“Horses having a drink at the pond at Holland Farm. In the background is what must be fairly recently built stacks as they haven’t yet been secured with ‘simmans’ (straw ropes) to prevent them from blowing away in the winter storms.”
“This tale goes back to a day of dense fog on18th July 1934, while the Stronsay herring fishing was at its height”
“Much of the farm butter would have been sold, most of it bartered with the travelling shop vans that came around. Many of the farms had their own wooden butter stamp to imprint their name on the butter so that customers could see whose butter was being offered. Many of these customers would have their preferred maker of butter and would look to buy it where possible”
“During the herring fishing season in Stronsay, the population could swell by about 4,000 souls and all those extra folk needed to be fed.”
“While attempting to enter Papa Sound during a period of prolonged south easterly gales in February 1923, the Yarmouth registered steam drifter Comely Bank struck a reef on the north east side of Papa Stronsay and broke her propeller. “
“When my parents bought the farm of Midgarth from the Tait family in 1948, one of the items left in the farmhouse was an intricately carved oak tiller just over a metre long “
“John Gow was born in Wick in 1698 then, the following year, moved with his parents, prosperous businessman William Gow and his wife Margaret Calder, to Stromness where he was educated before sailing ‘before the mast’ for a number of years. “
“Later that morning, after news of the shipwreck reached Kirkwall, the Orcadia was despatched to Stronsay where she took on board all the Rognvald’s passengers and conveyed them to Kirkwall. “
” the73m, 980 ton screw steamship St Rognvald was named and launched in June 1883. “
“Donald and Roseanna had eight children, the oldest of whom would have been aged 18 and the youngest aged 5 at the time of Donald’s death”
