Category Archives: Something different

My Week Away – Part 2

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On one of my many travels around London, I visited James Smith & Sons, a beautiful old-fashioned shop in New Oxford Street – a stone’s throw from Tottenham Court Road tube station.

James Smith & Sons, New Oxford Street

James Smith & Sons, New Oxford Street

I needed a new walking stick. One I could love.

James Smith & Sons, New Oxford Street

James Smith & Sons, New Oxford Street

I tried a few and was beginning to think I would never find “my stick”, when I was handed an elegant derby handled town stick made with a stained birch handle mounted on a lacquered maple wood stick and finished with a gilt spacer. Perfect – this was mine and it felt just right.

And so to The British Museum to see the famous Bayeux Tapestry that is in London on loan.  My sister and I went early as we knew if we went anywhere else we would be exhausted before we’d got there.

The British Museum, London

The British Museum, London

I said I wanted to see the treasure from Sutton Hoo and we went up to the first floor to wander through the rooms.

The British Museum, London

The British Museum, London

I’ve been to The British Museum many times over the years but I can’t remember finding my mother’s favourite piece – The Dunstable Swan (a late-medieval gold and white-and-black enamel brooch).  Of course it was the first thing my sister found and suddenly the room felt very spooky, like Mum was there too!  Most odd.  There was definitely a vibe.

The Dunstable Swan, The British Museum, London

The Dunstable Swan, The British Museum, London

More wandering and I went to look for a bust of Marcus Aurelius who is a hero of mine.

Marcus Aurelius, The British Museum

Marcus Aurelius, The British Museum

I could spend many days just pottering and looking.

But soon it was our turn to go and see the Bayeux Tapestry.  Luckily all the queueing problems had mostly been resolved.  There was a slight problem with the audio description being out of sync with the tapestry itself so the description rarely matched what we were looking at and I found that frustrating.  But overall, the tapesty was beautifully presented and we enjoyed the whole experience very much.

My Week Away – Part 1

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As you may have noticed, I’ve been away from my blog and life in Shetland for a whole week but now I’m back, all rested and ready to tackle a Shetland winter with verve and vigour (or at least feeling slightly less knackered and jaded).

The trip down was very easy – basically I sat on the plane from Shetland to Heathrow, with a quick not-getting-out stop at Dundee.  Loganair have now discontinued this travel route forever as it was considered far too easy and helpful to their passengers.

I had organised my trip south to London with some careful thought – one lovely thing to do each day. I get tired easily so I only walked the 10,000 steps a day!

My sister’s cat

On Sunday my cousin and I went to look at all the places in London we could easily walk to that our family had lived in many years ago.

The family home in Cambridge Gate (just wow!) during the 1920’s.

Cambridge Gate

Cambridge Gate

Bickenhall Mansions, just off Baker Street, where my Great Great Aunt Kate lived in the 1950’s.

Bickenhall Mansions

Bickenhall Mansions

Our well deserved break was spent in Hertford House, Manchester Square looking at The Wallace Collection (as well as a lovely lunch there).  Think The Frick Collection but in London. Same vibe.

Hertford House was an oasis in the heart of London that I never ever knew about.  Considering I lived and worked only a few minutes away in Mortimer Street, I cannot see how I was so ignorant.  I would’ve spent hours there if I had known.  I need to go back there again.

The Wallace Collection, Hertford House

The Wallace Collection, Hertford House

Then back on our travels to 10 Harley Street where my great grandfather’s Laboratory and Consulting Rooms were.  It was fascinating to think our relatives had walked along all these streets every day.

10 Harley Street

10 Harley Street

There was so much to see. My poor legs. I now need a holiday to get over my holiday!

My Last Oyster Catcher

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To town again for lunch with an old school friend who was visiting Shetland.

This was the view from our table at Fjarå Café Bar.  Not too shoddy at all. We were looking over Breiwick Bay to Bressay with The Knab on our left.

We nattered for hours about everyone and everything and were eventually told our table was needed for others so had to leave.  How time flew.  We were totally unaware.

