The W is Silent

Friday, August 21, 2026

Important update on blog delivery method!!!  

Recently I became aware that some of you were receiving my blog through a third-party service called "follow.it." To make sure you only get updates directly from me, i have made a few changes to the settings on Blogger, which is the app I use for this blog.

What this means for you:

• My blog will come directly to you as a link in an email from me, the same as before. The specific link I send is called a "permalink." When you click on the permalink, it will take you directly to my blog page. You will not be able to see the "Read More" button because you accessed my blog with the permalink.
• The purpose of the Read More button is to stop third-party scrapers. Anyone can find and read the beginning of the blog on the website, but it is my understanding that they will not see anything past the Read More button. However, they will be able to click on that button and it will bring them to the full post. Apparently the scrapers are not able to bypass the button.
• I am hoping this method will get rid of that obnoxious advertising you are getting from follow.it.
• If you share one of the permalinks with others, I don't think they will see the button. It's ok to share it with people you know, but please do not post one of my permalinks on Facebook or any place like that.

What happened:

You may wonder how follow.it got the email addresses of some readers and you may feel concerned about it. I know I was a little shocked.  Here is what I have been able to determine so far.

• Some readers may have voluntarily given their email addresses to follow.it, or an older service such as FeedBurner, which turned into follow.it. This might be because they wanted to be notified when my blog was updated. Follow.it did not steal my mailing list or hack my account.
• I did not have my blog set to be private, so theoretically anybody could have come across it and signed up with follow.it to receive notifications when a new post is published. 
• Follow.it and similar services are sometimes called "third-party scrapers." These "scrapers" are external software programs that automatically extract data or content from a website.
• I send emails to everyone on my mailing list within 5 minutes or less after I have "published" a new blog post. There is no advantage to getting your notifications from a third-party.

Thank you so much for your continued support and for being part of my 60-reader community. If you have trouble opening the permalinks, or if the blog does not behave the way you expect it to, please let me know. I look forward to sharing my next post with you soon!

Now, let's get down to business. 

Today we are in Lerwick. The "W" is silent, so it sounds like "luh-rick." We are in the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland and closer to Bergen, Norway, than to Edinburgh. Lerwick is the main town of the Shetlands, and is located on the largest island of the archipelago, which is called, apparently without irony, Mainland. The population of Lerwick is around 7,000, which makes it the northernmost "major settlement" in the UK. The total population of the Shetland archipelago is currently around 23,000. 

A view of the town from the ship

It is truly a windswept cluster of islands. The wind never stopped while we were there, and it was decidedly chilly. There were only a few trees in the town, none in the countryside. Too windy for trees.

Despite their inhospitable climate, these islands have been occupied for at least six thousand years. There are still some  ancient ruins of stone circles and round towers called "brochs" scattered around the islands. These early inhabitants are thought to be the Picts. The archaeological evidence suggest the Picts either abandoned the islands or suffered a population collapse and the next settlers, the Vikings, did not arrive until a few centuries later, perhaps around the year 800 C.E. The islands were part of Norway for several centuries, but eventually they became part of Scotland in the 15th century after, Margaret, the daughter of the King of Denmark and Norway, married James III of Scotland.

The Norse heritage strongly influences local life here and a Shetland dialect of the Scots language is spoken here.

The Welcoming Committee at the tender pier

I saw several signs around town with the curious phrase, "Up Helly Aa." It turns out that Up Helly Aa refers to an annual fire festival that occurs in January. (Could this be why there are no trees?) If you would like to know more about Up Helly Aa, take a trip to Lerwick with the world's strongest brothers. It's a 30-minute YouTube video, but at least try to watch the first ten minutes or so. Up Helly Aa

A BBC crime drama series called "Shetland" is set in Lerwick. I have not seen this show, but I am now curious to watch it. 

Other than the green grass, there is not much color in the landscape. Most of the buildings are built using a drab native stone. It even looks cold here.

We walked around for a while, and as long as we kept moving we were warm enough. I found a few geocaches and Ken took some nice photos at Fort Charlotte and City Hall.

Fort Charlotte

View of Town Hall from a location near the fort

We spent some time at the Shetland Museum to get out of the relentless wind. I'm glad we stopped because the museum was very well done. It covered Shetland history, all the way back to Neolithic times. This interesting museum also had exhibits on geology, folklife, social history, and textiles.

I would guess that the reason such a small town is able to have such a fine museum has something to do with the North Sea oil industry, which has bolstered the local economy.

You are probably wondering about the ponies - am I right? I wanted to participate in something called The Shetland Pony Experience, but they are not open today. They offer hands-on time with the ponies for photo ops, petting, brushing, and leading the ponies through a field and a small obstacle course. But, alas, not today. Shetland ponies are strong and resilient and have a dense, warm coat. In general, ponies are smaller and stockier than horses, and they have heavier coats. They are considered to be more stoic and more intelligent than horses. Shetland ponies are a specific breed of pony. Despite these differences, both horses and ponies belong to the same species. Ponies are not baby horses.

Notice the typical short legs and thick neck of this Shetland pony.
Photo from Wikipedia

Some other unique species associated with the Shetlands include Shetland Sheep, Shetland Sheepdogs, and Shetland Cattle. I will talk about the sheep a little later. They are an important part of the economy here. The sheepdogs, also known as Shelties, are highly intelligent herding dogs that originated here. Shetland Cattle are small and hardy. They have long hair and short horns that point slightly upward. They look similar to the larger Highland Cattle, but they also look a little bit like a yak when their winter coat is long.

The hillside in the distance is covered with blooming heather

As we sailed out of the bay, we could see fields where sheep grazed

Fun fact, of special interest to residents of Alaska and Hawaii (from Wikipedia):

In October 2018, legislation came into force in Scotland to prevent public bodies, without good reason, showing Shetland in a separate box in maps, as had often been the practice. The legislation requires the islands to be "displayed in a manner that accurately and proportionately represents their geographical location in relation to the rest of Scotland", so as to make clear the islands' real distance from other areas.

Shabbat shalom!

Today's fabric is Shetland Wool. Shetland wool is lightweight, warm, and durable. It comes from Shetland sheep raised in the Shetland Islands.

Shetland Wool Week starts on September 27 this year. Every year there is a new design for the official SWW hat. The 2026 design is a slouchy beanie with a Fair Isle pattern. 

2026 SWW Hat

Knitters might enjoy taking a peek at the Shetland Wool Week website.

I bought the 2026 hat pattern, which includes several stunning colorways. The shop was out of many of the recommended wool colors, so I did not purchase any wool here. However, I was able to buy a suitable array of colors later, in Nova Scotia. My colors are similar to those shown in the photo above. Unfortunately, I didn't get genuine Shetland wool, but I have a great story about the wool shop in Nova Scotia. Stay tuned. 

Fair Isle is a real island, located halfway between the Shetlands and the Orkneys. It is considered part of the Shetlands, though it is extremely remote and isolated.

Allover Fair Isle sweater, from House of Bruar