I Will Make You Fishers of Men An Island Parish

94 miles north of the Scottish mainland,

where the blustery Atlantic meets the North Sea, lies Shetland.

An archipelago of some 100 islands, mostly uninhabited.

Until the late 15th century they belonged to Scandinavia.

And being closer to Bergen than Edinburgh,

the islanders remain proud of their Norse heritage.

Recently, new industries have swept in,

supplementing the island's crofting and seafaring heritage.

The most northerly island is Unst,

where locals mix tradition with innovation

to survive in a fast-changing world.

At this time of year the days are long and the waters are calm.

18 lb!

So the anglers take to the sea for the annual fishing competition.

And David Cooper joins forces with his friend,

Episcopal minister Neil Brice,

in a unique island remembrance.

Hear us as we pray for those who work at sea.

'This wasn't a traditional church service.'

It was very much a community event,

and community and the sea just run deep.

Surrounded by the sea,

boats have always played a big part in island life,

and fishing has been the lifeblood

of island communities like Unst for generations.

Salted cod and herring provided much-needed protein

for the crofters to get through the lean winter months.

Although the large herring fleets are a thing of the past,

the annual Norwick Eela fishing competition

is a chance to honour that heritage,

bringing local fishermen and families together.

Hi, here I am!

Never worry, now I'm here.

Desley Stickle, herself a keen angler, is lending a hand.

Just putting up the marquee

ready for the Norwick Eela fishing competition tomorrow.

They used to go fishing, off in their boats, in the olden days -

that was where they got their food from, obviously.

But they have just sort of started again,

I think 10 or 15 years ago

it started again, just a competition,

just off the beach here.

Master of Ceremonies and organiser of the event is Charlie Priest.

Charlie?

LAUGHTER

LAUGHTER

All the boats have four hours to see who can catch the biggest fish,

the most variety of species, and the largest catch by weight.

And bragging rights are fiercely contested.

There's a bit of a rush to the start.

We try and get there before them, but it never really works like that!

With 17 boats all armed with tackle and bait

and some of them with the confidence

that they know where the best cod beds lie,

it is time to line up for the gun.

GUN FIRES

CHEERING

C'mon, Charlie!

Not long ago, small fishing boats like these

would have also been used to travel and trade between the islands.

Today, the 11 car ferries that serve the Shetland Islands

are the lifeblood of Unst, keeping the economy going

through all the treacherous weather the Atlantic throws at them.

What horsepower have we got?

The two main engines is 600 horsepower each.

Wow!

Someone who relies heavily

on the ferry timetables running smoothly

is minister David Cooper,

who is taking the nine o'clock ferry

to his church service on Unst from the neighbouring island of Yell.

I watch you every day from the window at the manse

-and the route across here is never ruler straight, is it?

-No, no.

There's a lot of tide that runs here,

especially in the winter when you've got a few gales blowing,

and you get quite a lot of sea coming in here, so...

Can I nip in this magic seat?

Yes, you can have a quick seat there, if you want.

It really is a remarkable, a remarkable view.

Here we are, I'm touching nothing, and the boat is still going!

We're on autopilot there, so...

-Yes, you better say it, just so that it is the official view!

-Yeah!

The sea, of course, provides a living for so many people.

And it's still the case

that fish is the largest part of the local economy.

And all of the related trades, like transport and the ferries

and everything else, very important for us.

To commemorate Unst's seafaring past,

David is hatching a plan with the Episcopal minister

on the capital of Mainland, Lerwick, the Reverend Neil Brice.

PHONE RINGS

Hello, this is Neil.

Neil also has a small parish on the neighbouring island of Yell.

That's fine, no problem at all, speak to you soon, goodbye.

Me and David are great friends with each other

but we hardly ever share services.

The proposed venue for the joint service event

is the Boat Haven Museum in Haroldswick,

a treasure trove of seafaring memorabilia,

looked after by volunteer Freda Gray.

Hi, Freda, how are you?

-Welcome to the Boat Haven.

-Thanks very much.

It's good to be here. This is a good space.

It is more of an act of remembrance than a service,

so this is ideal, it's perfect.

At the turn of the 20th century,

Unst was home to one of the largest herring fleets in Europe.

Can you imagine? I mean, it looks pretty big in here,

but out on the ocean...

