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Orkney Mainland, Page 42

Viking traces

Viking traces

Traces of the Vikings are everywhere in Orkney; from the runes carved in the Neolithic chambered cairn at Maeshowe to the Viking …

Noltland Panorama

Noltland Panorama

Noltland Castle is a wonderful castle with panoramic views of Pierowall and its bay. Here’s a 360 panorama taken with a Spinner …

Chamois leather

Mice nibble… #6

Shammy leather.

Thanks to the mice my car windows will remain dirty – they’ve eaten my chamois leather. I wasn’t going to clean the windows anyway, but now at least I’ve got an excuse.

Ear Defenders

Mice nibble… #5

Ear defenders.

What will defend my ears now that the mice have got at them? What will defend me from the mice eating everything I own?

Draught Excluder

Mice nibble… #4

Draught Excluder. Surely that’s a little self defeating of my mice? I’m not going to be able to make the house a little less breezy for them now.

Inner Tubes

Mice nibble… #3

Bicycle Innertubes. I should have known by the names of the other houses. Musland is my nearest neighbour. That’s Mouseland to the …

Slippers

Mice nibble… #2

Slippers Just when I was thinking I’d like to get my cold feet into some snug slippers in this Orkney Summer I …

Airbed

Mice nibble… #1

Airbeds The house is damp and full of mice in the winter so a traditional mattress isn’t an option for two reasons: …

Sunset through broken windows - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)

Sunrise through broken windows

In art classes when I was a teenager I used to love using blue with red, orange and yellow. It is a stunning combination. No more so than in nature, and there’s nothing that my dirty, broken windows can do to dull the spectacle. In Orkney, just a sunrise is so spectacular it’s as exciting as an eclipse.

Messages from the sun - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)

Messages from the sun

It’s sunset on Westray and the sun is sending me burning orange messages, It is speaking to me. It is writing messages …

10 minutes after dawn

10 minutes after dawn

I’m up early because it’s dawn at 6:07 and I want to see the sun appear on the horizon. It’s ten minutes …

20 minutes before dawn

20 minutes before dawn

It’s light in my window and it’s not yet 6 am . The sky is bright and the walls reflect the early …

Turnips like melons

Turnips like melons

Living on a small island gives people a different mentality. Living on Westray ranks somewhere between living on the main islands of …

Frozen Moments

Frozen Moments

Cycling in the breeze I hold the camera and press the shutter button. One two-thousandth of a second of light and life …

How many fingers?

How many fingers?

There are so many blogs and discussions about the number of fingers you should keep on your bicycle brakes and the number …

Shopping for a Shop

Shopping for a Shop

I’ve run out of milk so I’m off to Peter Miller’s Shop in Skelwick by bicycle with rucksack. It’s in such a …

Megrim

Megrim

Mmmm… Megrim is on the menu at Helgi’s tonight: Megrim Vierge – steamed Megrim fillets on crushed new tatties with herby citrus …

Martin

Martin

It’s time for a trip to see Westray Potter, Martin Terrell at his studio and I’m grateful that he’s agreed to throw …