The schools go back next Tuesday and I had promised the boys I would take them to the ice cream parlour. We had tried on our way home on Saturday after My brother and I had piled both of them and their mum into the car and went to watch the waves at the Broch of Birsay. Sadly we had forgotten it was the county show in Kirkwall that day and it was shut. The youngest lad has problems and does not cope well with plans being changed so we expected him to kick of but Roy must have been a calming influence for he merely sulked quietly.

Today we tried again this time everything went well we went into town to get some shopping then stopped at Jerry's on the way home. The shop is tiny with just four tables and half the menu filled with Orkney names for the original sundaes. What can be better than sitting looking out over the Stenness Loch towards the towering sentinels of the Ring of Brodgar while eating a toffee fudge sundae.

It is said the stones were some local giants who had offended the local witch with their noise on the way home from the New Year revels. She followed at a distance and watched as they danced in a drunken circle around the top of mound one stood apart from the others and feeling thirsty he went down to the loch to get some water. No sooner had he stood up from the waters edge than she cast her spell turning them all into stone. And there they stand to this day though it is said that on the stroke of midnight each New Year they are allowed to move down to the loch beside their brother to drink the fresh water.

It just shows how dangerous it is to annoy an Orkney lass, mind you perhaps some lads have learned something for both boys thanked me nicely when they were dropped at home