Caithness Energy Advice Free Drop In Event At Lybster Outdoor Bowling
Club Are holding a Free drop in event for householders on Thursday 31st
January - 10am - 4pm
Free - Energy Saving Lightbulbs - Free - Energy Efficiency Advice
Free - Powerdown Plugs for energy thirsty PC's - Free Household Visits
28 January 2008
Fund Raiser For RNLI - Concert and Ceilidh - Assembly Rooms, Wick
Saturday 2nd February
The RNLI is organising a major national fundraising campaign around 25th
January 2008 on the theme of SOS. Local groups and individuals are being
encouraged to join in and raise funds while having fun at the same time.
In Wick the local fundraising branch of the RNLI has joined forces with
Wick RBLS Pipe Band to host a "Sounds O' Scotland concert in the Assembly
Rooms on Saturday 2nd February 2008". All profits from the concert will be
shared between the RNLI and the pipe band. An impressive line up of
artists have
agreed to give their services free of charge at the concert which starts
at 7.30pm. They include dancers from the
Elise Lyall School of Dance, Bryan Coghill, Raymond Bremner (Mod Gold
Medallist), Emptyhouse (Folk Group), Philip Todd (Mod Gold Medallist),
Wick North Primary School 6/7 Choir, Ceol Bho Phuath (Gaelic Folk Group)
and of course Wick RBLS Pipe Band. There will also be a bottle stall and
raffle, Lifeboat and Pipe Band souvenirs will be on sale.
Tickets priced at �5 each and pre-numbered will be on sale from Polteney
News in Dempster Street or at the door on the night.
After the concert there will be a licensed ceilidh/dance in the Assembly
Rooms with music from the band Whisky. Tickets costing �5 each will be
available as above.
27 January 2008
Thurso Mothers and Toddlers Group Donate �100 To Labrescue On
Wednesday 23rd January 2008 Thurso Mothers and Toddlers presented a cheque
of �100 to Carolyne Poulton and Heidi Kubon of Labrescue. The toddlers had
a successful year fundraising and the committee Laura Paul, Claire Hossack
and Heidi Kubon wanted to donate the money to a local good cause. Harry
one of Carolyne's rescue dogs was there to meet all the boys and girls.
Mod 2010 Commitee Gets Up And Running
The Local Organising Committee of the Royal National Mod took the first
steps on the 3-year preparation road to receive Gaeldom's biggest festival
to the county of Caithness in 2010 - The Royal National Mod.
Police Warning On Itinerant Traders
Northern Constabulary and Trading Standards Departments in the Highlands and
Islands are reminding members of the public to be on their guard against
unlicensed itinerant traders known to be operating in the Highlands. They
are aware of itinerant traders selling goods door to door and are advising
householders to be particularly cautious when offered goods or services at
bargain prices. Householders should ask themselves if the trader will still
be around if they need to complain about the quality of the goods or wish to
return them. NOTE Caithness.org always advises folk not to buy from
direct contact sales at the door, by email or by phone. Always say NO
if you did not contact them first no matter how good it sounds.
Watching TV Programmes Again Online
BBC -
ITV -
Channel 4
- BBC Comedy
Clips In the past few months there has been a huge change in the possibilities
for watching TV programmes online in the UK. Many TV channels
have now added the possibility of watching programmes. In case anyone
has not caught up with this revolution here are the main links that can also
be found at the bottom of the left column on this page. You will probably
need the latest version of your browser and media players etc installed but
instructions are available at the various sites. You will need to download
and install some free software the first time. The different
channels offer different lengths of time that a programme will be available.
So if you forgot to set the video recorder for your favourite soap etc - no
more problems. Not all programmes are available as yet and films may
never be due to licensing arrangements. The range is already quite
large and growing.
26 January 2008
Patients and carers asked for
views on cancer support and information
People who have had a diagnosis of cancer in the past three years are being
invited to take part in research to improve support and information services
in the Highlands. Macmillan Cancer Support is working together with NHS
Highland and other organisations on a consultation exercise to find out what
patients and carers thought worked well and what could be improved. The
research is underway and people can take part by phone or by meeting face to
face between now and the end of February.
