Summer Time ?

So last Sunday we official turned to Summer time, meaning lighter at night, unfortunately looking out of the window it looked liked winter- torrential rain, gale force 8 winds (70mph+)) and hill fog and it was cold.

It did easy off  and was very still by evening, even a sunset- just showing how quickly the weather changes in Shetland.

We visited friends in Mossbank the other day a short trip from Sullom Voe where two flares still seemed to be emitting dark smoke, a burn off from the gas plant. News came out that a 1/4 of the Oil workforce was surplus to requirements and would be made redundant, all down to the oil prices.

Local businesses are gearing up for the tourist season with cruise liners expected in the next few weeks. This gives a boost to the local economy, but some of the tour companies seem intent in persuading passengers to spend all their money aboard ship.

 Already we have met a few people who have come up for Easter, some just for a couple of days others for longer. I spoke to one who was up for the aurora but was disappointed to find out that he missed a great show the week before - see (shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk). However he was more than happy at discovering the delights of Unst, Britain's most northerly isle.

                                                                                              All the above photos - Heylor

TV programs like `Island Parish ' (on Unst) and ` Shetland ' will be a big boost for the Shetland economy and also show that the weather can be very good. March for instance has been exceptional with many dry, still sunny days.

                                                         Half way House - featured on the recent Shetland drama

We are still waiting to have a new heating system installed, hopefully it will be next month.. Also we have contacted two flooring companies for quotes to replace the flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. Tiles are now breaking up so they may have to board the floor and then lay vinyl. They are both very busy so it may be June before this gets done. You do find the best companies have alot of work on the go so its all about having patience. At least the quality of work is very good here, unlike many firms down in Sheffield which seemed more intent in getting your money doing short cuts than providing value for money.

Soon the festivals will begin, already the Shetland Folk festival has been a sell out, just not enough tickets to go round, we missed out this time. We did get tickets for the Young Fiddler of the year in April and soon will have the Shetland Showcase tickets, which was a big success last year with record numbers attending.

The future

The pressure is on for the Garrison theatre in Lerwick to find support to stay open. Shetland Arts has for sometime wanted to close this down and transfer all activity to the Mareel. Rents for the Garrison  went up with a bang last year, and I inquired to run a charity concert but was priced out.

Its a really nice theatre which lends its self to plays and small concerts which just wouldn't fit in with the Mareel image, in fact to say they are run by the same company there is a complete lack of support. No advertising of the Garrison programme anywhere in the Mareel apparently. Lets hope for a change of mind on this, I for one would miss going.

Anyway last week we have been to the Mareel four nights on the trot to see the school music competitions and the young musician of the year and what excellent quality it was. In addition to this the sky has been alive with the northern lights (see shetlansky.blogspot.co.uk)

The Shetland TV Drama has now come to an end, with most people giving positive reviews. Douglas Henshall said he would like to do another series but there are no plans at present. He will be coming back to Shetland for holidays in future such is the pull of these islands. It will have certainly been good for Tourism , I just hope they include more Shetlanders in future, only two appeared in this one and people need to be able to hear the accent. It 's been good for tourism and there is hope for yet another excellent year

                                                                                                     Power station Lerwick

Now when you live on a small island the dangers of the sea are very evident. Recently the government wanted to take away the Orkney based Tug ` Herakles' when the contract expired at the end of the month , but it was given six month extension. This might not mean very much but when shipping runs into trouble the local Tug is vital to stop a disaster. You only have to look back to when no cover was on hand and to the Braer incident which ran aground on Fitful head in Shetland. A new risk assessment has been done indicating a residual risk.  Therefore they need to find solution !

                                                                                         New pier construction Lerwick

Other notable changes in Lerwick will be that the Zebra accommodation barge will be moving north in early April. This will leave an open view over Bressay sound something that hasn't been visible since it arrived back in 2013.

