Orkney's First XV rugby team were beaten 48-3 in their Division Five North fixture against league leaders Ellon on Saturday.

Ex Scotland coach and International Nairn McEwan was in the county on Saturday, not only coaching some of Orkney’s best young players but also presenting an award to Orkney Rugby Club.

The award presented on Saturday morning recognises the club's work with up and coming talent.

The crane and haulage vehicle to carry the components of the third Burgar Hill windmill arrived in Stromness on Sunday. They will then travel through to Kirkwall to await the arrival of the windmill's prefabricated sections on Monday.

The third new wind generator is expected to be up by the end of the week and producing electricity by the middle of next month.

The salvage tug, Anglian Monarch, which is contracted to provide towage cover in waters around Orkney and Shetland during the winter months, arrived back in Kirkwall on Friday.

The vessel returns to the Northern Isles to provide towage cover in the waters around the Fair Isle Channel and Pentland Firth over the winter.

The organisers of the Kirkwall Ba’ game are to seek permission to move the plaque commemorating the historic game to a more prominent position on the Kirk Green.

Speaking at this week’s meeting of the Cathedral sub-committee OIC vice-convener, Councillor Jim Sinclair said he couldn't see any problem in allowing the plaque to be moved to the kirkyard wall as the committee are requesting.

He added that he felt the Ba’ was part of Kirkwall’s history and that some form of the game was probably played in the town before St Magnus Cathedral was built.

The St Ola entering Stromness - a familiar sight that will become a vision of the past in 2002

The end of an era in the Northern Isles was signalled this week following the announcement that P&O Scottish Ferries have lost out on their bid to run the ferry services to Orkney and Shetland from 2002.

In answer to a question from Shetland MSP Tavish Scott, Scottish Transport Minister Sarah Boyack confirmed the joint bid from Caledonian MacBrayne and the Royal Bank of Scotland as the successful tender.

Speaking yesterday she said:"The Executive seeks to ensure that there are affordable air and sea links to Scotland's island communities including the Northern Isles. I am also announcing today that the preferred bidder in the Northern Isles Passenger Ferry subsidy contract from 2002 is NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries, a joint venture of Caledonian MacBrayne and the Royal Bank of Scotland."

A police operation in Eday on Wednesday saw two recent arrivals to the island under arrest. The couple, who had only recently moved to Orkney, will now be transported south where they face charges of fraud.

Officers from Merseyside police travelled north and, assisted by local police, arrested the pair for what was described as "fraud-related offences involving considerable amounts of money".

Guided tours of the upper floors of St Magnus Cathedral could be underway by Easter next year, provided health and safety regulations are met and insurance cover can be obtained.

Small groups of up to five people could be taken to see around the upper levels of the 863-year-old Cathedral as well as accessing the parapet of the spire for a panoramic view of Kirkwall.

Members of the Cathedral sub-committee approved the idea this week, suggesting that some of the artefacts from these areas that were removed into storage be put back on show in time for the start of the tour programme.

The skies over Orkney were ablaze on Wednesday and Thursday with magnificent displays of the Northern Lights.

The first sign of the "Merry Dancers" was around 9pm and a few hours later the skies were alive with a shimmering curtain of silvery light.

The performance was due to a solar flare that struck the earth on Tuesday. Auroral acitivity is expected to be high again tonight so watch the skies for a repeat performance.

Orkney MS sufferers have called on the Crown Office to stop “wasting taxpayers’ money” by prosecuting for the medicinal use of cannabis – when in most cases the accused are cleared anyway.

Orkney MSP Mr Jim Wallace, himself a supporter of medicinal cannabis use, has agreed that it is a law which needs to be changed.

He plans to write to the Lord Advocate for information as to exactly how many cases have been taken to court, and subsequently abandoned, in recent years.

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Concerns have been raised by people on Westray following a recent medical emergency where a patient had to be taken into hospital by lifeboat instead of air ambulance – as the pilot was out of hours.

Westray Community Council have written to Loganair, who operate the air ambulance Islander planes, expressing their concerns at the incident.

Loganair explained in a letter to the community council that a pilot is not allowed to exceed his permitted fly-time per day due to safety reasons.

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The viability of Liquid Petroleum Gas as an answer to Orkney's rocketing petrol prices is the subject of a public meeting in Kirkwall this week.

Mr John Skinner of Inverness company Go-Gas is in Orkney at present and will be at the Orkney College tonight explaining a little about the fuel alternative which costs half the price of unleaded petrol.

Mr Skinner has been in discussions with local companies who are interested in supplying the fuel in Orkney.

The third new wind generator should be erected on top of Burgar Hill by the end of next week – and producing electricity by the middle of next month.

The crane and special truck to carry the components are due to arrive in Stromness on Sunday morning. They will then travel through to Kirkwall to await the arrival of the prefabricated tower sections and nacelle which are due to arrive from Denmark on Monday.

A purpose-built drop-in centre for young people is to be officially opened in Westray later this month.

The £80,000 facility known as the “Höfn” - the name used for Pierowall in the Orkneyinga Saga - has been developed by the Westray Development Trust with funding from a number of bodies.

