Wind, Rain and Sleek Ships

Wednesday 29th September 2010
Pam went down to Aberdeen today to see the consultant. All full of doom and gloom but I got a phone call just after dinner (That is dinner at dinner time, not tea at teatime. I mean about 1PM)and she was really chirrupy. Very nice to hear. The consultant had obviously cheered her up more than I could.

Up here it was a nice Orkney autumn day. Very windy and rain all day.
I decided that it was not fit for anything so I caught up with all my e-mails and other things on the computer.

Thursday 30th September 2010

When I was walking back from the village this morning I was just going to turn up the hill towards home when I looked down Water Sound and there was a big grey really scary looking ship going very slowly past in front of Flotta. I have always liked the look of warships, they are either massive and darkly threatening or wonderfully sleek reminiscent of an ocean going greyhound. This one however looked peculiar. The hull had the beautiful fast lines of a hunter but the superstructure was weird and vaguely menacing. As it was also painted grey I assumed that it must be a destroyer but not like one I had ever seen.


Just to check, when I got home I had a look on "ship plotter" to see if it was on there. Surprise, surprise it was not on ship plotter. I wonder why the navy do not have there ships on plotter. It would make it much easier for them to keep track of their ships and to know if they were "skiving off" in the Carribean when they should have been patrolling off Iceland.



On the way into Kirkwall we took a detour to overlook Scapa Flow near Holm and got a couple of photos of the ship. Not the best photos in the world but she was right out in the middle of the flow probably about 2-3 miles away. ( Is it against the official secrets act to photograph Royal Navy ships? )

Anyway it turns out that it is HMS Dauntless and she was having a days respite in the flow after taking part in some exercises and before going about her duties again.

For those of you who have a copy of "Jayne's Fighting Ships" for their bedtime reading, Dauntless is a Type 45 Air Defence Destroyer and was only launched in June 2010 so that is why she is all pretty and clean. She is apparently one of the most powerful air defence ships in the world but I could only see one piddling little gun on the foredeck so I think they are telling lies.

Saved a load of money then spent it again.

Friday 24th September 2010
We went to Kirkwall to pay for the windows for the extension which have arrived. They were £500 cheaper than we had been expecting (That doesn't happen very often). I thought Oh good, I will use the money we have saved to but a train set. Wrong again Woodcock.
We bought a multifuel stove instead. The stove was at least a bargain as they had a sale on and not only that but this one was an ex display model so was even cheaper. I did wonder what difference it could make to a hulking big black cast iron stove if it had been on display for a bit but as I could think of no reason why the sunlight should damage cast iron, we bought that one. At least it will burn normal coal instead of the extortionately price phurnacite.

We did nothing much on Saturdat although I did manage to rescue a whole load of polystyrene sheets that Duncan was ripping out of the spare bedroom. So I now have enough packing for my pots to last for years.

Sunday was a lovely day so we went off down to the sands of Wright for a bit of a stroll. We were both surprised to see that Maddy's little stone house was still standing.
It has been there for about a month now and I thought that either it would have collapsed or some kids would have taken it to pieces but it is still just as it was when it was made. (You just do not get that quality of building most places now.)

I then wandered over to Hoxa Dam while Pam stayed on the beach but there was nothing there apart from a family of swans with cygnets almost as big as their parents.

Pam reckoned that the seals may be pupping about now so we went down to Windwick bay to see if there were any there. Last year I got rather to close to a mother and pup down there and she was definately not pleased with me. There were none about there though. I think that it is bit early yet but we will have a look again sometime.
At the car park at Windwick (This is an Orkney car park. You can get 2 cars in it.)

There is a plaque which I had not noticed before to the memory of the crews of two ships, HMS Narborough and HMS Opal.

If my memory serves me right, turned into what they thought was Kirkwall Bay on a night when there was a severe snow storm and ended up on the rocks at Windwick. Unfortunately they did not have GPS then.
There was only one survivor from the crews of both ships.
It looks so peaceful and tranquil now.

