Castlehill Heritage Society have
been shortlisted in the Epic awards - They Need Your Vote To Win They need our votes for
the people's choice. You can vote on-line here: http://epicawards.co.uk/shortlist/
Do
Cats Enjoy A Caithness Sunrise? Noel Donaldson was out
early to see the sun rise and caught this cat obviously enjoying the
new day. Do cats and dogs enjoy the sights and sounds of
the country as we do - if we are up early enough!!!!
Mackays
Hotel Offers a Dinner To Reward Unsung Heroes of Caithness - Nominate
Yours Mackays Hotel, Wick are arranging a special dinner
to recognise unsung heroes in our community and you can nominate people
for the tickets they are giving away. Ellie and Murray Lamont who
run the hotel reckon that there are many people who do things all the
time for others and the dinner will let you give them something to
thank them. So come folks here is a chance to thank some of our
local heroes and Caithness is full of them. The nominations
need to be in fast to allow the hotel to send out invitations to the
dinner.
Christmas Carols Concert At St Fergus Wick
THE annual carol festival hosted by
Wick St Fergus Church is firmly established as a seasonal favourite and
that was again underlined by this years performance. A warm welcome was
extended to Wick Choral Society and especially so, to the Caithness
Orchestra who were unable to be present last year because of snowstorm
conditions. No weather hiccups this year though and both orchestra and
choral gave their audience of some 280 an enjoyable festive programme,
performing jointly and separately. Musicians and choral were in fine
form for the Christmas curtain raising recital, Don Renwick combining
his roles as compere and conductor in his customary humorous style
skipping between the orchestral and choral podiums with his tinsel
decorated baton. The audience was given the opportunity to join in some
of the carols and other traditional pieces and made the most of it no
more so than with the reminder if any was needed that Santa Claus is
coming to town.
23 December 2011
Two Caithness Men "Ride for Life" Two
Caithness trial bike enthusiasts kick started a challenge today which
will see them raise money for the UK’s leading children’s cancer
charity, CLIC Sargent. Paul Steven, 37, and Colin Leask, 49, commenced
with a ride on the shortest day of the year.
Caithness FM Toy Appeal
Caithness FM received
a welcomed boost to their annual toy appeal from Dounreay Employees
Charity Fund. John Deighan, Chairman of DECF, said: Once again the DECF
Committee fully supported this very worthwhile cause. Given the current
financial climate, this year more than ever these toys are needed to
ensure less fortunate children in Caithness have a present to open on
Christmas morning. Jackie and Bob Johnson from Caithness FM are
pictured here receiving the toys from John Deighan and Marie Mackay of
DECF.
Wick Girls Pipe Band - Might Spark Some Memories Of High Street, Wick Noel Donaldson might spark some of your memories with this photo. I took this photo of the renowned Wick Girls Pipe
Band parading through the town, probably in the 1960s. It's an
interesting and nostalgic scene and not only because of the 'girls' but
the part view of High Street as it once was, before the skyline was
changed irrevocably, some would say for the worse. On the right, is the
Nicolson emporium, Dan Dunnett's shoe shop, then a butcher's shop, Dan
Thompson's, if I mind right, Robertson the drapers and then the
gable-ended, Bowles the
baker; after that, the street line was set back and Dan Bain's quality
chocolates business and I think fruit shop; further along was the John
O' Groats cafe. On the other side on the left was situated the famous
Cabrelli's Cafe, not sure about the next shop, the one after was the
Dolphin Restaurant, which became the Aberdeen Savings Bank, not sure
about te one after that but, I remember Henderson the grocer, further
along, opposite Bowles. The redevelopment scheme was aimed at
eliminating the bottleneck, but I think Wick lost some of its character
when the bulldozers moved in. The businesses, as such, have long gone,
of course. What div ye mind o' the High Street of yesteryear? Feel free
to post your memories on the general forum.
