Rugby fans in Orkney were able to get up close to the Calcutta Cup on Saturday.

The trophy was in the county as part of a national tour of rugby clubs.

Three of the county's young rugby players are pictured viewing the cup in the Orkney Rugby Club clubhouse on Saturday afternoon.

Orkney pulled off a National Cup Round Three victory against Scottish National League 1 team, Hillfoots RFC at Pickaquoy on Saturday afternoon, by 16-12.

Orkney trailed by 12-0 at half-time after two first half tries by the opposition, but an excellent second half performance saw them make up the difference, with a converted try and three drop goals.

Hillfoots used the wind to great advantage in the first half, with some excellent kicking to touch, but Orkney matched their performance in the second half.

The Orkney support, who were vocal throughout, were ecstatic when the final whistle blew and speculation started as to who they will meet in the next round.

Ninety years after it was originally published, a new limited edition of J. Storer Clouston’s The Spy in Black is to be launched in May next year.

As well as Clouston’s story of espionage set in Orkney during the First World War, the new edition intends to throw more light on the original story and its setting, by examining the role of Clouston in Orkney literature.

As its first publication was during wartime, Clouston changed all of the place names featured, but thanks to the efforts of Historic Scotland Rangers, Sandra Miller and Elaine Clarke, the locations hidden in the original book will finally be revealed.

Due to the limited print run of 2,000, numbered copies can be reserved from www.westraystudios.co.uk.

The supreme champion at Thursday’s Christmas Prime Show realised an Orkney Auction Mart record for a prime animal, selling for £2,400 .

The Limousin heifer, belonging to Balfour Baillie of Sebay Cottage, Tankerness, was bought by butcher, W. Lobban, from Kirkwall.

A 22-year-old man was remanded in custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Friday afternoon.

Daniel Joe Whitfield, from Leeds, England, admitted breaching a probation order when he appeared from custody. He had failed to assist in the preparation of a social inquiry report for the court.

Honorary sheriff Eric Green deferred sentence until December 13 and refused bail.

A painting by Orcadian artist Stanley Cursiter was sold for £5,800 on Friday.

Almost £152,000 worth of grants were approved by Orkney Enterprise in November.

Among the £151,841 worth of grants, £17,700 was approved form the Houton Bay Lodge for upgrading visitor accommodation. The Kirkwall Hotel also received £49,500 for the third phase of the hotel’s upgrade programme.

Alistair Carmichael MP has hit out at government news that private UK boats are to lose the right to use red diesel.

Mr Carmichael has led a campaign over several years to try and ensure that pleasure boat users are able to purchase cheaper red diesel.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a car knocked down a 15-year-old girl after leaving a school bus in Orphir.

She was initially taken to Kirkwall’s Balfour Hospital after the collision, at 3.45pm on Thursday, at Wester Greenigoe. She has since been transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Anyone with information is asked to call 872241.

The largest ship-to-ship transfer in Scapa Flow was completed earlier this month – an operation that saw the first transfer of REBCO oil in the county.

Despite some severe weather, 283,000 tonnes of REBCO (Russian Export Blend Crude Oil) was transferred safely from three 100,000 tonne vessels to one large ship. It is hoped this could be the first of many more from the Russian Oil fields.

The transfer was originally planned to take place in England, but weather delays and a deteriorating forecast meant Orkney was chosen as a suitable alternative.

In all, 14 transfers have taken in 2006 to date.

After years of campaigning by residents, pupils in Burray are preparing to move into their new school next week.

The old school was closed on Thursday to allow staff to transfer equipment to the new premises.

Work on the new £1.1 million school got under way in July, 2005, and it will open its doors to pupils on Monday, with an official opening in January.

 The project was warmly welcomed by members of the Burray community who spent years battling to save the school from closure.

Supreme cattle champion of Thursday’s Christmas Prime Show and Sale at the Orkney Auction Mart was a Limousin heifer belonging to Balfour Baillie of Sebay Cottage, Tankerness.

Born in March 2006, the 615kg beast was by the pure-bred Limousin bull Ronick Hawk out of a home-bred Belgian Blue-cross cow.

The champion in the sheep section at the Christmas Prime Show and Sale went to a pair of Beltex lambs, averaging 43 kg, owned by D. & U. Hurst, Strathore, Shapinsay.

