A Special Theme Curator Tour with Fran Flett Hollinrake will take place in the cathedral on Sat 7 Feb at 1000: 'The Legacy of War from the Middle Ages to Modern Times'. The tour lasts one hour, costs £15 per person and there is no need to book.

So, @nessbattery.bsky.social. You gave me Reggae Shark; I give you…whatever this is.

Awww, nice one @dannyrobins.bsky.social! A Mastermind champion! You cut it a bit fine but many congratulations 🙌😅

We made it to February! Blessings of Imbolc/Candlemas/St Brigid to everyone 🙌🌞

A very happy Burns night, wherever you are. Slàinte mhath! Please excuse the lack of neeps - red cabbage will have to do. I don’t think RB would mind.

Frank likes a bit of Winterwatch

More aurora from Orkney!

Got some very red aurora happening in Orkney right now

Great edition of one of my favourite podcasts - featuring the amazing @judithjesch.bsky.social talking about her new translation of the Orkney saga. @stmagnuscathedral.bsky.social gets a few mentions! podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/g...

Back-to-back Viking goodness. I loved @judithjesch.bsky.social’s new reworking of the Orkneyinga Saga - a great Introduction, excellent references, and very readable! Then @catjarman.bsky.social’s amazing River Kings - what a ride, what a journey! That little carnelian bead has my heart. 🥰

My cat is an absence of light

Here we go again! #orkney #uksnow KW16 5/10

To quote my cousin Paula (who’s a north east quine), it’s fair dingin’ it doon. #orkney #uksnow KW16 7/10

It’s very bonny in Orkney if you don’t have to go anywhere… #uksnow 2/10 KW16

More snow pictures from Orkney. Not currently snowing but more forecast…. #uksnow KW16 0/10

A lovely piece from @peteralanross.bsky.social about the cemeteries of Paris. As a teenager in the mid 1980s I made the pilgrimage to Pere Lachaise for Jim and Oscar ❤️❤️

It’s hard to know what is new snow and what is drifting, but I’m going with 4/10 KW16 #uksnow This is the view from our window looking west!

Well, @peteralanross.bsky.social you have done it again. I loved Upon a White Horse as much as I loved Tomb With a View and Steeple Chasing. The mixture of memory, archaeology, folklore, poetry and art is beautiful and very moving. Thank you! 🥰🥲

A snowy story in Orkney’s West Mainland this morning ❄️🌨️☃️

#uksnow KW16 8/10 quite blizzard-like in Orkney’s West Mainland, very strong winds and a lot of drifting. Here’s @nessbattery.bsky.social off on a mission of mercy! ❄️😳

Yay! Currently 4/10 in KW16 #uksnow

Remembering the lovely Twitter #uksnow thing when you posted your postcode and a mark out of ten for how hard it was snowing, and someone made a map so you could see snowfall all over the UK in real time. Is there a Bluesky equivalent? KW16 6/10

Woody Guthrie’s ‘New Year Rulin’s’ of 1942 take some beating. Happy 2026 to you all when it comes. 🎉

Christmas wish come true! Thank you to @bendorgrosvenor.bsky.social for writing it, and thank you to @nessbattery.bsky.social for buying it for me ❤️✨

2.15pm at the Point of Buckquoy on the shortest day. #sunset #orkney #solstice

I’m ready for the 80s Day Clubbing event at Rapture later - check out my Old Lady outfit!

Frank has made a little cave under the Christmas twigs 🤩🎄

A very happy St Lucy’s Feast to you all! May your day be filled with light and saffron buns 😇🙏🕯️

🥳🎄🌟 It’s JAAAAAM-MAS!! 🌟🎄🥳

Just finished watching this fantastic three-part series. Interesting and emotional. One fellow at the end says that looking at our colonial past isn’t about ‘pride’ or ‘blame’. There is nuance here. @davidolusoga.bsky.social is just brilliant.

🥳😁

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿It’s St Andrew’s Day today and I’ve discovered that it was once traditional to ring ‘Tandry’ (S-tAndry) bells, and to bake a Tandry cake! I found a recipe, so here it is 😋

Loving everybody’s work here 🍟

It’s Stir Up Sunday tomorrow but I’m busy then so today’s the day! Not sure if Jill Archer will be tutting at my disregard for tradition, or approving of my foresight and organisational skills. 🤔

I had a lovely spooky time last night at Skaill House, sharing ghostly tales! Thanks to Julie for taking care of everyone and making the house look so atmospheric! 👻☠️🕯️🍁🍂

There’s a bright aurora tonight - worth getting out of bed for! #orkney #northernlights

Glen Campbell is on BBC4 singing Wichita Lineman and it’s just damn fine 🥰

A lovely birthday gift from @nessbattery.bsky.social - a book written by the wonderful @peteralanross.bsky.social. That’s my weekend sorted ❤️

Tomorrow (Monday 29 Sept) sees the last 🪦 historic graveyard tour🪦 of the season. It starts at 2pm inside, next to the custodian’s office - costs £10pp and lasts an hour.

🥺

We had a great turnout for the storytelling event today - thanks Tom, Marita and Fran!

✨✨✨ TODAY ✨✨✨ As part of the Orkney Festival of Archaeology, we are having a storytelling session this afternoon at St Peter’s Kirk, Sandwick. It’s £8pp, and the church is very traditional and unspoilt…so please wrap up warm if you are planning to come along!

Huge thanks to everyone who came along on our special Graffiti Tours, put on as part of the Orkney Festival of Archaeology. Here's Curator Fran Flett Hollinrake in full flow! (Thank you to Valeria for the photo) ⛪

Well

A life-sized bronze statue has been unveiled on the island of Papa Westray, Orkney, in memory of the last known Great Auk Pinguinus impennis killed there in 1813. The statue is an exact replica of the preserved remains of the bird, which are held by the Natural History Museum.

Here’s my Welsh great grandmother ☺️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 She too was a Frances, but generally known as Fanny or Fan! The details are great - gumboots, crossover pinny, one sleeve rolled up… 😍

I had a lovely afternoon visiting St John’s Kirk - Walls Heritage today! The church looks lovely and there is new interpretation about the area. Interesting graveyard tour, yummy cakes, & I met @janejanealogy.bsky.social too! Well done to everyone involved - hope you get lots of generous visitors 💒

In Edinburgh this morning I got to visit two very special churches; the Magdalene Chapel in the Cowgate, and the well house of St Triduana in Restalrig. Hooray for the lovely volunteers who opened up for me.

Pre-anniversary Afternoon Tea at the fabulous Birsay Bay tearoom. We had a walk afterwards and saw puffins 😎