News Archive - April May June 2018



Canisbay Parent Council Fund Raising Auction - Saturday 30th June - Seaview Hotel , John O'Groats
Canisbay Primary Parent Council were looking to make improvements to the playground and last year we supported Mrs Moodie out headteacher in an application to Greencoat Stroupster Community Fund. We submitted an application which was to: Build a canopy / shelter at the school which would give 2 benefits , an outdoor classroom area and also a shelter and play area for the kids to be protected from the Caithness weather. It is the policy of the school to have the children playing outside as much as possible and this would make it a little easier. To put in a path to allow kids access to swings in the winter , when the ground is sodden they have no access to them or the slide so this will facilitate year round use. A gate to separate the swing park and the football pitch which will allow the nursery children to have a larger area to play safely making it easier for the staff to supervise. New goals and nets which have been there since 19 oatcake. The total cost of the project is circa £19k. The Stroupster windfarm fund approved a partial funding of our application to cover the cost of the main item which is the canopy. The parent council were then left to raise the remaining £7k before the grant could be realised. We had kindly received a cheque for £500 from Betsy MacCuish who is a great grandparent of 2 boys at the school - this was to be attributed to the goalposts in memory of her enjoyment of playground fun as a child growing up in rural Harris. With other fundraising events under their belt the parent council are on their way to achieving the £7k  - See the List inside of great items to bid for......
Still Time To Book Highlife Highland Events for Kids This Summer


Midsummer Madness is BACK!
Midsummer Madness Back in Thurso 2018
The second Summer extravaganza of entertainment from Thurso Town Improvements Association is just about here!. We're throwing the biggest party we possibly can to celebrate how amazing our community are and we'd love for you to join us.". Tia and the team can't wait until Midsummer Madness! Tia has been working really hard this last few weeks making sure the site is ready for the North of Scotland Marquees guys to arrive and set up, plenty of space for Cafe Tempest and Castletown butchers to serve up their delicious treats and for Big Bounce Ltd to set up the Total Wipeout It's a Knockout inflatables not to mention the space for the Caithness Pro Wrestling squad. Lots of logistics for our Tia to work out!

Friday        Saturday    Sunday
Day One     Day Two     Day Three
Midsummer Madness 2018 Day OneMisdummer Madness 2018 Day TwoMidsummer Madness 2018 Day Three





Launch Event For Broch Rose Gin
Broch Rose Gin Launch event
The launch of Broch Rose gin is on Wednesday 20th June evening at the distillery tasting room of Dunnet Bat Distillery.   Book your ticket soon.








Official Opening Of The New Wick Community Campus
Wick Community Campus Opening 16 June 2018Opening Wick Community Campus 16 June 2018Opening Wick Community Campus 16 June 2018Opening of Wick Community Campus







The official opening of the Wick Community Campus took place on a sunny Saturday 16 June 2018. Lord Lieutenant John Thurso performed the unveiling of a plaque to mark the occasion. Members of the parent council and stakeholder group attended along with local councillors Willie Mackay and Nicola Sinclair.
PHOTO GALLERY OPENING       PHOTOS - Building From The Start       PHOTOS - Inside High School
Big-hearted couple donates funds raised at their Golden wedding party to local charities
Golden Wedding couple donate to two charities
Golden couple, Donnie and Jane McLean from Castletown - who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the British Legion in Thurso a few weeks ago - have kindly donated two substantial sums to local charities.



Community open day to mark official opening of East Caithness Community Campus
A morning of fun and festivities for the local community will mark the official opening of the East Caithness Community Campus on Saturday 16 June 2018. Guest of honour, Lord Lieutenant of Caithness, The Right Honourable John Sinclair, Viscount Thurso of Ulbster, PC will mark the occasion by unveiling a plaque at the event which starts at 10am and runs till 12 noon.


Draught Busting Caithness and Sutherland
Free draught proofing and energy advice service is available to anyone in the Caithness & Sutherland area postcodes KW1 to KW14.
Family Fun At LIDL Thurso
Fun Day at LIDL Thurso 2 June 2018
WHERE: Lidl Thurso, Castlegreen Rd
WHEN: Saturday 2nd June, 10am - 4pm
WHAT: Family Fun Day in the customer car park.
COST: Absolutely FREE
Children can enjoy face painting, an entertainer, giveaways and games.


