In Orkney, it's said that people who have drowned
turn into seals.
We call them selkies.
At the highest tides,
they slip off their seal skins for the night
and they come to the shore as beautiful people.
And they dance together.
Naked in the moonlight.
The selkies return to the sea at dawn.
Unless they're seen by a person.
And then they're trapped in their human body
and cannot return.
And they'll always remain discontent on land
because they belong to the sea.
Oh, everyone's gone?
Yeah, everyone's gone. More for me.
Rona? What are you doing?
Please, please, please, come on.
Come on, I gotta get you out.
- Time to go home. - Why?
I remember...
That everyone is really long gone.
No, there was, erm...
The lights are on. The lights.
That really means the night is truly...
Ow...
Come on, what are you doing, Rona?
We gotta get you out now, come on.
- Come on. Come on, Rona. - Let's dance.
Fine, I'll dance with you instead.
- Mm... - Dave?
Ah-ha!
-Come on. - Dave.
- Give me a twirl. -She's long gone.
Come on, love. The door's there and you're going out of it.
Under the table. Out you come.
Come on. Out you come.
- You're leaving now. - You can't see me.
- Right, right, right, Dave. - Come on. Up you go.
Stand up. Stand up.
To the door.
You're nearly there. Come on.
You've had a bit too much.
Dave, please just get her out.
- God, I'm strong. -Come on.
- Come on. - Dave, what are you gonna do?
You gonna make me leave?
- I'm gonna take you outside. -Rona!
You're gonna
- fucking make me leave? - Enough!
Fucking arsehole! Ahh!
-Time to go. - Get off of me!
Ow!
- Make him stop! - Time to go.
Arsehole!
Hey, you need a ride?
I can give you a lift, if you like.
Rona.
Um, is it okay if I get some details from you?
- Mm-hmm. - Yeah?
Just check your age.
Twenty-nine.
And...
What's your occupation?
Er, I'm unemployed right now.
But I got a masters in biology.
Just get a few more details.
So, are there any illnesses that run in the family?
Anything, like any heart attacks or strokes?
No.
Any diabetes?
No.
Anyone in the family have any kind of mental illness?
Come on.
- I'll just leave it here. - Thanks.
How's Dad?
He's fine.
I heard he's been putting his rants on Facebook again?
He's not.
Have you decided what color
you're gonna paint the walls yet?
What do you think?
I found...
There's a sort of a... duck egg?
- Not sure. - That's nice.
Yeah.
That'd be nice in the living room, I think.
Matches your trousers.
Oh.
Look what I found.
The RSPB is hiring.
For summer jobs. They're looking for--
I have a life that I have to get back to.
I know, of course. And I'll pray for you.
Mum. Don't do that.
Of course I do.
Rona, do you want some tea?
I'll be down in a bit.
Okay.
I'm really bored.
Are you bored too?
I see what you're trying to do, you know.
Come on, this is almost done.
Trust me, if you can't handle your book on mushrooms
or whatever that is...
Was it mushrooms?
Fungi.
No, I hate the way you barely need to read a book.
And all the facts still somehow get into your head.
That's 'cause you've been staring at it for hours.
Yeah, I've been literally staring at this page--
I know, just leave it and let's go to the pub!
What was it like growing up here?
Growing up in London? Yeah.
Growing up in London is just...
there is always low key something.
I didn't actually really clock it
until the first time I went to the countryside.
And everything there was, like, so quiet.
I'm just going to get another one,
- is that all right? - No problem.
- Er, excuse me. - Yeah, sorry?
You don't have a lighter, do you?
I don't. Sorry. I'm not a smoker myself.
Right. That's very sensible.
I like your hat you've got on, by the way.
- Well, thank you. - Very interesting.
Do I recognize you?
- Possibly, are you from here? - Yeah, yeah.
Oh, I was thinking from your accent
you must be from somewhere else.
No, er, my mum and dad are English.
- So I got a weird accent. - That'll be it, that'll be it.
Yeah, I've actually... I've been away
- for about ten years now. So... - My God, long time.
Yeah, I don't really come back that often.
So what are you doing now, then?
I'm just going off to meet a couple of friends.
Ah, friends.
Yeah.
Yeah, I don't really know anyone here anymore, so...
I was a bit desperate to...
see if there's anyone younger hanging around.
Oh, yes.
Do you wanna have a cup of tea before you go, maybe?
No, I really can't. I've got to catch up.
- Another time, maybe. - Right.
Yeah. I'm staying with my mum at the minute.
But I usually live down in London.
I just came to help my dad with the lambing, so...
But I'm going back down there soon, so...
Mm. Er, could you just give me your hand,
so I can try this again?
- Oh, yeah, no problem. - All right, thanks.
- The wind. - Yeah, it's not easy.
- Got it! - Yeah, all right.
Okay, I gotta go on. See you later.
All right.
