2nd January – Happy New Year everybody.

We had a quiet Hogmanay in Stromness. New Year’s Eve was blessed with gales and heavy rain. Few revellers ventured out and the midnight fireworks didn’t happen. Instead there was a midnight chorus of ship’s horns in the harbour.

We woke, this morning, to our first proper snowfall. The roads are quite tricky, so we probably won’t venture too far today. Graham Place was looking very festive, with few people about the snow is still fairly untouched.

January 2026

2nd December – Passing through the pierhead this afternoon and noticed that this year’s Christmas tree is made up of crab creels. A lot of work has gone into this , top marks to all involved.

And after dark…

Even the RNLI have spruced up their offices, everyone is making a lot of effort this year.

6th December – A stormy night with strong easterly winds. With the rain driving on to the windows, it should save washing them for a while. It does, however, make the pavement tricky for pedestrians!

7th December – I don’t know if there is a connection between yesterday’s storm and the arrival of this seal pup in front of Well Park. It looks well fed and healthy but there is no sign of the mother.

It’s lying very close to the road and won’t get any peace and quiet here. I called the BDMLR people to see if they wanted to move it.

Within the hour they had sent a marine mammal medic out to assess the situation.

10th December – We are in the middle of Storm Bram today, severe gales have spread across the country. Last night, our little weather station recorded it’s highest wind speed since we installed it, the display showing 52.1 mph. Thankfully we didn’t have any damage.

12th December – Curious signage in the main street today, as the road isn’t wide enough along it’s length for two lanes of traffic, it seems to be stating the obvious.

15th December – A local choir has been entertaining patients and visitors in the main atrium at the Balfour today. Only a matter of time before one of these peedie vocalists appears on The Voice!

21st December – We’ve had this Codiaeum Petra for over four years, this is the first time it has flowered. Perhaps a good omen for 2026?

25th December – Flying the flag for Christmas in Stromness. Happy Christmas everyone.

27th December – A beautiful day today, so we went for a walk around the top end of the harbour. The low sun was very bright on the water but it highlighted this Dementor, doubtless looking for the Harray Potter.

As darkness fell, the local kayakers decorated their craft and went for a festive cruise around the bay.

29th December – Whilst out for our daily constitutional around the shore, we bumped into Davy Prentice (in orange) and his family exercising their horses. Davy has done all the plumbing work for us at Well Park.

It’s worth following them around, as the the roses can benefit greatly!

30th December – There are lots of events at this time of year, one of the more spectacular is the Annual Tractor Run. Farmers from across Orkney decorate their vehicles and visit all the townships over the days between Christmas and Hogmanay. Almost a hundred tractors take part so it’s quite a spectacle (and noisy too!) Here are just a few…

8th November – Orkney is very quiet now, the last of the tourists have long since departed. It’s nice to be able to get around without buses and motorhomes blocking the roads. The downside is that it is a lean time for local businesses. They now must turn their attention to the Christmas market.

Here they have created a short video with some of the producers promoting their wares.

11th November – At last, promise of a nice day. A colourful sunrise catches early morning swimmers emerging from a chilly sea,

18th November – This isn’t a great photo, definitely not calendar worthy, but I’m posting it as a record of our first snow this winter. The hills of Hoy are just visible above the golf course but the grey day makes for a dull pic.

20th November – It looks like the Orcadian cartoonist has been up at Ness Point. This is the location that we carried out our Shorewatches – with similar results!

24th November – The team in the Macmillan unit have started preparing for Christmas. A simply decorated tree gives some cheer in a stark corridor.

26th November – Another boring sunrise photo, it really was blazing this morning. But, as is often the case with red skies in the morning the weather quickly deteriorated.

13th October – Things have been a bit hectic lately but I’m determined to not let a month go by without posting something.

After a series of delays and complications in ARI, our trip to Aberdeen lasted an extra three days. H was being well looked after but the strain of everything was difficult for her. The one good thing was that we missed Storm Amy, it by-passed Aberdeen and we never noticed it! We are lucky to have good friends and neighbours who made sure things were secured in our garden, such as wheelie bins and plant pots.
The storm wrecked the willows in next door’s garden. The trunk on this one split down to the ground and had to be completely cut back.

Willows, though, are pretty indestructible and I’m sure new shoots will soon appear.

H is continuing her treatment at the Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall and that seems to be going well. Unfortunately, we have both caught colds and have been laid low for a few days. Our friend, Marion, popped round with some flowers for H and they certainly brighten the place up,

22nd October – Not much to report on the home front. H and I are still laid low with health problems. Also, the weather has been poor, so we’re not going out at all.

One bit of excitement happened yesterday. As the Hamanavoe ferry was arriving from Stromness into Scrabster, a large piece of construction equipment rolled off its trailer and damaged some vehicles. Luckily no-one was hurt.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7517eg4d24o

28th October – I’m keeping the team at the Balfour busy at the moment. Went through the CT scanner this afternoon. It was an interesting experience in an impressive piece of equipment.

