(Kay)
Today we went to Nesting to visit a colleague from when I was here in 2010 – the headteacher at the time of Olnafirth Primary School, who instigated the sculpture commission I came to Shetland for. When I first came to Shetland back then, I stayed in Nesting, in an unforgettable place called Gletness. So we went back to Gletness and met the croft-owner whose chalet I stayed in. He already had one of the most authentic wonderful houses I have seen in Shetland with the best conservatory ever, principally because of the most stupendous view across rocky islets and shimmering water with oysters and seals swimming around. Now they are building an extension on the footprint of a long-ruined croft alongside, so it will be even more amazing than before!
Then we went to Eswick, the next promontory, and walked across the hills and fields to where I thought I remembered I had once come across a sturdy bench built into the top of the cliff-edge. Such an unusual thing to find in such a remote place! Well, my memory served me well and there it was. Really hidden – so much so that Joseph didn’t think there was anything there beyond a sheer drop into the water below.
After that we had a budget meeting in Mareel, where we could rely on better internet speed than at the booth, which foxed Joseph’s attempts at uploading yesterday’s sound file….
And finally we headed down to Burra, where we were surprised by a friendly pony and an abundance of birdsong and, even nicer, we were invited in for a cup of tea to a house we were walking past and it turns out we met 5 years ago at the opening of my sculptures in Voe. Only in Shetland! (And it seems to happen on an almost daily basis here too!)
