North Mainland Notes 24.10.08

Moving On at Mossbank
A collaborative project between the Mossbank Hall and the Moving On employment project has now been completed. All paintwork on the outside of the hall now has a striking red finish and the community agrees that this has gone a long way to make the hall look and feel more attractive.

Moving On is a local charity set up in 1997 that has been successfully helping people with health problems and disabilities to find and hold down work. They focus on helping people find a job that is flexible to people’s needs, suitable for their skills and, hopefully, enjoyable.

The project, to repaint the external doors and windows of the hall, ran from August for six weeks and included local volunteers from the area as well as 11 members of the Moving On job crew.

The crew are now actively engaged in compiling their second publication to help raise money for the job crew fund.

This follows on from the success of the mental wellbeing cook book which sold over 750 copies last year. This year’s book will be packed with top tips for stress-free living and will be on sale in local shops from 1st December. Brae toddlers Halloween The Brae Toddler group is having a Halloween party for pre-school bairns on Thursday from 10am-12.30pm. Everyone is welcome to the party which will be held in the Brae Youth Centre. Fancy dress is optional and bairns can also bring along their neepy lanterns to display.

Ollaberry Halloween bonfire
A bairn’s Halloween party will be held at Ollaberry Hall next Friday from 6pm. After a Halloween tea there will be a neepy lantern competition along with games and activities. Weather permitting there will also be a bonfire and a fireworks display. Parents are reminded that children need to be kept under close supervision during the bonfire and fireworks.

Fish and chips at Ollaberry
The famous Ollaberry fish and chips will be available at the hall tomorrow night. The menu also contains a range of mouth-watering meals including fish pie, skate, king ribs, oriental king prawns and crab sticks. If you have room after the main course, you could always try the sticky toffee pudding with custard or a home-made trifle. Food will be served between 5.30pm and 8.30pm and folk can eat in or take away. Bar facilities will be available and the Ollaberry parents have also organised a fund raiser for the Christmas party. Sales tables and a raffle will be open from 5pm.

Armani at 50p
The Brae Good as New shop will be open in the Brae Youth Centre tomorrow from 2pm to 4pm for the monthly Saturday opening. The lasses have a huge range of stock on offer in a variety of sizes and styles. They also have a vast amount of new stock waiting to go out on the racks, but need to sell more of the current stock to make room. Everything in the shop will be on sale for 50p per item tomorrow to encourage folk to come along for a bargain.

Shop for Christmas at Brae
Unlike me, if you’re already organising your Christmas present list and trying to decide just what Uncle Jamie really needs this Christmas, you should call along the Brae hall on Thursday 6th November for the Christmas shopping night.

A variety of local businesses will have stalls filled with a huge range of Christmas gift ideas and you’ll also be able to have a cup of tea and a homebake while you shop. Anyone who would like to have a stall and hasn’t already booked can contact Marabel on (01806) 522475.

To continue the CLAN 1,2,3 fund-raising in Brae, there will also be a CLAN stall selling local crafts and knitwear. All funds raised on this stall will be added to the money from the recent fund-raising evening in the hall where almost £3,000 was raised. The fund will also benefit from an additional £1,000 raised by Isobel Mowat from Brae, when she recently took part in the 13.1 mile Great North Run in Newcastle.

If you would like to donate craft items or knitwear to the CLAN stall, please get in touch with Irene on (01806) 588269.

Mossbank Hall meeting
The Mossbank Hall committee have had a busy year with a number of refurbishment projects and new users. These included improved disabled access to the hall and the facilities, and the relocation of the youth club from the Old School Centre to the hall. The annual general meeting will be held next Monday in the hall at 7pm and everyone is welcome.

Brae bowling
The Delting Indoor Bowling Club will be holding the annual general meeting next Tuesday night in the Brae hall club room at 8pm. The club meets in the hall every Tuesday over the winter and always welcomes new members.

Volume of volunteers
Looking back over some of the pieces I have sent to The Shetland Times since I started compiling this column back in July, it was both amazing and encouraging to note the vast number of activities and projects that would never take place in the North Mainland if it were not for the hard work and dedication of a vast army of local volunteers. Volunteer committees and helpers often just get on with the job and take little time to think of the impact that each hour given freely has on the communities in which they live. Remember … just once in a while congratulate yourselves a peerie bit!

Maree Hay