Muckle Oxters

^ it's da biggest event o da year attended by 1000s o folk from aa ower Shetland. Hivin a public holiday da next day maks sense. As far as I'm aware da SIC has an allocation o public holidays and dey choose when tae use dem. If no on Hop Day den when idder else? Whit would mak even mair sense is hivin Lerrick UHA on a Friday night! I winder if dir is ony particular reason for it bein on a Tuesday besides tradition?

Dir's been nae letters tae da paper aboot female guizers fur a while. Dis year dir's full gender equality!

After being inspired by da Queens Gambit TV series, a family member was askin about learning chess, and I minded seein dis thread. Is da Shetland Chess Club still runnin, and do dey welcome complete beginners? And can onybody recommend some good websites whaur a newbie can learn? I had a google but didna ken whaur ta start!

Dir is certainly a lot o steel in da 3 main teaching blocks. I wid imagine it wid be a case of knocking oot da panels (dey canna be far awaa fay fallin oot demsels!) and dismantling da beams - more of a crane and oxy acetylene job dan joost knocking it ower and clearin up da bruck. I dunna ken much aboot how contractors price dat kind o wark (whether dey keep and sell-on da recyclable materials or no) but da reclaimed steel will be worth a pretty penny which wid keep da bottom line o da budget doon a fair bit.

^ du should put a bid in for da demolition contract. How hard kin it be tae knock stuff ower?

I agree dat wid likely result in amore competitive price and dat wid by da wye o things in da commercial world. But local authorities and idder public bodies hiv to set and publish budgets, and dat's in da public domain so contractors hae a good idea tae start wee. Da finer points o da budgets will likely be considered as 'commercially sensitive' and no be made public, and will be discussed in closed sessions by cooncillors and heads o relevant departments. Pittin mesel in da shoes o a demolition contractor kennin dat Shetland is da richest local authority in Scotland and dat it'll be a logistic vergg doin da wark up here, I'd certainly be tempted to go in we a high price!

Whits a HYS topic? And by da wye my post isna directed at onybody or ony post in particular - merely an observation seein as dat's whit folk wir spikin about - Most likley a list o works required wid go oot tae competitive tender. Da potential contractors might have an idea of how much money is slooshing aboot a project by following media reports about budgets etc, dey will hiv a good idea of whit idder companies might be pittin in for, and how much idder wark dir is in da sector - dat will aa affect dir price. Whitever happens it'll likley be a lot mair expensive dan a similar contract on da mainland. But ony kind o public procurement contract is a competitive process and very tightly monitored and controlled.

Dis is great craic if you hae a spare hour!

Da French place (I forget whit it's called) opposite da Fort Chip shop is brawly good. Pricey, but no overly so.

I've worked for da SIC a couple times and wis aware o how aften folk would complain about 'da council' (or 'da coonty' in my day) An interesting thing was dat if I ever brought somebody up on it and pointed out dat I was part o 'da coonty' dey wid usually be a bit shi*ten on and say 'I wisna meaning dee'. It wis always dis mythical managers dey pictured sittin in offices purposely wastin money on nonsense, takin backhanders, givin jobs tae dir pals and raking in massive wages, and dey wir likee fae sooth asweel! Dunna get me wrang, I worked we a twaree turds in my time dare but probably less so dan idder workplaces, and dir wis (and I'm sure still is) a lot o very capable and hardworking staff dare. Anidder interesting thing was dat individual SIC employees wid get singled out for da praise (essy kert drivers and teachers, fur example seein as dey wir mentioned) but 'da coonty' wid get ony criticism, and quite aften da criticism wis for things dat had nothin to do wee da SIC. Rarely have I ever heard o onybody praising 'da coonty', and dir's plenty dey do worthy o a grain o praise noo and again. I think it's joost dat da SIC is dat big dat folk feel dey can slag it aff withoot worrying aboot it. It's an easy target! So afore slaggin aff 'da coonty' den tink fur a moment dat dirs a good chance its your friends and neighbours dat work dare dat will be readin whit you write.

Onybody here had da Covid jab yit? Any if you hiv, how did feel efter it? I’ll gladly tak it whin it’s offered but I’ve heard fae a couple o folk dat dey felt a bit under da wadder

I feel lik a WW1 soldier in da trenches on Christmas Day waiting to see if @Ghostrider is going to pass da ball back tae @Spinner72 or fire his rifle at him

It didna tae lang fur Biden to rejoin da Paris Climate Agreement https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55732386 Dat's excellent news in my opinion

Dis is good news about mass vaccinations in Shetland https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2021/01/21/nhs-confirms-venues-for-mass-vaccination-rollout/ As lang as Bill Gates isna dare trying to ram microchips intae me at da same time (I'm no sure whit his plans are fur dat or how it works)!

So du doesna lik da look o wind turbines, da construction might inconvenience dee and du'll likely no be seein ony profit fae dem. Is dat a fair summary o why du doesna like dem?

Can da NAFC help we finding accommodation I winder? They do hae some student digs which ir usually full, but as I recall dey can help students find private digs. I wid be worth contacting da NAFC student support folk to see whit dey say.

Both da Gas Plant and Viking Energy hae comprehensive paet management policies, systems.. call it whit you will. I dunna recall da Gas Plant paets getting onywhaur near da level o public scrutiny dat Viking gets. I suspect it's because da Gas Plant is hidden ahint a hill, and his tight security so folk couldna tak photos o half done jobs and pit dem on da internet.

Surely da onus is on dee to check dy own facts. Du has painted a fairly negative picture based on brawly shaky foundations. Could it be dat du has spent ower lang on da Facebook groups where, by dy own admission, naebody can see onything positive about Viking? P.S. "blood money" is a splendidly dramatic ending

We can add da £400K a year Community Benefit Fund tae da list o positives https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2020/11/23/viking-energy-community-benefit-fund-agreement-an-important-step-forward/

And it's goodbye fae Trump.... Donald Trump's farewell: We did what we came to do

Interestin! https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19020448.scotlands-richest-man-mount-legal-challenge-spaceport/ Mr Povlsen objected to the development on environmental grounds and later announced he had invested more than £1.4 million in a rival spaceport in Shetland. Dat's an expensive wye tae tak on da planning department

Five new Covid cases takes overall total to 200 https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2021/01/19/five-new-covid-cases2-takes-overall-total-to-200

Has onybody here tried Apple TV? I was tinkin aboot goin for da free month trial (but I wid liklee forget to cancel it and end up payin) There doesna seem to be a heck o a lot o programmes on it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38922788 A bit o an unsavoury character but he made some splendid music

Thanks folks. Dat'll be me sorted fur da next twaree weeks! I've niver watched dis amount o TV in me life - I tink I'm startin to loss me grip o reality!