Meandering and Bimbling

We ventured out to the east side of the Mainland today and the first thing we ran into was haar and thankfully it quickly lifted but not before I got a shot.

First stop was the famous Italian Chapel, decorated by Italian prisoners of war when they weren't building causeways between the string of islands off the east side of Mainland. It was impressive, certainly, but perhaps could do with less hype. The words of the prisoners about creating something beautiful out of waste and scrap, as well as the ongoing relationship with some of the men and the island after the war was finished impressed me most.

We then meandered further down Burray and South Ronadsay and saw some shipwrecks. I could easily imagine taking up one of the scuba diving excursions around Scapa Flow.

I can't resist taking photos of post boxes and telephone boxes in remote spots (today's blip). When I stopped to pop out to take a shot of a post box, a herd of cows decided to take umbrage and were particularly vocal in telling me that I wasn't welcome, even though I was moving away from them. I considered telling them (in a loud manner) that I was a vegetarian/wannabe-vegan but I didn't think that would help. Maybe it had something to do with the house next door that had 'brothel' written on it...

We bimbled around Stromness for a bit. The town was getting ready for a parade to mark the end of 'Shopping Week' and there were men dressed up as Vikings, happy to pose for a tourist. Some of the Vikings had mobile phones which struck me as anachronistic but live and let live. We were told that the parade was a bit of a free for all for drink so we made our way back to quiet, sober Kirkwall. I was out for a walk when I stumbled upon the Kirkwall City Pipe Band playing in front of St Magnus Cathedral. I ran back to our digs to get Dr T (we have such a central location) and we watched the end of the performance. It turns out they only play five nights over the summer so I was especially pleased to them. Another lovely day close to the Arctic Circle.

More flicks over here.