Super Sounds from Susie Simpson ...

Brough Bay was alive to the sound of music last Saturday as we held our annual Bothy Night for around 60 local residents and friends.  The guest musicians were the Inverness-based Susie Simpson Trio of two accordions & fiddle and they treated everyone to a wonderful evening of music.

The sunshine on the sea and the cletts provided the perfect backdrop to the delicious supper provided.

 Convivial conversation.

Coffee, cake and the Cletts 

Local musicians joined in to make the evening go with a swing!

Guitars, Flute, Fiddles, Banjo and Clarsach.

Many thanks to the Spirit of Caithness who supported this event. 

Another brilliant bothy night

No doubt others will be posting photos here, but I claim the right to be first! It was a double pleasure to me to be back at Brough Bay and seeing my friends since I have been away for some time.  The music was lovely, and the night was perfect for exploring the beach as the tide came in.

And to top it all off-- a lovely supper. Brilliant.

September with the Simpsons ....

Come and join us for our annual 'Bothy Night' on Saturday 2nd September, 5pm.

The warmth and hospitality will be enhanced by the wood burning stove and the scrumptious supper. Bring your own bottle.

Free admission. Donations in aid of Brough Bay Association

Our guest musicians this year are the Susie Simpson Trio from Inverness

Susie Simpson started playing accordion at the age of 15, after playing clarinet for many years in school. She formed the Braehead Band in Caithness before moving to Inverness 19 years ago, where she now performs as a soloist or as part of her Scottish Dance Band. Her 5 piece band recorded their first CD 2 years ago.
Gillian Stephenson  started playing fiddle when she was 10 years old and  currently plays with several bands including Susie and the Jock Fraser Dance Band.  She has played in Susie's band for the past 4 years.  Gillian is a supervisor and tutor with Feis Rois
Ian “Jock” Fraser is a multi-talented entertainer from Inverness. He plays accordion, piano and is very well known for his cabaret acts and impersonations of well known Scottish entertainers. Jock has had his own Scottish Dance Band for many years.
The trio perform together at Old Time and Scottish Country Dances as well as Accordion and Fiddle Clubs throughout Scotland.

SEAWALL REPAIRS

Harbour maintenance never ceases! Today volunteers placed concrete under the seawall where it has been undermined by storms.

KAYAKER 

A visitor from Kingussie sets off from the slipway in his kayak this morning.

CLARSACH & CREAM TEAS AT BROUGH HARBOUR

9th July 2107
Brough Bay Association is extremely pleased with their Clarsach & Crean Teas event which attracted over 80 revellers from around the county, Europe & New Zealand,  who turned out on a glorious Sunday after noon at the Lighthouse Store at Brough Harbour

4 harpists playing in the Lighthouse store.

        Left to right  Bernadette Nicol, Lexie Watson, Susanne Lloyd-Jones, Estie Broughton, 

        Phyllida  Sayles

Cream Teas & Clarsachs

 Sunday July 9th 230-430pm

Indulge in a scrumptious cream tea to the accompaniment of the soothing strings of the harp!

Sunday 9th July sees our second community event of the summer as we get together for tea and scones, cream and strawberries in our wonderful harbour setting. Thank you to the Spirit of Caithness for funding this event.

Local harpist, Susanne Lloyd-Jones, will entertain us with traditional tunes on her magnificent 'Silver Spear' clarsach. She will be joined by some of her pupils for a few tunes: the trickling Streams of Abernethy, the rousing Brian Boru March and the lilting Eriskay Lullaby. There might even be a bit of boogie .... so come on down to Brough Bay and join in the fun!

STORY TELLING AT BROUGH HARBOUR

With Story Teller Bob Pegg

Help your harbour ...

Would you like something different to do on Saturday 20th May? Well come along to Brough Bay and help our volunteers for a couple of hours between 10-12noon!
There will be a variety of tasks to help prepare the scene for our up and coming Family Afternoon on Sunday 28th May .. so please come and lend your support to the Brough Bay Brigade!
Bring waterproofs and a sunny disposition ....
See you there!

Stunning Sea Stories & Magic in May ...

