Frances144

I do read your blog though I must confess my main activity on Shetlink these days is perusing the Classified Ads.

I got a quote for £50k for it to be installed at the office. The nearest node to connect to is 1.1km away. Asked them for a breakdown to which they said they could not give me one. I asked them what the work entailed, they gave me a list of infrastructure they would have to install. I said to them why don't you just blow a fibre through the ducting to the BT box outside our building.
Price went down to £947.00
The people who contact you to sell it have no clue what will be required to install it. The boys in the vans know where everything is and what is possible. That being said if there is no duct carrying fibre from the exchange past your house then they would have to run 4m of duct and if that is going alongside a road that won't be cheap to do. Not £973k though.

Just wait for the trickle down economics to work and you will be able to have two!

With the forthcoming cancellation of the islander meal discount on the North boats, I wondered what others are planning on doing for their meals and refreshments; paying up or finding an alternative?  I thought that I might apply some time to a thought experiment to seek a solution.
On Amazon you can buy a 1 litre deep fat fryer for £25, which got me wondering about having a fry-up in your cabin.  Obviously this would need to be done on a calm night or whilst still in port or the lea of Shetland mainland if underway.
As far as provisions are concerned you could have a bottle of oil in your luggage, a fresh fish in a bag per person, a spud per person and something to peel it with, or pre-peel/chip and bag them before you leave home.  You could knock up some batter at home and put it into a zip lock bag.  A plate plus eating irons would be necessary, add salt, pepper and vinegar if required.  You might be able to blag some or all of these from the onboard cafe.
As you can't open a window in the cabin (who designed these boats for chrissakes?) there is always the risk that the cooking might set off the cabin's smoke detector so it would be wise to wedge the door open with a leg broken off the chair.  SERCO might thank you for leaving the door open as the smell of fish and chips wafting in the cabin's corridor might encourage others to go to the cafe, so up their sales.
Disposing of the oil might make sense, depending on your plans for breakfast, as you wouldn't be wanting to carry dirty oil slopping about in a deep fat fryer.  The best that I can come up with is to fill one of the paper cups with soap solution provided at the sink and the shower, tip the oil down the toilet, and follow that up with the cup of soap liquid before flushing the solution down the pipe.  Just add more soap if there is any residue to make the problem someone else's problem.  If you are more eco-friendly just dispose of the oil in the waste bin.  At least you won't have to share a paper cup with your travelling companion then.  Remember to wipe out the cooking vessel with plenty of the free loo paper then flush that as well.
Alternatives could include using a chip pan with a camping gas stove, the door must be open for the carbon monoxide to escape.  It's probably best not to go to the bar whilst waiting for the oil to heat up in the chip pan.  Soak a bath towel in water just in case the oil should catch fire as black smoke billowing from your cabin is something likely to be noticed and may cause alarm amongst your fellow travellers.  If you have a taste for foreign foods then the kettle should hold a couple of tins of curry.  Obviously drink plenty of liquids first and fill flasks before doing this as the kettle's interior will be sub-optimal after the curry cook up.
For breakfast pour the milk that you have brought into the deep fat fryer or chip pan, add some porage oats, salt and sugar, and set it to cook, stirring frequently with one of the "free" plastic spoons.  Eat the portage straight out of the cooking vessel, but be aware that there may be smoke produced as the remnants of the porage sticks to the bottom.  Take the deep fat fryer or chip pan into the shower with you or just abandon it for the staff to have if they want it.  If you are determined to keep it then use one of the towels to rub vigorously on the inside to try to leave the burnt bits behind with the towel.
If you haven't binned the oil you might have had the forethought to bring a rasher of bacon, a sausage and an egg each, which could be fried in the cooking vessel of choice, using the same safety measures as detailed above.  The meat could be kept cold overnight by putting them in the sink and running the cold water over them all night with the plug out.  If you need to use the toilet in the night it will be important to lower your hand hygiene standards for one night and forego the sink.
Other considerations should include putting your luggage and any clothing into bin bags so that they are not soiled by the deep frying/curry/porage cooking aromas extravaganza.  SERCO will be washing the bedding anyway, and wiping down the woodwork, so no need to worry about those things.  If the chip pan didn't catch fire you will have saved them the trouble of having to repaint the cabin, so everyone is a winner.
Let me know if you come up with better solutions.
Bon voyage!
Biggy

Used them for many years, they get to places that other broadband's don't/won't reach with community wifi etc. Absolute lifesaver when they did the Fetlar links, and Ian Brown is a fascinating guy to have a technical chat with.