Do Not Give Your Bank Account Details To People Who
Phone
Northern Constabulary would like to remind people in Caithness and
Sutherland not give their bank account details to people who telephone
them asking for this information. Banks and other organisations will not
ask for this information over the telephone.
If a call is received from someone purporting to be from a bank, and they
ask for any account number, code or password, it is likely to be an
attempt to obtain details for criminal purposes.
If you receive a telephone call of this nature, do not give out any
bank/personal information.
It is known that people in the local area have been targeted with such
calls in recent days.
Police Cases - Can You
Help?
Theft From House - Holborn Avenue, Thurso
Car Vandalised- Mackay Street, Castletown
Door Damaged At Battery Road, Wick
Flooding all Clear For Caithness From SEPA Floodwatch
Caithness got an all clear from flooding dangers this morning but many
other parts of Scotland are still in the danger zone from heavy rainfall
still underway today and Sunday. SEPA are looking into setting up
early warnings to anyone potentially affected by the dangers of
flooding. You can find out more on the Floodwatch web site linked
above.
Dounreay Heritage To Be Preserved He might not think so today, but future generations
could regard James Gunn as the most important person ever to work at
Dounreay. For the former chemist and project manager has taken up
a new part-time role as the site's first heritage officer. His role is to preserve aspects of the site that will
give future generations a glimpse of life at Dounreay when the site itself
has long gone. Later this month, James will commission consultants to
draw up the site's first heritage strategy. An important and headline-grabbing part of the strategy
will be about whether to scrap the contaminated DFR sphere as part of the
site clean-up and demolition. But James says there is a lot more to the site's
heritage than just a giant steel ball.
Interactive Burns
For anyone who cannot get to a Burns night this year. Robert Burns Links If anyone is adding A burns night in
Caithness to YouTube this year let us know the link.
23 January 2008
New
Era for Scottish Housing - Help For First Time Buyers
A major expansion of a scheme to help more first time buyers get into
the housing market has been announced. The shared equity scheme is part
of LIFT - Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers - a new Government
package to help people who aspire to own their home. Communities
Minister Stewart Maxwell said 2008 marked the beginning of a new era for
housing in Scotland in which councils, house builders, and housing
associations have a vital role in delivering change. Speaking at the
Building Homes For Scotland event in Edinburgh, Mr Maxwell outlined the
Scottish Government's vision of a housing system that delivers good
quality, energy efficient, affordable housing across all tenures.
See Video about the Scheme
22 January 2008
Crimson
Tide Play Skinandi's Well
know band Crimson Tide are back at Skinandi's on 2 February.
The supporting bands are;
Anavris (Glasgow based original rock band)
No Exit Wound (Young Caithness rockers)Crimson Tide
Web Site
ASDA Get Thumbs Down For Pennyland Farm Site In Thurso
The Highland Council has this week received a note of the Scottish
Ministers' decisions on two significant planning applications for retail
outlets in Thurso. ASDA was turned down for the Pennyland Farm site.
Miller Developments have been granted outline planning permissions for
the former mart site at Ormlie Road.
Caithness Kids
Do Well As Calendar Boys and Girls Twelve Highland pupils have won top prizes in an art competition to design
Lyreco Office Supplies 2008 calendar. Caithness pupils did exceptionally
well with three winners chosen from over 1200 entries. Each winning pupil was presented with an i-pod
prize at The Highland Council�s Education, Culture and Sport Committee.
Their designs appear in one month of the calendar which is currently being
distributed to all schools and council offices. The competition was
sponsored by Bic. Winners also won cash prizes for stationery for
their schools.
NORTHERN CONSTABULARY HOST INAUGURAL
MULTI-AGENCY TRAINING DAY IN TO
COMBAT WILDLIFE CRIME NORTHERN Constabulary yesterday (21st January 08) hosted
Scotland�s first ever multi-agency training day for all those
organisations responsible for investigating and combating wildlife
crime. Around 40 delegates attended at the Force Headquarters in
Inverness to share their expertise and knowledge in relation to the
illegal use of pesticides against wildlife in Northern Scotland.
20 January 2008
Janetstown School Reunion Janetstown school closed in the summer of 1970.
On Saturday the 3rd of May 2008 we hope to have a reunion of former
pupils. Anyone wishing to attend could they please contact Dorothy Macivor
on 01847 896221 or Wilma Mackay on 01847 831702 or email
[email protected]
Send any Janetstown School Photos to [email protected] for a photo gallery.
