11th March – It’s good to see the old, iconic, red telephone boxes are enjoying a new lease of life. This one, by Stromness Museum, has had a defibrillator installed. It might save a life one day.
14th March – We were thrilled to see the sales held in the Northlight and the Hamnavoe raised so much for the Ukraine disaster fund. Held over the previous two days, the teams raised over £8300 with, hopefully, more to come. H and I made a small contribution and hope we helped.
The art sale at the Northlight Gallery and Hamnavoe Restaurant in Stromness at the weekend has raised an astounding £8340. All of the money raised is going to the Red Cross Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal.
DEC charities and their local partners are in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries providing food, water, shelter and medical assistance.
The Northlight Gallery sold 133 artworks : paintings, prints, photographs, ceramics and glass.
Photo: Ingrid Budge
I’ve not posted for a while, we haven’t been up to anything exciting and the gales haven’t helped. But we woke to a beautiful sunrise this morning and it stayed nice all day.
Sunrise over Scorradale
19th March – Stromness is showing it’s support for Ukraine by flying their flag at the Town House by the pierhead.
Photo ex Twitter
20th March – Although it’s a windy day, the light is terrific and the bright sun highlights the colours in the water as the Graemsay leaves the harbour.
MV Graemsay
27th March – Spent an hour or so at Warebeth beach “bagging the bruck” with the team from Green Orkney. “Bruck” is the Orcadian word for rubbish. The shoreline is always littered with plastic waste, so it’s good to be part of the collection and disposal process.
30th March – After a spell of fine, sunny weather we awoke to a dusting of snow on the the ground. The starlings were very vocal in their demands for breakfast.
2nd February – The current spell of winter storms has brought extremely strong winds to Orkney and some wintry showers. There was a light touch of snow on Hoy this morning and more snow and strong wind is forecast through the coming week, so we will have to batten down the hatches for that.
With the cold weather at the moment, we like to feed the birds. We don’t get a great variety of birds in the garden, mainly rooks, starlings and sparrows. But what we miss on variety, we make up for in quantity. This is a flock of sparrows attacking our seed dispenser. I reckon there are sixty five in this picture.
4th February – Our house featured (briefly) on an episode of Michael Portillo’s Great Coastal Railway Journeys on BBC2 this evening.
Series 1 : 10. Thurso to Orkney – 4th February- available on BBC iPlayer.
5th February – We went over to Copland’s Dock for some fresh air and we certainly got some of that!!!
Copland’s Dock on a blustery day
There’s a new arrival on the pier. The yellow cylindical thing is a 16kw ‘Archimedes Waveswing’ Wave Energy Converter that has been brought to Orkney for testing. It will be moored to the seabed and sit under the surface of the sea to react to changes in pressure caused by passing waves. The design enables it to continue to operate in rough sea conditions.
The wave converter
6th January – “And all the clouds that lour’d upon our lighthouse”.
Hoy High appearing through the murk of the wintry showers. But the bitterly cold weather doesn’t deter the Stromness Polar Bears from taking a dip. Even with snow on the pier behind them. We can see on their faces how they are enjoying the delights of a refreshing swim.
Stromness Polar Bears in action
10th February – After the the recent wild weather, it’s nice to have a quiet spell to enjoy the shore path. The peacefulness and serenity, with nothing but the birds, is lovely change from the past few days.
The sharp eyed amongst you will have spotted, between 35 seconds to 50 seconds, the head of a seal swimming from left to right in the middle of the picture. OK. I admit, it’s only a pinprick but it is there!
11th February – OIC posted this view of Stromness taken from an unusual perspective. A nice way to report ongoing roadworks.
15th February – There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. A blustery day for Shorewatching at Ness Point. As long as it stays dry, I can handle the wind.
18th February – As Storm Eunice ravages the southern parts of the country, Orkney is enjoying a spell of unusually quiet weather. A big change from Tuesday (15th). For the last two days there hasn’t been a breath of wind. Here the late afternoon sun is sinking over Hoy sound, normally turbulent, it’s looking like a mill pond.