Sometimes you can feel a vibration in Orkney.
A low rumble.
A tremor.
It takes over the whole island and every part of your body.
But, of course...
it could all just be in your head.
Some people say it's the sound
of underwater military experiments.
Others say it's the waves
caught in caves deep below the land.
But the one that brought me nightmares when I was little
is the oldest theory.
A ginormous monster
called the Mester Muckle Stoorworm,
who was so big
his tail would wrap around the whole world.
And he was defeated
by a young lad called Assipattle.
He killed the Stoorworm with a burning peat.
Fire burned inside its body.
And it was in such pain
that its neck reached nine times to the moon and back.
And then its teeth fell out
and formed the Orkney islands.
The liver is still burning today.
And we feel that as the tremors.
Oh, that was just lovely.
Absolutely gorgeous.
More mince, if anyone wants another.
- Couldn't have any more. - No, thanks.
Rona, I notice you haven't eaten much.
- You all right? - Yeah, yeah.
I'm just not hungry, but it was lovely. Yeah.
Excuse me. Bless you.
I'd just like to say thank you.
Thank you, Father, for this delicious food
and for this wonderful company at my table today.
Of course we thank you, Lord, for the food on our table,
for the sun in the sky...
So are you up for long?
No, I'm going back down to London next week.
Just because, um, there's a service for healing
on a Thursday evening.
You might find it interesting.
Your husband used to go, right?
Yeah, my Mark went, like, last year.
He was having a bit of trouble with drinking
and just needed a bit of guidance
and, you know, just a bit of support and that.
A bit of help, really, you know, so...
No, I'm doing fine, so...
I mean, anyone can go. It's not really like...
Rona, your mum was saying
that you're taking a break from your study?
Rona. Please don't.
Don't what? Don't what? This?
I'm sober. Do they know that?
Because they seem to know everything else, don't they?
You've clearly told them everything that's going on.
Rona, I'm sorry.
Come back inside?
Give me a minute.
Mm. Don't start reading the Bible without me.
We want to see, we want to see
We want to see Jesus lifted high
We want to see, we want to see
We want to see...
Get a shift on, Daynin. Come on.
Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck!
-Daynin. Rona. - Daynin.
Give me your hand!
Ah, give me your hand!
Please, don't. Two hands on the bicycle!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday...
Sorry!
Dear Gloria
Happy birthday...
Hi.
Sometimes when I hallucinate,
I transpose the island's boundaries
onto a map of London.
In Hackney, thousands of people
live in the same area
of the farm that was home to just our family.
150 acres.
Screaming gulls are sirens, the sea, traffic.
Tower blocks are cliff faces.
The warning lights on top of tall buildings
are lighthouses.
The Tower of London is Skara Brae.
And the Millennium Dome is the ancient Ring of Brodgar.
Rona, I just wanted a quick catch up really,
- just to see how you are. -Yeah, good. Why?
No, it's just that we had
the lab meeting last week and you weren't there.
Everyone else was there.
Well, yeah, I had, erm, a dentist appointment that day.
But also, I've just been really busy with the project.
You could've told me about the dentist.
I mean, some of the other guys in the lab,
they said that you sort of distanced yourself a little bit.
I did. Erm...
That you're not going to coffee with them
- as much as you used to. - Sorry. Erm...
I mean, you had promised to get a report to me
last week as well.
Have you ever felt like you could control the weather?
Really?
Nah, that's not me.
God, you're weird.
You all right?
Mm-hmm.
Sure?
I used to think
my dad could control the wind, when I was little.
Dad!
- Dad? - Yeah.
There you are.
Hiya.
- Hi. - You all right?
Yeah.
I'm heading off soon, so I wanted to say goodbye.
- Are you? - Yeah.
- Already? - Mm.
Well, you want to see a lump of something,
- might be worth a fortune? - What?
"One test for ambergris is to poke it
with a hot needle and a liquid should ooze out."
Here we go.
Look, look, look, look.
That's liquid. Oh, my God!
Wow.
"Ambergris is a rare and highly valuable substance
produced in the stomach of sperm whales,
either vomited or excreted and found floating on the seas.
It has a bad smell." Does it have a bad smell?
Doesn't smell like anything.
Still, that is liquid.
- It says for one gram... - Yes.
...you can get $28.
- What's that, 25 quid? 23 quid? - Like 25 quid.
Twenty-three, so that's, that's... this is...
This is ten pounds. That's four and a half kilos,
that's 4,500, that's... 25...
That's over 100,000 pounds.
That's over 100...
Well done!
That is one big tractor.
- Seriously? - My God.
Oh, my.
Will you send me updates when you hear?
- Well now, why don't you stay? - No, I can't.
Tell you what I could do help with.
A couple of the dikes have come down
on the outrun there, and I could use some help
building them back up again.
No, I've really been here for long enough.
- London is calling me. - All right.
I got to go back.
