That reminds me…
…I really must trim my beard.
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.
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 …
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 …
Sugar and spice and everything nice…
… that’s what Westray is made of. Slugs and snails. That’s what my house is made of. Here’s an adventurous slug who …
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: …
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
It’s sunset on Westray and the sun is sending me burning orange messages, It is speaking to me. It is writing messages …
Is that on the inside or the outside?
Is that fly on the inside or the outside of the window? I really can’t tell. If it’s on the inside, then …
Mice nibble… #8
Sleeping bags. Mice really do knock the stuffing out of you.
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
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
Living on a small island gives people a different mentality. Living on Westray ranks somewhere between living on the main islands of …
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?
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
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
Mmmm… Megrim is on the menu at Helgi’s tonight: Megrim Vierge – steamed Megrim fillets on crushed new tatties with herby citrus …
Cockles on the beach
Cockles on the shell-sand beach in Pierowall.
For Want of a Nail, the Ship Was Lost
In dazzling sunshine I step off the grassy bank and onto the beach, ending sock-deep in something black and congealed. It’s the …
A chap with an attitude problem
A chap with an attitude problem… and a bull. A quick cycle to the Bay of Swartmill in the sunshine with my …
Lay me down in a field of daisies
A trek to Noup Head Lighthouse and time to rest and use my Spinner 360 camera to capture the scene. “Lay me …
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 …
Lawyers’ Wigs and a bug’s-eye
The fields on the ride to Noup are covered in Lawyers’ Wigs, no not the wigs of lawyers, but a mushroom also …
Birds’ nests look so simple
Birds’ nests look so simple until you try to imagine making them with only your mouth and feet.
For the love of Rhubarb
It’s time for a cycle trip to the Westray shops – all three of them – to see what rhubarb treats they …
Leaving my keys
It’s time to cross from the Mainland (and that’s the name for the main island of Orkney, not the UK mainland) to …
School in again all this week. As usual, lessons given in usual order but progress not so satisfactory. Seemingly the scholars are longing for the vacation.
Malc tends to the pigs
Malcolm tends to the pigs at Steenyha’.
St Magnus
St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall is magnificent. It’s origins are in Viking times, when Orkney was ruled by Viking Earls. It’s the …