Norway Day

We have come to Orkney for a holiday, staying in Kirkwall for the next week.

Shortly after our arrival this morning, we could hear the sound of bagpipes and could see a large crowd at the harbour. 
It transpired that today (and every 17th May) Orkney marks Norwegian Constitution Day, as a way of commemorating the special friendship between Orkney and Norway (Orkney of course having once been part of the Norwegian Kingdom, with Norse influence and identity still celebrated). 
The Kirkwall City Pipe Band were parading from the harbour to St. Magnus Cathedral where the Norwegian national anthem was sung.

Also in the harbour were a couple of boats from the ‘Shetland Bus’ convoy; this was a World War 2 covert operation that transported refugees and supplies between Nazi-occupied Norway and Shetland (and also Orkney, despite the Shetland-referencing name). You may have seen some reference to the Shetland Bus on recent Scottish news reports around the VE Day 80 commemorations. 


https://www.scallowaymuseum.org/the-shetland-bus.html