So, because you're gonna be rolling in it,
do you think maybe you could lend me a few quids
just to tide me over for when I go back?
- I just can't. - Right. That's okay.
Have you asked your mum?
Erm, she offered to put me into her prayers.
You will see passenger emergency
instruction notices in various parts of the vessel
and in the passenger cabins.
Please study these carefully...
Located in the following positions,
in the restaurant...
The urge to drink can come out of nowhere.
You think you're doing well.
But suddenly you want nothing more than a drink.
When people drink,
alcohol, or more specifically ethanol,
is absorbed into the stomach lining
and enters the blood stream.
In the brain,
alcohol confuses messages between neurotransmitters
and acts as both an intoxicant and a depressant
or a relaxant.
Hiya.
Hey.
- You all right? -Yeah.
That's good. Just going to the loo.
For those of us susceptible to addiction,
alcohol quickly becomes
the default way of alleviating anxiety
and dealing with stressful situations.
Through repeated use of the drug,
our neural pathways are scored so deeply
they'll never be repaired.
- You good? - Yeah, yeah.
-Hi, Elena. - Hello.
It's good see you back.
Elena, this is Rona. Rona, Elena.
Nice to meet you.
Rona has a training day with us.
Elena quite often works for us at the RSPB on the island.
Manages our cottage here on Papay.
Yes.
So you gonna take us to the holm?
Yeah, that's right.
The tides look perfect for going there just now.
Boat's ready in the water.
The first time that you visited Orkney?
Oh, I'm from West Mainland.
Ah! Very nice.
We can just maybe, like, spend
about an hour and a half there, if that's okay with you?
Great.
We'll get you back to Papay.
Oh, Papay really is my favorite island.
Don't you want to stay for a cuppa
or a coffee at Rose Cottage?
So that's a grey seal, on the rocks.
Yeah.
The grey seal pups, they're all fluffy and white.
They're really nice.
And they can't swim right away.
But the common seals, they can swim almost right away.
They can just get into the water the same day.
People really like them. And folk here,
what they really like is the sound they make.
Woo!
Yeah, nice one. Can you do it?
Woo!
A bit like a wolf.
Quite eerie, especially if it's at night.
Hi.
Homo sapiens have about 79% of the same DNA as seals.
50% as plants, a banana, a cucumber
or seaweed.
60% as jellyfish.
Jellyfish are only capable of upwards independent movements
so they're moved horizontally by currents and tides.
Wait!
The day I was born, my father became unwell.
One of the bipolar episodes he'd had periodically
since he was a teenager.
Wee!
If you go mad in Orkney...
they just fly you out.
So, what you've got in front of you here
is what I would say is a really well-mowed field.
Okay? And so what he's done
is he's gone from the inside and he's mowed all the way out.
So that any corncrakes
that might have been on his land in the field,
they can come all the way into the long grass.
Mm-hmm.
Okay, so when it comes to the survey,
you'll have one of these in front of you,
- and it's like a grid system. - Mm-hmm.
So you start here from 12:00 to 3:00 a.m.
And then you go every 200 to 500 meters...
and then you stop.
You wind down your window,
set a timer on your phone for two minutes,
and you listen.
For what?
For the sound of a corncrake. Have you heard a corncrake?
- No. - Right. Well...
How would you describe it?
I'd say it's quite like, erm...
...maybe like a cat hissing or something.
I would say more like a cranking chair, more something like...
- Right. - That's good, that's good.
Get it up on YouTube for her.
Uh-huh.
So, can you tell me why you're here, Rona?
Yeah. I'm here for a referral, for rehab.
Erm, residential.
I just want you to lock me up.
Okay. Well, there can be quite a rate sometimes
for residential places.
But there are some other options.
This program is a zero-tolerance
abstinence-based program.
Which means that if you don't turn up, for any reason,
you are off the program.
It means if you relapse, you are off the program.
What is said in this group,
stays within the walls of this group.
No phones.
I would ask that you only check them at your break times.
Also, all fag and bathroom breaks
will be accompanied by a counselor.
Statistically, only 10% of you will make this.
I know that sounds tough.
But it is a tough journey that you have started.
Rona, come on.
No, Mum, I'm okay, thanks.
Come on, Rona, it's lovely.
I'm fine.
How's Mum?
You could always just call her and ask her yourself.
How's the job?
Erm...
Well, I haven't heard a corncrake yet.
So not that great.
No, I can't do that.
I did find out that there's a large population
of corncakes in Eastern Europe.
By the way, it's not ambergris. I got the results back.
Oh.
- What is it then? - Paraffin wax or something.
Probably.
Hmm.
Thanks for staying longer.
Hey, Dad.
I made another flower picture.
Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad.
The past follows us.
Energy never expires.
The energy of waves carried across the ocean
changes into noise and heat and vibrations
that are absorbed into the land
and passed through the generations.
Waves break when the wave height
is more than one seventh of the wave length.