I was pleased to see another one of my photos in the Shetland Times, this time of the Swan which was having maintenance work done in preparation for the new season. The Swan is a 1900 sail training ship which this year is heading to St Kilda, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

                                                                                                    Lifeboat in Scalloway

We are still waiting for the new heating system to be installed and just had a quote for some new flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. The floor in these areas seem very bouncy and the tiles break up easily, so we will have the floor boarded before laying vinyl.

We received very sad news earlier today that one of our best friends for over 40 years, had passed away back in Sheffield after a long illness. John Linton Smith was always very enthusiastic about anything to do with Scotland and Shetland and we shared many happy memories and photos, we  shall miss him very much.

Alot of Nothing.

A lot of Nothing

Back in the early 1960's life in Shetland was hard, nothing like today's standard of living.

The other day I was speaking to someone who back in the 1960's moved from England to Papa Stour on the west side of Shetland. A small island of around 40 people.

When they arrived they found a lot of nothing, No ferry, no roads, no electric, no running water and no shop.

They did however have plenty of rain coming into their home, a lot of wind blowing through the gaps, but also plenty of warmth from the Shetland people. A sense of community missing in many places today. One where you didn't have to ask for help, the islanders knew the needs and met them before you could mention it.

 

Everyone helped each other out gathering crops , building or sharing precious food supplies and especially knowledge. Local Shetlanders would tell them when and where to go fishing, where the dangers would be and how to come through the long dark winters.

 

 

The 1960's are not so long ago really, now Papa Stour has electricity , running water, a ferry and roads, but like most islands, people have left or died and with it life becomes more difficult again. Now only 12 people live on the island. No school or church is available, its just a place where people visit for the day.

Its always interesting to find out where people go on holiday, most think of long distance travel but it may be surprising to find that many Shetland folk actually go to other locations in Shetland. We have found several people living on Mainland Shetland spending a couple of weeks either on Yell or Unst.

 

Other people we have spoke to have never left Shetland for any reason, some never coming off the island they were born. One lady in Unst who was 96 years young said she was totally content living on the island and never wanted to spend any time anywhere else.

Those who have had to leave Shetland for some reason always long to come back, the number of times people comment on facebook about longing for a return is enormous. People said they have the complete package here and that's what we think, we only wish we had come to Shetland earlier.

Lerwick lanes

Any one walking round Lerwick will at some point come across one of the lanes that rises from the harbour front and takes them up to the higher reaches near the Town Hall, Library and Garrison theatre.

Lerwick has a long history and ties with Norway in particular and the street and lanes have been influenced by these links. With over a third of the Shetland population living in Lerwick the town has developed but still retains character and at night takes on a completely different feel to that of the day.

Lerwick name comes from the Norse - Muddy bay and has always been an important fishing area and the islands capital since the 17 century, taking over from Scalloway

Many of these lanes were originally known as Closses most running in a westerly direction from Commercial street. They tend to be steep and narrow

Law, Reform, Pitt, Form and Park are just a few names to look out for, both old and new names can be seen. Chromate Lane being one of the old ones.

The Lerwick Lanes Conservation Area 1975 was set up to protect the area, this covers far more than just the lanes.

You do feel safe while walking the lanes at night, unlike many towns and cities further south

As time goes by

When we moved to Shetland nearly two years ago we registered our interest in joining the NHS dentist in Lerwick. We found out that we would have to wait 7 years before we would officially accepted. The other week, another dentist set up in Lerwick and we managed to transfer and now can finally get treatment at the end of the month.

                                                                               Looking from Lerwick to Bressay Lighthouse

We have found that all the other services such as Hospital and Doctors have been very good, and as I now work in the care sector this also seems excellent although like other parts of the UK,  services have been drastically cut.  Its the Shetland people who make the services excellent, many of which are volunteers.

We are still waiting for our new heating system, we have been told it will be April before they can start, in the meantime its been cold as the temperature has dropped to around freezing most of the time.

