£50,000 donation to St Ninian Ward

Talisman - together with its partners Agip (U.K.) Limited and Intrepid Energy North Sea Limited - are to donate £50,000 to NHS Orkney for upgrades to the St Ninian ward in Kirkwall's Balfour Hospital.

The donation - announced on Friday - will be used primarily to refurbish the hospital's Ninian Ward which cares mainly for the infirm, the elderly and dementia sufferers as well as to enhance the ward's garden area.

How The Orcadian reported the arrival of North Sea Oil 25 years ago.

It was 25 years on Friday since the official inauguration of the Flotta Oil Terminal.

A celebratory event to mark the anniversary was held at the terminal, attended by a number of local dignitaries as well as long serving terminal staff and members of the Flotta and Aberdeen management teams.

There, Orkney's Lord Lieutenant, George Marwick, unveiled a commemorative plaque in the main terminal building.

The terminal was opened on January 11, 1977 by the then Energy Secretary Tony Benn. The official event was also attended by Occidental chairman Dr Armand Hammer.

See also: The Dawn of the Oil Age

A man has been remanded to Wormwood Scrubs Prison, London, until January 15 on charges of deception and theft following the efforts of Orkney police and a Kirkwall travel agent.

It is alleged the 26-year-old Afro-Caribbean man, from the London area, attempted to dishonestly obtain air transport from Heathrow Airport on Boxing Day. He is further charged with stealing four UK passports.

An alleged attempt was made to Ridgway Travel in Kirkwall to obtain an air ticket from London to Ghana in west Africa. Staff at Ridgway Travel became suspicious and contacted Kirkwall police, who then involved British Airways and Heathrow police and a subsequent arrest was made.

For full story see: Police and travel agent uncover fraud and theft case

A man has admitted five charges of assault against his wife on five consecutive days in January.

Alan Davis (45), Jacksons Cottage, Orphir, appeared from custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Thursday and pled guilty to assaulting Lynne Davis at their home address on five separate occasions from January 4-9.

Honorary Sheriff Bill Wright deferred sentence on Davis and remanded him in custody until January 29 for psychiatric and social inquiry reports.

Traffic on Kirkwall's Albert Street has been temporarily suspended, with work to replace some of Kirkwall’s old water mains now under way.

The project is scheduled to last 12 weeks and is part of an ongoing programme to replace cast iron water mains in the older parts of Kirkwall – some of which date back to the early 1900s.

A NoSWA spokesman said that after completion of the programme in March 2003 the new mains will be able to cope with water piped at higher pressures and the work should also lead to an improvement in water quality.

Meeting debates boatyard future

Following the closure of the Burray boatyard last year, a meeting in Burray last night discussed the best way of getting a boatyard back up and running in Orkney.

Burray councillor Mac Petrie said that ideally he would like the council to put money into the Burray yard to re-open it. The council have already been involved with the yard and OIC development director Mr Jeremy Baster has said they are willing to buy and refurbish it – subject to prioritisation with other projects and if a tenant could be found first to operate the business.

The joint editors of the publication since it first appeared in August 1985, Alastair and Anne Cormack, have decided to bow out while they are still enjoying producing the magazine.

Issue Number 100, covering February/March 2002, is due out at the end of this month and features articles from a number of the original contributors to The Orkney View.

Full details

Police and travel agent uncover fraud and theft case

A major fraud and theft case spanning England and west Africa has been uncovered thanks to the combined efforts of Orkney police and a local travel agent.

The work of the two, alongside British Airways and Heathrow police, has led to the arrest of a 26-year-old Afro-Caribbean man allegedly trying to fly from London to Ghana with a batch of stolen passports.

It is believed the passports would have been used by illegal immigrants and drug couriers.

Full story >

Executive back NorthLink livestock transport system

The proposed cattle cassette system Click for enlargement.

The Scottish Executive have expressed approval in principle for the NorthLink's proposed new cassette system of transporting livestock, pledging to help have the system in place by October this year.

They have also not ruled out contributing financially towards the cost of developing the system.

The positive attitude from the Executive was warmly welcomed by NorthLink’s chief executive, Mr John Horton.

Archive story:NorthLink unveil cattle "cassettes"

Young farmers talk their way to the top

Sandwick Young Farmers' debating team triumphed at a national speech making competition at the weekend.

The team, comprising Graham Poke (15), Nicola Stanger (16) and Adam Garriock (17), were awarded first place in the 2002 national junior speechmaking competition of the Scottish Association of Young Farmer Clubs, held at Inverurie’s Thainstone Centre last Saturday.

The Sandwick team were not alone in having a successful day. East Mainland Young Farmers only narrowly missed being in the top three, taking fourth place equal overall.

A decision will be made soon as to whether Royal Mail in Orkney must fall in line with the rest of the UK and deliver mail according to what the customer pays for.

Currently, Orcadians enjoy a near first class service - next day delivery - for all letters locally - even if only covered by a second class stamp.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We are required by regulations to deliver mail according to what the customer has paid for. Much of the regulations are coming out of Europe and are to do with the deregulation of the postal industry across Europe.”

He added that a timescale was not in place for any decision.

New Lyness theatre opens with local panto production

The Gable End Theatre in Lyness, Hoy, opened its doors to the public for the very first time on Thursday for a four–performance run of Orklahoyma, a pantomime style production.