Although they collapse in different manners,
there is only so much height any wave can sustain
before it comes crashing down.
I'm so proud of you!
- Really? - Yeah.
- Really? - Yeah, you're doing so well.
Go on, go on, go on! Grab a shot!
-Cheers, guys! - Okay.
Make a speech!
- Don't make me make a speech. - Come on!
- Speech! Speech! - Come on!
Okay, you think it's about me, yeah?
But I wouldn't have been able to do it without all of you lot.
He's so humble.
- Cheers. - Go on, go on, go on!
Yes, yes, yes, yeah!
Would you want to marry me?
Do I want to marry you?
Do you think you'd want to marry me?
- Oh. - One day, maybe.
- Maybe? - Maybe...
One, two, three, four.
Hey! Hey, hey...
For fuck's sake.
- Babe. -Ow.
You okay?
You all right, love?
- All right, honey? -Rona, babe?
Where's my compass? Oh...
Did you definitely bring it out with you?
Did you just have it on whilst you were dancing?
- No, don't worry, don't worry... - It's okay. We'll find it.
- My compass. - Maybe it just came off.
Have you seen... She misses the...
- It's like this necklace thing. - Not a necklace, it's a compass.
-Sorry, her compass. - Sorry, but I didn't take it.
I don't know where it's gone.
My dad gave me that compass.
Okay, okay, okay...
What are you laughing at?
- What are you laughing at? - No one's laughing.
You think you're great because you earn
more money than I do, is that it?
You're not laughing now, are you?
- Would you keep it... - No one's laughing at you.
Rona! Get a grip!
Fuck! Fuck!
What the fuck was that?
Okay. Okay, babe, we need to go outside.
Rona?
Rona, listen to me. Just breathe.
Just breathe, it's okay. You're okay.
You're okay. Just deep breaths. You're fine, okay?
Just breathe.
Please don't.
Rona, you're hurting yourself.
Has she taken something?
No, I've not given her anything.
Get off.
-Just listen to me. - Get off.
Double vodka.
You can't order another drink.
- We're goin'-- Oi! -Chill out.
Go upstairs, please. I'm too tired for this!
We're going home, all right?
No! You can't have that. Rona!
For fuck's sake, Rona!
Be careful, hey!
- Can you just listen? - Get off!
No, no! Would you just listen to me? I'm begging you.
-No! - Get away from me!
Where are you going? You're not going anywhere!
Listen to me! You have a problem!
No, you're trying to control me.
I'm not trying to fucking control you.
This has nothing to do with me.
- This is about you. - I hate you.
Morning.
What did I do last night?
You don't remember?
Daynin, I'm sorry.
Daynin, I'm so sorry, whatever I did.
I'm not drinking anymore. I'm sorry.
And I'm so tired of hearing you say that.
I can't hear you say that again.
What do you mean?
I don't even recognize you anymore.
I wish you were a completely different person.
- Don't say that. - I can't do this.
What do you mean you can't do this?
I just can't do this.
Did I do that to you?
I'll never do that again. Right?
Whatever I did, I'll never do it again.
I'm never going to drink again. I promise you. Right?
'Cause I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose you.
Please don't go.
I love you.
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things that I cannot change,
the courage to change the things that I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Thank you, Steven.
Rona, would you be happy to share with the group today?
Perhaps some of the feelings that you experience
when you think about drinking.
Mm-hmm.
Erm...
I miss it.
I miss how good it made me feel.
I fell in the canal.
And I broke the bike.
But I'm gonna sort it out.
Are you gonna not say anything?
What do you want me to say, Rona?
You're always judging me. You're being so hard on me.
I made a mistake. I'm sick of it.
I'm honestly... I'm sick of you.
I feel like you want me to become one of those women
that just caters to you and then,
with a big smile on my face and like...
That's not the way I am.
That's not the way I'm ever gonna be. I'm not like that.
And you know that.
I don't know why you're expecting that from me.
You're trying to tame me. And you're trying to control me.
Thank you for your honesty.
Well, Rona, um...
Just want to share this... I don't know, with you.
Basically, I...
My ex-girlfriend found my stash and threw it down the toilet.
So I thought I'd leave her a little gift in the bed.
Which was, I just basically shat in the bed.
- Left her a little prezzie. - Wow.
It's like... Oh, yeah. I got one.
I got in at about 3 o'clock in the morning.
Snuck up to bed, got into bed. Right?
Then about four or five o'clock,
I get a whack. She has booted me, right?
Kicked me straight up the arse, basically.
Pulled the covers up.
And I've pissed from her neck down,
right down all through her jarmies, everything.
Talking of peeing, in my days...
Here we go.
- Hello. -Hi, hi.
- How you doing? - How you doing?
- I'm getting on. Yeah. - Nice to meet you.
Erm, yeah, I'm with the RSPB,
I was just wondering if I could have a couple of minutes
- of your time. - Yeah.
