Infiltrator

This independence debate always ends at this same cul-de-sac. No one is prepared to take it any further, everyone assumes it's better, but no one can tell exactly what it'll mean - and it's always dependent on the snaring the revenue tax from the oil production around Shetland. Largely the same story with Scottish independence.

Presumably you missed this a couple of pages previous? http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/the-scottish-courts-rule-that-shetland-is-part-of-the-uk-rbs-v-hill-2012-csoh-110/

Surely speeches by the self proclaimed son of god should be free? It seems god is targetting middle class and above families in commuting distance of Wembley for his sons sermons. Wouldn't give mankind much hope if that's the chosen one's. As for the blue shell suit

My post from last year - there's a photo where you can see just how close the ferry gets to the cliffs http://www.shetlink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11939

As you've brought it up, if the local economy can't sustain the current service, then yes, the service to Aberdeen should also be reduced. I really think they could do this now through the heart of winter.

Once again the old rocks natural magnetism for eccentrics snares another unique character - he probably thought it was his own decision to visit - such is the power of the magnet. God forbid he should bump into calamity when he's here - it'd probably result in some sort of paradox or black hole. If aliens ever visit this planet I'd put money on where they'd land

There's so much wrong with this post that I'm not even going to respond.

It's a minority - unfortunately they all seem to frequent the Shetlink forum However, if you're planning to build a boat from some scrap material, then sail with little experience or knowledge from the south coast of England, be rescued half a dozen times by lifeboats and helicopters, arrive in Shetland then set up your own kingdom on an uninhabited island and end up in court for ignoring UK laws - you might well expect some opposition.

LOL after reading crofters post above. I can't believe anyone would write something like this without checking some facts - you're not a journalist by any chance are you?

Urban myth, it's comments like this that give folk the wrong impression about the isles. I saw hundreds of folk arrive on the islands to work, and I don't ever remember any such issue other than the usual shop floor banter you get anywhere. Positives about the place. Low unemployment Buoyant economy Unspoilt unique landscape Good community spirit Negatives about the place Cost to get to/from Cost of living generally higher Every social event has a beer tent Weather can be extreme and relentless Midges Fog Pessimism is directly proportional to latitude - have a read on here for a while and you'll sonn see this.

How about we bring in a large team of consultants to look at this for a couple of years? The brown smelly stuff has now hit the rotating windy thing and it's action that's needed. Taking the review everything and consult everyone approach will lead to too little being done too late. The council have already shown they're lacking the balls for what's needed by asking the public what they think they can manage without.

Sorry, maybe I should have been clearer. I meant the allowance itself, someone suggested it was a nationally agreed allowance, so who then decides how much above the national average it costs to live in Shetland - someone in Westminster?

Thanks for clarifying, if its a national arrangement, who sets the level of uplift?

Given 1 in 3 employed folk in Shetland are directly employed by the Council, and probably many of the 2nd of the 3 people are reliant on the Council for income through supporting services, it's turkey's voting for Christmas. How about shelving the Island allowance - that was originally introduced to stop the oil industry poaching council staff in the 70's. I do appreciate it costs more to live in Shetland, but isn't it unfair to folk who aren't employed by the council? - surely some of the high costs for living in Shetland are driven by having 30% of the employed population on a higher than typical local wage? Where does the savings come from in reducing these services? Surely reducing ferry services isn't going to be a huge saving other than the fuel bill? Or is a reduction in services just a code word for job cuts?

Yes, makes you wonder how they managed when they only had 1 ferry. Presumably the factory closure means the fish are being processed elsewhere - scalloway?

Aha, the 'Elephant in the room', too many people with a vested interest makes it difficult to even discuss, let alone take some action. On the last figures I saw, 33% of employed folk in Shetland worked for the council, Scottish average is just under 10%, even Orkney and the Western Isles were well below the Shetland figure. Let's see if we can save money on paperclips instead..

Call me gloomy, but I have a bad feeling about Serco taking over the service. They're squarely focussed on making profits and won't have much idea what's involved with this service. How long till they're back bleating at Holyrood that they need more money when they finally realise the boats aren't loaded with wealthy captive tourists desperate to spend their money?

Browsing youtube - is this a new video from sustainable Shetland? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQxXKzdmhvk

I'm quite stunned at the events of the last few days, the councillors involved should be ashamed of themselves.

The farce continues.. http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2012/04/19/sheriff-unimpressed-by-hills-latest-antics Where's all his supporters at now then?

On what basis? The original deal was to cover the costs of the disturbance incurred by the building of the terminal. When the original deal was signed the life of the terminal was seen to be something closer to 15 years, not the 30+ years we now have. The terminal now pay rates like any other industry in the UK. The previous arrangement and the subsequent charitable trust is unique to Shetland and I'm not aware of anything similar anywhere else in the UK. Rather than being grateful for the terminals existence long beyond it's original design life, and the hundreds of local jobs and money it brings to the local economy, you want to come up with a new local tax - just because the local council have frittered away their nest egg through ineficiencies and bad investments. Shoogler summed it up nicely earlier in this thread

Surely this still has some way to go before the approval is beyond doubt? Just this morning, Roadsense have reported they're taking the Aberdeen ring road planning decision to an appeal in the the London supreme court, after dragging the process through courts and appeals for 2 years + already. http://www.awpr.co.uk/ Surely the same challenges can be applied here?

If I remember correctly he did own them both, can't remember in which order though, I think he had the blue one and took the black one in p/ex, I'm sure the black one had the skip brown big valve head conversion. Thinking about it, I think he owned the black one twice...

I remember taking part you could just get into 3rd gear across the finish line if you were lucky. Sunbeams were impressive - had a shot of the blue Avon one, the dog leg box was a nightmare if you weren't used to it

Hope the track day comes off, I took part in one in 2003 or 2004, lot of fun, gave JP's RS4 a good run. Managed to sober up just in time for the afternoon ferry back Also used to take part in navigation rallies a number of years ago, they were pretty competitive as well.