Tears of joy and appreciation for peerie hansels

Shetland students on the mainland will be receiving a ‘Peerie Hansel fae Hame’ this week as part of the Shetland Amenity Trust’s appeal to help send gifts to students who are away from home during the pandemic.

A total of 57 students were nominated to receive ‘A Peerie Hansel Fae Hame’, a Shetland term for a small gift from home, with 60 beautifully knitted items donated and over £500 raised to cover the cost of postage and packaging (and top the parcels up with extra treats).

The idea came from Yvonne Reynolds, the Lifelong Learning Officer at the Shetland Museum and Archives. She said: “The appeal has had wonderful support from the community, we have received the most fabulous selection of knitwear and generous money donations from people throughout Shetland, from Unst to Fair Isle. We want to thank all those who got in touch and took part, your support has made this project a great success.

“It was World Kindness Day on Friday 13th November and we thought that would be a fitting day to post the parcels. We have already received several messages from grateful parents and surprised students who have just opened their hansel from Shetland.”

One parent commented: “You’ve done a wonderful thing. I have two girls at uni and they are finding it hard going, as they won’t make it home for Christmas. Lots of tears of joy and appreciation for the hansels this morning. Thank you so much.”

A student said: “I love it, it’s really good, I wasn’t having a very good morning so I cried when I opened it.”

Another parent messaged to say: “Some multi-coloured socks seem to be a particular hit – already being worn!”

Many Shetland students have experienced lockdown at university on the mainland. Some, away from home for the first time and a few are facing the prospect that they may not make it home for Christmas this year. We hope that this little act of kindness will brighten up a student’s day and let them know we are thinking of them.

Each parcel contained an item of knitwear, body wash from the Shetland Soap Company, Puffin Poo from the Island Larder, a Shetland flag pin badge and a card explaining their surprise gift.

The wide selection of knitwear donated included: hats, gloves, scarves, headbands, mobile phone covers, snoods, wristlets, hot water bottle covers, socks and lace scarves.

If you’re a student who was nominated we would love to share a picture of the knitwear and gifts you received on our social media pages. Please share your images with us on Instagram using #apeeriehanselfaehame

Related Posts

Fun Friday night at our Skekler Social

What a fun Friday night we had at our Skekler Social, there was making, yarning, music, stories and even a bit of dancing too!

Read more

Shetland Amenity Trust secures successful funding for maritime heritage project

Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce that it has been approved funding of just under £97,000 from the Coastal Communities ...

Read more

Museum Shop Sunday

Shetland Museum and Archives invites visitors to an afternoon of festive cheer, exclusive shopping opportunities and creative crafts ...

Read more

Hay's Dock by the Dowry announces closure

It is with regret that we announce the closure of 'Hay's Dock by The Dowry', which was operated by Beervana Ltd, located at Shetland ...

Read more

Can you help us identify the last unknown person photographed in Chris Morphet’s Allover Exhibition?

We would love to be able to find the name of the lady standing in front of a peat stack and complete our search before the exhibition ...

Read more

New exhibition coming soon: ‘Allover’ – a photographic journey into 1970s Fair Isle knitwear by Chris Morphet

Shetland Museum and Archives is delighted to announce the opening of its latest exhibition next Saturday, ‘Allover’ celebrating ...

Read more

The Crafts of Foragers - new display

Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to announce a new display, The Crafts of Foragers, offering a captivating glimpse into ...

Read more

Shetland Museum unveils Twenty Shades of Blue in new art exhibition inspired by Shetland’s Seascapes

Shetland Museum is delighted to announce the opening of an inspiring new exhibition, Twenty Shades of Blue, in the Gadderie space this ...

Read more

New photographic exhibition capturing 1970s social history

A new photographic exhibition opens today at Shetland Museum and Archives which provides a glimpse into an aspect of Shetland’s ...

Read more

‘All About Everything’ featuring the creative work of Eric Gray students

The creative and colourful work of Eric Gray students is on display from today in a new exhibition ‘All About Everything’ at the ...

Read more

Marion Ninianson’s Roup

Roup is a word not commonly used in Shetland any more, although the Shetland Times in 1962 advertised a house in Scalloway “for sale ...

Read more

New summer exhibition Ebbe and Flow to open this weekend

A new exhibition celebrating cultural and maritime connections with Scandinavia through the work of Scottish and Norwegian artists ...

Read more

Shetland Amenity Trust celebrates collaboration with Shetland Family History Group in acquiring Gilbert Goudie’s Notebook

Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce the successful acquisition of a significant 19th century notebook to the Shetland ...

Read more

Wonderful woolly evening at the Shetland Museum

What a fantastic evening at the Shetland Museum celebrating the announcement of the new Shetland Wool Week Patrons, the Doull Family, ...

Read more

Shining a light on Ann Harriet Pottinger this International Women's Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2024 we shine a light on Ann Harriet Pottinger, née Hunter, one of many unsung, hard-working ...

Read more