91Èȱ¬

It’s been a while, since my last blog, so this one will just be a lot o peedie bits n pieces.

I was in Norway for a week visiting my boyfriend Arne in the Spring Holidays. We used to call these the Easter Holidays but as Easter was the week before the school shut I’ve updated the name.

Anyway, the weather was great, normally I expect copious amounts of rain, but this time the sun decided to come with me. I took some pictures around the place where Arne stays.












One of the things that fascinates me about foreign countries is their supermarkets. I love to wander round and see how different it all looks. Now that I spend a lot of time in Norway this novelty has worn off a little, but just for blogging purposes I took a few snaps on my phone. Sorry, the quality is not good, but try and think hidden cameras - I was trying to be very discreet, but fear I may have been spotted photographing the packet mixes and beer.

















So what else has been going on? Well, at work things are busy, me and another member of staff at school are organising a trip to Norway on the Swan. We did it a couple of years ago, so if you’re interested have a look at my July 2006 blog and you’ll see what I’m going on about.. Funding hasn’t been straightforward, the kids are busy helping out with concerts and curry nights, but the Lottery Award we applied for didn’t happen. So there’s been a recent flurry of activity in the money department of our little group, and we managed to secure some small grants from a few different sources. All should be well we hope, and if you’re in Unst this Friday you can come along to our fundraising concert in the Baltasound Hall.

Here’s a photo of the Swan, from the previous trip.









Unfortunately I miss the concert, as I am going to Cumbrae for a Sea Survival course. I’m taking part in the Shetland-Bergen Race again this year, and new rules mean a percentage of the crew on the boat need to have done this course. So it’s off to Glasgow on Friday morning then the train to Largs and ferry to Cumbrae. Of course, the sea survival thing might come in handy with the Swan trip to Norway too, though I don’t really want to have to put it into practice.

Here’s an archive shot of last year’s race.





My car failed its MOT in the holidays, and I thought it best to let it rest in peace. Although with only 60000 miles on the clock it smarts a little. Rust in the subframe they said. And the sump. And something to do with the steering. In fact I had four DANGEROUSES on my MOT report. My language was not for repeating on a 91Èȱ¬ site, I can tell you! As I have no welding skills it would cost me an arm and a leg to repair so I cut my losses and got another car, photo evidence on Muness Views blog!

The Folk Festival is on in Shetland this weekend, and I went to the concert in Fetlar. It was a great night; all the acts were of a really high standard, with a very international feel. Bands from Norway, Croatia, Shetland, Orkney and Scotland took part. This year I chose not to go to any of the Lerwick concerts, as I’m so busy. However, I did end up in Lerwick on Saturday, having lunch in the Museum with 2 of my kids. And, as chance would have it, we sat right next to a lady with groatie buckie earrings. Did the FPU tell you, FC? It was great to meet her and the MPU again.

The most exciting news we’ve had recently has involved my daughter. At the moment she is studying for her highers at school in Lerwick. Last year she applied for a place at United World Colleges, which is an organisation that has a number of schools around the world. UWC describe what they do as this, which is taken from their website

United World Colleges (UWC) is unique. It is the only global educational movement that brings together students from all over the world – selected on personal merit, irrespective of race, religion, politics and the ability to pay – with the explicit aim of fostering peace and international understanding.

They are quite difficult to get into, and last year she was accepted but didn’t manage to get a bursary, so couldn’t accept the place. She was gutted, and resolved to reapply this year. So at the start of April she had her interview at Atlantic College in Wales, and we got The Letter last week. This time she has been accepted with a very decent bursary, and they have placed her in the Mahindra UWC in India. We were totally blown away by the news, and although she had told them at interview that she didn’t have a preference for which school to go to, I think secretly she had Mahindra at the top of her list. I’m SO pleased for her, but the thought that she is going to be nearly on the other side of the world has not sunk in yet. Anyone that’s interested in UWC or Mahindra can check out their websites on and

Ok, I was looking for a decent photo of Beth and found this one I took for a local business that sells fiddles!



Until next time folks!

Tomorrow afternoon at 3pm 8 young folk will sail from Baltasound to Norway on board the Shetland Sail Training vessel Swan. Of course, we wouldn't let them do it alone, so Ian (techy teacher) and I are accompanying them. And as our sailing skills are a bit rough, we thought we'd better take a crew as well. So altogether we will be 15 folk.

It will take between a day and a day and a half to get to Værlandet, our first port of call. This is a really bonny island just north of Sognefjorden. From there we will make our way south, stopping at Hardbakka, Alverstraumen, Bergen, Baldersheim, Stavanger, possibly getting as far south as Dirdal (if this is a familiar name to you it's because Dag, our regular Norski commentor, comes from there) before heading back to Unst, hopefully via Utsire. This is rather a lot to fit into our 11 day charter, so a few night sails between ports may be in order.

We will be meeting up with 3 schools in Norway, as well as doing the more 'touristy' stuff in Bergen and Stavanger. We hope that our time will allow us to meet Dag and his pupils, if not on their home turf, then we will take a hike together to Preikestolen, which is not so far from Dirdal.

The last month or two have been hectic, with last minute fundraising and planning. As a result I've been neglecting the hoosewark rather too much and although I'm still not packed, my house is a bit more in order after my massive cleaning frenzy yesterday. So when I come off the boat exhausted I can come straight home, have a shower, and go to sleep for as long as I want! A luxury after doing watches on the return journey.

This will be a new experience for the kids, and some of them are a bit apprehensive. Sea sickness patches have been ordered from the surgery, and I managed to get some spewy bags from a friendly Northlink security guard. (Thanks Northlink!) However, the weather looks fairly calm for the next couple of days, which will probably mean calm seas and a lot of engine noise.

The local Chocolate factory here in Unst has helped us out with some boxes of choccies to give to the schools we visit, and the Unst brewery is giving us some beer to give to some of the adults we come across on the trip. Thanks to Aaron and Sonny for that!

Here's a few pics of some of the places we will visit, these were taken 2 years ago on a previous school trip.





Værlandet had a festival last time we were there.






The Swan in Alverstraumen






Bergen






Baldersheim






Preikestolen. (Yes we've done a Risk Assesment purely for this hike!)