                                                                                                                      Channerwick

A week ago snow and ice had been around for several days, only a light covering of the white stuff but roads had been bad with little gritting taking place. On the main road up to Lerwick two cars came off the road.

It was good to see one of my photos, taken when Storm Gertrude hit the other week, printed in the Shetland Times. On Facebook this has over 1,100 likes and 350 shares so my best one yet. Winds actually reached 120 mph, but damage was less than expected. Trees are normally the main problem in gales but Shetland has few.

                                                                                                     Damage in Sandwick

Locally our friends in Sandwick nearly had a bad experience when part of a large metal roof ripped away from units on the coastline and landed very close to their house, this was over 30 feet long and was buckled so difficult to cut up. We had fragments of slate around the house together with a substantial fence post which must have been blown up from the bottom of the field, luckily this stuck the house low down and not against our window. A couple of caravans also suffered damage , but the expected flying sheep never happened.

                                                                                       Looking towards Spiggie from Noss

The seeds that we planted last year only yielded a small number of potatoes,a few parsnips but no beetroot. The ground is virtually all peat so we intend to prepare the soil better this year, putting manure and seaweed down, hopefully this will provide a better growing area next year.

This weekend snow had returned but it soon disappeared with the sun on Saturday, a nice day for a walk around Sandwick. We had planned on going to Sumburgh hotel for a meal Saturday night but the roads had a covering of snow then ice so we gave it a miss.

                                                                                                          Near Boddam

Gertrude arrived in Shetland

Well we never made it to Lerwick for Up Helly Aa on Monday as we both have colds and the weather was rainy and windy. The weather get worse and by Thursday we had a mix of weather  which is typical of Shetland.

Before I was ready to go to work a large thunderstorm struck Sandwick, with a lightening fork hitting Sand lodge at Sandsayre it cut the power to 1200 properties for a few hours. You have to give credit to the Hydro lads who appeared on the scene very quickly and worked in terrible conditions.

As I set off it began to hail and the roads became white but entering Cunningsburgh it turned to heavy snow, just up the road it was sunny, then at Quarff it snowed again. Not content just after that it rained very heavy before turning to sunshine as I entered Scalloway. All in a 12 mile trip.

I haven't mentioned the winds that hit on Friday, Storm Gertrude caused all schools and the college to be closed for the day.

It was higher winds than previously thought, upgraded to a Red warning,  Hurricane Force 12 , over 105 mph winds hitting Lerwick ,109 mph in Yell and 111 mph at Scatness  making driving conditions very difficult. I just missed a van being blown over a crash barrier and down the hill, luckily no one was injured, a few other high side vehicles also was blown over.

 I parked at my usual spot in Scalloway, coming out 4 hours later it took me several washes to clean the salt off the windscreen. I could also taste salt in the air and well as see it plastered all over the car.

As my work takes me in Scalloway it allows me to explore Shetland ancient capital- when the weather permits. One thing that you notice about Scalloway is that it has a lot of mature trees - very unusual for Shetland. This creates a magnet for any migratory birds and a number of interesting ones have turned up since we arrived in Shetland.

The other noticeable thing is the connection with the Shetland bus.  The excellent Shetland Bus memorial is a great attraction, as is the museum which is dedicated to telling the story and the continued links with friends in Norway.

Walking down the shore front Dinapore House stands out with its battlement like roof. Here the Shetland bus operations was carried out,. sending Norwegian fishing boats back to Norway with agents and supplies then bring back many Norwegians which needed to evade capture by the Germans

A short distance away is the pier where the fishing boats were repaired , the whole of Scalloway was kept a big secret throughout the World War 2 and  many interesting buildings remain. One is Scalloway Castle which stands near the harbour, here ammunition was stored .

At least I will have more time to discover its secrets, its far quieter than Lerwick with little traffic but it still has a number of interesting ships visiting, viewing is excellent with its horse shoe shaped bay