Murray's Mint!

Faithful readers may have been wondering why we have not mentioned the recent ascension of Andy Murray to the position of No.1 tennis player in the ENTIRE WORLD last week.( Seeing as we love him and everything.)

Well, first we were weeping too much about it to type properly, and then we were weeping too much about the US election results; but we have calmed down a little and would now like to celebrate. Oh Andy! How do we love thee? Let us count the ways..

We love how you get so, so, cross about stuff:

We love your excellent teenage eye rolls:

We love how you said you would fly home from the Australian Open if your baby was born early even if it meant missing the final.






We love how very good at playing tennis you are.








We love how when you lose you cry...



...and we love how when you win you cry even more...


















...but perhaps we love you most of all because, for several years in in the late 1800s, you ran the John Street Grocers for us in Stromness. Truly above and beyond Andy.


 Murray, you're mint!

Wimbledon Final. Calmly.

We are NOT going to get overexcited this time.


 Yes, Andy Murray is in the Wimbledon final tomorrow and yes, we may have gotten a touch over emotional about it in the past. There may have been heartfelt songs composed when we should have been working but we've got a hold on things this year and, with the help of a professional therapist, we shall watch tomorrow with an air of zen-like serenity.


Here are some Orcadian tennis players from the past to wish Muzza good luck:




'Good luck Andy!'

Good luck indeed beuy!



2,4,6,8, who do we appreciate? A,N,D,Y, tomorrow we'll be flying high!



Yoo hoo! Good luuuuck!





 Look into my eyes... no, not around the eyes, INTO my eyes. You SHALL win Wimbledon Andy, It will be...












Photographs taken from the Orkney Photographic archive and Orkney Archive Reference D70/9/10

Tennis Bawl.

What a sombre looking bunch. The Kirkwall Tennis Club are very sad that Andy Murray is out of Wimbledon. The two women in the middle of the front row look like they're actually trying not to cry.

Those two on the right, on the other hand, need to show some respect. Probably Djokovic fans.

And so we sob again with the help of Barry Manilow. Oh Andy... here's to next year...

That's Just Dandy, Andy!

We have come a long way to show you this, dear readers.Ups and downs. Hell, and indeed, high water.

 First, there was the utter devastation we experienced when Andy Murray lost Wimbledon despite Kim wearing a lovely dress and his mum wearing her smart tartan coat. That was awful.

Then there was the sleepy joy of watching him win the US Open at about 1am. That was good.

We were pleased about that readers, don't get us wrong; it was wonderful. It's just that we wanted to watch him win whilst awake and whilst eating our tea. With the sun shining outside.

As you all know, that happened last Sunday. Sandwiches were munched, Pimms were quaffed and small toddlers were given whole Magnums to eat just so that they would sit still and BE QUIET during the nail-biting third set. We would have posted sooner but a series of teeth-grinding I.T. tribulations have prevented us until now. This is being typed whilst hunched over a laptop.

Readers there is a very fancy looking olde-style document which pleases us greatly. It is the proud bearer of many seals. We LOVE seals. We promised ourselves that when Andy finally won Wimbo, we would post a picture of it in celebration. BEHOLD:

That's it. The best we've got.

Isn't it fab?

(Why not pop over for another look at Lionel though? That's always worth doing when one is feeling jubilant)

Orkney Archive Reference D38/1692 (a)



You're Just Grandy, Andy!

Look at all these thrilled Orkney tennis players who are as delighted as we are that Andy Murray has won the US Open!

" I stayed up with my mum to watch and we high-fived and big-tenned until 6 in the morning!"

"You're almost better than a cup of tea Andy!"

"We only have one tennis racket left between us... we broke the rest pretending that they were guitars!"

"We're still drunk!"

"We're Djokovic fans."

(The first three photos show members of Kirkwall tennis club, no dates, the fourth was taken on Westray on the 20th of August 1954 and the last shows the opening day for Stromness tennis club, July 1934.

Oh Andy!

(To the tune of Barry Manilow's 'Mandy)

We'll remember all our life,
rain it came down cold as ice,
a shadow of a man,
a face through our tv
crying in the court
the game goes into

advantage and another set,
happy roger makes another play
looking in your eyes
we see a champion
we never realised
how happy you made us!

Oh Andy!
Well you came and you gave it your best shot
but they sent you away,
Oh Andy!
and you cried, and Kim cried, and Judy cried, and we all cried.... Oh Andy!

Above is the archive item which we had intended to post on Monday to celebrate Andy Murray's victory at Wimbledon, sob! It is only appearing today as it has taken this long for us to be able to look at it without weeping. Damn you rain!You ruin everything!

The Orkney Library and Archive staff all watched the game at my mum's house. She is still scrubbing the tear stains and sticky Murray mints out of the carpet and one member of staff has yet to uncurl himself from the foetal position and crawl home.

Deposit D1/204 is a book of minutes, accounts and subscriptions for Harray Tennis Club from 1932 to 1952.

The club had meetings every Monday and Thursday and members paid a subscription of 2 and 6 if they used their own raquet, 4 shillings if they didn't.

They held fund-raising dances and expenses included lime, tennis balls and a lawn mower.