We're trying to figure out how many corncrakes
are still on all of the islands throughout Orkney.
And how we can actually protect the corncrakes
- 'cause they're on the red list. - Mm-hmm.
You want to come in for a cup of tea?
Yeah, I will in a minute.
I'll tell you this really, really quickly.
Basically, what we're trying to get farmers like yourself
to do is to change their mowing pattern.
Did your father sell the farm?
- He sold the house. - Ah, right. Yeah.
He's still on the farm...
So where the heck does he bide then?
- He's in a caravan. - Oh, Lord.
Yeah. It's enough for him, really.
It's got all his records and stuff.
Good, good.
...working my way through the whole island and...
every inhabited islands in Orkney.
- Indeed. That's good. - Yeah.
To see how many people we can get on board, so...
I don't know if you'd be up for doing something like that.
- Absolutely okay. - Yeah.
- Yeah? Oh, really? - Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. Great.
- Have you heard one? - No.
- Have you not? - Haven't heard one.
- Have you? - You will do sometime.
I've not for a long time, which is a bit disappointing,
'cause they used to be quite common, but...
Yeah.
- ...things change. - Yeah.
Because people rarely saw the corncrake fly,
it used to be thought they'd go underground in the winter,
transform into other species,
or even ride on other birds' backs to migrate.
We now know that they do migrate all the way to Central Africa.
And GPS trackers have placed them
in Congo in the winter.
But it's a very dangerous journey.
Only 30% make it.
Hi.
Daynin.
Fuck.
That's it then, corncrakes.
So, is this your first meeting or...
No. Good, okay.
Well, why don't we start with the preamble as usual.
Hello. I'm James. I'm an alcoholic.
- Hi, James. - Hello, James.
So, we'll do the preamble.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women
who share their experience, strength and hope
with each other that they may solve their common problem
and help others to recover from alcoholism.
The only requirement for membership
is a desire to stop drinking.
There are no dues or fees for AA membership.
Our primary purpose is to stay sober
and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things that I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Amen.
Meg?
Dad.
I can't find Meg anywhere.
I'm just gonna leave some water for her and some food.
But you've got to remember to do that, okay?
And I'll ask Mum to get someone in
to just help you with the farm.
Just until you feel better.
You warm enough?
I'm scared.
I don't know if I can do it, Dad.
I wish you a very happy future.
You deserve it.
Rona, it's been a fantastic journey
being with you here.
I wish we had met elsewhere.
But I think we've come a very long way.
And congratulation.
Well done, Rona. All the best to you.
Er...
Thanks for making me strong.
I hope I don't let you down.
Mum, are you there?
Er...
I finished, I did it, 90 days.
Yeah.
Thanks, Mum. Erm...
Can I come up home for a few days?
Hey, you've reached Daynin.
Leave a message and I'll get back to you.
Daynin.
It's me.
Don't know if you'll get this message.
I miss you.
I miss talking to you.
I know why you left me.
I get it.
- Cheers. - Cheers again.
Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.
This is a great moment. We're all together.
Where are the apples?
The apples... Oh, shit.
I was just getting an apple.
He's not real, you know.
They have you brainwashed.
Come to bed, Rona.
That's why Dad left you, you know.
Because you chose them over us.
I can't believe that you still believe...
You're so stupid.
There's another one.
Lies.
All that praying didn't help, did it, Mum?
It didn't help me.
- Go on, lie down. - Didn't help me.
Come on.
I'm sorry, Mum.
I'm sorry, Mummy.
Washing machine, cooker, pots and pans, and the stove.
Watch the handle for it can get hot.
Erm, there's firewood there and there's more in the shed.
- Okay. - But when it gets really cold,
you might want to order a bag of coal from the shop.
It's pretty rough in the winter time.
Er, no fancy going somewhere warmer like the Canary Islands
- or somewhere like that? - Yeah,
it's cheaper to come to Papay.
Well, that is very true.
Er, this is your bedroom, living room.
It still smells a bit fusty. Erm...
But there's the bed. It's quite cozy.
And, well, we meet on a Wednesday
in the hall, if you fancy a cup of tea and a blether.
We're just 60 people but there's plenty going on.
If you're wanting a bit of company?
- Yeah, I might do, yeah. Maybe. - Okay.
I'll away. I've got stuff to do, and I'll see you soon.
- Have you got the keys? - Oh. Sorry.
- It's all right. - Not that we need them.
- Thanks, Elena. - Not in Papay.
You take care, Rona.
- Bye. - Cheerio.
Britain is an island off Europe.
Orkney is an island off Scotland.
Westray is an island off Orkney.
Papay is an island off Westray.
According to Orcadian folklore,
the island Hether Blether only appears in the fog.
It was said that once a girl was kidnapped by a finman
and taken to the mystical island,
and never could return.
Hi, Mum, it's me.
