Diary of a Shopkeeper, 19th July
Mrs Stentorian strode into the shop and set her wicker basket on the counter. ‘I know you like old books,’ she said, ‘So when my niece in Wiltshire sent me this, I simply had to show it you.’
Out of a jiffy bag she pulled a small hardback with tawny covers and a title embossed in gold: Rambling Sketches in the Far North and Orcadian Musings, by R Menzies Fergusson, MA.
‘I don’t know that one,’ I said. ‘What age are we talking about?’
‘She’s 23,’ said Mrs Stentorian, ‘Volunteers at a charity shop of all places – why she wants to do that with her education I can’t imagine – and though the shop’s locked down, the donations keep coming in. And that’s how it came into her possession.’
I disinfected my hands and she passed over the book. The date was 1883, a joint publication by three publishers: one each in London and Edinburgh, and William Peace in Kirkwall. ‘Interesting,’ I said, and opened it to the first page of text.
‘The purpose of the following Sketches is to bring more prominently before the travelling and reading public the attractions and historical features of places which, though lying so near their own doors, are little known. The Orkney and other Islands of the North Sea well merit the attention of the tourist no less than that of the antiquarian and the geographer. It would be a good thing for those inclined to travel into other and strange lands to know some, at least, of the beauties of our own country.’
‘Very timely,’ I said. ‘He’s saying we should all have staycations and not jet off abroad at the drop of a hat. Or the drop of a facemask.’
‘I am worried about too many tourists coming,’ said Mrs Stentorian. ‘A few quality visitors, of course, I’m sure they would be civilised enough to follow guidance. But as soon as the hordes arrive, well, the results are inevitable: outside drinking, grown men wearing shorts, and the virus spreading like wildfire.’
‘It’s funny that there were already tourist guides to Orkney in 1883,’ I said. ‘Folk think it’s a recent development, but as soon as the steamers started coming to take away cattle to the south marts, visitors started coming north on the same boats. Tourism and farming are two sides of the same coin. And I mean coin..’
I leafed through a few pages till a mention of Kirkwall shopkeepers caught my eye, and I read aloud again:
‘Instead of being shut up in isolation, the capital of Orkney is now a favourite tourist resort: every summer many people find their way to these northern latitudes, where, upon the bosom of the sea or the grassy slopes of the Pomona hills, they spend many a delightful holiday.’
‘Well yes!’ She gave a little clap of her hands. Bertie and I holidayed here several times before we decided to move up – lock stock and trout rod.’
‘The people of the Orcadian capital are noteworthy,’ I continued, ‘for an amount of reserve that is more than counterbalanced by their inquisitiveness. This desire to know where every stranger comes from is exhibited to an alarming extent. If you chance to enter a shop you are scarcely permitted to ask for the article you require, when you are met with the query, ‘Ye’ll hae come far the day?’ And this is not all. ’Did ye come in the steamer?’ ‘It was in one of the big boats, maybe?’ And do on ad infinitum.’
’Big boats’ – he must mean cruise liners. Terrible things! Far too large for the Orkneys.’
I read some more. ‘If you have not relieved the great anxiety that seems to be felt for your welfare, you leave the shopman, or more especially the shopwomen, labouring under some heavy unexpressed sorrow. Though they may possess this fault they are kindly, hospitable people, and like the other members of the human race.’
I laughed. ‘Well, I’m glad we’re human at least.’
‘I have doubts about some of my neighbours,’ she said.
‘Goodness gracious, Mrs Stentorian! You don’t like the locals, you don’t like the tourists. Who do you like?’
‘I like the dealer who’s going to give me £25 for that book you’re holding.’ She passed me the jiffy bag. ‘Pop it in there, would you? I don’t want to dirty my hands.’
. . .
Mrs Stentorian may have received a pleasant surprise, and more than £25, when she visited the antiquarian book dealer. A first edition of Rambling Sketches in the Far North and Orcadian Musings is currently available at the excellent Leakey’s Bookshop in Inverness for £150. There are even a couple of signed copies for sale online, as well as many print-on-demand reissues.
R. Menzies Fergusson was a prolific author on Scottish travel, history, folklore and nature. He was also a minister at Logie, near Dunblane - which explains, no doubt, his staying in various manses during his time in Orkney.
. . .
This diary appeared in The Orcadian on 21st July. Other diaries will appear weekly. I am posting them in this blog a few days after each newspaper appearance, with added illustrations., and occasional small corrections or additions.