One year on.

On the 17 April we celebrated our first anniversary of moving to Shetland with a superb meal down at Sumburgh Hotel, one of our favourite places to have a meal- the lamb, fish together with very tasty deserts are as good as anywhere in the UK.

                                                                                                Sumburgh Hotel
We have achieved a lot since our move, managing to buy a house in the first 3 months and get the first job i applied for. I also managed to get a job as a part time tutor with Shetland adult education delivering photography which i really enjoy, meeting some great people on the way.

We have been to a lot more music events than we ever thought possible, often out 3- 4 days a week, and have joined Sandwick Church as well as the local RVS social group. We have made many friends by doing this and made a determined effort to join in as much as possible.

I have started to have photographs accepted by the Shetland Times with two more published this week and have delivered a number of illustrated talks, mostly on Shetland to a number of different groups. Diane has joined the SWRI and the Women's Guild.

There is so much to do and see and the photo opportunities are numerous, sharing these on facebook is just one way I share these. I run three blogs, the other two are:

shetlandsfp.blogspot.co.uk
shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk

You certainly feel connected with Sky, land and sea with wide open views, due to the lack of trees and tall buildings. The light has a quality about it, none or little air pollution and only a small amount of light pollution (great for night photography).

We have seen the aurora 8 times, you need to react quickly to any alerts, one thing that was on our and many people's bucket list. The wildlife is superb and this year we have seen many migrant birds, otters, whales, porpoise, Mountain hares and many interesting Orchids.

Another thing we wanted to see was Up Helly Aa and we managed to see the ones at Scalloway, Lerwick and Bigton each different in there own right.

One thing that has cropped up throughout this year is the controversial plans to build 103 Wind Turbines in the central mainland. One interesting letter this week concerns the fact that the court should not  have made any decision on whether or not turbines could be given the go ahead because there is no proof that Shetland is Scottish , the only thing the court acted on was a magazine article.

Since this decision?????, new wind farm projects seem to have been given the go ahead on Yell with a proposed twenty 163 m turbines. Other details of the one for Cunningsburgh have yet to be published, this will be the nearest one to us. More are needed to make the inter connector viable but the cost seems to now have go up to £3/4 Billion , which seems for now be out of reach with the government not committing. For anyone who loves wildlife or the unspoiled countryside lets hope this never happens.

Filming of the new Shetland TV series seems to have been completed for now, they managed to get some great weather which was not what the hoped for. The word is that they had to get a hose pipe out to provide rain as a scene demanded wet weather, It would appear that most folk think that Shetland has continuing bad weather no doubt down to the fact that the weather maps and forecast always shows a black cloud over the islands. The last few days have been very spring like with blue skies, hardly any wind and many daffodils out creating a nice warm feeling.

Life after 60

On Tuesday it was my 60th birthday and I was asked several times do you feel your age or just 6 years to retirement then (66 for me). This so called significant birthday hasn't affected how i view life, I don't feel 60 at all and despite a few aches and pains its life as usual

I have come across a few people that do look and feel older than 60 and they seem to have lost a spark for life. Time is after all just numbers its your outlook on life that's important. One thing that I have held onto is a sense of wonder , Shetland has so much waiting to be discover, life is exciting here, people so friendly and you are also so close to nature no longer wrapped up in a hectic lifestyle of city life, that slows down the pace of life and creates a new sense of being.

                                                                                            Bressay Lighthouse

I am now experiencing many things in Shetland that before i could only read about , and as a photographer its great that I can share my experiences through the photos I take, either on the web ,as part of a group illustrated talk or through teaching photography

So one thing that I now can apply for, is a Shetland Island Travel pass, this is 6 years earlier than it would have been in Sheffield. I am also contributing to the statistics , or to a time bomb ready to go off in Shetland in 2037. This is the date when Shetland will have nearly half of the population as pensioners even though the population is set to grow between now and 2037.

 

                                                                                                 Bowling Green Lerwick

Many older people are written off and are considered as a drain on the system, but they have much to offer. I work with the care of old people and many are still very active in the community, spending many unpaid hours boosting community care. Yes money may be a problem, anyone being referred to a care home would expect to pay £1,000 per week in Shetland, double that of Sheffield. This money needs to be spent wisely along with other money from the Charity Trust. Even with cut backs the support and quality of care in Shetland is far better than other places in the UK.