Erm, sorry I didn't get to see you
before I went to the airport.
I just wanted to let you know that I got to Papay safely.
Erm...
I don't know yet how long I'm going to stay.
A couple of months, I think.
The signal is not great here,
but it would be good to hear from you.
Whoo-hoo!
Yes!
And I see mornings with high heating bills.
And with every crumb
that fell from your lips onto fresh bed linen sheets...
- Why don't you come outside? -Let's have a--
- Have a bit of fresh air? - Okay, okay! You get off of me!
Open the door, Daynin! Answer me!
Why are you doing this to me?
Piece of shit, I hope you fucking die in hell.
So, how does London compare to Papay?
Er, well...
there's a bit more going on.
I guess.
I'll bet.
Have you ever been down south?
Sometimes, not very often.
Not very often.
We hardly get away and my husband's going,
"Oh, I can't see the sea and the trees.
And you can't see anything. When are we going home?"
Spot on.
Thank you very much. All the very best.
See you soon. See you again.
Over there. Last few casks of these...
Well, indeed, fine. Thank you very much.
- Thank you. - Good seeing the pair of you.
- All the very best. - Yes, I'll see you around, sir.
Cheers, bye. Cheers, all the best.
And you.
-Hi, hi. - Hi, hi.
- How's it going? - Good.
Lovely.
I should introduce you to my brother, Calum.
- Oh, hello. Rona. - Hi. How are you doing?
Hi, Rona.
Good to see you.
Rose Cottage?
Mm. Aye.
Is it, uh, bird work you're doing?
- Calum, stop. - Ugh.
He's so nosy, he's like an old wife.
Well, erm, I was the warden of the nature reserve
up there, back in the '80s.
- Right. - Before we had Rose Cottage.
I stayed at Gowrie just across the way.
It was very basic. Rose Cottage is a palace.
Gowrie was a hovel.
But it was my hovel. I loved it very much.
Erm, could I get some tobacco as well, please?
Sure. Yeah, yeah.
Is that it? Got everything?
- Yeah, yeah. - Okay.
The original Beaufort scale
didn't give wind speed in miles per hour,
but rather in terms of its effects on sailing ships.
From "just sufficient to give steerage"
to "that which no canvas sails could withstand."
The wind is our most defining weather in Orkney.
Even in summer, there's usually a breeze.
Beaufort force three or four on average.
In Winter, gales are common.
Come in! Come in! I am one with the wind.
You're upsetting her!
Oh. Oh!
Andrew...
Beautiful that is. Beautiful, listen to it.
Breathe it in! Breathe it in!
-Lord, God... - We are one with the wind.
Oh, God, please help him!
You don't understand.
King of the castle.
My subjects. Welcome to my house.
Rona, get in here!
I'm going to watch.
All right, if you're not going to come in...
Aaah!
You having fun?
- Nah, I'm having an awful time. - Looks like it.
Really reminds me of home, you know?
I forget you're a farm girl.
- Aahil! Really? - What?
- You really need to do that? - What's the big deal?
What do you mean, "It's not a big deal"?
Pick it up. It's not a bin.
- All right, all right. - That's what the big deal is.
For fuck's sake.
You know, he's terrified of you.
He's not terrified of me, just...
- Yes. - He knows I'm right.
You know...
I'd never let my boys get away with any of that shit.
What do you mean, your boys?
You have kids?
Yes, I have two boys.
- Really? - Yeah.
It's why I get up every morning, it's...
you know, for them.
So, what age are they?
- Seventeen. - Seventeen?
Yeah, 14.
I've not seen them in ten years, though, so...
Better that way, who wants a...
You know, who wants a crackhead for a dad?
Once I'm clean and...
Then I'll bring them here.
We're nearly done here.
What are you going to do after all of this?
Don't know.
Nothing.
We can see if we can get a horse ride set up.
I fucked it up.
- I did. - Hang on, hang on.
Shut up. You asked.
You asked.
Well... Come on, listen. See, I don't mean to...
Look at this brigade.
If they can make it, you can make it.
I don't know about that. You'll be fine.
I can't be happy sober.
Hi, Rona.
- Hiya. - Hiya, how are you doing?
- Good, how are you? - Not bad at all.
What a lovely day, isn't it a cracker?
You getting in among the seaweeds?
- Aye. - You've come to the right place.
It's a seaweed supermarket.
Are you doing well?
- Lovely, lovely. - Yeah.
Well, I've just been doing a spot of beachcombing.
What do you make of this?
The city of New York.
Very nice.
Well...
Well, I'll let you get on.
And, er,
if there's anything you need, just give us a shout, okay?
- Okay? Righto. - Yeah, I will. Yeah.
- All the best. Cheerio for now. - See you. Bye.
- Ro, Ro, there you are! Listen! - Hi.
This storm came through
and I've had to patch up another window.
Oh, no!
I've almost run out of gaffer tape.
