Lindsay Dowding

Driving History

Sometimes I take one of my clients for a drive. We pick North or South and go where the mood takes us. I have a lady who loves this and as she is 98 her memories travel back in to history. We passed quite a long ruined croft house on the East side headed forContinue reading “Driving History”

A different kind of Nursing

My RGN nursing days ended when I retired but the itch to do something useful persists. I have worked for Shetland Island Council for nearly a year in a role designed to provide support and respite for those caring for someone at home. It has been my privilege to be welcomed in to people’s homesContinue reading “A different kind of Nursing”

The Finest Dawn

from ‘ Whispers on the Wind’ by John Strachan It was the kind of morning that brought the slightest of shivers on the wind yet made the old woman want to kick off her shoes and splash about like a child in the dappled sea. The sky blazed crimson above her head, tinting the whiteContinue reading “The Finest Dawn”

Wild flowers of Shetland

From April onwards the wild flowers start to appear on the landscape.

Here are some of the Shetland names:

J&S Blog

Have a look at this blog site for Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers in Lerwick. Such glorious palates of colour linked to the landscape.

Word of the week – ‘Wife’

Here in Shetland, Wife is used as a word for woman, regardless of married or not.

Our first Shetland Christmas Cake Bake

It is a tradition with me to have a Christmas Cake Bake day in November. Open to one and all to drop in at any time (an invitation bound to add to the chaos). As 2019 was our first year on Yell and we had only been here since February I felt a little anxiousContinue reading “Our first Shetland Christmas Cake Bake”

Past, Present or Possibility

This poem was written 25 years ago by John Strachan, a native of Yell, and harks back to 1893. It spans 3 centuries and resonates with where we find ourselves today. As I travel about Shetland I hear more knowledge, sense and awareness of environmental changes by talking to the islanders than from listening to theContinue reading “Past, Present or Possibility”

“There’ll be a dog in the well”

This is a Shetland phrase that I really love and plan to use ‘mysteriously’ at any appropriate occasion! I was having a chat with an elderly gentleman who had spent his crofting lifetime on the island of Fetlar. We can see this from our house, looking down the Voe (inlet of the sea) to theContinue reading ““There’ll be a dog in the well””

Moorit in Aberdeen

I had some really nice conversations with the Fundraising manager at Clan Aberdeen and he has taken some copies of ‘Moorit’ on the basis that he keeps half of the proceeds for their charity. Further proceeds will go to Clan as the book sells here on Shetland and hopefully the market will expand further, forContinue reading “Moorit in Aberdeen”