Still no interesting pics or reports from Orkney. October has been wet and miserable and I’ll be glad to see the back of this month.

29th October – The constant wet weather throughout October and the recent heavy rain have been too much for Kirkwall’s drainage system. This is the junction from the Hatston area on to the Stromness road.

1st September – A regular visitor to Stromness is the Dutch barquentine Thalassa. A classic tall ship, it offers a range of cruises from educational to sail training. I didn’t notice it until it was departing. The pic into the grey morn isn’t great.

2nd September – In 2021, I took a couple of buddleia cuttings from the GMB garden, and potted them up. This year they flowered for the first time and promptly lived up to the name “butterfly bush”.

8th September – On a clear evening we always get a good view of the full moon rising in the east. There is something special about moonlight on water.

9th September – I was pleased to see this little frog in the pond this morning. I hadn’t seen any for a couple of weeks and was getting concerned about the water quality.

11th September – A lovely day for a trip down to South Ron to see the Robinson’s and return a jumper, which Ralph left at ours.
Noticed this piece of dodgy parking in Burray. I think this skipper needs to resit his test!

15th September – Heading off to Aberdeen again.

We managed to get a cabin for this trip, which makes a huge difference. It was a very “bouncy” voyage but we did get some sleep.

The cabins are extremely compact and include en suite. This photo would probably look better if it was taken before we had slept in the beds! This small space would be a real squeeze for four adults!

17th September – Heading back north again. We wanted a leisurely run up to Scrabster and decided to break the journey at The Royal Hotel in Tain. Apparently it is 300 years old and they have managed to preserve the decor from 1780. Decent food and a great bar, though.

There’s an interesting bench in the reception. It’s amazing what you can create with a pen knife and 300 years of whittling.

18th September – The northeast has been battered by gale force winds today and we weren’t looking forward to the ferry trip from Scrabster to Stromness. As it turned out, by the time we sailed, the wind had subsided and it was a good crossing.

After a long journey, it is good to see Hoy, even if it is under some stormy looking clouds.

26th September – I assume this is some sort of training exercise. In the midst of this water show is the OIC tug “Odin of Scapa”, slowly coming in to Stromness. Presumably testing it’s fire hoses.

28th September – Setting off today for a return to Aberdeen. For a change, and the shortest crossing, we are taking the Pentalina from St. Margaret’s Hope. The catamaran is more stable in rough weather, so that’s an advantage too.

29th September – Things are never easy on the A9, we crawled along for a while behind this wind turbine blade, the police had a job on their hands, stopping traffic in both directions, as it meandered down the road, avoiding overhead cables.

We arrived at our hotel in Aberdeen, just in time to grab a table before the rush began! It looked like the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, we half expected to see two little girls standing in the corner.

30th September – H has moved into her room in ARI and is still suffering from Lone Diner Syndrome. Note the blue plastic chair at lower right, it had the pleasure of my bottom for around forty hours!

6th August – H had to go to Aberdeen for a procedure at ARI. All in all, it was a fairly exhausting and stressful few days. But we took a day out to have a look around the northeast corner of Aberdeenshire. A visit to Fraserburgh showed us the scale of fishing boats that we never see in Orkney.

At 70 metres long and 2300 tonnes, this is what puts the fish and chips on the table.

We managed to spend some time at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh, a large exhibition covering the history of lighthouses around Scotland, of which Orkney has a fair number. The museum tour included a tour up the 180 feet lighthouse on the site, but neither H nor myself felt up to that!

Weird and wonderful graffiti in the town. As Lloyd Grossman would say, “Who lives in a house like this?”

7th August – I have decided to stop Shorewatch and met with the local team leader to return my equipment. They had prepared a nice memento for me, to mark the various milestones achieved.

They’ve been nice people to work with and I’ll continue to keep in touch and follow their activities.

27th August – We’ve not been posting here for a while, for obvious reasons.

Stromness has been very quiet, even over the Bank Holiday weekend and there are not too many people about. It’s a shame really, as the weather has been great.
I took advantage of the dry spell, and, with the help of Terry T, reroofed and painted the shed. It hasn’t rained yet, so fingers crossed…

Our neighbours, over at the double houses, are flying a strange flag. We think it might be an alternative to the Jolly Roger. Do you agree?

3rd July – July is going to be a hectic month in Orkney. The county is playing host to the 20th International Island Games. Teams from around the world are arriving to participate. There are 24 Member Islands in the International Island Games Association. They are:

Orkney, Shetland, Saint Helena, Faroe Islands, Ynys Mon, Menorca, Saaremaa, Hitra, Åland, Alderney, Bermuda, Gozo, Greenland, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Froya, Gibraltar, Sark, Gotland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Isle of Wight, Western Isles and Guernsey.

