The Proclaimers outside the Pickaquoy Centre on Friday morning

Magfest – a two-day music festival in Kirkwall kicked off on Friday night, with a sold-out performance of The Proclaimers and the Saw Doctors.

More than 3,000 people ae expected to attend the gigs, which sees Embrace and singer Sandi Thom perform on Saturday. Local acts will also feature on both nights.

Magfest is a collaboration between the St Magnus Festival and Kirkwall businessman Neil Stevenson.

Meanwhile, there will be no extra police on duty in Kirkwall this weekend.

A 64-year-old woman escaped serious injury after her vehicle left the road and overturned in South Ronaldsay on Thursday.

The accident occurred on the Flaws road at Grindally.

A female diver was transferred to the Stromness hyperbaric chamber on Thursday, suffering from suspected decompression sickness.

The 24-year-old was diving off the mv Stormdrift of the north side of Rysa Little. She was transferred to Houton where an ambulance was waiting.

A Shetland Coastguard spokesman said: “Upon arrival at the chamber it was decided that in fact she was not suffering from the Bends and there was no need for decompression.”

Men working on a peat bank in Orphir have unearthed an “outstanding” example of a Bronze Age socketed axe – believed to be only the second found in Orkney to date.

The 3,000-year-old axe head was discovered by Michael Watt - one of the men working at the Highland Park’s Hobbister peat bank.

Council tax collection rates in Orkney are the highest in Scotland for the tenth year running, according to figures from the Scottish Executive.

Orkney Islands Council’s percentage council tax due in the year collected by the end of March 2006 was 97.6%, an increase of 0.3% on 2005.

The closest authority in Scotland was East Lothian with a 97.2 per cent collection rate.

The brother of a convicted rapist was jailed for three months at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Wednesday for a verbal attack on one of his brother's victims.

In sentencing Allan James Stanger 35, of Guardhouse Park, Stromness, Sheriff Graeme Napier said that his actions "were totally unacceptable" and that there was no alternative to custody.

Stanger was serving a probation period of 18 months when the incident happened.

The Scottish Executive’s new Air Discount Scheme (ADS) has been welcomed by one of Orkney’s leading oil and gas consultancies, who say it will result in major cost savings for local businesses and individuals.

Zoe Cuthbertson, founding Director of Aurora Environmental, confirmed that ADS has already saved her company £500 since its launch last month, demonstrating the real financial benefits to be gained from the 40 per cent reduction in air fares offered by the scheme.

Zoe says the scheme is sure boost her firm’s competitiveness and is sure to help us compete on an equal footing with their mainland rivals, and expand on the success of the company.

A seabed survey to map out the route for a new submarine cable began earlier this month. The cable is planned to go from Banff in Scotland to Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands, via Orkney and Shetland.

A spokesman for the Faroese Telecom Group said the cable would not only improve international connections for the Faroese market but will “offer possibilities for improving the international connectivity and support business opportunities for Orkney and Shetland”.

The installation of a reflective film on the glass cover of Skara Brae’s House Seven has been hailed a success – although it means visitors can’t see inside the prehistoric structure.

The film was placed on the glass roof last year and, according to Historic Scotland, has halted potentially harmful temperature swings.

There were concerns that rapid heat fluctuations, especially in summer, could lead to the stonework and ancient carvings inside the house being damaged. The greenhouse-like glass roof was installed as a protective measure in the 1920s and identified as the most likely cause of the temperature problem.

An Orkney farmer will stand as the Conservative’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Shetland at next year’s Scottish Parliamentary elections.

Mark Jones owns the farm on the Holm of Grimbister and has been selected as the Shetland Conservative.

No areas of concern have been identified so far, during an ongoing inspection of pipelines to the Flotta oil terminal.

Thirteen divers have completed a routine bi-annual inspection of the Piper/Claymore to Flotta oil line at its South Ronaldsay landfall. No corrosion was found.

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has strongly refuted allegations made by Jim Wallace MSP that information passed to the Health Minister was incorrect.

A spokesman said: “Since April, Scotland has benefited from a new air ambulance service which is delivering an excellent standard of patient care. The choice of aircraft used in each response is identified by what is in the best interest of the patient, taking account of the conditions on the day.”

