Among the people commemorated in the One O’Clock Toast at the Peedie Kirk this year was Jim Robertson, maths teacher and musician, remembered by one of his former pupils, Howie Firth. It was around 1959 when I remember reading in the Stromness and Round About column in The Orcadian about changes in the maths department [...]
The writer Ann Scott-Moncrieff was the subject of one of the One O’Clock Toasts in the 2015 Orkney International Science Festival. As a young reporter for The Orcadian, her account of flying across the Pentland Firth – as the first Orcadian to do so – created a climate of interest in Orkney in the development [...]
He was born in Tankerness and worked at The Orkney Herald, and he went to America in search of opportunity. And when he died in 1912, his funeral in New York was attended by many leading names in the film industry. He had become a leading name himself by creating a weekly magazine that was [...]
The death of Gerald “Gerry” Meyer, former editor of Britain’s first wartime forces newspaper, severed one of the last remaining links between Orkney and the vast garrison stationed in the islands during the Second World War. After The Orkney Blast, Gerry went on to edit The Orcadian, the local newspaper, for 36 years during which [...]
The writings of T. Ratcliffe Barnett appear from time to time on our pages, through his atmospheric descriptions of travels through Scotland, visiting places like Cromarty, the birthplace of the geologist Hugh Miller. His own story is that of a man with great abilities and warm humanity, as Christine Muir describes. Although I knew that [...]
Balfour Stewart (1828-1887) was born in Edinburgh but his father was a younger son of the Stewarts of Brugh in Westray and his mother was a daughter of William Clouston, minister of Stromness and Sandwick. Stewart spent two years at the University of Edinburgh, then left without completing his degree and was apprenticed to his [...]
Today we have a comprehensive view of how the Earth works – the modern paradigm of Plate Tectonics. Yet, we forget how recent this model is and to give credit to the many Scots scientists who laid the foundation for this ‘Big Idea’ in science. James Hutton, medic, chemist, farmer and the Father of Modern [...]
It used to be said that Orkney’s two main exports were eggs and professors. Our annual egg production peaked in 1957 at 78 million; our per capita production of professors is almost as noteworthy. Scientists almost to a man, they were usually fortunate enough to have had a gifted teacher such as Magnus Spence or [...]
The John D. Mackay Memorial Lecture each year commemorates the life and work of a brilliant man and inspiring teacher who opened up fresh horizons in education and in the community. A toast to John D. was given in the 2012 Festival by one of his former pupils, Dr Tom Rendall. John D. Mackay was [...]
In 1837 HBC Chief Trader James Hargrave went Home to Scotland to find a suitable wife. It was the fashionable thing to do. As one old trader said, ‘the novelty of getting Hudson Bay stocked with European Ladys’ meant jaunts ‘with no other view than that of getting spliced to some fair Belinda.’ Letitia MacTavish [...]
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