Ally

So you're saying don't let them in? Even though there's likely to be only one or two families (if any at all) in Shetland? Even though there's houses lying empty in the isles? If everyone thought like you then what's next? Let them die maybe? That'll teach them to have the temerity to flee for their lives...

But this family didn't have a "sensible degree of flexibility" on their part - they missed the boat. They took the mickey by expecting the ferry to revolve around them. Had they telephoned say 30 mins/an hour ahead, I bet they would have held the boat for them for a short duration of time. 4.33pm - tickets to print. 4.35pm at the earliest - get lift up one flight. 4.37pm - start walking cos hey, can't run with all that luggage, what with cot bed, baby and everything. Can't leave it in left luggage cos it's already on its way to the boat ... which means it takes you longer to get to the boat. They were pushing it. That's assuming they were foot passengers. If they were in a hire car from Aberdeen, hire car needed returning. Granted, they give you a lift down to the ferry but sometimes you can wait 40 minutes for that. Sometimes you can wait 30 minutes (or more) in the queue when returning a hire car. Back in the good old days, as aforementioned, there were not so many Regulations. Blow it, let them miss the boat. Perish the thought of the boat going down, their bodies missing, and their grieving relatives demanding to know why their names weren't on the list as checked in. Oh yeah, they just let them on. Even if P&O were running it now, they would be faced with the Regulations which exist now, not back then. You seem remarkably free of any empathy or understanding towards these people. I suspect that 'taking the mikey' and 'pushing it' was not at the forefront of their minds given their uniquely traumatic circumstances. They were just trying to get home. Giving them a break would have been the decent thing to do.

They likely thought they were just going to make it then got snarled up in traffic in Aberdeen. It's grim being able to see the boat but being held up near Union St. Back in the old days you would phone up and, thanks to the goodwill of the P&O staff, they would hold the boat back by about 10 mins if necessary. Obviously you couldn't take the p1$$ and casually turn up ages later, but there was a sensible degree of flexibility. Given the duration of the journey, 10-15 mins is hardly a big deal - especially when we know that they slow the boat down deliberately (and not unreasonably) to allow for appropriate docking times.

At least the pubs are still world class. Cough.

It's really not that simple to get on the property ladder in Shetland. In some cases people are paying 20% over the asking price, and reasonably priced property in Lerwick is like gold dust. First time buyers are usually in competition with developers, many of whom can throw resources (and even people from their own building firms) at a property to fix it up and rent to Gas Plant\Oil Folks for daft money.

Given the astronomical profiteering that goes on in the Shetland rental market (although who can blame them?), I think £9.99 is incredibly reasonable - especially if it means the rest of us can still enjoy such a quality, free service.

That's mental! Well done.

Yeah, I recently went private for route canal treatment, as I just couldn't wait. In retrospect I wish I'd put up with the pain for another few weeks, which was the earliest appointment the NHS could do. The treatment was no better than I'd have got at Montfield which, to be fair, is usually pretty good once you get seen. Overall it cost nearly £500. Wish I'd just had the tooth out to be honest.

Think the poll question might need editing following the shetlink upgrade, as it now appears to ask the question "Does the big accommodation barge". Apparently, most people think it doesn't barge.

On what planet would that be a reasonable comparison? Maybe if the Aberdeen equivalent was the freakin' Death Star...

Moving house next week and thought I'd take the opportunity to switch providers as my current supplier (Sky) is a bit pricey. My connection is mostly rubbish (often less than 0.5Mb) at peak times. I'm aware that they all use BT infrastructure anyway, so the speed shouldn't change with the provider. However, when i was with plusnet at an address near by (same exchange i think) the speed was much faster, so now I'm not so sure... Any recommendations?

The moronic swine who park on the pier every night in their badly pimped-up cars, incessantly beeping their horns at each other as if trying to communicate in some drunken, retarded attempt at Morse code. A pox on them all!

Sandwick social club on Thursday was superb. The concentration of skill on stage was staggering... I can't imagine being as good a guitarist as those guys, even if I practised 24hour a day from cradle to grave... To call them musical geniuses sounds cliché, but the talent on display that evening defies any other description. I'll also throw in 'Awesome' for good measure. Friday in Yell was brilliant from start to finish. Rory Ellis and his band shared some typically antipodean banter in-between songs that may have been a little too...er... shall we say "colourful" for some venues, but went down an absolute storm in Yell. The Gaelic performance from Randan had folk practically up on the tables and, naturally, JP and the gifted Elliot Brothers brought the house down. I met several of the performers while outside having a smoke. They were all really approachable and friendly, saying that they loved coming to Shetland - all clearly in their element performing to such appreciative audiences. Okay, perhaps the drive home to Lerwick in the snow was a bit surreal, but otherwise it was well worth the trip North. Saturday was in da club after a few drinks watching some sessions in da lounge. I can't really mind the end of it, but based on the immensity of my hangover and my spaiged legs I can conclude that much dancing and perhaps a little too much drink may have been taken. I can only marvel at the iron constitution and seemingly infinite reservoirs of energy the musicians and other more devoted folk members have. 3 days on da skite is my limit, so I can't comment on last night's proceedings but from what others tell me I'd say I definitely missed out. Kudos to the organisers, musicians and all involved with this year's event - Definitely the highlight of the Shetland calendar.

Here here!

Of course, you don’t have to post anonymously on Shetlink. Although, having been rather embarrassingly challenged face-to-face (on what I mistakenly thought at the time was a harmless, throw away comment), I’ve certainly curtailed my shetlink activities and now tend to post under a moniker if I’m criticising anyone there's a slim chance I might actually meet!