One project by the Shetland Arts Trust is the Bonhoga Gallery at Weisdale Mill. A former flour mill has been converted into a multi-purpose art gallery.
In April Archaeological work took me to the Shetland Isles.

On show at the time of my visit: Sun Town: Moon Street. Works by a group of artists; painters, jewellers and photographers, living and working in Soller, Mallorca.

Abiquiu, New Mexico

In need of a neutral place to reflect on my visit to the O’Keefe house I went to Dublin’s National Gallery and settled down in front of a picture of a family group painted by Johannes Mijtens in 1661. Apart from the master of the house, whose mind is obviously elsewhere, the family gazed down with a mixture of amusement and doubt as I began to write.

Yorkshire, England

Saltaire Arts Trail is part of the Saltaire Festival, which takes place each September; a celebration of music, drama, arts and crafts. The ’09 Arts Trail involved opening sixteen houses to the public on two weekends and putting on show the varied work of over sixty artists and crafts people. An amazing achievement given that most of the houses are shoe box sized.

Istanbul

They say that Istanbul is the orient’s New York; and perhaps riding around Cihangir reminds us of Manhattan, even though it maintains an air of complication in its atmosphere. Pierre Loti already reflects in his work a confrontation between cosmopolitanism and Ottoman traditions. Eugene Flandin transmits a city of stone monuments and wood houses of a thousand colours, a mythical city for Europeans that in the words of the great travellers of the 19th Century was the prettiest in the world.

Dublin

As capital cities go Dublin is small and not very beautiful. It’s busy, densely occupied and has few places to escape the constant heavy traffic. But Dublin has a great reputation for hospitality and if you are looking for alcohol based entertainment the city is unrivalled. The pubs and bars, restaurants and clubs are all confined to a small area and the streets are packed with visitors and the local residents on weekend evenings that begin on Thursdays.