Nigel Bridgman-Elliot

Great to see videos of local industry at work.

Sadly I know that difficulty all too well.

Best advice I can give (Based on having spent a small fortune in paying rent in my lifetime so far..) is stay with a relative/friend either rent free, or shared costs.

Save every penny (No luxuries..), buy land, build house.

£30,000 upwards I reckon could do that.

Realistically getting a council / housing association/etc. probably never !

Transport wise, bicycle, tricycle, velomobile, cheap to run.
 

As a cyclist myself (As if no one could guess!) I use common courtesy when on the roads, as such I will pull over and let traffic past if there someone behind me for too long, and there is a handy spot to pull over in.

I'll even give way to trucks/lorries/tractors/etc. if it means they don't have to slow down on hills/etc. approaching me on a narrow road.

Today too many people are focused on me, me, me !

Road use should be like pavement use, not shoving people out of the way, or getting in front of people and hogging the pavement because you can..


I find wing mirrors helpful to spot what is behind you.


I'm not quite used to traffic up here yet passing me on the other side of the road, when in London they would squeeze past and you'd have to keep your elbows in all the time !
 

Nice video.

How much does one of those things weigh ?

I wonder how many MPG you get out of them ?

Do you happen to know their storage capacity ?

I'm often curious about things.

What camera did you use ?

I'm just getting into video myself, having got a Lightdow 1080P camera.

Learning how to use Shortcut video editing software, what do you use ?

Related link:

https://www.shotcut.org
 

Re. cars, not all dealerships are available here, Citroen went not so long ago for example.

Getting things fixed here is more difficult, not just cars !

For example, chipped windscreen, they don't come out to you..
 

> I have no idea how to get him there.

Maybe someone knows someone who is coming by their own boat/etc. and can give you and your dog a lift.

If you could find a neighbour/etc. to babysit your dog if need be, that could be one solution to concerns about getting home to your dog.

If dog by car, would recommend a kennel inside it !


Social wise, I'd say its pretty difficult to meet anyone !

But you can be just as lonely in a big city..


Most houses have very tiny gardens (Crofting laws..), but occasionally something with a few acres comes up.

We wanted to grow our own stuff up here, but ended up with a small garden not suited for that. (I want greenhouses!)

What sort of budget do you have property wise ?

It is much nicer here re. crime/etc.
(Moved here nearly 3 years ago.)
Cleaner air/water, less traffic.

Shopping cheaply Tesco, so a good mpg vehicle is recommended, but factor in the cost of ferry trips, so stock up in fewer trips than lots of little trips.
(A big 400 litre fridge and freezer can help there for example, though we do get power cuts, but they don't seem to last too long, so only really a concern if you are watching TV, but you could always have a backup powersupply and then only worry if the local TV transmitter loses power too. )

Online shopping (Dogfood for example.), though some things can be difficult to get shipped here, things too big (TV), or liquids. (Varnish for example, aerosols over 300ml)

Depending upon the design/placement/system of your home, heating can be expensive, so if its a wooden place on top of a hill, it could get pricey. (And as most have tiny gardens, its not like you can plant trees around it, though a short stone wall can help.)

We live in a nice cosy exterior insulted concrete building, and heating costs are on par with mains gas (Which we don't have up here..), even though its storage heaters.

Sewage is another concern, not everywhere is on the mains !

Some buildings have nice steel roof's which don't blow off easily (But do rust..), or heavy concrete tiles.

I'm not awfully fond of ordinary tiles myself, and you can often see on roof's where they have had repairs done/etc. to give you some idea of how often there is a roof problem. (I guess if you go for a single story building, it would easier to fix yourself!)

Windows seem to manage ok, though sometimes double glazing units do lose their seal, I guess because they aren't designed for such high winds speeds.

You might also want to check internet connection options, because if you live far from an exchange, your speed could be awful.
(One reason we went for this spot as its not far from the exchange and we get around 8.3Mbit ADSL, no fibre yet for a while..)

