Shetland Heritage Publications, the publishing arm of Shetland Amenity Trust, is very proud to announce the publication of "Real Shetland Yarns", a collection of personal stories and memories from a variety of authors.
This book is the result of a competition held during Wool Week 2011 which asked anyone with a Shetland connection to submit their woolly memories in story form, along with an image or item to illustrate this. The response was incredible, with over 100 entries received, giving judges a hard job to choose the final 40 for inclusion in the book.
The overall winner, Drew Ratter, received a bespoke Real Shetland Superb bed from competition sponsors, Vi-Spring and all 40 winners received a Real Shetland throw courtesy of Norwegian Bank, DNB.
At a special event in Shetland Museum and Archives on Wednesday 9th May, the winners were each presented with a copy of the book. Emma Miller, Marketing Officer at Shetland Amenity Trust commented: “The majority of stories in this book are by people who are not professional writers; the stories are real memories and personal experiences and the emotions behind these really comes through in the book. It's a pleasure to dip in and out of the short pieces and see the photographs, jumpers, cloo baskets and other great things that folk associate with their memories.
“There has been a real feeling of excitement from those who have a story included in the book. These stories are important to those who have told them, and are now forever recorded for future generations.”
In addition to the sponsors, the book is a collaboration between the partners of Shetland Wool Week: Jamieson & Smith (Shetland Wool Brokers) Ltd, Curtis Wool Direct Ltd, Shetland Amenity Trust and Promote Shetland. Shetland Wool Week is now an annual event in October, started in 2010 as part of the Campaign for Wool's initiative to highlight the importance and sustainability of wool. HRH The Prince of Wales is patron of the Campaign and will receive a copy of Real Shetland Yarns personally signed by the authors.
The book will be on sale from Thursday 10th May from Shetland Museum and Archives, Jamieson & Smith (Shetland Wool Brokers) Ltd and The Shetland Times Bookshop. Paperback £15.00, hardback £20.00. Copies are also available online at www.shetlandwoolbrokers.co.uk