Violinist Chapman Cheng from the Anderson High School won the Senior Musician of the Year title. Click on image to enlarge.

Already Shetland’s Young Fiddler of the Year, Anderson High School pupil Chapman Cheng added the Young Musician of the Year title to an impressive list of achievements on the penultimate night of the 2010 Schools Music Festival on Wednesday.

Much to her surprise, Junior Young Musician of the Year was pianist Nicola Morrison from White­ness Primary School. She said afterwards that hearing her name being announced had come as a bit of a shock: “At first I never knew it was actually real, I went a bit woozy and stepped forward and said, ‘Oh my god!’”

The 11-year-old said she “prac­tised every day to try and get it perfect”, which has obviously paid off.

A Viking display at Clickimin Broch during the 1985 Hamefarin. Click on image to enlarge.

It’s been four years in the planning and expects to attract more than 500 people. This summer’s Shetland Hamefarin is set to become the event of the decade for the hundreds of visitors who are eagerly awaiting a chance to visit the land they or their forebears left.

This is the third such event since the inception of the Hamefarin (or homecoming) in 1960 – the second was held in 1985 and there was an “unofficial” one at the start of the millennium – and its supporters hope in future to hold it every 10 years.

The Hamefarin is an opportunity for those who left Shetland to make their home elsewhere to return for a fortnight of celebrations and reunions, and those descended from emigrants to visit the land of their forebears, perhaps for the first time. Around 320 have registered for the event so far.

The new Anderson High School could be built closer to the Clickimin Centre on flatter land rather than being dug into the hillside, design experts have advised Shetland Islands Council.

During a workshop last month with government-funded advisers Architecture and Design Scotland the council was told it should be open to looking at other sites within the Clickimin/Staney Hill area, which could make the building cheaper and more effective.

During discussion at Thursday’s meeting of the services committee, councillor Frank Robertson said it was also emphasised that the new school would be a major civic building and it was important to look at multiple uses for it, not just teaching.

Lerwick lifeboat, Shetland Coastguard and police were called to the rescue of a woman who was seen in the water at the end of Lerwick’s Sea Road early on Thursday morning.

WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SHETLAND

Thursday, 11 March 2010 at 11:12

HEADLINES

TODAY: PATCHY RAIN CLEARING SOUTH, BREEZY
TONIGHT: CLOUDY, MOSTLY DRY
TOMORROW: SHOWERS, WINDY
DAYS 2-5: SOME RAIN OR SHOWERS, BREEZY
DAYS 6-10: RAIN OR SHOWERS, WINDY AT TIMES