Scorries in Full Flight Against The Broch - Wick Academy 2 Fraserburgh 0
(half-time: 0-0) Reporter Noel Donaldson
IF ANYONE had been deluded into thinking that Wick Academy might
be a trifle stale following a series of weather postponements, then
their bet would have been misplaced. The Scorries delivered an
emphatic, two-goal win against a club that has frequently had the upper
hand in the past.
Even leaving three points aside, it was an excellent, entertaining
match and good value for the Harmsworth Park faithful, who saw a first
half full of pacey, end-to-end football, with both keepers denying
their teams the opener, and the eagerly-awaited second period
deciders. It took the home side to the 50th minute to break the
deadlock, Richard Macadie lobbing Fraserburgh’s sticksman, Paul Leask.
McAdie went on to double his take with a nonchalant side-foot tap into
the visitor’s goal after splitting their defence and netting the Man of
the Match award, into the bargain. The Broch defence seemed
to have no answer to Academy’s speed and creativity in the final third
and they could easily have had a hat-trick. Fair play to
Fraserburgh who didn’t throw in the towel and continued to press the
home defence right to the final whistle. Halkirk United Piled Up The Goals Against Bonar Bridge - 5 - 0
Photos on James Gunn Photography web site Rugby
On the rugby on Saturday Caithness RFC drew with Annan RFC 13 - 13
Time To Enrol Children For School Parents and guardians of children are being informed by The
Highland Council that its time for enrolment into pre-school and
primary school in the Highlands. The next school session
starts on 16 August 2011. All children who will be five on or
before that date should be enrolled during primary enrolment week
commencing 31 January 2011. Children who will be five
between 17 August 2011 and 29 February 2012 may also enrol at this time
although it may be decided, after discussion, to delay entry.
Lybster Police Station To Close As Part Of Savings Measures By Northern Constabulary
Government's Austerity Measures Bite Deeper Police Stations were the focus of a meeting ot the Joint
Northern Police Board today when it was agreed to close 15 police
stations in the latest round of cuts and savings measures being
announced by public bodies right across the UK. Lybster police
station will now be covered by Wick police station. Fifteen
police stations across Northern Constabulary's force area will be
closed following a decision by the Northern Joint Police Board.
The stations include Scalloway and Dunrossness on Shetland and
Stromness on Orkney. Barvas, Carloway, Ness and Tarbert on the Western
Isles and Broadford on Skye will also close. Bettyhill, Lybster,
Evanton, Cromarty, Spean Bridge, Drumnadrochit and Ardersier will also
be shut. Beauly was also in the firing line but a decision on its
future will be taken at a later date. Northern Constabulary and
the board said the move would not impact policing in the areas
involved. Members were briefed in relation to the savings
required to balance budgets for 2010/11 and beyond. Potential savings
were highlighted in respect of revised call handling and reception
services, station closures, the removal of police officer allowances
and efficiency measures within Divisional Commands and Service Units,
which amounted to approximately �2,926,751 in 2011/12. The full
agenda for today's meeting that took place at 9.30am today can be found
HERE
24 January 2011
Council Focuses On Trees And Woodlands Planning consultations seek views on sustainable design and impact of development on trees and woodland. An eight-week public consultation gets under way today Monday
(24 January 2011) on two new planning documents produced by The
Highland Council's Planning Environment and Development Service, which
provide guidance on the design of buildings as well the impact of
developments on trees and woodland.
