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Walking Group One 25th April 2024
Five hardy souls collected today at Happy Valley for the first Hill Walk of the year .The temperature was cool with a North Easterly wind blowing and a hint of rain on arrival.
Off we set heading towards Russadale Quarry, spotting a Buzzard on the way.Turning into the footpath we remained sheltered from the wind all the way to the top of the hill.
The sun was out at the Quarry and a Greenshank was feeding at the edge of the Lochan. Then it was up the Peat road to the summit with spectacular views across Stenness and Harray Lochs, plus a view of the Closed Road beyond the Watch Stone. On the other side we looked over the Flow and down towards the Oil Platform and South Ronaldsay
Then it was back down after a stop for a snack and finally a walk around Happy Valley itself. The Daffodils planted by James and others were looking lovely and the Bluebells are days away from opening. Then it was on to a well deserved lunch at the Pier Cafe, having walked 4 miles and gone up 800 feet (and down again )
The next walk will be on Friday 24th May and hopefully more hills and views.
Keep moving.
Music Appreciation - November
by Glenys - 15:55 on 17 November 2018
The November meeting of the Music Appreciation Group took place at Louise’s house on Monday 5th, where the theme was ‘Mountains and High Places’. Only eight members were able to be attend – a fact which enabled those present to play more of their choices than sometimes happens!The very varied and interesting result was as follows:
Aaron Copland, ‘Appalachian Spring’;
The Shaker hymn tune, ‘Lord of the Dance’;
‘Hills of the North Rejoice’ – organ and choir;
Runrig, ‘This Land was once Green’ – a song with Highland references;
Nino Rota, ‘The Glass Mountain’ – film music from 1949 related to a Polish fairy tale;
Edi Reader singing ‘Wild Mountainside’, a song by John Richard Douglas;
Hector Berlioz, ‘Harold in the Mountains’ – the first movement of ‘Harold in Italy’;
‘These are my Mountains’, sung by the Alex Sutherland Singers;
‘Foggy Mountain Top’, sung by the Carter Family – recorded in 1929;
‘Highland Cathedral’, sung by the Glasgow Phoenix Choir at Iona Abbey;
Richard Strauss, ‘On the Summit’ from his ‘Alpine Symphony’ – the BBC Symphony Orchestra;
Panpipes and Charango music from the Peruvian Andes;
A song ‘about’ the triple buttress at the head of the main coire of Benin Eighe in Torridon – a picture of which is on the wall of Louise’s sitting room – sung by the composer and his partner (Dave Goulder and Liz Dyer) circa 1973.
At coffee time, Valerie told members of the opportunity to vote for the Reel Life Foundation’s application to the Aviva Community Fund scheme for more charity funding to finance sending instruments and teachers out to Orkney’s North Isles. It is free to vote, with ten votes per person.
The next meeting of the Music Group is at Valerie’s house on December 3, where Ally’s choice is ‘Christmas’.
Glenys Alsop
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