Thur, May 4
It’s grey this morning but the forecast optimistically promises: Becoming sunny and less windy. Good enough for us. We leave about 10 and as we drive up the only other way out of town–slightly less narrow than the main street–Michael sees Jean Leonard, the music teacher who gave him the score for a piece played at the Orkney Folk Festival three years ago. From this Michael composed his Orkney Song which he has played for us numerous times and which became our God Save the Queen or Marseillaise. He leaps from the car to go meet her and we pull to the curb to wait for him. We wait and wait….and wait. Forty-five minutes later we’re still waiting so we finally come to our senses and drive off! We figure he will manage quite well on his own.
By now the sky is blue and we’re off to Waulkmill Bay where Lynn and I had gone crazy picking up one beautiful stone after another three years ago and wishing we could ship entire crates back home. I think we are perhaps slightly less crazed this time though we do bring back a number of irresistible specimens.
These markings are almost runic
This one looks very Henry Moore, no?
We also find a seal skeleton and, where the tide has run out, numerous worm castings in the rippled sand.
Back at No. 18 we find Michael who is completely unperturbed that we had waited so long for him; he’s had a great time with Jean, has played his piece for her and is happy to have his own adventure.
BLTs finished we’re off to the Broch of Gurness. Brochs are found only in Scotland and generally near the sea; Orkney has about 100. They are large round towers, up to 65 or 70 feet in diameter with hollow walls about 15 feet thick with internal staircases and the whole structure could be 40 to 45 feet tall. They seem to be built for fortification (a Roman threat perhaps but there is no evidence of this purpose.) In fact, their use is still a mystery. Gurness is one that has quite a village built around it, most of the site within surrounding ditches, a community as large as 30 families. The site was occupied from the iron age (1st, 2nd centuries) through the Pictish times (9th century perhaps) to the Norse era (10th and 11th centuries) and the houses, though of a later date than Skara Brae, are very similar.
An aerial view
There are more photos and information at this link:
https://www.orkneyjar.com/history/brochs/gurness/
And here is one of the very few examples of a Pictish home, shamrock-shaped with five “cells” surrounding a central room with a hearth. There is also the remains of a Norse longhouse.
Back in Stromness again I try to call Bob on Lynn’s phone, which has been set up (why didn’t I do the same?) for international calls, to wish him a happy birthday but he’s not in the house so I have to make do with leaving a message. Jen cooks our wonderful Dounby Butcher pork chops
which she serves with applesauce and a salad. Afterwards, yes, it’s more Spite and Malice.
The ferry alit in the harbor