Survivor wrote of swimming in 'liquid tar' - memories of HMS Royal Oak

The medals of Stanley Cole, a survivor of HMS Royal Oak, were presented to the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum at the weekend.

At the time of the sinking of the Royal Oak, Mr Cole was an 18-year-old Able Seaman.

He kept an account of his experiences on the night the warship sank when, on the evening of October 13, he and his mess mate had turned in about 9pm. They were woken though by the first explosion in the early hours of the morning.

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With the foot-and-mouth crisis affecting land access earlier in the year, the prospects of carrying out archaeological work in Orkney looked bleak.

But although it may have appeared that things had gone quiet in the archaeological world, a morning meeting with Orkney Archaeological Trust’s Julie Gibson and Jane Downes of Orkney College soon showed that nothing could be further from the truth.

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Norwegian curators' visit heralds start of closer working links

A group of museum curators from Orkney's twin county of Hordaland in Norway have spent almost a week seeing how museums and local heritage are presented and managed in the county.

Members of the Hordaland Museums Association, led by Ms Bjørg Christophersen, say that they have been amazed by the number of people employed in the museums service in Orkney, although there is a greater concentration of historical sites.

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Eileen, (nee Sclater), daughter of former Kirkwall draper John Sclater, writes of the time spent in the first half of this year in Pakistan, along with husband Pete and family Katrina and Katie Rose, and of the relief that in the summer they returned home to Orkney from what is now a potential war zone.

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Orkney woman, Kim Twatt (or Foden) recently returned from a trip to Canada, where she was made an honorary Cree by descendants of one of her relatives.

The journey began as research into her own ancestry, and the fate of descendants of one Magnus Twatt who, like so many Orcadians, left Orkney’s shores to work for the Hudson’s Bay Company, in 1771.

The chance discovery that Magnus died in 1801, leaving a wife and children, probably native Indian, was to lead her halfway across the world in a search – ultimately successful – for his Cree descendants.

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“I decided at that point just to get out of the building, because although it wasn’t anywhere as tall as the World Trade Center, it was a 38-storey building, and we could be next.”

That was the instinctive reaction of Orcadian computer expert, Martin Steer, who lives and works in New York and was less than half of a mile away from the terrorist attacks when he witnessed the second aircraft hitting the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

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Oatcakes and biscuits are golden crunch at awards

Yet another Orkney firm has shown that Orkney fare is among the best in the country, with local biscuit manufacturers, Tods of Orkney, picking up three top awards in London.

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Time Team man's deeper look at Minehowe mystery

Geophysics expert and Time Team regular John Gater was back in Orkney this week surveying land around the mysterious underground chamber at Minehowe, Tankerness.

The deep chamber containing 29 steps has continued to perplex archaeologists since its discovery and was the subject of a one-hour Time Team special shown on Channel Four last Christmas, watched by three million viewers.

Mr Gater tracks underground remains and structures without disturbing the surface using a magnetometer and he was in Orkney this week at the invitation of Orkney Archaeological Trust.

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St Olaf's Episcopal Church in Kirkwall is celebrating its 125th anniversary.

For a brief history of St Olaf and St Olaf's Church by Dr Olaf Cuthbert click here.

Mike and Rosey Whittles have returned to Orkney from Bangladesh for a break but are returning to carry on their Asha project to provide opportunities for deprived children

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David Partner looks back at his 40 years' involvement with the Kirkwall Boys' Brigade.

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Divers find third wreck in a month

Orkney divers have come up trumps again, with the discovery of a third wreck in waters off Wick in less than a month.

John Thornton and a team of six divers located a German U-boat in 200ft of water south east of Wick on Monday of last week.

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Artist Abigail Reynolds was in Orkney last week filming the sea off Marwick Head which engulfs the wreck of HMS Hampshire - making it the final resting place of Lord Kitchener 85 years ago.

And herein lies the connection - once her work is completed, Abigail intends to exhibit it at an exhibition at the newly built City Hall, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada - a town named after Britain's ill-fated Minister for War - a town which until 1916 was called Berlin.

