The Hill of Hoy

The weather has been unbelievably good up here in the Northlands these last few days. I fear Daughter #3 may have got hold of the wrong end of the stick regarding normal conditions at 58° North.

The sun rose at almost 4am this morning and I witnessed it. By 5:30 I decided the day was too good to miss and went out walking round the town on deserted roads with just the cows and oyster catchers for company, the latter making a lot of noise to warn me away from their nests.

By 7am I was back home, ready for breakfast and by 9:30 I was on the bus with daughter#3 to meet daughter #2 in Kirkwall who would drive us down for coffee to Sheila Fleet’s gallery and tearoom.

A drive across the first barrier to visit the Italian Chapel was a must for daughter #3 who was ignorant of both. I would have enjoyed going further south but both girls were eager to get back to their bases in order to have long cycle runs in the afternoon.
I on the other hand just wanted to sit in the sun in the garden with an Orkney Ice Cream ( the best ice cream ever) and watch the sea and the boats.
The way I look at it is, if the daughters consign me to the backseat of the car and mumble to each( which passes as speech to younger ears but which I can’t hear) then I am free to act as the old biddy they think I am and that involves a lot of sitting in the sun while it’s available.

My blip is of the Hoy hills taken from Ness Point in Stromness with not a whisker of cloud on their tops( eat your heart out, IainatCreel!