Orkney MSP, Jim Wallace, has provided Health Minister, Andy Kerr, with evidence he claims will show the minister is being misled regarding information on the Air Ambulance service.

Highlighting a case in which neither the King Air or the EC 135 helicopter air ambulance were able to land at Kirkwall because of wind, Mr Wallace asked why the Islander aircraft was not used.

The minister responded by stating: “All aircraft, including the Islander, would have suffered from the extreme weather.”

Repairs to the mv Earl Sigurd are due to be completed today

The Stromness Primary School has received a clean bill of health from education inspectors.

According to the HM Inspectorate of Education, the school, with the assistance from the OIC’s education department, has made “very good progress” in addressing points raised in their June 2004 inspection.

As a result no further visits will be made in connection with the original inspection report.

NFU Scotland has welcomed the announcement by Environment and Rural Development Minister, Ross Finnie, that the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) will pay interest on outstanding Single Farm issued after the June 30 payment deadline.

However, NFUS is reiterating its insistence that all outstanding payments must be issued as a matter of urgency.

John Kinnaird, NFUS President, said: “The SFP payment window opened almost six months ago and it really is unacceptable that anyone should still be awaiting payment.”

“A real crime wave” was reported at Monday night’s meeting of Stromness Community Council.

This was how chairwoman Linda Lennie described news she had received from the community council liaison office, that 44 public benches across the Orkney Mainland has gone “missing”. This included 18 from Stromness.

Police Sgt Niall MacLean commented, however, that he could not believe that 44 had been stolen.

An Orkney yacht has come third in its class in a race from Norway to Shetland.

The Exile, skippered by George Ratter, was fifth overall in the annual race between Bergen and Lerwick.

The Orkney team was one of 56 entries, only four of which were from the UK.

Stromness Academy has scooped a top prize for young entrepreneurs in Scotland. 

Pupils from the Academy won the award for Best Report in The Royal Bank of Scotland Young Enterprise Scotland finals, held in Glasgow.

The Stromness team, who called their company Orkney Aye, was one of 18 teams taking part, all of whom had qualified for the final after winning their respective regional finals earlier in the year.

A Rendall man was taken to hospital on Sunday after being struck by a section of falling roof.

It is understood the man received severe bruising when the 400 kilogram (882lb) timber roof truss became detached from a crane and fell.

The farmers’ union has called for action to strengthen the competitiveness of farms across Scotland, particularly in less favoured areas such as Orkney.

The NFUS submission on the Scottish Executive’s rural development plan says support for less favoured areas must be Scotland’s top priority.

The union’s chief executive, Andy Robertson, said the LFA support scheme was a lifeline for farmers in remoter areas.

The submission also calls for the Executive to invest in the next generation of farmers.

“Ultimately, a profitable industry is the best young entrants scheme, but rural development support can provide important start-up support,” Mr Robertson said.

Three men were arrested in Kirkwall in the early hours of Sunday morning following a disturbance in the town centre.

The Kirkwall lifeboat and coastguard team were called out on Saturday evening to assist a broken down yacht.

Orkney Islands Council’s environmental health department has issued a local reminder of the national recall of a number of Cadbury chocolate products.

Seven brands of Cadbury’s chocolate have been recalled after being found to have been contaminated with Salmonella. These are Dairy Milk Turkish, Dairy Milk Caramel, Dairy Milk Mint, Dairy Milk eight chunk, Dairy Milk 1 kilo pack, Dairy Milk Button Easter Egg and 10p Freddo bar.

Weather permitting, Orkney Islands Council will be carrying out surface dressing operations on Summerdale Drive, Kirkwall and on the B9064, Rousay.

Drivers are warned that there may be road closures and delays on these routes and to take a different road if possible.

Motorists are also reminded to abide by the temporary speed restrictions that will be in place.

The OIC has declared war on waste with council staff helping fight the battle.

The council is appointing 24 ‘Waste Champions" who represent OIC departments and external units. The aim is to get every council office and building thinking about how to reduce waste.