Fire & Ice

The tension is mounting, as the count down begins to Up Helly Aa on Tuesday 26 January 2016. This is the biggest of the processions in Shetland. Scalloway Fire festival took place on Friday 8 January, the first of ten across Shetland.

                                                                                                                    Last year

Over the year work has taken place to build a new galley, the design kept top secret, only known to a few.  We know someone who was specially invited to look at the new Galley last Wednesday, but then was sworn to secrecy not being able to reveal any details until the night.

In addition the Guizer Jarl squad have been busy growing beards, the bigger the better. Costumes, shields, helmets and spears have also been made in the special design and will have cost a fortune.

This great event always takes place, no weather condition has yet led to a postponement, so rain, snow or Hurricane will not stop the procession or galley burning.

Last year the weather was perfect but this year they are already predicting rain. In recent years the only cancellation was back in 1965 when Winston Churchill died, prior to that 1940 - 1948 WW2.

For those travelling to Shetland especially for the event,  they will have to have booked  accommodation well up front, as many people from all over the world arrive to see this unique event. With cancelled ferries during to extreme winds and last week days of cancelled flights due to the snow, it can prove difficult to get to Shetland especially for last minute travelers.

The day for the Guizer squad starts around 6.30 with breakfast at Isleburgh and doesn't finish until 8 am the following morning with the survivors breakfast. With around 800+ Vikings processing, that's a lot of breakfasts to cook !

If you cannot make it to Shetland then watch it here on http://uphellyaa.com/

                                                                                                  Scalloway Castle

Its been a period of very cold weather this week in Shetland, lots of ice with virtually all locks frozen and even parts of the sea. Getting around has been difficult and mid week the road up from Scalloway was nearly impassable around 10 pm.

The landscape looks so different under a white covering of snow and I was able to get over to Scalloway to photograph the castle, looking odd now, as the accommodation barge Bibby and the cruise liner Gemini had left due to the decline in the oil industry.

                                                                                                   Rainbow over Cunningsburgh

Different ways

Living on a small island is always going to be challenging and you will have to take this into account if you are thinking of moving here.

                                                                                                Sunrise over Mousa

If you are into shopping then you will be disappointed, there are no large department stores, no indoor shopping areas of a decent size. We have Commercial Street where the few shop we do have are constantly changing. News that the long standing photography shop and more recent antiques shop are closing is no surprise. it doesn't help that most of the 40,000 people arriving by cruise ship spend little money - except in the charity shops.

Before coming to live here we found a fair number of people being ripped off with excessive postal charges but we have been lucky so far. Amazon and John Lewis deliver mostly free and have a big selection of items - that's the problem for the shops, not just in Shetland but everywhere, a lot more people are shopping online now.

                                                                                              Winters day in Sandwick

News that 600 jobs will be lost in the oil industry, may not come as a surprise with prices dropping all the time, but this will also affect the Shetland economy

In winter getting to and from Shetland can be more difficult, just take the other week. The ferry ran into a Force 9 gale and took 28 hours to arrive, around 5.5 hours was spent off Orkney where the ferry tried to tie up at the pier but ropes broke 4 times, they were unable to anchor as well, but they failed to hold so they went round in circles until they managed to dock mid afternoon.

                                                                                    Lower car park Sumburgh Head

In December 16 sailing out of 217 had to be cancelled and 44 delayed as well. If you think the plane may be better this has not been the case  as Aberdeen runway developed a hole in the runway due to heavy rain, they transferred to Inverness. Some Shetland people then took a taxi to Aberdeen but on four occasions the driver was told to turn round due to flooding and heavy snow but some how managed to get to their destination. the runway  has now been repaired

Living on an even smaller island like Foula may sound idyllic but you are along way from the mainland. After a year with power, the two houses in the south finally had power reconnected. But also over the Christmas period they didn't have any healthcare.

I watch the BBC1 programme drama on Shetland on Friday and found it much, much better than the other series. It was great to see the scenery and even though the old folks home was actually Sumburgh hotel the plot was well thought out.

Beach time

At this time of year you can expect the weather to be wintery, and finally the snow hit Shetland (well south mainland) on Thursday. Last weekend snow fell further north but it didn't affect us. People going to work caught the worst of it and four cars went off the road on the junction of Gulberwick - Scalloway at Black Gaet, due to icy conditions

 

 

Here as other places has less gritting due to cutbacks and it shows. By the time I ended up going to work the worst of the weather had passed.

