The final of football's Challenge Shield took place at the Pickaquoy Centre on Saturday evening, with Dounby picking up their fourth trophy of the season after beating Rovers 2-nil.

The centre was also the venue for the two hockey cup finals that also took place at the weekend.

Stromness Academy beat Stromness Ladies 4-2 for the Grange Cup while earlier today Kirkwall Ladies 1 and Corinthians I faced each other in the final of the Guild Cup. Corinthians I took the cup after beating the Kirkwall Ladies 1-0.

The Swan, a 100-year old former fishing vessel from Shetland, is in the county this weekend offering Orcadians the chance to experience the world of sail.

The 86-foot Fifie was one of the competitors in last year's Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Race and will be travelling out to Westray today, sailing from Kirkwall to Stromness tomorrow.

Work of the late Orkney film-maker Margaret Tait is to be screened at the National Film Theatre in London next month.

Once described as one of Britain's most unique and individual film-makers, Margaret Tait died only last year, aged 80, with some 30 films to her name.

But her work lives on and with the likes of her 1992 feature film Blue Black Permanent being shown at the National Theatre, her films are liable to receive the recognition, some say her work has gone without.

A team of Royal Navy divers are due to arrive in Scapa Flow this weekend to survey the leaking oil from the sunken battleship, HMS Royal Oak.

A Royal Navy spokesman said the team from the Marine Salvage Unit North are hoping to come up with a temporary solution to stop the leak until the oil is removed next year.

The Northern Lighthouse Board’s lighthouse tender vessel MV Fingal has been sold to a private buyer and is currently berthed in Falmouth harbour in Cornwall.

The 37-year old tender's last tour of duty in Orkney was in August and she is being replaced by a new vessel, the MV Pole Star, later this month. Her replacement is the fourth vessel to bear the name Pole Star and is expected in the county on September 26.

FM radio services in the county are back to normal after maintenance work on the transmitter interrupted broadcasting earlier this week.

The work was completed around midday on Thursday with FM reception returning in the afternoon.

Thursday night's meeting to discuss the future of housing provision in Scotland went ahead as planned, despite Housing Bill team leader, Mr Tim Ellis, being unable to attend because weather disrupted his travel.

In his absence, the council's assistant director of housing. Mr John Richards, ran through the major points and changes within the Housing Bill.

A new scheme aimed at getting exiled Orcadians to return home was unveiled this week by Orkney Enterprise.

The "Outreach Incubator" scheme was launched to help Orcadians who left their homeland in search of work to return and start a new business. For full details of the scheme e-mail George Drever of Orkney Enterprise.

Orkney food producers are hoping services will return to normal following the lifting of the fuel blockade this earlier this week.

One company affected by the nationwide fuel protest, Orkney Salmon, were forced to cancel their harvesting operations this week fearing they would not get the fresh fish away to market in time.

Local wholesalers were also concerned that delivery of supplies to Orkney could also have been affected had the protest continued beyond this weekend.

Council officials have praised a group of senior pupils from Kirkwall Grammar School following an incident on Wednesday near the Territorial Army shooting range in Orphir.

Walking in the hills as part of a Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, the pupils were aware of the range but did not realise it was in use because mist had obscured the warning markers. When they heard gunfire they stopped and phoned for assistance.

A council spokesman explained that the pupils were not actually on the firing range, adding: "We are quite pleased with the way they reacted. They showed great responsibility and did the right thing."

A unique new Orkney news service began this week, with the launch of our new website - The Orcadian Online.

For the first time daily news updates will allow readers of The Orcadian and Internet users worldwide to keep up-to-date with events in the county as they happen.

Designed to complement the weekly printed paper, among other things The Orcadian's new online presence will break the stories that will then be covered in detail each week in the newspaper.

A strike planned by council workers next Wednesday is still going ahead following the rejection of a new offer this week by the union Unison.

The previous 2.5 per cent offer was put back on the table on Tuesday but was rejected.

According to convener of Unison's Orkney branch, Alison Fraser, the percentages were "rejigged" but the pay offer remained the same.

The rising costs of supporting the multi-million pound Pickaquoy Centre were defended this week by the chairman of the centre's trust.

Mr Hugh Clyde said the sports, arts and leisure centre's larger than expected annual deficits were not soaring losses, but realistic running costs.

The centre was always expected to incur losses, he said, and a trust fund was set up - the aim being that the interest would pay off the centre's annual deficit.

But concerns were expressed when the first year deficit totalled £250,000 - £55,000 more than expected.

Production at Highland Park Distillery in Kirkwall is to cease from tomorrow, Friday, for the next three months at least.

However, assurances have been given by distillery manager Mr Russell Anderson that production of the world famous whisky will restart next year.

"We have had a requirement to make 850,000 litres of spirit this year. From Friday the 15th we will have made that requirement. We will not produce again this year," he said.

A visitor from Fife was sent to jail for four months this week after he admitted stealing cash from on board the ferry St Ola and from Kirkwall’s West End Hotel at the weekend.

At Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Tuesday, the court heard how 24-year-old David Alexander Kay, of East Wemyss, Fife, Kay had taken £155 from the shop on board the St Ola ferry on Saturday, and £40 as well as two phone handsets from the West End Hotel – both these offences were committed while he was on bail from Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

Orkney has enough stocks of fuel to last several weeks and should not be affected by the aftermath of the petrol crisis that hit other parts of the UK, according to the Orkney Islands Council.

The authority moved to assure local people this week that there is no need to panic buy fuel.

Convener, Councillor Hugh Halcro-Johnston added that the council's emergency planning unit was monitoring the situation.

A man and woman were taken to Kirkwall’s Balfour Hospital for treatment to injuries following a car accident in Shapinsay in the early hours of Monday morning.

Witnesses are being sought by Kirkwall Police to the one vehicle accident, involving an Audi car being driven by a male, on Ness Road on the island.

A report published last week by the Scottish Executive has shown that the fishing and shellfish industry was worth £12.9 million to the Orcadian economy in 1999..

Figures from the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics report also shows that 196 boats were in operation in the county last year, employing 342 people.

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Orkney Islands Council's cattle cull gasification plant at Chinglebraes has finally got the go-ahead to operate at full capacity after failing to pass emission tests since it was built three years ago.

The £1.2 million plant was built by the council to incinerate cattle locally, slaughtered under the Government's Over Thirty Months Scheme. But the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) refused to grant it authorisation until now.

But SEPA came under fire this week, with the council claiming they had not been treated fairly by the agency.

Police motorbikes are back on patrol in Orkney this week cracking down on law breaking motorists.

Inspector Paul Eddington from Kirkwall Police explained that the officers will be concentrating on road safety related matters, in particular the three most common road traffic offences - drink driving, speeding, and not wearing a seatbelt.