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On Sunday 02 July the mid-morning ferry brought people from Sanday and Eday to Stronsay. A United Service for the Eday & Stronsay congregations was held in Stronsay Kirk at 12:15 and at 3 pm the Sanday Fiddle Club gave a concert in Stronsay Kirk. Mike Newman lead the Sanday Fiddle Club which played pieces by Bach, Sir Peter Maxwell Davis (Master of the Queen's Music and a resident of Sanday), Gustav Holst, one of Mike's own compositions and finished with a piece based on a composition by The Beatles. The kirk has been quite busy with concerts this year. On the evening of Friday 14 July there was a Summer Clarinet Recital, a fundraiser (donations, no admission charge) for Stronsay Playground, arranged by Julia from Clifton. The well-attended concert was given by Sue Bishop & Ian Noonan. Sue is a clarinet teacher at St Paul's Cathedral School, London and Ian is a clarinet & bass clarinet player with the Salomon Orchestra, London's leading non-professional symphony orchestra. They form the clarinet sections of I Maestri, a unique organisation that helps talented young conductors hone their skills, and Waterloo Winds.

Stronsay Gala was held on Saturday 08 July. Although the weather was somewhat cool the rain held off. The entertainments included the pipe band and the South Ronaldsay ploughboys with their miniature ploughs & the ploughgirls dressed as horses. The pet show was very popular and comprised dogs, cats, ducks, hens and ferrets. There were just two floats this year - a kitchen scene and a Wild West scene (Jack, the Shetland pony, and a miniature Conestoga wagon). The Clydesdales from Fernside were there along with several horses and ponies. Unfortunately when we came to leave we found that the car's batttery was flat and we had to rely on two "good samaritans" with a camper van and a set of jump leads who helped get the car started. There are some o my photographs of the Gala here

Peggy Bain, a visitor from West Virginia, USA paid Stronsay a visit on Tuesday 11 July. Apparently this is Peggy's eighth visit to Orkney and her first visit to Stronsay. Peggy had sent me an email announcing her intention to visit Stronsay and expressing a wish to meet the author of the "Fletcher Saga" - fame at last! Peggy arrived on the Tuesday evening ferry stayed at the Stronsay Hotel for two nights and departed on the Thursday morning ferry. Christina and her daughter Linda, two old friends from Kent, England arrived for a short visit on the same Tuesday evening ferry as Peggy. So on Wednesday afternoon the kitchen was quite full when Peggy called in to see us.

We had quite a few hot, sunny days in July but August has seen a return to dull, cool and damp weather. I played the organ for a wedding on Sat 22 July when the weather was foggy but this did not deter the large congregation from enjoying the wedding ceremony, held in the kirk, and the dance, held in the Community Centre. People often remark on the fact that dances on Stronsay do not start until 9:30 pm, this is to allow local farmers to make the most of the long daylight hours to complete their summer-time tasks such as silage cutting, ploughing, rolling, drilling etc

We cannot help but shake our heads when we read in the the national press and hear on the radio that folk "down south" are concerned because petrol and diesel fuel may soon cost one pound per litre. We've been paying over a pound a litre in Orkney for at least a year!

(All previous Sagas are on my website at )

Drama on Stronsay! One Sunday just after lunch we heard a most unusual
sound - unusual for Stronsay, that is. A fire-engine with blue lights
flashing and two-tone horn blaring swept down past our house and into
Whitehall Village. Apparently there was a grass fire behind the Stronsay
Hotel and it was getting dangerously close to a wooden building that is
used by the monks from Papa Stronsay so someone called out our volunteer
firemen. The fire was soon brought under control and Stronsay returned
to its usual peaceful state.
Malcolm and Sue (at Ha'Breck on Rothiesholm) have had to install an
electric fence to stop the ponies Henry & Min from pushing against the
fence & making the fence-posts lean at alarming angles. After one or two
shocks the ponies have learned to keep a respecful distance from the
fence. The dogs soon discovered that they could still jump over the
fence without getting an electric shock but Brack, the bitch who
recently had seven puppies, did get a shock when she jumped over the
fence without realising that after giving birth her "undercarriage" hung
quite a bit lower than it did in the past. Now all the dogs, being
intelligent, have discovered that the bottom wire on the fence is not
electrified so they simply squeeze under it instead of trying to jump
over it. Brack also received a kick from one of the ponies when it
objected to her sniffing around its rear hooves, despite being
constantly told to "come away" by Malcolm and by Sue. No serious damage
was done but Brack now makes long detours in order to keep well clear of
the ponies hooves. Brack's puppies have now been found good homes but
Malcolm & Sue decided to keep Solo, the pure white pup with black
markings on his paws and the top of his skull.. With the departure of
the people from Helmsley, Rosie & Nessie have been adopted by Ha'Breck
and appear to have integrated with the other sheep and the ponies,
ducks, dogs and cats.
It has been very warm this month so we've been sleeping with the windows
open. Several times Maureen has been woken up in the middle of the night
by the sound of the seals "singing", fortunately she decided against
disturbing my dreams and asking me if I could hear them too. She feels
quite privileged to be able to hear the sound in the dead silence of the
Stronsay night, it is quite eerie but most comforting and Maureen always
falls back to sleep as she listens to their sound.
Dr Jon Buchan, the relief GP on Stronsay, is an excellent violinist.
Just before finishing his latest stint of duty he & his partner came to
our house with his violin and some sheet music. I spent a pleasant hour
accompanying him on the keyboard as we played some of Corelli's work.
Although I've heard Corelli before I'd never played any of his music and
found it to be a most enjoyable experience.
This month the Sanday Light Railway (website
), the most northerly
passenger-carrying railway in the UK, was officially opened by a
resident of Sanday, none other than Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (Master of
the Queen's Music); they don't do things by half on Sanday!
We shall be "cat-sitting" again for Jack & Simone in September. Alas,
poor Growl Myrtle is no longer with us but this year we shall have the
pleasure of the company of "Timber"; another cat like Surrey i.e. a
house cat that does not go outdoors. Jack & Simone's request came to us
in the form of a poem:
They call me Timber, "T" for short
I'm a female tabby cat.
I emigrated from Argyll,
And I didn't think much of that.
I share my home with sisters three,
Of which two can delight,
But number three, a bully, she
So loves to pick a fight.
Growl Myrtle I still miss a lot
(and Jake is gone now too);
I heard the stories of the time
She came to say with you.
I must get to the point I think,
But first I should explain:
I'm not as young as once I was:
I don't like wind and rain,
So I venture out quite rarely now -
I'm ambushed oft out there
by that one sneaky sister cat
Who's like a polar bear!
So when my darling humans say
They're off to France once more,
I do assume with heavy heart
They'll put me "out the door"
And who knows what the perils are
Which lie ahead for me,
Unless I can prevail on you
To have a "guest" called T.
I emigrated from Argyll,
Swapped trees for sea and sand,
So if you can't do B&B
for me, I'll really understand.
(Simone Board漏)