The music element of the Between Islands project has given us the ideal opportunity to highlight the work of some of our most talented island songwriters. This week is no exception, as we show the film created by Shetland musician Jenny Napier Keldie for our online series. The song and film tell a personal story, and so I will let Jenny explain its origins.

A definitive benefit of growing up as an islander,  is having family around you and knowing who and where you are from.  As a bairn,  stories of the past can take on a fairytale quality; not really knowing what bits are real, because sometimes the past is idealised, or hearsay, or mundane.  And then, there are some things, rarely spoken of.    Growing up, we knew we had a grand uncle who had been a hero, on a ship in a war, but was not often spoken about.  When pregnant with my second son,  I began to think about names.Jamsie was named  after my granda, who was very present, as I grew up,  and so I came to focus on his brothers, and Samuel.  My aunt showed me a box of memories and photos of a son and brother who wrote of love for his family; and of whom others spoke so highly.  As an adult, I began to understand how pain of loss could lead to quiet, as a means to move forward, not to forget, and remain ever family. And our second son is Samuel.

This lovely piece of film can be viewed here: