Hotels, guest houses, shops and other retailers are all in line for the swingeing increases and are only now beginning to digest the potential impact on their business plans as the country emerges tentatively from recession.

Although the government has reduced the business rate for 2010/11 to 40.7p in the £ for properties with a rateable value of £35,000 or less and 41.4p in the £ for those above, the revaluation conducted by the Scottish Assessors Association  – based on annual turnover – more than makes up for the cut in many instances.

On top of the government’s proposals to increase the durationl of ferry journeys to and from Shetland and the prospect of fewer winter sailings, the revelation has angered politicians and business people.

For seven hotels in Shetland the revaluation will mean an increase of a quarter or more. Two hotels facing sizeable increases are the Grand Hotel and the Queens Hotel, which face an increase in their rateable values of around 40 and 90 per cent.

The new rates set mean the Queens Hotel will now have to pay £19,006 and the Grand £19,109.50, increases from the previous year of £7,462 (64 per cent) and £3,463 (22 per cent) respectively. Owner George Hepburn, of JW Gray, said he had not yet been informed of this and as such could not comment.

Some of the other businesses to be affected are Lerwick’s shops: Westside Pine will see its rateable value increase by almost a quarter and the Cope-operated Shetland Soap Company by 21 per cent.

Other accommodation such as guest houses and hostels will also experience increases, with Islesburgh Youth Hostel’s rateable value increasing by 17 per cent and Eddlewood Guest House at Clairmont Place by 30 per cent.

Steve Henry, chairman of the Shetland Tourism Association, said: “Anything that puts the cost of people staying up will have an effect on Shetland.”

Mr Henry said the news this week that NorthLink is to add time to journeys and cut sailings will also be a worry for those in the tourist industry in Shetland.

Shetland Retailers Association chairwoman Janet Davidge said that for businesses that will be affected by the increase it is “bad timing”.

She said: “With the current economic climate it’s just one more thing for businesses to worry about.”

Isles MSP Tavish Scott said he will be writing to the businesses which will be affected by large increases.

Mr Scott said: “Liberal Democrats want to see a transitional period so that the hotels which are facing big increases don’t suffer the full force of these rate rises immediately. We know that the Scottish government doesn’t set the value of every hotel. But the government has chosen to hit hotels with the full increase in just one year.

“Previous administrations have brought major changes like this in slowly, over a period of time. The UK government is doing the same.

“At a time of deep recession, the SNP are hitting the tourism industry in Shetland and throughout Scotland hard.

“On April 1st, some Shetland hotels will be stunned by painful rises in their business rates. The Scottish government can’t take Scotland’s hotel industry for April Fools. They must introduce the scheme which helps these important Shetland businesses.”

The MSP raised the issue at First Minister’s questions last Thursday, criticising the decision to put “extra burdens on Scottish tourism” during a time that will be economically difficult for many businesses and questioned whether the government would change its mind about the increase.

First Minister Alex Salmond responded by stating that the decision to raise the rates had been made by independent assessors, “not by the First Minister or the government” and that the package of relief available to small businesses is “the most generous package in the United Kingdom” under which “60 per cent of Scottish businesses will be better off”.

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.

Chapman said it felt “great” to have won and he had really enjoyed playing his pieces: “I didn’t really expect to win it. The Grieg [piece] is enormous fun to play; you get all these low moments when you just have a long bow, that’s fun.”

Two special cups were also awarded on the night. The Festival Cup for outstanding individual or group went to Fraser Tait from Sandwick Junior High school, and the Schools Shield went to Dun­rossness Primary School.

Adjudicated by educator and acclaimed musician, the entertaining Eric Tebbet, the night was a display of some of the finest young musical talent the isles has to offer.

The competition began with the junior section and the unenviable task of opening the night went to Bell’s Brae pupil Joe Smith, whose trombone playing showed real tal­ent.

Next up was eventual winner Nicola. She played two piano pieces, Scherzo in E Minor, which dem­onstrated her confident and considered playing and faultless timing and Sea Pink, which was again beautifully played. With a beaming smile and bow she left the stage, to be followed by Rebecca Millar.

The diminutive Sandwick Junior High school pupil took to the stage smiling, and though she may be small, her clear voice soon filled the hall as she sang a dialect song written by her grandfather, Eddie Barclay, What Does Shetland Mean To Me?, fol­lowed by the traditional tune The Unst Boat Song.

