Time to leave Shetland??? Summary of Shetland News

[Sudden Stop]

Aware of thread drift but anyway -

 

 

Rape rate? Brilliantly low.

 

Be careful about making comments like that, because it does happen up here... probably more than you'd think but it doesn't make the news probably to protect the victim from the gossip-mongers.

[khitajrah]

the gossip-mongers.

 

That reminds me of a bit in the book Anne of Green Gables where she complains that "If, in the middle of the night you went up into your attic and put a pillow over your head and sneezed the next day everyone would ask you how your cold was."

 

If you don't feed them tidbits to gossip about they just make it up instead!

[Sudden Stop]

^^^

 

Without a doubt and and the chinese whispers effect can make for some really weird/abstract rumours.

 

Best just to say absolutely nothing about some things and then there can never be any misunderstandings.

 

Shetland is a poor place for gossip though. You know the way it starts - "Do know Tammy's sister's first husband? Well, his new wife's sister said that .... blah blah"

 

You never even know who the story is about half the time but because it's Shetland and everyone is expected to know everyone, you smile, nod and say "Oh yeah, really, well i would never have thought..."

 

Rubbish.

[Medziotojas]

re gossip:

 

I remember someen saying tae me in da auld Excelsior many moons ago dat if you f*rted as you're walkin' by da British Legion by da time you got tae da market cross da story wid be dat you hed da scoor!

[Girzie]

The stories and gossip emerge in every small village or settlement all over the world. Shetland is no worse than anywhere else.

[Ghostrider]

The gossips, that would be the folk that the rest of us make a point of making up the most ridiculous and fanciful stories, and then making sure they get to hear them. The more absurd bull***t they have to spread around the less time they have to talk about real folk, and the worse their credibility gets.

[shetlander]

Caution: unitelligable rant to follow....

 

I mean it - watch out

 

 

Arrived home off the boat this morning to find £1.46 for a litre of diesel at leasks.

 

The UK government are fleecing the UK tax payer at a rediculous rate and Shetland is getting hammered more than most. And let's face it - our public transport is useless unless you live in Lerwick or work nine to five IN Lerwick. Buying unbelievable expensive fuel is not an optional luxury.

 

I looked at the first page of threads in the Shetland News part of shetlink and I seriously wondered about packing up and heading back to the boat.

 

There's the anti/pro Tescos thread, Mareel, fuel prices and then we get to politics with Tavis trying to better himself at the same time as Captain Calamity trying to get himself killed.

 

Who is actually looking out for Shetland? Shetland is remote/rural - no arguement, so surely the council/our MP should be trying to ensure that we have a fighting chance of living here ABOVE the proverty line.

 

Tescos want to sell us cheap food - let them. If you don't want it, don't buy it, let the rest of us vote with our feet and our money.

 

Mareel (and projects like it) should be helped in any possible way, otherwise shetland will eventually become just a rock in the sea where no one enjoys living, there'll just be people existing here, going through the motions waiting to move on to the next life.

 

Tavis should concerntrate on getting his own constituency in order first before trying run the LDs.

 

The council seem like a pointless organisation which can't move anything forward - schools/bridges/Mareel. How long have all those projects been on paper kicking around the town hall and in the end they couldn't even make a decision either way on Mareel - it took the only example of leadership in recent memory to sort out the spilt vote.

 

And then we have His Excelancy, King Calamity the 1st, of Forvick. Lunatic of the highest order, but he is actually DOING something. I don't suppose he'll survive the winter, which is a shame because he's a good source of discussion. Best of luck Stuart.

 

So. Living in Shetland is not cheap, it's getting more expensive by the hour and no one seems to be doing anything to improve the situation, beside those who are campaining to prevent cheap food coming to the island

 

I think my point is (if I have one) that we need some stronger leaders to stand up for Shetland and sort out the mess. The status quo is pretty poor.

 

Rant over. Now I must decide where to move to.... the Med anyone?

 

Guess what - there are good and bad points about living everywhere and in that respect, Shetland is no different to anywhere else.

