John Rae Gathering

A weekend of events to celebrate John Rae is set to take place over the next few days in Stromness.

The Stromness Museum’s John Rae 201 Gathering comes about after the success of the John Rae 200 conference held last September.

The weekend starts with an open evening tonight, in the Stromness Museum at 7.30pm , at which the Orkney Heritage Society will launch the New Orkney Antiquarian Journal, Vol. 7, which contains the papers read at the John Rae 200 conference.

As well as the launch, Orcadian artist Jane Glue, will present her painting, Tribute to John Rae, to the museum at this evening’s event.

The film, Return of the Far Fur Country, will be shown by the West Side Cinema in Stromness Town Hall on Saturday at 7.45pm, and will include a question and answer session with the film’s director.

The final event of the weekend is an illustrated talk by author Suzanne Rigg, at Stromness Town Hall on Sunday at 7.30pm.

Ms Rigg’s book, Men of Spirit and Enterprise, tells the story of Scottish and Orcadian men in the Hudson Bay Company from 1780-1821.