Many Ranger Events Coming Up For Summer - Check Out June In Caithness
Puffinson Ranger walk
If you want to get and about in Caithness and see many thing you might miss then the Highland Ranger service offers a great numberof possibilities.  So whether you wantot see puffins, whales or learn about our bees and and plant life then an outing with peole who know will make for an interesting and informative day out. Kids outings organised by the Rangers are great fun and everyone gets plenty of fresh air and your kids wil be talking about it for hours.  Check out whats on in June and the Ranger events web page for many more across Highland.

Calling Local Artists - You Can Bid To Run Art Workshops In Wick
Calling Local Artists to run workshops










Dry Stone Walling and Scythe Courses - Open for Booking
Dry Stone Walling and Scythe courses







School's Out: Booking Opens Saturday 2nd June
Schhools Out - Summer Activities from Highlife Highland 2018
Highlife Highland - Summer Actvities. We hope you're enjoying choosing activities for all the family using our activity catalogue. Don't worry if you've not made your final decision yet, you can still view all the activities via the link inside!   Something for all ages from 5th June until18th August.



Archaeology Conference in Caithness 22nd to 27th June 2018
Industrial Archaeology Conference Caithness 2018
Historic Environment Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Industrial Heritage Society, and the Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group is pleased to host an Industrial Archaeology Conference in Caithness from 22nd June to 27th June 2018. A series of talks, tours and site visits around Caithness and Orkney will radiate from Wick. The conference allows different options, such as starting or ending with a connecting tour from and to Inverness. Please see the attached programme for more detail. Caithness offers a spectacular coastline studded with vertiginous fishing villages, harbours for herring and flagstone exports, impressively large corn mills and improvement steadings, an interesting vernacular architecture of huge sandstone slates over layers of similar horizontally-laid stone walls, a material particularly good for making pavements.
Laurandy Day Centre, Wick, Winner At The Scottish Care Awards 2018
Laurandy Day Care winner At Scottish Care Awards 2018
Well done to Margaret Allan and here team from Laurandy Day Care Centre in Wick for picking up the award at the Scottish Care Awards 2018 ceremony.  The Laurandy Centre has been recognised as one of the leading home care services in Scotland. The Wick-based day care service, has won the Day Service of the Year the recent Scottish Care Awards 2018. The Laurandy team received their award at a prestigious evening ceremony at the Marriott Hotel in Glasgow, hosted by Michelle McManus and attended by over 300 people. The annual event celebrates the tremendous work undertaken by organisations and staff who work in Scotland's Care at Home and Housing Support sector. Service Manager Margaret Allan said:"We are all very proud at Laurandy to have won this special award..........."
Duncansby Head Whale and Dolphin Watch
Seawatch - Duncansby Head
Two dates to join the Rangers at the Whale and Dolphin Watch.
     
    Wednesday 23rd May 3.00pm - 5.00pm
    Friday 25th May  10.00am - 12.00pm


Jobs - Business News - Community News - Whats On - Arts

Exploring Life's Key Questions
Exploring Life's KeyQuestionsSunday 20th May - Thursday 7th June
Special Gospel Tent,Riverside, Wick








NBMP Introductory Bat Detector Workshop, Wick, 25th May 2018
Bat Workshop 25 May 2018
This introductory bat detector workshop involves an evening classroom session followed by a practical field session starting around dusk. Bat sounds are broken down into four elements in order to train people's sonic memory and aid species identification using a heterodyne bat detector in the field. The focus is on pipistrelles, noctule, serotine and Daubenton's bat as these illustrate a range of different bat sounds. The workshop will be led by Liz Ferrell.


