TTTHHEEHE BBBLLETHERETHERLETHER the blether [ˈblɛðə] – the newsletter of the community of Hoy and Walls ISSUE 26 APRIL2016 NEW HEADTEACHER FOR NORTH WALLS SCHOOL Ms Stuart said “ I am absolutely Welcome to the twenty- THE delighted to been offered the post sixth issue of BLETHER of headteacher at North Walls. The April issue includes up- dates from North Walls I love teaching and fully embrace Scholl, IoHDT, Gable End the responsibility I have towards and vacancies at the Hoy making a difference to the lives of Kirk. my pupils through the delivery of See the ‘Dates for Diaries’ a quality education. The role of and Gable End programme for what’s on, but do check Head Teacher of North Walls dates and times nearer the Community School is of particu- event as some things do lar interest to me as I am highly change. motivated to take on a position of Many thanks to all of the contributors to the leadership in a school that shares twenty-fifth issue and Shirley Stuart has been appoint- my core teaching values of inclu- for the use of their pho- ed as the new headteacher at sion, openness and continually tographs. North Walls Community School. striving to improve the pupils’ Contact details for further Ms Stuart, who was in school learning experience. information or for contribu- this week, moves to our school tions can be found on the back page. from Glaitness Primary in Kirk- I am very much looking forward Do please get in touch if you wall. Ms Stuart also worked as a to getting to know the pupils, have anything you’d like to nursery nurse, as principal staff, parents and the wider com- share with the community! teacher at a small rural school in munity of Hoy and promoting a INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Moray – Glenlivet Primary – and meaningful connection between as acting headteacher for three the school and its wider environ- schools in the North Isles, Eday, ment.” NORTH WALLS SCHOOL 2 North Ronaldsay and Papay. BAG THE BRUCK All at The Blether would like to wish ANCESTORS 3 Wilfred Weir, executive director Shirley well in her new job! of education, leisure and housing HERITAGE MATTERS 4 for Orkney Islands Council, said North Walls Community School has HERITAGE MATTERS 5 “Shirley’s experience makes her a facebook page: well suited to the headship of https://www.facebook.com/North- COUNCIL COMMENT 6 North Walls Community School. Walls-Community-School GROW WILD 7 “She has an excellent track rec- ord and I am sure she will be I’m sure they would love to hear HOY KIRK 8 warmly welcomed at the school from you all! and by the wider community in GABLE END 9 the island. I wish her well in her new role.” GABLE END 10 THE BLETHER PAGE 2 NORTH WALLS SCHOOL— LE PETIT CAFÉ DU NORD All pupils in the school undertook an inter- disciplinary project to organise, prepare and run a Continental Café on Wednesday 2nd March. In the week and a half before the event, pupils were busy making post- ers, invitations, menu cards, preparing food for the café, painting pictures in the style of Van Gogh and practicing songs to entertain their customers. On the day be- fore the Continental Café pupils decorated the school and set up the tables. At last the day arrived and so did numerous mem- bers of the public. There was a great buzz about the place and lots of happy customers! Thanks to everyone who came along and helped to make this a terrific day. Pupils gain greatly from experiences, such as this, where they are able learn in a real life context and apply the skills and knowledge they have learned in school. There is a display of pictures and work from this project outside the Swimming Pool entrance and Class One’s paintings in the style of Van Gough’s “Starry Night” can be seen on display in the Health Centre. BAG THE BRUCK 2016 Bag the Bruck events are due to take place all across Ork- ney from Saturday 16th April unl Sunday 24th April. Locally there are two beach cleans organised so far: 1.The RSPB have organised a clean at Rackwick Beach on Sunday 24 April. This will run from 10:30 ll 3pm and there will be a beach BBQ as well. 2.There will be a clean up at the Ayre starng at the Car Park on Saturday 16 April and Saturday 23 April at 2pm. Gloves and Bags will be provided, all are welcome. The clean ups will be weather dependent so listen out for Radio Orkney and check the Hoy and Walls Community Facebook page for last minute changes. If any groups who are looking to fundraise then the Graemsay, Hoy and Walls Community Council will make a donaon to each group taking part. You can decide on any locaon