She was followed by another Sandwick Junior High school pupil, Pryde McGinlay. Although dwarfed by the cello she gave a confident performance throughout her two pieces.
The fifth act was piano student Amy Laurenson, whose nimble fingers made light work of her piano pieces.

The final performer in the junior section was another singer, Bell’s Brae pupil Lauren Boyle, who sang the musical piece My Favourite Things from The Sound of Music with real conviction, followed by another dialect tune.

Before announcing the junior winner, Mr Tebbet commended all the pupils, saying it was an “absolute pleasure” to be at the event again and commented that it is “amazing what you manage to do in Shetland”.

After a short break the senior section began with Hannah Adam­son, from Sandwick Junior High School. She played two violin pieces with confident, fluid bowing and precise intonation.

She was followed by Brae High School pupil Loris Macdonald, who played two mesmerising piano pieces with seemingly faultless timing, and talented Anderson High pupil Megan Govier, on the trumpet.

Norman Wilmore came to the floor next and transported the audience from the Town Hall to a sultry jazz bar with his soulful rendition of the jazz ballad My Ship, written by Ira Gershwin and made famous by Miles Davis.

Vocalist Mairi Coutts, from the Anderson High School, managed to be both elegant and sassy in her confident performance of a classical aria, followed by the gutsy Don’t Tell Mama from the musical Cabaret.

She was followed by fellow Anderson High Kirsten Hendry on fiddle, who treated the audience first to a set of Tom Anderson tunes, followed by a Canadian set from that country’s Grand Masters, which displayed her unbelievable timing and obvious, seemingly effortless, natural talent.

Andrea Gordon from Sandwick Junior High was next. Her two clarinet pieces were clearly and elegantly played, as was the music of talented Miriam Veenhuizen, from Aith Junior High, who played a Sonata in A minor followed by the Mexican Hat Dance on recorder.

Violinist Chapman then played two beautiful pieces, Meditation by Massenet and Grieg’s Violin and Piano Sonata in G Major, before the evening was brought to a close with saxophonist Scott Leask’s classical piece followed by a bluesy rendition of a tune fittingly entitled Finale.

Before announcing the Senior Young Musician of the Year, Mr Tebbet assured the participants and audience that it was “not easy to pick between the performances” but he had chosen the winner down to their commitment, conviction, consistency and passion.

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.

Although most of the hamefarers will be from the UK (133 have already registered, more than half from Scotland) sizeable contingents will come from the Antipodes and North America. Australia and New Zealand in particular will be well-represented with 115 people already signed up – there are around 80,000 people with Shetland origins in New Zealand alone following a wave of emigration in the late 19th century, and surnames such as Isbister, Sinclair, Mainland, Manson and Bruce abound.

Of those who have already signed up 49 hamefarers will come from USA, 17 from Canada, two from France and three from Germany, two each from Guernsey and South Africa and one each from Norway and Iceland.

But you don’t have to be visiting to join in the Hamefarin – locals are very much encouraged to take part, whether they have family visiting or not.

The fortnight from 14th to 26th June promises to be a packed and stimulating time. There will be an array of events to welcome the visitors, including trips and exhibitions, with the Hamefarin Club, to be based at Islesburgh Community Centre, at the centre of operations. The club will be a meeting point and provide information on all the events laid on for the visitors, which will showcase Shetland’s heritage and culture in all its forms, from literary to nautical.

The Shetland Family History Society will be on hand to help with family history research and Shetland ForWirds will be promoting the dialect through displays and activities. Local history groups will be passing on their knowledge too.

Shetland Museum and Archives will play a crucial role in the Hamefarin experience, hosting a programme of lectures on topics such as crofting, Shetland literature and, most pertinently, emigration. It is currently preparing an exhibition From Old Rock to New Life, telling the story of islanders who left Shetland from 1500 to the present.

One of the most exciting events will be the launch of Laughton Johnston’s book, A Kist of Emigrants, relating the histories of those who went away to start a new life.
And, of course, music will never be far away.

Shetland Folk Festival Society is to organise a Tammy Anderson tribute concert to celebrate the work of the legendary musician and to commemorate the 100th year since his birth.