People do live older in Shetland and for some can be very active, we remember one lady we met in Fetlar many years ago who was out gathering her vegetables , at 94 year old.  The other day, i had the pleasure in meeting a 95 year old man who was so enthusiastic about life, and yes he had a keen interest in wildlife.

                                                                                           I am back- let everyone know

On the other side of life, the suicide rate in Shetland among the older people is the highest anywhere. Not a cheery thing to take about , but the people at Mind your Head provide a great service and support to those in need. Shetland is different to Sheffield in that everyone seems to know every-ones business which has its good and bad points. Also some people are very private and don't ask for help as they feel that they don't deserve it.

Working for the Royal Voluntary Service has helped me gain an insight into the care system and most important the Shetland people. Also delivering photography courses for Shetland Adult Education enables me to see that there is still a thirst for knowledge and a chance to rekindle a Sense of Wonder

                                                                    Royal Voluntary Service in market house

What a week

What an amazing week we had last week. It all started at the Mareel when we attended the Monday & Tuesday Shetland School Music festival (Free) which was superb and shows the musical talent of many of the school children in Shetland. The variety of music covered Traditional, Classical and Blues delivered by Orchestras , Fiddles, Piano, Song and Flute. The festival ended with a gala concert on Thursday night playing to a near packed audience.

                                                                         Da Ness Accordion and Fiddle club (young ones)

The concerts continued this week making it eight concerts in the last eleven days, these were mixed with accordion and fiddle music, singing, and even bagpipes

 Its good to know that the fish and chips that you can buy in Shetland is quality, Frankie's No1 in the UK !!!- Mine a Muckle Fish Supper please

It would also have been great if we had been able to see the Amazing Aurora that happened last Wednesday night, but cloud stopped the best show in 10 years. The following day I managed to see a faint aurora from Sandwick which lasted about 20 mins, in and out of the cloud.

Its a week since the eclipse what a superb sight it was (see more at (shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk)

Also I had my first two photos published in the Shetland Times. The first was a scene showing a busy Lerwick Harbour. Two cruise Liners arrived on the way up to Iceland and Faeroe where they eventually failed to see both Solar Eclipse and the Aurora. The second a group photo of the Ness Accordion and Fiddle club (Juniors) taken at the Levenwick Hall. (see photo above)

After some great weather the clouds come in and create a splendid landscape view over  Bressay

Its time to think about holidays, although the whole time spent in Shetland is a holiday.                     In June Diane's sister and brother in law are making there way to Shetland for the first time, just in time for the start of the Shetland Showcase at Islesburgh.  We hope to visit Sheffield in August. it seems amazing that next month it will be a year since we moved to Shetland, but more of that soon.

                                                                                              No they are not staying here !

Even though the decision has been made by the high courts giving the go ahead for the 103 Wind Turbines, Sustainable Shetland has decided to continue to fight against it and have recently sent a letter to the council asking them to debate the situation. The council have said a big NO but this has not deterred them and they will look for other ways to stop the turbines from being erected. The turbines may start to be erected in 2018, this still depends on whether or not the Inter connector is given the go ahead.

                                                         Part of the proposed Wind Farm site just south of Voe

Meanwhile an alternative source tidal power has received a boost as Nova Innovation has received £573,000 to continue the work. Nova developed the worlds first community owned tidal turbine in 2014 at Cullivoe in Yell. This has to be the way forward and would take away the problems associated with the wind Turbines.

Bigton Up Helly Aa

When you are planning ahead you always hope that the weather will be good, especially for an outside event. Before Christmas we planned to go to three Up Helly Aa fire festivals. The first in Scalloway was a great introduction, with superb weather. The second and largest was the one in Lerwick, again the weather was great, although the forecast was for windy wet weather.

So during last week we had a few gales, very heavy rain and it was cold so it didn't bode well for our last Up Helly Aa at Bigton in the south mainland. On the day however the weather changed completely, it was sunny and completely still, this carried on through the night providing ideal conditions.

We arrive early with our friends Beryl and Maurice and parked in the lower car park. We had followed a long line of cars so we knew it would be busy. After around 45 mins, and after a 15 min delay the procession started. Around 400 torch bearers filtered down the hill  towards the beach singing away.

This year  history was made when the first ever female Guizer Jarl, Lesley Simpson lead the procession, also many of the torch bearers were  women, not a thing you would find in the Lerwick procession.