New Extended Way Of Paying Council Bills Highland householders are being advised by The Highland Council
of new and extended ways of paying their Council Tax, rent and other
Council bills. The new payment system takes effect from 1 April - the
start of the new financial year. From then, the public will be
able to pay by cash or cheque at any Post Office and more than 300
PayPoints and Payzones throughout the Highlands. From 1 April,
the public will NOT be able to pay by cash or cheque at a Council
Service Point, although they will continue to be able to pay by debit
or credit card.................................... "The additional
Council business will help post offices that are important to so many
communities and help sustain small businesses, such as local
convenience stores and garages."........more
23 January 2011
Halkirk Utd beat Balintore 4-0 On Saturday 22 January 2011 Halkirk United beat
Balintorego clear at the top of the league as Thurso beat co-leaders
Dingwall Thistle 4-0. Halkirk scorers were Grant McNab, Michael
Bremner, Colin Sinclair and Liam Bremner. See the photos from the
game over on James Gunn's Photography The Wick Academy
V Huntly game on Saturday was postponed due to a frozen
pitch. Wick Academy play Fraserburgh on Saturday 29th January at
home - kick off 3.00pm
365 Photos From 2010 - Slide Show We have often linked to Jamie Buchanan's Flickr photos
an he completed another full year at the end of
22 January 2011
JOHN GUNN, BORN HARPSDALE, CAITHNESS, 1927; DIED INVERNESS, 2011
By Bill Mowat GREAT GRANDFATHER - AN ACTIVIST, FUND-RAISER AND CAMPAIGNER FOR DISABLED RIGHTS. John Gunn, a native of Harpsdale, near Halkirk, who
died in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness aged 84 on 15.01.11, was a
tireless and successful campaigner on behalf of the blind and for
associated charities focusing on persons with sight impairment and
other disabilities throughout his adult life.
Clean Sweep Paved Way For Towheads
Noel Donaldson A HIGH-POWERED sea and land transport operation, involving
bringing massive towheads ashore on the north side of Wick harbour and
loading them onto articulated vehicles to negotiate the streets on the
way to Wester, got a helping hand from a more modest piece of Highland
Council technology...a road sweeper.
It was drafted in, Thursday, when it was realised that grit and salt on
the steep Scalesburn brae, might present a problem for the articulated
convoy getting up the steep brae. The council men did several
sweeps to ensure that the multi-wheel artics carrying the two massive
towheads, would not slip on the road surface.
The normally-smooth operation hit an unexpected snag, this time
round. Car owners had not been alerted, in advance, to oblige by
moving their vehicles, as was usually the case, and police had to rush
around to make last-minute contact owners-in some cases-at work- and
ensure that the route, along, Willowbank, Girnigoe Street, Henrietta
Street and George Street, were clear.
First to get underway was the larger towhead, weighing 190
tonnes. It was followed, close behind, by a smaller one, tipping
the scales at 110 tonnes. These are the first in a series of
towheads scheduled to come through Wick harbour for the Wester yard,
this year. The towheads attracted some attention from townspeople
some of whom took advantage of the fine, sunny, weather, to snap the
convoy as it made its way through the Wick side of the town.
The towheads are for the first of two, multi-million pipeline orders
for BP and American-based oil firm Apache North Sea Ltd which has
boosted the workforce at Wester, to 150. The 6.8 kilometre
pipeline for Apache Bacchus Field, began in September and is due to be
launched next month. Towhead In 2006 Towhead In 2005
18 January 2011
Artists Rooms At Swanson Gallery, Thurso
Swanson Gallery, Thurso exhibits work of acclaimed American artist
Ed Ruscha - Major works from Four Decades
ARTIST ROOMS on Tour with the Art Fund supported by The Scottish Government Major drawings by Ed Ruscha, one of the most influential and
pioneering American artists of the past half-century, will be opening
at the Swanson Gallery, Thurso Library on Saturday 15th January until 26th February
as part of ARTIST ROOMS, the important new public collection of
international post-war and contemporary art that independent charity
the Art Fund is helping to tour across the UK.
Win A Day Back In Time For Primary Schools The year may well say 2011 on your new calendar, but
pupils from Caithness Primary Schools are being invited to enter
a competition which will transport them back in time. The
competition is being organised by The Caithness Heritage Trust
volunteers who run Mary-Ann's Cottage in Dunnet. Every primary
school in Caithness has been sent a copy of the DVD 'A Window
into the Crofting Past' which gives an insight into what life was
like at Mary-Ann's Cottage when horses were used for ploughing and
harvesting was a community activity.