Suddenly here was a fierce rain shower and afterwards a beautiful rainbow appeared.

These houses are part of The Knab area of Lerwick.  Obviously today they got the gold

And, after saying good bye to my old school friend, I saw an oystercatcher – probably my last this year.  By now, they should have departed Shetland for warmer shores, but apparently a few stay for the winter (though I have never seen them before).  Maybe this was one of those.  There is something good about seeing an oystercatcher – they are the harbingers of Spring and so that makes me think of warmer days.  It made my heart smile along with talking endlessly about being 16 again in an all-girls’ English boarding school (don’t ask).

And lastly a quick nip down Commercial Street for some easy-to-pack miniature bottles of holiday essentials and I bought a walking stick to make my life easier for the possible 2 hour queue to see the Bayeux Tapestry at The British Museum next Tuesday.

On my way home, I met my sheep shearer who told me that he had just passed a small ginger dog wandering around the road. I drove on, scooped her up and went home  *** sigh ***.

Back to a Normal Saturday

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I took this panoramic photo to show where everyone eats their breakfast.

From right to left, which is also the order I feed them:-

Kolka in the corner, with a touch more food than everyone else so she doesn’t got off to steal Haakon’s.
Haakon, who also has a sachet of boswellia added and is a slow eater.
Iacs – he has his four anti-cancer pills in his food at the top so if he is pushed off his food, at least I know he ate them.
Then Vitamin who eats very quickly. Wolfs it down.  She would only steal from Fivla, if she could.
And lastly Fivla who is possibly the slowest eater in the whole world (Haakon is a close second).

Once everyone has eaten and I have done all the remainder of my chores (put tomorrow’s food on to soak, put the sheep out in their field, swept up the sheep shed), I go back to the horses’ field and collect their buckets to take away and wash.

There was a soft light this morning and Iacs looked particularly nice in it.

He is very much an autumnal chap, I think.

I went inside and made a quick breakfast for myself, and then left the house, much to Pepper’s dismay.

Saturday mornings have gone back to being for Turriefield again.  There was lots of vegetables to weigh, pack and label.

I was particularly taken with the natural fractal geometry of Romanesco broccoli (I had to look that up).

It is extraordinary.  Nature at it’s cleverest.

And back home again just before lunch to my ever-waiting wee dug, Pepper, who has since followed me everywhere ever just in case I wanted to go out again without her.  That’s not happening on her watch.

Setter Farm Trip

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A friend of mine, who is here in Shetland for Wool Week, won a Facebook Like-And-Share “raffle” for a tour of Setter Farm.  She asked if anyone would like to accompany her (this was a few months’ back) and I thought that it sounded very interesting and said yes, please (pick me, pick me!)

There are only two dairy farms in Shetland and Setter Farm is situated in Tingwall (about 5 minutes out of Lerwick). It is the UK’s most northerly dairy farm – dairying has been done at Setter for over 100 years.  As well as cows and calves, they also keep sheep.

So first up, we saw the sheep – these were the Cheviots who, I think, will be going to the sheep sales later this year.

I was fascinated by their expressions and social interactions.

The “hill” Shetlands were in another pen and very mad, alternating between huddling and scattering if they saw anyone.

There was definitely a look of Edna is some of them.  *** sniff ***  Pretty little sheeps.  I wanted to take them all home.

Then we went to look at “the plant”.  Yes please to everything. The folk at Setter Farm also work as agricultural contractors around the islands.

And then we stood to the side of the track and watched the dairy cows come home, which was lovely.

The calves were kept in calf stalls where they had regular buckets of milk and are then weaned onto water and hay.

The cows were munching silage before going back out again for a little while before the evening milking.

I watched them for a long while.  I am very fond of dairy cows. I remember them from my childhood as my step-mother had a dairy farm and my job was to get the stragglers and strays to keep up when we were moving the herd to a different field. Obviously, I was always on horseback and, possibly stupidly, fearless!

I enjoyed my afternoon. Something completely different for me while being totally recognisable and full of childhood memories.