The Soulisquoy Printmakers were toasting 25 years as a group, with an open day and exhibition at their studio in the Pickaquoy Centre on Saturday.

Chairman of the group, Carol Dunbar said: "Visitors to the studio on Saturday will have the opportunity to see members of the group at work. Demonstrations of relief printing, screen printing and etching processes will be on offer along with details of the Highland 2007 project.

The exhibition of prints will continue until the end of December."

A Scottish Air Ambulance Service review of the new Gama service shows an improvement in performance, high patient satisfaction and a 14 per cent increase in activity.

The SAS say the average response time up to September, 2006, of 27.59 minutes is 13.11 minutes faster than the same period in 2005.

Pauline Moore, of SAS, said: “The review shows that the service is meeting the needs of patients and delivering faster response times, despite the increase in demand.

“Although patients are very happy with the service, we recognise that there are a number of issues around communication with medical staff which need to be improved.”

Full story in this week's The Orcadian

Residents in Orkney are being urged to make their views known about their local post offices as the consultation to which branches will shut, kicks off.

The long awaited announcement that 2,500 post offices are to be closed was made on Thursday by secretary of state for trade and industry, Alistair Darling MP.

Orkney's MP, Alistair Carmichael, said: "It is vital that local people have a say in this process. The next 12 weeks of this consultation exercise are going to be critically important to the isles."

All households and businesses are likely to be connected to the water system in Papa Westray after a funding package was agreed by councillors on Thursday.

Currently, only 60 per cent of residents are linked up, but it is hoped to attract £125,990, to enable a further two natural springs to be utilised.

Councillors at the OIC community development fund sub-committee meeting recommended assistance of £31,495 towards the cost of the project.

A decision on whether to allow a second weekly summer sailing to North Ronaldsay now rests with community councils in the North Isles.

While councillors at a specially convened OIC inter-isles transport sub-committee, on Thursday, have agreed to the request, they added that it is dependent on agreement with community councils in Westray and Papa Westray, Sanday, Stronsay and Eday.

Council transport officials stressed that the second sailing on a Tuesday was vital for the island's survival.

Orkney Islands Council convener Councillor Stephen Hagan has welcomed the Scottish Executive’s grant allocation of £61.07 million to run services in the county in 2007-2008.

The figure - which represents a 4.4 per cent increase - is described as a “big improvement” on the provisional level of £59.5 million previously announced.

While Councillor Hagan agreed that the settlement was much better than first feared, he highlighted spending pressures on social services, transport and housing services.

“It is still likely that we will have to look for efficiency measures from all our services of at least £1 million.”

The Strynd Nursery in Kirkwall has received an early Christmas present from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland.

A grant of £6,612 has been made towards the purchase of playground equipment. It is the only organisation in the county to benefit in this round of awards.

Mary Craig, the Foundation’s acting chief executive, said: “This is our sixth round of awards this year, and we continue to be impressed by the fantastic work being carried out by the voluntary sector in Scotland.”

Orkney RFC have been handed a dream fixture in the fourth round of the National Cup - a home tie against Premiership 1 side Aberdeen Grammar School Former Pupils, in the draw which was made at Murrayfield on Wednesday.

Orkney earned their place in the fourth round with a 16-12 victory against Hillfoots last weekend, having trailed 0-12 at half time.

Club officials described the prospect of welcoming Aberdeen GSFP as "brilliant".

Adverse weather conditions scuppered plans for a meeting between NHS Orkney officials and the Rousay community on Tuesday night.

It had been hoped that health officials would explain the current and future plans for GP services on the island, following the suspension of the contacted doctor, Garry Mearns, by the General Medical Council.

NHS Orkney's interim chief executive, Iain Crozier, said: "To ensure as much continuity of care as possible, at an affordable rate, the board intends to provide GP services solely from its own salaried doctors until the position with the General Medical Council is resolved."

Twenty-five employees of one of Orkney’s longest established agricultural businesses have been delivered a devastating blow less than a fortnight before Christmas.

R. B. Flett Ltd announced on Tuesday, that it is to cease trading after 32 years. The staff are being given redundancy payments, with the majority ending their employment on Friday. A small number will be kept on to help wind up the business.

Director Bobby Flett stressed that the firm was not insolvent but had found it increasingly difficult to operate in what was a highly competitive market. He said staff would be given every assistance to find alternative employment.

A 22-year-old Stromness man was jailed on Tuesday after fighting, and breaching his restriction of liberty order.

Joseph Mahady of 3 Khyber Pass admitted conducting himself in a disorderly manner and fighting with Oliver Chalmers at 29 Hamnavoe, Stromness on October 4 this year. He also admitted breaching his restriction of liberty and probation orders ten times on various dates.

Sheriff Graeme Napier sentenced Mahady to four months in prison, backdated to November 29, 2006.

Plans to expand and develop the Orkney Brewery in Sandwick next year have been revealed.

Sinclair Breweries Ltd, which owns the Orkney Brewery and the Atlas Brewery in Kinlochleven, aims to alter and expand the existing Quoyloo premises, creating a new visitor centre and sampling room, as well as additional brewing space. It is anticipated that the project will also create a number of new jobs at the brewery.

Kirkwall police say they are pleased with results of the ongoing festive clampdown on drink drivers.

No-one who has been stopped since the campaign began on Wednesday last week has given a positive specimen so far, Kirkwall Sergeant Angus MacLeod said.

"So far, so good," he said. "Police officers will be out in force over the coming weeks so we aim to catch anyone who chooses to get behind the wheel while drunk."

Passenger cabin accommodation on the NorthLink vessels Hjaltland and Hrossey is set to increase with the provision of 22 additional cabins on each ferry.

Currently, in addition to recliner seats, each vessel has provision for 95 passenger cabins encompassing some 280 berths. The extra cabins will mean that each vessel can provide an additional 76 berths.

The plan is for the conversion work to be carried out as part of the vessels' routine annual dry-dock period with one vessel going to dock in the three weeks prior to Easter and the other in the three weeks after Easter.

An extra train service introduced from Monday offers rail passengers the prospect of travelling from Orkney to London in a day.

The new service, which is part of operator First ScotRail's winter timetable, provides a connection at Thurso for travellers going across on the 6.30am Hamnavoe sailing.

Leaving Thurso at 8.42am, the train is scheduled to arrive at Inverness at 12.13pm, in time for the 12.40pm Inverness to Edinburgh service, linking to the 5pm train from Edinburgh to London King's Cross, arriving at 9.44pm.

Councillor Bob Sclater, chairman of the OIC transport committee, was due to travel on the inaugural 8.42am Thurso-Inverness service on Monday, but was unable to do so, as the 6.30am Hamnavoe crossing was rescheduled.

The Roman Catholic bishop of Aberdeen diocese, Rt. Rev. Peter Moran, visited Orkney on Monday.

He travelled north to view the ongoing work to repair Our Lady and St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Kirkwall. The buildings were badly damaged in the recent floods.

The church, on the corner of Main Street and Junction Road, is expected to be out of operation for six months. After two months drying out, renovation work is expected to last four months.

Bishop Moran said: “I am pleased that this adversity has once again shown how a community can pull together to help each other. The support of the other churches locally demonstrates the strength of the whole Christian community within Orkney.”

Two public toilets in Orkney were set on fire at the weekend in what police believe were linked acts of vandalism.

The toilet roll holders at Scapa and Dingieshowe had been set alight, causing damage to both toilets on Saturday night.

Kirkwall Fire Brigade attended at the Scapa incident after it was discovered about 10pm. The fire at Dingieshowe burned itself out and was found by a cleaner on Sunday morning.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police on 872241.