Orkney Herring in the Italian spotlight

An Orkney company took centre stage at an international food festival in Italy this week.

The Orkney Herring Company were hand-picked to appear in the British pavilion at the Salone del Gusto event in Turin - the only producer to be selected from the Highlands and Islands area.

Visitors were also be able to partake of the Orkney Brewery's Red MacGregor in the Traditional British Pub stand.

Supermarket salmon protest

A silent protest against farmed salmon took place at supermarkets in Kirkwall and Stromness on Saturday, encouraging people not to buy farmed salmon because of their alleged effect on wild fish stocks.

Organiser, Bruce Sandison from Sutherland, was expecting hundreds of volunteers to be handing out leaflets across the UK.

Men admit to Anchor Buildings break-ins

Two men have admitted to a series of break-ins in the Anchor Buildings Shopping Centre in Kirkwall in July.

Carl James Howley (18), who is currently on remand at Inverness Prison, and Sebastian David Fullick (19), Berstane House, St Ola, appeared at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Thursday, and admitted breaking into seven shops and businesses while inside Anchor Buildings on July 29 or 30, stealing cash totalling nearly £1,900.

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St Ninian refurbishment under way

Refurbishment of Balfour Hospital's St Ninian Ward began this this week, helped along with a £50,000 donation from Talisman Energy UK Ltd.

The cash donation was announced in January 2002 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Flotta oil terminal.

Along with a £30,000 donation from NHS Orkney's endowment fund, the cash will be used to enhance facilities for some of Orkney's oldest residents.

Deadline for sporting awards nominations

The final day for nominations for the 2002 Orkney sporting awards was on Friday.

A short list of nominees will be printed in next week's The Orcadian. The awards ceremony takes place in the Pickaquoy Centre on Friday, November 8.

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Police emphasise car security after spate of Papdale thefts

Car owners in the Papdale area of Kirkwall are being encouraged to keep their vehicles secure, following a spate of thefts this week.

The announcement comes from Kirkwall police after a number of car owners from Papdale reported wheel trims being removed from their vehicles overnight.

A police spokesman said that they would like to hear from anyone who may have information on any of the incidents.

MSP on museum duty

Orkney’s MSP, Mr Jim Wallace was among Scottish ministers volunteering for “Make a Difference Day” on Friday.

Mr Wallace volunteered his services to the Orkney Museum in Kirkwall on Friday afternoon.

"Make a Difference Day" is a national event aiming to encourage people to get involved in their own communities by volunteering.

NorthLink cut back Pentland Firth service

NorthLink are reducing their Pentland Firth service.

From today, the 9pm Saturday sailing from Scrabster has been dropped, along with the Sunday 5.30am sailing from Scrabster. From Sunday to Friday, the 9pm sailing is being brought forward to 8.30pm.

NorthLink chief executive, Bill Davidson explained that they were adjusting the timetable to "provide more slack" for staff.

Carmichael calls on Transport Minister to force NLB co-operation

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has called on the Department of Transport to force the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) to produce information he asked for over a month ago.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Carmichael explained that he had first asked for information relating to the performance of the Stromness Depot and the NLB's reasons for wanting to close it on September 16.

He added: "The chief executive of the board has to date failed to provide that information or even given any indication as to whether or not he intends to provide it."

New today: Lighthouse depot closure is not a
foregone conclusion say NLB

Peace campaigner gives Kirkwall talk

One of Britain’s best known peace campaigners was guest speaker at a meeting in the St Magnus Centre on Thursday night.

Mr Bruce Kent, a former Roman Catholic priest and high-profile vice-president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), gave a talk on “The Abolition of War”.

Weather causes further ferry chaos

Severe weather continued to disrupt travel on Wednesday, forcing more ferry cancellations.

NorthLink cancelled the 3pm and 9pm sailings of the Hebridean Isles from Stromness to Scrabster, as well as the Aberdeen-Lerwick and Lerwick-Kirkwall-Aberdeen sailings.

For updated news on sailings see: www.northlinkferries.co.uk

Wave monitoring buoys placed off Stromness

Two new monitoring buoys have been placed at the site of the proposed European Marine Energy Centre to allow scientists at the International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT) to log details of wave movements in the area.

