Autumn brings a rich blend of festivals and events

In fact, the return to something closer to normal has already begun. On 21 August, that world-renowned duo, fiddler Aly Bain and accordionist Phil Cunningham, made a decidedly emotional return to public performance when they played to a capacity audience (albeit fully masked) in Mareel.

Both were not only delighted but also moved to be able to play in public again, and the programme, with a number of gentler, reflective tunes, caught the mood perfectly. Aly was also able to dedicate a beautiful piece to his sister, who had just celebrated her birthday, and – like every other tune in the set – it was played impeccably.

Less than a week later, Mareel was the venue for internationally-known singer, Eddi Reader, and her band, kicking off a UK tour. She’s performed in Shetland on several previous occasions and had originally planned to visit again in 2020, but the pandemic intervened. In recent years, she’s become known as an interpreter of the songs of Robert Burns.

However, the set at Mareel also featured songs from her earlier career, including Fairground Attraction’s Perfect, which leapt to number one in the British, Australian and South African charts in 1988. All of that was generously served up to an enraptured audience with some sparkling wit and memorable anecdotes.

Earlier in the evening, they’d also had a chance to enjoy songs, beautifully crafted and sung, from locally-based Jenny Sturgeon.

There was another chance for folk to mingle, again with precautions in place, at the Summer Spree, held outdoors at the Clickimin running track on Saturday 28^th. Music featured there too, with sets from some great local bands.

The afternoon was put together by Shetland Recreational Trust, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Voluntary Action Shetland, Shetland Islands Council’s Youth & Employability Services, and the local cancer charity, Relay for Life.

As well as the music, the crowd could enjoy outdoor games that included an obstacle course and crazy golf. A remarkable range of cycles was available to try, too. There was a barbecue, and of course no such event in Shetland would be complete without teas, coffees and homebakes!

Next on the calendar, after a year’s gap, is ScreenPlay, Shetland’s annual film festival, once again curated by our own Kathy Hubbard, alongside film critic Mark Kermode and Professor Linda Ruth Williams. It runs from Wednesday 1 September until the following Sunday and will include films from Shetland and across the world.

This is the fourteenth ScreenPlay and it’ll take full account of Covid constraints, with online guest interviews, but – as always – it’s planned to offer a festival atmosphere that rejoices in the art of cinema.

There are some favourite themes in the programme, such as Look North, Family Friendly and Home Made; this time, Look South visits Spain, India, the Southern states of the USA and Argentina. A new festival strand, Down on the Farm, links four immersive documentaries that encourage us to think about food production, food security and the future of farming.

Guests come, albeit virtually, from far and wide – from Scotland, England, Spain, Iceland, India and Mexico. Notable among them is the legend that is Guillermo del Toro, who will be talking to Mark Kermode about his extraordinary career. Guillermo is a Mexican filmmaker, author, actor, and make-up artist. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning fantasy films Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017), winning the Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture for the latter. Showing at ScreenPlay will be The Devil’s Backbone (2001), set in Spain towards the end of the civil war.

You can find more information about ScreenPlay, including a downloadable programme here.

Just ten days after ScreenPlay closes, its companion, the 20^th WordPlay, will get under way, running from Wednesday 15 to Sunday 19 September. It’s Shetland’s festival of literature and this year is curated by local author Malachy Tallack.

It will be held partly online but, as always, WordPlay features an exciting list of guest authors of local, national and international renown for readings, workshops and school sessions. There will also be an opportunity for local authors to introduce their work in a celebration of Shetland writing.

Reflecting on the past, difficult year, Malachy observes that “reading has been one of the ways these months have been made more bearable, less fearful. Reading has offered entertainment, education, escape. It has been a way to feel engaged with what is happening in the world, and also to be distracted from it.”

He’s delighted that WordPlay can once again go ahead and that audiences in Shetland will have the opportunity to hear from, speak to and to learn from, some of the very best contemporary writers.

These include Gavin Francis, who, in Intensive Care, has written about his work as a GP during the pandemic and the impact of Covid-19 on individuals and on communities. Cal Flyn, in Islands of Abandonment, has illuminated both the damage that human beings do to their places, and the extraordinary ways in which nature can heal and restore itself.

Fiction authors include Mary Paulson-Ellis, who’ll introduce her brand new novel, Emily Noble’s Disgrace. Another very welcome guest is Damian Barr, host of the BBC’s Big Scottish Book Club; his award-winning You Will Be Safe Here, is set in South Africa.

Poets Jen Hadfield and Christine de Luca are very familiar to Shetland audiences and they’ll be talking about their new collections, respectively The Stone Age and Veeve. There’s a maritime link between the work of Jennifer Lucy Allan (The Foghorn’s Lament) and Donald S Murray’s history of Scottish lighthouses, For the Safety of All.

There are four workshops, too, one each on fiction, non-fiction, poetry and book illustration. The full programme can be downloaded from this page.

There’s just another short pause before the next festival, Shetland Wool Week, opens, running from 25 September until 3 October. It’s a celebration of Shetland’s unique wool heritage, bringing together the islands’ hardy sheep, their beautiful wool, and the abundant expert knowledge and skills that exist in the islands.

To take account of Covid restrictions – and bearing in mind that the Wool Week audience always includes large numbers of overseas visitors – it’s being planned as a ‘virtual’ event. There will be films, talks, tours and classes – some pre-recorded and others live – as well as music, a market and social events.

Membership of Shetland Wool Week opens on 1 September and gives access to:

• Over 10 specially commissioned SWW films, which capture different crofting and textile subjects, such as lambing, rooing, Fair Isle knitting, weaving, spinning and natural plant dyeing. There will be some familiar faces and some new ones, too, each offering hints, expert tips, interesting facts and a unique insights into Shetland wool. Much of the pre-recorded content will be available for several weeks, so it’ll be possible to dip in and out of it, or replay sections at your leisure.
• Three-day advance notice to the online programme of classes and talks. Many Shetland Wool Week tutors will be running a variety of classes and talks throughout the week. These events are separate from the SWW membership and these tickets will be available to the public from Saturday 4 September).
• Early-bird access to the Makers’ Market which will take place on 2nd and 3rd October.

As in previous years, a Shetland Wool Week Annual will be published and copies sell fast.

The Taste of Shetland Festival 2021 will be held in person and online on Saturday 23 October. It focuses on the many kinds of food produced in the islands, from lamb, beef and fish to vegetables, oatcakes and preserves – and much more besides.

The festival is organised by Shetland Food and Drink Limited, an umbrella body representing over 90 members. They’re co-ordinating stallholder and broadcast contributions from local businesses and organisations to produce one day of public trading and entertainment in Lerwick’s Clickimin Centre.

Festival goers can buy their favourite local delicacies direct from producers then sit down to enjoy live cooking demonstrations and culinary discussion with tasty treats in hand. Online festival viewers can see the same live entertainment in the comfort of their own homes and buy Shetland food and drink online from the Taste of Shetland shop or from suppliers' own websites.

Shetland Food and Drink manager Claire White said that the 2021 festival format has been decided by member businesses and combines the best of previous festival experiences. There are fuller details here.

"Our members love interacting directly with customers on festival market stalls, but they also enjoyed the extra profile generated by last year's inaugural online festival. We're now combining these two elements in an event which promotes Shetland's exceptional produce both locally and worldwide," she said.

The Taste of Shetland Festival, like the others, is being run with Covid-19 considerations very much in mind and all of these events may need to be modified if, for example, restrictions on social gatherings are re-introduced. Hopefully, though, they’ll be able to go ahead, providing local people and visitors with a rich and varied programme and bringing us all a step closer to normality