JustMe

Problems at sea are not limited to Northlink. This story from the BBC caught my eye. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-30586835

Let's be honest about this. Northlink is not running a suitable service to be counted as a "lifeline" service for Orkney and Shetland. But to defend Serco they have to operate the service from Aberdeen and at least the passenger vessels came with the contract although maybe they could look for more suitable freight ships. New contract now being discussed and it really is time that Northlink, the Scottish Government, Aberdeen Harbour, Zettrans and other interested parties perhaps including other parties interested in tendering got around a table to talk about what would be desirable for the new contract, what might be possible when the new contract starts and what might be possible in the future with new vessels and changes in Aberdeen Harbour. Even Shetlink has a part to play as a forum for constructive discussion about what people want to see from the new contract. My first point is that I want to see a lot of single cabins. I travel alone and while I want a cabin I do not want to share (get seasick). Currently I have to pay extra to have a cabin for myself and also, especially on busy nights, I feel guilty that I have taken a berth that could be occupied by someone who needs it.......or three berths if I have an inside cabin. And remember, two people travelling together can still travel in single cabins if all the twins have been booked. Some couples might even welcome being in single cabins if one gets seasick and the other is unsympathetic.

Well that is what happens at Tesco. People employed to bring trolleys back to the entrance as needed and indeed used to happen at the Co-op but sadly seems to happen no more.

Well to update on that three new low energy lights have been installed although last time I looked only one was working. And large cones are protecting the site where the other two lamps have been partly removed. Pity the large cones are taking up most of the unlit pavement and I hope that anyone falling over these cones slaps a nice expensive personal injury claim against the council. And since the council would have to pay up for any successful claims I do wish whoever organised this was personally liable. Maybe then they would think before such silly actions.

I sometimes wonder if Northlink is a lifeline service to Serco profits. Orkney has it service from Scrabster and also the Pentland Ferries service.

OK fair enough, let's have more "heard of" performers at Mareel. Obviously size limits and transport logistics mean the really biggest "names" are unlikely to reach Shetland unless they are doing some sort of "small venues" tour but it would not hurt for Shetland Arts to ask people what they want. Same goes with cinema. Nothing to stop someone asking for a week of "Bollywood" musicals if that is what they want.

OK so I write as someone who is mainly in favour of Mareel and I really hope it does well in the future. But I think one thing that tends to get brushed aside in this forum is that the views of people who have not been to a single event are just as important as the views of those who go to something every week. Long term Mareel is going to need both to spend money their for the place to reach its full potential. So if Ghostrider says the cinema is too steep for some people, if I (and others) say we cannot get home from a lot of Mareel events and if the poster formerly known as Unlinkedstudent says there is nothing to tempt her to go then these things do need to be considered. Of course there are limits. Ghostie cannot expect the rake of cinema seating to be changed (but perhaps he can expect to be able to book an easy access seat), I cannot expect transport home from every obscure late night movie (but maybe Mareel and Zettrans could work something out for major events) and Unlinkedstudent cannot expect Mareel to put on every obscure Transylvanian band she happens to like (but maybe the new manager could start some sort of "wants" list where people could say what they want in the knowledge that the manager would at least see the request).

The lamp posts at a row of houses near me have been removed. No idea if this is some sort of cost saving to just remove the or part of a plan to replace them with low energy units which I welcome but to start the work at the darkest time of year seems a bit silly. Mid summer would have made the work easier for the people doing it and whichever the reason would have given road users time to get used to it. Locals not even told what is happening as far as I know. And to add insult to injury there are now warning cones blocking more of the pavement that the lamp posts did.

If the Christmas Bonus was to be aimed at "poor pensioners" then it is simple for applicants to produce proof of age and proof that they receive an income related benefit such as council tax benefit or pension guarantee credit. Aimed at all the poor then simply producing evidence of getting council tax benefit ought to do. Proof of 10 years residence perhaps relatively easy to prove depending on what was required. No real excuse for saying it was too hard to administer.