This world class line-up will unite musicians from Shetland and Norway, and will feature Dr Anderson’s former student Aly Bain, often regarded as Scotland’s top fiddler, along with his side-kick Phil Cunningham on accordion. One of “Tammy’s Peerie Angels” and founding member of Shetland’s Young Heritage in 1981, Catriona Macdonald, will also return home.

Additionally there will be performances from the two fiddle groups founded by Dr Anderson and still going strong – Shetland’s Heritage Fiddlers and the Shetland Fiddlers Society.
The Folk Festival will also organise a Final Fling, which will include Fiddlers’ Bid, Hom Bru and Sheila Henderson (now Duncan). At the end of this 400 guizers from all 10 Jarl’s Squads, plus Lerwick Junior Jarl’s Squad, will take part in a mass parade around Clickimin Loch prior to burning a specially adapted galley.

Dancing, too, will be strongly featured in the fortnight, with a Hamefarin Dance being organised by the Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Club, with music from the Alan Nicolson Band and the Cullivoe Dance Band.

There will be culture of various different sorts with readings of poetry and prose at Shetland Library, coach trips, sailing trips on the <i>Swan</i> and an exhibition and songs of praise from Lerwick’s Methodist Church. And much, much more is planned to delight the hamefarers.

Leading the organisation of Shetland Hamefarin 2010 is SIC head of business development Douglas Irvine. He said: “With so many enjoyable events in the programme it’s difficult to say what the highlight event is. Hamefarers will certainly be treated to the wealth of local talent. Many hamefarers will be coming to Shetland for the first time, some will be regular visitors and we are confident we have a range of activities to suit all tastes.

“We are keen for local folk to get involved and be part of this very special event.”

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.

Councillor Jonathan Wills, leader of last year’s revolt against building at the Knab, said members had been told in the past they could not build on the flat land at Clickimin because of a threat from methane gas seeping up from the former town dump, which lies beneath some of the Clickimin leisure complex and sports parks.

More talks with Architecture and Design Scotland are being organised for the councillors who missed what Mr Robertson described as an eye-opening talk from the organisation last month. It styles itself as “Scotland’s national champion for good architecture, design and planning in the built environment”.

Meanwhile, local architects are working on a small study to update the 1999 plans for a school and halls of residence in the Clickimin/Staney Hill area, setting out possible options. Their work should be completed by the middle of next month.

A lengthy public consultation is also set to get under way in the spring to seek views on the impact of shifting the high school site from the Twageos/Knab area. Part of the exercise will involve looking at new future uses for the buildings and land at the current school once it has moved across town. The formal consultation is a legal requirement when proposing to move a school site and will not be completed until December.

Services chairman Gussie Angus said addressing the fate of the existing school site was very important, not least because of the ear-bashing he gets from people who believe the council already has plans to cover the area in council houses.

Councillors are also to get an update on the legal wrangle between the council and Irish building contractors O’Hare & McGovern who were stopped from building the new school at the Knab site last year just days before work was due to get under way. A confidential report will go before the next services committee on 6th May.

The company usually takes orders for sea and marine equipment, such as tanks for hatcheries and storage, navigation aids and other prototypes, but has just completed a water jet to be fitted in a surf ride for one of the biggest artificial surf companies in the world.

Owner and manager Fred Gibson said the firm was originally offered the chance to build the entire ride, but due to space limitations had to build part of it instead.

The prototypes and scale models were built last year before being tested at Strathclyde University. The team then got to work making the real thing.

He said: “Last week we put it all together here, our part of it; the rest of the ride is being manufactured in the south coast of England.”

The company builds the parts out of timber before putting them together and sealing them with layers of glass.

He said: “We have to make all the shapes first and build them out of timber and spray them to get a highly polished surface, so we can get a relief surface; then we build the parts. It’s a bit like Airfix!”

The parts are then constructed before being wrapped in layers of fibreglass so that the final part can withstand a high volume of pressure.

The parts for the ride will be con­structed at a water park in Kansas. The ride itself will feature the pump, which will jet high pressured water up a slope which will then be able to be surfed on.

Shetland Composites was com­missioned by Glasgow based com­pany Murphy’s Waves, one of the world’s leading surf machine com­panies which supplies artificial surf machines all over the world.

The company manufactures a wide range of artificial surf and wave machines and rides which feat­ure in some of the world’s top holi­day destinations, including Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Disney World in Florida, South Africa, New Zealand and even Baghdad.

It also creates wave systems for sea survival training purposes which are used by offshore workers, air and sea rescue services and the armed forces.