Six or seven men in here, miles out at sea...

It still is, today, the most dangerous occupation.

Here is a list of some of the names we shall be remembering.

It's clear from this list

there's whole families that die at any one time,

leaving a widow and four children under 14, sons.

And it still goes on,

so I wanted to be able to have a time when the community

can come together and just...remember them.

What's this?

Back in the day, during the herring season,

the population swelled from 2,000 to a staggering 10,000 people.

When you look at the bay today,

you can't quite picture what it would have been like

at the height of the herring industry here.

700 boats going out of the bay to start fishing on the Monday morning.

These were built for the gutter lasses

when they came up for the herring and then there would be the farlin,

the containers where the gutter girls would do the gutting,

and they had to work really fast because they were paid per barrel.

You had fish oil and scales on your skin and you basically fried.

No suntan lotion or that kind of thing in those days,

so quite harsh conditions sometimes for them.

After World War I, the trade declined

and by the 1930s, the industry had vanished.

With Unst's chief source of income gone,

islanders have continually had to find new ways to glean a living.

It always amazes me that Unst keeps going.

They are sturdy people, they get on with it through different seasons

and different economic times, and they just make the best

of whatever is going and get on with it.

As well as a passion for recreational fishing,

Charlie Priest has a commercial interest too.

He and his brother Bertie run a salmon hatchery

at their croft in Skaw, Britain's most northerly house.

It takes six months for each salmon to grow 8cm long,

which they then sell on to the nearby salmon fishery.

Just another of the many enterprises

that sustain their traditional crofting lifestyle.

The twin brothers have come up with an ingenious way

to supply a constant flow of fresh water to their farm of fish -

they use the peaty burn running off their hill next to the house.

Another business to rise from the ashes of the former fishing trade

is the new gin distillery based at Saxa Vord hangar,

the former RAF station that closed in 2006.

I think gin is becoming more popular

and I've heard that there is more gin produced in Scotland

than anywhere else in the world, different gins.

Here's the gin still.

It's probably a small still as things go,

but you've got to start small to progress big.

Everything is done by hand - labelling is done by Luke, by hand,

the tops are normally done by Luke, by hand.

In the crowded gin market,

swamped with new distilleries popping up every month,

they are attempting to create a unique selling point.

Mark Turnbull, the chief distiller, has been working to conjure up

a distinctive Shetland taste - locally-grown apple mint.

The hardest thing is the apple mint.

That's the key ingredient, that's what is locally grown in Unst

and that's what gives it its unique taste.

As you can see, it's very light, so to get 100g for a bottling,

you need quite a lot.

And it needs a bit of breeze and a bit of sunlight,

but Sarah McBurney, she's the expert, she's the expert.

We would start panicking

if Sarah told us she couldn't get any more!

Sarah McBurney, who supplies the local hotel with fresh produce,

is hoping she can provide the distillery

with the required amount of dried apple mint.

I did actually harvest this the other day,

although it's coming on again now.

A couple of days of sunshine and it would just...

It would just be so good if the sun would come and stay.

Now, this is a key ingredient, so as demand grows for the gin,

we need to actually be able

to produce lots and lots and lots of apple mint,

but it's having a hard time spreading this year, I'm afraid,

and demand is growing.

Growing anything in the harsh Shetland environment means that

most of Sarah's vegetables have to be grown in her polytunnel.

The idea is that I try and produce fresh produce.

This year has been pretty difficult

because the weather has been so cold and wet and miserable and grey.

Nothing is doing as well as it should.

Normally, by June, this...

There would just be greenery everywhere.

The plants would be up here,

the cucumbers would be up to the tops of these nets

and it would just be a complete curtain of green,

so the fact that it's completely visible right the way through...

is quite amazing, it's probably the first year that this has happened.

I've been growing things in this polytunnel now for...

This is the fifth summer.

Poop!

I'm...not very impressed with the weather this year.

It's been really, really bad.

Not growing weather.

Another person who knows how unforgiving the Shetland climate is

for any plant to thrive in is 82-year-old David Edmondston.

Nearly.

Maybe it doesn't need choke, actually, it's a warm day.

ENGINE STARTS

I'm afraid I'm not a dedicated gardener.

Don't ask me about gardening cos I can't tell you anything

other than a rose or a daisy.

