| Former museums officer returns to Tankerness
House with exhibition of art |
| |
After a hiatus of almost two decades, Stromness artist, Bryce Wilson
is back in full swing, with an exhibition of his work opening in
the Orkney Museum.
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| Spartathlon
- from Athens to Sparta |
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When Pheidippides, a Greek runner/messenger was
ordered to run from Athens to Sparta in 490BC to seek reinforcements
against the invading Persians, runner William SicheI never thought
that 2,495 years later he would be attempting the feat "just
for the hell of it".
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| Charting
the life of the man who mapped Orkney |
| |
Modern mariners have a North Ronaldsay shipwreck
and an 18th century Kirkwall schoolmaster to thank for the accurate
shipping charts used today.
The story of Orkney's own
map man, Murdoch Mackenzie, was told in the BBC television programme Map Man, but here, Margaret Carr looks at the work of the
father of hydrographic surveying.
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| The heat is on for 24-hour race |
| |
Sanday-based ultra-distance runner William Sichel
hopes to overcome the disappointment of his enforced retiral in
Basel in May with a good performance in Austria this weekend.
In the second of his special articles for The
Orcadian, he explains how preparations have been going.
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| A promise
to write home saved Jim's life |
| |
Events
were held throughout Europe in May to mark the 60th anniversary
of VE Day, when German forces surrendered to the Allies, and Orkney
was no exception. Lorraine Shearer talks to veteran Jim Shearer
about his time in the later stages of the war, and how he heard
of its end.
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| Preparations
begin for a marathon season |
| |
William Sichel has been an ultra distance runner
for 11 years, representing Great Britain 11 times since his international
debut in 1996.
The 51-year-old athlete has lived on Sanday for
23 years, where he runs the Orkney Angora mail order thermal clothing
and yarn business.
During the coming months, William will be writing
a series of articles for The Orcadian — one of his major sponsors
— on how his season progresses.
|
| Enjoying
a real high among the spectacular hills on Hoy |
| |
In the latest of an
occasional series of articles profiling Orkney's RSPB reserves,
warden/ranger Lee Shields introduces the divers, dragons and devils
of Hoy.
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| Famous flock
led to lecturer's new life on North Ronaldsay |
| |
A vegetarian Manchester academic is not a typical member of the
North Ronaldsay sheep court, but Dr June Morris was made a member
in 2000, four years before she moved to the island.
A biochemist, Dr Morris is officially the scientific advisor to
the sheep court, the group which oversees the management of the
North Ronaldsay sheep flock.
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| Hundreds gather
to remember the fallen |
| |
Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday, November 14, to pay tribute
to the men and women who have died in both world wars and conflicts
during the past 100 years.
Ceremonies were held in Kirkwall, Stromness and throughout the
county.
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| Farewell to the old Phoenix - the legacy
of the old Phoenix Cinema. |
| |
Part of an Orkney institution may have been reduced to rubble last
week, but the legacy of the old Phoenix Cinema will stay cemented
in the memories of Orcadians for years to come.
As construction work begins to turn the venue into a building site,
it is hard for younger folk to imagine the hustle and bustle when
hundreds of Orcadians crammed in to see the latest instalment of
a 1960s’ episode of Batman and Robin.
|
| Stonemason who
liked a drink carved out a mysterious date |
| |
A real poser for Hallowe'en could finally
have been solved. Lorraine Shearer works the graveyard shift....
Hallowe’en is the time for ghosts, goblins, graveyards, gravestones
and a spooky tale or two. But the mystery surrounding the date on
one of the headstones in St Magnus Cathedral’s cemetery could
be solved.
Speculation has been rife over the years as to the date on one
of the old gravestones – February 30, 1887 – a date which
obviously doesn’t exist.
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| Deerness has seen its fair shair
of shipwrecks |
| |
"Swedish sailor runs aground in thick fog":
So reads a headline report in The Orcadian, of August 19.