Satellite TV, unless you are lucky and there aren't big hills in the way to reach the main terrestrial Transmitter not far from Lerwick. (Otherwise its a local reduced channel list transmitter..)

Some links you may find useful:

https://www.careerjet.co.uk/jobs-in-shetland-islands-669.html
Seems to be the best site which lists the most jobs you can find here. ( www.indeed.co.uk is another, but it doesn't seem to catch so many.)

https://www.facebook.com/shetlandproperty

https://www.d-s-r.co.uk/property.htm

http://www.anderson-goodlad.com/property-for-sale/

https://www.neilrisk.com/properties?q=sale

https://www.tait-peterson.co.uk/pages/property_available.htm

http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/category/properties

https://www.shetlink.com/index.php?/classifieds/category/29-accom-for-sale/?sort_key=date_added&sort_order=desc

http://www.inksters.com/propertylisting.aspx?loc=Shetland&order=ASC&currentpage=1

http://shetlandislesproperty.co.uk/cgi-bin/exec/search.cgi?search=1&perpage=10&sort_order=4%2Cabc%2Cforward&marknew=1&euro_numbers=0&lfield3_keyword=&lfield1_keyword=&SUBMIT=Search

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/property/shetland/

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^61362&sortType=6&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=10

https://www.onthemarket.com/for-sale/property/shetland-islands/?mkwid=s0zrQfa5d_dc&pcrid=90947074087&pkw=_inurl%3A%2Ffor-sale%2F&pmt=b&gclid=COSPwoHxr8gCFeJZ2wod3PcBaA

http://zeproperty.co.uk/for-sale

Not all links are current, but copied browser favourites from a couple of years ago.

You may need to either change your mobile provider, or get two SIM's/phones in case you end up living in an area with no coverage for your current provider.

I found the Facebook property page perhaps the most useful, as it tends to have most property from other websites posted there, though not all !
 

I'd love to see us our produce our own electricity, making sure of course we have enough backup supply with an oil fired power station.. (After all, doesn't Orkney have 4 such power stations itself..)

I know we have kinda a backup gas power station, but isn't that being used at the moment and doesn't have enough capacity to supply the whole of the islands ?

Be nice to see some solar farms, geothermal plants, and perhaps reduced electricity prices for island folk..
(Maybe even a free ration..)
 

Some nice examples such as the Yell Wind Farm owned by locals I hear.
 

> You will get letters of warning, and every opportunity to recycle.  However if you continue to intentionally and purposely not recycle you will get fined.

I thought you only got that if you put the wrong type of rubbish in the recycling bins, not anything in particular in the rubbish bags ?

If anyone could point me to where it is more clear on the matter, it would be appreciated.

I just thought, I wonder how wheelie bins cope in the snow and ice, do they get stuck to the ground ?


I'm going to have to think how to make my wheel bin storage unit snow and ice proof..
 

> The daily charge is high (57.54) but the standard tariff is unbeatable! Its 10.689 Now all my units are one price and the saving is second to none!

That sounds great !

But when I checked on their website just now, the prices they gave was nowhere near 10.689 with the cheapest at 16.5585


Economy Heating Prices:

Sunrise Fixed Price Oct 2019 v2

Unit rate day = 18.0464 p/kWh
Unit rate night = 10.8854 p/kWh
Standing charge = 20.4750 p/day

--------------------------------------
Clear Fixed Price Oct 2020 v1

Unit rate day = 18.5934 p/kWh
Unit rate night = 10.6523 p/kWh
Standing charge = 28.8750 p/day

--------------------------------------
Reliance Fixed Price Jul 2020 v2

Unit rate day = 19.8702 p/kWh
Unit rate night = 11.9847 p/kWh
Standing charge = 22.5750 p/day

Just single unit pricing:

