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Trading Silence for Lattes: From the Most Remote Isle to a Slightly Less Remote One

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🌊 Shetland Premiere: Ocean Symphony 🌊 A cinematic view of the Shetland coast at golden hour. ☁️ Shetland Skies: Time and Tide ☁️ Clouds rolling in over the Northern sea, a timeless ballet.

Lights, Camera, Shetland: My Unexpected Meeting with Douglas Henshall

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Toggle Light/Dark Fertile Solitude & Loneliness “All of humanity’s problems,” the French scientist and philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in 1654, “stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Or for that matter, on Britain’s most remote inhabited island. Fertile solitude is the basic unit of a full and contented life. The line between solitude and loneliness can be thin, but there is a difference. Loneliness is difficult to confess; difficult too to categorize. I have no such difficulty confessing solitude here on Fair Isle. What does it feel like to be lonely? It feels like being hungry: like being hungry when everyone around you is readying for a feast. Fertile solitude, however, is learning to enjoy your own company. More than that, it is a developmental achievement, on the road to knowing thyself. The best things in life happen to you when you’re alone and despite the camaraderie and the ...

Fair Isle in 20 Minutes: A Commute Like No Other

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Island Life: A Winter Story Weather has closed in and we are below limits both on route and at Fair Isle. This afternoon’s flight is now cancelled...but we are in the air! And Skyelark is in the hold. So the opportunity to fly out here during a heat wave (Down South In England), we expected no weather issues...maybe some wind, since Shetland is famous for wind speeds... But precisely because of the heat wave, the fogbank came in today, along with rain and some lightning while we were midair. Oh well, looks like we will be taking the Good Shepherd Ferry tomorrow. For those who have never experienced island life, the day-to-day realities of living in the middle of the north sea during winter can seem mysterious, and sometimes even a little intimidating. Yet, despit...

Happy First Year Birthday To Skyelark, Our Scottie

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Skyelark's Shetland Adventure Skyelark's Shetland Adventure A Scottish Terrier's Journey Through America and the UK Lucky Dog! Skyelark got to spend her first 5 months in America, and the next 7 in England and Scotland (Shetland). What a year for the Aberdeen Scottish Terrier! Patiently awaiting the ferry with Skyelark, my steadfast companion. Soon, the lifeline to our island will arrive, carrying goods and stories from Shetland Mainland. From tiny paws to big journeys—Skyelark at 12 weeks, ready to take flight to Amsterdam before her grand ferry voyage home to...