Over two thousand competitors and officials are expected to arrive for the event, stretching Orkney’s limited accommodation to breaking point.

The event will be officially opened by Princess Anne on 12th July.

Hosting the tournament is TV legend and national treasure… yes, it’s Lorraine Kelly.

6th July – Passing through Sandwick this afternoon, we spotted this pair of Shetland ponies dressed in their Sunday best. They do look very smart.

They don’t get many fires in Sandwick, which is probably just as well, as the local fire brigade have let themselves go a bit! Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb have been disciplined.

9th July – A rare sight in Orkney, a double decker bus, two or three have been brought in to ferry the games participants around the various venues.

They are not ideal for Orkney’s roads and strong winds and the local drivers are receiving training on handling and, hopefully, parking!

10th July – Work is well underway on the construction of the large substation at Finstown, being built to export Orkney’s renewable energy south. The line of the cables passes just outside Stromness as it heads undersea to Dounreay. I wouldn’t like to wire a plug with these.

12th July – Well, the Island Games are officially open. A large crowd packed Bignold Park in Kirkwall to see HRH the PR Princess Anne do all the formal stuff.

She was able to get out and meet some of the competitors, here with some of the team from Åland, a Finnish island whose official language is Swedish, not confusing at all. I assume they all speak fluent Royalese.

We didn’t go over, these photos have been pinched from BBC Radio Orkney, I’m sure they won’t mind.

Stromness Golf Club is co-hosting the golfing with Kirkwall GC and today was the first of two practice days before the matches begin in earnest on Monday.

14th July – Lots of medals being handed out this week. This article from RNLI Stromness.

“Congratulations to Stromness Lifeboat Doctor, Dr Carolyn Sheehan, seen here on board Stromness Lifeboat, being presented with her 20-year service medal by coxswain Norman Brass. Carolyn is “on call” should a doctor be required to go out on a shout. She even has her own seat on the boat – the doctor’s seat – next to where any stretcher case would be carried. Many thanks to Doctor Sheehan for her service.”

Dr Sheehan is H’s doctor at Stromness Surgery, she has taken great care of H and given her a lot of support. She deserves a medal.

17th July – Today was the final of the women’s golf competition. A podium was constructed for the medal ceremony and the presentation was held in front of a small gathering.

In the individual women’s competition, gold went to the Isle of Wight, silver to Åland and the bronze medal is on its way to Bermuda.

In the women’s team event Isle of Wight collected another gold, Gotland won the silver and Orkney collected bronze. That’s Orkney’s first golfing medal in the Island Games’ history.

18th July – Arriving too late for the games, the Flying Dutchman is a former herring boat specialising in tours of the Scottish Islands.

Carrying twenty-four passengers and just four crew, it looks like a nicer alternative to the monster boats that go to Kirkwall.

19th July – Also too late for the games, this Minke whale spent some time feeding in Hoy Sound, before heading off to who knows where.

23rd July – It’s all go in Stromness. We are now into Shopping Week, Stromness’ annual carnival week, now shortened to four days. Began in the 1940s to restart the local economy after the war, it provides a few days of fun and entertainment. First event this year was the “Daft Raft Race”. This year all entrants made it to the finish line, no-one requiring to be rescued.

26th July – Blackenings are a regular feature in Orkney. Normally the victim (bride/groom to be) are paraded through the town in a truck but these women seem to be on a budget.

To be honest, I’m not sure what they’re using. It looks like a farmer is missing an animal feed cart. Probably a good way to avoid the road closures in the centre of the town.

The week culminated today with the parade of floats through the town. Every Orkney parade has to have a few Vikings, it’s the law. The police turn a blind eye to dangerous weapons being waved around.

This year’s theme seemed to be movies and television shows. Film classics such as Jaws, Wizard of Oz and Toy Story were represented, I’m not sure how the 40th anniversary of LiveAid fitted in but that’s farmers for you.

No parade of TV shows would be complete without the Scottish favourite, Still Game, getting a mention. Sandwick Young Farmers doing a great job here.

2nd June – We found an old estate agent photo of the corner of the house in 2018. After a bit of strimming and planting it retains the “wild” look but is dotted with native plants. Many are finished flowering and many still to come. It’s a work in progress.

4th June – A rare outing to Kirkwall on a blustery day. H had an appointment at the Balfour and we took the opportunity to give Lady Findhorn a lift over to do some shopping.

The number of cars in the carpark belies the number of people waiting to be seen inside. H had to wait all of three seconds in Radiology before being attended to.

What happened to the stacks of National Geographics in hospital waiting rooms?

12th June – We’ve had some strong winds over the last few days and many plants have had to be staked, but the viper’s bugloss has stood up well and is looking good.