A very calm day on Hoy Sound
19th February – What a difference a day makes. Fresh snow and a clear sky making the view from the office rather pleasant.
2nd January – A lovely sunny morning, so H and I took a trip down to South Ronaldsay for a change of scenery. There are nice views to be found at Windwick and the cliff lined coast looks great catching the sunshine.
Windwick
The base of the cliffs provides a safe, sheltered location for seals to have their pups and these two are having a snoozy moment together waiting for their Mums to return.
Seal pups at Windwick
9th January – A beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. We went for our circular walk around Netherton Road. Passing the marshy corner of a field it was nice to see the first signs of the flag irises emerging from the water. These will provide a colourful display later in the year.
At this time of year, the sun never climbs very high in the sky and on a clear day it can be painfully blinding. This photo was taken about 1:30pm looking south to Hoy, the sun is barely above the hills.
The intensity of the sun almost burning out the camera on my phone, this next was taken from the same place at the same time, just looking slightly to the right..
24th January – It’s been very blustery recently but we’re still able to get out. Seeing some interesting over-wintering birds that I’m not familiar with. I had to get the bird book out to check these ones. These are Purple Sandpipers that come here from Greenland and Scandinavia.
These ducks are Gadwalls, they are resident in UK but many come down from Iceland for a winter getaway.
29th January – We don’t have much choice! A promotional banner, from Orkney.com, of a chilly Stromness. The eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted our little house in the lower left of this photo.
2nd December – H took her afternoon stroll along the shore and recorded this scene, the tide is out and starlings are feeding in the exposed tangle. Perfectly camouflaged, they chatter amongst themselves as they forage.
The peacefulness of this, with the gentle chattering is lost on those that insist on wearing headphones whilst out walking.
7th December – This afternoon, we took a stroll down to the Pier Art Centre to view the winter exhibition. Local artists have an opportunity to display, and sell, their pieces in the run up to Christmas. There’s a lot of nice work but we didn’t part with with any cash this year.
As H is still shielding, we were grateful that the gallery was very quiet and we almost had the place to ourselves.
16th December – Not much festive cheer to report. This sad story is being reported on the BBC. Dozens of weak, dying or dead puffins are being washed up around Scapa Flow.
Some are being looked after by vets, Flett & Carmichael, in Kirkwall. The cause of the problem is not clear but recent storms may have prevented them finding food.
17th December – After a long period without cetacean sightings, I was treated to a pod of Risso’s dolphins at Ness Point.
Five adult Risso’s
There were around ten animals in total and the group included two or three juveniles. Risso’s are, probably, the commonest dolphin in the waters around Orkney, although we do get visits from Common dolphins.
Here we can see an adult with a calf alongside, the difference in size of the dorsal fins showing the much smaller juvenile.
Adult with juvenile
21st December – A stroll along the South Pier gives a good view of part of the Stromness waterfront, with the Pier Art Centre at the left. A Barbara Hepworth sculpture just visible in the courtyard.
24th December – H has made this painted wood block to wish all our friends and families a very happy Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year.
26th December – A tsunami of cloud envelopes Hoy, as seen from Stromness golf course.
31st December – After a fairly stressful year of loss, sadness and worry, we will grit our teeth and head into 2022 with determination and optimism.
A nice quiet day here at Ness Point giving us an opportunity for reflection. Geddit?
This will be our last post of the year, so we’ll take this opportunity to wish family and friends a very happy New Year. Bliadhna Mhath Ùr
4th November – OIC have bought a new passenger ferry for the Westray to Papa Westray route. It is, currently, in Stromness for trials and training. Here it is passing through Hoy Sound. It’s a very sleek looking little boat, we must try it out when it goes into service.
Nordic Sea
13th November – We thought we’d take a trip out to Birsay to watch the waves and look for groatie buckies. The waves obliged but the groatie buckies didn’t.
