Not Knitting, Not Books, Not Devon -

When we came back from Devon we brought son no. 2 back with us for a few weeks break. He'd had his second jab just before we arrived  in Glasgow on our return trip to Orkney so that fell nicely. We didn't do a great deal while he was here, he was pleased to have some cooler weather, and fresher air which allows his asthma to be less troublesome and his eczema to heal. The heat and pollution in Glasgow does neither of those conditions any favours. 

We did have a couple of trips to Geri's Ice Cream parlour, he and the OH went out one night for an Indian meal at our local Indian restaurant which I'm told is excellent. I don't eat Indian food so I don't go. We had a trip to the cinema to see - what else? - Marvel's Black Widow! and then we took a day trip to Sanday. 

We've been to Sanday before, decades ago when we were here on holiday and we didn't see much of it because it was swathed in thick fog. But we felt obliged to go as we had booked the ferry and we didn't; appreciate in those days that you could just cancel if the weather wasn't brilliant, or really if you just changed your mind about going. Anyway we anticipated better weather this time and we booked. When the day dawned it wasn't foggy but it was grey and cold and wet and we thought about cancelling; but then decided to go anyway. 

The Vikings named Sanday as they named most of the Orkney Islands and as they weren't very imaginative they didn't wrack their brains for too long when it came to christening places. So Sanday simply mean sandy island and that's because - yes well, need I say more?

We had a good if somewhat cold day, mainly exploring beaches, although we visited the Heritage centre, where they have an impressive Pictish stone which for some unfathomable reason was allowed out of the clutches of the National Museum in Edinburgh and returned whence it came after some restoration work, took a look from as close as we could get to the vertically striped lighthouse ( the track up to it was closed due to  some serious erosion) and had a picnic. We were very glad indeed that we had taken a picnic, because although the Sanday website tells you you will never want for opportunities to eat and drink on Sanday this is not actually the case. There is one very run down looking hotel* with odd opening hours and a cafe which is open one day a week between 11.00 and 2.00 and not the day we were there. 

* We did visit the hotel on our previous visit. The OH was carried away by the  offer of warm apple pie and cream and ordered it. He wasn't prepared for a plate with a microwaved Mr Kipling individual fruit pie topped with that cream you squirt our of cans. It has changed hands since then, probably several times, but it looks very dilapidated now. 

On the upside the colours of the sky, the sea and the sand were all beautiful and if I cold paint I would definitely be trying to turn one of my photographs into a watercolour. As I can't. I'll have to be satisfied with the photos although they couldn't quite capture the subtlety of the colours.