North Mainland Notes 06.03.09

Show prince or princess

Each year the Voe Show committee involves young folk in the show by choosing a prince or princess to carry out duties during show day.

To decide on the winner for this year, the committee has organised a disco in the Voe Hall next Saturday (14th March).

Youth clubs in the show catchment area have already been invited to nominate any boy or girl in the primary 4-7 age range, but anyone who doesn’t currently attend a youth club can either nominate themselves or be nominated by friends or family.

Nominations need to be in by tonight, so if you know of anyone in the catchment area who fits the profile and would like to be a prince or princess for the day, please get in touch with Sheena Summers on (01595) 840691.

Annual meeting of hall

The Sullom and Gunnister Hall is holding the annual general meeting in the hall on Tuesday at 7.30pm.

It has been a busy year for the committee with further work carried out on the proposed re-roof and extension work.

Applications for funding have been prepared for the design stage of the work to help move the project on to the next level.

Several design options were considered by the committee and the community until the most appropriate was found, both in financial terms and in terms of fulfilling community needs.

Committee members are always interested to hear from anyone with fundraising ideas or anyone who can commit a little time to help co-ordinate or run events, so they would be delighted to welcome new volunteers at the meeting.

CLAN appeal donations

The ladies of Brae continue their fund raising efforts for the CLAN 1,2,3 appeal and have now raised several thousand pounds for this worthy cause.

A recent 500 night in the Delting Boating Club added a further £257 to the total and the organisers would like to thank everyone who gave so generously.

Also at the Delting Boating Club, a pool tournament at the end of January resulted in an impromptu increase to the CLAN coffers. The winners of the tournament handed over their prize money one by one to Irene Johnson of Parkgate, who has been instrumental in organising the Brae ladies’ fund-raising events. This prize money resulted in a further £130 donation to the appeal.

North Mainland by-elections

Members of the Northmavine Community Council were recently vexed to receive the resignation of member for the Hillswick ward, Eddie Tribe.

At a recent meeting community councillors expressed their appreciation of the commitment Eddie has given over the years and asked the clerk to record their thanks. This resignation now means that a vacancy exists in the Hillswick ward.

Also in the North Mainland, the Nesting and Lunnasting Community Council has a vacancy in the Nesting ward and would be keen to see someone from the ward join the community council.

The vacancies mean that a by-election will be held for these areas and anyone wishing to be considered for nomination should obtain nomination papers from the returning officer at the SIC Legal and Administration Department, 4 Market Street, Lerwick, or the clerks to community councils. They can be contacted at: Northmavine – NCDC, Greenbrae, South Collafirth, Ollaberry (01806) 544222; Nesting and Lunnasting – Mrs E Ganson, Lochend, Girlsta (01595) 840460.

Nomination papers should be delivered to the returning officer by 4pm on Tuesday 17th March. In the event of a contest, polling will take place by postal ballot and details will be sent to electors in each area. Polling will be completed by 4pm on Friday 17th April.

World Day of Prayer

World Day of Prayer takes place each year on the first Friday of March meaning communities all over the globe will take part tonight in this unifying event.

Each year a theme is chosen by a world community and this year the women of Papua New Guinea have chosen “In Christ There Are Many Members, Yet One Body”. This is especially relevant to their country as it is so diverse in cultures, races, languages and religious beliefs. Although there are many people with much diversity, they are able to come together at different levels in meetings or gatherings.

In Northmavine the World Day of Prayer meeting alternates between Sullom, Hillswick, Eshaness, North Roe and Ollaberry each year.

This year it is the turn of Ollaberry to host the event, and although the event usually takes place in the local hall, a prior booking means that the Ollaberry kirk will be used as the venue instead.

Throughout the evening folk from the various districts of Northmavine will be the “voices” of the prayer booklet written by the women of Papua New Guinea, leading people through the prayers prepared by the women.

Tea and homebakes will be provided during the evening and organisers would like to extend a warm welcome to all.

Lunnasting Hall meeting

The annual general meeting of the Lunnasting Public Hall annual general meeting will be held on Tuesday at 7pm.

The hall committee is keen to welcome new committee members or volunteers who are willing to help with the running of the hall or fundraising. Anyone who is interested can go along to the meeting and either join the committee or just express and interest to help with hall activities.

Da Cabin continues

Last summer I called along The Cabin at Vidlin to view the fantastic collection of memorabilia and artefacts lovingly created by my old pal and work colleague, Andy Robertson.

I set out with the intention of writing an article for North Mainland Notes, but I sat and yarned so long with Andy that I almost missed the deadline!

As I said in the article that followed: “Interpretation should provoke, reveal and relate. This helps the visitor understand rather than just merely be informed and The Cabin, through Andy’s presence in particular, achieves just that … The story is all the easier to make a connection with because the man who had the passion to carry out the work is telling it.”

Sadly, this was to be the last time I would hear the stories from Andy as he died suddenly on Boxing Day. The huge number and age range of folk at his funeral was a testament to the number of lives Andy touched and enriched through our knowing him.

Through the years Andy spent developing The Cabin and increasing his collections, his large family always provided support for his passion. They were able to provide construction skills, help with the accounts, prepare leaflets and provide sweat equity in various guises. The family is keen that Andy’s legacy continues and that many more folk are able to view the displays created by him.

This season The Cabin will be open on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1pm to 5pm from 7th April.

Andy’s family are looking forward to the new season and hope that visitors will continue to visit and enjoy The Cabin experience. They will continue to open by appointment for groups or individuals and the new contact details are: Lowrie Robertson – (01595) 694891; Stanley Robertson – (01806) 577232; or email hughann@btopenworld.com

Strictly Boston at Hillswick

With less than a week to go folk don’t have much time left to titivate their tangos prior to the Skea TV Strictly Boston auditions at the Grand Ballroom, St Magnus Bay Hotel.

Hock oot your grooviest threads and head for Hillsook this Thursday at 7.30pm prompt.

Sullom redd up

As part of a cleanup initiative being supported by Sepa, Shetland Amenity Trust will be clearing 11 dump or fly tips sites throughout Shetland.

This clean up is expected to bring benefits by improving the environment and the visual amenity for local communities and visitors alike.

The amenity trust will begin clearing a site in the North Mainland on the loop road at Sullom from Monday. People with any items on the site which they may wish to retain should remove them prior to Monday or they will be removed and disposed of. For further information contact the SIC environmental health department on (01595) 744800.

Fish and music at Voe

The Voe hall is holding a fund-raising evening tomorrow night to help raise money towards the running costs of the hall.

Fish and chips will be available from 4.30pm to 8.30pm and people can phone (01806) 588281 after 2pm to book a table or place an order.

After the plates are cleared away there will be an informal music evening with local musicians. Everyone will be welcomed, especially additional musicians, so grab your instrument and head for Voe.

Maree Hay