17th November – The recent stormy weather has prevented our getting out much but I was able to do a Shorewatch this morning, didn’t see any cetaceans but enjoyed an aerial display from these Oystercatchers and migratory Turnstones.
Oystercatchers and Turnstones
25th November – We haven’t made many posts this month, this November hasn’t been very photogenic, but I don’t think there’s anything as inviting as a chip shop window on a dreich day.
26th November – Storm Arwen has landed this morning, 70 mph winds, driving rain. We’re staying indoors today!
28th November – Our first snow of the winter. Hoy always looks good with a white overcoat.
A leaden sky shows off this snowman well. It looks like the kids that made it scarpered before the weather turned.
1st October – The strong Autumn winds are with us now. They’re tough on the garden but produce lovely effects on the sea. This condition where the wind lifts a fine mist off the sea surface is known as smookin’, for obvious reasons.
Smookin’
2nd October – Still getting a few bright days and many locals are taking advantage to get their doors weatherproofed for winter. Cautionary notices have a different ring to them here.
As an aside, Orkney Library posted this old school photo of a celebrity alumnus of Stromness Primary School. The boy at far left on the back row is Robert Shaw of Jaws fame. Stromness clearly a good place to begin his maritime career.
6th October – It can be tricky getting vehicles on to the more awkward islands around Orkney, so the Royal Mail has to endure a fairly undignified lift on to the smaller ferries.
Loading the post for Graemsay
But technology is on it’s way to replace this. Trials are being carried out to see if drones can be used to fly the mail to the more remote corners of the County.
9th October – A grey, dreich start to the day doesn’t deter Orkney Rowing Club from their early morning practise. These boats are used at sea and are pretty fast. There is fierce competition between Orkney and Shetland in racing and the local club trains in all weathers.
13th October – The conversion of the oil facility on Flotta to large scale hydrogen production looks promising, I’d consider a hydrogen car, the local council already use hydrogen vans. Orkney innovation marches on.
18th October – Kirkwall’s Balfour Hospital has been in the news. Opened in 2019, it is Scotland’s first net-zero hospital, meaning zero carbon emissions.
The curiously curved building has been inspired by the layout of the neolithic village of Skara Brae. I’m not sure if the hospital will still be there in five thousand years.
The BBC article featured Dr. Kevin Fox, a consultant cardiologist. It’s Dr. Fox that has been treating H’s cardio issues. Apparently he divides his time between Kirkwall and Charing Cross and Hammersmith Hospitals in London. That’s quite a commute, not green, but it saves patients travelling to him and we appreciate his coming.
19th October – Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these Shorewatchers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.
It’s been a drizzly day but, with a bit of creativity, Shorewatching can continue. Unfortunately it was too wet for the dolphins to put in an appearance.
A very sad day for H and myself as we said goodbye to our beautiful little bird, Monty. Monty was diagnosed with cancer in August and it gradually wore him down. He made his last trip to the vet in Kirkwall this morning and was put to sleep.
Monty was a huge part of my life for 34 years and of H’s life for 26 years; a long time in any relationship.
He had always enjoyed life to the full and was full of fun and mischief. He had a wide vocabulary and knew how to use it. Our home seems a quiet and empty place today and, I’m sure, it will do for some time to come.
6th September – Stromness receives it’s first cruise ship since 2019. Ocean Explorer arrived early this morning and departs at 7pm this evening, plenty of time for the passengers to see Orkney!
Ocean Explorer in Stromness
This is an example of an X-Bow ship, designed to cut through the waves more efficiently than a conventional bow, resulting in a quieter and more comfortable voyage.
7th September – A great day for a Shorewatch, I completed my 200th today!. It’s certainly no hardship to sit out at Ness Point on days like this. Didn’t see anything, though!
Hoy Sound
10th September – H received a surprise parcel today, this lavender plant was rescued by Gillian from their Dad’s garden.
Hopefully we can do it justice and keep it flourishing in our wet, windy climate. A nice memento and a big thankyou to Gill.
