The Ninety-Day Grain

The bar in Kirkwall had five tables and a fire. The door opened onto a street of grey stone with the cathedral at the top. Polly took the table nearest the heat. "Can I see the menu?" she asked. The card had fewer things on it than she expected, and more of them local.

Baren i Kirkwall havde fem borde og en pejs. Døren gik ud til en gade af grå sten med katedralen for enden. Polly tog bordet nærmest varmen. "Må jeg se menuen?" spurgte hun. Kortet havde færre ting på, end hun havde ventet, og flere af dem var lokale.

"Could you recommend a good dish?" The owner was a heron. She recommended the bannock at once. Bere is a barley they have grown here for centuries. People call it the ninety-day barley, because it ripens fast enough for a short northern summer. Ground into meal, it makes a flat, dark bannock.

"Kan du anbefale en god ret?" Værten var en hejre. Hun anbefalede bannocken med det samme. Bere er en byg, de har dyrket her i århundreder. Folk kalder den byggen på halvfems dage, fordi den modner hurtigt nok til en kort nordisk sommer. Malet til mel giver den en flad, mørk bannock.

"Do you have vegetarian options?" Polly asked. The heron pointed at the same line on the card. Bannock, butter and crowdie, the soft cheese the farms have always made. The same grain also goes to the distillery under the tower, working since seventeen ninety-eight.

"Har I vegetariske retter?" spurgte Polly. Hejren pegede på den samme linje på kortet. Bannock, smør og crowdie, den bløde ost, gårdene altid har lavet. Det samme korn kommer også til destilleriet under tårnet, som har kørt siden sytten hundrede og otteoghalvfems.

"Can we get the bill, please?" Polly said when the plate was empty. The heron took her time bringing it, which is a compliment. Outside, the wind had dropped to what the islands call still. Polly walked up the grey street toward the red cathedral.

"Må vi bede om regningen?" sagde Polly, da tallerkenen var tom. Hejren tog sig god tid med den, hvilket er en kompliment. Udenfor var vinden faldet til det, øerne kalder vindstille. Polly gik op ad den grå gade mod den røde katedral.