That is not to argue that the safety regime west of Shetland and in the North Sea bears any resemblance to that in the United States, where regulatory capture by the oil industry would seem to be comprehensive; only that it would seem prudent to use the opportunity to review systems and procedures in this country, draw lessons from the United States and make safety as robust as possible. Such a review might make it easier to argue to the EU energy commissioner that a moratorium on drilling, as has been introduced by the US and Norway, is unnecessary.

Employees at Sullom Voe will also be reassured this week by the news that BP has no plans to hand over the operation of the terminal to Abu Dhabi-based TAQA, the biggest shareholder, as part of its global sale of assets designed to pay for the clean-up in the Gulf. The company has also restated its commitment to a huge investment program west of Shetland which, with the Total development, will reap some dividends for the Shetland economy.

The writer and philosopher Albert Camus, a goalkeeper, once said he had learned most of what he knew about morality and man from football. In this vein, there was a great deal of discussion after England’s crushing defeat by Germany about the triumph of teamwork over individualism. Never has there been so much talk about a false dichotomy.

It was rarely remarked upon how individually talented the German players were; the implication seemed to be that any group of players who knew how to pass to each other would have succeeded.

The pointless teamwork/individualism debate came to a shuddering halt after the final. The realisation that a group of players can, as a team, decide to be bad in the moral sense in order to achieve their ends should not have come as a great surprise, especially given the history of the financial world in the last three years. The outcry against the Dutch is a healthy sign. Values are more fundamental to what we do as individuals, as communities, as organisations and as institutions than anything else.

Lose sight of that and we might as well join in the veneration of an octopus in a tank that was passed off as the mollusc world’s Nostradamus.

Without a detailed study of the local retail market and the buying habits of residents, it is impossible to come to any firm conclusions, but a few observations would seem to be in order.

Tesco is far too big. But the company itself cannot be blamed for that. Weak regulatory apparatus in the UK has allowed an oligopoly of majors, also including Asda, Sainsbury and Morrison’s, to squeeze out the smaller supermarkets. The beneficiaries of this have been consumers, who now spend a lower proportion of their income on food, hence the popularity of the aforementioned chains. Planning law has not helped, allowing factory-sized out-of-town developments to mushroom all over the country.

While there is little doubt that the expansion by Tesco – propelled by high turnover figures since it arrived in Shetland – will make it an even more dominant player in the local retail scene, it is a visible target in the way that other firms which do substantial trade with Shetland consumers via the internet and the thriving local haulage firms are not. Consumers’ habits have changed markedly in the last decade. Shopping trips south may still be a regular feature on the family cal­endar, but the availability of merchandise (often cut-price) online makes it a less pressing one. Some Lerwick shops have met this challenge head-on and are successfully competing with suppliers outwith the isles. Other businesses are benefitting from Tesco taking isles produce to a wider market.

It will be up to the council’s planning department to decide whether Tesco is in breach of its planning consent. Whatever the outcome, the council should commission an economist to conduct research into Shetland’s retail market so that the arguments can be based on evidence.

The lure of places like New Zealand, Australia and Canada might seem attractive to today’s generation, if not employment building the “empire”, but it must have been a truly daunting prospect setting off into the relative unknown in the middle of the 19th century, severing family ties, often for good.

The contrast with our own times is marked. The discovery of oil and the recovery of the island’s population to a more sustainable 22,000 or so has made it possible for people to remain living and working here, although the future of what remains a fragile, tiny economy on the periphery of Europe does not look so rosy.

Islanders still leave, of course, for a variety of reasons, university education and professional development among them. What the leavers then and now have in common is the ability to make a significant contribution to the economic and social life of their destinations. The number of folk currently in Shetland for the Hamefarin who have flourished in a diverse range of professions and activities around the world is remarkable.

It is a great testament to the outward looking nature of most islanders, an attribute that is as vital today as it was 150 years ago.

Of the 600-plus who make the trip this time round, for the golden centenary of the event, those who come back for the first time will be experiencing a very different Shetland to the one they left behind.

In 1960 there were single-track roads, Shetland Models nestled in nousts, folk scratched a living from crofting and fishing, generally lived in humble dwellings, and home entertainment came by way of a crackly wireless.

We now have an impressive system of highways virtually throughout the isles, marinas boast palatial vessels which could scarcely have been dreamed of, jobs are plentiful and in most cases well-paid, and houses are huge and filled with flat-screen televisions which one could almost watch from half a mile away.

One thing will not have altered, however, and that is the quality of hospitality laid on for the visitors. All kinds of events are being organised, from bus tours and storytelling to concerts and exhibitions. The fact that the Hamefarin coincides with the Flavour of Shetland weekend, a host of visiting yachts, the midsummer carnival and more, means that the place will be buzzing this weekend. We trust that the weather stays fair and everyone has an experience to remember.

