July 2019

8th July

A sad day for us all, H’s father, Ron, passed away in Kettering General Hospital this evening.

Ron was a man of many talents, a great bowler, watercolourist and model railway enthusiast. The latter fuelling his love for steam trains (the real thing). Before his health deteriorated he enjoyed the great outdoors and did a lot of walking combined with a bit of bird spotting. His binoculars and Ordnance Survey map were always close to hand.

Ron will be greatly missed by his four children, four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

10th July – With H travelling south to be with her Dad, I’ve been left to my own devices. Did a bit of walking up around Birsay this afternoon and bumped into this pair enjoying some quiet time.

11th June – We had a couple of tickets to see Jack Dee in Kirkwall this evening but, for obvious reasons, H was unable to go. Rather than waste the ticket, I took Jeanne Rose. Although unfamiliar with the comedian, she enjoyed the evening. Coincidentally, sitting behind us was Rev. Tom Miller, another ex pat American, who knew Jack Dee from I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, the Radio 4 panel show. A very funny show, I think Jack’s dour persona appeals to the Scots sense of humour.

21st July – The 2019 Shopping Week Hack rode past the house this afternoon. Shopping Week is an annual carnival held in Stromness, there are various events throughout the week and it culminates on Saturday with music, dancing and fireworks at the pierhead.

23rd July – The Museum’s new website has been launched today. I think it looks pretty good. Congratulations to the Collections Development Team for their hard work.

https://www.stromnessmuseum.org.uk/

Once the Scrabster ferry arrived this evening, it was time for the Shopping Week Raft Race. A series of teams build their rafts on various themes, this year we saw Vikings, Mexicans, OAPs amongst others.

It’s a long course from the south end slipway up to the harbour and the field is soon spread out. We get a great view of the proceedings from the house.

24th July – Recreational diving is big business in Stromness, so I thought I’d give it a go.

The Shopping Week fun always includes a scarecrow competition, these are a few examples from around the town.

25th July – The Museum had a surprise royal visitor today. The Stromness Shopping Week Queen arrived with her entourage this afternoon.

They do a lot of good work throughout a busy week, today they were en route to deliver some fruit and choccies to the residents of a sheltered housing complex.

31st July – Just dropped H’s brother, Colin, off at the airport. He came up last Friday and had a little break with us. The weather was pretty good, except for a bit of fog this morning. I think he enjoyed himself ( we certainly did ). We spent the week sightseeing and enjoying the local produce, as the Stromness bottle bank will testify!