Aglooka Advisor Summer 2020 Issue No. 10 1 Aglooka Advisor Summer 2020 Issue No.10 President’s Report page 4 The Future of Clestrain page 6 The John Rae Society patrons page 8 Trailer for Double Transit of the NW Passage-just! page 9 All’s Well at Clestrain page 13 From Erebus to Orkney page 14 Contributions from Members page 16 JRS Explorer Badges page 18 Completion of the New House at Clestrain page 19 Where is Clestrain’s Garden? page 22 JRS Collage for the NHS page 23 Thoughts on the Lockdown page 23 Photo on front cover: reconstruction of the Hall of Clestrain as it might have looked in 1769. Drawing by Simpson and Brown 1990. 2 Patrons Dr Peter St John, The Earl of Orkney Ken McGoogan, Author Ray Mears, Author & TV Presenter Elaine Grieve, Lord Lieutenant of Orkney Sir Michael Palin Magnus Linklater CBE Board of Trustees (in alphabetical order by surname) Andrew Appleby — Jim Chalmers — Neil Kermode — Fiona Lettice—Mark Newton — Norman Shearer — Nominated: James Grieve, Liz MacInally Committee President — Andrew Appleby Chairman — Norman Shearer Honorary Treasurer — Fiona Lettice Webmaster and Social Media — Mark Newton Honorary Secretary — Michelle Scott Registered Office The John Rae Society 7 Church Road, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3BA Tel: 01856 771419 Website: www.johnraesociety.com e-mail: [email protected] Newsletter Editor — Fiona Gould The views expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Editor or the Board of Trustees of the John Rae Society 3 President’s Report meet remotely. This is very successful and brings us What is on everyone’s mind together. just now is the Corona Virus lockdown. I will refer to that I must mention that Wilma later. Hutchison of the Pomona Inn, Finstown, has had to close her Firstly I have to tell you that welcoming pub due to a fall. our Chairman, Norman This was our venue for board Shearer, suffered a stroke meetings and we thank her for earlier in the year. He is her kind hospitality over the recovering well, but he is years. currently unable to perform his role as chairman. We all wish Despite all these setbacks, we Norman well. make long strides forward. Simpson and Brown of Founding Trustee, Anna Elmy, Edinburgh are completing a has stood down. She has been Heritage Assessment with suffering with mobility architectural recommend- problems for a long while and ations. Rob Robinson of Herit- is unable to get out and about. age Consulting is preparing a We all wish her well too and business sustainability report thank her for her tremendous too. Thanks to your generosity contribution to the John Rae we can still afford to complete society. these assignments in separate We are delighted, though, to stages. This will prepare the welcome Liz MacInally from Society to apply for the major Stenness onto the board and grants when the lockdown has James Grieve from Kirkwall. eased. Both have the talents we need Another major stride forward in this exceptionally busy time is the purchase of additional for JRS. Another welcome is to land at the back of The Hall of Michelle Scott who has Clestrain. We have negotiated volunteered her services as a far broader strip for access Secretary. and a greater parking and Due to the social distancing we turning area. This will give us are no longer meeting as space for a wider road down, a before. Mark Newton set up footpath and cycle path. We Microsoft Teams so we can can also land and waterscape 4 the intermittent burn into a the Hall of Clestrain from more natural feature and them. create an approach with a rich As seen in the last Newsletter, collection of natural Orkney several corporate members and arctic plants, giving an have joined us with their enhanced feeling of bio- support. There is one, diversity. however, to whom we gave The greater parking area honorary corporate member- removes the risks of placing ship. This is Casey Con- the car park over archae- struction. Paddy Casey has so ologically sensitive areas close many times come to our to where the north pavilion rescue. The Hall’s roof was was. Our archaeological blowing off in a tempest some survey showed many years back: his firm securely interesting anomalies there, fixed it. We would have lost and Ivan Craigie once this gem of an ‘A’ listed uncovered a well where rubber building had he not done so. tyres might have rested. This John Rae’s grave in the sensitive area is now protected kirkyard of St. Magnus for later study and Cathedral has also been conservation. sensitively restored by him. His firm’s sheer generosity in In total we are purchasing five providing a splendid cabin