The Old Man of Hoy

It’s the first day of Orkney Nature Festival which we knew nothing about until Elaine said she had taken the chance on purchasing tickets for the round Hoy cruise on the North Link ferry Hamenove in case we wanted to go. Of course we did, along with hundreds of others - the cruise was sold out.

Included in the fare was a bottomless buffet which created a tension between the food and the view outside. And it was spectacular. RSPB volunteers were on hand to help spot and identify birds and a commentary provided information on the sights we passed by.

The other event on the first day of the festival was an evening with the Cloud Appreciation Society in Stromness Town Hall. As all the comfy downstairs seats had been sold we were related to the gods on the balcony. Not a good place to sit, seats hard, very narrow and upright.

We endured it until the break when we went downstairs and commandeered some soft seats for the second half. And we could hear too! I realised why all the soft seats were sold out - it was packed with a fair proportion of the 60,000 members of the Cloud Appreciation Society on a week’s cloud appreciating trip to the Orkneys.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good cloud. After all I taught A level meteorology. And, in my own way with railways and the ukulele I’m just as fanatical about the stuff I like doing. It was an interesting evening with music, poems, films and talks giving rich variety of entertainment. Just don’t make us sit upstairs next time.

Oh! The extra? Also of Hoy from above Stromness this morning.

Thank you for continuing to visit during our sojourn on Orkney. It seems like you’re enjoying it; it’s bringing back some good memories and making one or two people jealous!