From immersing us in the wonder of place to the contrariness of our continued exploitation of the environment… There are kelp-like twists and turns here. I too notice the new colonisation of Northeast Scotland—turbines, cable routes, pylons, afforestation of farmland—and the screaming injustice of the historic surcharge that the people here pay for their electricity. This, surely, is overdue for change. I was staggered to read that your swallows were at that moment still with you. Ours left on 18 September.
Yes, the Viking development in Shetland is a cautionary tale. Here in Orkney, the local council is planning their own onshore turbine developments (alongside private ones on two beautiful headlands, that failed local planning but were ‘called in’ and overturned by the Scottish Gov) However the initial outlay is huge and risky for a tiny local council strapped for cash. Let’s hope the new GB Energy will be able to step in with low-interest loans so at least some of the developments can be under local ownership and control, for local benefit.
Oh, and our swallows were gone by the time the post came out, but they were still here a week ago doing wheelies around the chimney, revving their engines...
“I’m a siphon, like a bivalve or an urchin, a filter-feeder taking stuff in and sending it out into the world again; water, breath, thoughts, ideas, words, images.”
What a beautiful metaphor for the life of an artist.
This was such a gorgeous read and interesting dispatch from the far reaches of Britain. Some exquisite nature writing here, and a balanced, nuanced look at the impact of offshore energy on local communities. I share your feeling of being both heartened by this necessary transition, but also wary of the interests of big business. A piece to return to. 💙
Thank you for this! It is extraordinary. I love the way it brings together past, present (both human present, very real, with the words on "fuel poverty;" and the present of the natural world) and the future/potential futures.
Am especially grateful to be the recipient of the sharing of the present, intense natural beauty of that place in so many different ways: though your own beautiful sentences, through the video and images, and through the quotes -- this one will stay with me for a long time: "In midwinter the sun intrudes for only a few hours into the great darkness, but the January nights are magnificent – star-hung skies, the slow heavy swirling silk of the aurora borealis, the moon in a hundred waters: a silver plate, a broken honeycomb, a cluster of fireflies."
I hope that the future brings good things, and avoids the painful ones, and that the human present, too, is worked with and improved.
Am just happy, at this moment, to be sharing in all of it, from far away.
Nobody writes about Orkney quite like George Mackay Brown did. But I’m happy to share what I can, and deepen my own understanding and engagement with this richly resonant place in the process. Thank you Maria, as ever, for your thoughtful engagement and comments.
"I’m a siphon, like a bivalve or an urchin, a filter-feeder taking stuff in and sending it out into the world again; water, breath, thoughts, ideas, words, images."
You are a brilliant observer/thinker/writer Samantha, zooming out from fine sense observations to existential matters of great import. Thank you! 👏👏
From immersing us in the wonder of place to the contrariness of our continued exploitation of the environment… There are kelp-like twists and turns here. I too notice the new colonisation of Northeast Scotland—turbines, cable routes, pylons, afforestation of farmland—and the screaming injustice of the historic surcharge that the people here pay for their electricity. This, surely, is overdue for change. I was staggered to read that your swallows were at that moment still with you. Ours left on 18 September.
Yes, the Viking development in Shetland is a cautionary tale. Here in Orkney, the local council is planning their own onshore turbine developments (alongside private ones on two beautiful headlands, that failed local planning but were ‘called in’ and overturned by the Scottish Gov) However the initial outlay is huge and risky for a tiny local council strapped for cash. Let’s hope the new GB Energy will be able to step in with low-interest loans so at least some of the developments can be under local ownership and control, for local benefit.
Oh, and our swallows were gone by the time the post came out, but they were still here a week ago doing wheelies around the chimney, revving their engines...
“I’m a siphon, like a bivalve or an urchin, a filter-feeder taking stuff in and sending it out into the world again; water, breath, thoughts, ideas, words, images.”
What a beautiful metaphor for the life of an artist.
Thank you. :)
We’re just filter feeders!
Glamorous! 🤭
Thank you, Samantha. A brilliant piece of writing to start the day.
Thank you Amy. That means so much to hear.
This was such a gorgeous read and interesting dispatch from the far reaches of Britain. Some exquisite nature writing here, and a balanced, nuanced look at the impact of offshore energy on local communities. I share your feeling of being both heartened by this necessary transition, but also wary of the interests of big business. A piece to return to. 💙
Thank you Caroline. It's worth following the Viking Wind 'farm' story in Shetland. A cautionary of exactly how not to do it...
Thank you for this! It is extraordinary. I love the way it brings together past, present (both human present, very real, with the words on "fuel poverty;" and the present of the natural world) and the future/potential futures.
Am especially grateful to be the recipient of the sharing of the present, intense natural beauty of that place in so many different ways: though your own beautiful sentences, through the video and images, and through the quotes -- this one will stay with me for a long time: "In midwinter the sun intrudes for only a few hours into the great darkness, but the January nights are magnificent – star-hung skies, the slow heavy swirling silk of the aurora borealis, the moon in a hundred waters: a silver plate, a broken honeycomb, a cluster of fireflies."
I hope that the future brings good things, and avoids the painful ones, and that the human present, too, is worked with and improved.
Am just happy, at this moment, to be sharing in all of it, from far away.
Nobody writes about Orkney quite like George Mackay Brown did. But I’m happy to share what I can, and deepen my own understanding and engagement with this richly resonant place in the process. Thank you Maria, as ever, for your thoughtful engagement and comments.
"I’m a siphon, like a bivalve or an urchin, a filter-feeder taking stuff in and sending it out into the world again; water, breath, thoughts, ideas, words, images."
You are a brilliant observer/thinker/writer Samantha, zooming out from fine sense observations to existential matters of great import. Thank you! 👏👏
Thank you so much for this, Baird! and thank you for restacking too.
Appreciate hearing about Orkney and the changing seasons and imagining island nature opens up the senses