 

If you really think its that bad, move instead of just moaning about it in typical British fashion. The worst that can happen is that you'll dislike where you relocate to and want to move back.

[greenman]

not that safe any longer one can see that from the court reports in the ST every week, i know some old folk who are afraid to go out at night these days

[jag1984]

I think the point is Shetlander is that there are more bad points than good points in living in Shetland. I'm living abroad just now and apart from the fact that now and again it's too hot it's an example of not only Shetland, but the UK on how to run a country or constituency.

 

Shetland just isn't as appealling as other places in the world which is the sad fact. Yes it's a smaller place but it could be so much better with the right guidance.

[Skyumpi]

I think the point is Shetlander is that there are more bad points than good points in living in Shetland.

 

^^^

For me, the opposite is true and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

 

I think that this is probably a matter of personal opinion and circumstance as there will be plenty others who'd agree with you instead of me.

The point is that that this is always how it has been and how it always will be. There have always been a fairly vocal contingent of people, incomers and indigenous, who are quick to tell you how rubbish Shetland is and how they can't wait to leave. This is sort of balanced by those who view our isles through rose tinted spectacles as some sort of idyllic utopia without seeing any of the problems, old and new, that we have.

The truth lies, as usual, somewhere between the two.

 

Shetland just isn't as appealling as other places in the world which is the sad fact.

 

Yeah - I can definitely think of more appealing places to live and more exciting ways to earn my living but I'm thankful for what I have and recognise that there are almost infinitely worse circumstances that I could have been landed in.

[Girzie]

The gossips, that would be the folk that the rest of us make a point of making up the most ridiculous and fanciful stories, and then making sure they get to hear them. The more absurd bull***t they have to spread around the less time they have to talk about real folk, and the worse their credibility gets.

 

Were there some words missing from that first sentence? It didn't seem to make sense.

[Fjool]

not that safe any longer one can see that from the court reports in the ST every week, i know some old folk who are afraid to go out at night these days

It's just a shame that the good deeds and acts of generosity are eclipsed by such reports. Nice news makes for, in the main, rubbish newspaper headlines.

[JustMe]

All the crime reports on SIBC and in the Times........thing we need to remember is that most of these incidents would not get a mention in most towns and cities on the UK mainland. That said I do know of one lady who will not leave her home when the AHS pupils are passing.

 

I think living in Shetland means accepting the negative points such as long dark winters and distance to the mainland (if indeed they are negative) while enjoying whatever we regard as the positive points for us. For those who cannot do this there is always the ferry.

[khitajrah]

^^ I don't understand why they put the crime reports in the Shetland Times anyway, especially for the petty drunken disturbances and whatnot. I actually bought a paper this week (I needed it for the kittens) and I'm wondering when they'll start bolding and capitalising key words like the rags do.

 

Despite this, I don't want to live anywhere else. This is home now and in the grand scheme of things is it substantially safer than a lot of other areas. It's just the gossip that you have to learn how to deal with and once you get it into your head that if they're talking about you they are leaving someone else alone, it makes it easier.

[man of kent]

Shetland has always been a great place to live and also a horrible place too. Safe as houses, unless it was a Friday or Saturday night, especially at a Scalloway Dance, or any country dance, everytime the music stopped a fight broke out, or was it a dance started as soon as the music did? Never really knew which. Da Street was safe most of the time apart from when the Planets paid out, and then rarely did a fight break out. The schools were good, even if we didnt appreciate them, the Central was a great school with very good teachers, I can say that now.

Yes everybody knows everything about each other, that is what a small community is about. I dont live in Shetland as a personal choice, mainly due to marrying someone from elsewhere, but come on, I go home occasionally, I always feel safe, it has much more positives than negatives surely?

With a proper cinema and music venue things must be on the up. Some of us had the North Star, one screen, played the same film for days. If it was a big un, it was there at least a week. Sports facilities, I read the Shetland Times, Shetland has all sorts of sports and facilities. We had the Gilbertson Park, or Seafield, St. Olaf's hall if you were lucky. Summer sport was Football, winter sport was - what was winter sport?

Best place in Britain?