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 http://www.sandaylightrailway.co.uk/, 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©)

Last updated 19 August 2006