hjt

I understand the SIC's financial position however you have allowed the head of Housing and Finance to take this opportunity. Both of them are less than 52 years of age. : Like oddtablet I was envious of such young men getting early retirement - as well as the 2 you mention, Shetland College's former director also recently retired. I think they must have had early communication that policy is about to change and got their applications in early enough to benefit from more favourable policy. Communicating what it would have saved the council had these retirements been delayed till after 1 April 2011 would be welcome. Over the last few months I do sense a greater urgency and determination for council departments to work together - more interdepartmental communication is good.

I learned to knit before going to school but a knitting teacher did visit school each week - late 1950s/early 1960s - to teach girls to knit. She taught me things my mother had never tried - textured patterns/aran - so increased my knitting knowledge. Knitting is like everything else which involves physical co-ordination (cycing or swimming for example). If you learn when you're young you'll always be able to go back to it in later life even if you need a little help to get you re-started. Nowadays most Mums and Dads don't have the skill to teach their kids to knit. To drop knitting tuition just because few people make a living from it is crazy - how many make a living from music or art? There should be more emphasis in schools on home-making (cookery, sewing, knitting, home decorating, home maintenance, growing food) - all will be useful when people are looking to make ends meet.

Llama farming has, I think, been investigated - the problem is that llamas are VERY expensive to buy.

This is great news. Just watched the video clip on BBC - Sakchai is to be congratulated on dealing so well with all the media attention this unsought predicament has brought upon him. A future politician? Shetlink obviously has played an enormous part in keeping us informed - a huge thank you. Like many more, my introduction to your website was the Sakchai story and getting up to date posts has been excellent. Now for the boring bit (again) - don't forget when you're out celebrating: all this started with too much booze!

I im most disappointed ta see Kevin sayin we sood tak awa da knittin an gie dialect lessons instead. Eenoo wir seein a gret interest ita knittin so dere's mair an mair young eens wantin ta laern, an I wiz blyde ta see da peerie tings (11 year aald an younger) fae Unst wir demonstratin at da Highlan Show in Edinburgh. An whin it comes ta knittin dere ir a braa twartree dialect wirds associated wi hit. I'm a lok aaldir is Kevin an whin I guid ta schul we wirna allowed ta spaek Shaetlan - da bairns is a lok better aff noo an, as far as I'm awaar, can spaek whit dey laek alto a gret mony o dir teachers dunna hae da dialect. I do ken at laest ee teacher fae England dat's geen oot o her wye da teach dialect wirds, poetry an sae on. Haein sed aa yun I tink da teachin o "proper English" is braaly poor an I'm vexed ta see da evidence o dat in some o da discussion treeds i dis website. Da worst is yun apostrophes dat fok pit apo plural wirds - I can understaand fok gyittin mixed up whin dey ir winderin aboot some apostrophes bit or if du's missin oot a lettter, or whin da ess is added juist becaas dere's mair as een, dere is NAE apostrophe! If you dunna ken whaar da apostrophe gengs juist laeve it oot!

I e-mailed about 70 conservative MPs last night. 3 (A Murrison, C Fraser and J Redwood) say I need to have an address in their constituency before they can give my e-mail consideration. I think that's not correct but can anyone confirm?

Nick Harvey Mp and Bob Russell MP have both e-mailed to say they will sign.

This is GREAT news but, as I said in an earlier post, this trouble all began with too much booze so please party but don't over indulge! It really doesn't feel good when you can't remember EVERYTHING that happened the night before.

Dis is aa very interestin. I aye correct - wi da best o manners - ony een dat gyits it wrang an spaeks aboot "the Shetlands" an juist canna understaand, in parteeklar, da radio interviewers dat doesna fir dey hae ta mind dat dere's a lok o fok listenin ta dem.

I was at the rally tonight - great to see so many people there. Just a thought, will Sakchai be offered support/counselling to help him cope when he's released? It will be almost impossible for him to prepare for the media attention he is going to get, so big has this story become.

I've been following the news of the Sakchai nightmare and am delighted how Shetlanders of all ages are united and how fast the support has been amassed. My son is a friend of Sakchai's - many more parents in Shetland can claim the same as Sakchai is such a popular young man. As so many young people are reading this page, I'd like you to remember that this nightmare began with too much booze. The next time you awake after a night out and can't remember ALL that happened the night before, remember Sakchai sitting in a cell with too much time to think - and don't you do it again! Many many people - including myself - have done stupid things when young and/or drunk; fortunately the consequences for most of us have not been so dire.

Hi, all; Just joined too. I am outraged at what has happened to Sakchai. My children lived next door to him in Mossbank, and our families got to know each other. My sons were best friends with him, and Sakchai spend a lot of time in our home. There is no way Sakchai fits into the category of person the national press tells us the Home Office should be after. Like everyone else, I believe they are after the "soft target" to get numbers up in an attempt to save face. In the opinion of the home office, Sakchai is a target for deportation regardless of his character. Shetland is an out-of-the-way community which to a Londoner, is somewhere near the North Pole, so Sakchai can't possibly cause too much problem...at least not the fiasco the London raid has created. SO THEY THINK... Can we show them differently? Shetland Really does count, and we are as important as Central Belt Scotland or London.... Alistair Carmichael wrote, "Given that Sakchai has lived in Shetland since he was ten how can the IND state as a supporting reason for his deportation that he spent "his childhood and formative years in Thailand" so can expect to re-adjust to living there again? The Director with the IND responsible for reviewing Sakchai's case told me at 8am that as far as the second of these two questions is concerned it is their policy to detain everyone is Sakchai's position unless there are compelling reasons not to. Not quite guilty until proven innocent but not a kick in the pants off it. She offered no explanation at all in the morning with regard to the first question but she clearly spent the whole day working on one because at 10pm she told me that the view they had reached was that nought to ten were your formative years. What can you say about people like that?" Does this mean that the home office thinks we stop developing once we reach 10? If so does this also mean we have a home office with the mental development of 10 year olds? Black Eagle