Urabug

Ghostrider . I used to get trouble if I cycled the wrong way along the street . They can do anything dey want noo.

Totally disagree Windwalker,the street used to be lots and lots busier with far more folk ,vans ,buses and lorries . You must have been going arround with your eyes closed.

Well,hjasga we go through life having to trust many people, doctors ,nurses, pilots, captains ect ect and seldom if ever do we question there ability. For me so far so good had a few scary moments in the air and on the land and under the surgeons knife.but I'm still here in one piece. Now the Chancellor,sure as hell knows better than I do what is in the "kittty" so I have no option but to trust him. Democracy elected him,deemed he was fit for the job so there we are. Some folk think they could do a better job--well some drivers are better than others,good doctors ,bad doctors. Every profession has folk of different abilities .

I sympatise but the first question to ask is why there is the lack of shops on the street. The answer is accessability. Shop owners need to be able to get goods into and out of the buildings easily and safely. Is there any property on the street that could accommodate Tesco, Co-op or any of the hardware stores on the industrial estares,and of course the answer is no. The majority of folk want to be able to take a vehicle as near the shops as possible,and ample parking at the supermarkets provide this . With a population of 22000 and ever increaseing competition from the internet ect, it is difficult to see how many of the small buisnesses can survive. Stopping or prohibiting cars on the street will only aid its demise. The traffic on the street is nothing campared to what it was say 20 years ago, pedestrians should always have priority unfortunately many drivers do not respect this. In towns and villages where pedestrianisation has been successful the population is a lot bigger. It can not work in lerwick. If the shop owners had a "larger turnower" then i am sure they would be able to afford more paint. I'm sure some are struggling to survive. Many of the shops will be rented possibly the landlords are the ones to apply a lick of paint.

Think it was a black car,but did not pay all that much attention other than the fact the vehicle was overtaking where it should not. It happens all the time now,would probably notice it more if it did not happen.

Saw a car overtake on the chevrons at Quarff again today . Thought the idea of the chevrons was to stop that. Seems everyone has to overtake.

Concrete boots an Sumburgh Head it is den :-) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Will you no hae dem comeing oot o da lighthoose chaseing you for an access fee. Mair expense.

Mind peerieivan we must protect their human rights,even if they did not think of you or your family when selling some trash or commiting some other misdemeanour . Come on now fair play.!

Well all our political friends are all wanting to save money(SNP?),so i suggest they start with the Ministry of Justice. Anyone with a brain the size of a pea can see massive savings that this particular department could make. The country is investing a massive amount of money in upgrading broadband so why do they not show an example and use it . Video Conferenceing it has got better and better over the years and I believe it was supposed to save time and money. If there is legal issues with this then change the law.

Why is that someone under apprehension has to be escorted all the way from the UK Mainland to appear in court in Lerwick.. Surely with modern technology the hearing could be held "down the road" thus saving hundreds of pounds . This would also have prevented G4S also having to appear in court, more unnecessary expense. Think the Chancellor should have a word with the Sheriff.

Sticks and stones will break my bones. But words will never harm me.

Well,hjasga I'm not an accountant,but so far I have been able to manage my own affairs reasonably well. No matter what party is in power, the Chancellor usually will have qualifications in financial matters far beyond my understanding of things . When Labour was in power for what ever reasons they as good as bankrupted us,but when the Tories with the help of the Lib Dems got in things improved. Now I'm no Torie supporter but I know which side is scoreing the goals at the moment and nobody wants to back a loser. Its the old saying you cannot burn the candle both ends. We would all like to see everyone living in grandeur but that is just not possible. If nobody had anything the economy would come to a stand still, so it's better to have something no matter how little to spend . What sense would it be to give everyone what they wanted,bankrupting the country then we would all have nothing. The financial boffins who have to try and fund all the various departments sensibly and keep them running are provideing a good service to us all and need to be complimented not criticised ,but of course we see what seems to most of use stupid expenditure in many ares of government which is never properly explained so is correctly critised. Guess if the government were a buisness the liquidators would be in power. How much dole/pensions would the receivers pay? Just think GREECE,just keep the grindstone turning and hope for the best.

And who advises Civil Servants--when we see the concert most of us are unaware what has gone on behind the stage in preparation for the public show,the same applys in the political world. There is a lot going on behind the scenes that most of us know nothing about. With more cuts announced yesterday every political party will have to accept a reduction in funding affecting each and everyone of us in one way or another. Probably even more centralisation. The point is the Chancellor right or wrong. The country has to live within it means be it good or bad . I know how much I have,the trouble is I do not know how much the chancellor has to play with,so i will just have to sit back and trust him There can only be one master on the bridge--is he heading for the rocks,time will tell . The SNP would certainly touch the bottom if they were allowed to steer there preferred course.