They soon disappeared and reappeared on the beach and the Galley put in position, the torches soon followed thrown into the galley which was then pulled out into the sea, well just, it got stuck on a sand bank at Sleo Clett, opposite St Ninian's Isle.

It looks so good when they are burnt in the sea, the Lerwick one is the only one burnt on land i think.

After, we were treated treated to an excellent firework display, then it was follow my leader as a procession of cars head back over the hill, that is except one car which was stuck in the muddy field.

An excellent night made even better with Sirius shinning bright and Orion looking superb in the south sky

Experiences

Getting to Shetland during winter can be quite a challenge, especially during the gales. Often ferries are cancelled or run at different times to normal. If you get caught out at sea during a gale then you will know about it, Northlink say that the current ferries are not quite as good as they first thought in rough seas. So you can always come to Shetland by air, no such problems !

Well I know its a bit uncommon but a plane heading to Shetland had to turn back to Aberdeen just before Christmas, due to bad weather and was hit by lightening, it dropped 2,900 feet before the pilot regained control.

Either way its still worth the effort of coming here in winter, besides the Up Helly Aa there is plenty of music, plays and some great scenery with very few people about.

I love getting down to the beach during winter, before we moved to Shetland we had a 70 mile journey to get to the east coast. Where we live now there are five beaches within a few miles, all different, all facing different ways so you can find a sheltered beach when its windy.

The other day we went a bit further over to the west and down to Bigton and St Ninians isle, the wind was wiping up some nice waves from both sides of the tombolo, the sun was  shinning for the most part it was just brilliant to be out. A lot of birds congregated on rocks at the north side, these were mostly Oystercatchers returning to Shetland after the main winter period, possibly around 200 birds. Some do stay during winter but most migrate south.

It was good to hear that Brough Lodge on Fetlar is to receive nearly £1/2 million in funds from Historic Scotland to continue the next phase of restoring the Gothic building . It will eventually offer environmental courses and short holiday breaks. A big boost for the local community.

Next week we will be off the see our final Up Helly Aa of the season, this time its the turn of the south mainland and this will be held down at st Ninians isle, just hope the weather is dry, the last two Up Helly Aa's we have been to at Scalloway and Lerwick have been superb, and dry as well.

I have now achieved the most likes for one of my photos on Facebook since i started, the photo is a cloud formation over Bressay taken a few days ago, thanks to all who liked or who made comments. One previous to this taken over Sandwick during a rain storm had 324 likes

                                                 Likes  442     Comments  44      Shared 35

In addition I have had 874 views on these photos although its more about Lisa Ward , a Shetlander who recently appeared on the Voice (BBC 1). I asked Lisa to come over to the Lerwick Lunch club last week to perform to the old folk, She gave a great performance of both covers and her own music.

Not here thanks

Just reading the Sheffield Star on Saturday and it was interesting that 2 People are murdered every month in South Yorkshire. We certainly don't miss this and feel very safe in Shetland. Minor incidents happen but these are normally in Lerwick and we have not seen any ourselves since moving here last April.

                                                                                                    Mareel Lerwick

I start delivering Photography courses for Shetland Adult Education next Monday and I am looking forward to meeting everyone, even got one person coming down from Unst for each session. I delivered a number of these courses for Sheffield adult Education and have spent sometime upgrading the content to include more Shetland photos.

                                                                                                    St Ninian's Isle

There are many more photo opportunities in Shetland, i love to watch the sky and light changing. Travelling up to Lerwick for work gives me plenty of opportunity to look out to sea. With virtually no traffic to contend with its more relaxing and only takes about 15 mins to travel the 12 miles. We will not be involved with the Viking wind farm as we are within the 12 mile limit for airport traffic. But its disappointing to find that approval has been given for the 475 feet, 103 turbines which will be plastered throughout the central mainland.

                                                                                                St Ninian's Isle west side

The Shetland Times ran a poll last week in which 67% of those participating voted NO to the wind farm. So the opposition will not stop here. (see more at shetlandsfp.blogspot.co.uk)

                                                                               Looking north towards Fitfull Head

We have recently received our Northlink ID so we can apply for family and friends discount, its worth it as people can save 30% on fares although the time limits have been reduced. This caused a problem as my Sister in law had booked a holiday from work to come mid June but the discounts only run until the 14 June.