Drive-by after-breakfast posting

We are in Stromness, and the holiday is nearly over. There is a longer post half-written which fills in some of the details, but rather than try to complete that before we go out to enjoy our last day in Orkney, one quick question and answer.

Where would you find a 5000 year old figurine? In a museum, of course!

We were briefly at the Stromness Museum yesterday. It was almost closing time, but tickets are valid for 7 days, so we had a quick look round and will go back today. Quite soon.

Back on Mainland

Backtracking: yesterday was another misty morning on Westray. Was the mist heavier than before, or did it just seem that way because we were up early to catch the ferry? And then driving down to the bay at the south of the island? By the time we sailed, the haar was rising from the land, but out at sea it wrapped us like a blanket,and we couldn't see the islands we were passing.

Mainland was sunny, though, and busy, especially compared to more rural Westray. We spent the morning dashing about, for reasons, and getting lost, for no good reason. It had its high points, including coffee in the magnificent emporium that is the Old Library, and a winding drive down back roads to the Harray pottery, where I bought a tiny pottery mouse (it is entirely not the sort of thing I buy, but I did, anyway). Still, I was glad to reach Stromness, to make contact with the Ferry Inn (where we are staying a couple of nights), to find somewhere to park the car, to lunch on crab salad at Julia's Bistro.

After lunch we walked the length of Stromness, one long street "uncoiled like a sailors rope from North to South," as everyone quotes George Mackay as saying.

( We started at the Pier Arts Centre )

Back along the street, with its many changes of name, and its glimpses of the sea between adjacent houses:

To the Museum as I said this morning. We were disappointed to discover that the current exhibition about the Ness of Brodgar is not an overview of progress of excavations and discoveries, but an exhibition of contemporary artists and craftspeople inspired by the discoveries. This was very mixed, and most of it didn't impress me at all, but on the other hand, one of the contributors was jeweller Ola Gorie, whose Ness of Brodgar I thought was some of the best stuff she's done in ages (by all means read this as 'most to my taste') and it turns out there's a story behind it, too. There's also a video combining sound recordings and interviews at the dig with paintings and sketchings by the artist in residence, which I didn't get much out of until I returned this morning, and watched it in peace.

It's a wonderful museum in the traditional mode, full of Stuff, and rather than list the many, many treasures, I recommend a visit.

We continued to the South End, and sat for a while on one of the seats near the cannon, watching a small black duck disappearing and reappearing on the clear water. On the way back, I was quite surprised the the bookshop was still open. I hadn't planned to visit, but they had a poster in the window promoting the books of Frances Hardinge, and this is a good thing and should be encouraged, so I went in and completed my collection, and bought a couple of other books as well, because these things happen. Then we collapsed in our room until dinner time.

And now it's dinner time again - back to the Ferry Inn, because we enjoyed it last night.