Boddam SWI

13/10/2026

This should be an interesting evening! Hope to see you all.

08/10/2026

Monday's meeting of the Boddam Institute welcomed our guest Mary Andreas. She came to give us a cookery demonstration using Shetland products. Mary is a member of Shetland Food and Drink, an organisation which aims to promote all local producers of food and drink whether they are farmers, fishermen, café owners or bakeries. She had decided to give the humble bannock a new look by making the dough, made with Shetland buttermilk of course, into an flat bread. While the dough was resting, she cooked a fillet of salmon cut into bite sized pieces with onions, capers, dill and tartare sauce. She had also pre-prepared slow cooked neck of lamb and into the shredded meat she added onions garlic, tinned tomatoes and herbs. Once everything was prepared, she rolled out the dough into 8 pieces and dry fried them until risen. By this time the hall was filled with wonderful smells. The cooked flat breads were brushed with garlic butter, cut into triangles and then topped with the cooked lamb or salmon. That's when we all got to taste her cooking, and there were no complaints!!
Sadly, we were too busy eating to take photos of her finished dishes!
The fun competition was anything related to music and this table was full of items brought in by members. The winning entry was a small musical box in the form of a Singer sewing machine.

14/09/2026

Three of us attended the Members’ Gathering in Dundee.We have enjoyed two days of stimulating talks from a variety of speakers and were blown away by the skills on show in the Vaughan Nash competition. Whilst our entry didn’t win anything, we were very pleased with the marks gained. Our appetites were whetted by the sight of the numerous Dundee cakes and jars of marmalade. These just had to be competition categories in the city of Dundee!
There were various tutorials and outside tours and we enjoyed taking part in our chosen activities.
We met friends from the past and made many new ones, roll on the next Gathering!

08/09/2026

Monday saw the first meeting of our new session and we were pleased to welcome some new members to the institute. Our guest, Sandra Lawrenson, was making a return visit having spoke to us last October. She is involved in the Viking Gene project which has been running for some years. Initially confined to Shetlanders with two Shetland grandparents it became important as a health survey. Results showed up areas in Shetland where there were groups of people with genetical risks of cancer or heart disease. The project is set to be expanded, but that requires extra funding. To support this, the institute made the decision to make this our charity for 2025/6 and after her talk, Sandra was presented with a cheque for £655 raised from Sunday teas and an auction in the summer, plus £80 from the takings of the evenings raffle. After tea or coffee and biscuits, members were able to admire the floral arrangements which were the evening’s competition.

31/08/2026

The start of our new session. Do come and join us!

23/08/2026

13/07/2026

Friday 10th July was, as usual, foggy. Just the sort of day to have an outing! Members and friends of Boddam SWI met at the hall to get our mini bus to Bressay. As we approached the ferry terminal hints of blue sky appeared and by the time the ferry had docked on the island, the sun was fully out. Our first stop was the Heritage Centre which is a mine of information about the island. From geology to archaeology, social history to seafaring tales and everything in between, the centre has it all and we spent ages browsing the exhibits. Eventually we had to leave for our lunch destination at the Speldiburn Cafe. Some of us chose to walk up the road, enjoying the sunshine and admiring the glorious displays of wild flowers in the meadows. Once there, many purchases were made in the charity shop before we sat down to eat. The food was delicious and the service excellent, many thanks to all the staff who were so efficient. Once lunch was over, it was back in the coach for a drive to the lighthouse where we gathered for a group photograph, With little time left, it was back to the ferry terminal and the moment the bus was on board, it began to rain. So, we started our day in fog, enjoyed glorious sunshine at our destination, and ended our day in rain. Luck was with us! Many thanks to the Viking Community Fund for sponsoring our trip, it was most appreciated.

25/05/2026

Our Sunday teas, held on 24th May were a great success. There were tables groaning with food of every sort and plenty more in the kitchen to refill the plates. Flowers decorated the tea tables giving a very spring like feel to the hall, despite the dull, cool weather outside. Part of the hall was given over to a silent auction with a large and varied selection of items and there was a very full raffle table as well. While the total amount has yet to be finalised, the profits will be divided between the Viking Genes project and Institute funds. Our thanks go to everyone who contributed, helped on the day, and more importantly, came to support us.