12th September – After a day of incessant rain yesterday, we had a lovely day today. Spent some time Shorewatching and spotted three Risso’s dolphins.
Luckily H was with me at the time, she’s managed to see all the sightings with me, which is great. I’d feel guilty if I was seeing all the animals and she was missing out!
13th September – H managed to snap two anglers with their catch down on the slipway. Fish doesn’t get much fresher than when it’s filleted on the slipway wall. The left pic shows a pair of pollock and the right hand is a dogfish ( aka rock salmon ).
16th September – Coming back from Kirkwall, this afternoon, we spotted this novel approach to viewing the neolithic tomb of Maeshowe.
Apparently these paragliders (one is just out of shot) have electric motors, they are doing a tour of Scotland, sponsored by EDF, demonstrating the progress being made in green technologies.
There is a sad postscript to this post.
This photo was taken on the Thursday as the pair passed through Orkney, on the Saturday (18th ) their machines collided in the mountains to the north of Lochinver and one of the team was killed, with the other badly injured.
21st September – A bright but blustery day here giving us a lovely mackerel sky over the Flow.
22nd September – We received a phone call from the Surgery this morning asking if we wanted flu jags this year. Naturally, we accepted and were both jagged this afternoon. Good service.
26th September – The Plumber’s day off. We met K and D at Ness Point this afternoon. He has done a lot of work for us, including the new shower room upstairs.
Red and George enjoying exercise in the sun.
The couple look after horses in paddocks outside Stromness. The horses are regularly exercised around the town and provide a lot of nourishment for the town’s rose growers.
We installed a couple of sparrow nest boxes about a week ago and were pleased to see this little group having a look. I just hope they can get a mortgage!
2nd August – August is getting off to a promising start, it’s a beautiful evening for a Shorewatch, with the sea glassy calm. The evening sun always makes Hoy High lighthouse look great and the effect is doubled by the reflection.
Hoy High Lighthouse
We took a run up to Birsay this afternoon for a change of scenery. There are still a few puffins around, but not for much longer. Spotted this little group napping on a rocky shelf.
The last of the season’s puffins
4th August – No cetaceans seen this morning on Shorewatch but thrilled to see this rose-coloured starling. According to the bird book they are a “very rare migrant from C. Europe: 40-50 per year”.
Originally thought it was just melanistic variation of our own starlings but looked it up for confirmation.
Rose-Coloured Starling
I notified the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) and they have checked it and passed the details on to the County Recorder for Orkney. Exciting stuff!
10th August – When you’ve left your easel at home the next best thing is to tape your canvas to the road!
German artist, Veronika, captures an explosion in a Stromness garden.
12th August – the £33m superyacht Triple Seven is in Kirkwall today, having just arrived from Shetland.
It’s rumoured that Hollywood A-lister, Tom Cruise, was visiting our northern neighbours whilst taking a break from filming in England. Apparently he flew south from Shetland.
Note that the portholes in the hull are quite low down, it’s so that diminutive passengers can see out.
Triple Seven
13th August – This would normally be Stromness’ gala week, “Shopping Week”, but due to on-going Covid precautions it has been reduced to three days.
A popular event is always the raft race, a 1.16 km course from Stenigar up to the harbour. This is the first capsizing of the day, actually on the start line! Better luck next year.
27th August – It’s a while since we posted here, we’ve been a bit preoccupied with various things. Still been managing to get out and do some Shorewatch sessions though and we were rewarded with the sight of a pod of Orca passing through the watch site. The huge, straight dorsal fin of the bulls makes them easily identifiable from the others.
The 27s passing Hoy Sound
Keep your distance from my family!
The Orca pods that travel around the Northern Isles are given identification tags. This group are the 27s and they can range as far as Iceland.
1st July – H is on strong medication again and it’s affecting her sleep patterns. The down side is that she can be awake through the night, the upside is she sees the dawn at 04:30 and gets some great photos.