Reserve was another pair of Beltex lambs, averaging 37.5kg, owned by Raymond Flaws, Nisthouse, Evie.

Northern Isles MP, Alistair Carmichael, has criticised the Chancellor’s pre-budget statement signalling further increases in fuel duty.

Mr Carmichael said: “The increase in fuel duty of 1.25p is no surprise. Increasing fuel duty makes the case for a cut in fuel tax in the Highlands and Islands all the more persuasive.

“It has been brought to the Government's attention on many occasions that fuel duty increases have a disproportionate impact on islanders. Yet in his tenth, and probably final budget, Gordon Brown showed no understanding of the disproportionate impact that his increase will have on people in remote and rural areas.”

Farriers working in Orkney will have to register from March 30 next year.

The new requirement ends a previous exemption which allowed unregistered farriers to practise in the Highlands and Islands.

Visitors to Orkney are always on the look-out for an unusual souvenir to take home with them.

But the latest craze is becoming something of a nuisance for the OIC, with tourists, armed with screwdrivers, stealing Twatt road signs.

A council spokesman said three of the £600 4ft by 5ft signs have been stolen in the last 18 months - unscrewed from their supporting poles.

He added: "The council can only assume that people have become interested in Orkney genealogy and local history before these signs have been going missing."

The OIC wants to hear views on how to make equality a reality for Orkney’s disabled residents.

The council has published a draft Disability Equality Scheme that sets out what it will do to plan, deliver and evaluate actions to eliminate disability discrimination across all its services.

The draft scheme is available from the OIC website or hard copies can be  requested at the council’s reception or on 873535.

For more information or to share your views on the draft scheme, contact OIC Policy Officer, Eileen Linklater, on 873535 or at eileen.linklater@orkney.gov.uk

Stromness-based Aurora Environmental Ltd has won the small business category of the national final of the Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland (VIBES) Awards.

The independently-owned consultancy, made it through to the final after winning the Highlands and Islands competition. The company was one of the first in Scotland to install a renewable energy source to heat its premises, reducing greenhouse emissions.

Representatives from NHS Orkney will be heading to Rousay next week to discuss the provision of a GP service on the island.

Residents feel they have been kept in the dark over the suspension of the isle's GP, Dr Garry Mearns - who has been suspended from practising until April, 2008, by the General Medical Council's interim orders panel.

A special meeting between members of the health board and health professionals and the Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre Community Council is to be held on Tuesday in the church centre at 7.45pm.

Young filmmakers from Sanday have been awarded a cash grant to help produce an animated movie.

The pupils have been awarded over £3,600 from First Light Movies, to create their animated fantasy, Lights Out. This film focuses on the students’ story of a group of tired seals attempting to switch off the lighthouse’s powerful beam as it’s keeping them awake at night!

First Light Movies is a nationwide organisation that helps young people make short digital films. To fund projects First Light Movies distributes £1.1 million of National Lottery money, through UK Film Council funding, each year.

Alistair Carmichael MP has renewed his campaign to highlight companies levying excessive delivery charges to the isles and encouraging anyone affected to contact him 

He said: "I receive numerous complaints from constituents on this issue throughout the year. I tend to deal directly with the company involved on a case-by-case basis.

A proposed strike at Kirkwall’s Hydro Electric show has been averted.

Royal Mail is geared up for Christmas in the KW postcode area - which covers Orkney and Caithness - with an expected festive mailbag of 2.5 million items.

More than 200 Royal Mail postal staff will be working flat out with an additional ten vehicles on top of the normal 124-strong transport fleet.

The Stenness Primary School has made “good progress” tackling action points identified following last year’s HMIE inspection.

An HMIE follow-through inspection report highlighted a sustained programme of continuous improvement across key areas over the last two years.

An OIC education department spokesman said: “The head teacher and staff have worked hard as a team to address the main points for action.

He added: “The school provides a very good service for its children and has the capacity to continue improving.”

The police’s annual Festive Safety Campaign began on Wednesday.

Drivers are being warned to stick to the law, or face the consequences in court. Custodial sentences, substantial fines and bans have been handed down to anyone risking driving with alcohol in their system.

