News,
Hi
Just a short note to inform you that Vince and I are off on holiday from 15th to 28th March and will not be able to respond to e-mails during this time .
Bye for now ,
Carol
2010 has arrived and with it snow and ice . We are currently having the longest spell of snow lying for years . The ice is making the conditions underfoot really dangerous but we are struggling on !! Nevertheless we have not had the problems of those down south so have little to complain about . In fact , it is with delight that I noticed that Orkney has on several occasions lately been the warmest place in the UK !
Vince is already looking forward to the fishing starting again . He got a new rod for Christmas and keen to try it out . He will have to wait a few weeks yet though . The brown trout season runs from 15th March to 6th October and the sea trout from 25th February to 31st October .
Over the autumn I have 'eaten out ' many times but thought I you would like to hear about my two favourites . Both involved a 'special meal ' for colleagues who were retiring . Joan , a dear friend , was retiring from the physiotherapy department and Helen from the Day Hospital. We went with Joan to the Hamnavoe Restuarant in Stromness . This little restuarant is tucked away up a little lane in Stromness and is a delight to discover . The dining room is basically the 2 downstairs rooms of an old terraced house knocked together . The service was wonderful and the food fantastic . I dont think the Hamnavoe has a web site but I found it mentioned by the following two - and after reading the reviews I am sure you will be keen to give it a try .
www.restuarant-guide.com/hamnavoe
A few weeks later we went with Helen to the Fovern Hotel . For those who are familiar with Orkney , Owlswood Lodge or even just our web site , you will realise that the Foveran is just 1 1/2 miles down the road from us . This was another really successful evening . The orders are taken in a cosy sitting room complete with fire and the meal served in the bright airy dining room . The service was also perfect and the meal superb . I had local venision that night . mmmm !
We are planning to go to the Foveran again in December when all the family are home for Christmas .
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Dunrobin Castle was the destination of the East Mainland Gardeners Group for their summer trip . It was an excellent day out for 12 of us - we left on the early Pentalina from St Margarets Hope and enjoyed a smooth crossing with just time for a cuppa tea and a bacon roll before driving down to Golspie in a minibus . The minibus provided a great vantage point to look over dykes and garden walls and we greatly enjoyed seeing all the lovely gardens as we passed . Gardening in Orkney can be rather like 'endurance ' gardening at times and it never ceases to amaze me that the climate is so different just 'over the water ' in Caithness . In fact we were also amazed to see that in some areas the barley had already been cut !!! At least 4 -6 weeks ahead of Orkney I think .
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Dunrobin offers so much it was hard to take it all in in the 4 hours we had allocated to be there . The castle is very interesting . At one time it was a boarding school and my friend Liz had a friend who was a boarder there ! Then there are the gardens ,established in 1850 ,the 'Falconry ' and twice daily display ,as well as a lovely cafe . Plenty for all ages . The castle is open from 1st April to 15th October . www.dunrobincastle.co.uk
I was particularily keen to have a short chat with Mr Crisp ,the Gardener or the Falconer as they owned the parents of our dog Roo . Roo was purchased to specifically be a gun dog and we were under the impression that she was a cross flat coat retrevier and labrador . Mr Crisp informed us that 'of course she would 'work ' - every thing works at Dunrobin and that she would make a fine gundog ' . Which of couse she now is !!!
Anyway it was a surprise on meeting the Falconers wife to discover that Roo was actually half pointer , 1/4 labrador and 1/4 flat coat . I was able to meet her full brother which was great . He was slightly more 'pointer like ' but has the same mannerisms and amber eyes !.jpg)
Vince was delighted to discover the ponter blood in our ' heinz 57 ' gundog - he insists that he has the perfect gundog who not only will point and raise game but collect it too .