Right, and you've got to get that fixed then, don't you?
But listen, the real reason I want to talk to you is
I've been in touch with the bank and I've arranged a loan.
- But for what, Dad? - I've not arranged it yet,
but I will do.
Can you turn the music down? I can't hear you very well.
Dad, can you turn the music down?
I was in touch with a fella from south
who's an intern on one of these offshore wind farms and...
and the other thing is there's a... Hey, you'll love this.
I was talking to the geothermal physicist
about the caves under the ground there
- because I own them. - Dad, have you been sleeping?
And the thing about geothermal thing
is it's all about the storage.
Okay. Dad? You need to sleep.
And there's fluctuations in the wind speed.
You're not sleeping, are you? Because you're getting high.
- Ro! Ro! Ro! - Yes, I'm listening to you.
- I've no time for this. - You need to calm down, okay?
This is the avant garde, I am on the forefront
of the ecological revolution. This is wonderful work!
Will you please take some sleeping pills
and just go to sleep for a few hours?
Ah.
Oh, God.
Hello?
Er, yeah, I'd love to talk to him. Thank you.
-Ro. - Hiya, Dad.
- Rona? Hello? - Yeah, are you okay?
- Hello? Rona? - Hiya.
- It's Dad. - Yeah.
Listen, I have a really important...
Did you... Would you mind giving me some...
- Well. Sorry, I... - Dad, are you okay?
Are you all right in there?
Listen, I have to talk very quietly, I'm surrounded.
- Okay. - I'm being held against my will
in an institution.
And I need your help to facilitate my release.
Do you think you can do that?
No, Dad, because you have to stay there until you get better.
God! God!
You put me in here in the first place
and you won't give yourself the opportunity
to redeem yourself by getting me out.
- Dad, I didn't put you anywhere. - Listen...
You goddamn, you know bloody well what you did.
- What did I do? - You called the cops.
Dad, I didn't call the cops. Not at all.
You called the cops. They came and they took me away.
I know, Dad, but I think it's because
- everyone was worried about you. - No!
I think somebody else called.
You break my heart.
You are a deceitful woman.
You are a...
Okay.
Don't disappoint me any more than you already have, Rona.
I'm gonna go. I'll check in with you later, okay?
Rona! Now, you pull your...
Fuck!
Hey, you need a ride?
I can give you a lift, if you like.
To Daynin's house.
Good. I'll take you there. Jump in.
Thank you.
Hi. Hiya.
Well, I bumped into someone who's giving me a lift to yours,
because he knows where you live.
Don't you want it?
You bitch!
Help me!
Help!
Shit! No, help me!
Come back here. Wait!
Help!
Hi.
Hey.
So, how have you been?
I'm good.
How's your job?
- I mean, I got that promotion. - Oh, wow.
Big boss man now.
- Got an assistant. - Ah.
- Office? - Tiny one.
Are you seeing anyone or anything?
Yeah.
Right.
She is nice.
Kind, you know.
- It's different. - Mm-hmm.
It's boring, I bet.
I'm glad you're happy.
I like your hair.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah.
It's nice.
Fuck you!
You wanna go for a drink?
There's a berg.
Lads, there's a berg, there's a berg!
To the starboard.
Woo! Steady as she goes, lads.
Steady as she goes!
We got a berg to the starboard, lads!
You gotta hustle up, hustle up. Go on.
Okay.
Crow's nest!
Can you hear me?
Is it all clear up north?
Yep, we're heading north.
Come on, come on!
Well done. You did really well.
- Hi, Rona. - Hiya, you all right?
- Aye, not bad. How is yourself? - Yeah, I'm good.
Just had to get a bit of air,
it was getting really hot in there.
Aye, all right, not half. There's a lot going on.
- Aye. - Aye.
So how long you been sober?
Sixty-three days.
Wow.
That's the steepest bit you've done.
So, what about you?
Oh, boy. Erm...
Twelve years.
Four months.
And...
twenty-nine days.
Damn.
How is that?
Well, it's okay.
Started off one day at a time.
Twelve years and four months later,
it's still one day at a time.
Because that's the only way.
And it works.
And you're doing it.
So it gets easier, does it?
Oh, yes. Yes, it does.
- You have my word on that. - Mm.
But...
it never gets easy. It just gets less hard.
The marine traffic and flight radar websites
show in real-time the paths of all vessels at sea
and all commercial aircraft in the sky.
A light that moves above the cottage
is a Lufthansa flight from Los Angeles to Frankfurt.
I monitor the path of the International Space Station.
And find out when it's passing over.
Tonight it flies over Orkney.
- Merry Christmas. -Hi, Rona.
Not got good news.
There's no flights coming in today.
What?
There's a technical fault with the plane.
And there's no flights coming in at all.
What about tomorrow?
No, they're waiting on parts and engineers and...
And I'm afraid
the boats are away into the town for Christmas.