Sunrise Fixed Price Oct 2019 v2

Unit rate day = 15.4907 p/kWh
Standing charge = 24.1500 p/day

--------------------------------------
Clear Fixed Price Oct 2020 v1

Unit rate day = 16.1175 p/kWh
Standing charge = 28.8750 p/day

--------------------------------------
Reliance Fixed Price Jul 2020 v2

Unit rate day = 16.5585 p/kWh
Standing charge = 22.5750 p/day


I also notice they don't provide all of the tariff's that SSE provide when comparing, eg."Standard Economy & Heating Load" these figures are including 5% VAT:

Off-peak energy is 10.101p per unit

Day energy is 20.496p per unit

Night energy is 10.983p per unit

Standing charge is 16.443p per day

Giving our own bill for the last 6 months (3 bed semi - super insulated.) as an example:

Off-peak energy 10.101 * 2,543 units = £257
Day energy 20.496 * 1,663 = £341
Night energy 10.983 x 889 = £98
Standing charge 16.443 x 183 = £30

Total = £726 / 6 = £121 per month.

If we compare that to the cheapest other option, assuming "Unit rate day" = "Off-Peak energy" + "Night energy":

Sunrise Fixed Price Oct 2019 v2

Unit rate day = 18.0464 p/kWh
Unit rate night = 10.8854 p/kWh
Standing charge = 20.4750 p/day

Off-peak energy 10.8854 * 2,543 units = £277
Day energy 18.0464 * 1,663 = £300
Night energy 10.8854 x 889 = £97
Standing charge 20.4750 x 183 = £37

Total = £711 / 6 = £119 per month.

So about a fiver cheaper.


If we compare that to the second cheapest other option, assuming "Unit rate day" = "Off-Peak energy" + "Night energy":

Sunrise Fixed Price Oct 2019 v2

Unit rate day = 15.4907 p/kWh
Standing charge = 24.1500 p/day

Off-peak energy 15.4907 * 2,543 units = £394
Day energy 15.4907 * 1,663 = £258
Night energy 15.4907 x 889 = £138
Standing charge 24.1500 x 183 = £44

Total = £834 / 6 = £139 per month.

A difference of around £20 more expensive than SSE.

Though I can imagine if you used more day time units than us, and less night time, then it could be cheaper for you.

Next for me to check is Bulb.

Is it going to be higher or lower..

FX [ Goes to check . . .   ]


Bulb

Vari-Fair Electricity Tariff
Unit Rate = 13.755p per kWh
Standarding charge = 24.56p per day.

Off-peak energy 13.755 * 2,543 units = £350
Day energy 13.755 * 1,663 = £229
Night energy 13.755 x 889 = £122
Standing charge 24.56 x 183 = £45

Total = £746 / 6 = £124 per month.

So about a fiver more expensive than SSE, for us at least.
 

> I seen a guy on the road out to Burra today doing a little wheelie bin storage cubby very smart.

Would be nice to see pictures of these designs, so we can copy the best ones ourselves.

And perhaps the council might consider copying the design and making available such units for folk..

I'm still working on my design..

 

I wonder how much of a carbon footprint all of this will add before recycling efforts pay it back.


> had the Council had the grace to actually communicate with local residents, or perish the throught, consult with them.
> They might just have found the folk who live here every day could have pointed out possible sites for these,
> that were the most sheltered, and created the least obstruction.

FX [ Makes note in case he ever considers running for a council position.. ]

 

I wonder if there are any open source / free software packages we could use ourselves, for those of us budding amateur architects.

 

Wasn't they all 'Pro Tunnel' folk ?

So, they must have been busy sorting that out then...

I'm reminded meanwhile in the US, last year some Elon guy started a tunnel company, got boring and this year is finishing off a 2 mile tunnel.

So it's not like its impossible to do these kind of things in a reasonable time-frame . . .