Hi ,
In July I was encouraged by a work colleague to attend a concert at Woodwick House , Evie . The group playing were Skalder and my colleagues daughter was one of the foursome making up Skalder . This group of young musicians , Louise Bichan on fiddle , Jennifer Austin on piano , Kevin Gray on cajom and James Lindsay on Double Bass won the prestigious Danny Kyle Open Stage competition at Celtic Connections in Glasgow in January 2009 and are going from strength to strength . It was a wonderful evening in a wonderful venue - they were turning people away at the door !!! This summer they are doing a 'Scottish ' tour and intend to launch their first CD in December back home in Orkney . Watch this space !!
This May , we hatched our own chicks for the first time . MY Christmas present from Vince last year was an incubator ! Anyway , the fertilised eggs ( 4 Maram and 8 Light Sussex ) arrived and the incubater was carefully set up in the newly decorated spare room !!! Turning of the eggs was required about 5 times a day for 19 days then the eggs were left in peace for 3 days . On the 21st day exactly the chicks started to hatch . They neatly pecked around the shell until it opened like a door . 11 chicks hatched . We were delighted . They stayed in the incubater overnight before being transfered to a huge cardboard box in the garage complete with infra red bulb and the corners rounded off to stop any of them being squashed . I used the word CUTE for days . There was simply no other word to discribe them . They are now 6 weeks old and not so cute - rather scruffy infact . They have taken over the stable . We have a net over the door to keep out seagulls,dogs and the cat , all of whom would enjoy 11 tastey snacks ! Tomorrow ,28th May , we will be putting them out side for the first time . Once again safely contained inside the turkey house with a big run covered in chicken wire .
Vince's fishing trip to Sanday with his dad and Hugh and Norman has been and gone again this year ,. This annual event is much looked forward too and is a regular source of conversation be it flies , fish , weather , the 'ones ' that got away and the ones they brought home ..................etc etc ........
The weather this year was a real problem with lots of wind stirring up the silt however the fishing did have some good moments with a grand total of 17 good sized fish - between 4 and 5 lb .
Here is Vinces favourite picture this year . Two Brown Trout , one caught with a Pottinger Palmer and the other with a Humungus in the Bea Loch on Tuesday 5th May 2009 .
Hello again,
We have been back from Egypt four weeks already. What a wonderful time we had - we loved the ancient history and the lovely sun! We even found some ‘owls’. The symbol of an owl represents the letter ‘M’ in the hieroglyphic alphabet. I have attached a couple we saw at the Luxor Temple.
Talking about ‘Owls’. We have seen our local short eared owl several times over the last week around the house and down Hobbister Brae. Hopefully our guests will see him/her frequently this year too.
The weather has been really great over the last few weeks and inspired us to get out into the garden and greenhouse. The wall in front of our house is now finished and we just need to get all the rubble moved. It will be lovely to have somewhere to turn cars again as every one has been reversing out for the past year or so!!
We have also started getting fit. I am walking the Hoy ½ Marathon in June and Vince running it. I walked it 18 years ago in 3 ½ hours. It would be nice to do it slightly faster although I am in the veteran class now! www.hoyorkney.com We were also in Hoy at the beginning of April to one of the Orkney Traditional Dance Week -end fringe events. (www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/OTDA/) It was a fantastic night. The boat left Houton at 5.30 pm and we returned at midnight. There was a ‘random‘ferrying of folk in all kinds of cars and vehicles up to the hall where we started with a very substantial dinner of Shepard’s pie followed by clootie dumpling (with cream! ) Lovely. The dancing was no stop until time for a late supper of soup, sandwiches and fancies. Yes, the food was good! We danced lots of new dances as well as our ‘old favourites ‘and met lots of interesting people. We only had time to go to the one Ceilidh but the Orkney Traditional Dance Association ran 4 days of Ceilidhs and workshops with visiting and local instructors and people coming from near and far to participate. This is the 3rd year it has been run – I hope it continues.
Vince and I are heading off south to celebrate my parents Golden Wedding and our Silver Wedding in March. We are following this with a trip to Egypt. We are very excited!!