Community Sport Hub Highland -  First Meeting In Wick 16th May  - All Welcome
Community Sports Hub meeting 16th May 2018 - Wick
Following recent community engagement on the establishment of an East Caithness Community Sport Hub, we are delighted to announce that the Hub's first meeting will be in held in Wick. Sportscotland Partnership Manager, Garry Reid will officially open the Hub's first meeting which will be chaired by Katie Matthews, Community Sports Hub Officer for the North Highlands.
On Wednesday 16th May 2018
at the East Caithness Community Facility from 6.30pm.



Women For Independence Joins Battle For Caithness Women In CHAT Campaign
A Scotland wide campaigning group of women with a powerful committee who came into existence at the time of the referendum for independence have joined the fight for Caithness women over the barbaric treatment of NHS Highland now sending so many women on long journeys to give birth.  Sue Lyons one of the group's members and who used to live in Caithness has written on their web site - Accessing Maternity Services - This Is A Call To Arms .  CHAT has found a powerfull ally with women placed all over Scotland who are are involved in many spheres including Education, Business, Politics and much more. They know Scotland and they know how the system works and they are now behind the CHAT campaign.  NHS highland and the Health minister need to pay attention as the maternity issue in Caithness is growing and not fading away as they might have hoped.    CHAT Facebook
Jobs - Business News - Community News - Whats On - Arts

New Chess Club Starts Today Friday 20th April
Chess Club at Thurso LibraryOften known as a game for the intellectually gifted, chess is the best sport to exercise the most important organ in our bodies: the brain. While Chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer made it popular in the 1950s and 1960s, the game is still widely played around the world today among participants of all ages, from the young to the elderly. The game of chess might not help you build your biceps or tone your abs, but your lifelong mental health can certainly benefit from it. And a sexy and beautiful mind is one of the best assets you can show off!



Thurso Woman Volunteering On Africa Mercy Ship  - The World's Largest Floating Hospital - The Sun
Another Scot working miracles on Surgery Ships is Martha Henderson, 31, from Thurso, Caithness. She is a senior radiologic technician and hospital support service manager.   BBC Alba Episode Guide
Mercy Ships Web Site
Castletown Gala EGM - Gala Needs Help!
If the Gala is to go ahead we need a committee/volunteers available to help run events.

Pulteneytown People's Project Success In New Funding Award
Pulteneytown People's Project has been successful in securing £149,295 over the next 3 years from the BIG Lottery Community Led Activity. The funding will allow the organisation to continue to deliver existing activities and develop new ones within the community. Katrina MacNab CEO is delighted with the news. She said "This will allow us to develop existing classes including, amongst others, our ladies hobbies group, which is basically a friendly group who meet at our ‘Natter and Knit Club'. This particular group has grown over the last 12 months and now occupies a bigger room in the facility.
Kevin Mcleod death: New 'witness' interviewed by police  - BBC

Volunteering Caithness Spring 2018 NewsLetter
Volunteering Newsletter Spring 2018








Come And Sing Or Play Faure's Requiem With The Caithness Orchestra
Sing or play
All Singers and Orchestral Musicians are warmly invited to Come and Sing or Play Faure's Requiem with The Caithness Orchestra, conducted by Susie Dingle on Saturday 14th April 2018 in The Pulteney Centre, Wick. Please come and join the Caithness Orchestra for a day (10.00am-1pm and 2-5.00pm) rehearsing Faure's Requiem (Hamelle version including violins in the orchestration).



Calling All Caithness Village Halls - Can You  Check Your Contact Details
Can someone from each village hall check the contact details listed.  If changes are needed email to [email protected]

Help To Make A Complaint About Health Services In Caithness
Caithness Health Action Team - Help With making complaints
Caithness Health Action Team(CHAT) have had numerous contacts from indiviuals and families unhappy about the services they have received.  Many people are unsure how to complain and in order to assist CHAT has asked Citizens Advice to assist.




Can You Help Locate The Defibrillators in Caithness
Find the Defibrillators in Caithness
Caithness Heart Support Group and Riverbank Practice Participation Group are trying to locate all the defibrillators in Caithness to make sure they are all registered with the Scottish Ambulance Service.  If they find there are gaps they may then fund raise for more of these life saving machines.  

Defibrillators Update Locations Found As At 11 April 2018
Do you know of others in Caithness?