Orcadian Column, 2 October 2025
At the end of an historic season for Papay’s footballers, Saturday’s dinner dance in the island’s wonderful hostel was always likely to be a memorable affair. With the hall decked out in a symphony of orange and black, a little slice of Tannadice north of the Galt, the Doondies didn’t disappoint.
What a privilege it was to be invited to offer a few after-dinner remarks, reflecting on a season that saw Papay take their bow in the Parish Cup before going on to claim the trophy in the men’s five-a-sides at the 75th North Isles Sports. On both occasions, Sanday played ‘best supporting act’ to perfection.
Shortly before clambering to my feet to speak, I was told that this would be the first public address in Papay for 30 years, which hardly settled the nerves. In truth, though, my hosts could not have been more hospitable and I even learned a few new dances, as the Papay band prides itself on never playing the same dance twice!
While celebrating Papay’s footballing exploits, this was a celebration of community in all its diversity, such is the Papay way. Three generations of Hourstons may have been at the heart of the team, but this is an island that has a proud track record of welcoming visitors as well as those who wish to stay longer and put down roots. It is one of its great strengths.
That is not to say Papay residents have it easy. The need for affordable housing to rent or buy; the provision of healthcare; job opportunities for young people; and lifeline transport connections all present challenges, as they do in most island communities. Even in the absence of border guards at Pierowall, I’m not sure I’d be rushing to repeat my lively ‘small boat crossing’ over from Westray to Papay on Saturday morning.
Yet in the face of such challenges, it’s always seemed to me that folk in Papay look to get on and deal with things. They work collaboratively to try and find solutions. Importantly, they also focus on the real source of the problems rather than cast around for someone else to blame.
Reflecting on this as I walked along the coast from St Boniface to the Knap of Howar on a sunny Sunday morning, it struck me that this approach could scarcely be more different from the way in which similar issues are being debated and challenges met at a national and even international level right now. All of which confirms the view I’ve long held that if you could bottle what the community in Papa Westray have and export it, the world would be a better place.
Someone who certainly played his part in trying to make the world a better place was Sir Menzies Campbell, who sadly passed away last week. A record breaking sprinter and captain of the GB team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics; a highly successful Queens Counsel; and the long-standing Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife, who rose to lead the party, Ming certainly made his mark in the worlds of sport, law and politics.
A trusted authority on defence and foreign affairs, Ming personified the liberal internationalism that first attracted me to the party. I was thrilled, therefore, when he agreed to be the guest of honour at a dinner in Kirkwall in 2006 shortly after I was selected to fight the Orkney seat at the Holyrood election the following year.
For over an hour, Ming held the audience in the palm of his hand as he delivered a typically thoughtful, insightful and wide-ranging speech. Afterwards, one admiring guest told me that he would have happily listened to Ming read from the telephone directory. I’m not sure I would have got away with that in Papay, unless I was just reading out the list of Hourstons!
The tributes paid to Ming from across the political spectrum, at home and abroad as well as from those outside politics, including many who never met him, speak to the profound decency of the man and the positive impact he had. Our politics just now is crying out for more Mings, not to mention a little dash of Papay.