Brough welcomes Bob Pegg on Sunday 28th May from 2-4pm

Bob is a storyteller and writer based in Strathpeffer. He has travelled all over the Highlands, to the Western and Northern Isles, and as far as Sweden and Iceland, telling traditional tales interwoven with music and song.

When Bob visits Brough, journeys and the sea will be his themes: the journey of the seal killer of Duncansby Head to a strange land beneath the waves; a trip across the North Sea from Denmark to the Pentland Firth, in a boat containing two giant girls and a magic mill stone; the fisherman who finds his lost daughter on a mysterious island hidden behind a wall of fog. Bob will also be paying tribute to the Norse roots of Caithness with one of his favourite stories, the Children of Loki.

Bob will be playing music on the Viking lyre and his haunting Native American flutes. He will wonder about the earliest music, coaxing astonishing sounds out of stones and shells from the northern beaches, and he is sure to finish his performance with what, he believes, could compete with the bagpipes as the national musical instrument of Scotland.

We are delighted that the Spirit of Caithness has support this event

Come and join us for the fantastic afternoon for all the family. As well as Bob's stunning stories, there will be music and jokes provided by some of the younger (and perhaps a few older!) members of the Brough community.  Refreshments provided.

Slippery Stuff ...

Seaweed and slime are slippery stuff which is why we need to periodically clean the slipway.  Last week some volunteers carefully pressure-washed the slipway to ensure it is as safe as possible for visitors.

SNOW ON HOY TODAY

Looking at Lichens

We have so many things to enjoy at Brough Bay; some are obvious, like the waves, the flowers, the seals and the nesting fulmars. Others, though, can go unseen, though their colours and patterns give life to the rocks and stones.  These are the lichens ... splashes of yellow, orange, grey and white ... look all around you and enjoy the small things at our lovely harbour environment.

Brough Bay Association Web Site

Hi,Our updated web site is now on line

www.broughbay.org

Take a look and maybe join us.

SPRING FLOWERS AT THE HARBOUR

Seal research at Brough harbour.

At our AGM we were delighted to be given a talk about seal research in the Pentland Firth.  The purpose of the research is to monitor seal behaviour round the subsea turbines connected with the MeyGen tidal power development.
Harbour seals are caught, briefly sedated, and a tracking device attached to their fur by super glue! The device transmits a signal each time the seals surface and thus their movements can be monitored. Harbour seals were chosen in preference to Grey seals as they stay much more locally, whereas Greys can often travel as far as the coast of Denmark and Germany.
The research is being conducted by a team of environmental research scientists at St Andrews University and the members of the association were very enthusiastic about the special importance Brough Bay has in providing a safe haven to the seals.

Trying this out . Site looking really good . Moira

PEATS

March is here and the time is approaching to sharpen the tusker and cut the peats. Peat cutting has declined but some members of the Association still go to the hill each year.

Final load of the year - home and dry.

 

SEALS of BROUGH BAY & the PENTLAND FIRTH

Illustrated talk

THE SEALS OF BROUGH BAY & THE PENTLAND FIRTH

A team from the Seal Mammal Research unit at the University of St Andrews have been tagging seals from Brough Bay and following their movements through the Pentland Firth.  This is part of an investigation in to the seal population of the North Coast in relation to the MeyGen tidal turbine deployment in the Firth.

Joe Onoufriou, one of  the research team will give a talk about their work after the Brough Bay Association's AGM on the Monday 6^th March in Britannia Hall Dunnet.   The talk will focus on what the seals have been up to for the past 3 months and an overview of their behaviour in and around the Pentland Firth.   Tagged seals have been seen on the slipway at Brough Harbour.

The talk will be about 7;45pm Monday 6th March at Britannia Hall Dunnet

(After the BBA AGM which starts at 7;00 pm

A Tagged seal lying on the slipway at Brough Harbour.  photo David Glass

Interesting Breccia found in Brough Bay.

Students from Aberdeen University had a visit Brough Bay in 2016 lead by 

Professor John Parnell.

One of their many finds was this piece of rock, (breccia) from the fault zone in Brough Bay, showing mineralization by lead (galena, lead sulphide, looks shiny grey) and zinc (sphalerite, zinc sulphide, looks reddish brown).

Thanks to John Parnell for sending us the picture.