Well our porch has been repaired and very nice it looks too ! Some of the old frame woodwork had rotted away so badly that it was a wonder the glass stayed in! We knew this would be one of the first jobs when we moved in and it is great to have this area fully usable. I will be getting on with decorating it at some stage.

Steve is enjoying his stay here. Yesterday we visited Burray in the daylight this time, so he was able to see Scapa Flow ! We were invited by Catherine Corsie’s father, Eddie Smales to have a look at his farm and his rather splendid collection of Highland cattle. Steve enjoyed chatting to Eddie who is also a Yorkshireman. It reminded me of the old joke: “How do you know a man is from Yorkshire? ” Answer: “He will tell you” : )

We visited the Italian chapel which is a must visit and always impresses, then back to Kirkwall for lunch and a bit of shopping then home to catch up on some work, driving the veryyyyy long way back via Birsay where the sun was setting and the storm was rolling in. So we got out of the car and Steve got his first taste of a proper Orcadian wind! Great photo opportunity. Having fully blown any cobwebs away we drove back home. When we got back Ross the builder was just finishing off the porch. We then all set about our jobs and later that evening Anna cooked the now famous Goose sausages ( watch out for shot in them! ) but this time with a fantastic Black pudding and mash potato side.

This morning we all slept in a bit and then set off to visit Yesnaby where we had a nice long walk and Steve took lots of photos, including a slow-mo video of the ‘Uphill waterfall’. This is a small waterfall, that when the conditions are right, the wind is such that the water is blow upwards so it looks like a backward flow of water! Steve is going to post the video on his Facebook page.

Then it was a short drive down to Stromness for lunch at Julia’s, a bit more shopping and banking a business cheque in the Post Office, as there is not a branch of Barclays on the island. We then picked up and filled in our forms for the islander discount on the ferry where we get a 30% discount as we are residents, nice.

Back to do some more work ready for tonight at the Orkney brewery were Saltfish Forty are playing, should be a good night, I do hope Anna offers to drive back !