way into the house. Thankfully it failed - though it was spitting rain through the keyhole in fury. But we had the odd rainbow to brighten the grey skies.

The sea was a mass of white horses, and various isles ferries were cancelled as well as ferries to the Scottish Mainland. The planes still flew - glad I wasn't on one of those!

I think there was some storm damage to one of the lamp posts at the pier as the Orkney Harbours Pilot boat came out to fix it. There was a bit of jostling for position at the pier as our wee ferry came in to take some of us to town. (Photo courtesy of Irene of Breckan, who clearly stayed in the warm of the cabin to take the photo judging by the raindrops....tee hee! Thanks for the photo Irene!)

Later in the week our ferry had one of it's engines fail so it's going a bit slower at the moment. AND it's the new replacement engine (it had engine failure a couple of months ago). Hopefully it will be easily fixable or we may be on a reduced service again.

A breezy day

Meanwhile, Princess Button(s) sleeps the day away..... oh to learn to be as relaxed as this cat is about life!

First snow of winter....

2011-12-04T21:45:00.001Z

OK - it's only a sprinkling of snow, but it is still SNOW! And snow showers are forecast throughout the week. That will be the third year in a row we've had snow before Christmas, which actually is unusual. Orkney is protected by the Gulf Stream and Winter is characterised by wind, rain and grey skies, with the odd frost and a day or two of snow. We shall have to see what THIS winter brings!

The photo above shows very little snow on Graemsay (known as the green isle), but the Hoy Hills have a thick covering.

Below are the Orphir hills, also sprinkled with snow.

The hens must have got cold feet today!

I love the way the snow settles on surfaces, drawing attention to ordinary things. These flagstone slabs against the wall drew my eye as I went to feed the hens.

Charlie-in-the-barn (my barn cat) happily tucked into his extra breakfast this morning. (He does have a cosy hay barn to sleep in! And he *could* have been a house cat if he'd wanted to....).

The sea looks awfully cold! But at least a little calmer than when it was whipped into a frenzy by the gales this past week.

Bit of a "mushroom cloud" over Windbreck, up the hill from Sandside.

Time to fill up the bird feeders again (hanging from an old elder bush in the garden - the only tree in the garden of any size - it just peeks above the stone dyke)!! (Plus seed for the ground feeders too)

Party Time on Graemsay (again!)

2011-11-29T09:34:00.001Z

This time it was Andrew's 18th Birthday - as evidenced above he was given the "bumps" in true tradition of birthdays (His Dad, Uncle and brothers instigators of this I think). It was also his Grandma's birthday, I'll not reveal her age, suffice to say there were so many candles the cake caught fire - as evidenced in the picture below.

Oh - OK it wasn't really all the candles that caused it but they set fire to the sugar stars that adorned the cake - here is a picture of it before the conflagration! Beautiful isn't it? It depicts Pat reclining on a luxury sofa doing her craft work. The cake was made by Sandra of Hoy High, who makes great cakes! And it survived the fire due to some adept blowing out of candles by Grandma and family, but Bobby was on hand with the fire extinguisher and Sandra was clutching the Fire Blanket - just in case!

Here is the cake she designed for Andrew who loves playing his guitar!

There was lots to eat for everyone and no, we didn't cut the cake. And yes I'm still in trauma that I didn't get ANY CAKE! Well - to be fair there WAS other cake to eat and other goodies which the family had worked hard to prepare.

This was a family party for both Andrew and Pat (Grandma) rather than an "island party" but sometimes it's hard to tell the difference because, of course, everyone on the island is invited. Andrew and "Grandma" are part of one of the larger families on the island. When the "family photo" was taken it didn't leave many of us left in the hall, what with island family and their visitors (grand children and great-grandchild).

There was much dancing too! The famous Graemsay version of "Strip the Willow" - which gets more chaotic every year!

And of course an opportunity for Andrew to sing (supervised by his cousin)

And then the brotherly duet

And Mum makes three

And when it all gets too much for a wee chap, there is always the chance for a nap.

I left about 1am, but I understand the party went on in the hall till about 4am and then adjourned home to continue till about 8am! That's the way to celebrate!!

Stormy night....

2011-11-27T17:55:00.001Z

That WAS a windy night! A maximum gust was recorded on one of the hills on the Orkney Mainland of 130mph at 6am this morning! Highest average windspeed was 83mph. I have to say I did feel snug in my old stone house with it's stone roof (2 ft thick walls deaden a bit of the sound). Though it was scary hearing the storm raging outside and I feared for the modern extension to the house with it's "picture window"! The old Orcadian builders were very sensible - gable ends to the prevailing wind with no windows in them; small windows set well into the stone and near the eaves. Thick walls and strong stone for the roof.

I've only been out briefly and there seems to be no damage to the house. The hens all survived as did Charlie the Barn cat. Button of course slept through it all curled up on my bed ......sigh..... I woke up several times during the night and put on the radio to drown out the sound! Fortunately no power cuts for us on Graemsay, though others in Orkney didn't fare so well.

The photo above shows water breaching the sea wall at Sandside Bay and washing onto the road and fields. This was the result of a high tide this morning combined with a northerly wind. We often get seaweed on the road, and some spray but this was something else!

Thankfully the wind dropped during the day, though it is forecast to get back up again tonight. Hopefully not to the level of last night.

However the wind didn't stop the island party going ahead in the hall. More of that tomorrow - I need to censor the photos to protect the not-so innocent ;-)

Meanwhile here are some photos taken at Skaill Bay (near Skara Brae neolithic village) this morning by Davy Sinclair of Stromness.

The tower at the top of these cliffs is at Marwick Head - where all the sea birds roost in summer to raise their chicks! Just as well they would have headed off by now....

Dreich weather

2011-11-26T12:39:00.001Z

The old Scots word "dreich" is descriptive (an onomatopoeia (sounds like it is) if every I heard one). Today the weather is very dreich as you can see from the photo above. And now the wind is really getting up again. The last couple of days have been wild (weather wise). Severe gales, thunder, lightening and the consequent power cuts, and loss of TV and (oh calamity!) radio too. Thankfully only for a short period of time.

I've very glad I live in an old stone house with thick walls and a secure roof (well it should be - I saw it being put on during the renovations and it looks fairly secure, fingers crossed).

There's an island birthday party tonight in the hall so hope the wind settles a bit so folk can get to it OK!

Below - and so it goes on....... boats cancelled and time to hunker down in the warm.

Note - according to an online Urban Dictionary : Dreich is a combination of dull, overcast, drizzly, cold, misty and miserable weather. At least 4 of these adjectives must apply before the weather is truly dreich. Yup - I think it is truly dreich today!!

Orkney Anthem

2011-11-21T22:08:00.001Z

Came across this short film on YouTube via All About Orkney and thought I'd share it here. It's called the "Orkney Anthem". Below are the words (also from YouTube). It's about 5 minutes long but gives a bird's eye view of Orkney and the music is very haunting.

ORKNEY ANTHEM TS Peace/I Drever (part 1) Taethe riven rock rims around them, tae stack and skerry and geo, tae the cliffspiled high wi' their heads in the sky and their feet in the surge below. CHORUSIsles ne'er forgotten, be your sons afar alone or ringed they be by their ainnative sea Waes hale, they drink tae their own. Tae the reek o' the rushingtideways, tae the fling o' their froth and foam, tae the spouting hedge, by theiron ledge, o' skerry and reef and holm.

lyrics Part 2: CHORUS Tae the feet o' thebright aurora, that dance tae the elfin lyres, tae the gleams that break, inthe midnight wake, tae the blaze o' the beltane fires. CHORUS Tae the brochs o'forgotten builders, each howe wi' its spectral wraith, tae the ruins' hoar, bythe ancient shore, o' the kirks o' the ancient faith. CHORUS Spirit haunted andhallowed Wi' rune writ legend strewn, lone isles o' the north, ye call it forthwaes hale we drink tae o'or own

Flowers in November

2011-11-21T10:58:00.000Z

The last couple of days have been great - sunshine, very little wind and so MILD. Lovely to be outdoors! Last year at this time we had snow! Now I think it's been the mildest November in years. I even managed to clear out half the henny hoose (ran out of energy after that, but it's a start!). After my visitors this weekend it was lovely to be able to hang the washing out on the line to dry. Not much of a breeze (for once) but they still dried fairly quickly. It meant I could get two loads of washing dry in a day, rather than the usual method of draping over a clothes airer (known as a clothes horse when I was a child). The underfloor heating dries it fairly quickly but you don't get the lovely fresh outdoors smell on the fabric. I'm sorry but NO fabric conditioner can mimic the smell of pure fresh air! And yes I am aware I've just posted a picture of my pyjamas for the entire world to see....

The late summer flowers are still hanging on in there in the garden!

Here are some daisies still blooming

And a rather battered but valiant osteospernum

And "dames rocket"

This bright cheerful purple flower (can't remember it's name, sorry flower but you gladden my heart anyway!)

And a Hebe (which has recovered so well after bad frost damage last winter).

Of course Button was prowling the perimeter fence

Harvest Home

2011-11-20T21:09:00.001Z

Friday night was party night on the island. It was the annual "Harvest Home", a non-religious celebration of bringing in the harvest. Many parishes throughout Orkney will hold a Harvest Home in October or November. This year there were nearly 40 folk gathered to celebrate, with visitors joining the island folk.

The evening begins with a meal of soup, cold meats, salad, new potatoes and clapshot (mashed potatoes and "neeps" (swede)) followed by trifle or jelly and ice-cream for the kids (of all ages), coffee and homebakes as well as after-dinner mints. Everyone on the island takes a part in the organising. I steer clear of "mass catering"! I leave that to those well used to cooking for large extended families! I do my bit by doing B&B (bed and breakfast) for some of the visitors, handing round drinks, and helping with setting up and clearing up.

At the end of the meal it is traditional to have a speaker who will talk about the harvest or some aspect of farming. This year we had Harvey Johnstone over from the Orkney Mainland with his lovely wife, Helen. Harvey has a wonderful Orcadian accent and is very proud of maintaining the Orkney dialect. He read us a poem, penned by himself, about past Harvest Homes in the parish of Harray where they live. He was very entertaining!

Of course no party is complete without music. We were really pleased that Fran Gray and John Budge could join us again from the neighbouring island of Hoy, both playing accordions. Ruby, who was born and brought up on Graemsay but now lives in Stromness, came along and played her fiddle. And Andrew, one of the teenagers on the island, joined in with his guitar.

And a special appearance by Irene, who lives on Graemsay (she's the retired school-teacher). She has a lovely voice and sings some lovely haunting ballads. When she sings you can hear a pin drop in the hall.

There was dancing for young and old

And singing and telling of stories

Of course there is always a raffle (to help with hall funds). There are the usual prizes of chocolates, wine, toiletries etc, and because it's harvest home - there were also baskets of vegetables and "neeps" (those swedes again!). Irene seems to have won a bumper crop!!