A police spokesman explained that police would be focusing on drink and drug driving and speeding throughout the four-week campaign, with officers carrying out regular checks on drivers.

A report published by the Scottish Executive this week has shown Orkney schools have one of the highest attendance rates in Scotland.

Scotland’s Deputy Health Minister, Lewis Macdonald, has agreed to meet with a delegation from Orkney to discuss the ongoing elderly care crisis.

Chairman of the OIC social work committee, Councillor Keith Johnson, said at Tuesday's full council meeting: “We are hopeful that we will be able to get our message across when we meet him on December 20.

Folk in North Ronaldsay may have been given a stay of execution on a decision over a second weekly ferry sailing to the island.

Chairman of the transportation committee, Captain Bob Sclater, said at Tuesday's full council meeting: “We felt it only right we should have another look at this.”

Scottish Water is to carry out improvements to the public water mains and reduce internal flooding at Kirkwall's Junction Road.

The lack of investment or replacement of the 80-year-old pipes in the area has come under repeated criticism by people in the county.

Emergency services on Junction Road during the October floods (Picture: Graham Macdonald)

Kirkwall Community Council members want reassurances from OIC officials that efforts are made to limit the damage caused by future flooding.

Chairman Spencer Rosie said on Monday night: “While no one would dispute that the amount of rain that fell over this period was unprecedented, concern has to be expressed about how Kirkwall’s drainage system coped on the day, particularly considering that water levels continued to rise well after high tide had passed.”

Police are appealing for dog owners to keep their animals under control after a sheep was killed and two others injured on land in Deerness sometime overnight on Sunday.

Dog owners are asked to check about the chest and mouth area of their pets for traces of blood and if they have any concerns themselves about their animals to contact the police.

Alternatively, anyone who may have seen a dog running free in the area of Haco is asked to phone the police on 872241.

Harray YFC 'A' Team. From left: Charles Copland; Alison Aim; Inga Nicholson.

The Harray Young Farmers  ‘A’ team took the title at the North Region Junior Speechmaking Competition in Forres.

Team members, Alison Aim, Charles Copland and Inga Nicholson took the Cumming Challenge Cup at the elimination with a topic entitled "Get Hitched Quick".

North Ronaldsay representatives have written to all OIC councillors urging them to support a second weekly ferry to the island and overturn the decision to scrap the proposal made last week.

The e-mails were sent out prior to today’s meeting of the full council.

Last Monday, members of the OIC’s inter-isles transport sub-committee decided against the extra sailing.

The award-winning Creel restaurant in St Margaret’s Hope is up for sale.

The Creel, run by Alan and Joyce Craigie, was established in 1985 and has since picked up a number of prestigious award.

However, Mr & Mrs Craigie now feel the time is right to move on to a new project – which will probably be in mainland Scotland.

Orkney-based writer, and former St Magnus Cathedral minister, Ron Ferguson, has been named Columnist of the Year at the 2006 Scottish Magazine Awards in Glasgow.

Mr Ferguson, who lives in Orphir, writes regularly for the Church of Scotland’s magazine, Life and Work, as well as for The Glasgow Herald and The Press and Journal.

A 29-year-old man has denied indecently assaulting a female in Kirkwall on November 23.

Appearing from custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court today, David Sanderson, Westhouse Flats, Kirkwall, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The damaged section of the Barrier

Strong wind and heavy seas saw sections of the crash barrier, on both sides of the causeway, washed away, as waves crashed across the road.

The road was reopened on Monday morning, but traffic was reduced to single file across the causeway while work clearing up the debris and erecting a temporary barrier was carried out.

The man behind the Orkney Folk Festival has won an award at the Scots Trad Music Awards, held on Saturday in Fort William.

Johnny Mowat, from Stromness, took the services to the industry award for his work with the Orkney Folk Festival.

Repairs are being carried out to an oil tanker which spent much of Sunday drifting in the Pentland Firth.

The BP tanker, Border Heather, with ten people on board, suffered main engine failure about 8.40am on Sunday morning and contacted the Coastguard for assistance.

Under construction - the new Kirkwall travel centre

Work associated with surface water and foul sewer connections will be carried out, which will see the road closed for approximately seven days.