Mr Gibson and his team were limited to building parts for the ride due to the size of their current premises at Gremista. However more room would allow them to build finished products and get more business.

Mr Gibson said: “We’re in the process of applying for funding that would allow the big projects to come our way, at the moment we tend to cherry pick the best ones, or what we’ve done in the past is the tooling and other people build the actual parts.”

He said he hoped that if the funding came through they could build around 10 complete rides a year.

Douglas Murphy of Murphy’s Waves said he had heard about Shet­land Composites through another company, Edinburgh Des­igns, which had worked with Mr Gibson and recommended him.

“Fred has fairly unique expertise in the creation of glass fibre pro­ducts, and Shetland Composites are very good at what they do.”

Silage, hay and food pellets have had to be sourced in bulk to keep beasts fed during the longest cold weather period since 1987.

Although it mostly cleared this week snow has maintained a lingering presence over the isles since as far back as December, pushing the price of hay up to £50 a round bale as demand for feed has out-stripped available supply.

Some crofters, who have been used to a succession of mild winters in recent years, have even been caught out by the conditions and have had to buy in extra food for their beasts at the last minute.

Agricultural suppliers have re­ported a brisk trade over the last couple of months with demand for processed feed such as pellets also stronger than usual.

Shetland’s NFU president Kath­leen Sinclair said many had problems finding good bales.

“Sourcing good quality hay or straw is proving more difficult,” she said. “With freight the cost of a round bale of hay in Shetland is £50 and straw in the region of £40 which is very expensive. “There is still hay available on the mainland, but of poorer quality, and if the snow were to continue it could be a problem. In my own opinion over the last years we have had milder wet winters so we didn’t need to feed hay or silage outside for very long. “This year the snow started before Christmas and lay for three weeks, then it was off and on until now, so it’s the longest spell we have had for a lot of years.”

One person who has faced problems with the weather is Weis­dale crofter Agnes Leask.

She said she had struggled to keep a flock of 20 in-by ewes on her holding at Cott fully fed – even though the land they were on had not been grazed on during the summer.

She was forced to buy in extra high protein feed blocks for the animals at a cost of around £9 each to help supplement their diet of baled silage.

“Normally in the winter you would give them a feeding block every two weeks, but the price of feeding blocks have gone up this year,” she said.

“In a normal winter it would be mostly once a fortnight I would put out a block to 20 sheep. This winter, during the snow, by the end of one week they had finished it – even though they had the baled silage as well – because they needed the high protein energy the blocks give them.”

She said the approximate price of a small “black bale”, or silage bale, had varied from £20 to £30 but prices have gone up as demand has increased.

Smaller producers, she said, do not have adequate storage for the larger bales, meaning they are forced to buy more of the smaller ones instead at more regular intervals.

“This is small-scale. This is crofting agriculture. We haven’t got the facilities to store big bales. We’ve had some very mild winters. In years gone by those in-by sheep would have just got feed-blocks.

“We would have a few small bales of hay because you’ll always get a peerie bit of snow. We keep a few small bales and that has been enough to do them for the last 10 years or more.

“The good news is when my accounts go in next year there will be not a penny for the taxman – the local feed merchants will get it all!”

News of the problem has now reached the corridors of power at Holyrood, where evidence from crofters is currently being sifted through which could in­fluence the Crofting Reform Bill.

Last week West Side area assessor Jim Nicolson told MSPs the winter was hitting crofters hard in the pocket.

Speaking to The Shetland Times, he said his two holdings in Aith containing 190 ewes between them were self-sufficient, however he had heard from plenty of other producers who had been affected by the big freeze.

Mr Nicolson said feed was going up because of rising running costs experienced by contractors, as well as supply and demand.

“With the increase in oil prices things like bale-wrap have been very expensive,” he said. “Baling is quite expensive in any case.

It would probably cost around £12 to get a bale of silage with a contractor, but then you have artificial fertiliser that needs to be applied to the ground – so that’s an additional cost.”

Those factors, he said, might push the real cost of a bale to between £15 and £17. However high demand in the cold weather was steadily pushing the price upwards further.

“The price of hay has actually doubled. You could pay up to £50 for a round bale,” he said.

He said someone with 100 sheep may have had to buy an additional 20 bales on top of the 50 to 60 they had initially bought to see them through the winter.

