Orkney MSP, Liam McArthur, has written the new health minister, Nicola Sturgeon, reminding her of the support previously given by SNP MSPs to the case for a Kirkwall-based Islander air ambulance.

Mr McArthur wrote: “While it is accepted that the new aircraft are well equipped and staffed, serious concerns remain in Orkney that, without the availability of the back up of a Kirkwall based Islander air ambulance - the aircraft which has provided a first rate and reliable air ambulance service in Orkney for decades - there will be times when Orkney is left without the cover it needs, putting the lives of Orcadians at risk.”

Vintage car enthusiasts got together on Sunday for a special road run on the Orkney Mainland.

The Orkney Vintage Club's Cavalcade saw the vintage vehicles leave Finstown, bound for Birsay, then travelling via Kirkwall and Tankerness ending up at the Commodore in Holm.

The biggest equestrian event ever to be staged in Orkney was held over the weekend.

More than 100 horses and riders, accompanied by family members, descend on the islands for a weekend of competing in the Pony Club’s Area One Games.

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Northern Isles MP, Alistair Carmichael, has called on the Government to ensure that Orkney households don’t lose out with the digital TV switchover in 2010.

That year, analogue television signals will be switched off in the north of Scotland, meaning television services will only be available via a digital set top box or satellite system.

Mr Carmichael raised the issue in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The people of Orkney, together with a large contingent of Norwegian visitors, celebrated one of Norway’s most important days on Thursday - Constitution Day.

The annual Constitution Day events began with a short ceremony in St Olaf’s cemetery, at the graves of a number of Norwegian sailors, who died during the Second World War.

A concert in St Magnus Cathedral was followed by the parade, or Tog, through the streets of Kirkwall to the Kirk Green, followed by speeches and music in the cathedral.

Two busloads of Canadian and American homecomers arrived in Orkney on Wednesday night after a delayed journey from Scrabster.

The Hamnavoe was held for 40 minutes for them after they struck traffic problems in Glasgow caused by the massive influx of football fans for the Uefa Cup final.

The visitors are in Orkney for almost a week of tours and events to celebrate their Orkney ancestry. Orkney Islands Council will host a gala dinner for them in Stromness on Sunday night.

The Orkney Family History Society began a number of open days on Thursday to mark the arrival of the Canadian visitors forming the 2007 Orkney Homecoming.

The open days, were held in the MacGillivray Room of the Orkney Library.

A workshop for Orkney businesses interested in the ancestral tourism market is to take place in Kirkwall next month.

Given the growing number of tourists coming to Orkney in search of information relating to their ancestors, the workshop aims to ensure that tourism operators can maximise the potential benefits to their business as well as meet the needs of visitors through the provision of quality service and information.

Orkney’s farming community is currently the focus of a year-long project, Art & Agriculture, and a new exhibition of work by Artist in Residence Rebecca Marr marks the first public event in what looks to be a busy year.

BBC Scotland's agricultural series ‘Landward’ were at the mart to preview the exhibition for an upcoming programme following the progress of the project that is due to be screened in early June.

The exhibition, ‘Bidding Gestures - private signals in a public place’ will be on display in the foyer of the Orkney Auction Mart until the end of May.

Northern Constabulary have confirmed it has concluded its “cold case” review into the murder of waiter Shamsudden Mahmood in Kirkwall in June 1994.

The findings have been submitted to the procurator fiscal.

A spokesman said the police would be making no further comment.

The police have issued a reminder to the owners and users of mini motorbikes and quad bikes that they fall under the same conditions of any other motor vehicle if used on a public road.

Anyone using these vehicles on a public road is required to have a driving licence, a valid certificate of insurance covering third parties, road tax and a valid MOT where applicable.

Councillor Stephen Hagan has been returned to the post of convener of the Orkney Islands Council.

He was nominated by Councillor Roderick McLeod and seconded by Councillor Mike Drever. There were no other nominations.

The new chairmen of the OIC’s committees were named on Tuesday at the first official meeting of the newly elected council.

Councillor Janice Annal was returned as chair of the new education, recreation and cultural services committee. She defeated Councillor Mike Drever 12 votes to nine.

Councillor Ian Johnstone is the new chairman of the development committee. He was elected unopposed.

Also elected unopposed were Councillor Roderick McLeod (Social Services and Housing Committee), Councillor Mike Drever (Environment, Planning and Protective Services) and Councillor Jim Foubister (Transportation).

Up for the post of chairman of the Monitoring and Audit were Councillors Alistair Gordon and Allan Leslie. Councillor Gordon took the post with 17 votes to four.

NFU Scotland has welcomed the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) inquiry into the future of Scotland’s hill and island areas.  

The union believes the inquiry comes at a critical time for the country’s more fragile communities, most of which are underpinned by agricultural activity.

A spokesman said: “The inquiry has been quick to recognise that the future of farming will dictate, to a large extent, the future of our more remote, rural areas.  However, this is not an agricultural inquiry; its remit is wide-reaching and it will look to draw conclusions on matters ranging from the future of tourism to the impact of climate change.”

A three-week excavation in Harray is under way after the discovery of an Iron Age earth-house during routine farm-work.

The discovery is causing some excitement as it is one of the only Orcadian earth-houses found in recent times that has not been disturbed – either by later activity on the site or by more-recent antiquarian studies.

Funded by Historic Scotland, a team of archaeologists, led by Judith Robertson, is now on the Corrigall earth-house, working down from the top of the chamber.

Police are appealing for information after a Volvo loader, parked at Inganess Beach, was damaged some time between 7pm on Saturday evening and 10.30am on Monday.

The Otter Bank, Orkney’s former floating bank, is returning home in the summer.

The vessel, built by James Maxwell and Sons in the 1920’s, has been in private ownership but will now take pride of place in the Orkney Boat Museum.

In the meantime, the vessel will be on display at the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum in Lyness after she has arrived from Merseyside.

The Otter Bank was operated as a mobile bank travelling to the North isles in the 1960s.

Orkney MSP, Liam McArthur, has welcomed the news that the Kirkwall Post Office is to remain within the Crown network, owned and managed by the Post Office.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh’s independent Inquiry into the Future of Scotland’s Hill & Island Areas was launched on Monday. 

The aim of this investigation is to find ways to help secure a prosperous and environmentally sustainable future for the rural areas, especially economically fragile communities. 

The inquiry will make recommendations to respond to threats posed by changes in agricultural support along with the opportunities for expansion in other parts of the economy, such as tourism, and measures to safeguard the environment. 

Police inquiries are continuing after a car left the road at the bottom of the Howe Brae in Stromness on Friday night.

The Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers performed outside St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall on Monday afternoon.

The performance was to raise the profile of the Royal Engineers after the transfer of local Territorial Army soldiers to the regiment.

A report is to be submitted to the procurator fiscal after a car collided with a dyke in the Hatston Industrial Estate during the early hours of Saturday morning.

Wednesday will see the arrival of the Canadian visitors making up the Orkney Homecoming 2007 event.

About 50 visitors are due to arrive in the county via the Hamnavoe on Tuesday for the start of a programme of events to introduce, or reacquaint, them with their ancestors’ homeland.