The party goes on into the wee small hours. About 2am another traditional was played out..... rolling 10p coins at a bottle of whisky. The person who gets their 10p nearest the whisky bottle wins the whisky. Hot competition for quite some time, and here are the "judges" debating the winner..... All in a good cause though - for the "Children in Need" appeal.

Fran and John stayed at my house overnight and in the morning we had a blether (chat) about the evening over tea and toast (I was grateful nobody wanted a fried breakfast!).

Fran gave me this lovely gift - two wee lavender bags which she had crocheted - out of plastic carrier bags! They are brilliant! She's hoping to sell some in a local craft shop where she already sells some of her other art work. I thought it was a fantastic idea - what a great way to re-use/recycle.

Dog Sitting....

2011-11-18T17:51:00.001Z

I was over in Stromness yesterday dog sitting for a friend who had to be away for the day. She has two Shetland collies and needed a volunteer to go and let them out several times during the day. So I volunteered to spend the day with the doggies.

Now it has to be said, although I grew up with doggies, I am much more of a cat person these days. I prefer the way cats are so independent. And Button has a cat flap so can come and go as she pleases. It therefore feels "special" when she chooses to spend time with me.

Dogs, on the other hand, well they are always under your feet! Er - as you can see here with beautiful Lyra expecting her tummy to be tickled as I try and get through a doorway. And yes she IS upside down... not the photo... dogs have no dignity...hehehehe.

Pippa, being an older dog, showed a little more restraint and devotion to her Person Who Was Absent, and stared balefully at me from the sofa. Amazingly though she was quite happy to be my friend when Food was on offer. That's dogs for you - devoted only to food ;-) Cats are far more discerning......

But we all survived the day. I worked at the kitchen table which had the glorious view at the top of this post. It looks down Scapa Flow with Orphir on the left and the Hoy Hills on the right. Graemsay is lost in the mist! And the dogs, of course, got lots of treats, fuss and let out into the garden when necessary!

Anyway I must go now - we have our island Harvest Home tonight - more of that over the weekend. I must go to the pier and collect the visitors!

Oh!.....Buttons!!!

2011-11-16T10:13:00.000Z

This picture is the "Um....I've just dropped my toy and it ran behind the dresser" face of my cat Button. Sigh..... It's that time of year when the field mice are moving out of the fields and into the barns, byres, and hen houses. They also, of course, head towards homes. Generally I don't have a problem with them IN the house unless Princess Button brings them in.....! They do of course get in through tiny gaps in the stone walls (if you can fit a pencil through it a mouse can get through). But after a traumatic year when I first moved into the house when it was newly renovated, I think I can safely say I have blocked up every tiny hole within the house so they can't access any of the rooms. Sadly I have to put poison down under the floorboards to try and control the population I can't get to. I hate doing it, but then I think of all the wires that run under the boards that I don't want mice sized teeth on!

I accept I have a cat and she will eat mice. Fine - I just wish she wouldn't bring them in ALIVE! Or givet to me as a present. "Look what I brought you - and when I do this - it runs!" However I've never been afraid of mice - one used to share a stable with my old pony and would sit under his hay net nibbling whatever dropped down. Sweet...and at least it meant he didn't have rats! (Rats and mice won't live together so if you have one you won't have the other. No rats on Graemsay so....). Anyway I digress, I just don't like them IN my house. But I have become quite adept with an old cereal box and a brush in being able to scoop the poor things up when they stop running. I then have to shut Her Highness indoors while I release them and give them at least 15 minutes head start before I release HER!

Anyway - back to the matter in hand.... she let this one go and it went behind the dresser. I got out the humane mouse traps, baited with peanut butter and put them either side of the dresser. I then sat down at the kitchen table to work. Sadly I missed the photo opportunity of the century - the mouse came out the opposite end to Button and jumped OVER the mouse trap! But when I moved for my camera it shot back behind the dresser again....sigh.... anyway I did get *this* picture. Button at one end, while the mouse had just hopped back over the mouse trap on the left and back behind the dresser....

Eventually Button got bored but wasn't going to give up entirely so sat - er - laid on sentry duty. I found this reassuring as I didn't really want a wee mouse running up my leg while I worked away on my laptop!

Eventually though it popped out and right into the humane mouse trap - as you can see it beat Button to it!

I then released it out in the garden while Button was still convinced it was behind the dresser! Just in case there were more there - who knows how many she might have brought in to play with! I replace the humane mouse traps - but nothing else was caught. Phew...! It could be a long winter though.....

Charlie-in-the-barn....

2011-11-15T10:10:00.000Z

..... is the name of my barn cat. It does what it says on the tin as the advert says! Charlie came to stay about 3 years ago. The plan was he'd be a companion for Button(s). However he turned out to be almost totally feral and a very shy boy, who made a run for it at the first opportunity (or open door). Since then he has chosen to remain in the barn. It has to be said it is a very desirable residence. As you can see from the photo above, it has a sea view. There's also lots of warm cosy hay bales to snooze in. Plenty of mice to snack upon. And of course he gets breakfast in bed each morning along with lots of fuss. It took a long time but now he quite happily let's me stroke him and make a big fuss of him. He's not keen on being picked up but at least he lets me near him now! Interestingly he never comes near the house, and only comes up to me when he thinks he'll be fed. No food - no Charlie!

The morning feeding routine has become a little hectic of late. All of my hens successfully raised their respective broods of chicks. This means I now have about 40 hens! With just one cockerel - he's a busy boy! Naturally the hens also had male chicks but these were - um- despatched by a neighbour a few weeks ago. Sadly no one has much need for cockerels and they start to fight each other from an early age. Anyway - the chicks have grown up into young hens - multi-coloured because although the cockerel is a Light Sussex, the hens are a variety of breeds. Now....I just need to find homes for some of them!

Winter sun over Graemsay

2011-11-14T16:25:00.000Z

I took these photos as the sun was slipping towards sunset...... I love the drama of sunset and clouds! Above is the Manse on Graemsay. I don't think a Minister ever lived here, but apparently Missionaries would come and stay for a while - um I think that was as a bit of a holiday rather than to convert the "natives"...but who knows! Anyway the Church of Scotland sold it many years ago. Also in these photos disappearing under the cloud are the Hoy Hills.

All the photos were taken within about a minute.

A matter of interpretation.....

2011-11-14T11:00:00.000Z

Above you can see the new interpretation boards that have been attached to the Graemsay waiting room at the pier. Both the boards were provided by the Scapa Flow Landscape Partnership, working in collaboration with the Graemsay community. The Partnership has been working to have new interpreation boards put around Scapa Flow. It has to be said I have mixed feelings about such boards. I think they are fine on our waiting room - they give visitors to the island an idea of the history and flora and fauna. But I do get grumpy when I see interpretation boards out in a wilder more natural landscape. If I've staggered up a hill (a rare occurrence - that's why I chose to live on Graemsay, only 65ft at it's height!) or walked along a rugged coastal path, I love to marvel at the landscape, the remoteness of Orkney etc. I *know* many feet have trodden the same path, but - well I like to feel I *might* have been the first. An illusion that is shattered when I come upon an interpretation board.....sigh.....

However I digress, and the new boards look smart and give a good snapshot of the history of the island. Including of course both the lighthouses, Hoy High and Hoy Low. Built by Alan Stevenson (one of the "Lighthouse Stevensons" and who was related to Robert Louis Stevenson, who did visit the island in the 196h Century. Someone has a photo of it somewhere! I think it was taken outside Hoy Low.

An example of some of the plans for the lighthouses

And some photos of plants (always useful I find!) and some info on the various beaches around the island.

Apparently there will also be a leaflet or something available on the Orkney Mainland at the tourist offices, showing the coastal walks around the island. Always handy unless you can memorise a map! Though it has to be said with the island being so small (about 1.5 x 2 miles) it's hard to get lost! Though the pier can seem a looong way away when it's near boat time and you are the wrong end of the island!

Having told you about all the information, it has to be said, there are no special "sites" on Graemsay. We have no Maes Howe, no Skara Brae, no standing stones. But we do have lovely views around the island of the Hoy Hills and Stromness. And a quiet gentle walk around a farming community, plus some lovely beaches with shells and cold-water coral! Just remember if you visit - there's no shop, pub, restaurant, or tea room!

Remembrance Day

2011-11-13T09:33:00.000Z

Throughout Orkney on Friday there were Remembrance parades and the laying of wreaths at War Memorials in each parish. A ceremony that will be carried out throughout the UK and many other countries (though in some countries it is referred to as Armistice Day). Graemsay has no war memorial of it's own, but a wreath is laid on behalf of the Graemsay, Hoy and Walls communities at the Memorials on the island of Hoy. There was a large naval base at Lyness on Hoy during WWII and there is a large military cemetery there including graves of those lost at the sinking of the Royal Oak. The Scapa Flow Museum at Lyness tells the story of the naval history on the island during WWII. Warships based in Orkney also escorted merchant ships carrying supplies through to Russia and there is a joint Orkney and Russian War Memorial at Lyness too.

Kirkwall held a service of Remembrance at the St Magnus Cathedral on Friday. This was timed to coincide with the two minute silence which is observed throughout the UK - at the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month - to mark the anniversary when the guns fell silent on the battlefields at the end of WWI in 1918.

Of course there is added poignancy these days with the British forces (as well as others from around the world) involved in ongoing conflicts far from home. While we may not support the choices of governments to enter conflicts, it is right (I believe) that we honour the men and women who give the ultimate sacrifice.

In the UK the Royal British Legion hold a "poppy appeal", donations are made and poppies worn in support of the charitable works undertaken by "the Legion", as everyone calls it. The Legion works to help all generations and families of the armed forces past and present. In Trafalgar Square poppy petals were thrown into the fountains as a mark of remembrance.

"Lest we forget..."

2011-11-12T18:05:00.001Z

I forgot to say - Graemsay made it into print this week! The local paper, The Orcadian, also publishes a monthly magazine "Living Orkney". Each month there are articles about folk or places in the county, and this month Graemsay got a three page spread! The journalist, Catherine Turnbull, had been out to the island in the summer during our Archaeology day and had asked if she could write an article about our community. So this month it appeared entitled "Discovering the family community of Graemsay". It's a good article giving some info about the island as well as a few "snapshots" of life on the island and the people that live here. My blog got a mention too which was cool! Given that Graemsay was also on the local "Radio Orkney Around the Parish Pump" programme this week - folk around here might be getting a wee bit fed up of hearing about us! The radio programme was an interview with Bill Jenman of the Scapa Flow Landscape Partnership and took place on Graemsay as he was explaining about the new coastal path network that the Partnership has been working on. You can hear the wind howling in the background - not the best day for their visit!

Send Chocolate!!

