Fletcher Saga 19 April 2007
Posted: Thursday, 19 April 2007 |
It's hard to believe that we've been here on Stronsay for over 3 years. The daffodils & jonquils in our garden were at their best over Easter and even now they are still looking quite good along with the primulas. The weather improved on the Thursday after Easter and I started putting a few plants (strawberries, primulas, alyssum etc) in Maureen's new raised beds.
Maureen & I went over to Kirkwall for the day on the Tuesday after Easter Monday. We took the Loganair flight which takes 10 minutes each way instead of the ferry boat which takes nearly 2 hours each way. This was Maureen's first off-island jaunt for two years but, because the day was very wet & very windy and both flights were quite "bumpy", Maureen says it will probably be another two years before she ventures off the island again.
An archaeologist visited Stronsay this month and, with the help of some Stronsay residents, conducted a field walk on some newly ploughed fields. As a result of the findings a further visit involving several archaeological students is planned for this summer. Although there are several cairns marked on the Ordnance Survey maps of Stronsay it would appear that there has never been a really thorough investigation into Stronsay's archaeological remains so it will be interesting to see what discoveries are made.
Surrey, our green-eyed, pure white cat has put on so much weight since having "the operation" a few months ago that we have put her on a diet. Maureen has cut back on the amount of food Surrey is receiving (to the great disgust of Surrey) but Surrey has begun a campaign of attrition and constantly mews and winds herself around Maureen's ankles in an effort to wear her down and get more food.
Our elderly electric lawnmower finally expired at the end of last year. I've replaced it with a new petrol-engined mower which has allowed me to cut the grass in half the time that it took with the old mower. Fortunately the grass is not growing very quickly, thanks to all the cold, wet weather we've been having, so I've only had to cut the grass twice this year.
Michael & Sheila, our new neighbours across the road at Helmsley, have been discovering one of the joys of living in remote rural areas - drainage and sewer maintainance. The system at Helmsley has been in use for many years and Michael has been spending the last day or two digging out and replacing a broken pipe where it leads into the sea. Not the ideal job for a cold, wet & windy day and certainly not a task for anyone with a weak stomach or sensitive nostrils.
Orkney Islands Council's Community Education department has decided to stop refunding the travel & accommodation costs of Michael Lee, our tutor for the Stronsay Singing Class which meets on Mondays at 7:30 pm during school term time. The class has been running for over two years and it hopes that either Stronsay Community Council or the Stronsay Development Trust will fund Michael's travelling expenses while we've offered to provide accommodation for Michael at Claremont instead of the Stronsay Hotel. This has presented Maureen with an interesting catering dilemma as Michael is a vegetarian; Maureen has been scouring her cookery books for interesting recipes that involve cheese, rice, pasta or eggs but don't involve meat or fish.
Whilst on the topic of food, we had some friends round for a meal the other week. One of the items on the menu was tinned new potatoes as it's not always possible to get decent new potatoes locally. Maureen had opened the tin and read the instructions which mentioned that the potatoes must not be heated in a microwave oven. She heated the spuds in a pan and then just before serving them, without thinking, popped them into the microwave oven to warm them up. A few moments later several of the potatoes exploded with great vigour making quite a mess int he microwave oven, startling Maureen and making the cat flee into the spare room.
In January of this year I had begun to take my keyboard to Eday each Sunday afternoon in John Stevenson's fishing boat with Jennifer (the minister of Eday & Stronsay), Albert & Raymond so that the congregation could have some "live" music for their service. I was pleasantly surprised that my stomach behaved itself even in the rough bits of water just off the coast of Eday but I had to concede defeat and stop going over to Eday because I was unable to stand in the wheelhouse of John Stevenson's fishing boat (my head bounced off the roof at every movement of the boat) and sitting in the wheelhouse for the 40 minute trip made my back and legs very stiff & sore.
When I saw the ear nose & throat specialist in Kirkwall just before Easter he said the hearing in my right ear had deteriorated. He then asked if I would like a hearing aid. To have this said to me after I'd had to give up going on the little boat to Eday made me feel quite old & decrepit. However, when I spoke to our island GP he cheered me up no end by suggesting that a hearing aid may not be necessary after I've had some minor surgery on my nose.
