Broken Stones
“Like pebbles on a beachKicked around, displaced by feetOh, like broken stonesThey’re all trying to get home” Paul Weller – Broken Stones
Notes on a very small island
“Like pebbles on a beachKicked around, displaced by feetOh, like broken stonesThey’re all trying to get home” Paul Weller – Broken Stones
Dawn is at 3:57 this morning. In Rendalls, one of the shops in the village, I notice a small pile of CDs. …
The Hawthorn is in flower at Einar. It’s also known at the May-tree because it flowers in May. In Orkney it should …
Cycling past the sign for the Cleaton House Hotel I see a beautiful purple orchid with spotted leaves. I lie flat on …
It’s always a thrill to discover a new cheese and this is no exception. A cheese! Made on Westray! So how does …
Lady the ginger and blonde Shetland pony loves a carrot.
This afternoon I cycled down to the Castle o’ Burrian. The wind was against me. The wind is always against me. I …
Thrift or Sea Pinks grow all over the coast here and their pink lollipops of flowers are beautiful at this time of year.
I’m listening to a Corncrake calling at the Bay of Tuquoy. It sounds like wood creaking. If only I could see it! → 10 June, 2015
There are Horsetails on the verge at Einar. They’re hard and scour my hands with their brittle covering of silica. They’re so …
“A monk supper please,” I said. That’s not a supper fit for a monk, although it might be. It’s monkfish and chips …
My son introduced me to Yik Yak, an iPhone app which shows you local people’s comments wherever you are. I logged in …
By chance I see a tiny slip of paper in the shop. It doesn’t count as a poster. It’s more than a …
If only I had a Guinea Pig. They would be in Guinea Pig heaven. These dandelions have roots as big as turnips.
There’s always a dead animal somewhere in Einar. Sometimes it’s a mummified starling. This time it’s a rabbit. Before it died it chewed through the electricity cable to my boiler. Then something ripped it to pieces and scattered it over the floor. There’s an isolated rabbit’s foot lying there. It wasn’t lucky for the rabbit.
Einar’s rhubarb is ridiculous. It’s like a wild thing, an alien being, taking over my walled vegetable garden. Now what are …
My dad says “I think it’s going to be breezy in Orkney today.” I say “I think it’s going to be Orkney.” …
The clouds are as insubstantial as gossamer and float in ethereal whisps above the rugged rocks.
Shags and gulls face the wind as huge turquoise waves break at The Scaun.
It’s time to board the Westray Ferry and to hear the familiar Orcadian voice telling us about the ‘Emergency Procedure’ and ‘Muster …
Human hands encircle the Totem Pole carved by the First Nations and Orcadian Totem Pole Carving Project in 2007.
There’s just time to nip to Rendall’s (one of the three shops on the Island) to get supplies. It’s yoghurt I’m after…
Curlews are called Whaups in Orkney and there are thousands of them here all year round. They’re our biggest wading bird and …
Today we visited the Links of Noltland. The chain-link fence has seen better days.
The iron sheets holding the concrete protection for the Orkney Ferries terminal at Rapness are beautiful in this light.
Glad to be alive? Thank a plant today. The oxygen you breathe, the food you eat and the fuel you burn all …
Beer, football, conversation, soup, bread, cheese and putting the world to rights. A lovely evening, topped off with a gift of tatties …
On Fitty Hill I’m surprised to find a wonderful collection of Waxcaps. These fungi are classic inhabitants of poor, unimproved grassland and …