Raising the Wreck of SS Great Britain (by George Watson and Geoff Leet) One of Victorian Wick's heroes is "James Bremner the Wreckraiser" and the
obelisk on the South Head credits him with the salvaging of 236 wrecked
ships. He was also a ship builder and constructor of harbours. He
developed various stone-laying barges and also the harbour wall technique
of placing slate slabs vertically like books in a bookcase to allow the
wave force to dissipate, still a feature of harbours like Keiss,
Castlehill, and Sandside.
GPS for FieldClubbers (by Ken Butler) Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have
been available to the public for around ten years now and there is a good
build up of capability. So it is a good time to comment on the usefulness
of GPS in the context of Field Club members and activities. The one basic thing that a GPS unit does
is to calculate where on the world it is. It can place itself generally
within a few feet. Typically, in Caithness one can mark a place then go
away and be guided back to the spot within a couple of hours to an
accuracy of 1 metre. Coming back a year or so later with a different make
and model of GPS is often accurate to within about 6 metres.
A Walk at Strathy and Baligill (by Ken Butler) This
is a description of a walk taken by the Field Club on the 18th June 2006.
It is an early summer walk of 4 � miles over moderately rough country with
some fences to cross. It took us 3 � hours of gentle walking and it is
mainly focussed on scenery, wild plants and geology. There is a GPS
support file for those who have such a device, to help navigate the route.
It is a circular walk, returning to the starting point. Ordnance Survey
map references are given and points in square brackets such as [01] refer
to the points on the map.
Easier Contacts For Council Services and Politicians
On The Front Page We have added new links to the left hand column of this page for
Council Services and Political contacts for Community Councils, Local
Councillors, MSP's and MP. Ward Forum contacts and managers are now
also just a click away from this page. We hope that this will make
them easier to find quickly.
The Luckiest Hill Walker This Year - Saved in 15
Minutes By RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue
About 1410 hours on Saturday 19th January 2008, Northern Constabulary
received a report from members of the
RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue Team,
who were training near to
Sgorr Ruadh, Torridon, Wester Ross, that they
had come across a male hill walker, who had apparently fallen some 15
minutes prior to being discovered by them. The Maritime and Coastguard
Agency helicopter, Mike Uniform, stationed at Stornoway attended the scene
and the casualty, a 34 year old male from the Glasgow area was winched
aboard and flown to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness. He is currently detained
suffering from head injuries, which are not life threatening. No further
details of the casualty are being released.
19 January 2008
Can Anyone
Help Track Down The Missing Swimming Trophies?
Caithness District Council Swimming Gala was held annually in November and
involved all the local Primary schools, as well as Boys & Girls
organisations such as Scouts, Brownies, etc. It was last held in the
mid-1990s.
NORTHERN CONSTABULARY LINK UP WITH EDUCATION AND
INDUSTRY TO PROMOTE ROAD SAFETY ACROSS THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS NORTHERN Constabulary have been working
with the Construction Skills (formerly known as Construction Industry
Training Board or CITB), Inverness College, Institute of Advanced
Motorists and Highlands and Islands Fire & Rescue Service to educate young
apprentices on road safety and responsible driving. The informative road safety sessions took
place over the 4th and 5th of December 2007 and saw a total of 350
apprentices aged between 17 and 21 from over the Highlands and Islands in
attendance at the Longman Campus of the Inverness College.
Younger Drivers May Not Become Older Drivers Because They Die Young
In 2006, 314 youngsters were killed on Scotland's roads.
Young drivers hold 10 per cent of licences but have 20 per cent of
collisions.
If you are a young driver think hard before you go too fast - its harder
than you think and you only need to get it wrong once to be killed or
seriously hurt or injure your passengers or seriously hurt pedestrians.
