My word, how time flies up here. I have just realised that I have not produced an edition of the "Fletcher Saga" since the end of October.

In recent weeks there have been one or two movements of people onto and away from Stronsay but we are now battening down ready for the Christmas season. Santa Claus arrives on the Stronsay on Saturday 17 December and will be in the Stronsay Hotel to receive letters from suitably well-behaved children.

In January 2005 the local education authority started to hold weekly evening classes in singing in Stronsay. Since then the "Stronsay Singers" have met each week to practice and learn new songs under the expert tuition of Michael Lee who travels from Kirkwall to Stronsay each Monday afternoon - a 90 minute journey. He takes the evening class in singing from 7:30 to 9:30 then stays at the Stronsay Hotel before returning to Kirkwall on Tuesday morning - another 90 minute journey. Since January he has had to cancel the class just once (because the weather was too bad for the boat to sail) and on one occasion the weather on the Tuesday was too bad for the boat to sail so Michael had to fly back to Kirkwall.

The singing class numbers about ten with a wide range of ages and there is no requirement to read music nor is it necessary to have a wonderful voice (they even let me sing bass), all that is required is enthusiasm. We were asked to help out this week by singing at a concert in the Kirk organised by the Stronsay Community Council to raise money for a children's play area in Whitehall village; few of our members had appeared in public so it was with some trepidation that we gathered in the Manse (the minister, Jennifer George, is a regular class member singing alto) for a rehearsal prior to our first public appearance. Nobody booed nor did they throw any rotten vegetables - in fact, everyone we spoke to afterwards was quite impressed by our singing.

Whilst on the subject of singing it is well worth mentioning that there is to be a performance of Handel's 'Messiah' in the Stronsay Kirk at 2 pm on Saturday 17 December, the singers and the orchestra are all inhabitants of the nearby island of Sanday who will be travelling over on the morning ferry and returning on the evening ferry.

And now, as Monty Python was wont to say, for something completely different. Maureen is trying to find a sensible recipe and method for Green Thai Curry and for Five Bean Chili, she has found one or two recipes but in each case only the ingredients are given, there are no instructions on what to do with them! Can you help?

This will probably be the last Saga for 2005 so may Maureen and I (and Surrey) wish all our readers a Very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2006.

Last updated 10 December 2005