A couple of months after I arrived, I met a lovely lady while Scout & I were out for a walk. Barbara was out with her dog, Bertie and we got chatting (Barbara & I did – Jack Russells can’t talk). She so kindly invited me to join her and her friends on their weekly walking group. I went, and it was the best thing I could have done. As well as having made some new friends, whom I run into in town, and enjoy chatting with on our walks, I have also been the recipient of so much good advice.
Thanks to that group I now have a card that allows me to ride Scottish buses (locals, not inter-city coaches) for free, I get a discount on ferries, I have found wonderful little parks & paths I might otherwise have missed, and I can attend events at the local community centre at a discount. Barbara has also hosted me in her home for coffee, as have a couple of the other ladies, and she has just generally made me feel so welcome.
When she found out I was house-hunting, it was she who found the lovely renovated church in Finstown for me to check out (they still haven’t got back to me to say if I do/don’t have the flat, and yet it’s still showing To Let on their website – realty here in Orkney is odd). She made phone calls on my behalf to acquaintances to find out about seasonal units that might be available, and she told me to put an ad in the newspaper. I really doubted that last suggestion as most people had made it clear that the number one way to find a home in Orkney was via social media. But I said yes, yes, I would apply in the paper.
I didn’t really move on it, as I thought it futile. But Barbara kept calling me (at least once daily) with ideas and each time she would say, “Have you contacted the paper yet? The cut off is Tuesday noon. You still have time.” Finally, more to placate her than anything else, I went to the Orcadian’s offices with an ad that said: Wanted: House to Rent, and then I outlined what I was looking for.
Well, guess how I found the cottage I’m moving into? The owner saw the ad, called me, and now I have a place to live. All thanks to Barbara. She really is such a good friend – I’m definitely treating her to dinner one evening to say thank you. I feel so lucky to have run into her that day last winter – she’s made such a difference to my experience here in Orkney.