However this does mean that we will not be able to respond to any e-mails and enquiries between 10th and 30th March and are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
For reference – we are fully booked for the whole of May, June, July and August. We still have 3 weeks free in April and 3 weeks in September and the whole of October, November and December are still free too!!
Best Wishes ,
Carol
Ps – For anyone interested – the turkeys were fantastic. The biggest weighed 15kg.
It has been unbelievable just how quickly the summer has passed . The weather has been lovely – even the guests at Owlswood Lodge who had some rain also had glorious sun ! We have met lots of lovely people and their enjoyment of Orkney has really made us appreciate where we live .
On 30th August ,we celebrated the end of the summer by attending a open air concert by the Kirkwall City Pipe Band ( www.kirkwallcity.com ) on the 'apron' at the front of the cathedral . The special guest was Ivan Drever ex Wolfstone, who had come over especially from his home in Norway .It was a beautiful evening – calm and warm and a delight to hear the music echoing around the buildings . His rendition of the Orkney Anthem was fantastic . Ivan set this poem by T S Peace to music and it was sung ( and played ) by Orkney youngsters at the millennium celebrations at the 'Dome' . The chorus is very heart rendering – 'isles ne'er forgotten be your sons far alone , or ring'ed they be by their ain native sea, waes hale they drink tae their own '. We recorded this on the night ( the wonders of a mobile phone ) and sent it to our son , Callum , who is far from home at the moment ! Worth listening to is the latest CD by the Pipe Band – Anthems of a Peedie Nation . I have a copy in Owlswood Lodge . It contains a variety of traditional musical styles reflecting the broad background of the players .
The following week was The Orkney International Science Festival ( www.oisf.org/ )which ran from 4th to 10th September .We only went to one event this year ,Defending Orkney's Coasts 1914 -45 presented by Historian Geoffrey Steel ,at the St Magnus Centre . The audience was predominately men and I must admit to 'switching off ' when Mr Steel was talking about the poundage etc. of the various guns and where they came from and went too . However it was really interesting to hear how some sites had been used as defence positions from as long ago as the napoleonic wars and that the Brechan station had been unmanned the night that the Royal Oak was sunk allowing the submarine to enter Scapa Flow undetected .
'Home about ', we have been busy planting the grass verges , replacing fencing , building dykes etc. . A huge change from the non stop building work last year ! The hens have been let out of their summer pen and now have total freedom . I really enjoy watching them wandering about . They are always busy and always go from 'a to b' with a great sense of purpose . Between May and September we keep them in their pen to stop them digging up my vegetable garden ! This year we had a bumper crop of beetroot and I have just spent a whole week end ( with purple hands ) making chutney and sweet mustard pickle with the beetroot .
Also keeping me busy are our new turkeys . The are growing at an alarming rate – I am sure they grow 2-3cm every night !! They don't seem to have much sense and will happily roost outside even on a wild ,cold , wet night so have to be 'put to bed ' before dusk each night . The hens on the other hand are really easy . They always go back to their hen house in the evening and ,because there are no foxes in Orkney , I don't even have to go out to close them in .
Well must go for now , Roo and Maggie ( our dogs ) are ready for their walk . Think we will go down to Waulkmill . The tide should be out and it if I time it right , I will see a lovely sunset over the Orphir Hills .
Carol
May is Folk Festival ‘time of year ‘in Orkney and although we only went to one event (out of a possible 24) this year, it was excellent.
We went to the Orphir Community Centre Ceilidh on the Friday night. It was sponsored by The Noust which is the local pub in Orphir and sells good pub grub. Any way , the acts came from far and near but my favourite of the night was the local girl Fiona Driver accompanied by Graham Simpson .My favourite piece by her is the her fiddle set ‘Graham in a Tent ‘ www.fionadriver.co.uk .‘Crooked Still’ came over from the USA. This band played swing band type music with plenty of old time fiddle tunes and some blues too. We also had the treat of listening to Jeana Leslie and Siobhan Miller who were the winners of the BBC Young Folk Award. Both are studying Scottish music at Glasgow. It was just a delight to listen to them. The evening passed quickly with us enjoying ballads, jig tunes, bag pipes and swing and blues. The Ceilidh which followed was led by ‘Alive and Jiggin ‘. Fast and Fun!!
