I have the same group of friends I made at school. My oldest friend has been with me through grazed knees, broken hearts, and child births. I don’t push myself forward around new people. I’m not the life and soul of the party by any means. And it’s not because I don’t want to be that person. I would sometimes love to be that person. It’s just this social awkwardness has me taking the backseat, happy to allow others to do the talking.

So, when Hilary Grant got in touch regarding the Worldwide Insta Meet I initially jumped at the chance. I’ve seen through the eyes of many I follow on Instagram, how amazing these Instameets are. I mean, what could be better than spending an afternoon wallowing in the creative freedom that comes from being with like minded souls? After voicing my fears to the group, I was reassured that there would be none of this business of name badges and introductions, a sort of ‘my name is’ scenario that had me dreaming up excuses as to why I couldn’t make it.

The day arrived in a flurry of wintery hail showers, howling winds and a biting cold that had me being creative with what I wore. I longed for the instameets of south, where the girls were deciding which brightly coloured shoes they’d wear. Or which dress they’d pick. Instead I was packing as many layers as I could comfortably fit under my wax jacket. Not ideal for a first meeting with a group of new people, I hated being so bulky. But I really feel the cold. Like, really feel the cold. There were whispers of circulation issues after my big toe went numb for weeks during winter, but very little the GPs could offer in way of correction, other than just avoid being cold. Hmmmm Anyway, on went the layers, my protective shell against the elements.

On arriving, I was immediately put at ease by Hilary who jumped out of her car to greet me. She was cheerful and friendly and instantly recognisable in one of her own scarfs (check out her store here) and a red bobble hat. We waited at our meeting point at Burwick pier for the others to arrive and after saying hellos we headed up across the headline. This area of South Ronaldsay is the furthest south you can go on Orkney, with the Scottish mainland clearly visible across the water of the Pentland Firth. Its an area I know extremely well given that its a stones throw from my childhood home. The coastal path took us past Castle Skerry and onwards to Green Head. Some of us scrambled down into a bay to capture the waves breaking over the rocks while others photographed the wildflowers and plants among the heathland. As we followed the path, the gulls nesting along the cliffside cocked their curious heads at our passing.

We decided to call it a day once our hands were numb and our faces ruddy. We headed back to the relative warmth of our cold cars and headed north along the main road to Kirkwall, where we gathered in Cafe Lolz for much needed hot drinks and sweet treats. I left feeling that I had genuinely made a whole new set of friends that shared in my love of photography that day. Friends that I’m looking forward to meeting again soon.

Orkney Instameet 2016 from Fiona Annal on Vimeo.

Here are the lovely ladies that were part of the first Orkney Instameet. Please do check out their accounts on Instagram – @hilarygrantknitwear @freshorkneyair @sarahfwylie @orkneymermaid @imamackay @leiladearness @louise_barrington

I’d love to hear of any Instameets you’ve attended? Were you as nervous as I was before meeting lots of new people? I’d love to hear your experiences and how you deal with new situations! Thanks so much for reading x