Although technically the opening production, the event is not being treated as a “grand opening” because the theatre is not yet complete, with conditions backstage and front-of-house described as "somewhat makeshift".

However, the necessary safety precautions are in place and the regulatory authorities have sanctioned the production on the condition that all the Phase One work be completed early in 2002.

Red Cross launch appeal for Aberdeen Airport quiet area

The British Red Cross are launching an appeal to raise funds for a quiet area in Aberdeen Airport for patients in transit.

If the £5,000 cash is raised, the project will see a screened off area created within one of the departure lounges at Aberdeen Airport for Northern Isles patients discharged from hospital in Aberdeen.

To date, the Red Cross have committed £1,500 of its own resources, with a further £600 coming from the Orkney Branch of Macmillan Cancer Relief. However a further £3,000 is needed and it is hoped that local people will add their support to that given by local doctors surgeries and community organisations, Jim Wallace MSP and both Orkney and Shetland Islands Councils.

Losses for Rapsons but no cutbacks in pipeline

Bus company Rapsons Coaches suffered more than £1 million losses in 2000 according to figures lodged with Companies House.

The company, who run Orkney Coaches, saw their 1999 profit of £1.09 million turn into losses of £1.03 million in 2000.

But the company have stressed that the figures would not affect their services. A spokesman told The Orcadian that the loss in 2000 was due to a series of "extraordinary payments, purchases and expenses" and that there were no cutbacks in the pipeline.

The company took over various services in Orkney including Shalders Coaches, Peace Coaches and Rosie's Coaches - amalgamating them to form Orkney Coaches.

Talisman Energy (UK), the operators of the Flotta oil terminal, have risen to become the 12th most successful company in Scotland in the past year. In 2000 they were in 24th position.

According to the list of Top 500 Companies in Scotland compiled by Insider magazine, Flotta terminal subcontractors Motherwell Bridge also increased their trading position rising from 165th in 2000 to 38th in 2001.

P & O Scottish Ferries, who currently operate passenger and vehicle ferries between Orkney, Shetland and the Scottish mainland, fell in the performance stakes. Their profits dropped from £2.62 million in 2000 to £2.37 million in 2001. This took their position from 205th to 216th.

Eday fraud charge woman's international football connection

A woman arrested on Eday and charged with being involved in a multi-million pound debt recovery fraud is the mother-in-law of soccer star Robbie Fowler.

Maureen Hennessey (53) of South Park, Eday was arrested in 2000 in connection with an alleged £3.6 million fraud involving two companies in England. At the time of her arrest she had only recently moved to Orkney, and it was not widely known locally that her daughter Kerrie had married the England international.

Hennessey moved to Eday with 41-year-old David McHugh who was also arrested. The couple and eight others have been remanded on bail until the trial, which is due to start in October and estimated to last up to six months.

Archive stories: Eday residents face fraud trial
English police travel to Eday to arrest recent arrivals

Trumland House is sold after years of neglect

Trumland House on Rousay, left by its owner to fall into a state of dereliction, has been sold.

Built in the 1870s, Trumland House was left to fall into a state of disrepair by its previous owner, Dr Colin Norton.

The house was put up for sale last year and has been bought by English couple Mrs Elaine Gregg and her husband Brian, who have been seeking to buy the property for around ten years.

Archive story: £500,000 price tag as Trumland House goes up for sale
Trumland could have had brighter future says potential buyer

Crowd behaviour jeopardises future Pipe Band Hogmanay performances

Kirkwall City Pipe Band have said they might never again perform at the Hogmanay Broad Street revelries in Kirkwall after being subjected to verbal abuse and confrontations from drunk teenagers.

A band spokesman said: “In recent years we have had tins and bottles thrown at us and we have to think of our own safety. We all give up our free time freely for this but a lot of the members are now starting to wonder if it is worthwhile, given the hassle we have to take from this unfortunate small minority.”

He added that on-duty police officers had declined to help clear a path through the crowd.

A police spokesman said it was unreasonable to expect officers to act without prior knowledge on night such as Hogmanay. “The Kirkwall City Pipe Band are well placed to contact us well in advance or speak to the council in terms of barriers.”

January launch for 1901 Scotland Census online

People in Orkney will have to wait until January 24 to be able to download the information contained in the 1901 Census for Scotland from the Internet.

So much interest was generated when the pages for England and Wales went online online at Christmas that the whole system at the Public Record Office in London crashed.

In order to avoid the same rush to log onto the website covering Scotland, the General Record Office have decided to stagger the release of information.

Scottish Minister for Tourism, Ms Wendy Alexander, will launch the official Scotland Census for 1901 website in Glasgow on January 24.

Extra jabs for pre-school Orcadians

The Scottish Executive have announced that from this month Orkney’s pre-school children are to receive an extra whooping cough jab.

From today a booster vaccination using a combined diptheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine will be offered to four year olds in Scotland, replacing the current diptheria and tetanus inoculation.

To date whooping cough vaccinations in older pre-school children has not been routinely carried out because of their higher reaction rate to the immunisation. However the acellular pertussis vaccine, which has only become available recently, is well tolerated by older children, so offers the chance of better protection.