On Monday I went to get my photo taken for my bus pass because I am old and knackered.(One of the benifits of old age is free bus travel throughout Scotland and some free ferry trips and some subsidised ferry trips..) There was none of this silly southern, sitting in a booth and press buttons, a nice lady in the chemists with a real camera takes a digital photo anf then prints it off. Thats proper service.
I also got my air tickets booked for visiting Pam when she goes into hospital in Aberdeen early next month. On top of the Islander discount for air fares I also got an additional reduction for hospital visitors, so the return trip to Aberdeen only cost £135, not bad really. I also booked accomodation for two nights in the Islander hostel at Aberdeen hospital which wa also nice and cheap so I have been very economical.
To celebrate my economy, Pam went and bought a new handbag as she says that she needs a new one to go to hospital. I didn't realise that being fashionably kitted out was a requirement of the NHS in Aberdeen. If I ever get sick then I am in trouble.

While we were out Duncan the wonder builder got the roof of the extension felted and the windows in, except for one which is being left out so it can be used as a door while they are building.



It is beginning to look a bit like part of a house instead of a shed.

Nothing much on Tuesday except that we had to take Molly the unruly dog down to the Vets to get a Kennel cough vaccination before she has to go into kennels for a couple of days when Pam is in hospital and I am also down in Aberdeen. We gave her a travel sickness tablet befor we took her down to the vets but she was still sick on the way down and on the way back although not as badly as normal.
We also treated her to a new supply of different travel sickness tablets for thursdays when she has to go down to Kirkwall for her obedience classes so we will see if these are any better. Hopefully if she can get used to travelling without being sick then she may not need the tablets after a while.

Of fuel and stoves and bouncy dogs.

Wednesday 22nd September 2010
At the moment we have no central heating. The old storage heaters are disconnected and the new system will not be fitted until the extension is finished and the heat pump is installed. We therefore have to use the stove if it is cold.
We got a delivery of Phurnacite for the stove today. Only two 50kg sacks but it was £20.30 per bag. That's over 40p per kilogram.
I am not going to burn stuff which costs that much. I was thinking of perhaps having a heavy duty frame made and hanging it on the wall as a status symbol to prove how rich we are, or how foolish.

Fortunately we also got a tote bag full of logs for £85. I am not sure where they came from but definitely not from Orkney or there would be no trees left. We shall in future be burning logs and saving the phurnacite for special occassions.

The extension should be nice and warm now because as well as all the insulation that is in the walls they have for some reason clad it all in nice shiny foil backed bubble wrap. All very pretty and shiny.

On Thursday the unruly dog had her first obedience class. Unfortunately the classes are in Kirkwall and to say that Molly does not travel well is an understatement. (She can just about make it in the car down to the beach just over a mile away and then she is covered in drool and looking really sad).
If she had her way she would not go anywhere that she could not walk to. Consequently she was as sick as the proverbial dog on the way down to her class and again on the way back. I think that we will have to see the vet and get some travel tablets for her so long as they do not dope her up for her class.

The class itself was not bad. We were the first ones there so Molly had a chance to sniff round and get used to the hall. Next in was a Jack Russel. It was a dog so that was OK with Molly the tart but the next in was a border terrier bitch and she did not like that at all and just sat by me growling softly and barking at it a few times. She eventually settled however and was not unduly perterbed when a huge and boisterous Akita from our local pub in Burray came in. She did do a "double take" when a very large black Great Dane entered but she decided that he was a very nice boy, just like a bigger version of her friend Jock.

She did not disgrace herself and the woman in charge of the class was obviously very taken with her and mentioned bronze, silver and gold awards and the fact that they have dog agility classes in the summer. For the moment though we will settle for sitting when she is told and not eating my slippers. At the end of the class we won a lollypop but as everyone else won a lollypop it rather takes the gloss off her achievement.

We got back from Kirkwall, dropped Molly off and then Pam and I dashed over to the Cromarty hall in The Hope to see Dick Gaughan, one of the top Scottish folk singers.
We just got there as the warm up act were finishing. the man himself was a very good guitarist, slightly folk/rock and sometimes a bit bluesy but his singing was not to my taste, a bit loud and aggressive. I prefer a more melodic voice. Still you have to try before you know who you like.

Trip out west

Sunday 19th September 2010
The morning started bright and breezy but the wind dropped later and it turned into a beautiful afternoon so we took a trip out to Brodgar. The ring of Brodgar is Pam's favourite place in Orkney (and therefore the world) and if the light is right then it is a very atmospheric place. I don't know why some of these places feel so unusual but they do.

The ring is in a beautiful place, situated on a narrow strip of land between the two big lochs but that is not what is special about it. There is something indefinable about it. Maybe it is the place and that is why they built the ring there or maybe it is the ring itself. Probably a bit of both.

