Thursday, September 29, 2016

Life In Shetland - Tom Kidd

This is the book I was so pleased to find in a Harrogate branch of Oxfam. Tom Kidd's photographs date from the mid to late 1970's, the time when the oil industry was really beginning to make an impact in Shetland. It's also the Shetland, or at least one view of it, that I knew as a very young child (bits of it anyway).

The book itself is long out of print, and when I've seen copies on line they've been prohibitively expensive, but this one came in at around a tenner which I was happy to pay. All the pictures and more are available on Kidd's website but there's something about having the book...

It's a remarkable document of a point in the islands history - it's something to be grateful for that someone was on hand with the specific intention of documenting it - which makes it a welcome addition to my small Shetland bookshelf (it also means I'll no longer be tempted to pinch my fathers copy).

1 comment:

  1. Hello - I worked in a bank in Lerwick from 1978-81. All good things come to an end and sadly by March 1981 I had to say goodbye to my island home. Before leaving, however, I remember buying a lovely little book (for £6.95) called 'Life in Shetland' - with photographs by Tom Kidd.

    To cut a long story short, the book continues to hold a great deal of meaning for me. I have an empathy with the people portrayed and even recognise some of the faces; I can relate to places and events e.g. the Dan-Air accident at Sumburgh as I was on a flight out of Sumburgh just the week after that fatal accident. The photography (in wonderful black & white) captured everyday life so well in the Shetland of that era and I pick the book off the shelf when I feel especially sentimental for times past.

    I would dearly love to gift a copy of 'Life in Shetland' to my one-time flatmate but regretfully my search has been in vain. I communicated with the author, Tom Kidd, back in 2014 but understand that the book was out of print even by that date.

    I appreciate this is a long shot but perhaps you may be able to put me in touch with someone prepared to sell me a copy of the book, in good condition and for a reasonable price.

    Any assistance you can offer would be greatly appreciated: thank you for taking the time to read this message.

    Alexander M. Weir

    e sandyweir1954@gmail.com

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