for the clean up or join the one at the Ayre. For further details or to register please contact Trish on 701498 or email [email protected] ISSUE 26 PAGE 3 ANCESTORS AND ALL THAT! Have a guess, what were the four most common ageable number for the initial study so chose areas surnames in North Walls and Brims in the 1861 cen- where my own ancestors had lived.) The focus is sus? Answer: Robson/Robeson, Sutherland, Wilson family history rather than a wider study, I don’t have and Ross. the knowledge for that, and sources which are not so accessible. At the moment the site is small: Kirk Ses- I had not expected Ross to be one of the most com- sion minutes, communion rolls, summary information mon names when I began studying the 1861 census on the 1861 population, for example. I’m working on population as a project for a postgraduate genealogy other topics too. course several years ago. Those 34 Rosses included my ancestors who came to North Walls from Stroma My website: http://www.janealogy.co.uk/north-walls- in the mid-1830s. By 1955, when my parents moved and-brims/ Anything there is free to use, so long as to Kirkwall, there were no Rosses left in Walls as far you acknowledge the source. I work as a genealogist as I know. How things change! and can also do paid research. Another unexpected result of my study was that I’m very interested in place names, stories and mem- those people from 1861 would get a grip on me. I’ve ories, and scanned copies of older photos to flesh been looking at them off and on ever since, begin- out the lives of North Walls and Brims. ning a ‘one place study’ of North Walls and Brims. Jane Harris (Nothing against South Walls but I needed a man- STROMABANK PUB CHOIR MUSIC WEEKENDS Photo of Stromabank Pub Choir and Lau- rence Rugg taken at the end of two great weekends of singing, held at The Shore, Longhope. Laurence has been a musical inspiraon to us for several years and has composed some of our favourite songs. We love that the words, which are from work by Yvonne Gray and George Mackay Brown, are about the real Orkney that we can recognise. Working with the actual composer is very interesng and we have all enjoyed the learning process. The Stromabank Pub Choir IOHDT COMMUNITY FUND AND PROJECT EVALUATION PANEL The IoHDT Community Fund and the Training and Applicaon forms can requested from the Trust Learning Fund are now both open for applicaons. office and any queries should be emailed to [email protected]. Applicaons to the Training and Learning Fund can be undertaken at anyme, with decisions usually The Trust is also looking for more members of the made within a week. For more informaon about community to join the PEP. The PEP meet approxi- either fund and on how to apply, please contact the mately four mes a year to evaluate applicaons to Trust office, 01856 701356. the community fund and to make funding recom- mendaons to the Board. The next deadline for applicaons to the Communi- ty Fund is 15th July 2016, with the Project Evalua- If you would be interested in geng involved then on Panel (PEP) provisionally meeng on 26th July. please contact the Trust, as above. THE BLETHER PAGE 4 HERITAGE MATTERS—5TH BATTLE SQUADRON AT JUTLAND When Winston Churchill became First Lord Admiral Beatty’s Battlecruiser Force moved of the Admiralty in October 1911, the on- to Rosyth in December 1914, for faster re- going naval race with Germany threat- action to German battlecruiser raids on the ened the supremacy on which Britain’s British east coast ports. Beatty’s force was survival in war depended. Churchill had vulnerable to defeat if not quickly supported the difficult task of persuading Parliament by Jellicoe’s battleships, so he asked for the to approve building a new class of battle- fast battleships serving then as 5th Battle ships with untried 15-inch guns, a larger Squadron to strengthen it. Jellicoe agreed calibre than planned by any navy, also to a temporary transfer of the four available faster than all other battleships because (HMS Queen Elizabeth was in dry-dock) in they used oil as fuel rather than coal. May 1916, while the 3rd Battlecruiser With support from the recently retired Squadron was at Scapa Flow for gunnery First Sea Lord ‘Jacky’ Fisher, oil fuel’s de- practice. sign advantages of saving weight and th much wearisome labour for the crew Naval Intelligence advised on 30 May that ‘coaling ship’ were pushed through, the Germans intended a sortie next day, against the strong vested interests of the so the Grand Fleet sailed from its bases in British coal mining industry.