tooney1

I think he's suggesting that the mistakes could be prevented in the first instance, rather than the payouts reduced. But there's not much context to the story, i.e. number of patients affected against the figure would have been useful.

Does democracy really exist? 2/3 parties, all with the same overall agenda, choose one or the other but neither will abide by pledges or do right by the people. All sponsored by the wealthy. History repeats.

Online shops require money and effort to set up and constantly promote. But fundamentally I'd say they're no longer worth the effort since they have an impossible time standing out against the competition of dominant websites. Even if you're thinking about it at a local level with a collective online presence, the "support local (but pay much more)" ethos probably won't gather the optimistic following you might hope... It's best to coerce shoppers into a high spend in a shop where they can't price compare! Amazon/ebay have established themselves as dominant marketplaces with low cost items, so usually the best approach as a retailer is to use them as an outlet for exposure and let them take their cut. Though whether you can compete on price via high volume sales remains to be seen. So yes, you perhaps should be going to Amazon for the above but to buy local! The only solution in my eyes is legislation to create a level the playing field with retail stored vs online. Whether that is done by competition laws, tax, is another can of worms... Certainly no one will want Amazon to have to increase their prices, since we've already been given that cake and it would be impossible to take back...

Esplanade/crossing at Queens speed bumps I get, and to be clear, not against (well i think they could have tried a 20mph speed limit first...). Scalloway road and commercial road I don’t. Wouldn't it have been sensible to lay off roads that lead to parking or are considered main roads/access roads to other areas other than the street? Again about balance. Also, a lot of the best free parking is hogged all day by staff. Time limit them? (No staff without customers).

I find them frustrating to navigate, even at the correct speed or less. Side-to-side car shaking when you have back ache is no fun. My pleasure, though I think avoidance wasn't an objective when they were implemented.

Traffic calming equates to complete traffic avoidance for many including myself. I’m happy to avoid the street completely because of it, apart from the main post office (why is it still there). So consider many who now choose the shopping centre or tesco instead. There is free parking, even outside traffic calming, but it also screams awkward. Old swimming pool car park or fort where you try to get close or “lucky” but end up u-turning or reversing inamongst others doing the same, or end up on an unexpected hillwalk that doesn't bear fruit for the effort. I will pick the path of least resistance everytime when I shop, like others. Are we overprovisioning for tourists, who I dont think actually want to accumulate brick a brack at every port but instead want to buy experiences? I believe we are and the balance is now wrong.

17.5 mil now in the hands of the unelected and removed from council reserves. The monster they created bought back, with a healthy private sector portfolio added and more conflicts of interest (those who set the rent collect the rates...). The whitehouse debacle/lost rent also disappears into an opaque mist... Time to buy the MRI scanner now that playing landlord badly is over. That would benefit the people of Shetland, and in my eyes at least, is exactly the type of thing the fund should be used for.

https://www.shetland.org/live/live-hereIf you haven't already (would have thought shetlink might get a mention on that website by now as a resource!)

The only real answer to this thread is: we don't know. Faced with unknowns, humans will instinctively latch onto what they feel is the right answer based on experience, their own reasoning and genetic tendencies, i.e. the need to fill the existence question (proven to be greater in some than others), which by scientific means, is flawed. We have a hard time leaving things open. To believe or not believe, is probably closed-minded...

I believe peope have largely woken up to religious dogma and are now questioning its origin and practices. Things like homophobia, stoning and condeming blood tranfusions are now sore points in religious texts, among other things. Other worldy gods and miracles now seem far fetched. We’re now a lot less likely to listen and follow without question in todays open and globalised society. Different countries are at different levels though. Where there is sufferring, loss, oppression/less openess, religion tends to thrive since people flock to it for meaning, belonging and conformity. Even the US seems to be still far more into it than Europe, where you can still be an outcast for being an atheist. Alien theory. Could we have been visited by a superior race who have influenced texts, evolution, genetics, and thought they were gods? Certainly one theory than in many ways seems more plausable. We know so little of our ancient history or sudden advancement. We dont even know the true purpose of the pyramids, with recent discoveries showing they channel electromagnetic energy beneath them. We do know wormholes, time travel are theoretically possible, and even NASA is slowly releasing UFO footage. And look at what we’re discovering in genetics, we could be creating monsters and half man half machine soon enough! So to me, everything is still wide open. It is arrogant to think we’re the most advanced race that ever existed anywhere.

