Not me, but the Resident IT Consultant. Ever since I read Joan Lennon's Silver Skin eight years ago, I've been at him about going to Orkney. That book was enough to make even me want to go. Although there is the difficulty of picking your poison; boat or plane and feeling queasy whatever you do.
I might prefer time travel, which is what you find in Joan's book.
(It's possible he has wanted to go there for a lot longer. The Resident IT Consultant likes his history. But when he'd ascertained that I was happy for him to go, and didn't want to come along, he asked to read 'that book'. So I got it out for him.)
Although, there were stumbling stones. After much thinking, he decided to get the ferry from Aberdeen, which calls at Kirkwall on its way to Shetland. And then the day before, the ferry company wasn't sure they would call after all, on account of a forecast of stormy weather. So we did some quick brainstorming (that kind of storm is all right) and decided that not only would he go for the short ferry route, but if he set out almost immediately, he could be sure to get his connection, up there in the far North.
Almost as though he was Paddington Bear, I made him a marmalade sandwich. Plus a sardine salad. A Resident IT Consultant needs to eat when less resident.
He caught his ferry and he sent a photo of the Old Man of Hoy as proof.
He's now walked, and ridden buses, all over the place for a few days, and I have only occasionally stalked him using tech. It's handy stuff. No need to phone and say you arrived. Because one can see that. Or at least, I could see that his phone arrived.
If you too want to learn more about Skara Brae - which was a very long time ago, much longer than you can imagine - I recommend Silver Skin.
And there had better not be an uneaten marmalade sandwich in that bag!
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