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Orkney dentist improving the lot of Romanian youths

Orkney dentist Jill Douglas is one of a number of people who has dedicated her time, energy and expertise to help the street children of Romania.

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Orkney might not be the most obvious destination for a voluntary worker from South America, so it came as a surprise to hear that there are no less than three volunteers from South America working in the county.

All three, Victor Hernandez, Ana Aravena and Ximena Moscoso come from widely differing backgrounds and have come to Orkney for a variety of reasons, but each seems to have found their feet quickly, and all seem to be enjoying the experience.

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"Up a bit, left a bit, down a bit, right a bit," familiar instructions to those old enough to remember the 1960s television programme The Golden Shot hosted by Bob Monkhouse.

But I had first-hand experience of these commands at the weekend, when I tried out the specially adapted air rifle at the Pickaquoy Centre, which allows blind, visually-impaired or other disabled people, to take part in target shooting....

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"The wards are packed full at the moment with many patients appearing daily with horrendous wounds."

It could be a hospital scene from any war zone. However, at Lal Gadh Hospital in Nepal the staff are fighting a different battle - against leprosy and the stigma still attached to the disease.

Among the staff are Orkney couple Alasdair and Moira Murray, who gave up their jobs over a year ago to carry out church work as mission partners.

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Orkney men's tale of suspense back in news

An exciting chapter in the history of a seductive piece of underwear has flared up again.

The story of the stocking suspender and its link with two Orkney men, which has in past years featured in The Islander, The Orcadian's free newspaper for tourists, and also in The Orcadian Book of the 20th Century, has caught the imagination of, it seems, the world over.

Newspaper cuttings from across Britain and now the States have been landing on editorial desks at The Orcadian over the past few weeks. Each clipping tells the same story of two humble tailors from Orkney who changed women's fashion forever...

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Orkney couple put three-seater Orkney chair on the market

An Eday-based Orkney chair manufacturer has created a unique new style of chair to fit alongside the traditional one-seater Orkney chair.

Geordie Garson of Backaland Caravan in Eday, recently created both a two and three-seater Orkney chair with the help of his wife Anna, who is a cook at the Eday School.

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Another tale of Flotta's "local hero" Willick o' Pirliebraes, written by Flotta man David Sinclair. In this comic tale, Willick contemplates the pros and cons of the proposed container hub in Scapa Flow.

To read "Willick and the hubbub of the Universe", click here.

Dr Peter Anderson takes a look at the usage of the term 'Orkneys' - something that rankles many Orcadians - compared to the widely accepted 'Orkney.'

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Did Earl Rognvald live at "Gairdeens"

Piecing together the clues from the historical records, Gregor Lamb asks whether a site in the middle of Kirkwall was the site of Earl Rognvald Brusison's Bu. Click here to view.

The bell, name board and honours board from the ship which the people of Orkney came to look upon as their own, HMS Orkney, have been presented to Orkney Islands Council exactly a year after the former fishery protection vessel paid her final visit to the county before being decommissioned. Full story.

When Orkney footballers ruled the North Atlantic

A football trophy won by Orkney at the end of a record-breaking five-year competition was presented to the Orkney Museum earlier this year to form the centre of a display telling the story of the tournament. Full story.

Memorial "Fund of Hope" to help cancer victims

The memory of an Orkney woman – who died in October following a brave battle against cancer – is to live on in a fund being set up in her name to help victims of the disease.

Jacqueline Mollison, from Kirkwall, fought the disease with great courage and strength for four years, and even in death, her fight to help others is to continue with the establishment of the Jac Mollison Fund of Hope

Full details here

Tuesday, April 4, marked the end of an era for post-war technology in Orkney, with the complete shutdown of the Racal-Decca navigator station in Dounby.

For over 40 years, the Decca station has transmitted a series of tones and pulses which helped fishing vessels, other shipping and aircraft to pinpoint their exact location. Click here for the full story.