 

Going back to last weekend I went over to Bigton and St Ninian isle, a favourite with so many people. The tombolo was covered by the sea, as it normally is at this time of year but the light was great. low down creating some nice effects with sea washed pebbles.

 

It is not normally the time of year you tend to go on beaches, but I like this season on the coast. When we lived in Sheffield, some 70 miles from the sea, we would often take a trip down to the north Norfolk coastline where normally in Summer it would be packed but in winter free-ish from humans.

 

Everyone is now talking about the Lerwick Up Helly Aa which takes place the last Tuesday in the month. Even though its a great spectacle, its more about the local people keeping up traditions. The Guizer Jarl has to wait 15 years before his name comes up to the top of the list.

Wind

Last Sunday I thought Father Christmas had come back with a late present, with all the banging on the roof, walls, windows and door - but no it was a Force 10 Gale. We seem to have had a few over the past week and the forecast is for more to come. Gulberwick, just up the road recorded a gust at 69 mph. (although gusts are not counted in the following scale)

Several people have asked about what the Beaufort scale indicates, so here it is

Force        mph       Description
0               < 1            Calm

1               1- 3            Light Air

2               4-7             Light Breeze

3               8-12           Gentle Breeze

4              13- 18          Moderate Breeze

5              19- 24          Fresh Breeze

6              25- 31          Strong Breeze

7              32 - 38         Near Gale

8              39 - 46         Gale

9              47 - 54         Strong Gale

10            48 - 55         Storm

11            56 - 63         Violent Storm

12            64 +             Hurricane

This week gales have continued to hit with lots of rain and hail, with snow in the north mainland. Ferries have been cancelled again, meaning the shelves at Tesco have been empty. Even getting to Aberdeen by plane has been difficult with a hole appearing on the runway.

This week has seen the first fire festival of the year, this was held in Scalloway and a decent night, very similar to the one last year. It can be quiet dangerous with sparks flying all over the place. A couple of people came away with burnt coats while one women had  her hair set alight (that's hairspray for you)

Christmas

Well we hope you all had a good festive period, we knew it was officially Christmas when Father Christmas flew past Sandwick in his helicopter, great to see again.

This time of year is always going to be about the weather. The festive period has not been so good for the folk in Cumbria, Yorkshire and Southern Scotland who have been flooded out, some three times. More rain is expected into the new year so for them a Christmas to forget

It was a worrying time on Foula, water again but this time the water supply had been cut to a number of families on the south end of the island and no one could get across to fix it due to the bad weather, however this was sorted out on Boxing day. Elsewhere on Tuesday, winds reached Force 11 with power cables down causing power cuts to over 550 homes mainly in Unst, Walls and also in Sandwick.

For those living in Shetland 20 years ago I suspect they will remember a heavy snow fall on Christmas day, 30 foot snow drifts, all the roads blocked for days, no electricity - so no heating for the majority of people  as we have no gas supply. The old folk suffered more than others with a number of people admitted to hospital. The coastguard helicopter this time was out all the time helping out, while a number of small boats ferried food north and south.

Storm Frank started to hit Shetland on Monday - Wednesday, this storm from the south east ripped into the isles causing big waves in Lerwick, some roads closed as a result. On Tuesday the weather on the west as calm and sunny while the storm raged on the east.  We listened mid week to extensive flooding in Scotland and England, at least we didn't have that to contend with. Its terrible when this happens, even in places where more flood defences have been constructed

A brief gap in the weather allowed me to spend sometime over at St Ninian's Isle, with the sun dipping the Coast Guard helicopter flew over. A few people took this time to work off the Christmas lunch, but mostly it was quiet.

So far no snow in Shetland as it has been very mild but usually February is the worst month. I will be starting a new job at the beginning of January so I hope there is no disruption on the roads.

Anyway stay safe and have a good new year if you can, I will be back with more early next year and thanks again for looking at my blog. Why not have a look at my other blogs:

www.shetlandsky.BlogSpot.co.uk
www.shetlandsfp.BlogSpot.co.uk

Massive praise

It could only happen in Shetland - On Out Skerries the school only has one pupil and he is lonely, word on facebook got round and now he has received 5,000 Christmas cards and presents. On the children theme, NHS Shetland has received donations of over £5,000 towards toys for Christmas. Shetland folk are so generous with time and money - so its a massive praise to all.

