RNLI Longhope Lifeboat Travelling Bazaar!

It's all go at this time of year!  On Sunday we had the RNLI Longhope Lifeboat visit on Sunday with their "Travelling Bazaar".  They have been visiting for a few years now and we try and give them a good welcome.

Coming alongside the pier....

And here is Hector, the lifeboat dog! 

Hoping for a biscuit from his humans.....

Meanwhile coming up the Flow was the Hamnavoe ferry, taking a calmer route after the gales of previous days.

And a creel boat inshore by Graemsay....

Then it was up to the hall where the Ladies Guild set up the tables with raffle prizes, tombola, and sale items.  I bought my Christmas cards!  And lots of raffle tickets. I won some biscuits and a bottle of wine.  And a real delicacy - hand dived scallops.  Unfortunately I'm allergic to them!! Arrgh!  So I handed them back and suggested they auctioned them!!

And then there was Hector!  With Angus his person, and Paula his other person in the background.... and with GIN!

There was tea, coffee and home bakes for everyone of course - this IS Graemsay!  Most of the island folk came along and I heard yesterday that we raised £391.60.  A fantastic amount for such a small community, though I do say so myself!  And a great afternoon was had by all.....

Climbing the Old Man of Hoy!

Noooo not me!!  But a short (3.5 min) film of some brave folk climbing the famous sea stack off Hoy.  Click on this link Old Man of Hoy

Halloweeeeeeen!

Well OK technically not until Tuesday, but we celebrated early on Graemsay with out annual party.  Not as many folk went this year as some were unwell and some of the "grandchildren" were away. However, we were a select bunch and had a great time anyway!

There were plenty of witches, werewolves and scary monsters abroad!

After posing for the paparazzi the monsters paraded around the hall scaring us all....

There were skeletons, and vampires....

And a werewolf....

And a very scary - er - corpse princess??

As ever there were games to play..... the eyeball and spoon race to start.... I love that Dracula was so practical and put his cape over his arm to avoid it hindering his speed!

The older monsters took their turn...

Then it was time for adult monsters to take to the floor.  "Fair play" is not a phrase one would use here...  By rights Neil should have won this, but his dear wife, Michelle jogged his arm so his eyeball rolled across the floor and he didn't win.  Never trust a witch!!

Then it was time for the "Eating a donut on the string" game....  First the younger monsters...

Some needed a bit of help....

Onto the adults.  Did I mention cheating.... hmmm...

And onto the Mummy Race.....

And then the Big Reveal!  One Daddy and a stand-in daddy as they were short on the ground on Friday night!

And onto the final game - apple bobbing!  A really traditional Halloween game in the UK. Er.  I was trying to take photos of the "action" and got "hoist by my own petard"....  Haha!

There's a definite knack to apple bobby and older siblings were shouting advice to the youngsters.

It was then time for the telling of a story or joke from the young monsters.... before they got their reward of sweeties!

And then it was time for some supper.....  Head Witch casting her eye over the lovely spread of food.

The MV Graemsay in ghostly form.....

And then the sugar rush and the monsters REALLY took flight!!

 And more mummy's in the making!

Autumn now....

Yup, it's really Autumn now, marked by the "changing of the clocks". It's the end of "British Summer Time" tonight, and the clocks go back an hour.  This gives us an extra hour to sleep tonight, and makes it "lighter" in the morning for a short while, but darker earlier in the afternoon.  The seasons turn again. 

The weather too has been autumnal, though unseasonably warm.  It's been very windy lately, but not so much rain, which is good as the ground is so soft.  Straw is till on the field as the ground is too soft to get large machinery onto the land.

There have been sunny days too, and low cloud days. I do love seeing the changing weather, mostly when I'm warm indoors!  Though I did get out into the garden on Thursday and plant the rest of the Spring bulbs.  Anyway here are a few photos from this last week.

There are a lot of rainbows about at this time of year.  Here is the MV Graemsay ferry about to sail into one.

I believe a search was conducted but no pot of gold was found. At least no one is admitting they found it!

The "main road" round the island....

And the same another day at sunset.... The sun sets this side of the house now, in the summer it's way over the back of the house above Stromness.

One thing I do like about Autumn..... I get tall!  Hee hee.....

Button, however, is unimpressed at my new found height....

While on the other side of the island on another day is a lovely sunrise..... this was waiting for the ferry at 8.15am.

And in the evening coming home.... glowering skies over the old ruined croft of Moan (pronounced mo-un, rather than moan as in winge!).

An old fireplace....

I've blogged before about the old post office attached to the house which I now use as a shed.  I'm still playing about with the remaining contents.  I knew there were two old fire surrounds hidden at the back. They had been taken from the house when it was renovated about 17 years ago.  They need quite a bit of work doing to them and as there are no fireplaces in the house anymore they won't go back into the house.  However I have a soft spot for them. The fires that have burned in them, the people that they have warmed, the stories they could tell....

So this weekend with help from S (who did all the hard work!) this one was pulled out from underneath everything and turned it's face to the sun again.  This is my favourite one.  It is c1860 when the house was built.  It came from one of the "best" rooms in the house - at the front where there was lathe and plaster.  At the back of the house plaster was just thrown onto the stone, these would have been sleeping rooms, sculleries etc.

This fireplace came from a room upstairs, which seems a bit "posh" you might think. But originally the house was actually two "flats" with one family living upstairs and another downstairs.  So this may have been in a "parlour".

The tiles are early Victorian industrially made (I am reliably informed).  I love their design.

For now the fireplace will rest in the shed, but at least I can admire it when I go in there now.  And of course Button had to inspect it too!