From Brodgar up to Birsay for a cuppa in the tearooms where some Lapland Buntings obligingly sat just outside the window while I tried to figure out what they were. There were loads of seals basking on the rocks by the Brough. The wildlife is all very convenient up here.

On Monday morning Molly was very relieved because Duncan turned up with Jock.
Come to that, Pam was quite pleased aswell but not because she wanted to run round a field chasing Jock.
Duncan and a couple of mates got the roof beams and the big heavy RSJ up without the aid of machines although they did manage to drop the gable end section when an unexpected gust of wind caught it but fortunately nobody was hurt.



In the end however they got all the framework up so tomorrow it is the sarking. I think that sarking is just a technical term meant to intimidate the layman. I am fairly sure that it just means planks of wood.

Tuesday
I was right, sarking just means putting planks on the roof.

I am told that in Scotland instead of just using roofing felt and laths, the roofs are fully boarded to make them windproof and the tiles are nailed straight onto the boards. That seems very sensible, especially up here.

The lads got all the sarking on except for a couple of bits where some pieces are to be fitted to tie in with the existing roof so at last it is looking like a nice shed. I personally think that we should stop there, a good shed would be OK.

Women are odd.

Thursday 16th September 2010
Pam was much recovered so I took her on a trip to Kirkwall to get some curtain ties. We will skip over the dreaded Tesco bit and go straight on to the bit that Pam thinks is fascinating. Curtain! Are curtains fascinating? Now, I am told that aircraft, stationary engines, tractors and steam engines are boring but curtains are the stuff of life.
As I have already had photos of aircraft, stationary engines and tractors on the blog, then I feel obliged to put up some photos of curtains.
For those of you who fail to be awestruck by the photos, then I am with you.

For the rest of you, well you are sad ba*****s




Saturday morning and the wind has dropped to a bit of a breeze, so I took Molly for a good long walk down to Echna Loch and back through the village. The uphill bit was probably good for me but I must admit I prefer the downhill bit.
It's a lovely view from the top of the hill though, all Burray is laid out and on a day like today, Scapa flow, with all the islands looks outstanding.
Several of the fields on the hillside have recently been mowed and big flocks of peewits, golden plovers and curlews were feeding on the stubble. Before we moved up here I used to like seeing the odd curlew every now and then as they always seem to me to be reminiscent of wild places away from people. Here though, flocks of hundreds feed all over the place. At the moment they seem more common than sparrows.
I think I heard somewhere that 60% of the UK population of curlews spend the winter in Orkney, so maybe this means that winter is coming.

First try with the expensive bread mixer

Monday 13th September 2010
The dough hook for my nice new (new to me that is. ebay triumphs again) mixer arrived today so I thought that I had better justify all the expense by at least making a decent loaf. WRONG It was a total failure. I ended up with a heavy lump of warm congealed yeuk.
A drastic re-think may be necessary. I used to make better bread doing it all by hand so unless something improves then my shiny pride and joy mixer will be labelled as another of my wasteful hare-brained ideas.

On Tuesday morning the building inspector turned up. We had to inform him before we started any of the building for the extension and then at intervals throughout the build so that he can check everything. He was away on holiday for a couple of weeks so Duncan the wonder-builder said that it didn't matter and we could go ahead anyway.
I thought that we may have trouble as the inspector was supposed to check when the foundations are dug that they are the correct depth and then check when the concrete is pored before we go any further. We have done all that without him seeing anything, the floor is down and the walls are up just waiting for the wind to drop before the roof goes on.
Duncan was of course right again. The inspector went 1 foot inside the building, said very good and added that I could now rip up 2 of the forms that should have been sent to him as the work was already done.
Oh the officials here are a whole world more sensible and less jobsworth than in Staffordshire.

Surprisingly we got a call today to say that a course on Orkney archeology that Pam and I had enrolled on had been cancelled due to lack of interest. Most things archeological are very well supported here but maybe next year. They did say that we could change to a practical archeology course but I thought that spending hours on my hands and knees in a trench at this time of year was not really my idea of fun.

I had a go with the bread again. At least I am not a quitter.
I have now solved the problem. It is all down to a silly habit that the ladies who write recipes have. Because they are either illiterate or to lazy to write long words, they use abbreviations.