Thurso Youth Club Open Night
Thurso Youth Club are holding an 'Open Night' at 7.30 pm on Monday 21st
January in their club premises at Old Mill, Millbank Road, Thurso. The
club has carried out a modernization programme over the past year and
parents, ex-club members and other interested parties are welcome to go
along to see the facilities being provided for young people. Youth Club
Committee members and staff will be available to answer questions and
refreshments will be provided. For further information email
[email protected]
Homeowners face 15% rise in cost of energy as British Gas bills soar -
Times
Fight Back Now And Contact the Caithness Energy Advice Team - They Are
Ready To Help FREE
Independent Energy Advice Available In Caithness - Get It Now If
you are concerned about the rising energy prices, you may be interested in
contacting the Caithness Energy Advice Team. The Energy Advice Team's aim
is to help people keep warm and pay less for their energy. To accomplish
this, the project team assesses the current level of energy efficiency,
raises awareness of choices available to take charge of household energy
bills, and partners with existing organisations for a coordinated, long
range approach to reducing fuel costs and improving energy efficiency. The
Energy Advice team can guide householders to energy savings by identifying
issues such as poor insulation, problem door/window seals, wasteful use of
electricity and incorrect use of heating systems..............
Caithness
Petroleum & Scottish Water Calling Local Contractors Are you a local contractor in the north of Scotland?
The North Scotland Industries Group is pleased to invite you to an
important event featuring presentations from 2 companies with major and
forthcoming business interests in the North of Scotland, and who are keen
to meet with local contractors / service providers.
Latest Caithness Police
Notices
Police Warning Not To Give Bank Details Over The
Phone
Northern Constabulary would like to remind people in Caithness and
Sutherland not give their bank account details to people who telephone
them asking for this information. Banks and other organisations will not
ask for this information over the telephone.
If a call is received from someone purporting to be from a bank, and they
ask for any account number, code or password, it is likely to be an
attempt to obtain details for criminal purposes.
If you receive a telephone call of this nature, do not give out any
bank/personal information. It is known that people in the local area have
been targeted with such calls in recent days. Window Broken At Barrogil Street, Wick Property in Battery Road Wick Damaged Tyre Damage - Claredon Place, Thurso Door Smashed At Willowbank, Wick
16 January 2008
Councillor Bill Fernie Cut The first Turf For A New School At Acharacle Wick
councillor Bill Fernie who chairs the Highland Council's Education,
Culture and Sport committee cut the first turf with some of the Acharacle
pupils on Monday. Work began on a landmark
project - the Highland�s first fully sustainable school. The new Acharacle
Primary School, Ardnamurchan, will be a timber building with exceptional
levels of insulation, air tightness and a minimal need for heating. The contract has been awarded in two parts. The
structural frame will be manufactured and erected by Sohm Holzbautechnik
GmbH of Austria while all the infrastructure works and mechanical and
electrical installations are being undertaken by MacGregor Construction.
The total cost of the project is �5.8 million and the school is due to
open at the end of this year. Education in Highland is the biggest council
service with 183 primary schools, 29 secondary schools, 156 nursery units;
six special schools, 31,425 pupils...
WINNER OF
HIGHLAND QUEST FOR A NEW MUSICAL TO VISIT WICK FRI 25 JAN 8.00PM - SAT 26 JAN 2.30PM & 8.00PM The winner of The Highland QUEST for a New Musical, Sundowe, is
visiting Wick for a series of performances as part a Highland wide tour in
January and February 2008. Filmed for the major BBC2 TV series MacMusical,
The Highland QUEST has been a two year, international search to create a
contemporary musical for a modern Scottish audience. The project is a
partnership between Eden Court, The Scottish Government, Sir Cameron
Mackintosh's The Mackintosh Foundation and Highland 2007. Sundowe is
sponsored by MacLeod & MacCallum, the largest legal practice in the North
of Scotland. Over 130 new musicals from across the world entered into the
competition and following a dramatic showcase final in July 2006 Sundowe
was declared the winner.
International
Playwrighting Symposium Coming To Wick - Autumn 2008
Wick in Caithness sits at the heart of an ancient trade route which links
Iceland with the oldest parliament in the world, Sweden with its modern
culture of design and excellence, Norway where Stavanger2008 is the
European Capital of Culture and the Faroe Islands where the chain dance
which brings the entire community together and was instrumental in
preserving the Faroese language. Grey Coast will draw on all these
influences and the Nordic commitment to social justice to explore new
dramatic forms informed by our shared cultural heritage. Norse, Gaelic and
Scots traditions can and should inform the storytelling of our own North
theatre. Grey Coast is in the unique position of being able to bring
theatre makers from all of these countries together here in Caithness to
discover new shapes from old roots. The first Nordic International
Playwrighting Symposium will take place in late October 2008 bringing
together writers, academics and theatre makers to debate new forms of
dramatic discourse and begin a dialogue which will shape theatre practice
nationally and internationally.
