Tag Archives: Shetland

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!

A Perfect Day

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It’s been a glorious day.  Total calm and the sun has shone.

I am trying to be organised because I leave for London tomorrow.  If I see something I should take, I grab it as I go past and quickly put it by my bags before I forget again.  Carpe diem because in the next second I will have forgotten.

Pepper has assured me she will behave and not go visiting or looking for me.  I believe her not.

And because it was so nice, Floss and I fed the ponies a little early giving them all their hay in a big heap to munch through.

Please can everyone pray for no dramas during my absence as Floss is (very capably) holding the fort.

So I shall pack my bags with vaguely clean clothes but not ironed because I can’t find the ironing board and fly off south.  I’m not sure if I will write the blog or not. I’ll see how I go.  This is my holiday, after all.  A break from everything.

Back soon!

Country Mouse

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It’s been a very blowy day – the sort of day you could lose your car door if you’re not careful.   So I was careful.

Flossie (who is home to look after the animals when I go away) and I fought our way round serving breakfast in the low buckets that rarely blow away.

Afterwards, I drove to Lerwick for a hair appointment. I want to try at least to look a little less Country Mouse when I go to London. And then I’ve got to find some clean clothes!

Lerwick was deserted which is unsurprising as Shetland Wool Week is finally over.

There were a few woolly hatted visitors wandering around but Lerwick felt like it was going back to sleep now the tourist season is well and truly over.  Shelves were empty and shop-staff looked happily exhausted.

The hair was cut, shopping was done (including some sheep, horse and poultry feed for my ever-increasing getting-ready-for-winter piles).  This is not panic buying. I call it being sensible and thinking ahead.  It will always get eaten.

I came home late and this lot were waiting and tapping their watches.

I apologised and put out two of the fullest haynets I could find and all was forgiven.   I didn’t bother looking for the sheep – after yesterday’s debacle, they were nowhere to be seen. I’ve given up caring. I am glad they are finally doing their own thing.

Definitely Autumn

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It is definitely Autumn now. It smells like Autumn. It feels like Autumn and the garden has quickly departed from it’s hanging-onto-the-last-of-summer mode and moved swiftly to Autumn. There will soon be dead leaves everywhere too.

I used to say Autumn was my most favourite month in Shetland but I think I am changing my mind. These days I prefer Spring.

In Shetland dialect, the word Hairst is used = n – the harvest; the work associated with that season. Da hairst’ll shön be comin on, wi aa hit’s wark; autumn. Dey mairried ida hairst.

Anyway, I had finished my afternoon chores (sheep coming home, haynets out for the ponies and giving the ducks and hens their tea-time grain), when I saw someone lurking and looking hopeful – Iacs.

So I turned around and went to the kitchen for some carrots.  Five, to be precise.

I mean, I couldn’t exactly walk away and give that hopeful little face nothing.

Everyone had one carrot and that was the ration.

But the little face refused to give up. Ten out of ten for perseverance.  The others had looked slightly surprised but grateful.

I went back inside the house hoping Iacs won’t starve to death over night.

Rainbows’ End.

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I was out first thing this morning to feed the starving hordes.

⬇️ This starving horde is Gussie ⬇️ (who is rotund and lying!)

Anyway, there was a faint but definitely-visible rainbow and I swear the end was on the container.  I was sorely tempted to go and find a shovel and start digging for my pot of gold but sadly there was much work to be done, ie the starving hoards to feed.

(though I do wonder just how much would be in hard cash – and, look, another faint rainbow on the other container.  As far as I was aware there was only Shetland pony poo from the night before).

Monster supervised in a condescending way.

Later two ladies from Wool Week came to see the sheep.  As per instructions, they arrived with a packet ginger biscuits and took photos of everyone eating them. Of course Lambie was being mysterious and aloof so I had to go and find him separately to give him his ration.

Obviously I mentioned Fivla and Vitamin, who had worn those Fair Isle sweaters many years ago for a Visit Scotland (Scotland’s tourism board) advertising campaign.

The old horses and ponies were resting down the bottom of the hill, so we clambered carefully down and were duly ignored.  Such is the way of the celebrity some days. Too busy eating.  Still, there’s always the gold from the rainbows.  Off to find a shovel then.