Lachlan Ness, who enchanted us with A Kangaroo Loose in the Top Paddock is back, this time a long way from home in the North Isles.

 The Church of Scotland parish of the North Isles of Shetland has been without a full-time minister for over four years; a fact that comes to the attention down in Australia of the Rev Lachlan Ness (known by friends, family and acquaintances, not without some justification, as “Lach Ness”).
In the meantime, the parish is relying on its elders and occasional visits of ministers to conduct its preaching and pastoral activities.
Lachlan decides that here is a challenge fit for his particular talents, and lets it be known that he would be available in Shetland for a time, and would do his best to help the parish finally obtain a full-time minister. His offer is accepted.
He and his wife Janet travel to Aberdeen, Scotland, from where they cross hundreds of kilometres of wild North Sea and arrive in Shetland in a snow storm in the early spring of 2008, unaware of the many adventures that await them among the warm-hearted folk of the North Isles, Britain’s remotest islands.
This heart-warming story, full of humour and occasional pathos (for after all, it’s all about life), is a “must read” for those who may want to visit the North Isles and discover for themselves the remarkable beauty that abounds in the ancient islands of Shetland.
It’s a story told through the eyes of one to whom everything was new: the land, the culture, the history and its remarkable people. Let him take you there.

A Kangaroo Loose in the Top Paddock

She jerked her thumb in the general direction of the sister’s departure and said with a chuckle,
“She thinks I’ve got a kangaroo loose in the top paddock.”
I looked at her blankly. “A what?”
She looked at me in astonishment. “You know – sixty degrees in the water bag.”
When she saw that I was still looking at her uncomprehendingly she exclaimed in exasperation, “Young feller, don’t you know anythin’? A few bob short of the full quid... orf me flamin’ rocker, mate!”
Connie was just one of the colourful characters young Rev Lachlan Ness met in his first parish, many years ago, in the high country of northern New South Wales, Australia.
When Lachlan and his new young wife Janet arrived to take up residence in Deerwood they soon realised that life would be anything but dull. Not long after arriving they were joined by Lassie the kleptomaniac collie and coal-black Samantha, the world’s cleverest, most determined cat.
Then there was Sam Hodgson, the town crook who sold baby emus around town as turkey chicks, Ella “Opal Eye” Hobbs who liked to direct the traffic during a funeral, Emmy the emu who terrorised Lachlan, the indomitable Father Fahey, elderly parish priest arrested for bag-snatching, George Berry the local undertaker and his stout assistant, Burt, and many more.
Join Lachlan and Janet in Deerwood. Chances are you won’t be able to put this book down without a warm glow.