Today we didn’t have any plans to venture too far from Lerwick. We thought we might walk around to the Textile Museum just outside the town, about a half hour leisurely walk. It was another really warm day, so just a shirt and a sunhat was required.
Just a short distance down our street are the public gardens and playground. They’re really beautifully maintained. People over here seem to take a great deal of pride in their gardens. Interestingly, many of the gardens around where we are staying in St Olaf St have trees, which are a rarity elsewhere in Shetland. I don’t think they grow too well in peaty soil, but Lerwick shows that the climate is not too cold for trees. I’ve heard that the locals are very keen to put trees back all over the islands and restore them to the way they once were before all the trees were removed.
We followed the road all the way around to the marina. Our AirBnB host told us that when her partner walks the dogs past the marina every morning about 6 am, there are otters in the water and on the rocks. We didn’t see any today.
On North St, we called in at Jamieson and Smith Wool Brokers. Here they sell knitting patterns, wool for knitters, fleeces for spinners, wool in commercial quantities and knitted goods. Marg loved the store and we bought some Shetland wool to mail home.
The Shetland Textile Museum is in an old dwelling known as a bod alongside the marina. It’s the former home of Arthur Anderson, the Shetlander who grew up to become the founder of P & O Shipping. The passages and stairways inside are so narrow that only one person at a time can squeeze through, and there are only a small number of rooms with displays. One room has a weaving loom and some fine examples of Shetland weaving. Another room showcased the talent of a lady named Bella Tait, displaying her Shetland knitting and lace work. Another room focused on the change in Shetland knitting that occurred when knitting machines were introduced to the islands. I remember my Grandma’s knitting machine really well, though I don’t think she made anything as intricate as a Shetland jumper or vest with it.
In the 1861 Shetland Census, my third great grandmother Marion Johnson (nee Tait) had her occupation listed as ‘Knitting’. I imagine she probably knitted woollen ganseys to keep the cod fishermen on the North Atlantic fishing fleets warm at night, but I like to think she also had the skill to knit fine lace shawls like the beautiful work on display at the textile museum.
In one corner of the room with the Bella Tait display was a very large, rather unusual knitted scarf of varied colours. It was piled up in a bulky mound, and one end was draped around the room to another corner. It was clear that the people who had knitted it were many and that their skill levels varied from very good to almost non-existent. Visitors were encouraged to use the wool and needles provided to add at least a row to the scarf. Marg had a go, then Janie did too. A marker on the scarf said it was 49 metres long, but at least another metre had been added since that time. Marg thought she might have been the person to take it over the 50 metre mark. People have been adding to the scarf since it was started in 2004.
Tonight after dinner Marg and I walked down the street to visit a lady I first met online when I joined the Shetland Family History Society. Jasmine is responsible for Research at SFHS, and when I first submitted my membership application and family history chart, she wrote back almost immediately offering to send me photos of members of my Johnson Shetland family. If it wasn’t for Jasmine’s thoughtfulness, I would never have learned the story of Johnny and Maggie Johnson or been able to visit their croft like I did just a few days ago. I’ll always be grateful to Jasmine for that, so I was hoping I could visit her at the SFHS offices. That wasn’t possible, but Jasmine gave me her address and asked us to call in after dinner one night.
Marg and I had a great time swapping stories with Jasmine. We spoke a good deal about family history and Shetland in general, but also we had quite a few laughs. Jasmine has asked me to do her a favour and write up the story of discovering my Shetland family and visiting their croft for possible inclusion in a future SFHS quarterly magazine. She also told us to come back to Shetland one day. That’s something I would really love to do.
Walking back to our accommodation at 10.30 pm, the evening sunlight through the clouds left us with this beautiful memory of Shetland. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll take the ferry back to the mainland.
On The Road With Garry 