Rough grazing
Wind and weather conspire together to make Westray’s grass rough and tough. That’s essential for the ponies in my field. When the …
Driftwood and whalebone
The lack of trees on Orkney has meant that generations of people have relied upon driftwood and whalebone for building materials. Orkney’s …
Rusting metal buoy
Westray’s beaches are full of interesting finds. Whether it’s a groatie buckie (or Cowrie) on the tideline or the skeleton of the …
Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride…
… is the early plastic, better known as Bakelite. It’s all the rage for people to use Bakelite light fittings in their …
The view from my window…
… is of nothing but fields and clouds and ocean.
Yesterday’s News
Visiting Westray is like stepping back in time. It’s time for me to make a quick trip to town to shop and …
A picture may be worth a thousand words…
…but reality is worth a thousand pictures.
Summer Visitors
It’s wonderful to see that the Swallows who visit Orkney in the Summer to breed have done so well. There are at …
Coming home to Westray
Crossing the sea from Orkney Mainland to Westray feels like coming home.
Being away from Orkney and Westray only makes the memories of being there more intense. Whilst I look forward to my next trip there, here’s a poem I wrote many years ago – the lines “And … → 6 November, 2010
Westray is an Island with a sense of community. Large extended families live here, with a high possibility of seeing distant relations on a daily basis. That’s one of the factors that leads to a low … → 8 September, 2010
According to the Orkneyinga Saga, detailing the lives of the Earls of Orkney from the 9th to 12th Centuries, King Harald’s sons were real troublemakers. Gudron Gleam and Halfdan Long-Leg caused lots of trouble in Norway … → 30 August, 2010
Big pig excitement
There’s big excitement at Einar as Mr Pig arrives with news of the piglets. Little Kim has produced in the night. There …
Links to our past
Coastal erosion at the Links of Noltland leaves scattered stones over a neolithic settlement quicky disappearing with the wind.
Wind Swept Away
The dunes at the Links of Noltland show their erosion by the wind – the grass tufts left are six feet above …
A 5000 year old necklace
I’m standing next to a 5000 year old house looking at a bead from a 5000 year old necklace. It was made …
Einar. It’s a great name. It’s an Old Norse name for ‘One Warrior’. It’s a fantastic name for our house. As soon as I saw Einar advertised in the Solicitor’s window I was fascinated by the … → 29 August, 2010
Pierowall is the name of the only village on the Orkney island of Westray. The problem I had was how to pronounce it. The Westray accent is beautiful and soft and difficult to understand without extreme … → 29 August, 2010
Urban Dictionary: dreek
It means bad weather. The kind of weather which makes you miserable: dull, grey and wet. If it rains hard and water runs down your neck it’s dreek.
Ripples in the sands
Wind blows the sands into ripples and threatens to engulf the vegetation.
Competition Cabbage
Today is an important day in the social calendar of Westray. It’s the day of the 75th Annual Westray Industrial Show. Entries …
I have a life driven by time. The time on my watch, the time on my phone and the time on my computer. Time to meet, time to arrive, time to leave, time to eat. Time, … → 28 August, 2010
Not Boaring
A quick trip out this afternoon to visit Mr and Mrs Pig the neighbours, their boar Alfie and their heavily pregnant sow …
Filling Up
There’s now only one source of petrol and diesel on the Island – and this is it. We’re on bicycles for a …
Cattle at Inga Ness
This afternoon there was time to cycle to East Kirbest and walk to Inga Ness, skirting Skea Hill and to look out …
The deserted village
Cycling to the Westside of Westray I can see the Netherhouse in silhouette. A series of dwellings built up the hill, the …
Stripes and checks
The Cathedral of St Magnus in Kirkwall, Orkney uses red sandstone quarried near Kirkwall and yellow sandstone from the island of Eday …
Second place is nowhere
The most important archaeological find of last year was found on the remote Orkney island of Westray; or at least it was …
Sunset over Grobust
Grobust is one of my favourite beaches on Westray. Here it is at sunset.