The Great Chicken Disaster of 1952
There’s a reason chickens are mostly kept inside in Westray. It’s because of the great chicken disaster of 1952. On 15 January …
Mackerel with Einar’s rhubarb
All it takes is a silver spinner and Mackerel are tickling my line. I have my Robert Welch kitchen knives with me. …
Giving lobster the ‘v’ s
The Lobster creels are groaning with Lobsters, Homarus gammarus, today. Not all of them are regulation size, so Stewart measures them carefully …
Unattractive and covered in slime. But enough about me…
There’s a Three-Bearded Rockling, Gaidropsarus vulgaris, in the creel. It’s a spectacular fish, a relative of the Cod and Haddock, but very …
Partan and the famed red leather from Persia
I find crabs endlessly fascinating. We’re out on a creel boat and I’m enjoying seeing crabs being hauled in. How marvellous is …
“O whare will I get a skeely skipper?”
We’re on another adventure today. We’re going out on a creel boat from Pierowall with skipper Stewart McNab. He’s a local, born …
Fattie cutties and Kevin the kayaKing
My friend sends me a message saying her son is on the island with his, “Ace wife”. “Do meet him”, her message …
Island life and using your loaf
I’m on North Ronaldsay for the day. My aim is to cycle and see some wildlife but I’m distracted. There’s a choice …
A Red-Necked Phalarope, a cheese roll and laughing at yourself
I’m off to the north today on the trail of Red-Necked Phalaropes. Yes, I know, it’s a silly name, isn’t it? I’ve …
Puffins, Japanese TV and Monk and chips
I’m very pleased that my friend Martin’s on the Island at the moment. He’s completing filming for a documentary on Puffins for …
The first walk, Britain’s rarest bumblebee and a fattie cuttie
Arriving back on Westray means I want to experience it all at once. I want every sensation. I want to be at …
The Battle of Bere Bannock
The Battle of Bannockburn is a famous Scottish victory in the first Scottish War of Independence. Equally as momentous is the Battle …
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four and a Half
My adventures on the four-and-a-half-th of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four
My adventures on the fourth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Three
My adventures on the third of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Two
My adventures on the second of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day One
My adventures on the first of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Groatie Buckies
On the table in the Groatie Buckies cafe on Westray, run by Stewart and Marian Groat, is a jar of Groatie Buckies. …
Fattie Cutties
No trip to Westray is complete without a visit to Peter Miller’s shop for some Fattie Cutties. Now even though Fattie Cutties …
Guess the Yoghurt Flavour
Over the past decade on Westray one thing has struck me very forcefully: the ability of the shops to stock a single flavour of yoghurt in curious and slightly obsessive depth…
Success – at last!
I’ve spent 40 years as a photographer and had to face the constant indignity of people expressing their views on my photographs. …
Wet bench
Wednesday night is fish and chips night at Jacks Chippy at Pierowall Fish. That’s a source of great excitement to me. I’ve …
Ritual and Tradition
Food is a subject of much ritual and tradition, no more so than when I’m on Westray. There’s coffee and cake at …
Using my loaf
The secret to a rich semi-wholemeal loaf? A duck egg.
“I know whose ducks they come from.”
Whenever I tell someone on Westray how excited I am that I’ve just bought some duck eggs the response is always the …
Fish and chips to diet for
“You have no idea how much I’ve been looking forward to this,” is my enthusiastic remark before ordering a Monk supper at …
Banana and Custard
One thing is for certain on Westray and that is there will be one flavour of yoghurt stocked in surprising depth in …
Making a runner for it
A beautiful gift of plants is always welcome and these pink flowered ‘lipstick’ strawberries are no exception. I’m hoping the lipstick tastes …
Limpets in the midden
What we throw away tells a lot about us. A quick look at my bin would tell you I like an occasional …
Well drop my scone…
One of life’s little pleasures is a cup of tea and a piece of cake. One of the very few downsides is …