Shetland Wool Week

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September 21 Thursday Toronto Pearson Airport Gate 33

There was a moment when I thought I would have to tell Sherry this trip was cancelled ...luckily I could still walk with my wonky knee...but just barely.


The drive down from Sudbury was uneventful except for the fact that I spilled the ice water which had been cooling my engorged left knee, all over the back seat of a brand new VW. No idea why that happened ...the seal on the ziplock bag seemed secure....what a birthday present ...hitting a big zero and falling apart immediately. The wonky knee must have happened when I was shutting down the summer house for winter. I did do the work of two days in one because of an unexpected delightful visit to a friends garage where all kinds of goodies were on offer because the garage had been declared too full of crafty left overs from a friends untimely demise. That knee will be impeding my progress during this two month trip in the UK.

Sherry,my cafe/knitting friend and I are making our way to Shetland, for the second time for Wool Week. Jim, Sherry's husband was kind enough to drop us off after a 398km drive south from Sudbury.

...and drop us he did and turned around and went straight back to that rock laden haven in the north

The airport has taken on a much elevated technological look. All the waiting areas have plush beige seats and an Pad connected to each table. Each waiting area has a myriad of screens...mainly for ordering food amid drinks. Other services like books and note shave sign in requirements.

Both of us are traveling with carry on luggage...praying they fit into the overhead compartment.

Have taken a super strong Tylenol...it will either take away the pain or knock me out on the plane.

A bagel with my sheep cheese and a Pike Street coffee at Starbucks in Parry Sound was breakfast. Here at the airport turmeric/ginger tea was a big hit... could have used some honey and a spot of cream. I ate the other half of Sherry's ham sandwich and now am dreaming of breakfast on the plane.

Its a clear warm day in Toronto. In Shetland its cloudy till the end of next week with temperatures not reaching over 15degrees.

Compression socks on... meal to be served on board...book The Red House by Milne copied from Project Gutenberg ...

The waiting space is filling up with lots of “schismatic” accents, blonde headed flabby underarm lady .... old as her husband only he has no blonde hair anymore!

A three generational family of eight escorting their “oldie “ relative for possibly a last trip to the homeland.

An Aunt and Cousin escorting the ashes of the brother back to Glasgow

GLASGOW AIRPORT SEPTEMBER 22, 2023, 06.30

Landed safely in Glasgow06.30. Now waiting for 10.15 flight to Shetland. The airport WiFi sucks..so am reduced to continuing with the blog.

It must be Friday. The airport is filled with beer drinking, wine sipping, outrageously flamingo combi outfits, and hen party participants in white veils and matching gold embossed T-shirts. And all are having alcohol for breakfast. Every size, description, prettiness, ugliness and shape imaginable is making a parade past the seat where I am sitting ...and the background noise consists of race track reports squabbling partners, whimpering babies and scantily clad tweenies and teenagers. Many are wearing team colours in forms of scarves and/or shirts emblazoned with crests

Our breakfast was called a Scottish Big breakfast and the Veggie equivalent. Flat black coffee passable but cappuccino just dark water.



IN LERWICK ...

The bus ride on the #6 from Sumburgh Airport took over an hour. Seems I do not remember coming this way in 2019. The houses, the hills, the peat bog with peat cutter therein, made for wonderful viewing.

There are no trees...lots of sheep.... dairy cows ... stone fences and the ever present Shetland ponies having been on this isle for the last 4000years.

The bus driver went out of his way at the end of his run and dropped us off at the Shetland Hotel, right across the street from Lerwick Ferry Terminal.

The CO-OP is just a bit of the way from the hotel. Crossing the street is a major undertaking ... the cars are coming from an opposite direction and crossing lights are few and far between.

A man with pink wavy to curly hair held back with a hairband told me he was buying a whole box of sardines because his dog liked to eat them...????

A lady decked out in three pieces of fair isle....hat, scarf, sweater... was perplexed when I accosted her with....

“My goodness you knit up a storm before coming here.” I did repeat myself to this person who was an obvious English as a second language individual. We have a lovely conversation about her love of colour. She was my kind of colour lover...her buttons on her sweater were all of a rainbow.

At the CO-OP....can of crab, can of tuna, mayo, tomato, onion, yogourt the , oat cakes, cheese and bun made a delicious dinner...paid for by small change, putting out the sitting down cashier. She was not happy in her job.

The hotel is old, the room is pleasant, and the carpet has a tartan pattern. Netflix can be watched ...if you possess a code.

There was no possibility of writing all this yesterday... the eyelids drooped and dropped ... by seven o'clock sleep overcame me. After

twelve hour supine in bed, mostly sleeping, woke up revived and refreshed, body and soul. There is one obnoxious fly in the room. GRRRRRR..

SEPTEMBER 23, 2023, Lerwick, Shetland Hotel

Full English breakfast is on offer every morning. Not for me the black pudding, greasy hash brown hard cooked easy over egg mushrooms cold toast and horrible coffee. The jam in the small glass jars was deli sh. None of this for me on Thursday when I have to be ready to board a bus at 07.30 for a tour to Unst.

Today we once again take the #1 to city Centre. The High Street is abuzz with people, from Wool Week participants and four thousand Cruisers off the Norwegian Getaway.

The High Street was so noisy.... and I told someone the other day the reason I have come three times to Lerwick is because of the calm the place exudes... not this year!

The Boots was so thick with people there was no getting cough candy or anything else for that matter. Had to leave!

After a bit of shopping...goat soap, post cards, electric conversion plugs we had a bitter fifteen minute coffee in a lovely crampt cafe ... the lady said that in fifteen minutes she would clear the place and set up for lunch. The couple at the next table ...coming off the cruise ship and from Kansas... said they had just made it under the wire to get a breakfast delight of melted Gruyere on toast topped by a fried egg.

With the #1 bus,caught where we had come off,we went to Clickimin ... but the bus driver thought we were going to the ruin...Broch of Clickimin ... so let us off in front of it...BUT... we were headed for a weaving workshop at Clickimin Sports Centre ... so had to walk a stretch. This was not overly difficult in 2019 buy today with my wonky knee ...not so easy.

The workshop leader was a lovely lady, Emma, extremely patient and helpful when things went aery in my weaving...which was more than once. After three hours of work eight out of ten people finished two or three patterns. Only two, myself and another woman struggled with the concept, she more than I.

We did manage to be on time at the bus stop for the ever important #1 ....BUT... He was done for the day and pointed us in the direction of he Hotel.It was not a long hike and we did go past the CO-OP, deciding that dining in the hotel restaurant was a better idea for Sunday evening since on Sunday everything on the Island is CLOSED!

Today we ate potato salad, chicken slices, cheese, tomato, decaf coffee and as amidnight snack....ygourt...it better help to get the pipes moving. The bag of raw soup veggies should help too.

No visit to the bar downstairs for a beer, rather a Devon cream dessert and a second cup of decaf.

All's well that ends today. Knee still wonky... is it improving or am I only wishing it to be so.

There are three options:


•
I continue in pain and do who knows what damage to my knee.
•
The trip continues and I go back with Sherry from Dublin therby cancelling the rest of my UK plans.
•
From Belfast I go directly to Leeds and Rita and then straight to Janet's.
•
From Belfast directly to Janet's



5...will definitely email Dr.Susil and ask her advice on Monday.

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