Norq From Ork

A farmer once told me that farmer’s spend their life ‘looking over hedges’  Checking to see the progress their neighbouring farms are making and who was where with the seasonal work.  We don’t have many hedges in Orkney.  Instead we have miles and miles of dry stone dykes (walls) and fences, and if you look over them there’s a noticeable shift in progress this last week.  Signs of Autumn are heavy in the fields, in the misty mornings and super windy days. I struggle with the season change, this is the hardest adjustment for me to make, summer to Autumn, but many people love it and at least sometimes I can see why. Take a look.

I was absolutely delighted to have my first ever article printed in a magazine this month and even better news is it’s led to me being offered more work.  So now I’m writing my next article and I can hardly believe it.  What was so lovely is SO many people were really happy for me to be offered this opportunity.  It really lifted my spirits to know so many friends are rooting for me and enjoying this journey as much as I am.  Is it ok to feel proud?  I feel proud.

My articles won’t always be about sea swimming, that was just the first one, but while we’re on the subject 😉 I’ve had some lovely swims before work, making the most of the beautiful autumnal mornings before we lose the light.

This week, thanks to the huge generosity of so many donations and added gift aid I crossed the £2000 mark in my swimming down dementia fundraiser.  I was overwhelmed and so thankful.  If you would like to donate to Alzheiemers Research UK then a link is here.  I’m doing this to honour The Mothership who was diagnosed with dementia this year and Father Bear who remains firmly by her side as they celebrated 55 years together this week.  Swimming Down Dementia Giving Page

The winds have been fierce this weekend.  Gale force winds for 24 hours meant I managed a quick swim yesterday before the winds picked up but it was a bit of a disaster as I’m not the most organised of people.

Story of a disorganised unfluencer.
1. Arrive late, everyone already in water to get wake of passing boat. Miss waves.
2. Realise I’ve forgotten swim shoes, wonder if I’ll get down the slip. It’s called slip for a reason. One wrong move and you could end up looking like you’re doing the funky chicken.
3. Make it into the water surprisingly unscathed. Swim out to others in the rain.
4. Switch on GoPro ready to take awesome footage of rain on sea type stuff to discover once again it has 3% charge. Manage 15 seconds of wobbly rain on sea and under sea footage before battery gives up ghost. etc etc….

It was so windy today that  I didn’t swim and even the seals took shelter according to my photographer friend Nicki Gwynn-Jones who was brave enough to go into the gales to get her usual fabulous shots.  One cheeky selkie poked his head up to see what was occurring through.  Photo credit to Nicki.

As I make my adjustment to Autumn I try to look for things that make it more bearable.  There’s definitely something nice about drawing the curtains in the evening and getting cosy.  I miss the light, I hate the perpetual wind but I do love a real fire and by the looks of things, so does the dog.

Have a great week everyone.