Most farmers will also buy in supplementary feed, but Mr Nicolson said many preferred to work with bales during the worst of the winter period, because feeding boxes used for pellets had “frozen to the ground or filled with snow”.

“That has probably resulted in some people wanting to continue feeding silage,” he said.

That hasn’t stopped animal feed suppliers from having a busy period over the last couple of months.

Harbro Ltd, Shetland’s largest supplier of agricultural feed, has seen trade steadily increase since the snow started.

“We’ve had quite a busy time. We’ve had a struggle to keep up with the demand for feed,” said Harbro’s local branch manager, Stephen Leask – although he insisted Harbro’s considerable size gave it the economies of scale to help prevent prices from spiralling upwards.

“I would think demand is up by a quarter on the same period last year,” he said. “You have the situation in Shetland where you are having to feed anyway because there is very little grass.”

Captain Gray is operations and marine manager at the De Kastri oil terminal in Khabarovsk Kai, eastern Russia, where the average winter temperature is anything from -20°C to a toe curling (or should that be frost biting) -30°C.

Working a shift system, he spends around half the year there and the other half tending his croft in Aywick.

Commuting around 5,000 miles may seem extreme, but Captain Gray said he is used to working abroad and travelling a lot.

“I’ve worked all over the world China, Nigeria – even Orkney.” He said that his current posting was however probably the furthest and most difficult to get to out of all of his work destinations.

“It’s very remote. The main thing that went on here before oil was lumber and cutting down trees. There’s no nightlife.”
He said that while the area is fairly isolated, he doesn’t find this to be a problem.

He said: “Before I came here they told me, ‘It’s not very great, there’s no people, only three of four thousand’, but I thought, well compared to Yell, that’s huge! I don’t find it that bad; it’s no guttery like home in the winter.”

For much of the year the bay outside the terminal is frozen. However in the summer the weather is warm enough for local children to swim in the sea.

This winter’s trip home is much more like what the captain is used to: “Today it’s around -10°C in Yell, which is unusual. But this would be a fine winter’s day in Russia.”

Captain Gray has worked at the De Kasrti terminal since just after it opened in 2006. The oil terminal is one of the biggest in eastern Russia, but according to Captain Gray it is “braaly peerie” compared to the Sullom Voe terminal.

Nevertheless, the terminal re­cently received a Terminal of the Year Award at the fourth International Congress of the Oil Terminal 2009 conference, as well as the ExxonMobil Presidents Award, which is the highest award a terminal can recieve within ExxonMobil.

The oil terminal also received a Terminal Safety Award, which Captain Gray was personally res­ponsible for.

He said: “I am delighted in particular for the nationals on site. This award is only made once every three years. Having been on site during this period there is certainly a personal satisfaction in being involved. But I’m just a small cog in the whole process.

“The work involved is very varied, you never know what may arise. You have to be flexible and be able to prioritise.”
However, despite his high pressure job, Captain Gray said his “second job” is no less demanding: “The biggest issue is trying to fit in the crofting end of things.

“My ‘back to back’ for work for the past three years stays in South Africa and within reason we fit our work and time home schedule to suit our own needs. It’s a bit of a joke that he is arranging his holidays depending on when I’m slipping tups or clipping sheep!

“When I walk out the door at work he walks in and takes over. But when I walk out the door at home there is nobody walking in to take over croft! However I have an arrangement with very dependable neighbours.”

Travel time also has to be done in his time “off”, and as it can take around three or four days to get back to Shetland, Captain Gray often spends less time in the isles than he does in Russia.

When he spoke to The Shetland Times last week the captain had been due to make a return trip to Russia but was snowed in at Yell, giving him a bit of extra time at home.

Harry Brown Arthur Hay was born in his grandfather’s home at Da Knowes, just outside Brae, on 18th August 1928. His grandfather, Jamie Hay, was to have a huge influence on the life of young Harry as they lived and worked together on the family croft with his mother Voilet. Jamie was one of the first to have a motor car in the district and this was used for local hires and the collection of goods in Lerwick. It was inevitable that sharp-minded young Harry would learn to drive the car at an early age and had even used it for couple of trips to school at Brae by the tender age of 11.

