A family of 12,000 Children with very expensive tastes

I found a copy of the book by Ursula Venables on the Web after I wrote about it and it is ordered and on the way so watch this space for a review. I spoke to my dad about it as well and he hasn't got a copy of it so it will be on the way south as well. Tempestuous Eden is about the Venables life as naturalists on Shetland. I wouldn;t have described Shetland as Eden though it is certainly tempestuous. We went when I was 10 and it was wet and windy most of the time though at 10 you don't seem to mind. Actually, as you may be aware, I don't mind it now as long as I am not over exposed. On one day we visted the Isle of Noss which is off the coast of the larger Island of Bressay which in turn shelters the port of Lerwick. The picture on the link gives a perfect view of how the islands are related. Noss is the smallest island in the distance while Lerwick is the built up area in the foreground. We took a small powered boat from Lerwick to Maryfield on Bressay, then went by what I think was the post van to the tiny Noss sound where we were rowed across to Noss in a boat big enough for four people. The reason for all this was of course Birding. The island is a nature reserve with a very small Vistors centre. On the Bressay side of the Island the land is almost flat but towards the East where it meets the Ocean, the land rises to 120 metres with cliffs! Anyway, it got misty and my Father, My Brother and I got lost. Well my Father was lost. My Brother and I were quite sure of the direction back to the boat but Dad insisted on continuing in his direction (He may of course have been leading us to what he though was some perceived birding location). We were eventually drawn up short with my Dad's toes hanging over the edge of what I seem to remember are the highest cliffs in Shetland. Us boys just ran into the back of him and it is only luck that he kept his footing. My Brother saved us from further meaderings by removing the compass from his shoe (remember those) and leading us back to the sound. (not bad for a seven year old). It is one of the few times as a child that I felt in real danger. It wasn't the sudden appearance of the cliff, just the fact of being lost. My Dad of course will remember it completely differently. 'We were never lost. I always knew where we were going. We got back didn't we?' Anyway, he hasn't gone over any cliffs though through his work with bridges he has no fear of heights and will insist on walking close to edges (and the Edge itself of course). It is after stories like this that I realise that my life has not been as boring as I thought. I might have thought so at the time.

I like Islands. We had our Honeymoon on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and it was quiet and we had good weather (while the rest of the country was flooded out).