A Peedie Bit O' Orkney...

Today focusing on a local business, and my favourite jeweller (apologies to my brother-in-law (who is a silversmith... an incredibly good silversmith, says she, backpedalling furiously) if he ever reads this) - Sheila Fleet Jewellery.

Her jewellery is beautiful, inspired by what she sees all around Orkney - the sea, the rocks, the patterns the tides make on a sandy beach; prehistoric runes and oghams; animals and birds; dolphins; and much more.

In most cases you can choose from silver, yellow gold or white gold, with or without enamelling in some beautiful colours which serve to enhance the detail of the pieces.

5 of the 7 items of jewellery I wear are by her, and I own pieces from a couple of her collections. The ones I wear at the moment are from her Rainbow collection, including the necklace below:

If I won the lottery, I'd buy up pretty much all of her collections, in as many colours of enamel as I could! As it is, I have to close my eyes every time I go past her shop!

You can see her website here with the collections available: Sheila Fleet Jewellery

A Peedie Bit O' Orkney...

The rich, fertile land of Orkney, and the seas surrounding, produce food that's exported all over the world and enjoyed in top restaurants in the UK and much wider afield.

I'll deal with others yet, but start with possibly the oddest - the North Ronaldsay Sheep, which live on the northernmost of Orkney's islands.

"Sheep?" I hear you say, "What can possibly be odd or prized about mutton?"

Well, these sheep are not normal run-of-the-mill, wandering about in fields, sheep... for at least part of the year, they live on the shore around the island, kept there by a 6-foot-high drystane dyke (or wall, for the benefit of those of you who wouldn't know what a drystane dyke was if you tripped over one), and they live on seaweed... which (so I'm told, coz I've never eaten North Ronaldsay lamb or mutton) gives their meat a very distinctive, and much sought after, flavour.

And why do the sheep get shunted on to the shore? Quite simply, North Ronaldsay's not a big island, and good grazing land is at a premium.

The sheep have evolved in several ways to cope with their environment... for instance, instead of eating during the day and ruminating at night, these woolly beasts eat twice a day, at low tide, and digest in between.

Their wool is also highly prized, and lots of products knitted in North Ronaldsay wool are available.