Keiss School Christmas Concert - A Cracker
Reporter Noel Donaldson
THE younger generation are
understandably preoccupied just now with the annual visit from the man
in the red and what his bag contains for them. Keiss
schoolchildren are no exception but they also found time to put all
their festive thoughts into word, music and song in their annual school
concert which turned out to be a veritable Christmas cracker! I seem to recall we did
some seasonal songs in my primary time and took it round all the
classes, but it was nothing on the same level as the Keiss pupils of
P4/7. The amazing aspect of it was, that while the joint effort
received guidance from teachers Mrs Ferguson and Mrs Hickey, the songs,
music and sketches were largely the work of the pupils themselves, who
were also responsible for the choreography, costume and props. The emphasis, these days
seems to be about the children receiving, at this time of the year, but
the young Keiss thespians gave us a timely reminder of the giving as
well. They gave their audience an early present in a fast-moving,
imaginative, programme, blending the serious side of the annual festive
with a generous helping of humour. The show opened with
some violin and cello turns and it was refreshing to see youngsters
playing stringed instruments. These require greater perseverance,
than keys, which I favoured, because you have to find pitch (there are
no frets to guide you) and you also have the physical aspect, in the
case of violins, of holding the violin in the correct position which
can be tiresome. Along with learning to read music, strings
present a formidable challenge. The Christmas show
included the First Nativity Play, a Santa Video Game, sketches from
wrapping presents to cooking, a letter from Santa, and a selection of
songs, Everybody’s Going on a Sleigh Ride, Shout, Stop the Cavalry,
Your Song, My Heart Will Go On, Santa Claus Rock, Frosty the Snowman,
Snow Is Falling, Jingle Bells Rock, What Makes You Beautiful, the
hilarious Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer , Waiting For A Nice
Surprise and of course that seasonal favourite without which no festive
production is complete, Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. There were of course a
few butterflies flitting about, during the 75-minute show, in the
school hall, but, let’s face it, given the variety and content, that
wasn’t surprising, and grown-ups featuring in professional productions
have been known to get a little nervous before, and after, the
curtain goes up. I found it an amazing and entertaining performance, so all concerned, please take another bow.
New Classes at the Pulteney Centre, Wick Pulteneytown People's
Project in Wick will be opening the doors to its new community Centre,
Pulteney Centre, at the end of January and promises to bring a huge
variety of new classes to the town. Pulteney Centre will be the
first of its kind in Wick, offering a comprehensive collection of
groups and educational classes all housed under the one roof. This unique Centre will
enable parents to drop their children off at childcare during the day
while they attend classes or appointments. Since the closure of
Wick College the local area hasn't been able to access such a programme
of training and PPP hope people will take full advantage of having such
opportunities together in one building. The Centre has SQA
approval and offers both accredited and non accredited courses.
The Centre is registered with ILA Scotland (Individual Learning
Account) which allows most people the option to claim for the cost of
specified courses.
Computer Problems At Caithness.org
We have had a computer failure at the web site and lost our emails
before 15 December 2011. If you sent anything in the past few
months that has not appeared on the web site please send it again to
[email protected] Apologies to anyone that has missed a date for
events etc. Aprt from being unable to update the front page
everything else such as forums and Whats on etc were not affected and
have continued to operate as normally.
9 December 2011
Salvation Army Jam Club In Wick Cancelled For Tonight Due to the weather warnings the decidion has been taken to cancel the jam club for primary aged pupils
Caithness Chamber Of Commerce Launch Web Sites To Generate Trade Wick Thurso Invest Caithness
Have Your Say
What’s important to you when you go shopping? Do you spend
locally? If not, why not? Tell us and ‘Have your say’! ‘Have your Say’ is a
questionnaire designed to gather information on town centre shopping
trends. It explores what factors influence these trends and how
the Wick and Thurso shopping experience can be enhanced. Only by knowing what you think can we hope to enhance, protect or improve your town centres. Look out for the ‘Have
your Say’ Town Centre questionnaire later this month, visit
http://www.wicktown.co.uk/ or http://www.thursotown.co.uk/ for more
information. Get Your New Local Loyalty Card for Caithness and Begin To Save When Shopping
One Card - Many Local Shops Offering Discounts
Local businesses can find out more via any of the web sites or by contacting them -
Nicola Dreaves Business Development Manager
Caithness Chamber of Commerce
M: 07540688042 E: [email protected]
66 Princes Street, Thurso, Caithness KW14 7DH
T: 01847 630200 E: [email protected] W: www.caithnesschamber.com;
4 December 2011
Do Any Orgers Know Whose Wedding This Photo Is From?
