Infiltrator

Hmm, wonder how old it is? Our cat went missing about 5 yrs ago about a mile from where they found the fox, we always suspected otters, maybe it was this fox or maybe even a predecessor?

If someone will post some Tesco prices from the Lerwick store I'll check them against my Tesco.com account and see if there's a noticeable markup.

Marston may be pretty windy but when you record wind at 131 knots you better make sure things are well secured. http://www.fettes.com/shetland/storms%20climate%20change.htm http://www.fettes.com/shetland/wind%20extremes.htm http://www.fettes.com/shetland/storm%20history.htm

It's cheaper to come in the winter for good reason.. Paul - I thought this was the link you posted. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vhsBfNxWILg PJ - we're not trying to put him off, it's just far too easy to get a 'Mills and Boon' idea of the place from adverts and brochures rather than an experienced view.

Nigel, read my post above, Shetland doesn't get much snow, the winters are mild, windy and wet.

I don't think you need worry about outbidding anyone for a home, there's more houses on the market just now than I can ever remember - not sure if that's a good or bad thing though. You need to understand the type of weather in Shetland, yes it's windy, but it's windy for days/weeks on end. On the mainland UK, storms tend to pass quickly, in a matter of hours. Worst I remember in Shetland was Jan 93, 29 days of force 9 or above - that sort of weather really does get to you. Likewise Shetland isn't cold in a pure temperature sense, in fact during Winter it's often the warmest place in the UK at around 12 deg C. Trouble is that it's 12 deg C all year round (most years). The coldness people refer to is really the wind effect combined with mild damp conditions. Combine this with limited daylight through the heart of Winter and you're getting close to fairly typical conditions. Probably the only other area in the UK that's comparable is the Western Isles and poss NW Scotland.

I listed a mobile phone on Ebay for sale a couple of years ago and it was quickly snapped up by someone under the 'buy it now' option, I thought my luck was in till I received the below email from the successful buyer…….…(the chap has chosen to keep his feedback private and even though I said I wouldn't sell it to someone without good feedback nor would I send it outside the UK he still bloodywell bought it…) 'Dear Seller, My name is Jeff Thomas,am from usa but purposely in Korea for the general meeting that we be taking place at (W.H.O) branch office in Pattaya, i saw your item place at ebay,i want to no maybe the item is in normal condition and to hear from you the total cost of the item okay.am not sending this item to Usa am sending it to Lagos Nigeria i will be very glad if u can ship to Lagos Nigeria,so caculate the total amount of the item with the shipping cost to Lagos Nigeria so that i will be able to send the payment to you.when u are notified the payment u can be able to send the item to my In-Law immediately in Lagos Nigeria.And i will be paying you via PayPal Secure Online Payment,i will need your full name and paypal email account.so that there will not be any mistake of Payment when its shall be delivered to u.tell me one out of the two payment so that i can arrange for the payment Kindly reply to my email asap so that we can sort it and the item can get to my In-Law before next week.Plz kindly i want the item to be sihpped via(Royal Mail Express First Class) shipping to Nigeria i dont worry about the shipping cost to Lagos Nigeria,So i will be waiting to know all the total cost of this item with the shipping to my In-Law in lagos nigeria. thanks...Best Regard' And my first reply...... Jeff, This is a real stroke of luck as I have recently started work in Nigeria and will be traveling through Lagos on a regular basis. Please let me have the name and address of your in-law and I’ll deliver the item personally. Please ensure they have the money available in US dollars or GBP. My next trip is in one weeks time, arriving in Lagos Monday 10th Oct and I’m at the Tivoli Hotel for 2 nights. I travel back through Lagos one week later again. The saga continued, I also received a spoof email from Paypal saying he had deposited the money in my account (he didn't..) His next reply... Thanks for ur Co-operation.i dont think u would bring the phone urself bec my in-law is traveling on Oct 4 or 5 so i want u to send it before then.so i made out my payment so check ur paypal email account for confirmation from paypal.but if u havent receive the confirmation plz tell me so that i can contact them.if u have received the confirmation kindly send the item to my In-Law in Lagos Nigeria today.u must send the shippment tracking number to (pay.palpayaccount@accountant.com) for shippment verification and dont forget to send the shippment tracking number to me.here is my In-Law address.. Name: Mr Bola Address: 42 oshikomaya street, City: Ketu State:Lagos Zip code:23401 Country:Nigeria Thanks Jeff And my next response.. Jeff, Thanks for your reply. I received the message from your paypal, many thanks for the payment. It’s a shame your in-law won’t be at home when I pass through Lagos it would have been so much simpler. Coincidently my in-laws are also traveling on the 4 and 5th October, wouldn’t it be strange if they traveled to the same destination – your in-laws aren’t heading to Clitoris in the Mediterranean are they?, I hear it can be a good crack near there. I note from your original message you are a US citizen, what part of the ‘good old US of A’ do you hail from? I was wondering if this was the reason for your strange spelling of the word ‘shipment’ I note you spell it with two p’s and was wondering if this was maybe some strange US spelling from the deep south. I did have an uncle in America but he was unfortunately killed in the terrorist attacks in New York. He was a busker, he used to do a one-man band routine playing hits from the 70’s just outside the south tower. His specialty was Queen songs, but with his bad asthma he struggled doing Bohemian Rhapsody, eventually when his right leg was replaced with a wooden one (tragic accident involving a drunk Elvis impersonator on a golf cart) he had to abandon this classic tune. A witness reported he was half way through ‘Another one bites the dust’ when the tower collapsed and he was never seen again – quite ironic really. I hope your trip to the general meeting is going well. Your commitment to the W.H.O must be applauded, I really can’t think of many people who would be prepared to commute from Korea to Pattaya, you must find this tiring – how is the fight against drug resistant TB going these days? You’ll be glad to know I have now parceled the starter motor. I still find it astonishing that someone in Nigeria also has a 1954 Volvo PV444, I hope it’s just what you need. It’s very unlikely that the starter motor will reach you by the 4th or 5th October. I had hoped to post it tomorrow but I’ve just had a phone call from my surgeon, I’m on a waiting list for a sex change and apparently a matching donor has just been found and I need to go in for some urgent tests. Be assured though, I will post this item as soon as I can. He never responded after this... My favourite on the scam site (think it was the scambaiter forum) is the American chap who sells broken laptops to the Nigerians, they're pictured sitting on things like old toilets and freezers and he then sends the broken laptop and toilet to Nigeria at great cost to the Nigerians who pay carriage up front.. Check out the co.'s website - www.anuslaptops.com - I kid you not.... Here's the thread - http://www.thescambaiter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109