Here, council culture and recreation spokesman RICK NICKERSON calls for a grassroots review of the service rather than a “tax on talent”.

Many people often ask me why Shetland has so many talented musicians. Certainly there is an impression that, for a small place, we produce way above our quota of world-class musicians. I have never been able to answer that question. Maybe it is the sense of community that is so alive and vibrant here, or the creative environment we have, or maybe it could be the long­standing excellent provision of music tuition provided by our local authority. Perhaps we’ll never know? Maybe it is just in our genes.

Music permeates our whole society on a daily basis. I can think of very few events in Shetland where music doesn’t play a valuable role. If you look through the event calendar of any month music will be there, whether it is the traditional music festivals, of which there are many with worldwide credentials, the many Up-Helly-A’s, rowing regattas, weddings, the regular music nights in our pubs, clubs and community halls to name a few. Even the role music plays in fund-raising events such as the recent Relay for Life and Lerwick Lifeboat Day needs to be acknowledged. Our local musicians often volunteer their services for these events and when they are paid it benefits our economy. In both cases they are paying back the investment that the council and others have made in them for many years.

The current debate over the council’s policy to introduce a “tax on talent” for music tuition certainly has focused minds on the value of this service and the impact such a proposal will have on our young folk over the coming years. There is no doubt that all public service providers will need to tighten their belts over the next few years thanks to the greed of our bankers. The discussion we need to have, how­ever, is how best to accomplish this without damaging the values and principles that have made Shetland what it is today. Unlike many of our other colleagues in the public sector in Scotland, Shetland can and could, if it wished, manage the pain in a better and long term sustainable way.

There is another dimension to this discussion over and above the pound and pennies aspect. There can be no doubt about the contri­bution music tuition makes towards our culture, in particular the promotion of this culture to the outside world. It has enabled some folk to make a career in the field of entertainment or teaching or perhaps other endeavours and that is a good thing for them and Shetland.

However I believe music, as one of the expressive art forms, is a fundamental part of our education experience. It plays an important role in our personal development and our wellbeing. This year’s Schools Music Festival has shown me how music builds character, confidence and self-esteem. It also provides pathways to channel energies away from paths that are perhaps less productive and it certainly brings communities together.

There can be no greater sense of achievement than to reach that point in learning, whether it is playing or singing, where you transform your ability from just making a sound to playing or singing a piece in tune and all the way through. Music and the festival allows young people to demonstrate that achievement to others and in many cases reinforces their own belief that – yes, I can do this! So the instruction of music goes way beyond the ability to play an instrument.

We seriously risk losing all of this if this council continues with this policy. In my view it has a responsibility to support and strengthen its commitment to music tuition.

That is why I am so disappointed that some of my colleagues in the Town Hall have chosen to introduce a tax on talent for music tuition in response to a black hole in this year’s budget projections. I have consulted widely on this and apart from some of my fellow members and some officials no-one seems to believe that this proposal is justified, fair or will deliver its objective.

I have some sympathy for the schools service in their efforts to consult with staff, Parent Councils etc to implement what is currently council policy. To their credit they have been prepared to take on board some suggestions to make the proposed scheme more acceptable to some. However many believe that these concessions will never be fair or equitable. They will sub­stantially reduce the amount of income the council receives, thus negating the original objective of making efficiency savings. They will also involve a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy to implement, at an unknown cost, which is one of the main reasons I have difficulty with the policy. If they fail to achieve their financial objective, which I know will happen, the following year the tax will go up, making it more expensive and more families will not be able to afford the cost and drop out. The scenario is obvious. If there are fewer students each year this means less income and possibly fewer teachers or instructors; the result will be a music service in decline. A stealth tax by any other name.

What folk do acknowledge is that savings have to be made but there are alternatives to charging which is by its very nature a very blunt instrument. It has become clear to me that if colleagues are determined to push this through on the principle that we have made a decision and it will look bad if we reverse our decisions there is not much we can do about it. However, in my experience, taking decisions on political dogma and not being able to be flexible usually ends up in a worse situation. Bad policy is still bad policy, no matter how you dress it up. I believe what most folk want is a fit for purpose music service which is affordable, efficient, up to date in its objectives and delivery and continues to deliver world class musicians but also allows equal opportunity for those who wish to learn how to play music.

The art of politics is compromise. And I am proposing a grass roots review of the service. In addition to identifying long term and sustain­able efficiency savings (equal to those which might arise from the tax) it should develop a service which we all can be proud of.

This is what I will suggest to colleagues at the next services com­mittee on June 17th. Incidentally the concert to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Dr Tom Anderson as part of the Hamefarin 2010 will take place the night before this debate. As the man who championed music tuition in our schools I won­der what Tom would be thinking about this debate if he were alive. I could bet my last pound that he would doing more that just thinking. There is still time to contact your local councillor/s.