Meanwhile the comments about the cinema have prompted me to have a look next time there is something I like the sound of on in the afternoon I will go. Well depending on the weather as a 50 mile trip by bus and ferry does not encourage me to venture out in the worst of the weather like today.

No of course it is not Mareel's fault that my last bus home leaves at the back of 5pm and it is true that I chose to live where I do despite transport problems but that said I am sure other venues organise some sort of rural transport and it might be worth considering. Might even be something they could get some sort of grant for. Meanwhile I have no excuse for not going to one of the afternoon screenings except that there are no longer secure lockers to leave my shopping in at the Bus Station so could not combine a film with doing the weekly shop.

Well no actually!. Mareel is completely inaccessible for lots of rural residents like me who cannot afford taxi fares. How about they start organising transport home for rural types perhaps on a rota basis?.

Yes!..........see here http://travel.shetland.org/desktop_homepage.php or here http://www.zettrans.org.uk/bus/documents/LerwickScallowayLeaflet.pdf

OK two fairly recent examples of poor driving. First was only a few days ago when a small red car drove from Toft to Lerwick holding up other traffic on the slower bits of road and then speeding up on the straighter bits so people found it hard to overtake. Other example was a cop car not using the blue lights which overtook approaching a blind dip causing the driver of the big vehicle I was in to brake just in case something was coming the other way. So not only contractors who are a bit naughty.

Am I right in thinking that at least one well known food shop in the centre of Lerwick actually gets a lot of its supplies from a mainland wholesaler?. Meaning there is an alternative to Grays and Hughsons, As for the Sainsbury/Lidl debate I would welcome competition for Tesco in the form of one store offering more quality products and the other offering lower prices. But I regret the loss of Da Keg as that was a good place to buy drink.

The Co-op in an area of England I go on holiday has used its buying power (as in buying up shops as well as buying stock) to the detriment of many local shops. Far more of little Co-ops than mini Tesco stores.

Well since we live in a big wide world I would hope that bairns learn to say "skorie" at home and "seagull" when talking to the big wide world. But I do agree that learning their own local history, culture and language is also important. And on a point of interest is "bairns" the correct Shetland word for bairns. I always thought is was more Scottish.

Well there is a chance that Chinese will become the main world language at some time in the not too far distant future. And as it is costing the SIC nowt then why not?.

HOW? WHY? I'm sure the indoor bowling brigade don't hold the same opinion, given it means they lose most of that particular facility according to posts on Failbook. How? Why? This is a new building so should not cause problems for other Clickimin users other that whatever alterations had been planned to benefit the school. But all weather (almost) facilities have to be good for the school kids and evenings and weekend could be a great asset for other users. Just think of indoor cricket played in the new building.

Confess I think the idea is good both for the school and the rest of Shetland but I am a bit worried that the design looks a bit flimsy to stand the weight of a couple of feet of snow on top of it. Remember snow?. I am sure one winter we will be back to really heavy snowfalls.

How is it that every time school closures are discussed the alleged "cost savings" are mentioned?. Thought school closures had to be justified on educational grounds so why mention cost savings?. Of course there are cost savings to be made in the education budget and I expect the greatest amount could come from within Hayfield House. Come on councillors, at least investigate what lots of voters in Shetland believe to be true before attempting any more school closures.

Well I guess that means the Toll Clock centre.

Can admin clarify if they get paid for just allowing Google to show these adverts or only when someone actually clicks on one.

If extra short term staff were needed now to ensure proper care of the clients (or whatever the correct term for people in care homes and the like is) then frankly Bokor Ingram did the right thing. Providing the required level of service needed to come first and talking to the unions about the way forward comes second. As for prior agreement from councillors would anyone like to guess how long it would have taken to get that and how many clients would suffer poor care as a result. That said the longer term staffing needs to be discussed with the councillors and the unions and the whole of the SIC needs to learn that hasty cuts to the workforce to save money are not always best in the medium to long term.

It is certainly possible to disable Adblock Plus for selected sites one might feel are worthy of an exemption such as Shetlink where, hopefully, most of the adverts will have some relevance.