When I say politics do not have much to do with this,what I really mean is our politians will have been advised (brainwashed) by buisness men/women to the potential savings that can be made . Decisions I believe in many cases have already been made before we even hear of it. Many of these experts will be looking for something to support there own buisnesses and will present a very strong case for this. Always wanting change to keep them in buisness. They just have to convince everyone that their idea is good. If you apply this to the mirage of people involved in the "computer" trade,and the office managers trying to save a bob or two, then it is easy to see why someone could be convinced that centralisation is the answer.. Remember there is nothing new about centralisation ,car breakdown companys like te AA and RAC have useing the system sucessfully for years, You phone them, tell them where you are and within a short time a friendly mechanic arrives. Take any council department --do they need someone to sit in an office in Lerwick to tell Mr Joiner or Mr plumber where to go. The only jobs save today are the frontline staff!

brochbuilder--- I do not think politics has much to do with this. Thousands are being spent on upgrading broadband playing right into the hands of those who want to introduce centralisation which requires this very commodity which we the public are demanding. Everyone running about with little computers picking up there next appointments and tasks probably being controlled in India or some other far away land, that is the way we are heading. Could easy see a big "command" centre spring up here in Shetland for any well known company. It is all about pounds,shilling and pence .

Tend to agree,whalsa but remember the person sitting in the local office might well come fae Timbukto and widna know Skaw fae Scarborough,would they ever find da Tevliks, that is the way things are nowadays. There is probably a course on it at the FE. How to explain exactly where you are.

In this day of modern communications,there is absolutely nothing wrong with centralisation and believe me we will see more and more of this as cost cutting continues with council and NHS departments amalgamating throughout the country. The recent case to which you refer does make one concerned,but until we get all the facts we cannot blame it purely on centralisation. The problem I would have when reporting an incident is my exact location.Most of the time when driveing I know where i am, but would have no postal code or address,I might not even know the road number .Kinda awkard trying to explain this to anyone who is looking for postal codes and address. to put into their computer. Try useing a Sat Nav without addresses or postal codes it is pretty much a waste of time and there lies the problem for someone trying understand where to send emergency vehicles no matter where they are. If a vessel sends out a mayday the first thing the coastguard wants to know is their position. This is the same on land. Many modern mobile phones have GPS and this will automatically send out the necessary info makeing things easier in some cases (one might not be at the actual location of the incident)but it will be a long time if ever before we all have this equipment to hand when needed. So the answer is we should always know exactly where we are in case we have to tell someone! This could make a good exercise blind fold someone then drive them to a location where they then have to explain to some stranger where they are especially if it is a bit misty

Tavish has to be commended for supporting Alastair. I also like to think that I would support my fellow coleague when the need should arise, especially over such a trivial matter, really no worse than a minor traffic offence,which has been explotied beyond any imagination. I would certainly support Tavish, but I do have several issues with some of his past decisions on fishing ect. Who else has the experience (local and parlimentary) to replace Tavish ?

One thing that I never see mentioned with regards to food banks is the fact that much of the problem is caused by drink,drugs,dishonesty lazyness ect rendering many unemployable. We cannot blame any political party for that. My sympathy is with the genuine who cannot work and would if they could ,or those who have lost jobs due to redundancy ect.,and cannot find another job. Very difficult to catagorise,that is where the problem lies as everyone has to be treated equally,and there is simply not enough money to keep it all going the way it is or we end up like Greece Guess we cannot all be rich,but a little common sense when spending what little we have helps.

I can think of many ways to spend £60000, and this is not one of them. Bet disabled Shetland would have appreciated some of this!

I would rather see Alastair in Westminster, an experienced politician than some complete novice. We all learn from our mistakes.I think that will have dawned on him now! Guess if some of you were "Sheriffs" everyone would get life sentences.

Perfect George--I bet you have told a lie!

The truth,daveh I'm sure most people do not want vouchers and BOGOF(buy one get one free ) deals . I want simple straight forward,affordable reasonably priced flights. Most of us appreciate the high operating costs the likes of Flybe,loganair ect have to bear,but there is such massive differences in prices depending when and where booked thet one has to feel there are being "ripped off " These consultative talks I fear will produce nothing, because Flybe/loganair have little or no competition.

But will there be any rewards for us now after this talks??????

The Burradale windfarm appears to me to be alright,so why would the VE ,not also be a success. The wind is free and unlike oil,gas,fish ect is unlikly to run out so it makes sense to me that this energy source should be captured and converted into something that we can use to power & heat our homes / offices thus, preserving oil and gas for the generations that come after us. Fortunes have been made and lost from all the free assets that have been put on this earth,many to there detriment by the greed and selfishment of us all, but we will be hard pushed to destroy the wind. So lets use it and safe as much of the worlds resourses as we can. The alternative is of course to turn the clock back and we all live without electricity! I am aware there are other equally as good sources of energy - tidal,wave ,nuclear, solar ect . There is absolutely no reason why the VE project could not benifit us all .