Midsummer Madness

The high latitude of Unst leads to long hours of daylight in the summer months – a period known locally as the “simmer dim”. Traditionally this period led to a certain amount of celebration and fun for those at Saxa Vord – every year there would be some form of midsummer activity, usually remembered by those who took part, long after they've left the islands. During my tour the activities included golf matches, sailing races and a Gala Day. Tales of Barbecues, Raft Races, Chariot Races and Sports Days abound and I would appreciate it if anyone has pictures of similar events they would be prepared to share – gordon.carleATgmail.com (replacing the AT with the usual symbol).
I have attached a few pictures from the late 70’s/early 80’s below and, at the end of this section put three links to other midsummer festivities covered previously in the blog.

Midsummer 1978
The 3 pictures here feature a Chariot Race and have come from Caroline & Maddy Madison. (Left click on pictures to enlarge):

Midsummer 1980

The next sequence of pictures is from George Keith and features another Chariot Race. There is also a shot of a rather dangerous looking egg-throwing competition at Burrafirth and an Officers’ Mess Barbecue on Balta.



Midsummer 1983

The main event in 1983 appears to have been a Raft Race at Norwick – these pictures have come from Stewart Dorward:

As mentioned earlier a few links to other sections featuring midsummer events:

Another Raft Race - http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/day-at-beach-raft-race.html
Golf – http://www.ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/most-intimidating-golf-course-in-world.html
Another Chariot Race - http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/charity-events-part1.html

CONTENTS LIST

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/contents-list.html

Arctic Circular - Feb 85

Left click on pages to enlarge.

 

 

 

 

 

CONTENTS LIST

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/contents-list.html

 

 

 

Neale Bulbeck – Firefighter, Saxa 1998 – 2000

Neale Bulbeck did an 18 month tour at Saxa from 1998 to 2000 and has kindly allowed me to reproduce some of his photos and recollections. He obviously had a good time in Shetland –

“I loved watching Shetland on the BBC a few months back. It brought back some great memories of Lerwick and the surrounding area. I think it was a pub called Captain Flints that we always headed for when we went to Lerwick. The weather may have been bleak at times on Unst but spirits were always high. I have never spent time in such a close knit community anywhere else in the world. The RAF personnel, their families and locals were so friendly with each other. Up Helly Aa, Burns night, the longest day etc were always great celebrations. I hope one day to return to The Shetlands with my wife.”

For those of you who remember Captain Flints – it’s still there and has its own Facebook Site here: https://www.facebook.com/captainflints  There are plenty of pictures on the site, one of which is reproduced below:

 The first 3 of his photos show some great winter scenery on Unst:



 The next 2 pictures are from Christmas 1999, the first of a rather cold looking Domestic Site and the second is a copy of the Fire Section Christmas card:

In common with all the emergency services the Saxa Fire section had frequent training sessions. The next 3 photos show Neale and another fireman in a BA (Breathing Apparatus) training exercise: 

 

 



Things are not always perfect and during an 18 month tour there is bound to be the odd mishap!

“I had a photo (since lost) of the mountain range fire engine that I crashed into a ditch during high winds on the road that goes past the haunted house, I think it was called Lund House? Fortunately nobody was hurt. The boss wasn't amused when we had to hire a crane from P&O ferries to come up to lift it out of the ditch. I think filling the ditches with gravel to allow the crane to fit along the road and the crane price may have cost the RAF a small fortune”

As Neale says it was not his proudest moment, but a photo did appear in the Saxa Voice Magazine during the summer of 1999.



 What to firemen do when there are no fires too fight or training to do? It seems they hang around relaxing & drinking coffee – just like everyone else!

 



 My thanks to Neale Bulbeck for sharing some of his memories.

 

Links to a few more pieces in the blog about the Saxa Fire Section here:

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/fire-section-part-1.html

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2011/01/fire-section-part-2.html

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/fire-section-part-3.html

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2012/02/memories-of-fireman-nick-broom.html

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/fire-practice-at-inner-skaw.html

CONTENTS LIST

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/contents-list.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunrise in Unst

Not being an early starter I see very few sunrises now - unlike years ago when I saw a good number on my way home. Shetland sunrises are often spectacular and I have attached a few pictures taken on Unst, mainly around the Baltasound area. The majority of these pictures are from the days before digital cameras and some were taken with pretty basic equipment, a few of them 50 years ago. Some time in the future I'll put out  another section of sunsets- a higher proportion of them will be my own - I'm normally up by then! (Left click on pictures to enlarge). The first section of sunsets was here:http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/sunsets-in-unst-1.html

CONTENTS LIST

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/contents-list.html