Although Harry was a bright pupil at school, he could not wait to leave and begin work. At the age of 14 he took up employment as a dumper driver during construction of the Scatsta aerodrome. He spoke fondly of the characters he met during this time and it was clear he enjoyed the camaraderie. During his late teens he moved to East Lothian to be with his mother and younger brother Brian, but his heart was in Shetland and he returned soon after to take up work at Scatsta Farm, where he remained for 20 years.

It was there he perfected his skills on a tractor. He enjoyed many a challenge on steep hills and was often found in the most precarious places throughout his tractor-driving career. Much of the farm work at Scatsta was carried out by hand and although the work was tiring, and the small band of workers tended thousands of sheep, Harry enjoyed the way that folk came together to get the job done. This was a theme that ran throughout his life.

Harry married Ina in 1948 and the birth of their daughter Shirley completed the family. The family home, at that time, at Trondavoe, was a busy place.

As well as helping to run the croft at Da Knowes and curing sheepskins, Harry and Ina supplemented the income from Scatsta by doing what almost every Shetland family did in the 1950s – work on “da makkin machine”. It wasn’t unknown for Harry to spend seven hours on the knitting machine after a day’s work at Scatsta and still be up in time for milking the following morning.

Trondavoe was also a popular dropping off spot for friends. Evenings of music and dancing were often the norm and once again Harry revelled in the company of people. As he was growing up, Harry had often accompanied his grandfather to many of the auctions he undertook as a part-time auctioneer. After observing his grandfather for many years, and months of practice in selling imaginary items to equally imaginary buyers, he struck out on his own and held his first auction at a house in Muckle Roe in 1954. This career was to last for over five decades. With his grandfather by his side, nerves were not too much of an issue for the rookie auctioneer, but he did have problems when someone set a tin bath near to his auctioneering “box” and he couldn’t hear his own voice. As time went on his auctions became an event and were true social occasions with Harry as the ringmaster. He developed a rhythmic auctioneering style that was easy on the ear.

He was renowned for his one-liners and pity help any poor soul who dithered or caught his attention in some way, for they were sure to be in the firing line of some of his sharp-witted banter.

His selling technique reflected his personality – quick, humorous and strong. In the auction-room, as in life, he put people at their ease and drew the best from them.

His services as an auctioneer were in huge demand throughout Shetland. As well as his regular sales at Mounthooly Street, Harbour Street and latterly Market Street, he also undertook displenishing sales and local sheep sales throughout Shetland. He was a popular figure at local “sales o wark” and his family often accompanied him to help out. For Harry the most important aspect of his auctioneering career was meeting the folk who attended the sales and the relationships he developed with them. The love that regular saleroom goers had for him was clearly evident at the last sale under his ownership at Shetland Auctions last July.

Although Harry had been unable to auctioneer due to increasing ill health, he decided to give it one last try and auctioned one of his gavels for charity at the final sale. A packed saleroom gave him a huge round of applause as he took the “box”. He started the sale of the gavel at £10, but by the time he had reached £40 there was hardly a dry eye in the saleroom. Emotion got the better of Harry too and he had to step down and allow Robbie Johnson to finish the sale of the gavel. The fact that the gavel eventually sold for £520 was also a mark of the esteem in which he was held. Away from his working life, Harry was involved with many aspects of community life over the years. He served on local committees and was involved with the hall at Brae for many years.

He was a keen sailor and, although he never learned to swim, he took part in many regattas with his fellow crewmembers. He still held a keen interest in sailing and dished out the drams to the sailors at the local regatta each year – although he thought that many of today’s boats were no match for the Maids.

Harry also possessed a strong singing voice and enjoyed taking part in local concerts in his younger days. Around that time he was also a regular contender at sheepdog trials throughout Shetland and enjoyed success with many of his dogs. The trials also provided an opportunity to catch up with old friends for a yarn and perhaps a dram.

Throughout his life, crofting played a major part and in the 1960s he took over crofts in Sullom and Leon, Ollaberry. Once again this was not a pursuit Harry enjoyed in isolation. It was a real family affair and he loved to have the company of his crofting partner Frank or family members and friends as he went about the daily routines. He was delighted to be able to pass on his skills to the younger generation and help ensure that they could carry on the traditions. He was able to continue an active role in the croft until recent times. The family will sorely miss his animal husbandry skills and his early morning rounds at lambing time. He was up with the lark in the morning and always full of life and energy, demanding to know what jobs needed to be done for the day. Things had to be done immediately, if not sooner, to Harry’s way of thinking. He had a soothing, calming way with animals that was part of his nature and could be relied upon in any lambing emergency. Lambing and clipping times were a real highlight for him, as this was a time when extra family and friends came to help out. The fact that he did not attend the clipping at Sullom or Leon this past summer was a real indication to the family that Harry was indeed unwell.

