Missed yesterday’s blog entry as I was over in town shopping and enjoying myself. Then when I came home I felt inspired to make some soup with my purchases, having found a new recipe and it was only as I switched off my computer at night that I realised I hadn’t posted anything here.

Well the shopping trip was successful. I went to one of my favourite shops in town, the Scarth Centre, which sells everything from baking tins to paint to DIY tools to rat poison! I love the shop because I can walk through the door bearing some obscure widget and ask a nice assistant for a similar one but 1/8^th of an inch bigger and I get the usual Orkney response “No bother at all” and am led to an assortment of widgets whereupon the shop assistant hands me exactly what I need. Oooh if only all my shopping needs could be met so easily! And as well as a “widget” I came away from the shop carrying baking tins and a saucepan……. And for the record I didn’t buy any rat poison either so folk are safe to eat at my house!

As I said I also tried out a new soup recipe – it was lentil, apricot and herb soup. Mmm sounds nice? Well it had garlic in it – and it wasn’t…. Might try it again without the garlic this time.

Anyway after gathering up all my purchases I then met friends for a lovely lazy lunch and chat about books, and Paris and life. We sat overlooking Scapa Flow which was bathed in sunshine that gave a deceptive appearance of Spring, when in fact temperatures were so cold it fair took one’s breath away.

But today I was awoken by the gales battering the windows again. In fact it has been so gusty (gusting over 60mph) that I haven’t ventured out to feed the hens. I do feel so guilty about it, but I know they have food and water in their “hopper”, and they have a fairly risk-free walk to a byre where they can rootle in straw and dirt and find grubs. But I hate not going to see them each morning. The forecast is for the wind to drop a bit overnight so will endeavour to visit them with extra treats tomorrow. I’ll boil up some sphaghetti, they love that – they think it’s worms!