Thursday 30 September

Fierce winds, no plane

The team is packed and ready to catch the 0930 scheduled plane. Katherine takes an early walk up Malcolms Head and runs back down to be in time for heading off to airstrip - but as she enters the house Pat says “ah, you haven’t heard, have you?” plane cannot fly - the winds are too fierce. “Outside operational limits” they call it.

Each house with people booked on the plane has had the call. Once the travel window has closed I call Tingwall to check on the prospects for getting out in time to connect with the planes booked South. The answer is the weather is only getting worse and there will be no planes today.

So, not for the first time in the history of Fair Isle trips, I sit down to research alternative travel plans. Stu joins me and together we check out tomorrow’s possibilities. Turns out Friday schedules are really unhelpful when it comes to making connections South. Then there is the uncertainty around when we will make it off the isle - we check forecasts and check in with Tingwall - there seems to be a small window early morning, or possibly mid-afternoon. We are keenly aware we need to get Caroline to her concert in York on Saturday, so to make the most solid plan we can, we book the overnight ferry from Lerwick (leaving 1730) which gets into Aberdeen Saturday morning 0700. Then the train at 0750 Aberdeen-London, also stopping at York which is where Caroline has her concert that evening. It is squeaky tight, but this plan allows for getting out in the afternoon window if the morning one doesn’t work.

Chris is supposed to be rehearsing on Saturday but is prepared to wing it for his gig on Sunday. Both Caroline and Chris show considerable sang-froid when I tell them the new plan. They are both losing rehearsal time, but in true islander style they understand some things are out of their hands. They say to me later - you prepared us for this, warned us it might happen, but you simply cannot really understand it until you are actually here.
I’d say that’s true for pretty much ALL of the Fair Isle experience!

So, travel plans re-laid - which has taken all morning - we have the gift of one more day on the isle.

I get a text from Head Teacher Ruth saying they’d planned to come up to the airstrip to see us off, but as the plane didn’t go she’d left the cards for us at the Hall. Stu and I drop by to pick them up - a card each, with a Fair Isle School tea towel inside, and a “birds of Fair Isle” card signed by the teachers and children, urging us to come back soon.

Chris heads round to have a coffee with John (Ian and Fiona’s Dad) and hears his tales. John came to Fair Isle when his wife Betty took up the Island Nurse position. Of their three offspring, two still live on the isle - Fiona (Fire Chief, Shop and art teacher) and Ian (boatbuilder, crofter, skipper of the Good Shepherd, fire crew, Scottish Water staff and Director of the Fair Isle Community Development Company).

In the afternoon Stu and I have coffee with Eileen. Her brother Ross is there - he came in from Glasgow to surprise their Dad for his 70th - and we do puzzles and reading with the boys whilst having a gentle natter. Eileen is a top-notch baker - we enjoy her lemon cupcakes.
Ian comes in - he’s had a call to confirm 0730 plane tomorrow morning.

In the evening Ian, Stu and I head over to Fiona and Robert’s for supper. It is bonus time, and so lovely to spend another evening with them - as Stu was reminiscing - it is nearly 20 years since CHROMA’s first visit, and this family have hosted us from the very beginning. Friendships that only grow stronger over time.