An update from our tiny island!
@destry (2572)
Kirkwall, Scotland
March 8, 2017 3:44am CST
It's about time I gave an update to you all. It's now been 4 months since we bought our little farm up on a remote island off the North coast of Scotland. The house is coming along very well, feeling more home like every day.
Our next job that we are working on is sorting out the antiquated radiators - we need warmth up here! Fortunately, it looks as though we will be able to tap into the local wind turbine to fuel our heating system and hot water for free. That will really help bring the living costs down.
We are not doing a lot with the land at the moment as it is far too windy and cold to do much! Waiting for the spring!
Work wise, we are non stop - we thought that employment might be slow up here - however, we both have several jobs each and are having to turn down work!
16 people like this
12 responses
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
8 Mar 17
I read your blog it was really interesting. I bet you can't wait for the summer it will feel almost tropical! Enjoy have fun and be safe! 
3 people like this
@moffittjc (121546)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Mar 17
That is very exciting to hear about your new home! I love the fact that you can tap into a local wind turbine to help supply your energy needs. I wish more communities here in the United States would construct wind turbines to help supply power. Solar is huge where I live, but wind turbines are not popular at all.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121546)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Mar 17
@destry I think it's really nice that people all over the world are trying to think of creative ways to generate power, whether it's solar, wind, or hydro. I've been seeing a lot of articles recently that scientists are inventing machines that can convert ocean waves into electricity! When we put our minds to it, there are practically no limits to the innovations we can create!
1 person likes this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
9 Mar 17
We have plenty of wind here, and each of the islands has a few wind turbines - We export the power to the national grid and the money raised gets used for community projects. When the grid is at capacity the turbines divert the power to storage units in peoples homes for them to use for heating / hot water.
At the moment it is in a trial stage, but, it's working well and they are hoping that all power on the island will be free, green and local by the end of the two year trial :)
Solar is not popular on the island - due to in winter we only have 3 hours of light per day.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
9 Mar 17
I have nothing but admiration for you! Like @MALUSE, I would have thought that, with a population so small, there wouldn't be much scope for employment but you seem to be doing a large part of the work for the whole community! That's the best way, it seems to me, of very quickly ridding oneself of grockle status (there's probably a Gaelic word for grockle but I don't know it! 'Skibbylt boght' is the Manx word for a tourist and 'cuairteoir' means 'visitor' in Irish ). Do they have evening classes in the local language in the Hebrides?
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
9 Mar 17
@MALUSE Thank you for that enlightenment! I always thought, in the back of my mind, that it was a relatively modern term but had never bothered to research it. Incidentally, I suppose that you were already aware that the words 'welsh', 'Wales' and the '-wall' in Cornwall all meant 'foreign' in Old English, as does the German 'welsche', though the word ultimately comes from the name of a Celtic tribe and is, presumably, related to the word 'Gaul'.
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
9 Mar 17
@owlwings - many thanks - It is hard work - the island seems to be looked after by a few families, all of which have 6 jobs per person. Lol grockle - last time I heard that word was when I was living in Jersey! Have no idea about the Hebrides, but here in Orkney there is a dialect of part Scots and part Norwegian, but as most of the people here are grockles, it's not spoken widely.
@MALUSE - there were people doing the jobs, but as they all seem to have 6 jobs each, they are more than happy to lighten their workload!
@allknowing (135943)
• India
15 Mar 17
Do you have neighbours close by? My niece was living in a rental house that had property of around 50 acres. She had no neighbours.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
8 Mar 17
Hi there, your name sounds familiar but if I've run into you before it's been quite a while. Here and there brought my your way today. I've not heard or read anything leading up to this purchase and maybe will check that out down the road.
It's good that you've got the work needed to be able to stay there and continue to work to make it your home. Is it very far to go visit friends and family? By your description of it being a remote island it sounds like you've not seen any other humans for a long time, but I'm sure that's not the case.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (339464)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Mar 17
I would love to be doing what you're doing but it's too late for us. What sort of work are you doing and how many acres do you have? I hope you'll tell us more about what you plan to do with the land. Otherwise I'll be asking lots more questions. I'm pleased it's working out for you.
I'm pleased it's working out for you.1 person likes this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
9 Mar 17
Work is largely based around goods and supplies coming in and maintaining the island's integrity. Some days I unload the food from the ferry, other days I work at the airport as a firefighter. I'm also involved with converting an old croft that is in a very poor state into what is going to be something beneficial for the community. The Mrs works in admin and accounts (that oversees community projects) and she is also the registrar for Births, deaths and marriages on the island.
We have about 4 acres of land - and is more than enough for us to raise most of our food!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (339464)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Mar 17
@destry Thanks for the info. As a young adult I loved reading accounts of different folks who had bought a smallholding, usually somewhere in the UK, and were in the process of making a living from it. I found them really interesting and so different from what Australian farming practices were.
1 person likes this
@amitkokiladitya (171927)
• Agra, India
8 Mar 17
That sounds lovely
.an island.
I really wish I had one
2 people like this