The embittered Mr Clark has described the verdict of the commission’s chief investigating officer Stuart Allan as a “charter for anarchy”. Mr Cluness is on holiday. Mr Simpson has also refused to accept Mr Allan’s report. We do not know what Ms Sutherland and Mr Riise think but it seems fair to assume they believe that council officials are now vulnerable to further public attack by outspoken councillors. Predictably enough, Dr Wills was delighted at the outcome.

The two-day public hearing by the Accounts Commission due at the end of June has many issues to focus on (Mr Clark’s appointment, behaviour and payoff; the ability or otherwise of councillors to make and abide by difficult decisions; relationships between councillors and officials; and, surely at the bottom of the pile, the grouping of the council’s accounts with those of Shetland Charitable Trust). But at the heart of the matter are fundamentally – and deeply entrenched – opinions on the ability of the council’s political leaders and senior officials to run the authority effectively.

As this column has often pointed out, the council has many flaws. But the fundamentals are sound: good services continue to be delivered well and financial management is sound at a hugely difficult time for public funds (cf Aberdeen City Council).

One possible course of action for the Accounts Commission is to put in a new senior management team and suspend some or all councillors. It will not resolve all the outstanding issues instantly, but appointing a properly-recruited interim chief executive who then must quickly gain the confidence of both councillors and those senior officials he or she wishes to retain is, perhaps, the only way to avoid such a scenario. Mr Cluness might help too if he resigns as convener.

Tomorrow, Terry will set out on a 900-mile walk of (most of) Shetland’s coastline to raise money for the mental health charity Mind Your Head and, more fundamentally from his point of view, become well enough to return to work. His decision to make public the fact that he suffers from depression is, as Shona Manson of Mind Your Head describes it, a “brave” one. Hopefully the interview and his positive outlook, combined with the publicity surrounding his walk, will go some way towards lifting the stigma that still surrounds the illness.

The Old Rock will be joining Terry for a section of his walk later in the summer; hopefully many others will too. We wish him well.

:::::::::

Demonstrating once again its customary elan for public relations, the council has refused on entirely spurious grounds to comment on the fact that councillor Jonathan Wills has been cleared by the Standards Commission on 10 counts of having breached the councillors’ code of conduct. We understand the report is heavily critical of the council, and in particular the decision to pay off former chief executive David Clark. Alas, as we went to press yesterday the commission had not published its report, without sight of which it is difficult to comment further.

As the Old Rock has suggested previously, the whole furore could have been avoided if Mrs Miller had responded promptly to the questions. We should not single out Mrs Miller, however.

Many major questions of public interest remain to be answered by this council. What is the exact nature of the council’s deal with the oil firm Total over its new plant at Sullom Voe and how much money will the council accrue as a result of it?

How much money, in cash payout, salary, legal fees and tax, will the deal with former chief executive David Clark cost the council taxpayer? So far it is £306,000 and – presumably – counting. What is the status of the complaints made by six councillors late last year about Mr Clark’s behaviour which independent lawyers reckon gave strong grounds for dismissal? Why did convener Sandy Cluness not ensure that the final deal with Mr Clark was presented to councillors before being signed off as promised?

And, for that matter, what are the terms of the agreement reached between the Judane directors and the council over the waiving of the £400,000+ it owed?

It may be tiresome, but we’ll keep asking. Maybe some day we’ll get answers.

On paper at least – and this is genuinely surprising – in many ways the new coalition government is more progressive than its predecessor. At long, long last the House of Lords is to be elected; a referendum is to be held on the Alternative Vote for general elections; ID cards are to be abolished; the Scottish Parliament is to get more powers; there is to be a clampdown on “unacceptable” bankers’ bonuses; and income tax allowances for the poorest paid are to be raised, although not quickly enough.

To pick out two items on the debit side, there will be savage cuts in public spending and Trident will be replaced, policies Labour had promised to pursue, the former unavoidably so. (Labour, having lost the election that nobody in their right mind actually wanted to win, is well poised to capitalise on the inevitable unpopularity such cuts will bring at the next election.) The tribes will continue with their war dances and spear-throwing, but for serious people with an interest in how the country is governed and what reforms are introduced, the only way forward will be a sort of stunned studentship of events. Coalitions are inherently fragile and this one may unravel, but if intent is matched by achievement there is a real prospect of change for the better.

As we went to press, Orkney and Shetland’s Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael was waiting to hear whether he is to be appointed to the government. If he is he will be the first representative of these isles for more than 50 years to wield power at Westminister.

The Liberal Democrats will undoubtedly pay the price for joining the Conservative enterprise, locally and across the country, but the sum in question for Mr Carmichael will depend upon how he can use that power to tackle issues like high fuel prices for the benefit of his constituents.