Written by Lucy on 030604
From Scrabster (Wick) to Stromness (Orkney); they had a calm crossing. They went to Skrabrae, where they visited a pre-historic housing estate; by pre-historic, my mum meant that it is older than the Egyptian pyramids. After that they went to Kirkwall, and had a nice time at St Magnus Cathedral. They wanted some Orkney ice cream, but it was available in the morning when there were better things to be done, and then there was none to be found in the afternoon. At some point they drove across the Churchill barriers; Churchill had them built as roads between about 6 islands, and the Italians were involved somewhere along the line (you'll have to ask my mum about it for the exact details). Thursday night they got the ferry at 23:45, from Kirkwall to Lewick. The ferry crossing was 8 hours, so they arrived at 07:45. They had a calm crossing, and my mum says, ''The Lord is very good to me; he knows that I am a scaredy cat'' and therefore made it a calm crossing. Mr Simmons met them at the ferry port.
They visited Clickimin Broch which is a kind of fortified house. Then they took their cornflakes and their orange juice to the beach (I think). They forgot the milk, so they tried orange juice on cornflakes or wheatabix - they weren't impressed. Then they went to Lewick museum. Then 30 miles to the Simmons house. Shetland isn't very small - apparently they manage to fit 20 000 people on that minute piece of land.
Since they have been at the Simmons, they have been feasting like kings, because Helen Simmons is an excellent cook. Apparently she makes very nice oatcakes! On Saturday evening a lamb was killed, and they had that for lunch on Saturday and Tuesday. They have been eating freshly caught fish, too, caught by Philip and Thomas. Yesterday they went out in a boat with Mr. Simmons, and they drove through some caves - sounds fun. They saw puffins, seals, and saw gannets nesting on the cliffs.They collected a sea urchin, and were amazed at the forests of seaweed. The sea is incredibly clear; you can see how far you'd fall out of the boat if you did so! A tour around a woollen mill was had at some point. A Roman Catholic homeschooler came around to visit; she was a philosophy student, and intimated that the experience scrambled her brains. She started reading her Bible again, and no longer has scrambled brains. Her advice is not to do a philosophy course because it undermines your faith. Fish and chips again tonight; the fish is cod and whiting caught the day before. My dad has been fixing vehicles up there. Philip has taken a Landover apart, and is filling the van up with the bits; the latest arrival in the van was a gear box, which my mum says 'smelt horrible'. She told him that he had to put it on the roof rack, and his eyes nearly came out on stalks - a gear box, we must understand, weighs quite a bit.
So that is their news up to date. There is a whole block which has gone missing, and I hope that I will be able to retrieve it and get it posted at some point in time. (Written by Lucy H. van den Broek)