2011-11-12T17:00:00.001Z

My name is Sian and I am a Chocoholic....sigh....and earlier this week I ran out of chocolate. You can imagine the calamity this is when one lives on a remote Scottish island... thankfully one of my friends on the Orkney Mainland took pity on me and sent me the above package! As you can see I couldn't wait to start on it!

Well you know what they say - there's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate!

OK I' exaggerating slightly about my addiction and my desperation when I ran out! But I'd been feeling a bit sore (I have a long term chronic musculoskeletal condition) and weary from a couple of nights not sleeping so well, as well as work being busy. So I *was* missing my chocolate fix! It was delightful to get my post in the morning and find a bag of CHOCOLATE in it!

I'm back to true form now so blog post should be a little more frequent again......but first..... I feel the need for a few squares of chocolate.....

Sunday wanderings

2011-11-07T18:10:00.002Z

Today (Monday) I've been suffering from a rotten headache which just won't shift. I get them on occasion, as we all do I'm sure, so won't moan about it, but that's why this post might be a) brief and b) barely coherent!

Some photos from a beautiful Sunday .......

Button on a mission.....

Some flowers cheerfully blooming despite the colder weather and the wind!

Some of the hens enjoying the sunshine

Reflections of Hoy High lighthouse

And after a hard day supervising me in the garden (I was digging up the last of the potatoes), Button takes the chance for a nap in the sun.....

Apologies for absence...

2011-11-06T17:14:00.001Z

..... but I've had a lot of work on this week, plus during my free time I've been making the most of the glorious weather we have had over the last few days! Above is the sun low in the sky - this is about 10am. Beautiful light and shadows, but a nightmare to drive in!

Yesterday I went over to Kirkwall for the day as there were a couple of exhibitions I wanted to see. I met a friend in Stromness and drove through to Kirkwall which is about 15 miles East of Stromness. We had lunch in The Reel cafe before going along to the exhibitions. One at the Orkney Museum was by Ian Scott of North Ronaldsay - a selection of his water colours painted this summer. He paints "at the scene" and his work is an interpretation of the landscape, weather and mood. North Ronaldsay is one of the most Northerly of the Orkney Islands and is very low lying. One side of the coast is very rocky and there are some wonderful geologic formations there which make great subjects for painting. (The photo doesn't do justice to the pictures but I'm never quite sure of the etiquette of taking pictures of art exhibitions without the artist's permission! So this is a kind of oblique shot).

I then went on to see Diana Leslie's exhibition, which was also in Kirkwall, this time at the "Wool and Wine Shop" (what an inspired combination...!). Diana is Orcadian and lives in Stromness. Much of her work is of Stromness and the West Mainland. I really like her style of work, particularly the "townscapes" of Stromness, the harbour and environs. She works in a variety of mediums, etchings, pencil drawings, oils. Diana was there herself so it was good to chat with her, and others were gathering to see the small exhibition, with wine on hand to make it a very sociable gathering!

I had a little time before the boat left for home so I played with some of the settings on my camera, having felt inspired by the various artist creations I'd seen!

Stromness skyline as the sun sets behind the hills

Fish boxes piled up at the harbour (I used a red accent setting washing out the colour on these photos)

Buyos at the harbour wall

Stromness harbour

And when I got home, the moon was rising as the sun set (just regular camera setting for this one!).

A lovely end to a relaxing day.

A fine November Day

2011-11-02T11:45:00.001Z

I was over in Stromness yesterday just for a fleeting shopping visit. On a Tuesday, Wednesday and a Friday it's possible to get the 10.45 ferry from Graemsay, which gets to Stromness at 11am, a quick run out to the Co-op and Flett's the Butcher and then back in time for the 12 noon ferry home. Though it can be a bit of a "trolley dash" around the Co-op sometimes!

Above is the view from the Stromness pier looking towards Graemsay. My home is to the right of the Hoy High lighthouse (did I mention I lived next to a lighthouse? Sorry - that's a joke from long ago when some friends from the US came up to see me living on a wee island and I had somehow forgotten to mention I lived right next door to a very tall pointy light-house!).

When I returned to Graemsay I found some farmers were shipping sheep. Fortunately there were folk on hand to help with the shopping as it was necessary to walk through the sheep in the pens. The new Church of Scotland Minister from Stromness was over for his first visit, and I'm sure it was a bit of a surprise to be met by a "flock" of a rather different sort!

Later in the afternoon I decided I really needed to clean the outside of the windows after the recent gales - I couldn't even see through my kitchen window it was so covered in salt. I hasten to add this isn't salt spray from the waves but I am close to the shore so the air is laden with salt and the wind leaves it deposited on the outside of everything!

It was glorious to be outdoors, I could see for miles. Below are some of the wind turbines on the West Mainland but quite a few miles North of me. They stand out so clear when the sun shines upon them.

I also managed to catch the first "winter" sunset. Now the sun has moved round and is setting behind the Hoy Hills - a definite sign of winter. With the clocks going "back" on Sunday it's also dark now at 5pm. I have to say that *did* come as a surprise to me! It's been so mild (though windy) that I haven't really appreciated that Winter is here......(well OK technically autumn, but in Orkney it's either winter or summer and even then sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between the two!)

Hallowe'en

2011-10-31T10:00:00.000Z

Who are all these witches, warlocks and strange ghostlike creatures? It's the Graemsay Hallowe'en Party of course - um.... in costume in case you were wondering!!

We had our party on Saturday but I thought today, actually being Hallowe'en, was the appropriate time to write about it. Some of us decorated our wee community hall in the afternoon and set it up ready for the evening. I spent most of the time screaming because I hate spiders - even "pretend" ones! Anyway eventually the hall was ready and we all returned home to get dressed up ourselves.

There were witches and warlocks .....

and skeletons.....

and devils ......

and creepy monsters...

Everyone brought some food for the supper, which as usual was enough to feed a much bigger island! Though I avoided some of the "themed" food, even if it WAS only coloured icing! No party is complete without music and games. Someone had brought along a CD of "Hallowe'en" music which included the 1970's "hit" of "The Monster Mash" (anyone remember that?!) and creepy noises and screams!

All the children then followed the Head Witch around the hall to the music, and each did a party piece - telling a joke or singing a song. Their reward was then showered with lots of sweeties (candy) and the games began.

Among them was traditional "apple bobbing" (apples floating in water and you have to catch them in your mouth - no hands!)......

Pass the parcel (for the kids) and my personal favourite, the "Mummy" game which is a race to see who can bind up their "mummy" quickest, and who is the quickest "mummy" to burst out of their bonds!

There was also an "eat the donut hanging on a string without using your hands" but I couldn't stop laughing long enough to take any photos that weren't blurry! Anyway the evening went well and a good time was had by all. I don't think too many of us had nightmares afterwards, which is amazing looking at this scary lot - tee hee!

First responder refresher course

2011-10-30T16:46:00.000Z

It's been a busy weekend, we had our Hallowe'en party last night (more of that tomorrow), and today we had our island First Responder team refresher course. I've written about being a first responder before (in 2009, Feb 2011, and May 2011) but basically about 14 of us (which is about 54% of the island!) have trained as first responders so that should there be a medical emergency on the island we can be "first person on scene" in terms of being able to give assistance. Having been trained we have a mobile phone link to an emergency medical centre, kit bag which contains oxygen, a defibrillator (shock box), and various other bits of kit. The scheme is organised by the Scottish Ambulance Service and we are supposed to have six monthly refresher sessions.

Thankfully we've only had one call-out since we became "active", but that makes the referesher sessions all the more important, in my view, because it's not something at the forefront of our minds. So Murray, one of the local trainers spent the day with us all, going over all the do's and don'ts, as well as getting us to do some practical exercises, such as CPR. That's what the picture is at the top of the post - not a real medical emergency but just a practice on how to put someone in the recover position. And the ghostly spectre in the corner is a left over from our Hallowe'en party!

Although it's a serious subject our sessions are always lightened by humour and today was no exception. Lots of laughter as well as practical exercises and discussion. And of course not forgetting the copious supply of soup, tea and home bakes!

Negotiations with a cat......

2011-10-29T16:36:00.000+01:00

So, I bought Buttons the little fleecy padded blanket above. This was for her added comfort as, in winter when the underfloor heating is on she likes to take a nap on the warm floor. She also likes to nap in the room where I am, and in winter I choose to work in the kitchen (lighter, brighter, cosier than my study). Hence the cosy blanket for Princess Buttons.

It has to be said that I did have an ulterior motive. You see her preferred place to sleep is actually in my chair, at the kitchen table/desk. So I thought through some negotiation I could persuade her to sleep on her cosy fleecy blanket and leave the chair to me.....

She really seems to be enjoying the blanket

Really enjoying it!

Then I went to the loo (bathroom) and returned to find this.......

And this.....

I should know by now - cats are not open to negotiation.....

Happy Valley

2011-10-28T12:57:00.002+01:00

One of my favourite places in Orkney is Happy Valley. This beautiful secluded woodland in a sheltered valley is in the parish of Stenness on the Orkney Mainland. I've blogged about HV before so take a look for more info here. Yesterday there was a strong breeze blowing from the East but I knew HV would be fairly sheltered. So I wondered through the gate into the clearing in front of the old house (it even has a Monkey Puzzle Tree!) and just stood there listening to the wind in the branches. I miss that sound from my days "south" when I used to ride my pony, Badger, through the woodland. "Whoo, Whoo, Woosh, Swoosh" the trees called to me in greeting. Leafless branches dancing and grabbing at me in greeting as I walk past.

I wandered carefully down the path strew with soggy leaves to the burn which was roaring over a waterfall that Edwin Harold had made many years ago. It was in too much of a hurry to stop and speak but roared a "hallo" as it rushed along.

Further up the same burn was meandering along a little more quietly. I could stand and listen to it murmering over the rocks and walked up the path, helped by the trees holding out sturdy branches for me to grasp.

I love the detail within a wood - the gnarled barks that hold tales of many seasons.

Among the now dead leaves small plants still flowering proudly. I have no idea what these are (I shall have to rely on Mrs Orkney Flowers to tell me!).

Another waterfall and more rushing water too busy to stop and have a blether (chat).

I'm pleased to see that local volunteers have been planting new trees, to continue Edwin's work. They'll extend this woodland of many seasons with new stock.

Up by the house St John's Wort has many berries - is this a forewarning of a harsh winter?

Edin lived here for many years, using the burn as his water supply, and also to generate his electricity, in his house with turf growing on the roof (traditional insulation).

And tiny plants cling to the stonework of the house.

Meanwhile in a corner rusting iron implements have been gathered together, telling stories to each other of their hard working past lives.

And on the wall near the entrance beautiful lichens soften the stone wall, and among them tiny plants that are often missed when the glory of the trees in leaf demand all the attention.

As I left Happy Valley and returned to the vista of the sun playing on the low hills and pasture I felt I'd visited the land of tree sprites, pixies and elves! I'm sure I heard wee voices calling me to return soon, and I must listen to them as Happy Valley is certainly balm for the spirit!

