Our patron Cerys Matthews OBE, the singer, songwriter, author and broadcaster, was in Kirkwall this week to see ICE, the brand-new exhibition at the Orkney Museum celebrating the long connection between Orkney and Canada. She came away enchanted, and she has a clear message for anyone interested in people, art and history: get yourself down to the Orkney Museum.
An arctic white gallery
ICE is the work of artist and museum curator Mark Scadding, together with John Rae Society President Andrew Appleby. Cerys described walking into “an arctic white gallery full of the most delightful items”: tiny Inuit dolls riding a caribou-bone sledge, a whalebone ball mask, home-made ice skates, and a shoal of exquisite little carved fish, ready to be used in a game of cribbage.
What struck her most was the way the exhibition places First Nations and Inuit art side by side with objects from Orkney. In her words, it “glows with hope and love of fellow man.”
In the footsteps of John Rae
Cerys was especially keen to learn more about Orkney’s Arctic hero, John Rae, and she was delighted to find his personal seal box, certificates, illustrations and even a brick from his childhood home, the Hall of Clestrain, on display.
Rae’s kindness and respect towards the Indigenous peoples he worked alongside is legendary. They named him Aglooka, “Long Strider”, in recognition of his stamina and his skill covering great distances on snowshoes. Fittingly, there is a pair of snowshoes on show too.
A visit to Warbeth
Before heading to the museum, Cerys visited Warbeth Cemetery, where John Rae’s parents are buried. She has often wondered whether Rae’s kindness and rare egalitarianism could be traced back to his Orcadian upbringing, and the inscriptions on the family graves suggest she may be onto something.
His mother Margaret Glen’s gravestone reads: “She was a friend to the poor and an enemy to no one.” His father’s reads: “He lived regarded and died regretted.”
“Love and kindness seep from these old stones,” Cerys wrote.
Don’t miss it
ICE is only open for four weeks. Cerys likened it to one of the magical lands that settle briefly at the top of Enid Blyton’s Magic Faraway Tree before moving on, so be sure to pop in while you can. The exhibition runs at the Orkney Museum, Kirkwall.
And if you’re a John Rae enthusiast, Cerys also recommends a trip to the Stromness Museum, where you can see John Rae’s fiddle and some tobacco from Franklin’s lost expedition.
Thank you
Cerys sent her thanks to everyone at the Orkney Museum, the John Rae Society and the Stromness Museum for their warmth and welcome, and hopes to be back soon. We’d like to thank her in return for her visit, her enthusiasm, and for helping to share John Rae’s story with so many people. We hope to see her again soon.