Islander who proves that a woman’s work really is never done
THEY say a woman’s work is never done – and in the case of tireless Sarah Moore, this is certainly true.
Anyone visiting North Ronaldsay could be forgiven for thinking that she keeps the tiny island running on her own as she has an incredible nine different jobs.
Those arriving by plane will be guided in by Miss Moore, the island’s air traffic controller, before she sorts out their luggage while working a shift as a baggage handler.
And if there is an emergency on landing, the 26-year-old is one the airfield’s firefighters.
Miss Moore quit her post as a shop assistant at a clothes store in Edinburgh two years ago after tiring of the city rat-race. She decided to move to North Ronaldsay, where her family had enjoyed holidays in the past.
When she began her new life on the Orkney island – population around 50 – she initially worked as a carer but soon began filling other important vacancies.
Miss Moore can now be spotted herding sheep, delivering the post, driving a digger and, between shifts as a council clerk, leading tours of the lighthouse.
She said: ‘It’s not an easy life here and it’s not a place anyone comes to get rich, but I love it. The city is too crowded and there’s no greenery or scenery. For me there was just a dead-end job – retail work is not for me.
‘It was lonely in Edinburgh, even though there are so many people. I lived in the same house for 23 years and I only knew the people to the left and right of me. Here I know everyone.’
Miss Moore said life on North Ronaldsay, where the average age is 65, is like a ‘different world’.
She added: ‘I spend a lot of time with older people on the island and I don’t really notice age any more when I’m speaking to a person. The problem is that some of the islanders are getting to an age when they need to retire but the people coming in and taking over those physically demanding jobs are also in their 50s.’
Many of her jobs are voluntary and because she has so many different roles, no two days are alike.
‘I like a bit of variety and that’s certainly what I’ve got here,’ she said. ‘It can sometimes be hard to keep track of what jobs I’m doing on any particular day.
‘I enjoy working at the airport the most – there’s a lot of responsibility and it’s more social than my other jobs since there’s three other people.’
Romance on such a tiny island is, however, hard to find. Miss Moore said: ‘Most people are already coupled up but you can meet people on other islands – I’m not really looking for anything right now though.
‘In the summer, we had a summer festival and there were a few lads coming over from the other islands. Some of the older residents were practically handing out my CV to the young guys – they would love me to settle down on the island. It was quite embarrassing but all in good spirit.
‘Our school closed last year because the only pupil left, so we are desperately in need of families to live here.’
She added: ‘I don’t really miss Edinburgh. I went back last month to help my parents move but I never got that nostalgia feeling.’
Miss Moore earns £70 a month as a clerk and £10 an hour for her shifts as a carer, at the airport and as a postwoman. Her airport work is dependent on flights coming in.