Orkney Folk festival runs for 4 days every May. (Thursday to Sunday) www.orkneyfolkfestival.com
The following week Vince, Hugh, Norman and Billo set of to Sanday for their annual fishing trip. The weather was good, the fishing was good, the cards were good and I do believe the rum was good too! Vince is not home just now to ‘report’ the fishing technicalities but I hope you enjoy the photos.
Bye for now,
Carol
May is here and the weather has been fantastic. Warm sunny days and we seem to have missed all the rain ‘doon sooth’.
Vince and I went to North Ronaldsay on the 11th May on one of the Sunday Excursions run by Orkney Ferries over the summer. Vince is there often on the boat he works on (Earl Siguird) but I had never been before. Although the island is only 13miles circumference , we took our car so that we could see as much as possible. However it was such a lovely day, we only walked around the point at the light houses, had a picnic and quickly dropped into the pub for small refreshment.
The journey takes 3 hours on the boat and then the car is lifted off the boat onto the pier. A good chance to check the exhaust! On the way to the Lighthouses we saw the famous North Ronaldsay sheep and their lambs. The sheep are only kept in fields for lambing, the rest of the year they are beyond the sea dykes and live on the shore eating sea weed. It was great to see the old beacon lighthouse, topped with its huge stone ball close up. This light house was built in 1788 and was recently on the ‘Restoration Village’ programme on BBC1 (summer 2006), winning the Scottish round and coming third in the final. Although it did not win the programme, it did receive some grants and scaffolding is now in place for the restoration work to begin. It was used until 1809 and the light was created by oil burning lamps reflecting off polished facets of glass. The ‘new’ light house is the tallest land based light house in the British Isles and the only Light house in Orkney offering guided tours. The buildings around it are also having work done on them so that they can be used as holiday accommodation including box beds and a living heritage site.
After our picnic, we popped into the pub, which you can imagine is very small and cosy and then next door to the post office – same lady serving in both. While sitting outside in the sunshine we saw her again – this time feeding some calves. I was delighted then to have a chance to bottle feed a 3 day old calf.
My final treat of the day was seeing a Minke whale from the boat.
Hope you enjoy the photos.
Carol
www.northronaldsay.com
This was the lovely early evening view from owlswood in February while feeding the sheep.
Hi,
It has been a long, long project – we started building Owlswood Lodge in July 2006 doing much of the work ourselves and assisted by an ABDS (Agricultural Business Diversification Scheme) grant. We can hardly believe that it is now 2008 and the Lodge is finished (well almost – still need grass sown but that is another story) and has already had some guests. We have been overwhelmed by the amount of enquiries and interest that people have shown and already have 27 weeks booked for 2008!
After 18 months of building Vince is looking forward to taking it easier this year and doing some fishing. He has already booked a few days out in Sanday in May fishing the Bea Loch. This has become an annual event with friends and family all looking to catch that ‘prize’ trout. Vince’s record was a beautiful 8 ½ pound brown trout in 2005, caught on an ‘Anorexic Alexandra ‘fly. Last year the most successful flies they used in Sanday were ‘Hummungus’ and ‘Pottinger’s Palmer’ with Hugh from Greenfield landing two brown trout approximately 7lb each .
As for me I will be happy to get out and about on my Highland Pony, Alexander, again when the weather improves. We have had lots and lots of rain but on 2nd of February we had a picture book winter scene on waking up. Our Dogs, Maggie who is a Border terrier and Roo, a flat coat retriever cross lab, have had a great time. The snow was beautiful and fluffy and ‘crunchy’ to walk on and we had nobody in Owlswood Lodge to enjoy it!
Anyway, bye for now until the next newsletter,
Carol