We use them for work and have done so for many a year. They've been great on all fronts and bent over backwards to get us connected in a few different locations. There's also been times when their connections have stayed operational when BTs have been down.

https://myshetland.co.uk/huge-change/
The difference

Sure, Jan. Your comment was decidedly inflammatory and, at best, I'll considered. It did get you some attention and pootle off a number of folk - so mission accomplished.

I have written to Fred Olsen cruiseliners.  I have yet to receive their reply.

 

The shetland.org website has a 'Live, Work and Study' section with information that might be relevant: https://www.shetland.org/life
Promote Shetland also runs a Facebook group called 'Living and Working in Shetland' where people thinking about making a move to the islands can ask for advice. https://www.facebook.com/groups/livingworkingshetland/

https://myshetland.co.uk/how-to-train-a-dragon/
Training a dragon

I liked the newspaper feeds at the front.

.... And stays firmly at home, going nowhere, seeing no one.
 
I, myself, me have installed a drawbridge, portcullis as well as filling the moat with sharks.
 
Please stay away!
 
(much love x)

Shetland Isle Toy & Model Soldiers Co was based at the Toll Clock centre a lot of years ago. The owner was married to a local but they parted company and he moved south.

I think SITAMS were alive and trading along time ago. The labelling and boxes look vintage (unless that's just the look).  I am also surprised no one has heard of them.  I might do some trawling about too.
 
Thank you, George for the links.  I am intrigued.  When the weather closes in, I will put my internet terrier hat on!  Will report back.

Spelling IS important though George, call it nitpicking if you wish, but unless we uphold standards we will all be at the mercy of modern textspik. Dear God! The very idea is horrifying, and reading as a pleasure would become a nightmare.
Spelling of the English language is sadly under serious threat, the threat is real.
Too many of our citizens are happy to dismiss it as of no importance.
Mainly because they can't be bothered.

I love grammar, good spelling and sentence construction. 

I admit, though, I am not perfect when I am writing, but I do try.  (And I love a comma), (and I love brackets), (and I am trying very hard not to love a million exclammation marks!!!!) and..... I watch no Youtube films in anyone's posts unless they are totally relevant to Shetland, have Shetland in them or I made them.
 
And long answers.  Jeezo. I get bored of reading.

And when a topic starts to veer off because someone has a grudge or just wants to make their point regardless of the ruddy original post where, tbh, very often a simple yes or no type reply would do fairly sufficiently.
 
I digress.  Space..... it's out there. That's all I know.
 
To quote DNA "Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

Grammar is important.
 
Capital letters are the difference between, "Helping your Uncle Jack off a horse", and, "helping your uncle jack off a horse."

You could try Shetland Broadband if you haven't already. They are a very helpful, courteous, actually know what they are on about and will be abreast of what's coming hardware wise at a local level. It may all be for naught but they'll be able to give you better info than on here it would appear. Best of luck Frances!
 
Shetland Broadband
http://www.shetlandbroadband.co.uk/
01595 696297

Thank you Twerto. 

I wouldn't go superfast into the new Voucher Scheme just yet. More info regarding Broadband in Shetland as a whole is likely to be come available in the start of the new year. 
 
There are a few options floating about how best to use the voucher scheme, so that it benefits everyone not just those closest to the exchange, but nothing will happen until R100 data has been released come the start of next year.

Shetlands average earnings may be a bit higher than the national average (around 20% IIRC) but this is generally more than offset by our high cost of living - 20-60% higher than mainland Scotland depending on what part of Shetland you are in. 
 
I actually think Shetland is as close to a "classless" society as you get in the UK. In my experience, people don't tend to socialise along lines of wealth. I would not be surprised to walk in to a pub and see a millionaire having a pint with someone on minimum wage for example. 

Brilliant. Thank you. X

I'm no sure how yun two stories mean 'it's staring to come apart at da seams' - dat's mibee a bit over dramatic, but liklee looks lik dat if you're main source o info is da Daily Mail and Sun!

I support the principles of BLM, so presumably I'm part of 'they'. You may think I engage in Craptavism (whatever that is), but what do you mean by "protesting potential government overreach due to the lockdown poses the risk of a reformist movement actually forming as a result."?
 
Are you interested in discussion, or is it just a case of throwing some theories and vague sentences around and expecting folk to try to decipher what you mean?