> "Please don't put recycling in plastic bags"

That refers to the recycling bins, its from this page:

https://www.shetland.gov.uk/rubbish-recycling/how-to-recycle.asp


This page lists generally what you should and shouldn't put in your ordinary non-recycling rubbish bags/etc.

https://www.shetland.gov.uk/rubbish-recycling/A-Z-of-waste-and-recycling.asp

As such, it comes across to me as a request, not an order to use the recycling wheelie bins.


It reminds me in London that we had a kitchen rubbish bin and a garden bin, as such the rule was if you bought an apple from a shop and disposed of the remains in the kitchen, it went in the kitchen bin, but if you had an apple tree and it fell in the garden, it had to go in the garden bin..

But what if you took an apple from the kitchen and peeled it in the garden, where would the apple waste go then..

Would the council really check to see where the apple originally came from.


If it is an order, I'd like to see where it is written down as such from an official source in a clear manner, otherwise the practical solution for folk is to continue using the old way of doing things and get their rubbish collected every two weeks instead of every week.

Those of us who can and want to recycle with special bins can do so, those who cannot easily, or don't want to, do not legally have to.

I do recall a while ago someone writing someplace about the council having a legal obligation to collect *all* rubbish for free, but I've lost the reference and cannot find it again !

As I remember there was quite a bit of fuss in London over collection of fridge/freezers, which was beginning to clutter up the neighbourhood, and as the council charged £25 a time to collect them, few got collected.

I did ask, just how much did it cost them to collect them, and how much did the charges bring in income wise, but no one wanted to answer that question..

After a bit of a fuss was made, they did start collecting them for free, and we stopped seeing dozens of them appearing at night down dark alley ways..
 

Councils are prone to moving the goal posts at the drop of a hat I notice, and what is legal today suddenly becomes illegal tomorrow, without anyone informing you of it, except in a letter after the fact telling you that your bin was suspected of weighing too much and they refused to empty it. (I used to weigh mine to be sure it wasn't over the limit !)
 

I tried really really hard to be a model citizen, but its really difficult when the rules keep changing, or they aren't clear just what they are..


Like again in London, we used to put our bins outside on the pavement, then we got wheelie bins, and instructions on putting the bins out, which wasn't clear if they meant putting them out on the pavement like we used to, or putting them in our front garden.

Lots of people put them out on the pavement and got into trouble for it !

After repeated editing of the wording, eventually it was clear they meant, put the bins only in your garden and not on the pavement.

But why it couldn't have been written in plain English in the first place I don't know.
 

Perhaps we just need a better bin design.

How about hollow glass spheres that are joined together in the middle with a big threaded section, we could make use of that mountain of glass we have accumulated the last few years..

They would sit well in a hollow in the ground, could be collected with a giant suction hose, emptied, ultrasonically cleaned, returned.

You could move them around with a little cart and wheels, unless you fancy rolling them down the hill.


Or...

Some thick flexible plastic material container you could put your rubbish in, and some kind of heavy flexible structure you could put on top to stop it blowing away..

You could have different coloured flexible plastic material containers too..

Related link:

http://hyogoexchange.blogspot.com/2010/09/gomi-rubbish.html

Related picture, see profile...
 

> given that you're not permitted to put any recycling rubbish into bags but instead, straight into the wheelie bins.

Is that correct ?

I thought it was optional..

Is it going to be like London where they come and inspect your bins at 5am to see if they suspect you have the wrong kind of rubbish in them..

Maybe we need someone like this:

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/entrepreneurs-answer-residents-stuck-bin-11189048

> the businessman, 25, is offering weekly bin collections across Rochdale after the
> council reduced its own service to just once every three weeks in a bid to boost recycling.



 

> How do they deliver these bins? I live at the end of a long private dirt track. it will be interesting.
 

Maybe it will be like Tesco and you can book a delivery time to suit you.

Or perhaps they deliver them full of water, so they don't blow away before you get home and can stick them in the garage.

Would be handy if we got a letter saying they will be delivered on X date, so we can make sure someone will be around to corral them up.

