It might be a miserable day today because of severe gale force winds, flooding, and buses almost tipping over. But its a great day because Orkney was just voted No. 6 BEST PLACE TO LIVE in UK on Channel 4 for a number of good reasons such as being safe and beautiful and its residents living a long time.
Interesting fact: The NUMBER ONE worst place to live in UK is Hackney, London, just down the road from Walthamstow where we were living but left to move up to Orkney 2 years ago.
Orkney is rated number 2 for low crime, number 6 for educational results and number 4 for low emissions. But then we only have 20,000 people living here. Drawbacks were lack of entertainment and lack of retail therapy. But not having shopping malls is a plus for me and my family. Less stuff to buy or want. Give me the simple uncluttered life. Keep me away from shop windows! Yeah!
Orkney is a great place to live. My family (my mother was a "Clouston") has been in this part of Orkney for about 900 years, apart from a stint in New Zealand, and we are not complaining. My ancestors lived over the hill in Stenness in the 1100's. In the 1600's the Cloustons moved a few miles to Stromness where we now live.
Orkney rocks. The shopping might suck but we buy from the web when we need something hard to find, just like everyone else.
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More photos here which i took in January - yes we sometimes get good weather, even in winter. My friend Brian moved here from Texas this year - the photos at his blog Colors of Orkney are better than mine.
Original Post:
Big HUGE winds and rain today in Orkney. I got blown on to the road while walking. A few buses got blown off the road. All the main roads are closed. There is flooding in lots of places and the schools have all closed down for the day, That means the kids are at home and i am making pumpkin pies and cooking a roast chicken. Heres some pictures.
Oh yeah - talk about ironic . .. Orkney is on the TV tonight on Channel 4 (UK) at 20:00 on the Best and Worst places to live in UK. I am assuming they will say its one of the best because it was voted one of the best places to live in Scotland earlier this year. All, of course because of the incredible transformative impact of my homies up here in Stromness . . . he-he.
Well, Orkney is a great place to live. Usually. But today the weather is miserable. Now for those photos. HT: Orcadian
