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Brief outage hits Lerwick district heating

District heat pumps briefly failed this morning (Sunday), causing a outages in Lerwick.

In a social media post around 9am, Shetland Heat Energy and Power (Sheap) said that “a short power blip” caused the failure.

Sheap provides heating for roughly 6,000 people in Lerwick, as well as NHS and council buildings.

Pumps were only down for a few minutes, Sheap said, but customers may have noticed a “temporary disturbance”.

“Our technicians have been in and reset the system and everything should be back to normal,” the statement reads.

“It may take a few minutes before you have heat again but [it] will be coming.”

Roughly an hour after the post, one Lerwick resident commented that their heat was still off.

Sheap, which is owned by the Shetland Charitable Trust but operates as an independent business, did not immediately respond to questions about what caused the outage.

NorthLink tickets up for grabs in council exercise challenge

Christmas dinners are not yet in the oven, and Shetland Islands Council has offered some early inspiration for New Year’s Resolutions.

“Jump start your January” with 15 minutes of daily exercise and you will be entered into a weekly prize draw.

Anyone able to report back 15 minutes of activity every day from Friday, 3rd January to Thursday, 30th, stands to win a bigger suite of prizes, including a return NorthLink fare for four, with a cabin.

All ages and any activity are eligible.

Last year Callan Jamieson, 4, jump started his January by walking (or sledging) to swimming classes in Whalsay.

The programme, now in its second year, was devised by the Active Shetland Strategy: a working group designed to improve local health and wellbeing.

“New Year is a great time to think about improving health and lifestyle,” said Louise Jamieson, from the SIC’s sport and leisure team.

“We hope that a record number of people join in the fun and help to improve their physical and mental health in 2025.”

Those interested can see how to share their exercise here.

RNLI sail Christmas tree out of Lerwick harbour

Lerwick RNLI took advantage of the deteriorating winter weather today (Saturday) to practice some drills — and sign a festive farewell to 2024.

The local crew have fulfilled their annual Christmas tradition of sailing the shape of a Christmas tree south of Lerwick harbour this afternoon.

In between their strokes of artistry, the crew worked on some of their rescue skills.

“With increasing winds and sea swell this afternoon, it’s been a test of their search planning and boat handling skills,” RNLI Lerwick posted on social media.

Last month the RNLI helped deliver Santa and his elves into Lerwick for a Christmas parade, and celebrated the institution’s 200th anniversary.