Njugle, thanks but it's not for me it's for my dad who's a pensioner and would be happy with the convenience of getting it locally without the hassle of mail order. If they don't get any more in then I'll sort out something else for him. If you want a good quality TV, John Lewis then price match it & free 5 yr guarantee even in Shetland (said so in the store)

Was this a Technika 32" LCD? - my dad was looking at this (couldn't remember brand though) but thought about it too long and by then they'd all gone. Any idea if this'll be making a reappearance anytime soon

Posiedon - where do you get your facts from? All I can find is this list from 2006 (Tesco were 33rd by the way) Perceived least ethical firms (poll from 2006 Gaurdian) 1. McDonald's 2. Nike 3. Shell 4. Adidas 5. Barclays Bank 6. Coca-Cola 7. BP 8. Camelot 9. American Express 10. Nestle Source: The Fraser Consultancy

Just booked a flight today, if you can book far enough ahead the prices look reasonable compared to loganair. However, £6 to choose your seat 15 kilos baggage limit per passenger incl hand luggage - £10 per bag over this limit. 15 kilos isn't much..

As said before, I'm not pro Tesco but I am pro choice and letting people choose where to do their shopping based on informed decisions. This is the first I've read that Tesco staff conditions are poor, can you please expand this comment with some facts. My knowledge of Tesco staff conditions are that the hourly rate is better than it was in Morrisons occupation of the store and that Tesco are one of the last few large companies to still have a final salary pension scheme. But maybe I've missed something? As for the 'scumbag' coupon comment - all the major supermarkets do this, the co-op appears to be the only one that doesn't. And regards pricing, if anyone shops thinking that Tesco will always be cheaper then they're missing the real opportunity that competition gives shoppers.

I'm absolutely delighted to see Salmon doing his best to kill tesco. I can be a belligerent old butthole at the best of times, but Lord knows, this guy is an expert. Think I'll email some of his posts to tesco management and see how long he keeps his job. Salmon - Ramsie makes a valid point, you being an employee of Tesco puts you in quite a precarious position when replying on this thread. Tesco's are open, and I'd guess doing rather well, the objectors on here are going to be swayed by any further debate or discussion on this BB from you or anyone else. I'd suggest you wind your neck back in for your own good and think long and hard about your replies. Admitting that you are a Tesco employee, these views could potentially be construed as Tesco's and not your own personal views.

