Kephas4

Not sure if this should be here or the consumer thread (sure it'll be directed as necessary...). Can anyone tell me if where - if anywhere - in Lerwick sells home brew kits or add-ons? Advice appreciated.

Did anyone else see anything weird over Lerwick about 3 o'clock Sunday morning? Saw something burn up hellish bright, leaving a green trail behind it. Thought at first it was a firework, but no accompanying noise. Shot over from an easterly direction before flaring away. The green trail hung in the sky for a good 5-10 seconds before fading out and blending with other cloud - at least so far as the naked eye could see. Maybe just a meteorite, maybe part of the same satellite that came down over the weekend. Whatever, went to bed humming Jeff Wayne's 'Eve of the War' theme...

Absolutely not - that's why I make the point that Betty has every right to report those messages, pressing charges if she so desired. I am, however, sceptical about the level of 'threat'. If someone were to say something along the lines of 'we're disappointed and won't be voting for you again' - that's not threatening, that's a statement of opinion. If someone were to make some kind of intention about physical or mental violence, that would be a threat.

So, Betty Fullerton's blackberry is being bombarded with threatening messages? Really? This must be that 'Burra Mafia' we've heard so much. Obviously, we can but hope Mrs Fullerton has resisted the moral high ground and not deleted these nasty little missives. If these appalling threats are as bad as the Shetland Times reported, she has a good case for harrassment charges. Any kind of emessage can easily be traced back to source - which those who like an electronic equivalent to a poison pen would do well to bear in mind. If Betty has actually been threatened she has every right to go to the Northern Constabulary. If on the other hand, some of the voting public have expressed disappointment in the actions of an elected representative, she shouldn't publicly proclaim that as a challenge to them. So, will she be trotting across the road to the Police Station to do file charges for harrassement? Or will she stop, think, and for God's sake learn something about tact and diplomacy.

Anyone else having difficulty with FaceBook today? Is the site itself having problems or is it just my connection? Other sites seem to be loading fine - albeit a little slowly - but FB won't play... (***Mod Edit - Moved to Science & Technology***)

Without singling out Betty, it's been interesting to watch this epic trundle on and seeing what happens when our elected representatives, locally and nationally, weigh 'personal opinion' against the clearly expressed wishes of those they are meant to be representing.

But on the plus side, think of all those Scalloway pupils that can go to the Science block of the present Anderson (one of the only bits of the campus with any lasting structural integrity), study chemistry, graduate and clamour for jobs in the super-duper new Pharmacy opening on Main Street. Not only the people of Scalloway, but Burra, Trondra and all the locales of feeder schools should be delighted at the level of service and attention provided by our local public service and elected representatives. Rejoice, rejoice!

Hear, hear.

Dat wis dat.

haed is nippin

lost my memory

irony not lost

May have local variations. In Burra I grew up with the idea that if you dropped cutlery, "A knife's a man, a spoon's a wife, a fork's a fool". The size of the utensil gave you an idea of the age of the person - a teaspoon a young lass, a carving knife an old man and so on. I recall hearing that a distinct ring (or 'broch') around the moon was indicative of bad weather on its way - the bigger the broch, the worse the weather. Mind you, given that it would be best seen in a winter sky, bad weather is a fairly safe bet. Somewhat like the old Lerwick man's way of predicting the forecast - "If you can see Whalsa, he's goin ta rain. If you canna see Whalsa, he's rainin aaready."

Depends what bit of Shetland there after...you'll find different vowels in different districts, e.g. the way that 'ah' turns into 'eh' in Burra. And as for 'ö'...Think of the word 'dö' as in 'whit's du gyaan ta dö?', then think of the same sentence said in Hillswick, Sandwick, Unst, Foula, Whalsay and so on. Good luck to your Faroese friends in their search for the definititve Shetland vowels.