Calmer waters...

2011-10-27T10:08:00.000+01:00

Yesterday we had some respite from the gales. I took the photo above on my trip to the pier to collect the messages (groceries). It's from Graemsay towards the island of Hoy. I love the way the light is monochrome. The wee croft outlined in the picture is Clett.

And here is one of my neighbour's Shetland ponies - also enjoying some respite from the gales!

Meanwhile at the pier, it's cargo day with a tractor ready to offload/onload! This photo was taken from near the Lighthouse, hence the odd angle!

Preparing for winter...

2011-10-25T13:03:00.001+01:00

To be honest I'm not THAT remote from shops and services that I need to do much in the way of preparation. They are only a short ferry ride away, on the horizon of the photo above. However on days like today when the wind is high and from a direction that makes it hard for the boat to dock at our pier, there are cancellations. Plus I don't want to have to go out unless I really have to some days, especially when it's hard to stand up! So I've been stocking up the freezer with some essentials, including milk of course. I'm afraid I've never been a fan of long-life milk, so in preference I get ordinary semi-skimmed milk and freeze it! It freezes OK, separates a bit sometimes, but I still prefer it to the long life variety!

Then I need a goodly supply of porridge. My daily breakfast is a warming bowl of sloshy porridge with some blueberries. (Also time to start freezing some (shop bought) blueberries!).

Of course I need to ensure a good supply of CAKE. Very essential ;-) I'm doing more baking now, and also enjoy a delicious cake with coffee when out in town. This photo was taken at Judith Glue's cafe last week. The vanilla cup cake was delicious!

And I have to make sure the sweetie (candy) drawer is full.

I have a nice stock of broad beans, and some gooseberries in the freezer from the garden, and tatties (potatoes) ready to be used. But other fruit and veg needs to be ordered from town. Sometimes I just make up a big pot of veggie soup and freeze it, then have that with a chunk of home (bread machine) baked bread, so I get some of my "five a day fruit and veg" that way!

And there are lists of everything that I need to do when I go to town, as now I only go to Stromness or Kirkwall every 10 days or so. In the summer there are more events on, or it's nice to go over for a coffee, meet up with friends, or go for a walk on the Mainland. But winter is a time of snuggling cosily indoors - well for me anyway! Of course Graemsay is a farming island and so most of my neighbours HAVE to go outdoors to see to livestock etc.... It's hard labour struggling with large barn doors, and ensuring the tractor door doesn't get torn off in the wind.

Our power supply is fairly constant, and the power company is pretty quick at repairing faults. But I still keep torches handy in each room, plus rechargable lanterns at the ready. A calor gas heater can keep at least one room warm for a while should a power cut stop the heating working. And I have gas burners on the cooker so can still cook and heat water for drinks etc. But generally as power cuts are short (fingers crossed they stay that way) I normally just use a rechargeable lantern, make a cup of tea and once it's dark go to bed with the battery operated radio. Though bearing in mind it gets dark early in winter - that means some very early nights!

Of course now we have mobile phone technology, the landline telephone going off isn't such a catastrophe, though it is an inconvenience. Broadband is more of a problem if it goes off, but I have a backup mobile broadband "dongle" that I can use for emergencies. Essential as I work from home and need to access emails and databases etc.

I had more insulation put into the loft this summer as part of a Scottish Government Scheme energy saving scheme. So hopefully that will help retain the heat. I have underfloor heating downstairs which acts as a huge storage heater. But upstairs it's radiators in the rooms, so the temperature drops more quickly once the heating goes off. Hopefully the insulation will prolong the heat! And of course I have to remind myself to close doors behind me. In summer I leave all internal doors open and drift around the house. But to be economical with heat, I only heat the rooms I use, and must remember to try and retain the heat in those rooms! The underfloor heating works through an oil fired boiler. With oil prices as high as they are - I'm wondering about converting it to burning £5 notes - it might be cheaper....sigh..... but energy - that's a whole other discussion!

Button doesn't like windy days - no good for catching mice! So most of the time she sleeps.....sigh.... oh to be a well-cared-for cat in winter...

But this is just as well because the cat flap has to be blocked off during the gales because otherwise, even when locked, it is draughty and I fear it will get blown out by the force of the wind! On Graemsay no one has a letter box in their door either - way too draughty and water would pour in!

Transport note: - our ferry has been able to come to Graemsay during the day today but has one cancellation this evening. However due to the wind direction it's had to cancel more sailings to the neighbouring island of Hoy as it's been unable to dock at the pier there. Other islands in Orkney have had delays or cancellations too. And the Churchill Barriers have been closed to traffic, cutting off the linked south isles from the Mainland, as well as cutting off traffic arriving in Orkney on one of the routes from Scotland! But it's hoped once the tide drops the barriers themselves will be open. Living in an island community you just need to be a little flexible, and have some contingency plans in place! It's also been announced that the Shetland-Orkney-Aberdeen ferry has had to be diverted to Rosyth as Aberdeen harbour is closed due to the high Easterly winds! Glad I wasn't on THAT boat! Ah yes - Winter is here....

No boat today.....

2011-10-22T15:30:00.003+01:00

Our ferry, the MV Graemsay, is "broken". Well to be correct, it is undergoing repairs after several weeks of, what the ferry company called, "technical difficulties". Basically a bit of the engine fell into the moving parts and the result was a broken engine. So for some weeks now the ferry has been operating on one engine. This means it's slower and has had to cancel sailings during the hours of darkness (not quite sure why that was?!).

But yesterday apparently the broken engine was lifted out of the hold and a new one will be put in it's place today. Meantime - the ferry company informed us they couldn't find a replacement boat for us this weekend. But they have promised us that either our ferry will be working again on Monday or they'll put some sort of replacement in.

So - I'm marooned on Graemsay! Well - I do choose to live on an island! And to be fair it's only in the last two or three years that we have had a ferry at weekends during the winter schedule. But, as with everything, you soon get used to it! We usually have several ferry runs a day Monday to Friday, then one in the morning and one in the afternoon at the weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

However I had no plans to go to town this weekend, particularly as it is rather blustery outdoors. But I shall be very happy when our ferry is restored to a two-engine ferry again!

Autumn on the island of Hoy

2011-10-21T15:19:00.004+01:00

A friend, J, took these photos on a recent trip to the island of Hoy, which is a neighbouring island to Graemsay - only MUCH bigger! Hoy has a population of (I think) about 1,500 in various settlements around the island.

One of my favourite spots on Hoy is Rackwick Bay, which is surrounded by high hills (not quite mountains) and fabulous sandstone cliffs. Some of the tallest cliffs in the UK are on the island of Hoy. Graemsay, in comparison, is very low lying, only being 65ft at it's highest point.

Unfortunately I don't have the breath to climb up hills so rely on photos by friends of this perspective! And it IS a beautiful one. So here are some photos taken from Berriedale wood. This woodland is ancient native woodland and the most northerly native woodland in the UK. Sadly I've not been able to climb up into it but I love these photos. Trees have a fight to survive on Orkney because of the low lying land and nothing to protect them from the winds which strip them of leaves and bark. Only the hardiest of trees can survive in some areas, unless they are in protected valleys or protected by buildings or stone dykes (walls). I so admire these hardy trees - braving the elements and stoutly clinging to the earth!

Below, Berriedale wood, set in a valley between the hills.

Below the heather moorland that surrounds Berriedale wood.

Brrrrrr!

2011-10-20T11:00:00.000+01:00

Gales this week and hail - this weather actually hurts! I've avoided going outdoors unless I really have to but some things can't be avoided.

Like feeding the hens.......

And because I feel sorry for them in this cold weather (which will come as a shock to most of the flock as they were born this summer!) I've been cooking up pasta for them for breakfast too.....

And then there was the trip to the pier to collect the "messages" (Scottish for shopping). The local grocery shop sends over supplies in a box via the ferry. I just have to turn up at the pier to collect it. Um.... it was a little wet and cold......

But I have some fruit (so no scurvy this week!) and other necessary supplies like milk, flour, bacon, kitchen roll and - er - biscuits!

Meanwhile Button stays resolutely indoors except for the necessary dash for - well, the necessary!

Rainbows!

2011-10-19T11:00:00.000+01:00

I LOVE rainbows! These appeared on Sunday evening when clouds started to fill the blue sky and showers rained down on a very cross Button (the cat)! (You can just make out a double rainbow) Did I mention I live next door to a lighthouse? ;-)

Here's a boat that has just sailed right past the "crock of gold" which legend has it, is at the end of the rainbow!

Sunny Sunday

2011-10-18T09:38:00.000+01:00

In the small hours of this morning we had thunder and lightning heard above the roaring wind. Now it's gale force winds and hail. I was planning to go over to the Orkney Mainland to do some shopping, but have decided, due to weather, to stay warm and cosy and work instead! Our wee ferry is still running but I don't fancy braving the dash up and down the pier with shopping.... Winds are due to calm down later in week for a short respite so I'll go "to town" then. Welcome to Winter in Orkney! However, despite it being Tuesday, thought I'd share some photos taken on a lovely autumnal Sunday, which was gloriously sunny with blue skies! Above is Graemsay - the grey hills in the background are on the island of Hoy.

Below - seaweed building up along the shore. Excellent fertilizer for the garden!

Some of the many old ruined buildings that are on Graemsay (and many other of the Orkney islands). This building had a forge on the end nearest the shore. But it's slowly slipping into the sea now.

The shell beach - and here are the buildings from the shore side....

The black bird in the middle is a Shag - it's a seabird but doesn't have oiled feathers like other seabirds so has to stands with wings outstretched to dry! If you click on the picture to make it larger, you may be able to make out 3 wind turbines on the horizon of the Orkney Mainland. Part of Orkney's renewable energy programme.

Here are some Oystercatchers also enjoying the Sunday sunshine! (They don't catch oysters as far as I know so not sure why they are called that!).

Here are H and E enjoying a paddle in the sea. They live on a neighbouring farm and were exploring and looking for shells.

The hens and the cockerel hopeful of some scraps from me I think! The numbers of chickens have been reduced in my absence. Some of the adolescent cockerels have been "dispatched". Still lots of hens left though so need to find new homes for some of them!

The beautiful flame coloured flower of Monbretia (also known as crocosmia). This grows well in Orkney and I have several clumps in the garden.

Empty field

2011-10-17T11:00:00.000+01:00

I returned from "south" to find the kye (cattle) had been moved from my field to new pasture. They'd managed to eat all the grass in the field in just over a week!

This was the kye in the field before I went away

I took a walk around the field as it was such a lovely day yesterday. Below is a photo of the well (covered to ensure no puss-cats fall down it like the ill-fated puss in the nursery rhyme "Ding, Dong, Dell, Puss is in the well"!), and so that no other animals can come to any harm. The base next to it is where there used to be an engine which would pump the water to the byres and up to a tank outside the house. The house was only connected to mains water during the renovations in 2000. Prior to that well water had been used. Some houses on the island still use well water or water from their own small reservoirs on the island.

