There is a light and it never goes out...

In 2006, Orkney appeared on the BBC series Restoration. The North Ronaldsay 'Old Beacon' lighthouse was featured alongside several other old, derelict buildings which required titivation.

A public vote relegated the Old Beacon to third place. There would be no restoration.

Orkney was awash with grief. Citizens sank to their knees in the streets; tearing their hair out, beating their breasts and shouting 'Why, British public, WHY?' The mere mention or sight of Griff Rhys Jones made grown men weep.

We all feel a bit silly now as it has just been announced that the winning building did not need all the money that was raised and that North Ronaldsay's entry shall receive £50,000 pounds. Hooray!

The image shown above is a plan of the proposed site for the lighthouse which replaced the Old Beacon when it was discovered that it ...er... didn't work.

Archive reference: D34/E/5/7

Tait Treats

This day in 1895, The Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, put on their first screening of moving images.

Margaret Tait is arguably Orkney's most celebrated film-maker and 1992's Blue Black Permanent was her only feature length film.

We hold two albums of beautiful continuity Polaroids for the film in her archive. These stills were made for the benefit of director, cinematographer, wardrobe and make-up artists and simply record all the physical details of a scene. Some have scribbled notes along the bottom such as 'sleeve down' and 'Andrew. scene 137'.

They may just be practical, visual prompts but they are lovely objects in their own right.

How did she manage to make something as every day as a table set for tea or a pair of sandals on the beach look so pleasing and evocative?

Orkney Archive Reference D97/13

My oh my, It's a windy windy day!*

The wind has been howling through the cracks in our building all day and making its usual scary ghost noises. Stationary cars are wobbling like blancmanges and the Highway Maintenance vans are out in force, shovelling errant driveway gravel back in its place. One can achieve a temporary face lift by walking directly into the wind.

Ferries have been cancelled, forcing some of our customers to put off a visit, but spare a thought for poor James Leask writing to his cousin, Henry of Boardhouse, in 1832 (see above). He was windbound in Stromness for 19 DAYS.

Letter reference D1/182/1/25

*Everyone remembers Bob singing 'Windy Day' on Sesame Street surely?

A Little Afternoon Lift

It is a funny, grumpy kind of day with few customers, lots of quite dull correspondence to complete and rather lovely weather outside that we cannot enjoy. There is only one cure:




No Orkney connection you say? Nonsense! It is a song from the 70s and stuff happened in Orkney during the 1970s, the 1870s, the 1770s etc, the list goes on...

The Darling Buds

It was tough to decide what to commemorate today. Should it be St Patrick's day? The birthday of the incomparable Clare Grogan? The feast day of St Gertrude of Nevelles?

All the customers and staff have been talking about Spring today; how it is FINALLY here after a particularly cold winter and how lovely it is to see snowdrops, crocuses and the leaves of tulips and daffodils popping up all over Orkney.

F. Marian McNeill's Green Dumplings recipe is to be made only at this time of year. Make dumplings following your usual recipe, then add a touch of spring:

"Pick the green buds of hawthorn, the succulent tips of nettles, grass, and other green things - remember that in this condition nothing is poisonous. Include dandelions, leaves, daisy stems, shoots of young corn, and turnip tops, or anything that tastes sweet and harmless. Wash and chop finely and work into the dough until it is green through and through. Form into balls - small ones (one inch across) for soups, and larger for stews and meats. They go with almost anything, and play the part of a salad in wholsomeness."

I hasten to add a disclaimer to the 'nothing is poisonous' bit and the idea of dumplings being a substitute for salad is clearly absurd but this recipe is very appealing otherwise.

Recipe from 'Recipes From Scotland' by F. Marian McNeill

I know.....

The exquisite rendering that is at the top of this post is an artist's impression of the wonderful cake that was the centrepiece of our table last night. We initially all thought that the congratulatory cake was iced to look like a giant doughnut. Imagine the gasps of wonder, therefore, when we cut into it and realised that it actually was a giant doughnut. Life does not get much better than this, I think you will agree.

There has been a little too much discussion of food of late, but there is no food and drink allowed in an archive so we do get peckish.

The main job for today is scanning Mary Chute's letters to Frances Ligonier Balfour (See this post) to send to a customer. The letters date from the early 1800s and have no envelope, they are just folded upon themselves, sealed with wax and stamped with a postmark. The writing is scratchy and quite hard to read but becomes quite big and exaggerated when Mary is feeling emotional: "I in one kingdom, you in another - the child in a third!"

