Views from the Scord 27.03.09
Princess disco night
The Royal British Legion Scalloway Branch is staging a junior disco tomorrow evening to elect this year’s gala princess and attendants.
The election, usually held in school, will for the first time be held in the Legion by secret ballot. The list of options from primary seven for the Princess, and from primary four for the two attendees will be posted on the wall and participants at the disco can choose and vote for their favourite during the evening.
The disco will run from 6.30pm until 8.30pm and there will be drinks and snacks available and also a raffle. Admission is £2.50.
Planning for this year’s gala is well under way with a number of popular events already included. Over the weekend there will be a junior disco on Friday night, the usual stalls in the park on Saturday will be accompanied with a zany “It’s a knockout” competition, the spectacular piano-breaking contest and the Stromness football team will take on the local team.
On Sunday afternoon the popular local band the Revellers will be playing in the boating club. The traditional Saturday night open-air event will not be held this year and is to be replaced with an alternative event that will be revealed nearer the time.
This year marks the 20th year of gala activities in Scalloway but it has been decided already to hold a 21st birthday party for the gala next year rather than celebrate the longevity of the event this year.
Harbour activity
It was a good week for fish landings but relatively little other activity took place in Scalloway Harbour during the week up to Friday.
The regular well-boat Ronja Settler, forming the majority of logged shipping movements, was joined midweek by the emergency tug Anglian Earl which is currently replacing the Anglian Monarch in this area.
The Skerries ferry Filla completed her annual inspection and maintenance on Thursday to return to her usual crossing while the workboat Lauren Maree was lifted out by crane for delivery by road to a salmon farm site on the east side.
Fishing boats from Banff and Fraserburgh joined the local fleet and the Banff-registered Discovery has become a regular, sheltering midweek and over the weekend. The Fraserburgh-registered Polaris II was in port for repairs at the beginning of last week.
Landings for the week totalled a healthy 2,113 boxes, with the Polaris II contributing the biggest consignment with 405 boxes in a single landing. The other landings sold came from the Athena, Fertile, Radiant Star, Venturous, Defiant and Resilient. The restored sail fishing boat Swan currently makes a splendid sight on Moores’ slipway in her fresh livery after painting and maintenance.
Music makers
Pupils from Scalloway Junior High School launched their own CD last week at a special concert last Thursday. The CD features young musicians and performers and combines musical talent with a heartfelt and fitting tribute to a former teacher.
The CD itself contains a veritable buffet of musical styles and performances spanning as diverse genres as traditional fiddle to heavy rock. It amply fulfils the remit of the project to record the musical talent present in the school, with all the performances coming from pupils and staff.
The project was conceived and orchestrated by business studies teacher Suzanne Inkster with senior pupils Bryan McCaffrey, Willie Couper, Nathan Duncan and Martin McKay as an enterprise project. A year of organisation came together in the school hall on Thursday in a promotional concert and first sales of the finished article. All the performances on the disc come from pupils and staff in the school, as did the cover design and associated promotional posters.
After the initial project planning was in place, music teacher Jeanna Inkster was brought in to help select and rehearse acts for the disc and sound engineer Fraser Mouat was enlisted to record the CD master and assist with licensing issues. Fraser also provided funding for CD production and assistance under the Youth Music Initiative of the Scottish Arts Council. The sleeve printing and CD reproduction was provided by Maurice Smith of Cumlie Media.
The CD is dedicated to highly-respected science teacher Richard Saunders who died suddenly a year ago. In recognition of this his daughter Laura Saunders was invited to the concert as a VIP guest.
The concert began with a slow fiddle air entitled Remembering Richard, written and performed by Jeanna Inkster accompanied by Jem Napier on the piano, as a tribute to the memory of Mr Saunders.
The concert progressed through a selection of the diverse and eclectic performances on the disc, too many and varied to properly relate here, but all performed with confidence and character in admirable abundance.
The musical styles featured included traditional fiddle, brass and choir and ranged from finesse to comedy to uncompromising rock and even a smidgeon of audience participation thrown in for good measure. As teacher and driving force behind the venture, Suzanne Inkster said: “This project has given [the pupils] an insight into the level of planning and producing required in a project like this, they have learned a lot about planning, organising and management in a real life context. And they’re all just dat’n good!”
Speaking for the pupils, Bryan McCaffrey said: “We’ve really enjoyed it, it’s been very interesting. I’m relieved it’s by with now and it all went well.”
Music teacher Jeanna Inkster, whose abundant enthusiasm is undoubtedly a strong positive influence on her pupils, said: “It’s very heart warming, the preparation and effort they put in. There has always been a strong emphasis on music at Scalloway School. There is lots of new talent coming through. I’m very proud of them. There is quite a high standard and we never struggled for items to include.”
This launch comes alongside Scalloway’s successes in the schools music festival the previous week in which they won four gold medals and predominantly silver for their other inclusions in sections including fiddle, brass and vocal performance. The evening after the CD concert there was a second concert to showcase the entrants in the festival, with some performers appearing in both.
The 19-track CD is now on sale in shops in Scalloway, Burra, Whiteness and Nesting, priced at £8 with all proceeds split between the British Heart Foundation and further charity chosen by the family of Mr Saunders.
Craft show success
The Craft Through The Ages exhibition held by the Burra History Group last weekend was a great success with an amazing variety of exhibits on display.
The event was an awe- inspiring snapshot of the level of craft talent present in the area and drew in between 200 and 300 people over the weekend.
While craft may have been the main focus of the day it was also an excellent social event for people to meet with old friends and make new while visiting the show.
The organisers wish to extend their appreciation to all who supported the event and lent items (some very precious) for display, those who helped set up and dismantle the show and those provided home bakes and ran the kitchen.
Burra losses
The bell tolled heavily for Burra last week with the funerals of three prominent folk in succession.
Alec Pottinger, born in Hamnavoe in 1945 and resident there until moving to Lerwick later in life, was one of the well-known musical Pottinger family. His funeral was held on Saturday in the Church of Scotland, Lerwick. He is survived by his wife Linda and their daughters.
Attie Robertson, 84, was originally from Brae but lived in Burra from the 1950s. Survived by his wife Eileen and their family, his funeral was held in the Burra Public Hall last Tuesday.
Willa Cumming, 85, was born in the South End of Burra and was a resident there until her death. The wife of the late Willie Cumming, she is survived by their family together. Her funeral was held in the Bridge End Church of Scotland last Wednesday.
In such a close-knit community one funeral in week is a big loss. These three in succession each drew substantial attendances and present a particularly sad time for friends and relatives in the isle.
Mark Burgess
