In the summer of 2021 we had the pleasure of hosting a rather special guest at our B&B. Her name is Jen Armstrong and she’s a very talented singer/songwriter. We also found that we have a lot in common with Jen: she’s vegan, she has two adorable dogs and she advocates for animal and human […]
28 December 2021 Image credit: Callanish Solstice watercolour painting by Joe Trodden Last Tuesday was the shortest day of 2021. At around 4pm GMT on 21 December, the ‘sun stood still’ and the solstice occurred. At our latitude, the sun set at 3.37 on Tuesday afternoon and rose the next morning at 9.14, signalling the
December 2021 One of our favourite treats at this time of year is Stollen, the German equivalent of the Christmas cake. While we were living in Germany, we generally bought a Stollen at the local store, but since moving to the Outer Hebrides, we’ve decided instead to bake our own Stollen at Christmastime. Enjoying a
November 2021 We live on the island of Great Bernera, which, since 1953 has been connected to the Isle of Lewis by a 108ft (33m) single track bridge (see photo above). Before that, the only (dry) way for humans to reach Bernera was by boat (cattle were made to swim across the fast-flowing strait), although
By Helen One book which has had a great impact on me is Island on the Edge: A Life on Soay by Anne Cholawo. In 2018, while touring the Outer Hebrides looking for a house to buy, I started questioning my decision to make such a bold move. I kept asking myself: Am I crazy?
October 2021 We decided this year to try our hand at raising chickens. Back in the spring of 2020, we inherited three adult layers from a neighbour who was moving house, and since then our lovely ladies have provided us with a (somewhat intermittent) supply of fresh eggs. We don’t know how old the hens
