Wizards Are On Their Way In these days of
austerity there is one businessman who is delighted to be able to bring
a sparkle of childhood back to life. That is Highland magician Clive
Grewcock who is based in Golspie, Sutherland but has the privilege of
taking his magic throughout Scotland. Clive (44) said, "It is an
age old story that Magicians were bitten by the magic bug at a young
age and that interest lingers and only when these guys are older do you
see the potential and relevance of Magic as an Artform in our lives.
Magic is so much more than a bag of tricks, it is as much to do with
presenting a piece of visual art as well as working in a social
environment and getting people involved with the performance whether on
stage or at fingertip distance." Windfarm at Reay Offers Huge Community Benefit Green energy developer
Infinergy is set to showcase its plans for the Limekiln wind farm, near
Reay, which could bring in �9.75million to support community
initiatives over its lifetime. The proposed wind farm of up to 26
turbines would have a generating capacity of around 78 megawatts (MW),
enough to power around 43,600 homes - equivalent to 43% of Highland
households. With an associated community benefit package worth up
to �5,000 per MW, the project could generate an annual windfall of
around �390,000 each year for the local community over its 25-year
lifespan. For more information see www.limekilnwindfarm.co.uk
The company is holding community open days at Reay Village Hall on
Thursday 8th March, from 2pm to 8pm, and Friday 9th March, from 12pm to
6pm
25 February 2012
Get Your Business Noticed On The Caithness.org Group Of Web Sites With Google Banner Ads Google Ads are now showing between 1.5 and 2 million
ads per month on Caithness.org. Google ads are highly effective
as they target users surfing to feed ads closely related to searches
and other clicks. The ads often relate to the pages being
viewed. The rates charged are set by you so why pay for fixed
banner rates on sites with low volumes of page views. You can set
you rates to pay per click and so you get a double bonus for people who
see the ad but you do not pay for it unless it is clicked. For
new businesses in Caithness and Sutherland you can still get your free
page in the Business Index - CaithnessSutherland
More FREE coverage for your business is available if you have any new
features or offers. Just send us an article with details and we
will consider it for inclusion in the business index linked to your
free page at no cost to you. If possible send a suitbale digital
photo with the item. Itesm in our Business index appear in the
forum Business pages and also often in the Caithness.org Facebook pages
automatically so you get even more free coverage and let the audience
know what you have to offer. Advertising used to cost an arm and
a leg but now your business can access many free mentions on
Caithness.org - FREE - why pay more?
20 February 2012
Essential Roadworks To Upgrade Kessock Bridge To Take Place In 2013 and 2014 An estimated �18 million
programme of essential works is to be started next year on the Kessock
Bridge to bring the key route into Inverness and the North of Scotland
up to modern standards and ensure public safety. The road surface on the
bridge, which carries 30,000 vehicles every day, has reached the end of
its working life and the need for ad-hoc repairs has become
increasingly disruptive to traffic. It is now necessary to intervene
and resurface the bridge in its entirety, saving motorists time lost to
emergency roadworks that would otherwise be increasingly required
without undertaking these essential repairs. A programme of works has
been planned to upgrade the bridge under a single contract and this
will commence in February 2013 and last until June 2014. Traffic
restrictions will be in place for phases during this period as follows:
- • Phase 1 Resurfacing (February 2013 to June 2013) - 2 lane running 24 hrs. • Phase 2 Resurfacing (February 2014 to June 2014) - 2 lane running 24 hrs.
'Most Radioactive' Particle Found On Beach Near Dounreay The particle, which was found on 14 February, was the 208th to be recovered from the beach by contractors. Dounreay
Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) said further analysis may confirm the
find as "significant". If so, it would be the first particle from
Sandside to be given that classification. Initial
tests estimated that an isotope called Strontium-90 in the particle had
a radioactivity of between one and two million Bq.
Castletown's Youth Club Valentine Day Was A Huge Success
Valentines Fun Day fund-raiser for
Thurso Youth Club held in the Drill Hall was very successful.
They raised �636 for the Club. A big thanks to everyone who came
along.
Chief Constable presents prize to Rock Challenge 2012 winners Thurso High School Thurso High School and Dingwall Academy will be going through to the
inaugural, national final of the Be Your Best Foundation's Rock
Challenge. The event, held at Eden Court Theatre last Tuesday, was won by Thurso High School with Dingwall Academy as runners-up. As a result both will go through to the national showcase event at the Caird Hall in Dundee on Wednesday 13 June 2012. We
can reveal that there may be a wildcard opportunity for Alness Academy.
The school performed excellently and may still have the chance to take
part in the Dundee final. Northern
Constabulary's Chief Constable George Graham presented Thurso High
School with their prize after their winning entry, 'Alice through the
computer glass' wowed the judging panel. Their entry was based on the
potential perils of the internet and general web safety. The
Rock Challenge is an international performing arts competition for
schools and colleges, focuses on driving home positive messages about
substance misuse and crime prevention by providing young people with
the opportunity to experience a 'drug free high'. The
event aims to capture the imagination of young people by providing them
with an exciting and unique opportunity to experience the buzz of
performing in a professional venue in front of their peers, families
and friends. This year
the Rock Challenge\u00ae reaches out across the world to reach young
people in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Dubai, Japan, Europe,
and the UK. The focus is on bringing young people together to have fun
and be the best they can be without the need for tobacco, alcohol and
other substances. The Rock
Challenge tour in the UK in 2012 is the biggest anywhere in the world.