Shetland recorded its highest winter temperature ever on Saturday with nearly 13 degrees recorded. At least its keeping the snow away , so we now have Gales, hail. heavy rain and cloud until Christmas. At least we missed the thunder and Lightening which covered a large area from 50 miles west of Shetland - Norway

We have had a number of Christmas meals all of which have been excellent, normally at this time of year the standards drop and its often better to have one after Christmas. On Christmas eve, we have another meal booked down at Sumburgh Hotel, always a good venue.

                                                                                                        Sumburgh Hotel

The postie has been very busy delivering cards and presents, they have a job finding where places are, either they need to know the person who lives in the house or the cottage name, both difficult and Sat Nav does not cut it here. Sat Nav is best to find where the road is in thick fog or where the snow has covered the road making it difficult knowing where the road ends and the ditches begin.

Tesco has been very busy and it was difficult finding a parking space the other day, some people managed to get their shopping done with Tesco Direct and have it delivered to their home for a £1 which is great for those living on Out Skerries, Unst, Fetlar and so on. Sometime it doesn't work well, the local news reported that someone in the Isle of Wight ordered three items as Christmas presents, one turned up and the other two ended up here in Shetland over 700 miles away.

                                                                           Fair Isle

We are so glad we no longer live in a big city, in Sheffield we had Meadowhall, bad enough any day but at Christmas it can hold 110, 000 people and car parking can be a problem. Down at Bluewater near Dartford people had to wait 6 hours to get out of the carpark, that last minute Christmas shopping for you. In Shetland we don't have such `distractions' and have to plan well up front. We delivered some of our presents when we went to Sheffield in September, now that has saved Santa a trip.

                                                                                                            Sheffield

We have been getting in the Christmas mood for a week or so now, having recently been to a Nativity play, carol concert, Christmas services at Church, Christmas meals and even saw Santa arriving in a Lifeboat at Living Lerwick festival. Last year Santa even flew over our house in the coastguard helicopter waving at everyone- where else could this happen.

It was good to hear that Shetland has again come out as one of the best place to live in Scotland- well we knew that all ready, that why we are here.

                                                                                                                    It's me

Lerwick is quiet now most of the Gas and oil workers have left the island, they will not be back until February, only the accommodation barges are a reminder of there presence.

I will leave you with some Shetland Christmas lights, have a great Christmas and New year.

                                                        see more at my other blog - shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk

Going Home

As the gas plant at Sullom Voe comes to and end of the construction phase, the workforce will start to reduce. You can already see the effect as this week the Gemini - accommodation ship, which was based in Scalloway for over a year, departed south for a refit in Turkey

It was good to see the Gemini lit up during the winter months but now people might look towards the sky, and the northern lights. This week the RVS took a large number of Old folk north to Brae and the Moorfield hotel, this was all down to an invitation by Total who provided the whole event. A great gesture to the Shetland community.

Lerwick Harbour has been quiet this week with only a few fishing boats tied up, but on Thursday the Norwegian training vessel- `Stratsraad Lehmkuhl' arrived bring in 90 Cadets from the Norwegian Naval Academy.

We have been impressed with Westside Electrical which responded to our request for a quote for installing storage heaters, coming over a couple of days later.

The weather is now firmly in winter mode with lots of gales, hail, heavy rain and a bit of snow, temperatures however have increased a bit, but even so added heat will be very welcome. This is no where near as bad as Scotland and NW England where floods have been bad, the worst situation in years

Talking to a friend this week, we found out that our heating problems were small compared to his. His house is out on the west coast, an old property, which has rain coming through in a number of places, the only heat is by a solid fuel burner. To make matters worse, he has had eye problems and not been back for over a year ! dread the think what the condition is like now.

Many Shetlanders have been asked to take part in a survey to find out about fuel poverty. Here we are restricted to either solid fuel, electric , oil or Air to Air all far dearer than gas. The rate we pay for electric is also higher than the rest of the country. This also goes for Petrol, Ferry prices and the general cost of living.

As Christmas is soon to be on us , you realise what choice you have regarding presents. Its no wonder that Amazon makes such profits, but at least we get free delivery. John Lewis is another one that can be recommended but many others charge extra to the normal cost of postage.

The local shop can provide you with unusual presents such as Shetland fudge, Shetland jumpers and Knitwear, lots of great art and photographs and a good number of new books just released. I have two on my Christmas list - Shetland Otters and a photo guide to the Geology of Shetland.

Will it be good or bad, Scotland is due to set its own rate of tax on the 6 April 2016, but we will know what this is in the draft budget on 16 December 2015. Hope its a reduction, could do with an extra bit in my pocket.