riskassessed

Strictly come farming..........

Its not only Citroen with a strange business model. I went in to a local Vauxhall dealer to buy a new Vauxhall Mokka. I was quoted a price which, even though it was higher than the price I'd been quoted on the mainland, I accepted as I wouldn't have had to go down and get the new car and take the old one down etc. etc. and I was keen to buy locally. I asked for a part exchange price and was told that I'd have to come back as the car would need a 20 minute inspection (even though they'd regularly serviced it and MOT'd it the week before). Went back on the pre-arranged date and though they weren't aware of the appointment, they did eventually inspect the car and almost four hours later I picked it up, though they still couldn't tell me the part exchange price and said they would let me know on the Monday after the weekend. No call arrived so I contacted them again to be told that the Salesman was on holiday and that they would ring on Wednesday. Again no call arrived on the Wednesday so I contacted a dealer in Aberdeen who gave me an instant quote for my old car, put the old car on the boat that night and had a shiny new Vauxhall Mokka on Friday morning in Shetland. A month later I've still not had a call from the local dealer.

Does anyone know of any independent financial advisers in Shetland with knowledge of Civil Service Pensions?

Does anyone know who can repair a Whirlpool American Fridge. I've tried Geordie Robertsons and they don't. Robertson and Peterson and Appliance rescue no longer service White goods. The freezer is fine but the fridge doesn't seem to be working though there is power to it and the light comes on etc.

Just adding my two penneth and i'll now call it a day and sign out. I can only suggest that spending three years worrying about not knowing the answer to a question that doesn't really affect my life is not the thing to do. Mareel is up and running, doesn't appear to be leaking noise and all is well. Have a lovely Xmas and a great New Year all.

Just been having a chat with a nephew of mine that plays in a band (a very loud band). In every venue they go to they do a sound check and also check if there any local restrictions/byelaws etc. and adjust as necessary. The operators of the venue also have legal responsibilities regarding noise nuisance etc. Some pretty full on bands have played up here in public halls etc. with no soundproofing at all. (some within a short distance of residential properties) and I haven't heard of many, if any, complaints. A state of the art, purpose built music venue such as Mareel must be the exception rather than the rule to some of the lesser known bands and a pleasure to play in. I mentioned earlier that I had been to the cinema recently and to be honest I wouldn't want the sound to be any louder, in fact it was perhaps even a little too loud for my "mature" ears. Having said that, it couldn't be heard outside of the room itself.

After reading many of the posts on this thread I was expecting the worst but having visited Mareel recently to see a film I can only say I was well impressed. I managed to get a car parking space right outside, the prices were reasonable and the staff friendly, the ambience in the Cafe area was good and it was a pleasure to sit and have a decent cup of fresh coffee whilst enjoying the view. The film was lengthy but I found the seats in the cinema very comfortable, sound was excellent and the screen well big enough. Overall an excellent experience which I will no doubt repeat in the near future. I wonder how many more people have been put off as I was after reading some of the drivel on here.

Does anyone know of any companies that insures timber clad houses. All the main players seem to shy away as soon as they hear the house is built from wood. I think they imagine a shed in a field that will blow or burn down imminently. The company I'm with provide mediocre insurance and it's up to £458 per year for a three bedroom bungalow. thanks

Slightly less? I might be wrong but, I have been told that the 'slightly less'(?) pay at the W & J G Eventide home is around £9 per hour whilst the SIC seems to be paying just over £14.. Anyone care to correct me? Yup, I'll correct you. The Wife works for the SIC and gets just under £10 per hour and she deserves every penny of it. I don't think I need to go into detail but I wouldn't do what she does for any amount of money. My Mother is in a care home south at about £600 per week. I'd pay any amount of money to have her here with me.

Went there once with a friend of mine. Trying to explain (with little success) to the doorman that we were ex-forces and that we would like to come in and perhaps join we were interrupted by a lounge bar warrior who told us in no uncertain terms to F**k Off. We did and have never been back since. The spirit of the RBL?

"Have your say on Local News" it says in the title and I was doing no more than that, responding to a Shetland news item which is clearly on the public record and in the public domain through thoroughly legitimate means. I meant no disrespect to the many good Community Councillors out there nor did I instigate a public hanging. I would suggest the man did that himself. I do accede however that these threads can turn into public hangings, just look at the previous one to this castigating the local MP for voting for gay marriage. I was simply asking a question of the local population as to whether they think that our locally elected representatives should be whiter than white as it seems is required of our national and international representatives.

A guy who was convicted of stalking a young woman last Thursday was tonight talking about the Cunningsburgh shop in his capacity as a Community Councillor on Radio Shetland. http://www.shetnews.co.uk/newsbites/6293-stalker-ordered-to-keep-away In my obvious ignorance I thought Community Councillors should be pillars of the community. What think you folk?

What has being Scottish got to do with it. The rest of the country (and most of the world) are suffering too.

