MuckleJoannie

It is the B9073. As you head towards Scalloway it is the two lane road that goes off to the left just before the road to Scalloway turns right to the sharp bend at the Scord. As you come south from the Brig o Fitch look left and you will see the shooting range at the other side of the valley and a bit further up the hill on the right of the road you should glimpse some sheds.

They seem to come out of the garage complex on the Black Gaet from time to time. That site is so well landscaped to stop passers by seeing into it you can't tell if there are a lot of vehicles there. The business's address is Wormadale but they don't keep any vehicles there.

I beg to differ. A petition against the Scalloway Coop with about 360 signatures was delivered to Planning and the Community Council formally made an objection. A number of individuals wrote in with objections. As chair of the Scalloway Community Council I addressed the Planning meeting to draw attention to some of the objections. The application would have gone through solely on the recommendation of Planning if there had been no formal objections

This could be him. This person died in Inverness and is the right age. https://bayanne.info/Shetland/getperson.php?personID=I26467&tree=ID1

I've just looked at the online planning application and the Roads Department have made no comment on increased traffic in the area after the shop opens. It's almost as if they just expect the same number of customers to use the shops.

The oil industry brought a lot of money into Shetland which was invested in infrastructure and businesses. But it has had its day as a driver of the world economy. Unfortunately the alternatives are not fully developed. Renewable energy is all very well but it just produces power at the moment when conditions are right. A lot more development needs to go into storage solutions such as batteries or hot water storage for district heating schemes. Oil companies should be making the transitition into these areas instead of trying to defend their ground.

A quick look on Google for Shetland jobs revealed a long list, from CEO of a local charity to relief handypersons, with a bias to social/healthcare. I only found one working from home job but I guess anyone advertising that kind of job wouldn't advertis in a specific geographic area. Conservation of peat is a hot topic here at the moment, as a 103 turbine windfarm is being built on peatland and more are proposed. The windfarm was originally proposed as an investment in the islands to maintain the income steram to the council that would be lost as oil ran down but there is a strong suspicion that any financial gains will not match the environmental damage being incurred.

Shetland's biggest problem at the moment is lack of housing. There are plenty of jobs but few places for incoming workers to stay. The problem has been exacerbated by people selling up south and discovering how far their money can go in Shetland. Since th 1960s Shetland has sailed through every recession more or less unscathed and there is nothing as yet on the horizon that will end that.

Shetland's population went from about 35,000 in the mid 19th century to about 17,000 100 years later. Some got thrown off their land by their landlords (the Clearances). Many left due to the lack of work and opportunity. Knitwear and fishing had a boom in the 1960s then North Sea oil gave the economy a massive boost so the population has settled around 22,000. A lot of older Shetlanders did not recognise their identity as Scottish due to the colonial exploitation of the islands in the 18th and 19th centuries by Scottish landowners and clergy. You won't see kilts here, except at the occasional wedding. Norwegian links continue to be strong. Norwegian firms own much of the Shetland fish farming and fish processing industries. In WW2 many Norwegians fleeing Nazi occupation of their country ended up in Shetland as it is the closest UK landfall. Some of these fleeing Norwegians were organised into a clandestine operation which transported men and material back across the North Sea to the Norwegian resistance. This ran so effectively it became known as the Shetland Bus. A number of the Norwegians married local women and the families kept up their links. The Scalloway Museum is the main organisation that keeps up organised links with Norway. http://www.scallowaymuseum.org/introduction.html

Donaldson is a surname that seems to have entirely died out in Shetland. Between the censuses in 1841 and 1871 there are about 90 names. In 1881 and onwards there were less than 30. The best known Donaldson was Professor Gordon Donaldson. His grandfather was a Shetlander who sttled in Edinburgh. He wrote a number of books, including some about Shetland. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Isles-Home-Sixty-Years-Shetland/dp/0862280699 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0904505367/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p2_i0

Yes there was a successful campaign to get an MRI scanner. But it takes a while to procure it. I got a scan in a mobile MRI scanner in Aberdeen a few months ago. The inside reminded me of a Portaloo unit.

I recall the name Dr MacKenzie too. I think he was my dad's predecessor who was single and lodged at Garderhouse. He just used the Parkhall surgery.

Dr Bowie died in 1932. He built Park Hall in the early 20th century. My dad was the doctor for the area for many years and he lived in Parkhall from 1947 to 1950.

There are plenty of jobs in Shetland just now but there is a housing shortage. Incomers are buying houses as soon as they come on the market at premium prices so there increasing pressure on the council and the housing association to provide homes for locals.

The Scottish local elections are scheduled be held on Thursday 5 May 2022. The problem the SIC has managing its finances is that we grew used to the services that were affordable when it had loads of money. The councillors are terrified of cutting services in case they are voted out and the officials want to hold onto their jobs.