December 2018

1st December – The Pier Arts Centre, in Stromness, hosts an annual winter exhibition, giving local artists and crafts people an opportunity to showcase their work. These are two of the seven galleries being used.

We’re like kiddies in a sweet shop and it takes a lot of discipline not to spend loads of money!

4th December – Woke up this morning to the first signs of snow of the season. Just a light dusting on the hills of Hoy.

There are still a lot of seal pups around, this one was having a snoozy morning in the sunshine. It might be the same one we saw at this location in October.

8th December – Jeanne Rose has opened an exhibition, Vanishing Points, in the Orkney Museum, Kirkwall. Jeanne was artist in residence at the Ness of Brodgar this year and these works were inspired by her time there. She was also allowed to borrow some of the artefacts from the dig which set off her work nicely.

9th December – It’s always nice to look out of the window and see a little face watching you.

15th December – Uh-oh, Storm Deirdre is bringing the worst combination for Stromness, 60mph winds from the southeast. Churchill Barriers closed, all ferries cancelled, no newspapers today! We will catch this square in the face. Time to batten down the hatches!

21st December – Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, which is a pity because it is a beautiful day today.

Near Stromness is the neolithic tomb of Maeshowe, built some 5000 years ago, it is one of the largest such tombs in Europe. On the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly down the entrance passage, leading to speculation about the astronomical significance of such places.

And after a beautiful sunny day, a beautiful moony evening.

23rd December – Kirkwall braces itself for the Ba. The Ba is an event held on Christmas day and again on New Year’s Day. Basically it is a cross between a riot and, well, another riot. There can be as many as 350 big, burly men taking part, it’s not for the faint hearted. They are divided into two teams, “Uppies” and “Doonies”, the object being to get the “ba” up to the top of the town or down and into the harbour.
Shops and houses barricade their doors and windows to prevent players being pushed through.

There are four games each year, two for the men and two for boys, and a specially crafted leather ball is made for each. This is awarded to the best player, as judged by the other participants, and is highly prized.

25th December – Sunrise on Christmas Day – Happy Christmas everybody!

31st December – The annual Stromness Yule Log Pull sees a junior event this year for the first time. The Soothend Juniors won this inaugural event in a contest that was more closely fought than last year’s Seniors. The youngsters have a shorter course and pull a 200kg log as opposed to the 400kg tree trunk that the seniors use but an entertaining contest nonetheless.