15 January 2011
Design Challenge! - For Gansey Project The Moray Firth Gansey Project is issuing a challenge to all
budding designers in their exciting international competition to design
a new gansey pattern for the Moray Firth. Men and women down the ages
have created clever, but simple, decorative knitting patterns that
turned fishermens working jumpers, or ganseys, into unique works of
art. Patterns represented familiar everyday objects, such as ropes,
nets, flags, stars, and waves. To keep the tradition of gansey knitting
alive, the Project hopes to inspire people to create a new gansey
design for the Moray Firth in the 21 century. The main aims of the
Gansey Project are to record and conserve the patterns used in the area
to decorate traditional fishermens ganseys, and to ensure that the
traditional skills are not lost. This competition is an exciting
opportunity to create a pattern in the tradition of the Gansey knitters
of old, and to connect with the rich heritage of Scotland! said Beth
Brown-Reinsel, author of the international selling book: Knitting
Ganseys. The competition is split into two sections, so that even those
who cannot knit, as well as budding designers, can enjoy the thrill and
challenge of creating a new pattern. What the judges will be looking
for is originality of design that reflects aspects of maritime or
fishing life around this beautiful and productive Scottish coastline.
[a] Design a gansey patterned bag
[b] Design a new adult gansey pattern Ganseys In Caithess
Happy New Year 2011 Market Square, Wick Saw Big Crowd Greet 2011
Wick’s Hogmanay party-the reel thing! - Noel Donaldson
WICK gave 2011 a tumultuous welcome at its biggest attraction of
the year. About 2000 people, mainly young folk, crowded into the
Market Square for the annual Hogmanay bash.
Earlier in the day, it looked as if the celebrations would be at risk,
because of “smoorie” rain and a stiff wind. However, the adverse
conditions abated in the early evening, to provide revellers with
near-perfect weather for the event.
As always, it was around 11pm before the party really got into its
swing and the guests began to warm to the excellent music supplied by
the band, Chicken Pickers and the piping duo, the Harvey Brothers, who
soon had the younger generation bopping. Soup, pies and sausage
rolls, provided by J.D.Weatherspoon, helped keep the cold out, along
with revellers’ personal alcohol supplies with which to toast 2011.
Noel Donaldson, press secretary, for the organising committee,
H.A.P.P.Y (Hogmanay and People’s Party Yearly) said: “It was a
fantastic night. The fact that the crowds keep on turning out, year
after year, speaks volumes about the event’s popularity. The
band, and pipers Andrew and Craig Harvey again did us proud,
keeping things moving and combining to create that traditional Hogmanay
atmosphere. I thought the Chicken Pickers’ unaccompanied version
of Molly Malone, was quite something.”
The organisers had to contend with a couple of hiccups...the web cam,
again organised by Paul Broad width through local website,
caithness.org, experienced a last minute, technical, hitch, denying
exiles around the world, the chance to sample the Hogmanay fare, back
home. For the same reason, the chimes , heralding the New Year,
couldn’t be broadcast.
Mr Donaldson said: “These considerations, while regrettable, didn’t
detract from the overall success of the party and I’m sure can be
overcome for next year”
He added: “One thing that did concern us, was, that, despite pre-party
pleas to revellers not to bring along their drams in glass containers,
several appeared to ignore the appeals. Broken glass was again in
evidence posing an obvious risk to adults and children alike. All
we can really do is to keep plugging the danger and hope that it
doesn’t take an accident to bring it home. Greater use of the
wheelie bins for rubbish would also make life easier for committee
members and volunteers, who, after all, are entitled to expect to be
able to catch up on their celebrations, as soon as possible, after
tidying up the post-party aftermath.” Short Video From Market Square Wick As Crowds Bring In 2011