This year the organisation will stage 45 events across the United
Kingdom and Northern Ireland, involving 25,000 young people aged 7-18
from 315 schools and colleges. Eden Court's event marked the start of this year's road to the final in Dundee and was backed by Northern Constabulary. Northern
Constabulary's Drugs and Alcohol Co-ordinator, Inspector Tom Ogilvie,
has been heavily involved in the planning and delivery of the
event. He said:
"Northern Constabulary is delighted to have been involved in the second
Highland Rock Challenge show at Eden Court Theatre. "The youngsters really benefitted from taking part in the event and the feedback we have received has been excellent." He added: "We wish both school the very best of luck in the Scottish final in Dundee."
Natural Retreats Racing To Completion Summer 2012 - Now Invites Local Suppliers To Be Involved
After decades of talking about the future of John O'Groats the new
development ftom Natural Retreats is moving fast to completion.
The company behind the development is now inviting local suppliers to
meet with them to see if local produce and goods can be made available
to visitors to the area. On Tuesday 6th March company
representatives will run session at Mackays Hotel to discuss the
possibilities. If your business can supply anything that visitors
might be interested in then you can make an appointment to meet the
team.
14 February 2012
HAVE YOUR SAY – CAITHNESS TOWN CENTRES SURVEY
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 will explore what kind of factors influence these
trends and gather opinions of your shopping experiences within Wick and
Thurso. The survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete and will
be available until 31st August 2012. Your feedback will help us
to enhance, protect or improve your town centre by feeding back to the
public agencies and private sector businesses that have responsibility
for providing those products and services. For more information on Wick and Thurso Town Centres visit www.wicktown.co.uk or www.thursotown.co.uk. To take the survey visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/HaveYourSayCaithness
14 February 2012
www.spanglefish.com/NorlinPlaygroup
Norlin Playgroup has recently
created a website as a communication forum with parents within the
playgroup. The website also promotes the service they provide for
children and their families. Please feel free to have a look at the
website.
Halkirk Gala Week Dates Confirmed Organisers of the Halkirk Gala Week have confimred the dates for 2012 as 8th - 16th June2012
We ahave been receiving enquiries about Glal dates from around the
world as always for sometime so it would behelpful if gala show
organisers etc could add them to the Whats On Index as soonas dates are known as many folk wish to organise trips to coincide.
7 February 2012
Caithness Man Finds Stash Of Ancient Coins - STV Mike Aitken from
Killimster has discovered a number of coins dating from the 13th
century. The find was made using a metal detector. This was
featured on STV news last night.
Hi-Scot Credit Union Crosses "The Pond" Highlands and Islands Credit Union under the
name Hi-Scot has now passed 2000 members and is growing fast.
They have just launched a pre-paid debit card - very handy.
Caithness Science Fair 2012 - 10th & 11th March
2012 marks the 10th Caithness International Science Festival - to
celebrate this milesstone, over the weekend of 10 & 11 March 2012,
Science O3 will be hosting a Science Fair, comprising talks,
demonstrations, displays and workshops. There will be talks by Stuart
Munro, Scientific Director of Dynamic Earth Edinburgh, Alison McLure of
the Institute of Physics and Ian Rae from the Scottish Association for
Marine Science. DSRL, MeyGen, STEM and
Lifescan will also be hosting displays highlighting their current work,
while UHI's Derek Gorrie will be bringing a robotic arm for people to
test their skills on. Workshops
will be offering the Highland Solar System, Scratch computer
programming and K'nex challenges. There will also be displays from the
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, local Countryside Rangers and
Caithness Astronomy Group, while our very own "Tugmistress", Paula
Fisher, will be demonstrating her weather station and charts. There
will also be displays of digital photography technology, as well as the
chance to make a bandroller and construct molecular models. There will be plenty to make, discover and enjoy.
One of our forum memebrs
linked to this local web site. George Mackay who hails from near
John O'Groats has created a host of EEJITS and you can browse them all,
add comments to his forum, buy a book of Eejits and more having a few
laughs along the way.
NEW MODERN JIVE CLASSES
Learn a new skill that’s fun, helps
you get fit and is a great way of meeting new people – no partners are
required. The biggest draw back of some dances, if your new to
dancing, is that you spend time and money learning the moves but then
find there is nowhere to put what you have learnt into practice. This
is where Modern Jive comes into it’s own, because it can be danced to a
huge variety of music from Rock & Roll to Salsa, R & B to
Country, Swing to Jazz and even to Reggae. Not
only does the variety of music make Modern Jive more pleasurable to
dance to but the basic footwork is simple and easily learnt, even if
you’ve two left feet!! So
start something new for the New Year with Steve Hicks who has been
teaching dance in the North for the past 6 years. Steve will be
starting up new beginners classes from 7:00 to 8:30PM in Thurso at the Girl Guides Hall on Tuesday 7th February. Classes cost �5/person
