A sad day for Taktur.  He learned what the electric fence did.  Needs must when the Devil vomits in your kettle.

I feel bad but Taktur would not take us seriously.   The girls arrived in the trailer.  Last time, I was told he tried to break the fence to get to them.

He tried to do it again today and started to threaten to push the fence down, or jump it.  This was the thin end of the wedge.  Next he had his head over and used his mighty chest to shove.

So we called in Fence Patrol to repel borders.

But Taktur didn’t really care and persisted, even though the girls were now in the school.  We told him what we would do.  He watched Jo very carefully.

(Fence Patrol still on stand-by)

 

And then he didn’t believe that we would or we could ……. (note the mouth)

So we did and Taktur learned the hard way.  He was rather dischuffed. That’s his “lonely little petunia in an onion patch” face.  He is probably eating worms too because absolutely nobody loved him by then.

The girls were ridden in the school and all went very well.

I even had Haakon in to groom, talk to and sniff.  It was lovely to see him again and we had the best time together, even if I didn’t ride.

BeAnne put up with the horses too, bless her.

So after we had finished, we put the girls back in their trailer.  To be honest, Hetja did not help.

Jo and Fi drove away with them.  This is the second before you-know-what is going to happen.

And Zap.  Sorry, mate, you are not going too.

“Come back, come back.  Bring me my Hetja.”

I felt bad but needs must. Taktur has to learn that no is no.  The girls left without him.  He can look but he can’t touch.  Yet.

I was offered a photographic assignment today.  A free-for-all but, who knows, my photo might be chosen.  I was happy to do the work.

So I hopped into the car and drove about the Westside looking for particular types of buildings.  That was the spec.  Buildings.

Here are a few photos from my travels today.  Obviously some are not buildings and look like suspicious Shetland hill sheep.

I found some Shetland hill ponies too.   They were happily grazing away on the scattald.

The scattald is open hill, or common grazing.  The Autumn colours were magnificent and it was certainly the right day to go exploring.

There was intermittent rain and some looming skies put to good effect.

     

And, like you do, I met a fabulous dragon who was definitely supercilious.  I need to make friends with him and go back to make more photos.  I was very intrigued and scared at the same time.

I lent my camera to my friend to have a play with so she could try the lens.  She managed to take a photo of me looking rather Tibetan while I was not noticing!  An incredible feat, both looking Tibetan and having my photo taken.

Exploring Shetland on my own for the day with my cameras is my idea of bliss.  I turned the heater on full pointed at my feet and opened both front windows so I could use the car as a hide if I met anything that might run away.  I have many photos of sheep’s bottoms.

So now I am going to spend the evening going through over 1000 photos looking for the 15 that might, just might, fit the photo request.  Wish me luck.

Third day on the trot into town as yesterday I read my diary wrong.  So off I drove again feeling a bit silly and very wasteful of petrol too.  This time OH came too and we went to the garage to test-drive a car as well (two birds and all that).

Having got the measure of this new vehicle, I wanted to see if I could find reverse gear in a quiet and secluded place where no one would point and laugh.  We ended up next to Mr and Mrs Are-They-Eider-Ducks again and I took a few more pics.  So, are they?  Whoever they are, they were in the same place and when I am in next week, I will take my big camera for hopefully better pictures of them.  I hope they can hang around for a while as I am not going into Lerwick again.  I am not.  I am so cross with myself for reading my diary wrong.

We had some time to kill before we were expected to return the car to the garage.  Having driven round the Scalloway loop to find 5th gear, we parked at our favourite spot, (just opposite Tesco where they are going to build a cafe apparently).

The light was magical and I decided to make the most of it.

Ok, please can you tell what are these?  They were very busy on the seashoreand we liked them.  Note-to-self, I must put my bird book in the car.  I am fed up of not knowing what anything is.  Are they Redshanks?

Anywho, home again, home again.  I have had my fill of Lerwick for a while (and you have too probably).

By the way, you are always being watched in Shetland.

Today there was an embuggerance.

It started well. I saw my horses and thought Fakur was a pregnant mare as opposed to the fat gelding he is.

I thought this mare was Fakur and wondered why “he” had a sweaty noseband mark, even to the point of asking, only to be told he was a she!

Hetja was very in yer face but a snoggable nose, none the less.

On a good note, Esja is turning into a delicious girlie and I did recognise her.

Then we drove to Lerwick, did some messages, watched some ducks while eating chips for lunch (standard Shetland practice) ….

…. noticed the bad weather coming in, started the car to go to a vital appointment and it died.

So, to the complete stranger I dragged off the street to come and jump start my car, a huge thank you.  You are a jewel and I cannot tell you just how relieved I was to hear those magic words “I have jump leads”.

We headed straight to the garage where they calmly sorted it all out.  I love this garage.  They offer you coffee, sweeties and make everything instantly better.

Now feeling soothed, while the car was being mended, I seriously considered trading in my Yaris and buying a newer car.  As I have to go to Lerwick again tomorrow (wrong appointment day, I could kick myself), OH and I are going to test drive an Aygo.

So now slightly calmer about the car situation (I can’t cope when it dies, I panic especially on my own) we hit the street.

Fish, guinea pigs and dragons are very calming when you have had an embuggerance of a day (my mot du jour – it sums it up very well).

  

OH has just handed me a gin and tonic in a pint glass.  Nuff said.

I went to Lerwick and I saw a……

Boat.  That’s nice. I like boats as long as I never have to go on one, then it is a completely different story.  Bleugh!  Ask any member of my family – they will tell you.

A nice sky.  Yes, yes, very pretty.

A poster at my physio’s which left me wishing I had hurt my ankle after all in a sack race “at da Inter County” rather than a disco in Marrakech 20 years ago.  I was young. I was stupid.  There will be no further information given about my sojourn to Marrakech.  

There was a nervous moment when we saw what looked like oil spilling over the top of the gas oil silo (they were just washing it, I hope).  That is water, right?

This is the only bridge Bressay is ever going to see.

A double rainbow. Magical.

A great stairway, only not to Heaven – just the top of the washed oil silo.  Keep telling yourself that was water at the top!

Some wonderful Fair Isle flags in the street.

Two ginormous Fair Isle cardigans.

Now who would they fit?

A knitted Fair Isle corset complete with stays and a triple string of pearls sitting comfortably on a bistro chair.

Inspired.  Words fail me!  We laughed so much when we saw it.

Assorted Fair Isle knitwear (this is a very traditional Shetland shop window) and an Icelandic lopapeysa (jersey on the far right).

 

And a severed human leg.  Like you do.

  

And that, my friends, is Lerwick.   And some folk want the main high street shops to come here.  Why, on God’s earth, why?  Shetland would be very boring.  At least our high street is not like every high street in Britain with the same cloned shops.  Ours has variety, humour and just about everything you could possibly be looking for, including severed limbs!

Eat yer heart out Mary Portas!