15 January 2008
Caithness.org Forum Members Photography Section Posting Some Great Photos
Some great photos have been posted in the Photography section in our forum
in the past couple of weeks. Click through to browse a few.
Thanks to all our photographers for sharing them as they are amongst the
best ads for the county we have seen recently.
Highland Council Gives Approval For ASDA At Slackbuie, Inverness
Members of The Highland Council's Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey
Planning Applications and Review Committee today (15th January 2008) were
minded to grant outline planning application by Elphinstone Land Ltd /
ASDA Stores for the development of a superstore, petrol filling station, 5
small retail units and associated works on land at Slackbuie Farm,
Inverness.
Caithness Arts - January February Newsletter The
latest newsletter from Caithness Arts is now out with range of items on
the local scene. New Directors to the group with profiles.
they are always on the lookout for items for the newsletter so if you have
anything interesting you would like to contribute get in touch with Linda
Hutton (contact details are in the Newsletter)
Caithness Arts latest Whats On is also out now
Spectacular
Fireworks and Entertainment To Light Up Kessock Bridge Highland
2007 the year long festival is brought to an end with the biggest
fireworks display ever in the Highlands on Saturday evening. Big
crowds are expected to descend on the Highland capital for weekend of
shopping at the January sales and taking in the spectacle of the parade
with many bands and entertainers along the parade route out to the Kessock
Bridge. Groupe F the team that put together the London Hogmanay
fireworks are controlling the fireworks display in Inverness. Since
yesterday all the equipment and work has been going on to prepare for
Saturday night. The Kessock Bridge has never have been seen in this
spectacular way before. All sorts of bands and from pipes to
marching bands are in the big parade. Anyone can carry a flaming torch by
making donation to charities that will be selling them before the start at
Huntly Street. A huge organisational structure has been building
towards this big event.
8 January 2008
Proposed Post Office Changes In Highland - Press and Journal
Post Offices in Barrock, Pultneytown, and Spitall are proposed for
closure. Several others are proposed to be replaced with outreach
servbices and these are Latheron, Mid clyth, Canisbay. In
Sutherland Farr is also marked for an outreach service . there
are also proposals to reduce the hours of some of the present outreach
arrangements. More information can be found at
www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange This is consultation and the public and other bodies are asked to
respond by 18th February 2008. Email responses can be sent to [email protected]
Alternative formats for the information is available for the visually
impaired and it can be obtained by contacting the helpline at 08457 223344
Highland councillors will hear more at special meeting in Inverness for
representative councillors from each area on Thursday.
7 January 2008
Latest Police Reports
Cars Vandalised in Pultneytown Area of Wick
Assault - Bridge Street, Wick
Vandalism At Thurso High School
Windows Broken At New Flats - Williamson Street, Wick
Window Broken At St Clair Arms Hotel, Castletown
Windows Smashed At Youth Club, Millbank Road, Thurso
Vandalism At Pennyland Primary School, Thurso
Caravan Damaged At Janet Street, Thurso
Car Damaged At Nicolson Street, Wick
Desperate
Need for Youth Club Volunteers
Both Youth Clubs in Thurso and Halkirk require volunteer helpers, if you
have 3 hours a week to spare please consider volunteering with the
Thurso or Halkirk Youth Club. The Thursday Evening group which caters
for youth aged between 12-18 desperately need more volunteers, club
hours are 7-9.30PM, if you feel you can offer assistance please contact
Catherine Patterson 01955 605470 or Angela Alexander 01847 895782 to
find out more.
REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF DRINK DRIVERS IN HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS
MIRRORS PICTURE ACROSS SCOTLAND
POLICE say they are pleased at the reduction in the number of people
caught drink driving at the end of this year�s Festive Road Safety
Campaign. A total of 61 drink drivers were detected during this year�s
four-week campaign, compared to 75 in 2006/2007. Only one drug drivers was
detected during this year�s campaign. The final week of the campaign saw
13 drink drivers detected, compared to 22 during the same period last
year. Police believe that one of the reasons for the decrease could be the
beginning of a change in attitudes towards the dangerous practice of drink
driving.