Noel Donaldson is looking to solve a small mystery. This photo fell out of .a book handed in at the Tyler Trust shop in Back
Bridge Street, Wick. It was made available by staff, in the hope that
those pictured or relatives would, through the org, be able to identify
them. Being a wedding, it is naturally a special event and one which
they would wish returned.
Scots Night In Wick
A FINE traditional Caithness concert has been a rare treat in recent years but variety certainly made a comeback at Wick's Norseman Hotel, on Wednesday night, hosted by the Wick Society. A full house enjoyed an evening of refreshing home-grown entertainment that used to be a regular occurrence before television got a grip, and as the inimitable compere, Harry Gray found unanimous agreement when he commented "surely much better than sitting in the house, watching the box." It certainly was a grand nicht. The Wick Arion Choir set the scene with a selection of Scottish evergreen songs taking us west to the isles with the stirring Uist Tramping Song and the contrasting Dream Angus. That was followed by the traditional dances, the Highland Fling and Blue Bonnets from Sarah Harper, Megan Sutherland Katie Gunn and Beth Harper. Danielle Cabrelli delighted us with an old favourite, Wee Winkie and Kieron Sutherland took us on The Sunday School Picnic, in the Caithness dialect. Our native \u2018toung\u2019 was certainly not neglected as we also had recitation contributions fae Jenny Syvelbain, who not only recited the poems but composed them, one about a moose loose aboot, the house, from a child\u2019s viewpoint and the humorous tale of how a Caithness fermer outwitted the taxman. There was more humour in Ellie Harrold's Fidgety Bairn. Accordionist Adie Harper, added to the variety of the show, with some sparkling Scottish selections. Bar a break for tea, the St Andrew's Day concert in aid of Wick Heritage Centre, was a non-stop affair, songs from Louise Gunn, Isle of Mulla, and vocal trio Kerne Plowman, Megan Sutherland and Rachel Lyall who sang of the romance involved when Comin\u2019 through the Rye. If Caithness nights are here to stay, and I hope they are, then there will be no shortage of talent, particularly from the younger generation. The show, woven together by Harry Gray who ensured continuity which intermittent snatches of humour. The night's entertainment finished with some community singing featurig some auld Scots favourites.
Christmas In Caithness 2011 Wick
Lights
Chest Heart & Stroke Support Group Santa Delivers In Thurso
Update - Camera Has Been Found - Well Done Orgers - Thanks For Your Help Reward Offered for Camera Lost At Freswick -
Mark Thacker from Lewis is doing a
Phd in archaeology and was recently carrying out field work at Freswick
Mains. Unfortunately he lost his camera with some of the images
he took for his work. The camera is a Panasonic Lumix, and was in
a medium sized, black camera case with a couple of black and
white archaeological cm scales. Mark said, "I think it was lost
about the road end at Freswick Mains, on Sunday 27th November, on the
way back from a trip to Bucholie castle. I am offering a �100
reward. I am very upset over losing the camera more because it
contained a lot of my PhD research images on it." If anyone can help get in touch with Mark at Mark Thacker PDD MA PhD candidate, Stonemason & Buildings archaeologist. 27 Upper Carloway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, HS2 9AG
Progress on the future
provision of Primary Schools in Wick has been outlined this week by The
Highland Council. Earlier
this month on 10 November, members of The Highland Council's Education,
Culture and Sport Committee heard the outcomes of statutory
consultations on the proposed amalgamation of Hillhead Primary School
and North Primary School and the proposed amalgamation of Pulteneytown
Academy Primary and South Primary School in Wick.
Council welcomes Dounreay announcement
The Convener of The Highland Council Councillor Sandy Park, who is
Chairman of the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Advisory
Board, has welcomed the NDA announcement that Babcock Dounreay
Partnership is the preferred bidder in the competition to become the
new PBO for Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd.
Dunnet Forestry Trust Autumn 2011 News Letter
The nights are drawing in, autumn is here and its time for another
Forest news letter; it's been a very busy summer season in the forest.
