AFTER bouncing over the plywood covers that lie over Lerwick’s own Forth Road Bridge project (the painting of) – the reflagging of Commercial Street – a quick dash over Church Road brings you to Vaila Fine Art where the current show is an exhibition by Cullivoe-based artist Ron Sandford entitled Some Shetland Fiddlers. It features linocuts and drawings inspired by friends, family and neighbours in Yell.

Probably the most familiar artist working in the medium of linocuts in Shetland in recent years is Howard Towll. His work is very pleasing to the eye but is maybe most appreciated by the …

THROUGHOUT history the art of the portrait has represented the good, the great and the worthy members of society, notably in the area of commissioned paintings.

Artists, particularly if one thinks of 18th and 19th century portraits, provided their patrons with a drawing or painting which would help inflate their image and display their wealth as well as the skill of the artist in creating a likeness of them.

Of course in this rather “socialist” reading of the history of portraiture it was people with money who paid the piper. Those of a lower social order rarely appeared in portraits. …

FIDDLERS’ Bid are to head out to Japan early next month for their second tour of the country.

The band is due to play three concerts, undertake a recording session with a high-profile Japanese duo and carry out promotional appearances.

Three full concerts are in Hyogo on 7th November, Club Quatro in Tokyo on 9th November and the Musashino Hall, also in Tokyo, on 11th November.

Fiddlers’ Bid have also been invited to make guest appearances on the new album currently being recorded by Japanese duo Humbert Humber – a well established and high profile group in their home country.…

25 YEARS AGO

British Airways Helicopters have lost the search and rescue contract run from Sumburgh since 1980. The new contract has been awarded to Bristows Helicopters.

After the new contract was announced on Wednesday neither Bristows headquarters in Redhill, their press agents in Aberdeen nor the company’s Shetland staff were willing to comment on the contract and were unable to provide any further information.

Bristows’ only base in Shetland is in Unst where they fly to and from the Ninian oilfield.

The new contract awarded by the Department of Transport comes into effect on 1st December. The S61N helicopter …

ONE of the things that frequently leaves me speechless is the people that I meet in the course of my work as an MP who have given freely of their time as volunteers.

Sometimes it can be at some personal cost and risk to safety (as is often the case with lifeboat crews and coastguards). Sometimes it can be a case of pursuing a hobby or an interest that they may hold anyway but in a way that makes a difference for someone else.

Last week my diary threw up two very different examples of this, both of which impressed …

Harbour activity

ANOTHER quiet week in Scalloway, with the prevailing westerlies driving the majority of oil and fishing related vessels around to the east side, resulting in poor landings through the Scalloway market.

The indefatigable Ronja Settler continues to operate regardless of the weather from Scalloway for the Scottish Sea Farms factory at Blacksness.

The Grampian Frontier came to port on Tuesday and after a sub-sea inspection by Malakoff divers she set sail again for Denmark for dry-dock and minor repairs.

The Faroese coaster Sirius came alongside on Sunday to discharge feed for aquaculture to the Scalloway stores.

Fish landings …

More action at Cullivoe pier

THE LATEST business to move to the Cullivoe pier is Green Island, a salmon farming firm based in Vidlin.

The salmon business is in the process of erecting a workstation on the north side of the pier where it will be packing salmon ready for transportation to either Lerwick or Scalloway by truck. Green Island plans to start shipping operations from Cullivoe in November. A well boat will be used to take salmon from farms situated in the North Isles and possibly from as far away as Vidlin to Cullivoe, where the fish will be …

More Zest for the Zetec

FORD has announced it is to add a sporty-themed version of its elegant range of Focus family hatchbacks. Known as the Zetec S, it’s built on the existing Zetec model but adds spoilers at the front and back, skirts on the side, big 17-inch alloy wheels, aluminium-look foot pedals and “exclusive badging”.

You can get it with three doors or five, depending on whether you want a zippy image or a bit more practicality about it. There’s sadly no power boost with the new look, it’s purely a styling exercise. It comes with a 1.6, …

THE CLOCKS have moved back to Greenwich Mean Time and Shetland’s astronomy season has started. Last year November brought us Comet Holmes. There are no bright comets forecast at present, but then you never know.

Sun Rise - Set : Moon Rise - Set

1st 7.28am – 4.07pm : 12.45pm – 4.22pm
15th 8.04am - 3.34pm : 4.06pm - 12.12pm
30th 8.39am - 3.07pm : 11.58am - 4.27pm

New moon is on the 27th and full moon is on the 13th.

If you want to see the International Space Station then there are several good passes in the last week …

Sasra Meetings

IT HAS been described as the world’s largest evangelical organisation, bringing Christianity to members of the armed forces since the 1800s.

The message of what SASRA – or the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Christian Association, to give it its full name – aims to achieve has even reached Shetland.

Representative Ian MacDonald was in the isles for a number of meetings to explain the work of the organisation, as well as the issues it faces.

In recent weeks he has been at Methodist and Baptist churches in Lerwick, the Brae Gospel Hall and the Cunningsburgh United Free Church.

He …