Maureen & I went over to Kirkwall for the day on the Tuesday after Easter Monday. We took the Loganair flight which takes 10 minutes each way instead of the ferry boat which takes nearly 2 hours each way. This was Maureen's first off-island jaunt for two years but, because the day was very wet & very windy and both flights were quite "bumpy", Maureen says it will probably be another two years before she ventures off the island again.
An archaeologist visited Stronsay this month and, with the help of some Stronsay residents, conducted a field walk on some newly ploughed fields. As a result of the findings a further visit involving several archaeological students is planned for this summer. Although there are several cairns marked on the Ordnance Survey maps of Stronsay it would appear that there has never been a really thorough investigation into Stronsay's archaeological remains so it will be interesting to see what discoveries are made.
Surrey, our green-eyed, pure white cat has put on so much weight since having "the operation" a few months ago that we have put her on a diet. Maureen has cut back on the amount of food Surrey is receiving (to the great disgust of Surrey) but Surrey has begun a campaign of attrition and constantly mews and winds herself around Maureen's ankles in an effort to wear her down and get more food.
Our elderly electric lawnmower finally expired at the end of last year. I've replaced it with a new petrol-engined mower which has allowed me to cut the grass in half the time that it took with the old mower. Fortunately the grass is not growing very quickly, thanks to all the cold, wet weather we've been having, so I've only had to cut the grass twice this year.
Michael & Sheila, our new neighbours across the road at Helmsley, have been discovering one of the joys of living in remote rural areas - drainage and sewer maintainance. The system at Helmsley has been in use for many years and Michael has been spending the last day or two digging out and replacing a broken pipe where it leads into the sea. Not the ideal job for a cold, wet & windy day and certainly not a task for anyone with a weak stomach or sensitive nostrils.
Orkney Islands Council's Community Education department has decided to stop refunding the travel & accommodation costs of Michael Lee, our tutor for the Stronsay Singing Class which meets on Mondays at 7:30 pm during school term time. The class has been running for over two years and it hopes that either Stronsay Community Council or the Stronsay Development Trust will fund Michael's travelling expenses while we've offered to provide accommodation for Michael at Claremont instead of the Stronsay Hotel. This has presented Maureen with an interesting catering dilemma as Michael is a vegetarian; Maureen has been scouring her cookery books for interesting recipes that involve cheese, rice, pasta or eggs but don't involve meat or fish.
Whilst on the topic of food, we had some friends round for a meal the other week. One of the items on the menu was tinned new potatoes as it's not always possible to get decent new potatoes locally. Maureen had opened the tin and read the instructions which mentioned that the potatoes must not be heated in a microwave oven. She heated the spuds in a pan and then just before serving them, without thinking, popped them into the microwave oven to warm them up. A few moments later several of the potatoes exploded with great vigour making quite a mess int he microwave oven, startling Maureen and making the cat flee into the spare room.
In January of this year I had begun to take my keyboard to Eday each Sunday afternoon in John Stevenson's fishing boat with Jennifer (the minister of Eday & Stronsay), Albert & Raymond so that the congregation could have some "live" music for their service. I was pleasantly surprised that my stomach behaved itself even in the rough bits of water just off the coast of Eday but I had to concede defeat and stop going over to Eday because I was unable to stand in the wheelhouse of John Stevenson's fishing boat (my head bounced off the roof at every movement of the boat) and sitting in the wheelhouse for the 40 minute trip made my back and legs very stiff & sore.
When I saw the ear nose & throat specialist in Kirkwall just before Easter he said the hearing in my right ear had deteriorated. He then asked if I would like a hearing aid. To have this said to me after I'd had to give up going on the little boat to Eday made me feel quite old & decrepit. However, when I spoke to our island GP he cheered me up no end by suggesting that a hearing aid may not be necessary after I've had some minor surgery on my nose.
Posted on Claremont at 18:32
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