Power Cut

I think I am in danger of forgetting just what the weather can be like here. We have apparently had more sunshine in August than anywhere else in the UK! It was a lovely month and coupled with a record-breaking dry May, all in all it has been a very special summer. The downside is that I am way behind in my writing.

It all seemed to end on the 2nd September with heavy, black clouds, thunder and lightning and solid rods of rain bouncing a couple of feet off the road. I went to Lerwick just when it started and returned at teatime to find the power off ... lightning on a pole somewhere.

As it got dark I filled Lizzie Goudie's (an old relative now long gone) oil lamp and lit the stove,then lit another wee lamp in the kitchen. It was all very cosy. You'll notice a glass of whisky by Lizzie's lamp (and the wind-up radio)!

It didn't last long, the power came back, but the glow of the lamps and the smell of the paraffin brought back memories of a crofthouse somewhere when I was a visiting child.

Oh, and the weather ... has returned to stillness and sunshine, but cool, with a touch of autumn.