This incident was one of so many to take place
along the coastline of Deerness.
This parish has seen more than its share of shipwrecks over the
past century or more, some with a happy ending, others ending sadly
with loss of lives.
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| Stromness girl cuts a dash dancing
at Edinburgh Tattoo |
| |
Having just realised a
Highland dance dream at the Edinburgh Tattoo, a former Stromness
woman is visiting Orkney this week to come back down to earth.
Deirdre MacDonald, who lives in Australia with
her husband, has spent the last month dancing with the Oz Scot highland
dancers, in the world famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
|
| Fundraising
sisters plan ten day trek in search of lost city |
| |
Orkney sisters Irene Sinclair and
Mabel Dick got a taste for adventure back in 2002, trekking parts
of the Great Wall of China for charity.
Now they want more.
Chasing a new challenge, the duo
have signed up to explore the Inca Trail in Peru this September.
|
| Enjoying the rollercoaster ride |
| |
OIC convener, Councillor Stephen Hagan, looks
back at his first 12 months in the hot seat.
|
| I wouldn't change a thing, says
Cameron one year on |
| |
As Big Brother 5 begins, it hardly seems a year
since a shy, unknown Orcadian entered the Big Brother house, emerging
as a national celebrity a matter of weeks later.
Lorraine Shearer caught up with Cameron for a
good blether about his year in the spotlight.
|
| Bird-watching at night? It's not
that far-fetched an idea |
| |
In the latest of an occasional series of articles
on Orkney's importance as a habitat for birds, Shapinsay warden
Paul Hollinrake turns the spotlight on the island's Mill Dam wetlands
reserve.
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| Mergers leave bank memories |
| |
David Partner takes a look back at Kirkwall's banking history.
|
| Helping to feed a family for price
of a Chinese takeaway |
| |
The Orcadian reporter Lorraine
Shearer was so touched by the plight of a two-year-old African boy
that she has gone against everything she believes in and decided
to pay for his sponsorship.
The money will mean the youngster
and his family do not have to worry about where their next meal
is coming from . . .
|
| German navy ended the life of a smithy |
| |
Allan Taylor looks at the tale of John Isbister - the smithy at
New Breckan, Bimbister, Harray.
Click
here to read
|
| Special places for special birds, orchids, toads
and marigolds |
| |
The Loons and Loch of Banks RSPB Reserve are wetland
wonderlands.
Keith Fairclough, senior site manager for the
society's Orkney Reserves, looks at their importance in the fifth
of this series of occasional articles highlighting the work of the
RSPB.
Click
here to read
|
|
Cruel wartime sea takes civilian crew |
| |
Hilda Alexander of Inverurie always believed family
member George Masson was killed by machine-gun fire as he and his
shipmates escaped their burning ship. Allan Taylor looks at the
true story of the SS Giralda.
Click
here to read |
|
Globetrotting Don's Stromness double |
| |
From Stromness to Stromness, that is Don Mackay’s
claim to fame.
For the two towns of Stromness that Don has visited
lie almost top to toe on a globe, thousands of miles apart.
Click
here for full story |
|
Four years’ research unearths SS Norge’s
final resting place |
| |
Lorraine Shearer recounts the tragic last voyage
of the SS Norge, which sank after hitting Rockall in fog
almost 100 years ago. The wreck of the vessel has finally been discovered
by a team of divers determined to spotlight one of the worst maritime
disasters in the Atlantic.
Click
here to read.
|
|
US couple's important engagement on Westray |
| |
A young couple from Texas travelled all the way to Westray to get
engaged and it was the myths surrounding the legendary King Arthur
which brought them to Orkney.
Michael Stone (28) and Laura Holt (22) from Austin, the state capital,
just graduated with degrees in mechanical engineering from the University
of Texas and decided to celebrate by going on a European tour, ending
in Orkney and getting engaged.
Click
here to read.
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