At the beginning of March, we had snow - a lot of snow! Apparently, it was the worst snowfall for 20 or 30 years. Here on Stronsay the only effects were to close the school for a day or two, make some roads a bit tricky to negotiate, and cause one or two ferries to be cancelled. Fortunately, the council lorry kept ploughing and gritting each day so that the main road was always passable.

Our island GP made an appointment for me to see a specialist in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for a routine check-up on Friday 31 March. The appointment was for 1130 and would last for less than an hour but it meant I had to fly to Kirkwall on Thursday, fly to Aberdeen and back to Kirkwall on Friday before flying back to Stronsay on Saturday morning. Our GP's receptionist soon sorted out the all the flight details and times (including transport to/from the hospital) with her customary efficiency. She handed me an envelope containing tickets, documentation and a detailed itinerary. All I had to do was to book two nights in the Kirkwall hotel and arrange for taxis to/from the airport. I had to pay for this but fortunately, I can claim it all back (apart from the first eight pounds) from NHS Orkney. As I left Stronsay on Thursday the sun shone down from a clear blue sky although it was quite chilly. On Friday, I left Kirkwall for Aberdeen in excellent weather conditions but all the way to Aberdeen, we were in or just above thick cloud. It rained for the whole time I was in Aberdeen. And to cap it all just as I got back to Aberdeen airport for the return flight there was a problem with the electricity supply and the place was momentarily plunged into semi-darkness. The power was soon restored to most areas but it did delay some people getting through to the departure lounge. Fortunately, the only effect as far as I was concerned was a delay of four or 5 minutes in take-off. The plane left Aberdeen with its rain and arrived at Kirkwall in bright, clear weather.

In the way that these things seem to happen, no sooner had I left on Thursday morning than Maureen had a phone call from Malcolm's wife, Sue, to say that their dog was in the process of giving birth to her puppies. Maureen could actually hear the puppies through the telephone. When Sue rang off a while later four puppies had arrived and at least one more was one its way. When Maureen phoned on Friday morning to enquire about the new arrivals the grand total was seven puppies. All were healthy but Malcolm had had to help the last arrival into its new world - the mother was probably exhausted! Two photographs of the puppies are on the website here and here. Unfortunately, all this excitement meant that Malcolm forgot that I was away in Aberdeen and he turned up on Friday to lay the new carpet tiles in the kitchen. However, he will return next week and the kitchen will then be finished in time for Easter.

You may recall that last September we were privileged to have the company of Growl Myrtle an 18-year old, 3-legged, toothless cat whilst her owners were away on holiday. This month her owners, Jack & Simone, informed us that she had become very listless and was hardly eating so they had decided to give her the last, greatest and most difficult gift of all on 21 March. The vets in Kirkwall are all very kind and understanding so Growl Myrtle left this world on her final Big Adventure, purring contendedly in her owner's arms.

Last updated 01 April 2006