The weather has not been great for the last 3 days – gale force 8 yesterday, not good visibility with the mist coming and going. The boats bringing visitors from Leverburgh have not been in for the last 3 days – we really have had the island to ourselves – “Splendid Isolation” indeed.
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| Jo enjoys the Splendid Isolation |
Yesterday was a free day, so a late start and a morning spent each doing our own thing round the village – visibility not good enough for walking. At lunch time, the weather cleared, and those people interested in walking decided where they would go. Some went to the Gap (600’) then veered east to go up Oisseval. Others went to the Gap then up Connachair. Still others went to Ruival where they watched a seal and bird watched. On the walk up Connachair, the Bonxies (Great Skuas) were at their best performing excellent aerobatics assisted by the force 8 wind.
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| Bonxie preparing to attack |
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| Village form Connachair |
On our return to the village, 3 hardy souls decided to do “The Chimney Challenge” . On the opposite side of Village Bay from the MoD base, there is a steep gulley (called The Chimney”), and there is a tradition of seeing how quickly one can run from the base, up the Chimney, and touch a cleit at the top. All three of our heroes did it, and rather than pick anyone out, we feel that they were all winners.
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| Sara Jana and Ken prepare to set off |
Food plays an important part in our day – the group work hard - we are outside all day, and on days off, everyone gets a real appetite. Our cook Alison has planned everything is great detail – although we have bread frozen in the freezer, each day she bakes Sourdough bread from her own culture that she brought with her. I understand that she is culturing enough to give everyone in the group who wants a culture to take away, and instructions for growing it.
Everything is made fresh – nothing tinned (though of course our pulses are dried!), so dinner is always something to look forward to. The food is excellent! Yesterday was fish cakes followed by banana cake in which the bananas had been poached in caramel.
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| The plates are not small! It is indeed the fish cakes which were huge. |
The kitchen rota was mentioned previously – 2 of our group each day assisting Alison. It is nice to see those not on duty getting up to help clear up at the end of meals. Dinner is a friendly affair as people recap what they did that day, or talk about plans for the following day.
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| Paul and Alison preparinf dinner |
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| Paul has shown that he is adept at doing the dishes |
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| Oh dear! |
We have been joined on the island by Alec Hartley, the National Trust for Scotland Artist in Residence. Alec has joined us onh a couple of evenings for dinner, and last night also got involved in carding the Soay wool (the ladies have some scheme to make beards for everyone based on those found in the George Washington Wilson photographs).
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| L-R Ken, Alec, Janice, Jana, Sara and Alison |
Today was back to work, with one BIG task being to pressure hose the Manse to remove flaking paint – the exterior of the Manse is due to be repainted later this year, and the old loose flaking paint needed removed. Paul set to work – it took him 6 hours, but he got it done.
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| Ken, Pete (new NTS Warden) and Paul |
Others continued painting bitumen on 2 of the houses, and this morning the major task was to help Kevin (the St Kilda Archaeologist) to repair a large cleit. This we have left to the end as it is such a big job, and there was a great deal of barrowing of old soil from our soil dump up to the cleit to build up the surface prior to putting the turf which Kevin has precut in place.
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| Sara, Janice and Ian at the last cleit we will repair. |
The weather having meant that we have had no trip boats, tomorrow is Sunday, so no boats again. Our “Splendid Isolation” continues.
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