Home again (again!)

2011-10-16T17:27:00.002+01:00

Did you miss me?! I returned Friday evening from a work trip to the North of England, but due to the beautiful weather this weekend I've been making the most of "outdoors" and walking on the beach etc. so have only just got back to my computer.

As I say, last week I was in the North of England, York to be precise. It's a beautiful city with lots of history, but my reason for visiting is because I work for the University of York as a researcher. So I get to visit every now and again. This visit was a short one, so apologies to those of you in York that I didn't get to visit! But it really was work, work, work! Well OK, I also got a visit to Betty's Tea Room. A trip to York is incomplete without a visit to "Betty's"! I love the traditional English Afternoon Tea, served on a three tier cake stand, with sandwiches at the bottom, scones, cream and jam on the middle tier place, and "fancies" (small luxurious cakes) on the top tier, all with proper tea served in a silver tea pot with a tea strainer (none of your tea-bag rubbish here!). Oooh I remember it well.......

As I say, I've been to York many times, so have done the "tourist" bits, and this time just had time for dinner out with colleagues, the aforementioned Betty's tea, and a visit to the cinema (or "the pictures" as we call it!) to see the new Woody Allen film "Midnight in Paris" - which I thoroughly enjoyed, in part because of the stunning views of Paris!

The journey to York can get a bit epic. I start with the ferry from the island to the Orkney Mainland, drive through to the airport in Kirkwall, plane to Edinburgh, airport bus to Edinburgh railway station, and a 2.5hr train journey down to York. But I love train journeys so I don't mind that part! But it does take most of the day from home to hotel!

My hotel window looked out onto Clifford's Tower (photo at the top of this blog post). I loved watching the sun rise behind the trees. The tower is the Keep of a former castle and seems to have rather a bloody history, but I didn't dwell on that!

The street outside my window had some lovely traditional buildings and I loved looking at the trees just beginning to turn autumnal colours.

I took some photos on the train journey back from Berwick-on-Tweed through to Edinburgh. The rail line follows the east coast much of the way

If you look *very* carefully in the photo below you can just see a lighthouse!

Lovely traditional "Scottish" buildings

The soil is so rich and red!

I had a great view of the city of Edinburgh on the bus from the train station to the airport. Below is the famous Edinburgh Castle. Looking a little gloomy on a grey day.

I love looking up at the architecture.

I also had a chance to see part of the construction of the controversial tram system. The construction is way behind schedule and over budget, and very unpopular with Edinburgh folk! See more details of the controversy here

So... that's me home for a while now. Ready to hunker down for the winter!

Slipping from Autumn to Winter

2011-10-08T17:23:00.002+01:00

Autumn is a season that doesn't last long in Orkney! No autumnal colours on trees, just blasting gales that turn the leaves black and tear them from the branches. My poor trees are looking somewhat battered now......

This week the weather has been "changeable" - even on the island. Sunny one end, rain the other! This picture and the one above were taken from the ferry on my visit to the town on Thursday.

You can see the blackened leaves on the elder tree - and this is in the protected walled garden!

But there is still blue sky amid the clouds - we get our pleasures where we can in winter!

Shipping of livestock

2011-10-07T22:56:00.002+01:00

I didn't need to go to the pier today at cargo boat time, but the activity of tractors and trailers up and down the road in front of my house was enough to tell me that one of the farmers was shipping sheep. Our boat is a lift-on-lift-off type, so anything that can't be done by hand is hauled on and off by the crane on the boat. And yes this includes sheep and cattle. Depending on the tide the sheep can be run down a wooden run onto the deck of the boat, otherwise several are put into the cattle box and winched on an off and then are released into pens on the boat. Cattle are always loaded into the metal box individually, usually. The photo above was taken a couple of years ago before our ferry was lengthened but the principle is the same.

We can also get groceries and other supplies sent over from shops on the Orkney mainland. These are on the top deck of the pier ready to be handed across to those of us waiting to collect them. I find this a great way to get most of my shopping in the winter. I generally get a weekly supply of milk, general groceries, sometimes bread (though I make more of my own in winter) and of course cat food!

Our ferry still has "technical problems" and is waiting for one engine to be replaced, so it's running a little slower than usual. But apart from the late afternoon and Friday "late boat" (9.30pm) service being cancelled, the timetable is as usual. Although all services are probably a little more weather dependent than normal.

But let's not forget how things used to be done in the past! Below is a photo taken in the 1950s of the Graemsay Coo (cow) boat! The cattle would be loaded onto this low boat on Graemsay, and then towed behind another boat with an engine and taken over to Stromness, where the animals would be sold at the town's livestock market! I love the women in their headscarves - they are Florence Wilson of Quoys, Violet Mowat of Ramray and the man at the end is George Ritch of Windywalls (all crofters from the island). It's one of my favourites!

Another October Day...

2011-10-05T18:16:00.001+01:00

Today we have had some respite from the wind and rain, but as I type I can hear the wind getting up again. That is the nature of Autumn and Winter in Orkney (and indeed Spring and Summer sometimes!). Our ferry is still having technical problems and some sailings are cancelled. The high winds don't help either! There are some days in Winter when the ferry can't get out to us, but the Hoy Sound is more sheltered than other stretches of water in Orkney, so generally the boat sails. Though it can depend on wind direction, state of tide etc. and some days you really would not want to be sailing on it! Generally if the weather is bad I'll check first to make sure that not only can I leave the island but that I can get home again too! If it's thought the weather will be particularly bad, the parents of the children will be advised not to send them into school. I think most of the children have relatives on the Orkney Mainland so in an emergency they can stay with them if the were to get stranded.

Above you can see a neighbour's cattle enjoying some Autumn sunshine in my field behind the house. OK the sky is grey but the sun was coming in and out, honest! They certainly seem to appreciate the grass in the field!

Meanwhile the mother hen is still clucking around her new brood. I know this floor doesn't look that clean and I've dumped some oatmeal for them, but she will insist on keeping them there so what can I do! I moved her last week,with some help, to a more cosier base and she promptly removed them! So I shall leave her well alone now!

Meanwhile poor Charlie the barn cat has to be fed above ground level so that the 40 or so chickens don't bully him into letting them eat his food!

Button, of course, is not that happy about the wind and rain as it curtails her outdoor adventures. I've started putting the underfloor heating on so she has taken to napping under a chair where the carpet is warm. Her pose below makes me smile. I suppose some days are tougher than others!!

And in this photo you can see why she was called "Buttons" by her former owners. Her eyes look like two bright green buttons!

Windy Day.....

2011-10-03T19:09:00.000+01:00

What a change in the weather from yesterday! It's VERY windy today. Gusting to about 35mph at the moment but due to increase to potentially severe gale force tonight. Meanwhile some of the young cattle stock from a neighbouring farm have been put into my field at the back of the house to graze it down for winter. The field hasn't been grazed this year as I've been having a new stock proof fence put up. That's now in place so the wee beasties can go in and graze away for a few weeks till they are taken inside to sheds for the winter.

These young stock watched curiously as I hung out a window to take their photo. I can imagine them asking each other "What does she think she's doing?"!

Meanwhile we have ongoing technical problems with our ferry. We're waiting to hear when these might be resolved, with currently limited runs and limited cargo delivery. But it has to be said it seemed to be making good speed against the wind tonight, although it sailed back to harbour on a more sheltered route.

Painting our community hall

2011-10-02T21:23:00.002+01:00

Quite a few folk from the island were up at the Community Hall this afternoon, giving it a fresh coat of paint. Due to my asthma having a tendency to be triggered by chemicals I avoid paint etc so I didn't go. Yes I know that sounds convenient - dear reader, you are not the only one to make that comment! Tee Hee!

As you can see all hands are put to good use (literally, who needs paint brushes!!) and even the wee kids helped out! (Photo taken by Irene Mathieson who was one of the valiant workers - though she clearly was slacking judging by the number of photos she took! Only joking Irene....tee hee!)

Our Community Hall is an ex-Army hut from WWI. It was transported from the island of Burray in Orkney to Graemsay after WWI and constructed by the "men of the island" as the story goes. It's been used since then for dances and parties, as well as any other community function. It's all wood lined and has a good acoustic so is a favourite of musicians when they come to play. Most other parishes have been provided with "Community Schools" by the local authority (Orkney Islands Council), which means that the local authority also provides a community hall. But Graemsay, not having a school, was not able to take advantage of such a facility so we do the best we can with what we have!

As I say it's been in use since just after WWI, and Ethel, who was a young girl on Graemsay during the WWII (please note that's TWO, she's not that old!) remembered that the soldiers stationed at the gun battery at Hoy Low would come along to the dances. But they weren't best pleased at having to stand outside with the other men to drink or smoke! I bet they weren't!! It can get a bit breezy here at the best of times......

Anyway good progress was made on painting the hall today. I went up to inspect (once I was sure all work was over - tee hee!). To finish off the afternoon a barbecue was held too so all the workers got fed as well..... (......as well as those of us that *didn't* do any work!). It was also a lovely day, with the SUN shining and, out of the breeze, was very warm. Wonderful for October...... I refused to listen to everyone saying it was going to be very windy tomorrow.....

Not more chicks.....sigh.....

2011-09-30T20:13:00.003+01:00

I have this chicken problem.....sigh...... I may be able to class myself as a chicken farmer soon! I began the summer with 8 hens and a cockerel. Up to now there have been numerous clutches of eggs hatching out so I am up to about 40 birds..... and today...... another hen has hatched a brood - probably about 10!! You can see them in the photo above - day old! They were hidden in one of the outbuildings..... She's a very protective mother so was pecking my boots with her sharp pecky beak while I took this snap.......sigh....... Hey Ho! At least I am getting about 3 eggs a day from the other hens - now I've found their stash..... however...... while rummaging in the barn for any other broody hens I found one of them tucked into a corner - out of my reach.....so I fear this won't be the last batch!

Next year I'm hoping to organise nesting boxes around the barns so that I might be able to collect the eggs more easily and this population explosion won't happen again........

My week didn't begin particularly well as I seemed to have an ear infection and that coupled with a flu vaccine had my immune system on overdrive and me feeling rather "wabbit" - no that isn't a reference to Bugs Bunny or Woger Wabbit (Roger Rabbit) but a lovely Scots word meaning "tired" or "exhausted". The ear infection gave me vertigo when I laid down, but fortunately I was OK as long as I sat or stood up! It seems to be clearing now thankfully.

Yesterday I had a nice surprise. Some visitors came to the island who had family links with the Sutherland family who had lived at Sandside since the early 1800s and stayed till the mid 1950s. They also brought along family trees and some old photos which was great. Particularly as they are descended from the branch of the Sutherland family I have little information on. So we had a good blether (chat), and they were shown around the island and wandered on the beach to find "groatie buckies" (tiny cowrie shells), and had their photos taken outside the house etc.

