Last night I was at our monthly Film Club evening over on the Orkney Mainland organised by a friend and I. We run this in a local town hall – well the hall is actually a converted Kirk (you can see the spire in the photo, OK I cheated I took the photo in Summer our trees don't get leaves this early!). Anyway, the old Kirk is great for a film night as the acoustics are wonderful. We have a large makeshift screen strung across one end where the organ used to be, the projector is suspended from the gallery, and speakers around the room. The nearest regular cinema is a thirty mile round trip, so our monthly club is proving popular – last night attracting over 35 folk. We also tend to show “non-blockbuster” and foreign language films. Last night’s offering was “The Lives of Others”, a compelling and moving story set in Eastern Germany during the 1980s where artists were under constant surveillance. The film proved very popular with the audience, as did the German wine and chocolate handed around! Although we had some technical difficulties connecting the laptop to the projectors so it has to be said I consumed a large quantity of the said wine to calm my nerves….. fortunately all was well and we were able to show the film. However we have some way to go to beat the catastrophe at the local official cinema in a neighbouring town which, a few years ago, showed the first “Lord of the Rings” trilogy with the reels spliced in the wrong order!!
Bev sent me, heheheh. I expect to be a regular visitor. Forty-odd years ago, I lived on an island off the coast of Maine (U.S.A.). Remembering Bev's visit, I never did learn as much about your home as I wanted to. We used to do variety shows for entertainment on Swan's Island. Movies are a superb idea, especially since you have such great acoustics in the kirk.
ReplyDeleteHugs from Asia,
~ Sil
Hi Sian - Bev sent me, too. What a treat to read of your renovation of Sandside and life on Graemsey. We had the pleasure of being in your neighborhood in 2006 - at an Elderhostel program based at Aigas, Beauly, near Inverness. We spent a couple of days in Kirkwall in the Orkneys. We visited the chapel built by the Italian POWs during WW 2, which probably is not too far from your home.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to love reading your blog and exploring more of your photographs. Do you have any of standing stones on Graemsey?
We'd love to have you visit us in Chattanooga, TN, USA, and zelleworld.blogspot.com
Mary Z
Hi Asia, I'm sure you will find many similarities between your past island life and my current one. Hi Mary - what a shame I didn't know you were in the vicinity - you could have visited! And we don't have any standing stones on Graemsay unfortunately. Sian
ReplyDeleteI just discovered your blog and am starting all the way back at the beginning. I would love to live your life - maybe someday I will also find myself on a island!
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