1st June – Stromness hits the techy headlines. IT giant Microsoft chose Orkney to test their experimental submarine data storage facility. The large white cylinder was loaded with twelve racks of servers in France, towed to Stromness and loaded on the gantry barge for deployment out at sea. The idea being that, by lowering the cylinder into the sea, the unit will be kept cool, cutting normal cooling costs and, by removing oxygen and water vapour, they can minimise corrosion. We had a grandstand view throughout.
Green Marine Installs Microsoft’s Project Natick Data Centre at EMEC
2nd June – West Side Cinema, Stromness. A very civilised way to watch a movie. Sitting at tables, we bring a bottle of wine, some nibbles and share with friends. Tonight it was “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”, with the screen shot neatly edited for the cinema. An excellent film, by the way.
13th June – First visit of the season to our favourite restaurant, the Hamnavoe, in Graham Place. Always an excellent evening in a cosy setting. Hopefully, we’ll manage a few more visits before the end of September, when they close for the winter.
15th June – Phew! After a stressful six weeks, we eventually managed to buy the house at Well Park!
Nicely located at the south end, it’s almost the last house on the road, the last house was that of the artist, Stanley Cursiter (see Local Heroes).
It has terrific views across the harbour and out over Scapa Flow. Rear views are over the Golf Course towards Hoy. We’d had our eye on this place since coming here and when it came up for sale we pounced.
21st June – From May to August, it never gets truly dark here. Known in Orkney as the “Simmer Dim”, there is a period of twilight between sunset and sunrise. This picture was taken at midnight, looking across the Pole Star Pier.
24th June – The “Hamnavoe” glides past Stromness golf course en route for Scrabster. A glorious afternoon, ideal for the ferry crossing. Hoy High lighthouse is in the background.
Alongside the golf course stands the Ness Battery, one of the best preserved WWII coastal batteries in the country. H & I have been here three years and never visited, so we took the opportunity this afternoon to do the guided tour. It housed two large 6″ naval guns to protect the entrances to Scapa Flow, each capable of firing a 100lb shell 9 miles. It housed over a hundred men during the war and their accommodation has been preserved. The site is famous for the murals of rural England painted on the canteen walls.
The two pictures at right are from the Ness Battery web site.
30th June – I don’t know what causes this sort of thing but we have a mass of jellyfish in the Noust this morning. They look very colourful but I doubt if many will survive.
It’s been a glorious day here. Passed by Maes Howe this afternoon and grabbed this picture. Maes Howe is one of the largest neolithic tombs in Europe and well worth a visit.
Scapa Views 
2 thoughts on “June 2018”