Christmas Day Walk

Yesterday was a lovely calm day on Graemsay, well weather wise anyway!  No wind, and not too cold.  Not much sun but I didn't mind as it was just lovely to be outdoors.  Here are some pix from a walk along the shore.  Button came out briefly but went off hunting on her own.  Which in a way was nice as it meant I could potter along at my leisure without any complaints from Madam Button that I was being too slow!

The hens were enjoying a potter around too.

They'd been knocking on my door earlier demanding breakfast!

I love this old stone pier.  Looking across Sandside Bay to Garson

Some geese flying over to Stromness maybe!

In the recent storms the coral sand has been heaped up on the shore....

So of course I had to go "groatie buckie" hunting..... these are tiny cowrie shells, much prized by those who seek them. But they are tiny and take a keen eye and "the knowledge" of where to look.  Lots of lovely other shells to see too....

Nope none among this lot...

Nope, nor here...

None here either......

But then..... my eye spotted one! I put it on a tiny stone so you can see it better. Tiny pink and white...

The sun did a fair job of trying to shine...but failed!

Some escaped sheep had been down to the pier too.  Wonder if they were groatie buckie hunting!

And sheep may safely graze - away from my garden!!

A bonny day for a walk though

And new shoots ARE growing!  Eek they may be in for a shock when the frost or gales come!  Or the sheep for that matter!

And back home - my haul of treasure - THREE groatie buckies! The most I have ever found unsupervised!  I am SO pleased!

And for a little added atmosphere, here is a short video of the gentle waves on the shore.

Graemsay Nativity

Each year Irene of Breckan organises the Children's Nativity Play and Carol concert.  The children are growing up now so I'm not sure how much longer we will do it, but it is one of my favourite events!

Mary and Joseph in the stable. Mary is "with child"....

The Baby Jesus is born in a nano-second.  Mary looking very pleased with herself, quite rightly!

The angel Gabriel arrives to speak to the shepherds "in the field".

The audience look on.

The shepherds arrive at the stable with their sheep. Mary and Joseph seem pleased to see them.

Having a bit of a blether.....

Then the three Kings arrive with gifts for the baby Jesus. Love the cheeky smile on the King on the right!

Mary and Joseph in the stable with the Ass and the Ox, the sheep and the gifts from the kings.

And then the cast take the applause.  Joseph looking very relaxed with a "My work here is done" expression on his face!

While Irene, her halo slipping (again) thanks everyone for coming along. She is accompanied by her young assistant, Andrew, on Guitar.

Then it was time for mulled wine and mince pies! No pictures of those because I was serving them up - not eating them all! Honest!

And then time for a bit of a Christmas Sing Song.

And a performance by a wee lad learning the fiddle.

And Irene and Andrew leading the community singing.

It was a lovely way to begin Christmas itself......

On Christmas Day....

Photo courtesy of Mary Harris, Longhope

The only "alterations" to the photo above are the snowflakes.  Mary Harris of Longhope, Hoy took the photo on the snow hills of Hoy where the mountain hares turn white in Winter.

I hope you are able to spend your day however you wish, with family, friends, or like myself, in glorious solitude. May you find peace, feel safe, and have enough.

Graemsay Christmas Party

I'm a bit late with this photos as we had the party over a week ago! Anyway here they are now - the so-called "Children's" Christmas Party - for young and old!  With an appearance by Santa too of course.

Above one of the classic party games - pass the parcel!  There are two versions, one for the children and one for the adults. The children win sweeties, the adults win....alcohol of course!

Below - the snowball game.  Two teams, the winning team has the most snowballs in the buckets! Um... ok rolled up paper balls in the buckets!

Then the snowball and spoon race - chocolate snowball on a spoon! Well we don't get much snow in Orkney!

And another classic game - er - limbo dancing!

Then it was time for Santa to arrive.....

There was time for a supper and then the dancing! The children learn the traditional Scottish Dances at school so they were trying out some of these at the party....

Now the children are older they get either money from Santa or "construction" gifts like Lego, or crafty gifts.  But one wee lassie still got a doll..... and very happy she seems with it too!

Sunrise!

The sun remembered to shine again after the longest night!  Sunrise today was 09.06 and sunset will be at 15.17.  It still rises a minute or two later for a few days yes but sunset is a wee bit later too so slowly the days extend. 

I'm off to town today to do the last bits of food shopping and then a few days off work.  In the UK many places shut from Christmas Day through to January 1st (Jan 2nd in Scotland).  A winter holiday!

Right  - now I MUST get on with the shopping list!