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.

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿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.

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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 😎

The Island Games 2025 are upon us! It’s sunny and hot and buzzing out in the street, but inside we are a cool, calm and quiet. We have a beautiful sound installation and the wonderful Sails in St Magnus - come in for a gentle moment.

Orkney is hosting the 2025 Island Games and it all kicks off today! I put some Orkney flag bunting out last night as the cycle race comes past here…

I was telling stories tonight at Skaill House, and shared the billing with local band Stoatfinger! We had a blast 🥰

World War One ship's bell recovered after 108 years www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A beautiful evening for a walk around the Ring of Brodgar. I’ll never take this for granted.

And thou mayest aske thyself, 'How do Ich werke thys?' And thou mayest aske thyself, 'Wher ys that large destrier?' And thou mayest telle thyself, 'Thys nys not my beautiful castle!' And thou mayest telle thyself, 'Thys nys not my swift goshawk!'

I really did not see where this was going 😂

Solstice greetings from 59 degrees north! Some photos of our gathering, including a midnight selfie ☀️

I had a great time tonight telling stories at Skaill House - and I got to share a stage and hang out with the lovely Murray Cowie too!

Shout out on Father’s Day to Trapper Jackson. He and Mum are hoping to be in Orkney later this year, but here they are a couple of weeks ago when I visited. Typical expression!

Hanging out at the East Anglian Storytelling Festival! A medieval barn, hand-made pizza, and star stories round a fire pit.

Tonight @nessbattery.bsky.social and I got to meet Morph, and his creator Peter Lord. What an honour!

Ich ❤️ Blue Skye, and thou shouldest feele moost welcome to repost thys yf thou dost also love Blue Skye

An interesting point of view… aeon.co/ideas/keepin...

25th May is the feast of Bede & this is beginning of Bk 1 of his great text: "Brittania oceani insula, cui quondam Albion nomen fuit..." BL Cotton MS Tiberius C II; Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum; late 8th-early 9th century; England, S.; f.5v

None of my bandmates are on Bluesky but here’s a big public THANK YOU to Frank, Jenny and Hilary of Login’s Well, for a lovely gig last night for the Orkney Folk Festival 🎻🎶🥰

Absolute scenes etc etc. And here is @dreadships.bsky.social to keep it surreal.

It’s 17 May, Norwegian Constitution Day! Greetings to all my Norwegian pals far and near 🇳🇴 Here I am in @stmagnuscathedral.bsky.social hanging out with St Olaf 😇🙏

Skaill Loch, Orkney, 9.15pm

The problems in our society are not caused by migrants or refugees. They are caused by an economic system rigged in favour of corporations and billionaires. If the government wanted to improve people’s lives, it would tax the rich and build an economy that works for us all.

Would @nessbattery.bsky.social be interested, maybe…?

It’s the Feast of St Julian of Norwich. All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

I’ve booked an online ticket for this - really looking forward to it 🪦

Work has started to clean and service the cathedral clock. Horologists Darren and Stuart are removing and labelling every single part, under the watchful eye of our technician Peter...