Here are three photos - this is labelled as Isaac Mowat, in which case his bride is Clara Sutherland on Sandside beach.

Clara as a young girl with her twin Jane-Anne Sutherland (I think). Jane-Anne ran the post office at Sandside for many years. She lived here with her brother John Daniel (Dannie) and his wife Eliza Williamson until the early 1950s when Dannie died and the family left the farm.

Here is Dannie with his wife Eliza

But this is the side of the family I know quite well (figurateively speaking anyway!). The visitors left me with lots of photos and info about the other branch of the family so a project for the winter for me to match them with the Sutherland family tree!

Back to the present - the weather has been unseasonably warm this week. Not the high temps of the South of England, but definitely WARM for Orkney and no wind. Apparently in the town the Rooks are roosting again! They think it's Spring! Well the wind will no doubt get up in a few days again and put them off THAT idea.

Today I'd decided to go over to town to do some stocking up of store cupboards. However our wee ferry has some engine problems and today was only doing a couple of runs to get the children to and from school in Stromness, so I cancelled my trip to the town.

Instead I made use of my time by making several batches of roast potatoes ready for the freezer using any baking dish I could find. I have lots of "tatties" (potatoes) from the garden and I just love them roasted. I often buy "Aunt Bessie's roast potatoes" from the supermarket. But I'm not taken in by the jolly "aunt" label and know full well that these are mass produced in a factory! So thought I'd try my own. I love a few roast tatties with my dinner during the week and it seems very decadent to make them fresh just for me.

So as another week draws to a close I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend with some pottering in the garden (if the weather holds!).

North Ronaldsay

2011-09-25T19:55:00.004+01:00

One of the North Ronaldsay beaches

I thought I'd tell you about another of the Orkney islands, another "small island" - the island of North Ronaldsay is the northern most of the Orkney islands and is seriously remote! It's only about 2.7 square miles and it's only connection to the Orkney Mainland is via cargo ship once a week, or via a regular small plane service.

Pat, one of my regular blog readers mentioned watching a short film "Life on a Small Island" which is about North Ronaldsay, so I thought I'd share it with you all. Click here for the film

It's about 18 minutes long and is narrated by a young North Ronaldsay lass. It was filmed in 2008, and since that time the school has closed and then re-opened again! The wee boys at the school in the film have grown now and gone to the school in Kirkwall (where most children from the isles go from the age of 14 to finish their studies, along with children from the town of Kirkwall and surrounding parishes). However the island community managed to get two "gateway" houses built and advertised for two families to come and live on the island. So the school could reopen again - much to the delight of the community. Once a school closes it can be the end of many rural communities as young families are not keen to move there.

But a "claim to fame" of the island is the Seaweed eating sheep, the famous North Ronaldsay sheep. Those in the UK may have seen North Ronaldsay on the BBC Countryfile programme recently. These sheep really do live on seaweed! Most of the year they are out on the shore, getting shelter from the dry stone dyke that runs around the island and keeps them out on the beach. The seaweed gives their meat a special flavour and several restaurants in London serve this as a speciality. The fleeces are also sold, and the wool processed and sold on. The island has it's own website so do take a look here at more info and photos.

Here are some of the North Ronaldsay sheep on the beach!

A beautiful day

2011-09-24T20:23:00.002+01:00

Today has been just glorious with WARM sunshine, and NO wind! There were a couple of very brief showers but nothing to bother about. I spent the entire day in the garden and had a lovely time. I dug over part of the veggie bed ready for a seaweed mulch. Then I dug up some more tatties (potatoes) and harvested almost the last of the broad beans. The latter are now "blanched" and in the freezer - last year I gave a lot away but then I regretted that in February when I ran out of my own supply. So this year I'm being selfish!

Above is this evening's sun setting above the Hoy hills (just after 7pm) and below is some late afternoon sunshine over Sandside bay, taken from just outside my garden.

Tatties drying after washing the soil off, ready for storing.

Broad beans - and of course Button has to get in the picture! She's desperately trying to look cute as she clearly thinks *she* is more interesting a subject for a photo than a bucket of beans......

Autumn

2011-09-23T16:53:00.004+01:00

Autumn is definitely here, now we have passed the equinox. But Nature produced a beautiful rainbow to mark the occasion so I couldn't be sad.

Meanwhile Button is selecting her "indoor spaces" for additional napping time, now she doesn't want to be outdoors so much.

The bees are still making the most of the Borage which apparently keeps refilling it's flowers with nectar. This plant has been a huge success and I'm hoping for reseedings next year too! I love the fine hairs on the borage flowers!

I took an opportunity this morning in the lull between gales to go out and do some harvesting. The courgettes (zucchini) have done well this year, and the broad beans are not doing too badly, though they are late in filling out their pods. But there will be lots of broad beans for the freezer which is good!

But the Hoy Hills look very dour today. An image of a sleeping dinosaur!

And tonight there is a Quiz in our community hall, so I'd better go and put my "thinking-cap" on!

Mellow fruitfulness (again!)

2011-09-21T11:00:00.000+01:00

I must thank blog-readers Shirlwin and Betsy for directing me to the poem by John Keats "Ode to Autumn" for the reference to "Time of mists and mellow fruitfulness". I was unfamiliar with the poem till now. I do love Autumn, though for me there is always a sadness because of the departing summer and the onset of Winter. I've come to accept the seasons much more in later years. It's all part of the circle of life. But Spring and Summer will always be my favourite seasons!

However, this verse particularly strikes me:

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, whereare they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barrèd clouds bloom the soft-dying day
And touch the stubble-plains withrosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river-sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind livesor dies;
And full-grownlambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreastwhistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Ode to Autumn, J Keats

The light is definitely changing now. I really noticed this on my walk along the shore yesterday.

Button sitting rather impatiently by an old winch at the old Sandside Pier, tide is in, the grass green after the recent rain, and the Hoy hills in the background.

This old wooden boat is a favourite subject of mine.

It's full of old creels and ....bulrushes!

A visit "south"

2011-09-20T16:30:00.000+01:00

I've just returned from a visit "south". To London to be precise, as it was a friend's 50th birthday and for her "birthday weekend" (this girl knows how to party) we went up in a helicopter over London, followed by dinner in a lovely Portuguese restaurant. The next day we travelled down to Goodwood in Sussex to stay overnight in a beautiful luxury hotel with spa. We visited Goodwood House (a "stately home" (English country house of the landed gentry) still in private ownership) - photos weren't allowed so you will have to content yourself with this link. The guides who showed us around the various rooms were really knowledgeable and engaging. We had afternoon tea in the ballroom - pretending we were 18th Century ladies taking tea while looking out at the beautiful grounds! Finally we had a tour of the stables (which are still used for Goodwood races) and viewed an exhibition by Tim Flach of stunning photos of horses. I had to buy the book "Equus" ! It was a brilliant weekend and the sun shone brightly upon us.

Later in the week I spent time catching up with some friends and family. I also met the latest edition to our family, baby Ruby, who at six months old is a real sweetie! But I forbade anyone to call me "Great Auntie"!

Here are some photos of the helicopter trip. The helicopter was a very smart "executive style" model, with leather seats and plush carpet. One or two of our party were a little worried about throwing up on the carpet! But fortunately we were too engaged in the view to think about that once we took off. I just loved the flight, the all round view, the way we banked left and right, the vertical take off and landing..... Ooooh I want to go up again!

I got to sit next to the pilot and had a set of controls in front of me (obviously not allowed to play with them, though the red buttons were calling to be pressed!).

It was great being above the city as you could really see how the river Thames winds it's way.

Albert Bridge (named after Queen Victoria's consort) is the second bridge from the bottom.

From left to right - Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament/Palace of Westminster (seat of the UK government), Westminster Bridge, and the "London Eye" (the big wheel).

Above - from left to right - the green and white building that looks like a rocket is known locally as "The Gherkin" (it's an office block), and right of centre is a building nicknamed "The Shard" - it's still under construction but will be an office block too. Below another view of the Shard plus Tower Bridge

Below the circular building is the Olympic Stadium, getting ready for next year's Olympics in London. (But don't get me started on *that* topic!)

Above is Greenwich Park (I think), which is just South of London. A very famous park. And below the rolling hills of Surrey

I hope you enjoyed your "tour of London"!

A time of mists and mellow fruitfulness....

2011-09-19T10:06:00.000+01:00

Not sure who used that phrase to describe Autumn but it was certainly true this morning. I woke to the view above. A beautiful sight to come home to! Have "domestics" and washing to be done today but will be back soon with photos of my trip "south".

Back home...

2011-09-18T19:32:00.002+01:00

I've just returned from a short trip "south" for a friend's birthday celebrations and a catch-up with friends and family. Normal service will be resumed shortly! But now I'm in need of tea and a relaxing bath, not to mention spending time with Button, who still seems to have four paws and be in good health.

Randomness.....

2011-09-09T11:00:00.000+01:00

Just a selection of photos taken over the last few days. Above the cockerel and one of the hens enjoying the last of the summer sun. Below - feeding time for the chooks..... I began the summer with one cockerel and eight hens. Most of the hens successfully hatched chicks so now I have a flock of about 40! Oops! Some "thining out" needs to take place soon I think.

Meanwhile last Friday the ladies on Graemsay (of which I am not one....) also known as the "Fat Cats Craft Club" (there's the clue - I don't do craft...!) had a sale of craft, bric-a-brac, home bakes and plants. A grand total of over £500 was raised for community funds (theirs and the hall). Amazing! Well done ladies! Some folk came over from the Orkney Mainland and some from Hoy too. There was a light shower of rain but most of the time folk could sit oudoors when they weren't in perusing the goods on sale, or wandering along the shore.

I grew borage in the garden for the first time. It did really well despite some windy day. The bees just loved it.

This summer the swallows have had a very good breeding season here in the barn. There have been about a dozen or so swallows at least flying around in the evening catching insects and midges. They would daily sit on the guttering (rain water pipe) above my study window, or sit on the window ledge too. I loved hearing them screaming around and seeing their wonderful acrobatics. Sadly all is silent now, so I wish them well on their long journey south and bid them "Haste ye back"!

OK these are VERY blurry shots, but trust me, these are swallows!

Poor Puss-Cat

2011-09-08T17:54:00.001+01:00

Poor Button cut her paw on Tuesday night, out on the prowl.... unfortunately she chose to stay in bed till mid-day yesterday so I didn't discover this till she finally emerged from bed and stood looking pathetic on three legs. Every time she put her fourth paw on the floor she meowed (before you start panicking this ends OK!). Of course *I* panic and all sorts of catastrophe theories rush through my mind, culminating in me thinking she's broken her leg or something! Needless to say once I got a look at the paw it was merely a cut pad. However it WAS a deep cut and I was worried about infection. I'd missed all the boats that day so made an appointment at the vet for today. I'm glad I did as the wound has already got a slight infection, however the vet gave Button an injection of an antibiotic which lasts for two weeks, plus a painkiller (which doesn't last long). Needless to say Button is walking on all four paws today, but still "shouted" all the way to the vets and home again.