I agree. It and e-cigs could be made available only under prescription for those already addicted, then phase it out for newcomers. I think it is also time that perhaps extra insurance needs to be paid by those who indulge in high risk activities, be it smoking, excessive drinking, extreme sports or cosmetic surgeries that end up burdening the NHS when things go wrong.

That episode of Grand Designs where they did community self builds, I thought that was an excellent idea. It gave those out of work/low income a house, building skills and purpose. It would great if they did that here. The SIC has plenty of land after acquiring the Ness of Sound at great expense for, er, housing...!

SLAP was made using public money. All acquisitions and rent are the result of using public money. It's essentially an investment portfolio that belongs to the public (in my view) so can't really be sold back to the public. But this is what awaits to be seen since it was separated off into a commercial entity.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out. Money made using public money should still be public money, but I don't think the SCT sees it like that. This so-called commercial entity could quite easily be valued and sold...

My point is if truly desperate you'd absorb a private rent or share. Other decision-makers will unfortunately see it that way also. There is most definitely a void and it is difficult for first time single buyers who play buy the rules, but that isn't going to change anytime soon. Being a landlord is a business and I'm not sure if landlords can be completely described as greedy since it can be a high risk business if you end up getting squatters or the place trashed. Yields have always been higher in Lerwick than elsewhere in Scotland but there is an opportunity to haggle, especially if you have longer term aspirations (noting new laws mean there is no fixed minimum term like 6 months or a year anymore, so longer term can make you more favorable to landlords). New laws also mean landlords can't suddenly hike prices up or turf you out for someone else during an oil boom. Save a deposit, absorb a private rent if you have to for your own happiness (sharing will cut it in half or more), and skill up if possible until you can buy, would be my advice.

I think this is a good point. Council houses for a sole occupant is a rarity, and depending on your viewpoint, perhaps a luxury that shouldn't exist in social housing. Individuals end up there after relationship breakdowns or if there a joint custody of children etc., but rarely from the outset. Ghostrider's point was also good and to follow that on I guess it would help making a case that it is a strain on your Granny's health as well as your own if she is not the type of person to give you marching orders. CAB may be able to form a good and objective letter here for you. However, the contradiction that comes across to me is on one hand you state you are desperate for a house, but on the other quote "i could afford private rent but having a huge chunk of my wages going to some greedy landlord".

I'm not sure moving south (off Shetland) will aid the situation since there is a housing crisis across the country and it's likely you'll hit the same problems with other local authorities. However you might find more affordable private rent or better job opportunities. £10 an hour in a full-time job plus 5% deposit will get you a mortgage, so it's not that out of reach unless you are unskilled/minimum wage. Unfortunately public sector housing owes you nothing if you are able bodied and can afford private rent or a house-share.

Yes a lot of first time buyer mortgages from the likes of Nationwide, RBS etc. only require a 5% deposit. And there are some properties on the market around the £100k mark in Lerwick, so £5kish down is all you would need. I've always used a mortgage broker who's been able to make things work when I've been refused, has got me better than advertised rates through his relationship with banks, and just generally makes the process easy. I can PM you his number if you want to go down this route.

That's strange, I thought I saw you both there. I even took a photo! https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a5/3d/8b/a53d8b422310ad8b0eecb75eb66c89cd.jpg

Good to hear you’ve finally visited the venue and had a positive experience. Was ghostie with you?

The licensing board seems to be oblivious to the amount of home delivered wine subscriptions in Shetland. Cheap, regular, can receive whether sober or not without leaving the house. No joined up thinking…

Agree. Per the article it definitely needs a risk assessment. The article stats, which attempt to justify it, offer little insight. 17 assaults in the last year which include emergency workers (who presumably won't be armed so why count them?). A push can be classed as an assault. So removing those two groups how many serious incidents are actually left? Also not forgetting that tasers have killed, and police, like any human, are capable of bad decisions.

Seems extreme for Shetland where a batton could handle most situations and just builds unhealthy fears. If discharging a taser I’d hope at least a body worn camera would be mandatory to record the incident.

Another seemingly unjustifiable cost that adds insult to injury to the whole debacle (what was wrong with the existing reception?)

There are local film makers out there you could reach out to - https://directory.shetlandtimes.co.uk/commercial(under Film/TV Production). Alternatively the DIY route is a possibility (and there are lots of good guides out there). A DSLR camera on a tripod (capable of shooting videos), portable recorder/mic setup, basic lighting and video editing software is all you need. Techniques like green screening (which the above video uses) are dead simple.