21 June – Shetland Museum, Textile Museum, & Jamieson & Smith Wool

Today was the longest day of the year – sunrise at 3:39 and sunset at 10:34 – so we made the most of it!  Kathy wanted to return to Jamieson & Smith Wool.  She’s found it to be “a real knit shop” with friendly staff, knitting advice, beautiful patterns and models, and great supply of yarn.  Besides all that, a place for Dan to sit, available WiFi, and a bathroom!  All the necessary requirements of a great knit shop.   

Then on to Fort Café and Takeway for the best fish and chips we’ve had so far.  It’s a tiny café serving huge pieces of haddock or cod.  Yum!!!  The reviews all said it was the freshest fish ever, and while we can’t attest to that, we can attest to the absolute deliciousness of the fish and lightness of batter.  Dan even enjoyed a Scottish favorite – mushy peas!  It was followed by excellent coffee from Emma Louise’s.

Next stop the Shetland Textile Museum.  While this is a small museum, we stayed for quite a while because of the friendly volunteers and great conversation about knitting.  Kathy was excited to see a woman using long double-pointed needles and a knitting belt for traditional Fair Isle knitting.  The museum had numerous examples of exquisitely knitted fine lace and beautiful knitted garments.  There was also a room with an old weaving loom, still operational and examples of lovely woven pieces.

Finally on to the Shetland Museum and Archives, a modern building with a very nicely presented history of Shetland.  We could have spent all day there had our bodies been able.  Very, very nice displays beginning with the geologic history starting 500 million years ago and moving through the agricultural, fishing, cultural, and historical information. 

                                                        Bronze age spear and knife

 These three photos show the interior of a typical home in about 1750.  Note the animal wandering through from the attached barn; food storage in the rafters, and the "box bed" where the doors were closed to keep the occupant warmerl.  The display said families of babies through grand-parents lived together, numbers up to 10-12 people in the two rooms!

This photo is posted for all those parents and grandparents who think their kids & grandkids have it too good!  Show them how their ancestors lived and worked!  These kids are carrying peat in their baskets... can't be light!

There was a gallery with an exhibition titled “A Prayer for the Healing of Nations” by Paul Bloomer.  “Drawings exploring the tensions between our fragmented global village and the harmony of the natural world” is how it is described.  The one that was most disturbing for us was the very large drawing of a Ku Klux Klan gathering looking at Trump’s face with a caption “The KKK is pleased with the election of the President”.  Sigh.

We had to quit after about two hours and go get an evening meal at Fjara Coffee shop (2^nd visit!).  Then home… just as tired as when Dan hiked across St. Ninian’s!