13th June – Had a day out with Caroline, Lady Findhorn. We toured down to South Ronaldsay, visited a Ralph Robinson exhibition in gallery in the Hope and then had lunch in Robertson’s, it’s a quaintly styled bar diner and the food was very good.

Just near the pub is the Marengo Garden which is a nicely maintained pocket park, ideal for relaxing with a full tum.

No sunny day outing would be complete without a visit to Firth Park in Finstown. It is always full of colour and and in immaculate condition. It is maintained solely by seventy-seven year old Jockey Wood, an amazing achievement.

This photo shows a small part of the park which extends to half a hectare, mixed parkland.

21st June – After carrying out the afternoon vigil for Gaza in Kirkwall, we returned to Stromness and popped into the Northlight Gallery to view a new exhibition Ralf Robinson’s work. He seems to be everywhere just now but it’s always nice to have a chat with him.

22nd June – The BBC posted an interesting article about the actor, Robert Shaw, who grew up in Stromness.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk378kp203o

25th June – A current exhibition on Orkney’s energy potential threw up this little known part of Stromness history.

In the 1970s high concentrations of uranium were discovered in a ‘corridor’ of rock between Stromness and Yesnaby. Plans were drafted to begin extraction but the power of local protest prevented its mining. It is rumoured that Margaret Thatcher finally vetoed the extraction project.

5th May – Now that the weather is getting warmer my little garden is starting to show some colour now. It’s nice to see the cornflowers out, but the plant is being bullied by a comfrey, which I don’t think I planted. After they’ve flowered I might try and dig them up and separate them, might be risky though.

The little wall by the front window is looking nice too at the moment. I’d like to get rid of the tulips but the bulbs are buried in the stonework.

6th May – The woods around Happy Valley are still full of bluebells, probably finished elsewhere, but they give a nice splash of colour under the trees as the leaf cover increases.

There has been so little rain lately that water levels in the little burn are getting low.

7th May – We’ve been watching this strange workboat / barge combination coming and going for a couple of weeks. We never found out where it was working but it left today under escort from the pilot launch.

9th May – Another warm day and we were invited up to Dounby for tea in the garden with Terry and Judith. Both keen birders they have a lot of feeders in their garden attracting a wide variety of birds, including this redpoll and some greenfinches.

12th May – After an absence of sixteen years, the Blood Transfusion Service has returned to Orkney. They are using the sports hall at Pickaquoy Centre for three days. This first day was well attended and they had to turn people away.

Due to the ferry timetables they could only operate until 2 pm, then get the blood packed up and sent to Aberdeen. This donation brings me up to 21 pints, heading for three gallons!

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We had an unusual arrival in Stromness this morning – a floating museum!

SS Hestmanden is a Norwegian steamer, which since 2017 has served as Norsk krigsseilermuseum (the Norwegian War Sailor Museum) and a national memorial for the War Sailors. Hestmanden is the only preserved cargo ship that has sailed in convoys during both World War I and World War II. It is the only remaining ship of the more than 1,000 that were part of the Nortraship fleet during World War II, and therefore represents a central part of Norway’s war history and maritime history. (ex Wikipedia)

13th May – The Hestmanden docked successfully yesterday and today opened its gangplank for visitors.

As mentioned before, it has now been converted into a floating museum to celebrate the courage of Norwegian merchant seafarers in both World Wars. The exhibition halls are surprisingly large and well presented and one area contains a cinema. The ship at one time could carry one hundred passengers with ten in First Class. The exhibits extend over three decks, and, unusually for a museum, the custodians live on board.

Judging by the galley facilities the crew and custodians are not in First Class.

14th May – There are currently two cruise ships in Stromness at the moment. The Portuguese registered Sea Spirit and the French vessel La Bellot.

Sea Spirit was able to moor at one of the piers, but the larger French boat had to anchor in Cairston Roads and ferry its guests in to the town on little shuttle boats.

15th May – It’s Thursday evening and the Stromness Sailing Club are out in force, enjoying this unprecedented warm and sunny weather.

22nd May – My French restaurant supply business is coming along nicely. The tadpoles in the peedie pond are developing their back legs now.

I think they are about eight or nine weeks old now, so next stage will be the appearance of front legs. followed by disappearance of the tail.

27th May – I’m amazed at the pace of development of these small creatures. Although many are still tadpoles, several are now clearly frogs, albeit with tails.

The long spell of, relatively, warm weather must have been beneficial, and, sheltered in the pond, they’re not affected by the current gales that we are experiencing.

30th May – Things going apace now in the pond. I think the first froglet has packed his bags and left. We watched this little chap climb out and disappear into the grass.

It’s good that they are maturing this early, hopefully this will give them a chance to spend a long summer in the garden. In August last year they were still at this stage.

Spotted our first damselfly in the pond, I hope this indicates a healthy environment for them.