29.06.2024 Tiger in the garden and Kirkwall
Well we all felt refreshed after a good nights sleep. Alas a look outside and the weather hadn't refreshed, it was still blowing a hooley and raining. Missus had been up earlier and had stood at the door watching a beautiful Tabby Cat hunting in the garden, hence calling it a Tiger. The garden is a wild affair, where one as small as me could get easily lost. It was the same colour as a Scottish Wild Cat, with a dark line down its back an a short tail, but she thought its build was too light for it to be a wild cat. She didn't get her camera out as she didn't want it to see her. This place has an interesting garden There is a Crenellated wall atop a steep rise at one end and what appears to be an decorative gateway to the other side of the garden. So we are keeping ours eyes on the garden in case it comes back again. Missus said that the grass camouflaged it beautifully.
Master and Missus had tea in bed and we went and joined them. After a breakfast of muesli and Blueberries, Boiled Egg and Scottish Bread Roll, a shopping list was made and they went off to Kirkwell. Morgan and I stayed at home we were fed up with travelling.
They found the Tourist Information centre and had a long chat with the people in there. Master had bought his guide book from 1967 of the Italian Chapel. When he came with his Mother to Orkney They had left from Leith Edinbugh on a cargo ship and it had taken a few days to get to Kirkwell. They spent about 5 days here seeing the sights. I think they had better weather. Unfortunately the beautiful Italian Chapel wasn't open when they went to see it. Master had a guide book of the Chapel from then. The TI suggested we took it to the Library and Archive just along the road. Master had also put the photographs he had taken in 1967 on a memory card. The Archive was open so we took them there. They didn't want the guide book as they had several but they were interested in his photos, so we left the card with them and they will contact us when they have downloaded them. They are always interested with old Photos of the area.
They then went and had a light lunch in the Magnus café. Opposite St Magnus Cathedral. They had a nice homemade yellow pea soup and a home made Hotdog with onions followed by coffee and cake. That all sounded very nice.
After Lunch they went to the Cathedral to see the Effigy of Dr John Rae, who we learnt about last year on the North West Passage Cruise. Dr Rae was the Dr from the Hudson Bay Company who found out from the Inuit what they had seen of the sailors and their remains later on from the ill fated Franklin Expedition. He was sadly ridiculed on his return to England by Lady Franklin and the Author Charles Dickens as they did not believe his report. Also they considered the Inuit Savages. Dr Rae also chartered much of the area of the North West Passage for the Hudson Bay company, it is thought he actually did find the the last bit of the Passage but did not realise it. There is a beautiful white marble effigy of him in the Cathedral. He is depicted sleeping, lying on his side under a Polar Bear skin with a book face down and open and his rifle alongside. It is life size. A lady in the Cathedral gave Master a leaflet guide to the Grave yard and we were able to find his grave. He was 80 when he died.
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