But David's great-great-grandfather did know his plants.

There we are.

This is Thomas, born in 1825.

Between the age of 8 and 12, he travelled round Shetland,

staying with various people, and he completely categorised

all the plants and he called it

The Flora And Fauna - I think - Of Shetland.

Thomas the botanist made one floral discovery in particular.

It's one of the rarest plants in Britain,

known as Shetland's mouse-ear,

or more affectionately, Edmondston's chickweed.

There is the chickweed.

Can be confused with a daisy, I expect.

It's a bit bigger than a daisy, quite startling when you see them.

You know, they really stand out.

The chickweed only grows here, it doesn't grow anywhere else.

It only grows in Unst, on the Keen of Hamar.

But the thing is, it does not like good soil.

It's a pretty tenacious plant.

Thomas the botanist was obviously an infant prodigy.

We share the same...

great-great-grandfather.

He was no fool, that man.

And then next to Thomas, the tiger?

Oh, the tiger, yeah.

That's a man-eater.

When small children come, "Oh, can I see the tiger?"

And they climb up the stairs and then they see this

and they are sort of cringing and you have to say,

"It's all right, it's not going to hurt you."

Yeah, it's rather fun, actually.

Back at Saxa Vord, a much-awaited package has arrived for Sarah

so she can progress with the mass production of apple mint

required by the gin distillery.

A-ha! At last!

It certainly does look heavy.

Doing the heavy lifting is handyman Mark 'Sammy' Samuels.

Hi, Sarah, thanks for turning up.

Yeah.

It is a delight when it finally arrives.

Should we take it out on the grass?

What we really need...

Yes, we really need to open it out because we need to concertina it.

Now, it has an inside and outside, so if we open it right out...

This is going to be fun!

In order that we can grow more apple mint for the gin,

we need a growing area.

We have to withstand 100mph winds through the winter,

so any polytunnels on Shetland have to be very, very well protected,

reinforced, battened down to the nth degree.

-So, you want to take this over...?

-Yeah, take the whole lot over

and then we can batten that side...

Right, got you. I like you, Sarah, that sounds really good.

That's it.

-Use your height, Sarah!

-I haven't got any!

As well as being a top handyman,

Sammy is a former national judo champion,

but he's no match for Sarah.

Pull it this way, get that corner and pull it as tight as you can.

Yes, ma'am! I just do as I'm told!

Good man.

That's the sort of man I like!

-Happy?

-Yeah.

Oh, perfect. Couldn't be any better.

This might be the best one ever.

I'm going to have to sleep in here tonight, just in case,

so you know it doesn't blow away.

Back at Norwick Beach, the fishing boats are returning home.

The four-hour competition is over

and it's time for the all-important weigh-in.

One, two, three...go. Heave!

Small fish, a lot of small fish, but...five species, yeah,

and a haddock, so... But no, it didn't go very well.

Right, empty it out and see what they weigh.

Got a big one here, will we weigh this one up first?

-Yeah, we'll put him in.

-Get him weighed first.

Whoops!

17... 18 lb.

Empty it in.

Exactly 10 lb.

I catch my limit.

People that doesn't fish just comes up here and fishes this competition,

people that have never fished in their life and, I mean,

the people on the barbecue here,

they come up from England every year just to do the barbecue.

I came here, 18-month tour by myself and since leaving,

we've been back every year for the last 21 years on holiday.

Haven't missed a year.

Who's this?

The burger?

What brings me back?

The peace and quiet,

the friendliness of the people.

They are so genuine, so nice.

Hello, Colin. How are you, sir? All right? Nice to see you again.

How are you, mate?

My hands are all covered in fish.

Oh, you're a gentleman.

With the fish all weighed and gutted,

it's time for the much-awaited prize-giving.

Master of Ceremonies is competition organiser Charlie Priest.

CHEERING

CHEERING

CHEERING

Broke my leg and they all helped me get on board the boat,

they all helped me take part and then when I got ashore,

well, they've awarded me, so...I'm just happy for that.

CHEERING

The main prize of the day goes to

none other then Charlie's older brother, Albert Priest.

LAUGHTER

Brilliant fun. You couldn't have this anywhere else!

-HE LAUGHS

-Brilliant!

Three cheers for Charlie Priest. Hip-hip...

