Bedlam Centre!

That's what the streets of Kirkwall have been today - and it's all due to the fact that there were not one, but TWO cruise liners in the harbour, and one was bloody huge!

The Golden Princess, capacity 2,600, according to our local newspaper's website:

Then, the Costa Classica came in this afternoon, capacity 1,700...

Now, the population of Kirkwall is round about 6,000 at the moment - so that's it been nearly doubled today!

And, of course, what do tourists do? They wander about taking photos of anything and everything (I witnessed one American drag his wife so he could get her to link arms with 2 police that were standing outside Woolies while he took her photo!)... they stop in the middle of the street... and generally slow you down while you're trying to get from A to B through the main street - which is not wide!

I was at the office today, with a spell in the shop over dinnertime, and I watched them go by the window in droves (not coming in, I guess pens and pencils aren't high up on a tourist's shopping list of souvenirs)... then came time I had to venture out among them and try to get something for my lunch - and it was like trying to swim against the current! In the end, I went back to the office early, because they were doing my head in.

It's not even been a bonny day for them all... it's been misty and drizzly and grey. Well, I guess you don't come on a cruise by Orkney for the weather!

I don't understand cruising either (not THAT kind of cruising... get your minds out of the gutter - this is a respectable blog)... to me, boats are a necessary evil, to be avoided at all costs... not somewhere where you pay hundreds and thousands of £s or $s to be trapped for 2 weeks or whatever. What about you lot? Would you go cruising? (Look, I've already told you... not that cruising!).

Not a lot else to report today, so I reckon I'll have a game of Spider Solitaire and shuffle off to beddy-byes...