I agree there's a Mareel link, but I think the issue itself is important enough that it shouldn't be lost in the whole wider Mareel debate. Through subsidies, the council are effectively making it very difficult for privately owned businesses to compete. I'm very surpised at the size of the loss in the Museum cafe/restaurant - I'd have thought with the amount of trade I've seen in there, this would be a profitable business.

Seperate to the Mareel issue, if I were trying to run a cafe in Shetland I'd be somewhat miffed that the competition was being subsidised from the council coffers, this is something that has always struck me as unfair. How would other local businesses feel if their local competition didn't have to be run on a profitable basis? http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/news_08_2008/Council%20cafes%20make%20loses.htm

Hmm, Supermarket vouchers - you have now entered a new dimension in shopping, suggest you read the attached as a start. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=906957 Discount codes for online shops are good sport as well

Tapla, I don't dispute anything you've said, it's how it's being financed by public money that I (and most others) object to. The money in the Charitable Trust belongs to the whole population of Shetland and a growing number of residents are fed up of the money being squandered on ill fated projects. The Mareel project risk sits 100% with the council. The council produced some figures a few years ago that from £125 million in grants from the CT, they had only recovered something in the region of £4 or £5 million. Were this a real company, the CT would have gone to the wall long ago. If the Charitable Trust cash wasn't available, where would this project be I wonder? Probably filed in the 'too difficult' tray.

Mareel's projections of £400,000 per year takings for the bar/cafe suggests to me that it'll be very difficult to avoid alcohol in the place. I'm afraid Shetland has a culture of alcohol, every event you seem to attend seems to have a busy bar or beer tent. Mareel without a bar might have broken this mould, but I guess the performing arts folks use the stuff to stimulate their creative minds..

My point precisely, I could't care if it was a music venue or a world class venue for Fair Isle knitting. It's claimed to be a profitable self funding business why should it be built using public funds? I've said before on this thread - stuff it, build Mareel, a new AHS and a few dozen windmills, blow the whole CT and then the council have have to live within their means.

Sorry, maybe my logic was too subtle for you. Aberdeen population = 250,000 Shetland population = 20,000 Does Aberdeen have a professional facility permenantly devoted to music? You stated that you had 'pals on the mainland in the business' - I'm pretty sure their local council won't build them a state of the art facility. Kef's a private owned venue and it's in Belmont St - nowhere near The Lemon Tree - you should get out more

Name one in Aberdeen devoted to the provision of music..

Has there been goup of folk campaigning for a new toilet or are the council just doing their job and replacing an ageing public facility? The state of public toilet at the pier is an embarassment and unfortunately for Shetland, it's probably an experience most tourists and visitors will remember. We seem to have managed so far with the 200+ public halls we already have. In a declining population that's nearly a hall for each 100 inhabitants in Shetland - all of which recieve council funding. The figure of just over 200 came from the council and that was about 10yrs ago. And before you pick on the 'declining population' comment and how Mareel and the arts will bring hundreds, no thousands, of new folk to Shetland, the Shetland population needs to decline to a self sustaining level post the boom years of lucrative fishing, oil and council employment (should the council ever bring their employement levels in line with the rest of the country that is). 'Decadent' - I like that word in this context:)

I think you'll find it's the objectors who are aware that it's real money we're dealing with here. Real money that should be getting used for providing the type of facilities and services a council should be providing. You mentioned public toilets, yes I would see that as a higher priority than Mareel. The very fact that the charitable trust is in existence has created an air of expectation amongst groups in Shetland that they are entitled to the funding as an easy option to raising cash. I'd liken this to a spoilt child demanding that their parents buy them the latest expensive toy and the parents caving in and buying it. You believe the project to be self funding? if it's such a sound business then why isn't it funded from the private sector? £25 million annually from the arts to the local economy, more consultants figures that are difficult to prove. The council have been told they're living outside their means, another publically funded building creating a potential drain on their finances isn't a wise move. My main gripe in all this is the councils inability to take the state of their finances seriously - they need to make some serious decisions that will make them somewhat unpopular. Instead they're happy steaming along pretending everything is fine - just look at the mess of Aberdeen council.

Pardon?, you're taking this arty lark too seriously But as you asked.. In Mareels case - the snowballs are made by a south building firm and thrown by a group of folk all wearing blinkers, most of them miss their intended targets, the folk get fed up, go home and the game is over.

Needs lightening up a bit this thread - at least some folk will appreciate this. Not the councils first and certainly not their last.. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a220/scoobydoo99/white-elephant.jpg