Highland Lights rounding off a year of highlights!
Highland Lights ~ Solais na Gaidhealtachd, the climax to Highland 2007
in Inverness on Saturday 12 January 2008, promises to be a great night
out for all the family. Wrap up warm and take part in this fantastic
extravaganza of music, fire and fireworks planned by Inverness to mark
the close of Highland 2007, Scotland's year of Highland culture on An t-Seann
Bliadhn' �r - The Old New Year. A magical, musical Torchlight Procession
featuring pipes and drums, marching bands, street theatre and fire
surprises will begin on Huntly Street, near the Ness Bridge at 7pm. From
the old town, the procession will wind its way along the river towards
the Kessock Bridge for a spectacular firework finale. Created by Groupe
F, regarded by many as the world's leading fireworks company, this
breathtaking display, choreographed to music to be broadcast on MFR,
will be the first ever pyrotechnic show to take place from the Kessock
Bridge. The fireworks will commence at 8.30pm and will be visible from
across the city and beyond.
6 January 2008
A Stormy Day At Lybster Harbour
These photos taken at Lybster harbour were sent in by Marshall
Bowman showing the stormy day we had in Caithness on Friday. For
larger views click through to view full size here under each
photo. In the first photo you can see the Beatrice oil platform and the
wind mills in the background.
Seasonably
Cold in Chicago -
A Blog posted today from an American now living in Caithness but back
for a few weeks in her old haunts. The blogs main title is 'Home
in the Highlands' by Landgirl. The blog is mix of items on
life in Caithness and America. Her husband is a Caithness farmer and
well known writer and he also is blogger we have linked to in recent
times. He writes his blog under the name
'Rain on
My Window' by Scorrie. Both these blogs are now listed in
the
Caithness Web sites page and link to that page is near the
bottom left of this page. Plenty of good writing and reading in
both of these sets of blogs.
Sunday Papers
Nuclear alert: PM's bribe boosts dumping of waste - THE
INDEPENDENT on Sunday
Secret deal will be followed by �1bn move to find long-term disposal
facility for the most dangerous radioactive waste, so securing the
future of nuclear power plants. By Environment Editor Geoffrey Lean This article is about Sellafield in Cumbria but the question is how
much should Caithness get if part of the nations nuclear waste
facilities are placed at Dounreay?
5 January 2008
North Pier At Wick Warning For Wintry Weather
Conditions
Wick Police would like to remind the public regarding the dangers of
walking near the North Pier, Scalesburn, Wick during wintry conditions.
This area has been particularly affected by spray and foam and continues
to be monitored by the Wick Harbour Master.
Latest Dogs In Pets Corner Carolyne Poulton has sent these photos of her labradors taken by
Martina Cross. D'Arcy is a Black Labrador Retriever and
Emma is Chocolate Labrador Retriever.
The Peatlands Partnership The Peatlands Partnership was formed at the
end of 2006 following the completion of the
LIFE
Peatlands Project and aims to develop and build on that project.
The first newsletter is available and was published in Nov 2007
More Names For Pennyland 1963 New
list sent by Helen Daly
Helen said "Not so good on the boys I'm afraid, but pretty near a full
house on the girls. Unless someone else knows differently."
Year Of Big Projects - Times and Star
This item caught our eye today about West Cumbria and it mirrors
Caithness planning for the next few decades and working with the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Information on plans for
Caithness can be found in the
Regeneration pages
Change to One Bag Rule
at Airports But Check With Your Airline Air passengers in the Highlands and Islands are being advised to
check what hand luggage restrictions apply with their chosen airline
before travelling next week. The Department for Transport has approved
new security arrangements at a number of airports in the UK. This means
that at these airports the restriction previously imposed limiting hand
baggage to one item per person will no longer apply with effect from 7
January 2008. However, airlines apply their own operational policies
governing the number of items of hand baggage which may be taken in to
the aircraft cabin. It is therefore essential that passengers arrive at
their departure airport aware of their airline's policy on hand luggage.
HIAL airports where the one bag restriction no longer applies are:
Benbecula; Inverness; Islay; Kirkwall; Stornoway; Sumburgh and Wick.