I did feel sorry for her this morning though as the sea was quite rough and a squally shower came just as we were getting on the boat. I'd put a towel over the cat-box to try and keep the worst of the weather off her, but she was not impressed and the yowelling got louder!

The vet practice I take her too (NorthVet) is very good with "isles" pets and keeps them in a crate at the surgery while owner's go off shopping, rather than having the poor pet in the car for several hours. I think they all needed ear plugs by the time I got back.

Anyway we are home now, Button has eaten a late breakfast, demanded lots of fuss (of course) and is now settled down on my bed ready to sleep off her exhausting day.

The vet said if her paw wasn't clear within a week to take her back. I asked for tranquilizers, and she said yes she could give me some pills to sedate the cat. No I said, for ME!

Anyway I did a bit of shopping in town, met a friend for lunch and another for a coffee (only don't tell Button that I was having a good time while she was shut in at the vets!).

Picture at top of this post is our wee ferry the MV Graemsay, next to a wonderful "gin palace" with the big ferry the Hamnavoe in the background.

Below is the shower that drowned us all at the pier (including the kids going off to school!)

And here is Kirbuster Loch in Orphir, on the Orkney Mainland, looking very atmospheric.

And here is the exhausted Button- and yes she got into bed before I'd made it as I left in a hurry this morning for the "early boat"......I don't have the heart to disturb her though....... I may be sleeping on the floor tonight!

Brough of Birsay

2011-09-04T12:10:00.002+01:00

On my day out on Friday I went along to one of my favourite places, the Brough of Birsay (Brough pronounced like "brock" in this instance). Well to be precise the Brough of Birsay is the tidal island just off the coast and I didn't on this occassion walk across as the tide was coming in. On the island itself are settlements dating from about the 5th Century AD, then a Pictish settlement around 7th century AD and a Norse settlement about 9th Century AD. All ruins now and managed by Historic Scotland. There's also a lighthouse on the west most part and on these cliffs, in season, you can see puffins, as well as fulmars and guillemots

But I love this stretch of coastline, and although a cloudy day, it was clear enough that, looking South, I could see the mountains of the Scottish Highlands! Having come from the very South of England, where the Scottish Highland were thought of as being so far north, it amuses me that I am now looking "south" at them!

This cow was chewing the cud near the Birsay Tearoom (no day out is complete without a visit to a tea room!). The tearoom overlooks the sea and is a lovely spot to sit and eat Cake!

This is probably one of the most photographed tractors in Orkney. It's along the shore and used to haul up a small fishing boat.

This hut was used by fishermen of yore. Well it's still in use today, but the boat nousts (the dips in the grass you can see near the hut) are no longer used. This was where the small fishing boats would be pulled well above the high tide mark. The hut still has a traditional grass roof which helps with insulation. Though the hut would probably have just been used to store equipment as it is today, rather than being a dwelling.

This rather "impressionist" photo shows the mountains of Scotland in the distance!

A Day Out

2011-09-02T11:37:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I had a day out in Orkney. First it was a visit to the town of Kirkwall, although really it's a city, as in the UK any place with a cathedral is termed a city - whatever it's size! Kirkwall is the main town in Orkney and most of the (approx) 20,000 inhabitants live in or around the town. The town is also the "commercial" centre of Orkney with most people working in the town, either at the local authority or the health board, as well as smaller offices. Of course there are also the shops. There is one main street with small shops along it (though the name varies from Albert Street at one end, through Broad Street, to Victoria Street at the other). Then of course there are the main supermarkets, just on the outskirts of the town, and an industrial estate further out. But those of you from further South in the UK do NOT think large shopping centres! Remember we only have a population of 20,000! But you can get most of what you want within the town, though you may pay higher prices than "south" (cost of transporting from south), and you might not have the same wide choice. BUT it can be done!

Broad Street - rather a quiet day on the "main street"!

As I mentioned Kirkwall has a Cathedral. As you will see from the photo at the top of the page it is a fine one at that. St Magnus Cathedral was built in the 11th Century by Earl Rognvald, though his intentions were not entirely honourable! Read more about the history here. Unusually for cathedrals in the UK, St Magnus is owned by the people of Orkney and managed by the local authority, Orkney Islands Council, and the "Friends" of the cathedral. It is used for recitals, pop conterts, and a performance space as well as for the usual worship, weddings and funerals. The regular services are "Church of Scotland", though other denominations are able to use the cathedral too.

Next to the Cathedral is a lovely cafe "The Reel" run by the Wrigley Sisters, local musicians. Often they have music nights in the cafe, which is also part music shop, but yesterday I was able to enjoy a quiet cafe latte, with a wee cake in peace and tranquility. Just what I needed after an early rising!

After calling in at a local feed merchants to get more food for hungry hens, I headed back to the town of Stromness, which is just across the water from Graemsay. The Pier Arts Centre has an exhibition of Sylvia Whishart's work and it was wonderful to see the whole collection together for the first time. Sylvia Wishart was an Orcadian artist, her studio used to be in the building which is now the Pier Arts Centre. She described her own aspirations for her life as ‘having no ambition beyond painting on and finding out what comes’. Her paintings are all of Orkney, though not what some people would call truly representational art. She was friends with Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicolson, some of whose work is also part of the Pier Arts Collection.

The notes accompanying one set of paintings called "Reflections" explained that she loved painting through her window, and her painting included reflections of inside or reflections from other windows onto that window, so within the painting it's hard to tell what is inside and what is outside. I loved them! In this set of paintings there is an added layer too as the viewer's reflections is also imposed upon the painting! These paintings hang overlooking the harbour where she would have sat painting in her own time too. I was really pleased to here a book has been commissioned and will contain essays from many of her friends as well as plates of her pictures.

After such an uplifting experience it was time to head off for a walk along the coast with a friend and her wee doggies. But more of that another day.

"Summer time and....

2011-08-30T19:47:00.001+01:00

....the living is easy" to quote one of my favourite Gershwin songs. However it's probably only true for cats and chickens....sigh. These photos were taken last week before Autumn hit us with gales and 2 inches of rain in 24 hours at the weekend! Above is Button who, being a canny cat, has found the warmest part of the garden - the compost heap!

Brown Hen having a well deserved snooze after laying eggs and scratching for worms.

These are some of the young(ish) chicks also enjoying the sunshine. (This summer the hens have hatched 30, yes 30 chicks between them!)

While the real babies of the flock are learning to forage for themselves

Snoozing among the flowers

This is one of the oldest of the chicks (Light Sussex breed)

While the hens and cat snooze *I* was busy digging up dinner!

Ring of Brodgar

2011-08-29T20:15:00.001+01:00

The gales of the weekend have retreated and Orkney is drying out after 2 inches of rain fell over the weekend. Nothing in comparison with the havoc on the East Coast of the USA I know, but still as wet and windy weekend is over!

On Friday last week I went to the Ring of Brodgar, one of my favourite places in Orkney. It's a Neolithic stone circle, surrounded by a ditch and earth mounds likely to date from that period. The site is managed by Historic Scotland and is a favourite place for coach tours, however we were lucky to visit when it was very quiet. The heather is out in bloom just now and looking glorious, the sun shone, it was warm and there were NO midges!

The Ring of Brodgar has never been fully excavated but is part of a number of Neolithic monuments in that area. The others being the Stones of Stenness and Maeshowe, as well as the newly discovered Ness of Brodgar. I'll do a separate post on the new dig at the Ness of Brodgar later this week.

This photo was taken from the Ring of Brodgar, and the black rings denote from left to right: Maeshowe, the Ness of Brodgar (new archaeological dig) and the Standing Stones of Stenness.

As I say the heather is looking lovely at the moment. Here are several photos of the ring of stones....

Another post on Standing Stones with photos: February 2010

Wartime Graemsay

2011-08-28T13:42:00.003+01:00

(I've amended my original blog post after receiving some corrections (I blame the wine I drank!) and some additional information from Gavin by email this morning).

Friday evening we had a talk by Gavin Lindsay, an archeologist and historian who is currently working at the Scapa Flow Museum at Lyness. He was telling us about Orkney's role in WWI and WWII along with pictures and film clips. That's him above ...copyright "Gavin The Brand" ;-)

The first part of the talk was about Orkney during WWI. I knew about the scuttling of the German Fleet, of course. But I was unaware that the island of Flotta, which is one of the islands further down Scapa Flow. Apparently during WWI this was a focus of land based activities by the Navy, although there weren't many buildings there, the lookout tower and associated buildings and defences were even designed to look like the bridge of a ship, and the base itself was regarded as a ship. There was also a golf course where officers went to play while on shore leave. There was also the tragedy of the HMS Vanguard which blew up in 1917 while in anchor with the "home fleet". According to one web site report (not always reliable) a magazine below deck caught fire and the ship exploded with the loss of 700 lives.

Gavin also told of the first trials of planes taking off and landing on a ship, as these were conducted in Scapa Flow, just off Flotta. The Sopwith Pup, piloted by Squadron Commander Edwin Harris Dunning would take off from the deck of a ship which had had the deck specially cleared, then it would fly over to Swanbister at Houton on the Orkney Mainland and land on an airstrip there. It would then have to be put on a BOAT and towed back to the ship and winched on board to continue the experiment!! Obviously a number of planes ditched in the sea during experiments - but the cost of a plane at that time was the equivalent cost of a shell so it was expendable! Sadly Dunning, who was the first person to land on the deck successfully, died shortly after that landing as his plane tipped overboard on a later attempt. Gavin said today that there is still a pier there where they winched the aircraft aboard. There is also a memorial to Dunning. Though extraordinarily there was no equipment to top the plane AND it had no brakes so it relied on the sailors on the ship grabbing hold of it to stop it going over the side!!

During WWII of course, Scapa Flow played a much larger part. This time it was again the safe anchor of the Home Fleet, but after the tragic sinking of the Royal Oak, by a U-boat, more defences were put in place, including the building of the Churchill Barriers. We were shown some interesting propaganda footage of Gunther Prien, the U-boat commander, being welcomed by Hitler, and making a speech about the sinking. Interestingly at the end of the talk Gavin showed us some of our own home-grown propaganda from "MovieTone News", where the jolly British narrator gave a morale boosting talk over film of British ships firing guns across the sea.

Graemsay also played a part in the defence of WWII. Gavin was telling us that our search-light emplacements were of a design rare. Here's a photo of one (courtesy of Tom Muir) - the light would be shone through the slits which would then enable it to cover a greater distance (Gavin gave a better technical explanation of this which I won't try and repeat!!).

