Day9 -the Kirkwall Tree in Albert Street

I dedicate this picture to Barrioboy who once practised law in the shade of its boughs in Kirkwall. It stands in the middle of the town and is so old it has been helped to stand with the judicious use of a steel girder up the inside of its trunk.
There is the common myth that there are no trees in Orkney, but indeed there are, although the majority that I have seen have been sycamores which are very resilient in the climate of the isles.

We were in Kirkwall to meet up with the dancers IainatCreel and the current Mrs Creel who have been Dower House sitting for us and had decided to come clean about the floods and breakages they had initiated down south. It turns out there were no accidents and I am assured that the taps have never been so clean. Taps? Clean? What is that all about?
What worried me more was that my bathroom scales took 4 lbs off the weight of both of them. Where exactly does that leave me? 4 lbs heavier than I thought? Enough to reach for a scone or bar of chocolate!

We had a very tasty lunch in Judith Glues after their country dancing session. It appears that folk that country dance at 10 am on a Monday morning are very likely the kind of people who clean taps. Bless them!