I’ve seen the sun rise, orange and luminous over the ocean from my bedroom window and now it’s time for me to see it set behind Fitty Hill. A glorious day.
Aug 182011
There’s just time to wander down to Taftend om my bike to watch the sun set behind Fitty Hill.
Aug 182011
On the roof two slates have cracked and fallen. I have a box of replacements ready, because on Westray one slate missing and one bad storm means one roof missing.
Aug 182011
The lack of trees on Orkney has meant that generations of people have relied upon driftwood and whalebone for building materials. Orkney’s Neolithic settlements had driftwood and whalebone roofs covered in turf over 5,000 years ago. Here’s a whalebone from a 50ft Sperm Whale washed onto one of Westray’s beaches. This one’s not much use [...]
Westray’s beaches are full of interesting finds. Whether it’s a groatie buckie (or Cowrie) on the tideline or the skeleton of the rusting hulk of an abandoned tractor, there’s always something interesting on the next beach. Here’s a rusting metal buoy from one of those beaches resting in my garden at Einar.
… is the early plastic better known as Bakelite. It’s all the rage for people to use Bakelite light fittings in their houses nowadays to get that true retro 1930s, 1940s feel. I don’t have to in Einar. The original’s still there.
… is of nothing but fields and clouds and ocean.
Visiting Westray is like stepping back in time. It’s time for me to make a quick trip to town to shop and to catch up on the news. I say quick, it’s an hour-long round-trip by bicycle. I say town, Pierowall’s a tiny village with a couple of shops. It’s an opportunity to catch up [...]
…but reality is worth a thousand pictures.
It’s wonderful to see that the Swallows who visit Orkney in the Summer to breed have done so well. There are at least three nests in the outbuildings here and the young are learning to catch flies on the wing and perching around the house. I don’t think that catching flies here can be too [...]
the HALL of ENIAR – recent comments