Shoogler

Does being disconcerted and amused by it not preclude it from being a "drama" in any meaningful way though? You're either being "entertained" by each bit of unintentional humour that comes along, or by the plot, as if you try to mix the two, neither really works. Yeah, its good for throwing a number of gratuitous local scenery shots in to folk's faces nationwide, but as for "drama" and "believability" 'Edge of the World' did the same job only much better nearly 80 years ago, and only using B&W. Get a grip man, you're clearly engaging in an astonishing level of introspection if you can't understand how a drama is created. Its got nothing to do with the reality of either place or character.

Heavens above folks, are you unable to differentiate between fictitious drama and reality? Of course its a bit disconcerting, and highly amusing, to see the way the whole thing is edited together but the endless stream of daft comments i've seen on here and other media since it aired is worrying!

No objection to Chinese/Mandarin being taught in Shetland but the most useful language that needs to be elevated in importance is Spanish - spoken by around 330 million people and the second most spoken first language after Chinese. Frankly, French and German are miles less useful in the future.

I think you might be getting a bit mixed up. No consultants report on the bus station but maybe on the bus service contracts?

Yes

Free (allegedly) country, free (allegedly) speech (Mods permitting), ignore that which offends your eyes. Job done. Great. Job done alright, because the 3 of you are the sole reason why most of Shetland has switched off from Shetlink. Ghoastie you used to speak a lot of sense but now your getting far too bitter and twisted for my liking - yea i get it its a free country bla bla bla

There is one thing for sure - you 3 don't take much winding up to have an autopop at each other - please give it a rest, as its getting so dreadfully boring to see you ruin every thread you decide to play out your 'passion' for each other on.

Re the point Symbister is making, it shouldnt be forgotten that the revenue funding for SADA (including Mareel) is supported through core funding from a combination of Creative Scotland and Shetland Charitable Trust. My understanding is that SIC have stated they will not fund any future shortfall in revenue funding over and above existing commitments from the various funding partners. I agree that all SIC funding so far has related to the over-runs and unfinished business of the capital spend on the building - the problem being that inevitably those calls for additiomnal funds have had to be partaillty met from revenues raised since the facility opened, hence the need for bridging finance or some other help (paying wages and getting that back later once revenue allows i presume). Like others have said, so far so good re income generated. The real analysis now should be on the operating model (and costs) of running SADA and whether that is sustainable. I would suggest it is not because it is not commercially focused enough - too many people with fancy titles doing jobs that are, as someone else said, nice to have if you can afford it but in current times highly questionable. Re funding of sports groups - yes its great to have the infrastructure for them to use, but don't forget they are alll run entirely by volunteers and will seek support funding for thier activities from whatever source they can.

The idiots that did this are the same type of idiots who would have abused the skip system by putting the wrong stuf in them - fridges should not have gone in skips anyway. The abuse of the skips by builders, etc and the overfilling by all and sundry was also part of the reason for their demise.

Plenty evidence on this for a prosecution. This is not a 'result' of not having a skip to dump in as it would've been incorrect to put a fridge in a skip anyway - just someone who couldn't give a scoot.

Yes Mikey, i imagine most of the contributors here are either not on the island or have not been in any of the 2 Brae pubs, and surprise surprise, the report in the times this week said there were no issues, specifically the land lady of the Lights, well of course she'd say that, absolute horse sh1t!! Since the site started there have been over 600 employees sacked due to failing of drug/alcohol tests and of misbehaviour in the community. Is that number reliable? I heard it was a lot but only half that,

Aaaah, that's the style peat, find fault with the topic approach before anyone has a chance to even think about a response!! Class act my man!

^^ Completely agree- its not just in the fog/mist but also on dull days with lots of rain/spray on the roads. Also saw a large number of unlit cars/vans on the road this morning and throughout yesterday - some folk are just oblivious to other road users,

Yes you can and you need to contact Historic Scotland

No more Oscar Charlie den folks

?? No sure wit you mean?

^^^ Lik the man said. awaiting orders - from Alex Salmond!!

The Lang Ayre. The curve of the beach, the cliffs, the colour of the granite, and the stacks. Where is the Lang Ayre?

If you hadn't put across such an aggressive attitude when you started slagging off Shetlanders on here you might have got a different response, ya t*ss*r There speaks Shetlands finest. If in doubt resort to some rather crude and abusive language to get your point across. Very erudite. Iwill not resort to your level of personal attack on me as I happen to believe that everyone is entitled to their opinions, especially on an open forum. However I would like to remind "Shoogler" that opinions are like a*seholes- everyone has one. Shetlandpeat--- Yes,ok,you got me on this one it is all my fault !! Ok Chookyargyle, you're quite right', everyone's entitled to an opinion. I apologise for any offence caused. I reacted adversely to your provocative attitude and prior strong criticism of Shetlanders for not having the balls to take on Serco. As it happens I agree with a lot of your concerns, however I certainly don't agree with the stereotyping you have of people in our community.

If you hadn't put across such an aggressive attitude when you started slagging off Shetlanders on here you might have got a different response, ya t*ss*r

^^ You're absolutely right unlinked and i hope that this indiscretion is being dealt with by the appropriate responsible officer(s) - next...

^^ GR Exactly - lets see if we can have it back on topic please - even if the OP is a bit of a wind up merchant it is a good discussion in the Shetland context. Vitalite i am not abusing anyone - just annoyed at your childlike remark

[*** mod edit - some text removed ***] Toby, it's not about tradition and culture, more about a small peripheral island community that has as much if not more right to fish the North Sea and North Atlantic as anyone. A further question for you - how do you suppose the population of the planet will feed itself once it reaches about 9 billion in 2030 ? There is a perfectly sustainable but finite resource of fish in our waters provided sensible local/regional management policies can be allowed to replace the current failed systems.

Firstly, i assume you are not a resident of the Shetland Isles? I do hope you're not on the payroll of either HFW or of KEO Films. My point about the mackerel stock, regardless of the reality of whether it has 'moved' significantly in to Icelandic and Faroese waters, is that it has been a stock properly managed under an international agreement. When 'quota' shares have developed based on historical 'track record' alongside ICES scientific advice (mixed with politics i acknowledge), it is just plain wrong to have 2 states within the equation who decide to immediately massively up their own quota. I suggest you need to look very closely at that unilateral 'grab' of the share of stocks as i think you may agree it would have a very destabilising effect on any international arrangement - regardless of whether the argument over changing pattern of migration is correct or not Re the notion that Shetlanders can give up fishing and become tourist business - that is the sort of suggestion that makes me wonder if you are on the payroll. Fishing, in its various forms, is part of the culture and heritage of these islands and the activity supports many hundred shoreside jobs (engineering, processing, transport logistics, nets and gear, etc, etc). If you try coming to Shetland you will quickly see that the cost of getting here very quickly limits the tourist market - thank god in my opinion as there is a level of tourist visitors that would be 'in balance' with the capacity we have in the islands.

^^ Likewise, 'mackerel stocks on the brink of collapse' is another piece of misinformation. The mackerel stock is healthy - there is a major issue with the international agreement for fishing the stock but the stock is very healthy nonetheless.