At around 11.30pm, Anjanette and I sat on the bench in the garden for a while, looking for the elusive Perseids. We saw a handful of meteors and Anj was ready to sleep. I stayed awake and at 1 in…

I took the 15 minute flight to Kirkwall this morning in this plane. After doing the family shop at Tesco, I drove to Stromness and back (by different routes). I called in at a small bistro (I’d say “fish and…

This is Bothican Beach. It’s a stone’s throw from Papy’s “new” pier where the Kirkwall ferry docks twice a week (in good weather!). We’ve has some nice sunny days this week although it’s still a bit chilly in the wind.…

I love this shot that Anjanette took of my youngest granddaughter when they visited the Knap of Howar which is said to be the oldest standing stone house in North West Europe dating from 5000 years ago – the Knap…

Yesterday we explored St Boniface church. It’s a really small church perched on the west coast with views over to Westray. Another nice example of an Orkney stone building.

Yesterday we went to explore The Kelp Store which is Papay’s Heritage Centre. It has books, art, family history and more. It’s also a lovely peaceful space set on the eastern shoreline by the old pier and it quickly became…

Today there was a traffic jam on the main road. I decided that the cows were bigger than us so we waited quietly while they ate grass, sniffed the car and generally ran amok. One of my Facebook friends suggested…

Nice view of the bird hide at RSPB North Hill from the garden of Clestrain

We’re being hosted on Papay at Clestrain – the home of PaulandMel. For those who don’t know the family, Mel is my daughter. Here’s a view of MOST of the house with the main house to the right and the…