I said I would be away a while
and now here I am back again
It is nearly a month since I last wrote but I did say I would not be writing so often now it is winter. The weather has been less than kind, causing all sorts of problems, especially when travel is involved, namely ferry cancellations. I eventually got over to Kirkwall for my dental appointment and all being well the last one will be on 22nd December, back to a less frightening gappy smile for Christmas. You wouldn’t believe all the rigmarole just to replace one front tooth. Heigh-ho that’s life!
This is the time of year when folks want smoked salmon. Well, we have the right place for that. Pierowall Fish supplies us with as much seafood as we could possibly want of all varieties depending what is swimming around here, and for that extra special treat there is hot or cold smoked salmon.
Well, you may say the picture doesn’t look like smoked salmon and you would be correct, it is of haddock just going into the smoker. None of that horrible yellow dyed stuff for us thank you. My cousin was 80 last month so I sent him some salmon down to Cirencester which I believe was served up with scrambled eggs. Fine that.
I had planned to go to the Harvest Home last month but as I was a little off colour, there was a bug going about so I decided, reluctantly, to stay at home. My loss, especially as I enjoy the food and the chat before the meal and after. There’s always next year of course.
Another event I missed was the annual Christmas Tree lighting. This is now held at Kalisgarth, our care home situated overlooking Pierowall Bay. I have lifted a photo from the Westray facebook page. It was taken by Linda Booth and I am sure she will not mind. There are more of her pictures there if you want to look:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10231616999956035&set=pcb.6858162974279738
Changing the subject, but looking out over the bay, it reminds me of events happening here over 100 years ago. Pierowall bay was host to a squadron of sea planes for a short while during the Great War 1914-1918. They were here to guard the Orkney shores and the fleet lying at Scapa Flow. Here is a great story to tell about how the islands were involved in safeguarding the United Kingdom in the far north of this country, and how the people of Westray played their not inconsiderable but important part, suffering losses, tales of bravery and hardship that is little known about further down the country.
The story of the two world wars is now taught in schools. I, as a young schoolboy of 1947 vintage, was taught nothing about the wars during my school days, it wasn’t history then because the second war had happened only a couple of years before I was born. I remember at junior school there was one robust teacher, Benjy Gordon, who had only one arm, the other having been blown off during the first war. It was said you would certainly know about it if he gave you the cane (what we now call corporal punishment). Or the old man who walked around with a peg leg. You don’t see that nowadays, thanks to modern prosthetics.
Thanks to an exhibition in the Heritage Centre ten years ago, I learnt a lot, in particular about how the men and women of Westray had played their part in World War 1. The children from the school put together an excellent exhibition under the guidance of Catherine Stevenson and it was on display for a couple of years then packed away in the store room in a very large portfolio. It is very fragile now and not suitable for general viewing, so it has been photographed and digitised and I am in the process of putting it all back together again as an A4 book which will eventually be passed to the heritage centre for public viewing. This will take up a fair amount of my time and as little happens here during winter, I shall limit my VisitWestray posts to one a month until the better weather arrives in spring, when I’ll creep out of hibernation.
For a special treat, I am really looking forward to having Christmas lunch at the Pierowall Hotel on Friday; you are always guaranteed a first class meal in lovely surroundings.
Little Tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see, i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly
i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don't be afraid
look, the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,
put up your little arms
and i'll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won't be a single place dark or unhappy
then when you're quite dressed
you'll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they'll stare!
oh but you'll be very proud
and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we'll dance and sing
"Noel Noel"
Little Tree by E E Cummings
Find out more about Westray by visiting the Tourist Association web site
Find out more about Orkney by visiting the Orkney tourism web site