A question springs to mind, who owns the bins once delivered, are they ours, can we bolt things onto them N'll that jazz ?
 

Perhaps a company could buy the recycling material and burn it in an incinerator to produce heat for a district heating system..

Or maybe an Anaerobic Digestion system to turn it into gas to burn to produce heat for a district heating system..

Or perhaps a Plasma Gasification system to produce heat..
 

Maybe next elections we could vote in council folk who are pro-skip and pro-auction house..

Though didn't we vote in a lot who was all pro-tunnels and I've not heard a thing about tunnels yet...

https://www.unstpartnership.com/waste-management-community-skips.html
> Unst, waste management: community skip service
 

We don't have to wait for the council to give us skips, we could do it ourselves.

 

When I lived in London it started off simple enough with a little list of what you could or could not put in your bins.

Then the list grew to 4 pages of A4..

Then they scrapped the list and would just decide on a whim if they thought your bin might contain something it shouldn't, and it was up to you to dispose of the rubbish yourself !

This was not easy if you didn't have a car, as the local tip wouldn't take foot traffic, or bicycles, or even cars with trailers, and if you did make it inside, you needed your passport and driving license to prove you was a resident, and then your load got weighed, as there was a limit on how much stuff you could throw away each year..

Extra rubbish inspectors was employed to check bins early in the morning, and to take random bins away for more thorough investigations..

That was one of the reasons I moved here, to find a sane place in the country where life wasn't overly complicated !

As the council signed up to this greater recycling effort, could not a newly elected council un-sign from it ?
 

I was googling and there was mention of four fossil fuel based power stations existing in Orkney, Kirkwall 16 MW using four MK 3 K Major diesel engines, a 10MW gas fired plant at Flotta, and two others I've yet to find information about.

I guess once Lerwick power station ( 67MW ) goes we'll have to rely on Sullom Voe gas turbines ( 60 MW) for backup times, though I was reading earlier that the Sullom Voe one already provides 40% odd of our electricity supply.

I was looking forward to:

> In August 2014 Scottish Ministers approved plans for a new 120 MW power station at Lerwick

So we would have some excess capacity for industry growth. (And/or if more of us start having electric vehicles..)

And security of supply, in case that cable to Scotland should not be working..

I was also reading about:

> seawater pumped storage system. There are several areas in Shetland that with
> comparatively small concrete dams could create quite large reservoirs for the storage
> of pumped seawater. For example a hydro powered pumping and generating station
> could be located on the shore of Dales Voe (Near the main power transmission lines)
> with storage reservoirs at an enlarged Njugals water (a disused water scheme loch)
> at a height of 70m above sea level but increased to 100m with the construction of a
> reasonably small dam across the burn exiting the uninhabited valley

I was also reading a while ago that Lerwick power station goes its oil from Norway, would not the replacement station have been able to get its oil more locally ?

I guess what we need is some nice baseload 24/7 sustainable power generation, geothermal perhaps.

It's good to see Orkney pushing the envelope, meanwhile, I hope we have enough old fashioned generators to keep the lights on should it not be very windy for a while.

I'm all for sustainable power generation, but I'd like to see sensible decisions made taking into account the lack of reliable 24/7 generating capacity.

Related link:

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/britains-wind-farms-standstill-wind-disappears-seven-days-125936905.html
> Britain’s wind farms ‘at a standstill’ as wind disappears for seven days
 

Does Orkney have an oil based power station ?

> Hjaltland Tenants didn't like the new systems and that their electricity bills were higher.

What was the new system ?

And what was the old ?
 

Talking of power stations, are we still going to lose the Lerwick one ?
 

How long would a Fetlar tunnel have to be ?

Maybe what we need is a local social enterprise tunneling company and we could build our own tunnels at cost price..

A bit of crowd funding, perhaps we wouldn't need to wait for the council to do anything.

Didn't all the elected council folk each say they was pro-tunnel before getting elected...

I wonder what any of them have done about the issue as I've not heard a thing !