We received an e-mail that Jennifer Smith could meet us around 3:50PM so bearing this in mind went back to the archives at the Lerwick museum to do a little more searching.I looked at a variety of boats including a "sixareen" (requires 6 oarsmen) that was used for fishing. The fishermen would be out for days at a time and I can't imagine being in that small a boat on the ocean. The risks were unimaginable! The sailing crafts displayed resemble one we have depicted in a painting by an artist by the name of J. J. Sinclair and with the fact that Sinclair is a very common Shetland name, we wonder. There does not appear to be a known artist by that name so the mystery continues.
We packed up a little early in order to meet Jennifer Smith (the daughter of Catherine (nee Bairnson, Betsy`s sister) and Andy Smith. She proudly brought along her two sons Keegan and Connor but we could only stay for a short time as we had been invited to dinner at Elizabeth and Leslie (Gussie) Angus`s home at `half 4`and we had a distance to walk. It was a pleasure meeting more of Denise`s family!
We left and walked quickly to the Angus homestead which I have already said has a magnificent view of the Lerwick harbour. We were served a chicken stew for a main course and apple crisp for dessert. I really enjoyed the meal and the skills that Elizabeth has as a `cookery`` teacher at the Anderson high school were very evident. We finished dinner and Gussie had to prepare for a benefit concert to help Shetland musicians with expenses so that they could attend the Scottish Tattoo in Edinburgh. We heard him tuning up on the bagpipes along with a student of the `pipes` that he is helping. They left and we continued to talk with Elizabeth. She showed Denise the website `Scotland`s People``. It shows the first marriage of Capt. William Bairnson to Margaret Harper, both of whom descended from very old Dunrossness, Shetland families. About an hour and a half later, Gussie returned and we talked for a while but we were both getting tired so Gussie offered to drive us home. He took the long way home so that we could see some sights which included the harbour entrance, the Clickimin Broch , the site of the new high school to be built and a vantage point where we could see all of Lerwick before us. This was a wonderful and memorable evening!
On another note, Elizabeth informed us that the interview is a go and that we would be interviewed at 11:00 AM at the Museum.
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| View of the Clickimin Broch |
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| Spotted while walking back to the B&B. Brilliant use of very small yard - Owner advises that he sells many containers to passersby that supplements his income. |
Thursday June 26, 2014
After another great breakfast, we were moving slowly so our host, Betty drove us to the Library to drop off our books on loan - yes, Denise is now also a member of the Shetland Library- and then to the museum so that we would be on time for the interview. The interview was postponed so Denise finished her review of the old Dunrossness Register information. The interview took place in the afternoon outside, first with regards to the Bairnson family search, and then Andy Steven wanted my input regarding the importance of the webcams as a tool to attract tourism. All this had to fit into a 4 minute time slot. Finally Mary Blance, the interviewer, wanted to do a separate interview that encompassed the subject of the Shetland jewellery that had been handed down through the generations to Denise.
We left the museum and were walking back to our B&B when we saw some Shetland gift items in a store window. The store was named Healthcraft and we wandered in to browse. The person that was in the store was non other than Bernard Smith, Jennifer Smith`s brother. We had a great chat, purchased a few items and left to continue our walk. After the interview, we had asked Mary Blance where was a good place to have dinner and after she suggested places we had been she came up with Monty`s Bistro so we had dinner there. The building was, just let`s say, old (centuries), but the meal was great as we both has lamb on our last night in Shetland. It just seemed right!
We then returned to Leeskol (B&B) and packed everything as we were on a flight to Donegal in the morning. Lights out at midnight.
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| L-R Mary Blance (interviewer), Denise Carre and Eric Carre |
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| Denise Carre and Bernard Smith |
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