Now I am sure that you will admit that "Tsp" and "Tbs" look very similar, whereas the words teaspoon and tablespoon are obviously different. When applied to the quantity of yeast in the recipe it makes a considerable difference.
Anyway the loaf looked really good and when I cut it it had risen nicely, my best loaf so far and without all that hard, messy kneading so my machine is a triumph and it does all the hard work but does not leave a tell tale hole in the bottom of the loaf as bread makers do so I can pretend that I did it all.

Wednesday morning was supposed to be very windy and wet but when I got up it was sunshining and there was a light breeze. (I think that I must be getting used to living here as I now think of force 5 to 6 winds as a breeze).

As Pam seems a lot better and as I was going stir crazy, I decided that I would go on the trip to Shapinsay with the U3A bird group. Fortunately the sea was calm as the Shapinsay ferry is flat bottomed (I think).

Shapinsay is a largely agricultural island which benefited from modernised farming methods introduced by the local landowner in the 19th century. It now has a population of about 300. The only village is Balfour village which composed of houses that were originally estate cottages for Balfour Castle. The castle is supposed to be the most northerly castle in the world but that really depends on your definition of a castle. It was built in 1847 but was on the site of an earlier building so maybe that was a proper castle.
It is one of the few islands on which people can live while still working on mainland Orkney as it has a regular ferry that only takes 25 minutes to the centre of Kirkwall.

About a dozen of us old codgers walked up to the Mill Dam bird hide and spent about an hour up there. Loads of birds and fortunately 2 of the party knew about birds or the rest of us would have got no further than agreeing that most of them were some sort of duck.
Now I can hear you thinking that it is just a bog with a couple of pools in it. Well apparently this is just what water birds and waders think of as heaven. (They have been very badly brought up and have low expectations of life). When all was explained to us we found that rather surprisingly we could all identify several different sorts of ducks. Now this may not seem all that great to you but at my age, to be able to learn anything at all is quite remarkable and I have decided that as I am up here, I should at least attempt to learn about wildlife and archeology.
I have however decided that it is to much to expect my aged brain to remember to much so if I can remember one new species each time I go out on a trip then that will do.
We then ambled back to through a couple of farms to Balfour village where the ferry comes in. There were seals all over the seafront right in the middle of the village. They must be so used to the people of the village that they are totally unconcerned by them.
It was then into the cafe for tea and cakes before the ferry. We were reassuringly told by the waitress at the cafe that there was no rush to finish before the ferry left because the husband of the cafe owner worked on the ferry and it would be bad for business if they made the customers rush their tea so the ferry would not leave until we got there. A very sensible timetable I thought.

Back to normal weather but no whisky.

Wednesday 8th September 2010
High winds, about gale force and as a bonus heavy rain at times.The benefit is that if the wind is really high the rain doesn't land as it just keeps going horizontally.
At least with not working I do not have to go out in it and I can look out of the window and see the waves rolling in on the far side of No 4 barrier, all very snug and scenic.

Today is the climax of the science festival as far as I am concerned. There is a bus trip round the two distilleries, "Highland Park" and "Scapa".
Scapa distillery does not normally do tours round the distillery and of the two it is my favourite whisky, lovely and creamy smooth, so I was looking forward to the trip.

The best laid plans of etc etc .... so it all fell to pieces.
Pam was not well, and much though I would have liked to go on the whisky tour, some things are even more important than whisky tasting. (Pam told me to put that bit in). So I stayed at home just in case I could do anything. As usual there was nothing I could do and I was probably more of a hinderance than a help but it shows willing.

With a bit of luck there will be another trip round the distilleries next year so all I have to do is make sure that I live for another year. (Must make a note not to take to much exercise this year in case I wear out something important before the next whisky trip).

Thursday was a nice day, fine with no wind at all. Unfortunately if we get sun and no wind then we get midges but on the bright side we hardly ever get days with no wind.
Duncan and his dad Hamish came up with Jock so Molly had a good run round the field with Jock. Duncan was hoping to get the roof on the extension but unfortunately a steel beam he needs has not arrived from down south.He was really cross as he had given them plenty of notice. As far as I am concerned, a few days delay doesn't make any difference but Duncan is not so relaxed. This must be a first, a southerner telling an Orcadian to relax.

On Friday and Saturday Pam was recovering a bit but still knackered so we stayed round the house but I got some shelves put up in the shed and a lot of stuff moved so not a total waste of time.