Swan Blog!
Posted: Friday, 24 February 2006 |
Well, it is inevitable that this blog is here. Herman fae Orkney will have been expecting it for long.
This is the Swan blog.
To explain, the Swan is a Shetland herring boat, a Fifie, built in Lerwick over 100 years ago, now restored and used as a sail training vessel. I have been many trips on the Swan, and have helped to organise two previous Swan trips to Norway for young people. My first was with the Scalloway youth club in Shetland, the second with the St Andrews youth club (a parish in Orkney, not to be confused with the Fife St Andrews).
This summer we're doing a trip for nine young people from Unst.
We have now raised enough funds to pay for the voyage, both by applying for some grants, and also by sheer hard slog. The bairns themselves have done a lot of work for this; mostly bag packing at the checkout in the Co-Op in Lerwick, then there was a barbeque at the Uyeasoond regatta, the chip suppers, the bottle stalls…….. the list goes on. It’s good to see them working for this.
The photos in this blog are from my previous trip with the St Andrew youth club in Orkney, and they were taken mostly by Andrew Halcrow, the skipper at the time, and one or two by myself. There are many more on the Swan website!
It’s hard to say why sail training is so special, but it is. Anyone that has been voyage crew on the Swan, or any of the thousands of other sail training vessels around will say the same. You come back a different person.
This is the Swan blog.
To explain, the Swan is a Shetland herring boat, a Fifie, built in Lerwick over 100 years ago, now restored and used as a sail training vessel. I have been many trips on the Swan, and have helped to organise two previous Swan trips to Norway for young people. My first was with the Scalloway youth club in Shetland, the second with the St Andrews youth club (a parish in Orkney, not to be confused with the Fife St Andrews).
This summer we're doing a trip for nine young people from Unst.
We have now raised enough funds to pay for the voyage, both by applying for some grants, and also by sheer hard slog. The bairns themselves have done a lot of work for this; mostly bag packing at the checkout in the Co-Op in Lerwick, then there was a barbeque at the Uyeasoond regatta, the chip suppers, the bottle stalls…….. the list goes on. It’s good to see them working for this.
The photos in this blog are from my previous trip with the St Andrew youth club in Orkney, and they were taken mostly by Andrew Halcrow, the skipper at the time, and one or two by myself. There are many more on the Swan website!
It’s hard to say why sail training is so special, but it is. Anyone that has been voyage crew on the Swan, or any of the thousands of other sail training vessels around will say the same. You come back a different person.
Here's one for the Fank!!
Posted: Monday, 27 February 2006 |
Met this ferful fine wife at the Norik Up Helly Aa on Saturday night. She reckoned the Dell Fank wid be right up her street.
How wid you rate her chances?
How wid you rate her chances?
Snow Day!
Posted: Tuesday, 28 February 2006 |
I always wake up to Radio Orkney, even tho I've lived in Shetland now for years. Just as weel, cos one o the first things they said wis that all the schools in Orkney were open (apart fae North Walls-the bairns in Hoy wid be delighted), and that ALL Shetland schools were SHUT! Of coorse, my bairns were up oot o their beds afore you could say 'snowman' and puttin 3 of everythin on. Typical, it taks them aboot half an hour to surface normally.
Here's a few pics o them oot in the snow.
The giant snowball is the bottom part o a snowman, but it got so cold that they had to leave it headless! If they finish it I'll post a pic.
Here's a few pics o them oot in the snow.
The giant snowball is the bottom part o a snowman, but it got so cold that they had to leave it headless! If they finish it I'll post a pic.
Blogs fae a thirty-something mum of 4 born in Fife, brought up in Orkney, and living in Unst.
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