In a moment of madness I have signed up for the Boxing Day dip at Scapa Beach. This is a fundraising event for the CLIC Sargent the children's cancer charity & is exactly what it sounds like - you gather on the beach then race into the sea (fancy dress optional). They don't like you to go in deeper than chest deep in case you drown but they do have rescue boats. I think there's no fear of drowning as you'd probably freeze to death first. It was started up two years ago & generally raises around £20,000 a year for the charity. I've been trying to drum up support among friends to join me but so far no takers. I think the rugby club are doing it also the 'Biking Vikings' who are fundraising bikers.
If anyone reading this wants to sponsor me you can do it online with your credit card direct to the charity at:http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CazMamwell
I was getting worried about getting back for Xmas since I've been stranded in Edinburgh since last Thursday - I'd been down to see my PhD supervisor & visit the National Museum & our flight back got repeatedly cancelled because of the snow, finally made it home on Monday.
Flybe did put us in a really good hotel for the duration so it could have been a lot worse. We were at the Dakota by the Forth Bridge - it has won awards for its decor but I'm sorry from the outside it looks exactly like the Borg Cube from the Star Trek Next Generation series. I kept expecting to be assimilated by a race of cyborgs ( see http://www.trekmania.net/diplomatic/borg.htm if you have no idea what I'm on about).
Handily though it's in a retail park right next to a Tesco - good for buying all those bits & pieces you'd not packed when an overnight trip turned into a 5 night. Even inside the hotel it's strange - comfortable but all very dark & the staff were eerily alike - mainly female but some boys too, & all young, slim & good looking - it was like they'd been cloned by the Borg to lull you into a false sense of security although more probably deliberately recruited to appeal to a mostly male business clientele. Anyway they were all really friendly & helpful & it was a lot better than sleeping on the terminal floor like all the poor folk at Heathrow. Did have a strange idea of decotr though - very dark paint on the walls & in your room they left a single green apple in front of the mirror - no idea why.
There was a big group of us at first then we dwindled as the more desperate got trains to Aberdeen to try for the boat home - I decided to sit it out as the boat gets in at 11pm five miles from the airport where I'd left the Landy - & the roads at home were so bad I'd probably not have got a taxi to take me there. I kept being phoned from home & given weather reports - along the lines of 'white out' 'blizzard' & 'waist deep drifts' so nothing to do but wait. I did get out to have a look at Roslin Chapel which I'd wanted to do for ages - nice but smaller than expected.
Still good to be home again - very nearly kissed the tarmac at Kirkwall airport. Managed to get back although the roads were very bad & my man had to dig our gate out of a drift to get it open for me - also needed low ratio & diff lock in the Landy to get up the track.
http://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk
