Blue plaques

Woke to lashing rain, but that eased off before we went out (after my weekly catch up call and some breakfast and browsing of guide books and ferry timetables).
We headed south to start with, to the tapestry gallery in Hoxa…my goodness what a contrast between (what feels like) this remote quiet windswept area and the bustle of Edinburgh where the artist and her artist daughter both studied. We loved the tapestries themselves…especially the textures she achieved and the rich colours, but couldn’t decide on specific images to buy so came away with only one greetings card!
Stopped at the Sands of Wright (not sure what the name’s about) on Hoxa beach for a walk as it looked so beautiful from the car….long arc of white sand and pale sea, with lots of large rounded boulders. Like walking in a wind tunnel though….incredibly strong so not great for beachcombing, but again not much to pick up anyway. I only got three of the small orange shells we found on Islay and a piece of sea glass.
Onward back north via a craft shop in St Margaret’s Hope and stopped at Robertson’s Coffeehoos for a coffee and little something. Surprised when we walked in to loads of Union Jack flags and a huge group sitting dressed to the nines and clearly celebrating. We were bemused, but having sat down we eventually worked out they were there for an 18th birthday party and there was no link between them and the coronation themed decorations everywhere….very odd sight though!
After our scone/soup we visited the Italian Chapel. Beautifully decorated and ingeniously constructed chapel made by the many Italian PoWs held nearby and who were tasked with building the causeways across the islands here. Enjoyed reading about its history and managed to see it in peaceful solitude until a coach party arrived luckily when we were just leaving.
Popped into a jeweller then over to Stromness to explore. Enjoyed walking around the Main Street with it’s little closes and steps off to each side, and we counted about 6 blue plaques on cottages telling of the travels around the world of residents from the 18th and 19th centuries and various acts of bravery. Found a shop with some lovely knitwear and clothes in….but despite there and other places selling hundreds of different beanies we couldn’t find the perfect one to help prevent wind blown hair.
No luck with a cup of tea either….the only places selling it had no indoor tables and although it was relatively mild we didn’t fancy sitting outside, so bought some shortbread and headed home for it with a cup of tea and some novel reading time.
Back to St Margaret’s Hope for seafood dinner at the Murray Arms hotel. Delicious scallops, monkfish and mixed seafood pasta…served quickly and spankingly fresh and tasty. We saw a number of hot seafood platters coming out of the kitchen which looked good too…maybe another night!
Home for another quiet evening. As we drove back the light across the bay was gorgeous, but not sure our photos really did it justice (extra), and whilst we sat in the living room it brightened further and then gradually faded to a soft rose gold.