CHEERING

At the Shetland Reel distillery,

Sarah has a delivery for manager Mark.

-Hi, Mark.

-Hi, Sarah.

Guess what?

-Apple mint?

-Yep, there you go.

That's good, quite a lot there!

It's not doing too badly.

-That smells great, doesn't it?

-I know.

How is the gin coming along?

-It's absolutely flying off the shelf, Sarah.

-Good.

It's... It's been brilliant, brilliant.

It's doing that well we are actually thinking about

getting another flavour on the go.

We've not made up our mind yet, but we've been experimenting and...

Oh, right, so I'm not allowed to know what it is, then?

Not yet, but you'll be the first to know when we decide.

-Happy distilling!

-Yep!

-THEY LAUGH

With demand for the Unst gin going well,

Mark has come up with an idea to create another gin flavour

using a different local ingredient.

He's looking at something completely different.

It did come as a surprise.

The ingredient that he's asked for is a new one to me,

it wasn't one that I would have thought of.

He's asked for seaweed!

Seaweed!

I was expecting a different type of herb, but no - seaweed.

It's quite ingenious, it's actually a really good idea.

Well, it just grows, doesn't it?

It's not something that's got to grow because there's sunshine,

it just grows in the sea.

It will probably make it special to Unst,

the fact that we're no more than

a couple of miles from the sea in any direction.

Well, the next step would simply be to go and get

some of the type of seaweed they are looking for

and then they can do some trials. Because that has to happen first -

they have to work out how much they need,

how much they are going to have to add to give it that sea tang,

because it's going to be a taste of the sea

that he's going to add to the gin

and that should be very interesting.

New gin, new name, new product.

So...better go and find some seaweed!

In the heart of Haroldswick at the Boat Haven museum,

it's the day of the Sea Sunday service.

Welcome.

With most families having a family member,

colleague or neighbour lost at sea in the not-so-distant past,

it's no surprise there is a strong turnout.

Far exceeded the expectations as far as numbers are concerned.

I printed 50 sheets for people to have and we were well over 100.

The marine industry here is one of the largest,

whether they are going fishing or whether they are

dealing with the boats, the engines and all those sorts of things,

so it's very, very much the heart of what Shetland is about.

Ecumenical services like these are common events in Shetland,

as it brings people together from neighbouring islands

and all the different churches.

Joining Neil Brice,

the visiting Episcopal minister is David Cooper.

It is marvellous to see you all here.

We are in the most - if you'll pardon the expression -

the most heavenly place for this commemoration.

Our islands live with the daily reminder

that the sea is often a dangerous and unpredictable place.

Hear us as we pray for those who work at sea.

And give us thankful hearts for the risks they face

for our wellbeing and sustenance.

THEY SING IN HARMONY: Song Of The Papa Men

James Williamson.

Thomas Williamson.

Martin Ramsay.

Karl Anderson.

Norman Gray.

Barry Sutherland.

John Sutherland.

William Williamson.

John Henderson.

Peter Johnson.

Peter Matheson.

Across the islands, there are memorials to men lost at sea.

This community of Unst has had its share.

They were families, fathers, sons, uncles, nephews,

and the local community responded

by caring for those who were left widowed and orphaned.

And that's why the commemoration is still important today.

THEY SING IN HARMONY: Song Of The Papa Men

My two brothers-in-law were lost from their creel boat.

It affects the whole community.

Everybody here who is local knows the families affected,

they know the men, we know the men who were lost.

The reflection of their support

was the number of people who were here today

because they all knew these men too.

It's a strong community anyway

and that's why everybody supports each other and pulls together.

This wasn't a traditional church service,

it was very much a community event

and community and the sea just run deep.

# ..Rowin' Foula doon. #

APPLAUSE

In the days to come, the 140-year-old agricultural show

gets the competitive juices going.

My knitting is very amateurish,

so I have to do quirky things like this.

One of the amazing features of these older people

is just how competitive they are.

Frank and Jem spruce up filly foal Sula to compete for a rosette.

Do you what the problem with this kind of pony is?

-Too much white?

-Too much white!

And at the gin distillery, there's great excitement over a new flavour.

That's sugar kelp, that's good eating.

Make a Korean-style seaweed soup.

Don't think my other half would appreciate it

if I offered him seaweed for tea!

SHE LAUGHS