Sunrise over Orphir
An early creel boat setting out into a dawn haar
3rd July – My local Shorewatch co-ordinator, Emma, decided to hold a publicity session for Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) at Ness Point. She put up the banners and had everything ready to let people have a go. She was there for two hours and, despite plenty of people out walking, no-one came over to see what was going on.
It’s really disappointing to see the lack of interest people have in their natural environment. They walk or jog past, eyes glued to phones, earplugs in, listening to music, or blogs, or learning Spanish*.
What they’re not listening to is the symphony of birdsong, waves lapping on the shore, singing seals, squeaking otters. They are missing the poetry of Orkney.
Rant over.
*Other languages are available.
6th July – After another unsuccessful Shorewatch vigil I returned home to be greeted by a beautiful double rainbow over Ness Point. It had been quite foggy earlier but cleared to give a lovely evening.
7th July – The coast is still shrouded in fog today and doesn’t look like lifting, so no Shorewatching today.
Decided to resort to the old favourite of puffin watching at Birsay. Always a good chance of finding one on the cliffs. This wee chap is taking a rest from fishing at sea.
A Birsay Puffin
14th July – A warm, sunny day, so we took a run over to Scapa Beach. It’s just outside Kirkwall and has a nice, long sandy shore, what might be called a “traditional” beach.
There are a number of houses overlooking the beach and one has this interesting horseshoe “tree”. It looks nice just now but the leaves make an awful mess in Autumn!
16th July – Popped over to Kirkwall this morning, H was having a CT scan at the Balfour. Appointment was at 10am and we were back in Stromness for 11am, so a fairly speedy process. This is the team with the high tech gadget.
The CT scanner at the Balfour
H never has any problems about getting people to pose for her pics. Personally, I wouldn’t dream of asking.
Not sure when the results will be available but it was around ten days for the previous scan.
20th July – We’re well into July now and the plants in the garden are just beginning to perform. Everything had a late start this year, hopefully we’ll get an Indian Summer to give them a chance to strengthen before autumn sets in.
These are few things just coming into flower. The aconite came from dividing one in the garden and it’s done well. The pansies were grown from seed and really slow to develop but seem to be fine now. The pots have really thrived and will need dividing for next year.
24th July – Having visited Stromness, the sail training vessel, Pelican of London, departs through Hoy Sound.
Pelican of London
An image of bygone times, it was built in 1946, in France and used as an Arctic trawler for twenty years. Retired from trawling in the 1960s, it spent many years as a coaster before being converted to a training ship in 1995.
Due to Covid restrictions, we haven’t witnessed a “blackening” here for many months, but this bùrach on wheels passed by this afternoon.
A Stromness Blackening
Blackenings are wedding rituals in parts of Scotland and Ireland. The bride or groom is surprise ‘captured’ by his or her friends some days prior to the wedding and thoroughly messed up with foodstuffs such as treacle, flour and instant coffee powder (tarred and feathered). Then they are paraded around the streets in the back of a pick-up. Drink is taken and a great deal of noise is made. The proceedings can also involve tying the victim to a post or tree in a public place (pilloried) and leaving them on their own for a while. Apparently this has all evolved from a more subtle ritual of washing the bride or bridegroom’s feet before a wedding. Over time that ritual started to include also blackening the feet before washing them.
It is hard to determine which of the boys here is the ‘victim’ because everyone seems to be in a mess.
30th July – After an eighteen month absence, Orkney has received it’s first cruise ship of the season today. The Anthem of the Seas is 350m long and can carry 5000 passengers and crew, although we’re told that, on this trip, it was at 25% capacity. Even so, with Covid still virulent, a lot of people are not happy to see these ships return.
Anthem of the Seas
As a guide to scale, the red and white boat in front is the Pentalina, which used to serve the St Margaret’s Hope to Gill’s Bay ferry route. It can carry 58 cars and 9 articulated lorries, so a reasonable size itself.
Scapa Views 