Views from the Scord 05.12.08
Harbour visitors
SCALLOWAY Harbour saw a fairly quiet week with fishing and aquaculture activity forming the majority of maritime traffic.
The Ronja Settler continues to operate from Blacksness Pier, supplying the salmon factory. The coastal freighter Fame discharged 36 tonnes of fish feed to Scalloway feed store while delivering to barges in the area.
The fishing vessels Jenna Maree and Ocean Sovereign sought shelter in the harbour midweek and again at the weekend while engaged in standby duties to the west of Shetland. The Hordafor III made a return visit to Scalloway to load salmon silage from the Scottish Sea Farms processing factory.
An unusual visitor to Scalloway in the week to Friday was the 410 gross tonne Orkney Towage tug Erlend, which arrived with the barge 330 A in tow for Mainstream Salmon. The barge is to be renovated at the Malakoff & Moore slipway in due course and is expected to remain in Shetland thereafter.
Fishing activity was moderate in the week to Friday with the Prevail, Radiant Star, Tranquillity, Alison Kay, Scotia, Fertile, Prolific, Copious and Ocean Way landing a total of 1,121 boxes with the highest single landing coming from the Alison Kay with 227 boxes.
Hamnavoe school news
A round-up of recent events and activities from the Hamnavoe school runs as follows.
A fund-raising quiz night at the end of October raised £102.02 toward a school trip to Edinburgh. Pupils dressed up and laid on stalls, home bakes, games with prizes, and the event attracted around 30 attendees.
The Children in Need appeal drew a gallant response at the school with an admirable £210 raised. The children brought in used toys, books, videos and clothes which were subsequently sold for the charity. The exceptional measure of their fund-raising effort was the fact that all the money was raised in under an hour, a standard that many a retailer would envy.
The school has appointed a new music specialist in the form of Robert Bennet, who has taught music in local schools for many years. He took up his one day a week post at the beginning of November and has settled in well at the school.
The Catherine Wheels Theatre group visited the school at the beginning last month and held workshops for the junior classes in dance and expression through movement.
The school pupils are currently busy rehearsing for the annual Christmas concert which will be held on Wednesday 17th December in the Burra Public Hall at 7pm. A collection will be taken with funds going toward the CLAN 1,2,3 appeal.
Sale of work
The day care section of the Walter and Joan Gray Eventide Home held a sale of work in the Scalloway Public Hall recently.
Regardless of the inclement weather the event was highly successful with around £760 raised on the day. The goods for sale were largely the handiwork of the day care attendees in the form of a whole range of goods including jam, chutney, home bakes and knitwear like hats, scarves and cushions.
The highly popular day care unit draws its clientele from Scalloway, Tingwall, Burra and Lerwick and the broad range of activities on offer come to fruition through sales such as this one.
The funds raised from the sale go toward a series of Christmas dinners, timetabled to enable all the clients to attend, at the NAFC Marine Centre restaurant. The first such dinner has already been held and was greatly enjoyed by those dining.
The day care centre staff and clients would like to thank all those who attended on the day and give special thanks to those who made donations and to the Friends of Walter and Joan Gray Eventide Home Group for helping out.
Stars in Their Eyes
The annual Stars In Their Eyes entertainment extravaganza is fast approaching.
This fund-raising event takes place in the Scalloway Public Hall on 13th December with doors opening at 7.30pm.
This year’s plethora of celebrity performers include Bette Midler, Avril Lavigne, Alison Krauss, Duffy, Elvis Presley, Kiki Dee and Elton John, Doctor and the Medics, Carrie Underwood, Bonnie Tyler and the Ronettes. A supper will also be served during the evening.
Funds raised from this year’s event will be going to the Scalloway Junior High School.
Tickets, on sale tomorrow from the Scalloway Post Office, cost £8 for adults and £5 for concessions. Demand is usually high, so buy early to avoid disappointment.
Football teas
The Sunday teas held by TSB Junior Football Club in the Hamnavoe Hall last Sunday were a huge success.
The turnout was sufficiently large that it required extra tables to be hastily deployed to accommodate everyone. A display of photographs from the past season drew a lot of interest but the most popular attraction on the day were the freshly made Norwegian waffles on offer.
The purpose of the teas was to give the club an opportunity to recognise the efforts of their players and present various awards. All of the under-8s were presented with a certificate in recognition of their outstanding performances over the past year.
Rather than present medals and trophies a more practical gift of a football was presented to Hamish Hunter (most improved player), Scott Young (outstanding contribution to club) and Lee Devine (most consistent performances).
The inaugural presentation of the Richard Saunders Memorial Shield for outstanding attitude was presented to Keir Johnson, while the F Gilfillan and G Duncan Shield for outstanding attitude went to a beaming John Allan.
While some bills have to be paid the takings on the day were in slightly in excess of £500 and will go some way to meeting the running costs of the club.
A spokesman said TSB Junior Football Club would like to express its thanks to everyone who turned up and contributed on the day and in particular to the parents, who helped to set up the hall, provided food and served on the day.
Kirk’s Christmas decorations
The Church of Scotland in Burra Isle is displaying the Christmas decorations at the Bridge-End Kirk this weekend.
Drawing upon last year’s success with a similar event to give recognition to the themed decorations people have made, the kirk will be open from 12pm to 3pm for people to view the individually decorated windows.
This year they are based on the theme of “The Meaning of Christmas”. Teas, mince pies and home bakes will be served both afternoons and a collection of donations will be made toward the CLAN 1,2,3 appeal.
Mark Burgess
