Isles Views

Unst angling

Unst Angling Club have held a number of competitions recently, one of them being the third sea angling competition. It was won by Fraser Paul with a catch that weighted 160lbs, second was Steve Palmer with 103lbs and third Paul Banks with 81lbs.

Mark Ferguson was first among the juniors with 63lbs and Stuart Ferguson was second with 21lbs. Ten senior anglers and one junior fished in the species contest and in the end the Ellis Shield was won by Steve Palmer who had eight different sorts of fish. Colin Laurenson and Sydney Priest had seven each.

Mark Ferguson had four species and this won him the Bull and Bush Shield for juniors. The Lakeland Unst Percentage Cup went to Sydney Priest for a Norway haddock that was 90 per cent of the Shetland record.

When the junior trout anglers gathered at Helliers Water for the points competition it was Mark Ferguson who came out the winner with four fish that earned him 46 points. Tighe Henderson caught the only other fish to be landed and for it he was awarded 17 points.

In another junior points competition in the Easter Loch of Uyeasound the only fish caught was by Tighe Henderson and that gave him another 17 points. The third competition for juniors was rather different when they fished for piltocks off the Baltasound pier. The winner was Stuart Ferguson with 40 fish, second was Tighe Henderson with 22 and third was Mark Ferguson with 19.

The third trout competition for seniors was contested in calm, mirror, conditions. Davie McMillan won with three fish weighting 1lb 11ozs, David Laurenson was second with a 1lb 1oz trout and Lindsay Thomson was third with one 13oz fish.

Six teams took part in the Helia Braun Cup for pairs but Davie McMillan and Steve Palmer were the only ones who had real success. Davie won the Heaviest Basket, 4lbs 6ozs, and Heaviest Fish, 1lb 4ozs.

Also fished for was the RAF Commemorative Cup and this has to take place off the island. The lochs chosen were Vaara and Clusta and six anglers took part. Lindsay Thomson was the winner, he had six fish for 3lbs 13ozs, Steve Palmer was second, two fish for 1lb 5ozs and Davie McMillan was third with two fish for 1lb 1oz.

Whalsay hall news

Iris Anderson of the Whalsay Hall Committee says that they have had a really busy summer. They are getting on well with their plans but they need far more people on the committee. They have 13 at present and they could do with double that number or more.

Nearly every function held requires most of the committee and the plans for rebuilding and renovating the hall represents a formidable amount of work in the future. There is so much going on that the hall is used pretty well every week. Mrs Anderson says that she is delighted that it is so well used but they badly need more hands.

The first phase of renovation is nearly finished and the new folding doors to separate the extension from the main hall will be fitted by G&S Builders in the near future. This will provide an ideal space for meetings and any small party. Other work in progress is loft insulation and off peak heaters.

The next big job is the erection of a bigger disabled toilet off the ladies’ cloakroom and a new outside door with a ramp for wheelchairs. SHOARD has very kindly agreed to help with the cost of this. The hall now has a new PA system that works perfectly and thanks are due to the Whalsay Boating Club for the financial support.

The Sunday teas, held almost every week since May, have been successful. Sometimes money raised was for the hall but other clubs took the opportunity to provide the service and earn money for themselves. Whalsay is short of places to eat and the Sunday teas went some way to filling the vacuum.

Whalsay hall committee is planning a big event on November 7th. The Brae Guizer Jarl Squad will be there as well as a host of musicians. A late ferry has been arranged to leave Symbister at 01.30. Tickets for the night will cost £20 but this will cover a three-course dinner. Money raised at this function will go to CLAN House, not the 1,2,3 appeal. The old CLAN House is still doing a great job and they still need money to keep going.

Iris says that the next committee meeting is on September 28th and everyone is welcome. It will be an opportunity for folk to join the committee and see just how “easy” it is.

Fetlar news

The kirk sale was held in Fetlar last Saturday. There was a wide range of goods on sale including many delicious fancies and home bakes as well as books and DVDs. Despite the weather and a slight disruption to ferries over 20 folk attended and the sale raised over £400.

On August 30th the Fetlar Café will be open to serve Sunday lunches between 12.30pm and 2pm. This will be a three-course meal with a vegetarian option. Bookings are advised and can be made by ringing (01957) 733369. Out of hours messages will be taken on the answering machine.

After 2pm there will be a craft and produce fair in the hall featuring local produce. The Fetlar Interpretive Centre will be open from 11.30am until 1pm and again from 2pm until 3.30pm to give visitors longer to see the many exhibits and displays.

Caravan club vists Cullivoe

Last weekend a total of 16 caravans visited Cullivoe. They all parked in the area near the hall and the hall committee opened up the building to offer the facilities to the visitors.

The Cullivoe hall has an accommodation block with two showers and they were available as well as the toilets. On the Friday night fish and chips were on sale to the wider public as well as to the caravaners.

On Saturday night the committee again offered food, this time curry and fish pie. It seems that the visitors enjoyed their weekend in North Yell and they have been made welcome to return.

Unst show

Next Saturday is the day of the Unst show. This year it is the turn of Haroldswick to host the event – it alternates between Haroldswick and Baltasound.

The first Unst show was held on the 30th of August 1870 and it has been an annual event ever since except for the war years.

Outdoors will be the show of livestock, cattle, sheep and, of course, ponies as well as other animals. Inside the hall is the place to see the arts and crafts and there are a number of novelty competitions including totem poles, scarecrows and home brew and who wouldn’t want to be the judge of that?

Lawrence Tulloch