First
National Braille Week Live Chat Today at 2.30pm
To coincide with the birthday of Louis Braille (the inventor of Braille)
and World Braille Day, Royal Blind is launching the first National
Braille Week in the UK. To support the event the charity has developed a
website that celebrates all aspects of Braille,
www.nationalbrailleweek.org
. Visitors to the site will be able to discover interesting facts about
Braille - how it was created and how it is used in the 21st century -
and send an e-card with messages rendered into a Braille image using a
Yomego(4) entertainment platform. Recipients will be given Braille
information to decipher the message or will be able to follow a link
back to the RoyalBlind site to have the message decoded for them.
Witnesses Wanted By Police For Vandalism Cases In Past Few Days Vandalism Nicolson Street, Wick
Car Damaged At Princes Street, Thurso
Window Damaged At Wellington Street, Wick
Freswick Traffic Collision Update
Car Tyre Slashed At Round House, Wick
Shop Window Damaged High Street, Wick
Several Cars Vandalised At St Peters Road, Thurso
Paper Scissors Stone - Paper arts workshops with Joanne B Kaar Silk Paper Making - 20th April 2008 - Pulp Paper Making - 27th May 2008
Arty Book Binding - 4th May 2008 - Chinese Seal Stone - 11th May 2008
All workshops will be in the recently refurbished Castlehill Heritage
Centre next to Castletown Harbour & Dunnet Beach, Castletown, Caithness.
All will run from 10am - 4pm.
They are limited to 12 participants each day. All materials are provided
as part of the workshop fees. Please bring your own pack lunch. There are
facilities for making hot drinks.
Writer turns personal tale of suffering into triumph - The Herald Ann Kelley's
The Bower Bird, published by Edinburgh's independent
Luath Press,
yesterday won the children's book category in the prestigious Costa Book
Awards, previously known as the Whitbread prizes. "I was born in Yorkshire
but I went to school in Thurso, indeed that's where I learned to
read, so this is all Scotland's fault."
Inverness � Heathrow Air Link to Cease Highlands and
Islands Airports today (3 January 2007) said bmi�s decision to stop its
London Heathrow � Inverness operation at the end of March was driven by
market pressures. Inglis Lyon, managing director of HIAL, said: �We have
worked very hard with bmi to maintain the Heathrow link which is an
important one for our region. It�s disappointing that it will stop but not
surprising given the pressure on slots at Heathrow.
2 January 2008
Since We Are Having A Few Videos Here Is The First Minister Alex
Salmond For The New Year
North
Light Blog
Jamie Buchanan a hotelier in Caithness reflects on the tourist trade and his
photography - great photos on his
Flickr web pages This blog is now listed in the
Caithness Web
Sites links page a link to which can be found near the bottom of
this page.
Hogmanay In Caithness Last Night First Photos From Market Square, Wick If
you would like to send in your Hogmanay photos for inclusion in this gallery
email them to [email protected]
One of Victorian Wick's heroes is "James Bremner the Wreckraiser" and the
obelisk on the South Head credits him with the salvaging of 236 wrecked
ships. He was also a ship builder and constructor of harbours. He
developed various stone-laying barges and also the harbour wall technique
of placing slate slabs vertically like books in a bookcase to allow the
wave force to dissipate, still a feature of harbours like Keiss,
Castlehill, and Sandside.
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have
been available to the public for around ten years now and there is a good
build up of capability. So it is a good time to comment on the usefulness
of GPS in the context of Field Club members and activities. The one basic thing that a GPS unit does
is to calculate where on the world it is. It can place itself generally
within a few feet. Typically, in Caithness one can mark a place then go
away and be guided back to the spot within a couple of hours to an
accuracy of 1 metre. Coming back a year or so later with a different make
and model of GPS is often accurate to within about 6 metres.
This
is a description of a walk taken by the Field Club on the 18th June 2006.
It is an early summer walk of 4 � miles over moderately rough country with
some fences to cross. It took us 3 � hours of gentle walking and it is
mainly focussed on scenery, wild plants and geology. There is a GPS
support file for those who have such a device, to help navigate the route.
It is a circular walk, returning to the starting point. Ordnance Survey
map references are given and points in square brackets such as [01] refer
to the points on the map. 