The two buoys were placed offshore to the west of Stromness by the Orkney Ferries vessel Graemsay.

A website has been proposed to allow people, such as boatowners, to get information on wave movements to the west of Orkney in ‘real time'.

NorthLink vessels diverted to Rosyth as weather closes Aberdeen

Extreme weather and tides added to NorthLink's problems this week, with ferries from the Northern Isles unable to dock in Aberdeen because the harbour was closed.

Tuesday's scheduled sailings from Aberdeen, Kirkwall and Lerwick were cancelled due to the severe weather conditions, and the Hrossey, which left Orkney on Monday night, was eventually diverted to Rosyth where she docked on Tuesday night.

NorthLink blamed the exceptionally low tides and easterly gales, which left an insufficient depth of water at Aberdeen for vessels.

Firefighters vote to provide emergency cover

Retained firefighters in Orkney have voted to provided emergency cover in the islands during next week's national strikes.

At meetings in Kirkwall and Stromness on Tuesday night, local firefighters agreed to provide cover for all 999 calls, but that routine duties such as training would not take place.

The situation is to be reviewed next week.

SSPCA dismiss reported culling scheme

Controversial plans to slaughter seals threatened by the deadly seal virus PDV have been dismissed by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA).

Reports that the SSPCA had placed marksmen on standby to cull colonies hit by PDV in an effort, to stop the disease spreading, were firmly denied on Tuesday by their head office in Edinburgh.

Archive story: Orkney alert after seal virus confirmed in UK

"Flare" sighting prompts lifeboat search

Kirkwall Lifeboat was called out on Monday night after what appeared to be a flare was sighted over Weyland in Kirkwall.

However, a search of the area revealed nothing untoward and the "flare" is suspected to have been a firework.

Officials wait to hear how firefighter strike will affect isles

Orkney Islands Council and local police are waiting to hear from the committee for national emergencies, who met on Monday to discuss how to respond to the threat of planned strike action by firefighters.

The committee was convened by Prime Minister Tony Blair, to discuss contingency plans in light of firefighters’ plans to begin a series of walkouts on October 29 as part of their campaign for a 40 per cent pay rise.

A police spokesman said: “There is a certain amount of waiting to be done. We are looking at the contingencies for various things. We do not man fire engines. We do not man Green Goddesses – our part is to assist in any way.”

Icy conditions prompt police appeal for careful driving

Police have appealed for local drivers to take care on the county’s roads as the weather becomes colder.

A number of vehicle accidents at the weekend caused by poor driving conditions has prompted police to appeal for people to drive carefully as the winter weather draws in.

Acting Inspector Colin Gunn said: “Obviously the weather conditions have changed and we would obviously ask people to drive carefully."

Almost 2,900 turn out to view Hamnavoe

Almost 2,900 visitors saw around the new Pentland Firth ferry Hamnavoe during the vessel's open day on Sunday.

A total of 2,878 people took the opportunity to view the vessel in Stromness. The Hamnavoe will operate the Stromness-Scrabster route when the new terminal in Caithness is ready.

NorthLink chief executive, Bill Davidson, said he “would not be drawn” on a date for the start of the new service, but that the company were assessing various options for the use of the Hamnavoe until then.

NorthLink change times to coincide with terminal transfer

To coincide with the transfer of their services to the new Hatston Terminal, NorthLink have changed the arrival and departure times for their ferries’ calls in Orkney.

From Monday, the southbound service from Lerwick to Aberdeen will arrive at Hatston at 11.30pm . The ferry will now depart for Aberdeen at 12.30am.

The northbound through service will also change. The ferries Hjaltland and Hrossey will arrive at Hatston from Aberdeen at 11.30pm and depart for Lerwick at 12.30am.

NorthLink's ferries Hjaltland and Hrossey started operating from the new terminal at Hatston on Monday night - 48 hours later than planned.

Until now, NorthLink have been using the existing linkspan at Kirkwall Pier for their Orkney-Aberdeen-Shetland service.