The drop-in centre will be opened on October 23 by the Deputy Minister for Enterprise in the Highlands and Islands, Mr Alasdair Morrison.

The idea of a drop-in centre was first raised by young people on the island at the Westray Conference two years ago. They have been involved at all stages of the building’s design and planning.

Repairs to the Cathedral's damaged stained glass window took place this week with the new window inserted on Wednesday morning.

A portion of the Oculus – round window – in the 863-year-old Cathedral’s south transept was sucked out of its frame by the severe gales in June.

With the repair scaffolding in place, experts are also taking the opportunity to investigate the condition of the Cathedral’s rose window. This follows concerns that the frame may contain a steel band which, if it is corroding, could be crushing the window.

The crew of a South Ronaldsay creel boat are safe this week following an incident in the Pentland Firth on Monday afternoon.

The Challenger, owned by Magnus Norquoy, capsized off Brim''s Ness just before 3pm. The three-man crew were not in the water long before the creel boat Incentive – belonging to Cliff Norquoy, Magnus' brother – picked them up then transferred them in to to the Longhope Lifeboat. It has been suggested that the brothers' vessels actually collided.

An attempt by the lifeboat to tow in the Challenger was abandoned after the capsized vessel sank. The lifeboat then delivered all three crewmen to St Margaret’s Hope.

The incident is currently under investigation by the police and the Marine Accident Inquiry Branch.

It was revealed this week that the suggested location for the £1.2 million proposed new One Stop Shop in Orkney is the East Kirk in Kirkwall.

The OIC’s social work and housing committee chairman, Councillor Keith Johnson, told the full council on Tuesday that a bid for £900,000 of the cost had now been submitted to the Modernising Government Fund.

The One Stop Shop project will be developed by the OIC along with the Orkney Health Board and aims to bring together housing, health and social services in Orkney under one roof.

A Kirkwall councillor has warned against supporting a private developer’s plans to set up a ten-pin bowling alley in Kirkwall, without considering the detrimental effect it may have on plans to add a bowling facility to the Pickaquoy Centre.

Speaking at Tuesday's full council meeting, Councillor Mike Drever, said that he believed the proposal by local joiner Mr George Drever to create an eight-lane ten-pin bowling alley in Kirkwall was “premature.”

Orkney MSP Jim Wallace has come under fire for defending the Government’s fuel tax policy rather than highlighting the high cost of fuel in Orkney.

The strong criticism for Mr Wallace’s stance on the issue came from Orkney NFU who met in Kirkwall on Monday night.

Members were concerned that in an interview during the fuel crisis, Mr Wallace missed the opportunity to highlight the situation in Orkney, where fuel prices were much higher than the parts of the country where the blockades were taking place.

The hand of friendship between the people of Orkney and the Italian village of Moena is being extended with a visit in two weeks time by the Orkney choir Mayfield Singers.

Twenty-two singers, along with family and helpers, are to visit Moena - the home of Domenico Chiochetti, the man wh helped create the Italian Chapel - as part of a European tour.

In Moena the Mayfield Singers will be performing the world premiere of two pieces, one of which was gifted to them by Orkney based composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

All butcher shops in Orkney have been inspected and passed under new hygeine regulations that came into effect from October 1.

A council environmental spokesman said: “Although, administratively, we have not issued Butchers’ Licences by the start date for the new regulations on October 1, all premises have been inspected and approved under the new regulations, licences have been drawn up and will be issued later this week.

He added that unlike many other areas of the country where the new legislation has put authorities and shops into disarray, Orkney butchers have been ahead of the game.

Great skuas, known locally as bonxies, have turned to killing other seabirds because of a decline in the quantities of offal discarded by fishing boats.

That is the claim of Glasgow University professor Bob Furness who is currently working on a study on the links between fishing and seabird numbers.

Writing in a marine science newsletter, Professor Furness explains:

"Over recent decades discarding has declined, partly due to declining stocks and catches, but also to changed technical measures. With this decline, great skuas have been switching away from feeding on discards to killing other seabirds, as a result kittiwake breeding numbers in Shetland have fallen by more than half and several colonies near skua breeding areas have been extirpated."

Three organisations in Orkney have been awarded National Lottery grants worth over £400,000.

Orkney Pre-school and Play Association have received a grant of £170,563 to develop the support they offer parents in the county.

Also benefiting is the Deerness Community Centre with a grant of £163,000. The cash award will go towards the funds for replacing the Deerness hall.

A grant of £80,750 has been awarded to Stronsay Community Association to allow them to build an additional games room to the existing community centre.

The cargo vessel that lost power in the Pentland Firth a fortnight ago has left Kirkwall after engine repairs.

The 80-metre Emsland was en-route from Sweden to Wicklow in Ireland with a cargo of timber when she suffered engine problems in the Pentland Firth.

Orkney Tourist Board are looking at the possibility of an off-season festival focusing on the written and spoken word.

Initially they are setting up a "taster" during the last weekend in October - "Tall Tales for Short Nights". This will include workshops for schools as well as an evening of traditional tales. For further information contact the Tourist Board on 872856.