A fresh kinda day
with strong easterly winds and rain.
Winds are likely to get up to near gale force
just before midday,
but they will ease off for the afternoon.
Temperatures will be struggling to get into double figures.
Maybe nine degrees Celsius at a push. That's just...
Woo!
-Hey, Rona. - Hi.
- How are you doing? - Good.
You been for a swim?
- Yeah. - Fantastic. Gosh, look at you.
For you
My heart cries out, Perfidia
For I found you the love of my life...
Move! Get it out!
It's back on me now.
It's on me.
Get the pigeon off me.
It's not on you.
Well, it is!
I'm gonna get it with the...
Come back here, sir... young lad.
Come on!
Hey.
- How is it? - Windy.
Yeah.
Elena, this is my mum.
Oh.
Oh, it's really nice to meet you.
Yeah, nice to meet you, too.
- You have a lovely daughter. - Yeah, thank you.
- She's been looking after me. - Oh!
They're just some drawings I've done and stuff.
Do you want a cup of tea?
- Oh, yes. - It's warmer in the kitchen.
- Shall we go there? - Lovely, thank you.
And I made some bread.
And it's your recipe.
Oh, Rona, that looks wonderful.
It may poison you.
- So, do you like it? - Mm.
So, how long do you think you'll stay here for?
Erm...
Don't know, probably till the spring.
- That long? - Yeah.
Well, I'm thinking about changing my PhD.
I've become really, really fascinated with seaweed
and the whole seaweed industry.
Seaweed farming is kind of changing the world.
It's always been around in eastern parts of the world.
And, yeah, we're not really exploring that
as much as we used to.
So, what I'm thinking about doing
is studying seaweed farming.
So, I started to look into it
and there's all these different benefits to seaweed.
There's, you know, soil fertilizers.
If you feed it to cows, it's a really great way,
a great natural way to fertilize the soil.
The cattle produce less methane
when they burp and when they fart.
And, you know, it supplies your body
with magnesium, copper, all these different things.
It also supplies the earth with 60% of its oxygen.
I thought that was the rainforest.
No. Common misconception, but it's marine plants.
It's in our toothpaste. It's part of our culture,
our mythology, everything.
If everyone got on board with it,
it could change the world.
And so, I want to be a part of it.
How is Dad?
He's coming home next week.
Where is he going to stay?
The caravan on the farm, of course.
Of course.
I mean, we're not going to get him to live anywhere else,
- are we? - Absolutely not.
I should go back then.
At least I can cook for him, I can get him stuff in.
Rona, please, don't worry so much.
-But I do worry. - No.
He's had to go through this over and over again.
You know, you have to look after yourself.
That's what I had to do, you know.
Was it really hard for you?
Just having me, having the farm,
he just wasn't... there.
Mm, it was.
It was.
At times it was very difficult.
He'd be away for months.
And then even when he wasn't away, I was...
very lonely, sometimes.
- Mm. - Yeah.
Then I found God, or rather...
God found me.
Mm.
All things come from the ocean.
And the ocean takes them back.
And eventually, one day,
they might come back again to the land.
After a gale is when the best things are found.
Parts of the Udal Law from old Norse times
still apply in Orkney.
And if you find something on the shore of your farmland,
and its above the low water mark,
it's yours.
There's a festival that's about to happen here,
it's called the Gyro Nights.
Oh.
So all these artists from all over the country,
all over the world actually are coming in.
And we've been, like, arranging the whole thing.
And putting banners up.
- Oh, yeah? - Mm-hmm.
You're coming for my job.
So, erm, no, but really, how are you doing?
I'm fine.
- I'm actually, yeah... - I mean, you look great, like...
I'm probably the best I've been in a really long time.
Promise.
Gyro!
I got it. Yeah, I got it.
Do you want to sit down?
Yeah, please.
- It's a bit messy. - That's okay.
Here you go.
So cold.
Do you mind if I take my socks off?
No. That's what I'm gonna do.
Soaking wet.
Give me the socks.
Thank you.
- Ah, that's better. - So much better.
I loved that tonight, it was fun.
Such a nice evening.
I actually had a dream the other night
- that all my hair was on fire. - Okay.
That sounds quite scary.
Yeah. Kind of amazing, though.
My hair was just flames running around.
So, you go back tomorrow?
Yeah, getting the ferry in the morning.
Hmm.
In grandiose moments,
high on fresh air and freedom on the hill,
I study my personal geology.
My body is a continent.
I grind my teeth in my sleep
like tectonic plates.
And when I blink, the sun flickers.
My breath pushes the clouds across the sky.
And the waves roll in to the shore
in time with my beating heart.
The island's headlands rise above the sea
like my limbs in the bathtub.
My freckles are famous landmarks.
And my tears, rivers.
Lightning strikes every time I sneeze.
And when I orgasm,
there is an earthquake.
Mm?