as acres. The cost will be our occasional Visitor Centre is £20,000. The society pays a a great boon: here we can ten percent deposit and legal provide shelter and hospitality fees with three years to on our open days. Casey complete. We have completed Construction’s support is this initial stage already. We indeed highly valued by The have a pledge to support one John Rae Society. acre from one of our Corporate Members and another funder We held a very successful is looking at a further event in Orphir Community contribution. We are grateful Centre to engage locals in our to Ivan and Jean Craigie for project. This will be described agreeing to these terms, just in the article following this as they did when we bought report. 5 Davie Reid, our stalwart what they would like to see procurer of goodwill and good featured at the Hall, once it things, has instigated the John has been restored. However, Rae Explorer Badges, advice from the government supported by a donation from was changing so rapidly that it one of our Patrons, Sir Michael was very difficult to say Palin: more news of this later whether or not the event in this newsletter. should go ahead at all. We drew together all the This year’s John Rae Birthday information we had at the time Lottery has brought in and decided that the event worthwhile funds for us all. I should still go ahead but we would say it made it possible would need to take some for us to pay the deposit for precautions, like having soap the extra land at Clestrain and and hand sanitiser available at some of the fees. the door. It is difficult to give details of We didn’t expect a large forthcoming events at this footfall, but we were point in time. We had some pleasantly surprised by the exciting ones planned and will number of people that keep you informed when we attended and astounded by know what we are able to the response from everyone offer. Our membership that filled out the continues to grow apace. questionnaires – the creativity Andrew Appleby and ingenuity that was brought forward from all ages President is incredibly valuable. *** A special ‘thank you’ must be made to the community of The ‘Future of Clestrain’ Orphir. Without their contrib- March was supposed to be an utions, the event would not exciting month for us at the have been nearly as John Rae Society: the 14th successful. They donated an being The Future of Clestrain enticing spread of homemade event in Orphir. This event cakes, shortbread, traybakes was an opportunity to engage and biscuits; accompanied by with the public and hear about tea and coffee. While sipping 6 away, one could browse the assured, there is a lengthy great selection of plants book on just that. provided by Eleanor Maciver Finally, there was an incredible ranging from intricate alpines digital display, compiled by Jim to bluebells, ‘in the green’, ready to explode into bloom. Chalmers. The display went into great detail about the If that wasn’t enough on its work that has already gone own, then there was an into the future of Clestrain, educational information what ideas the John Rae display board created by Fiona Society have already, as well Gould, telling the history of the as the possibilities and Hall of Clestrain, accompanied potential to have a thriving by an interesting selection of hub for the community that old pictures of the Hall and its meets the needs of many. former residents. Architectural mock-up draw- ings of Clestrain captured the Moving round the room, there attention and imagination of were some activities for onlookers, giving extra children, including a lucky dip substance to the creative and the chance for even the juices. youngest of people to express their views of ‘what they’d like There was live accordion and to see at Clestrain’ by putting fiddle music throughout the crayon to paper – this is where day from Ellen Grieve and the idea of solar roof tiles and Ingrid Tait. This really helped turbine chimney stacks was to create a relaxed and social born! atmosphere, even with every- thing that is going on in the There was certainly no world. shortage of educational material on offer from an old The highlight of the day was sea chest, brimming with Rae- the Maureen Findlay Dancer’s related items, such as maps of dancing The John Rae Reel. the Arctic and an interestingly Composed by Maureen Findlay fashioned sextant that pivoted herself, to music by Dawn on the base of a tuna can. Stout, the dance is a beautiful Also, if you ever want to know and very visual portrayal of everything there is to know Rae’s journeys through the about Inuit shoes, then rest 7 Arctic.