Russians come for a look at Shetland

Shetland is the most northerly point in the UK and has always been a strategic place for any military activity, During WW2 (see ww2preserved.blogspot.co.uk) Shetland was invaded by over 20,000 British servicemen. On Unst, a new radar site was built and became operational recently and its already picked up a number of Russian planes

The latest threat came yesterday when 6 Russian Bombers set off flying over Scandinavia and down the coast of Scotland. Both British and French fighters intercepted the planes ,  three TU-160 supersonic bombers and three TU-95 propeller driven bombers. This is the norm now, the Russians testing the UK defences on a regular basis.

The Drongs

Hillswick

Lots of interesting rock features at Hillswick

While Shetland missed the worst of Storm Ali it did get up the 75mph in places with a roof ripped off at Sellaness and a flying trampoline caught up in pylons in Lerwick

The rain has been falling the last few days and the reservoir at Sandy Loch, Lerwick now filling up after a warning a few days before to be careful using water. Shetland had its driest summer since 1984

It was good to get out and see a different view of the Drongs, just a 40 min walk from Hillswick

While everything looked great in the sun news came out this week that Shetland had been hit by at least two Tsunamis in the last 10,000 years

The 9th Shetland Wool week starts this weekend and at least 600 people are due to attend from various parts of the world. Its a big attraction and growing each year, not far behind this is the Accordion & Fiddle festival. We have always attended this since moving to Shetland and it showcases a great variety of music, mostly from Shetland but also Norway, Scotland and Ireland.

Rare in Shetland

When i saw these clouds over Spiggie i thought they looked unusual

I believe these are called Undulatus Asperatus clouds. The name translates approx. as ``roughened or agitated waves''. They are a ``new'' cloud type, relatively rare, the first proposed in 2009 by Gavin Pretor- Pinney who is the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society based in Somerset England. Undulatus Asperatus was added to the International Cloud atlas in March 2017, it is the first cloud formation added since Cirrus Intotus in 1951

Although the Stratsraad Lehmkuhl is normally a regular visitor to Lerwick, this was its first visit to Scalloway as part of the 75th anniversary of the Hitra sub-chaser ( see ww2preserved.blogspot.co.uk)

It was a superb weekend with lots of people visiting, including around 150 from Norway.

Another super day on Saturday down at Ireland near Bigton. This one looking south to St Ninian's Isle

Another rare sight, the bones of a Pilot whale washed up on the beach at Ireland, normally if whale remains are found early enough they are dragged back into the sea

Don't forget to check out my new blog ww2preserved.blogspot.co.uk which has Shetland links

Less space for Shetland travellers

We received our islander travel vouchers early this year and booked straight away for our trip later in the year to Sheffield. Demand for places are expected to be high after the government announced a reduction in fares for passengers and cars but not cabins.

In addition to this the cargo which used to be shipped south by a separate ship will now go on the ferry making less space available. So if you are coming to Shetland book early.

The weather this winter has been the worse in the last 20 years, plenty of ice about and more snow than we have witnessed since we moved here nearly 4 years ago. The wind has been stronger as well with a few Hurricanes and sever gales to contend with.

This winter has seen more visitors coming to Shetland than normal, with some coming to see the Up Helly aa festivals and combining this with the occasional Aurora sighting, although we are approaching a solar minimum (see shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk ) and Shetland Aurora Hunter on facebook for more information

The BBC drama ` Shetland' started on Tuesday 13 February and everyone that we know has been talking about it, having drawn over 4million viewers its proving very popular, Coronation Street only draws about 5.5 Million visitors.

Many Norwegians came here last summer to see the house that ` Jimmy Perez' is living in and as they knew that part of this series was based in Norway.

Part of this series is  also based a short distance from where we live, this time in Fladdibister a few miles north.

We like winter, the skies and seas  are dramatic the weather embracing. Often you can walk a beach without seeing anyone and places like Jarlshof or Scatness empty apart from the odd person studying for their tourist guide badge.

Our car broke down the last weekend and we called the breakdown service (Lucky we manage to get a phone signal), we know every organisation uses Jim's garage so having used them once before we were in good hands. We got the car going (Flat battery) and the following day we went to the Kia garage but they had to order a new battery and as yet we are still waiting for the replacement.

According to a few people we know in the car trade, they often fit reconditioned batteries rather than new, so no wonder they only last a few years. One friend has had two batteries in four years so it doesn't give you much confidence, and its not confined to just a couple of car dealerships.

If you are moving to Shetland its worth making sure you are on Vodaphone, they seem to have the best coverage, unfortunately, our problems didn't stop at a broken down car, i also lost our phone.

Our power costs have increased this year despite moving provider, with no mains gas its either down to electric, oil or solid fuel. The standing charge is double what we paid for electric in Sheffield. Another cost that is going up is the rates, an increase of 3% and it seems that petrol will continue to rise as well, currently at £1.26 per litre. So don't forget to take all these extra costs into account.

There are many compensations with lots to see, great wildlife and scenery, superb night skies, lots of music nights either to play at our just go and listen and of course lots of 8 o 'clocks (Cakes etc).

Winter is also a time i give most of my talks and in a couple of weeks i will be giving talks to the WI in Bixter (West mainland) and Sandwick, both on birds/ Wildlife and then we will be given a talk on Shetland at St Augustine's church in Sheffield on the 26 June- all welcome.

I am hoping to have my Canvas prints back up for sale at Hoswick Visitors centre next week after they have finished painting the rooms. Also tomorrow i will be giving an interview to Shetland Life on why Shetland is so good for photography and how to improve your camera skills.