Free pair of glasses? or do you mean buy one get one apparently 'free' I think I’m detecting someone slightly miffed...at something? Was in Specsavers today. You can get a free pair of glasses if the lenses are exactly the same. I wanted one pair for reading and one for distance as I'm not keen on varifocals so the free pair was £39.

Aberdeen Airport handles more than 37,000 rotary wing movements carrying around 468,000 passengers annually. Thats just Aberdeen....Add to that the rest of the Super Puma Fleet around the worlds oilfields and military and with the greatest of respect to those who have been killed or injured in this type of helicopter, the relatively small number of incidents that occur makes it quite amazing.

Super Puma helicopter 32 miles south of Shetland, off Fair Isle. Well surprise, surprise. Not the first won’t be the Last. Said the aviation expert........

It's not that Jigsaw aircraft can't land at night, it's simply that they have a daytime only inter-island patient transfer contract with the ambulance service. As has been said, they are a fully capable 24 hour Search and Rescue service and are used a such when required.

Surely the "endless public sector haggling" that Tavish Scott refers to is caused by.........Ah yes, the Government cutting funding to the bone for these vital public services.

Marvin It was Orange Customer services I spoke to and as expected I didnt get the callback. Regards

Orange customers will maybe have noticed a loss of signal around the Weisdale mast. I've just spoken to Orange and they tell me that the "Orange Side" of the mast has been switched off for good and that the T-Mobile side is currently defective and may be repaired although they couldn't tell me by when. Having spoken with his Manager, the Orange Customer Services Rep advised that we terminate our contracts with Orange and find another provider. They even agreed to terminate mine early with no charges. Seems like they are pulling the plug on the area as it's too difficult. I've been promised a call back this afternoon from a Manager (Ive already stopped holding my breath) to let me know what the situation is and whether they would consider switchng the mast back on. It's not good that they switched it off in the first place without letting their customers know. Would suggest a call to Orange for any other customers in the area who are affected and, like me, were waiting for the signal to re-appear.

It's the law so whether the Police accept the tradition or not is irrelevant. You still have to have a valid MOT exemption Certificate (V112 I think). This has to be produced along with insurance in order to tax the car. The Direct Gov website gives the details www.direct.gov.uk

They were spreading manure on the fields at the head of the voe. Northerly element to the wind yesterday probably carried it over the whole of weisdale.

bobdahog wrote Wish I'd never mentioned the amount. My point is, as Shetlandpeat alludes to, that changing the terms and conditions of employees when the situation suits the employer is an immoral and unfair thing to do. Why have terms and conditions in the first place.

Just received today a reply from Alaistair Carmichael MP with a copy of a letter from Francis Maude MP outlining the plans to decimate the terms and conditions of the Coastguards and other Civil Servants they intend to make redundant in the near future by effectively getting rid of the civil service compensation scheme. The letter, dated 6th December, says that " subject to parliamentary approval, the superannuation bill should receive Royal Assent in December which will allow us to implement the terms of the new scheme immediately". Seems like a done deal. I'm obviously not the only one this affects but as an example I signed up to my current terms and conditions in 1976 and have worked since then for the Government in the service of this country all over the world, in war zones, in civil disputes, undertaken humanitarian missions, worked in the search and rescue community for the past 20 years and am now one of a relatively small number of Qualified UK Search and Rescue Mission Co-ordinators. I stand to lose up to £90,000 if the changes being proposed are applied. Some thanks for a lifetime of service. Peanuts to Messrs Cameron and Clegg but everything to me and my family. As I said, I'm not the only one this affects but wanted to give people some idea of the severity, unjustness and downright unfairness of these proposed changes. Earlier in the year the High Court stopped the Government from implementing these changes branding them, not only immoral but Illegal. The Government is planning to change the law to get around this. Lets hope the European Court of Human Rights gets fully involved. Paying Civil Servants what they are entitled to has got to be cheaper than the action that may ensue should this ridiculous bill be passed. Anyway Guys and Gals....It's Christmas Eve so lets have a dram and forget about the trials and tribulations for a while and come back fighting in 2011. Best wishes to all and here's hoping that the CONDEMS will see some sense.... Nahhhh

Sheepshagger said "Attitudes like hers are not uncommon in Scotland or England hence my attitude to them. I have spent a great deal of my life traveling the world and the only place that people look down their noses at me is in the UK." I could have written exactly the same sentence and it would be true. I'm from Yorkshire originally but please don't tar us all with the same brush. I've lived in Shetland for many years, left and come back again, my children were brought up here and my Grandchildren born here. I absolutely defend the right for anyone to be proud of their heritage and to speak in whichever dialect or language they choose. I also defend the right of anyone to live where they choose but would suggest they try to adapt to their surroundings...... The world is sad enough without us getting upset at the misguided musings of a single individual, wherever she be from. Lighten up guys, be happy and have a good day. I didnt pass the English O level as you may have guessed!