2 June, Thursday

More wind and rain…which is annoying as the weather forecast on R4 blandly said that “Scotland” would have a few showers – not Force 10 and driving rain!

I had booked a boat trip to Foss - island, birds – I need to change the records -  in the morning but it was cancelled.  However with the miracle of mobile phones it was indicated that they might go at 2 pm and they would let me know.  So I spent the morning writing my blog and went off to catch the 2 o’clock boat.

I can’t remember places I went in the ‘70s.  I suspect that this is because they have been demolished.  The North Star Cinema was splendid – circle only, not many people went to the cinema, the stalls had been converted for dancing after the film had been shown.  Simon and I saw Invasion of the Bodysnatchers with Donald Sutherland (there wasn’t any choice) – that might fix the year we were last here.  However, no sign of the North Star, not surprised, just sad.  There doesn’t seem to be a cinema at all although there is a big new building going up, perhaps it is the rebirth of the North Star.  Also I can’t work out where the old MV St Clair (pre RoRo) docked, but think it would have been Victoria Pier which has been poshed up.

That reminds me of the first time we came in 1975 – we made friends with Maxi and Margaret through Pete who had bought a croft without land but with peat to cut, in order to write his Science Fiction.  Maxi had been whaling and then he had a croft.  Margaret knitted and brought up a family in the croft building with a loo 20 yards across the yard.  They thought the oil coming to Shetland was great.  She gave up knitting and went to work at Sullom Voe and they built a bungalow with an inside toilet.  We kept in touch and then lost touch -there are still Nicolson’s in Braewick and it would be nice if they are the same family. 

I have digressed massively.  What I started to say was that back in the ‘70’s there was a travelling cinema – the projectionist frequently got pissed and showed the reels in the wrong sequence.  A great time was had whatever happened.

More thoughts about Lerwick:

1:  they just mow their orchids along with the daisies

The orchids just grow by the side of the road

2:  the seals have found a place to beach where no-one takes notice of them

3:  a 2000 year old broch nestles down among  the 1950 council houses

Campsite from Broch

4: diesel is an eye watering 154p per litre – and this is where oil was brought ashore in the late ‘70s, saving the Thatcher government…sorry, subject banned along with that of wheelie bins.

Anyway I went off on my boat trip and very good it was too.  Lots of birds seen before we even left Lerwick harbour.

4 male Eider ducks

A Red throated Diver – excellent

Gannets nesting

Young gannets doing what young gannets do – it takes 5 years for them to reach maturity.

It is 22.51 and despite the gloomy weather I have not had the light on for long.  Anyway, magically, I seem to be able to publish my blog (no thanks to O2) so should be bang up to date.  My next decsion is what to do tomorrow.  Wind howling but no rain.  When I set off at the end of April I thought I would be in shorts all summer and that my most butch fleece would never be needed.  Since Kircudbright (gosh, that’s a long time ago) I’ve not seen the shorts, butch fleeces, rainproof trousers and thermals have been the order of the day.  I’m not complaining, just observing the London-centric weather forecasting…..