The Munch Bunch Booze Again

We are partying again at the Orkney Library and Archive. Other members of staff have been setting up and it has just been whispered to me that both the magical cheese scones and a CAKE have been delivered.

And, although this will be a very sedate and sophisticated affair, I think that it is only pertinent to mention that all the leftover wine from our 'Gone With the Wine' promotion simply must be finished tonight as it has been open for a couple of days.

This isn't just wanton eating and drinking though. It's a celebration of Discovery Week. So it's work.

And the winners are...

Discovery Week is officially over. The balloons are down, the banner will soon follow suit and there is no baking or cooking going on anywhere in the building. We are a little morose. Prizes have been won, however, so let's look at the winners:

The winner of the Photo quiz and recipient of a year's worth of free DVD and CD loans is: Steven Smith!!!

The winner of the Archive World Traill (Traveller level) and recipient of 'The Seventy Great Journeys in History' and a year's worth of free DVD and CD loans is: Fran Flett Hollinrake!!!

And the joint winners of the Archive World Traill (Explorer level) and therefore winning a book each are: Chloe Barclay!!! and Kirsty Melrose!!!

Well done everyone and thank you for taking part. Chloe and Kirsty are pictured above with Michael Forsyth, who won the library cooks quiz, Chloe Rosie, the winner of the library scavenger hunt and our manager, Gary.

Other great news is that the wonderful soup for Haiti event raised over £360 pounds and the Coffee morning raised £125 for the same cause. Hooray!!!

Everyone agrees that Janice and Sandra did a fantastic job yesterday and thanks is due to our lovely volunteers for helping out at both events.

Mmmm, what are THESE delights???

The Archive department is just down the corridor from the Macgillivray room where our 'Broth and Breid' lunch is taking place. The delicious smells are making it very hard to concentrate on work.

Above you can see the array of fancy treats that are on offer along with the four soups and breads. Serving started at 12 and will continue for the next 2 hours. Hurry!

Fiddledy-diddledy do

Last night's broadcast of the Bruck Show from the library foyer was a great success with music from Hadhirgaan, Song Shop Trio and fiddler for both the Chair and Saltfishforty, Douglas Montgomery.

Some library staff members also did some interviews, baring their souls and revealing what really makes them tick. It was emotional.

...and there will be wine...

'Gone With the Wine' - a world tour in booze and books, shall take place tonight from 5pm - 7pm. It is what it sounds like, there will be books and there will be wine, two of the best things in the world I'm sure most people would agree (closely followed by sandwiches and tea.)

This event provides the perfect opportunity to be 'a drunk in a library' without the usual unflattering accouterments of poor personal hygiene, skip chic and carrier bags full of loose crisps and biscuits.

There is a scone...

There is a scone. A cheese scone to be exact. It appears at the library at irregular intervals but its approach is often suspected and the entire body of staff seem to know that a batch is here five seconds after they enter the building. I have never known one to be consumed cold.

These wonderful, buttery, crumbly and RIDICULOUSLY DELICIOUS scones are the tasty produce of the mother of a member of staff. We love them and they fill our hearts with joy.

Tommorrow, their recipe shall be revealed to the public as part of our 'Broth and Breid' day in the MacGillivray room. You're welcome Orkney. Staff shall prepare four different soups along with bread and crostini to raise money for the Haiti Earthquake Fund.

At the top of this post you can see the collection of tried and tested recipes that have been contributed by staff members and will be free to take away tommorrow. Recipes include a fail-safe chocolate cake, Honey and Soy salmon and Chocolate wedges which all sound delicious. BUT THE SCONE ONE IS THE BEST ONE; DON'T FORGET THE SCONE ONE. (It's the pink one on the right. Mmmmmmmmmm)

Stoopid budget cuts, booooooooooooo!!!

A bit of a worrying article from Guardian today on the future of British libraries. I know that we'll soon be able to carry every bit of information in the world around in a gizmo the size of a stamp in our pockets, and that's ace; but you can't use the internet or an i-pod as a safe haven from bustling shops, to get human contact if you live alone or as a quiet place to study when you're a teenager from a large, noisy family.

It's the building that's important, not just the stuff inside.

Mmmmmm, what delights are these?

Above you can see the wonderful selection of home bakes that is currently available in the MacGillivray Room and below you can see our beautiful new reference room being opened by Liam McArthur.