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.

Baa ya Kirkwall ilikuwa na meza tano na moto. Mlango ulifunguka kwenye barabara ya mawe ya kijivu yenye kanisa kuu juu yake. Polly akachukua meza iliyo karibu na joto. "Naweza kuona menyu?" akauliza. Karatasi ilikuwa na vitu vichache kuliko alivyotegemea, na vingi vyake vya hapa.

"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.

"Waweza kunipendekezea chakula kizuri?" Mmiliki alikuwa korongo. Akapendekeza bannock mara moja. Bere ni shayiri ambayo wameilima hapa kwa karne nyingi. Watu huiita shayiri ya siku tisini, kwa sababu hukomaa haraka vya kutosha kwa kiangazi kifupi cha kaskazini. Ikisagwa kuwa unga, hutengeneza bannock bapa na nyeusi.

"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.

"Je, mna vyakula vya mboga?" Polly akauliza. Korongo akaonyesha mstari uleule kwenye karatasi. Bannock, siagi na crowdie, jibini laini ambalo mashamba yameyatengeneza siku zote. Nafaka hiyohiyo huenda pia kwenye kiwanda cha wiski kilicho chini ya mnara, kinachofanya kazi tangu mwaka elfu moja mia saba tisini na nane.

"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.

"Tafadhali, tunaweza kupata bili?" Polly akasema sahani ilipokwisha. Korongo akachukua muda wake kuileta, jambo ambalo ni sifa njema. Nje, upepo ulikuwa umepungua hadi kile ambacho visiwa huita utulivu. Polly akatembea juu ya barabara ya kijivu kuelekea kanisa kuu jekundu.