The gun emplacement was also unusual as it was not covered over, thereby not really being protected from air attack. However the main purpose of the Graemsy gun emplacement was as part of a team between that at Ness Battery and the one over on Hoy. Between the three of them they covered the Western entrance to Scapa Flow. (Again photo courtesy of Tom Muir).

One thing that hadn't really occurred to me was that while all this naval and army activity was going on, the Orkney inhabitants were trying to go about their usual business. I can't imagine what a challenge it must have been to try and ship cattle and other livestock in open boats across Hoy Sound to market at Stromness, towed behind a small boat with an engine, never mind the fishing boats going in and out of the Flow! Permits were required by all boat owners and naval boats would meet the vessel to check permits before it could be allowed into the harbour. Meanwhile the guns on Graemsay, Hoy and Ness Point at Stromness would have been ready to give a shot across the bow of any ship that didn't stop! Apparently the old "St Ola" (a passenger and cargo ship) *did* require a shot across the bow as it was about to head into an area that had been mined the night before. According to Gavin the mines were dropped from the German planes by parachute.

The observation tower which is part of the Graemsay battery is so tall as the gun fired so fast it created a lot of smoke. So the tower was built high so that the gun could be directed onto the tower from the top level where the officer would be able to see over the smoke! The window below would be used to direct the searchlights.

(Observation Tower, with Hoy Low Lighthouse in background)

It must have felt like the end of the earth to many of the service men and women who were stationed in Orkney, particularly given the prevailing Westerly wind, and on a day like today I can imagine the wind would be whistling through the accommodation huts and everyone would be gathered round the stove.

An interesting fact that came to light while talking to Ethel, our oldest resident on the island, who was here during the war, was that our Community Hall was in fact a World War I accommodation hut! You can still see the round cover where the stove flue pipe would have been. It was originally in South Ronaldsay and was then shipped over to Graemsay in 1935. Ethel was saying that during WWII the servicemen on the island were not allowed to drink inside the hall - they had to stand outside! I can imagine us trying to reinstate THAT tradition now ;-)

Ethel also remembered the event Gavin spoke about of a German air craft flying low over Graemsay. Ethel has always said it was flying so low she could see the pilot! Fortunately no bombs were dropped or shots fired that day.

Gavin also told us lots of other interesting facts too, but I think that's enough for one day. If you've made it to the end of this post I wish I could offer you one of the excellent home bakes that we had during our refreshment break..... sadly they're all gone!

But there are more photos of wartime Orkney on this website. You need to find "Fortress Orkney" here

It's no hurricane but it's wet and windy!

2011-08-28T12:13:00.002+01:00

What a change in the weather from Friday! Overnight there was about 10mm of rain, and wind gusting to approx 40mph. It's still very blustery and wet outdoors. I know we don't get the best of weather in Orkney, but really this is "unseasonal" even for Orkney! AND the phone is off (mine only it would appear as neighbours seem to be OK). A "duvet day" I think...... move over Button!!

Another sunset....

2011-08-27T16:22:00.000+01:00

Well my readers do seem to like sunsets so I'm possibly going for overkill with this....sigh. But I'm just catching my breath as the last month has been really hectic with work. But a draft final report has been sent off after a huge amount of work by me and my colleague and now a bit of respite for a few weeks. So, I'm just putting my feet up today with a cup of tea and CAKE and will begin to share some photos and events of the last couple of months in a day or so!

Meanwhile the above photo was taken this week. It was a beautiful still evening (yes lots of midges around!) and I just loved the way the current and tide made patterns on the calm water. Yesterday was also a beautiful HOT sunny day, one of the best this summer. But today a gale is brewing, grey skies and rain on the way. Farmers are frantically trying to gather in hay and silage before the weather breaks again. However, we're not forecast the awful Hurricane the East Coast of the US is experiencing and for that I'm thankful. Hope all on the East Coast are keeping safe.

Sunsets and tornado?

2011-08-19T16:38:00.000+01:00

Above is the sunset last night - a beautiful still evening, and the lighthouse, next door, with an orange glow and a rainbow!

But in the afternoon there was heavy cloud and a mini-tornado (probably more likely to be a water spout). My neighbour, Mick, took these photos below - I was slaving away over a hot computer in the top right window at the time and was oblivious to everything!

Evening sunshine.....again....

2011-08-18T18:09:00.001+01:00

This was the view from my "back door" the other night, a beautiful soft reflective light. I love evenings like this! We've had a period of fairly settled weather of recent days, but of course it is now midge time! Evil little blighters that bite wherever they can find access!

Here's a link to a YouTube video taken on the small island of Egilsay (one of the Orkney Islands) of some swallows over a pool catching midges. I have plenty of swallows here AND midges - they need to eat faster!!

Wildflowers on Graemsay...

2011-08-17T22:33:00.000+01:00

OK the above is NOT a wild flower.... it's a dog otter, or so I am reliably informed by Tim Dean, who took the photo in the burn at Quoys on Graemsay. I've seen evidence of otters around Sandside bay, but never actually seen one of these shy creatures. Tim was out last week collecting info and photographs for his Orkney Book of Wild Flowers. Take a look at his website here for more information on wildflowers on Graemsay, with wonderful names such as eyebright, twayblades, creeping willow, Sneezewort, Shepher'ds purse, and lousewort!

Full moon over Hoy Hills

2011-08-14T17:31:00.000+01:00

Last night there was a clear sky and a beautiful full moon. Above is a photo taken of the moon hanging over the Hoy Hills. This was at 5am in the morning.... I am not normally acquainted with this time of day, but suffice to say Button The Cat is entirely responsible. I heard her yowling in the hallway downstairs, that kind of Mother Cat - "Come here Kittens I have food" kind of yowl..... this gets me out of bed faster than any alarm clock as I want to prevent her delivering - um - breakfast in bed!

Anyway she presented me with a dead mouse and was very pleased with it. I explained that 5am is a little too early for breakfast for me and suggested she ate it herself, opening the front door to let her go and eat it on the step.... and that's when I saw the moon and why I was, again, standing outdoors in my pyjamas taking photos....

Having devoured the aforementioned mouse, Button then demanded breakfast - clearly that was just a snack....sigh....

Gale Force 7-8

2011-08-08T10:53:00.001+01:00

Just to show that it isn't always sunny in Orkney....here is a photo of a windy day in summer....note the leaning bushes.....sigh...and yes this is SUMMER.....

I've rescued my flower tubs and put them in the shed and have apologised to my peas and beans - they weren't expecting THIS when they came out the packet of seeds...... not sure how long this will last. And of course it's hay making and silage cutting time - not much of that happening at the moment. Though as you can see in the photo above the neighbouring farmer managed to get one field of bales made this weekend.

It's such a shame as this week is Agricultural Show Week for many of the isles and parishes, with the West Mainland Show in Dounby on Thursday and the County Show at Kirkwall on Saturday. I hope the weather cheers up for everyone. So much work goes into the shows!

Here's a YouTube short film of a County Show Day of a year or two ago. It's an agricultural show - so if you're a vegetarian or don't like seeing livestock then fast forward through! The narrator has a real Orcadian lilt. Click here to watch

Summer sunset

2011-08-06T22:04:00.000+01:00

These photos were taken this evening at different stages of the sunset. I just *love* sitting watching the sun setting across the water. Tonight there was not even a breeze to stir the water, just the currents and the tide. Beautiful!

It's been a lovely warm sunny day after a week or so of gloomy weather. I had a visitor today. C was on her first visit to Orkney and came over to Graemsay for the day. We had a lovely time just pottering around (we decided that "pottering around" was an excellent thing to do). We pottered on both the beaches, looking at shells and flowers, and pottered down at the kirk looking at headstones (and marvelling at the ages of the inhabitants - many lived well into their 80s and that was at the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th for many of them - not an easy feat when crofting often meant eeking out an existence with a little land). We pottered around the garden too.

Anyway to round off a lovely day -here are the sunset pictures, with the sunset beginning and then culminating in the picture above. I think the clouds help make sunsets special and unique. And last night apparently the Northern Lights could be seen over Orkney. Sadly they appeared way past my bedtime so I missed them this time.....

Evening sunshine...

2011-08-05T20:59:00.000+01:00

After a number of very grey cloudy or foggy days it's lovely to see the sun again! It's been a busy week with work and visitors. Then this morning a quick shopping trip to Stromness across the water, then more work and preparing for another visitor tomorrow. So entertain yourselves with these pictures! Sorry I'm not writing more OR responding to comments.... hopefully I'll catch my breath soon......

Looking across the fields at Sandside up the hill to Windbreck.

Making hay....

2011-08-04T12:06:00.000+01:00

though not much sun shining! This summer in Orkney, as in the rest of the UK has not been one of the best. "Unsettled", "changeable" are words you hear on the weather reports. Therefore it's not been the best of growing seasons either. In April it was very warm, then it's been fairly cool, right down to darned cold, some sunshine, but not that much rain.

Anyway the hay was being cut from my field behind the house ready for winter fodder for a neighbour's cattle. But cutting of silage is slow and these last few days there have been quite a lot of rain showers, so not ideal cutting weather. We now also have the "haar" (sea mist) hanging around, so although it's pleasantly warm you can't see more than a few yards ahead! Ho Hum... that's British weather for you!

Although we are in the far north of the UK we are fortunate to have the Gulf Stream which keeps our temperatures "moderate" in Orkney, even in the winter. But a little more of "summer" would be nice too!

From on high...

2011-07-31T21:30:00.000+01:00

Sorry I've been silent for a few days. No I haven't been lazing in the sun or chilling out on the beach - though we have had *some* sun and warmth this week, but it was fleeting. I'm just catching up on work and other activities. But here is a photo from "on high" in the meantime. This was taken from the heather clad hills of Orphir on the Orkney mainland and you can see the small island of Graemsay with the island of Hoy and it's hills in the background.

More Archaeology News

2011-07-24T21:19:00.002+01:00

As I've posted many times here, archeology is "big" in Orkney. This last week an exciting find was discovered by some builders on the island of Sanday, one of the Northern Orkney islands. It was a stone slab about 4ft 6 inches long bearing what is thought to be a 1,200 year old carved Pictish stone cross. Click here for more details.

Summer is also the time for various archaeological digs in Orkney, and here are some links to their blogs:

Ness of Brodgar

Info on a dig on the island of Rousay

Brough of Deerness Blog

General news about archeology in Orkney

I'm hoping to visit the Ness of Brodgar dig again this year so will post photos! (Previous posts 2010, 2009)

Tenn et lys for de døde og skadde etter tragedien i Oslo og Utøya.

2011-07-23T18:56:00.001+01:00

"Light a candle for the dead and injured after the tragedy in Oslo and Utøya"

Orkney shares strong bonds with Norway. We were part of Norway until only 400 years ago. Last week many Norwegians were in Orkney on the Tall Ships, and today they sail from Shetland to Stavanger in Norway on the next leg of the race.

So sad to think of the tragedy that has touched their country. Our thoughts are with them at this time.