Having a full and active life was essential for Harry. As if life were not busy enough, he also found time to set up several businesses during the 1970s and 80s. He owned the Camp Shop at Brae, the Welcome Inn at Mossbank and the Mossbank Shop.

He was never driven by the need to accumulate wealth or material possessions, just the desire to make sure that his family could grow up in a more economically stable environ­ment than he had. In 1982 he lost Ina suddenly and the support he received through his work, family and friends became even more important to him. After he sold the businesses, he continued to run the crofts and the saleroom.

Thoughts of retirement rarely entered his head. He did eventually have a fleeting notion that he would retire from auctioneering when he turned 80, but his passion kept him going into his 81st year when illness eventually forced his hand.

A party for family and friends marked his 80th birthday. It was his idea of a great night. He was surround­ed by the people who were important to him, some of whom he had not seen for some time, and he was able to catch up with their all news.

The wide age range of folk at the party reflected Harry’s ability to forge friendships with everyone. As Ewen Balfour said in his tribute at the funeral: “Even the bairns at the local primary school were discussing who was going to Harry Hay’s birthday party – as if he was one of their classmates.” On an occasional Saturday he could be found on a birthday bus or enjoying a pint with his great-grandsons. He was one of the boys whatever age you were. Some years ago, when he was in his mid-70s, it was suggested to him that he might like to go on one of the trips organised by the senior citizens’ club. “Nah” was his quick reply. “Yun’s for owld folk.”

Harry loved routine, was always punctual and a creature of habit. Part of his routine, in later years, was a regular visit to “The Friday Club” at the Mid Brae Inn. Harry and half a dozen friends would meet every Friday night at teatime to put the world to rights over a dram. The staff treated him like family and he enjoyed the banter with his fellow “club” members. The final six months of life for Harry were spent in marked contrast to anything he had ever known. After a lifetime of good health, the diagnosis of terminal cancer late last summer brought health issues that forced a radical change to his life.

He was finally forced to relinquish his independence. His inspiring nature shone through and in his usual firm way, he told the family he would be “bydin at hom”. No hospitals, no fuss.

His family, especially his daughter Shirley, rallied together with health professionals to make sure he would have his final wish, and this, together with the visits he received from his many valued friends, kept his spirit strong through the final months.

Folk always knew where they stood with Harry. He was never afraid to say what he thought and did not always suffer fools gladly, but if he thought someone was being treated unfairly or if he respected a person, he would defend them to the last.

He valued folk and the number of lifelong friends he made was a testament to that. He was a “people person” long before it was fashionable.

Ewen’s final words during his tribute summed Harry up perfectly. “Harry Hay was truly an institution. A man that valued his family above all but was a very well-respected friend to many more. That is why we will mind him with such affection for he was a true character dat was aert kyent.”

He is survived by his daughter Shirley, grand bairns Maree and Leslie and great-grandsons Sean and Mark.

Contributed

For over a quarter of a century the Rev Jim Blair ministered in Shet­land. He was a very able preacher whose background and interests gave him a rich variety of exper­iences and subjects to draw on.

His family were involved in the manufacture of carpets at the famous Stoddard’s factory in Elderslie, in Renfrewshire, and that was where he began his working career. How­ever, when the war came Jim joined the Royal Engineers and among other places served in India, North Africa, France and Germany.

It was during this time that Jim felt a call to the ministry of the church though he was more keen to do good than to secure a good church. His initial thought was to go back to Egypt as a missionary which he felt was far better than trying to be “a holy man in Glasgow”. Strangely it was with the Methodist Church that Jim initially trained but he was later offered a post with the Home Board of the Church of Scotland who sent him to Shetland.

He arrived in here in 1952 and served for a short time as a lay missionary in Walls and Sandness. He immediacy fell in love with the place and it was there that he also met Lillian Fraser who he later married.

Family circumstances took Jim back to nearer his home and for a number of years he was lay assistant at Milton of Campsie. During this time Jim and Lillian had three of a family: Neilson, Laurence and Caroline. He also had the opportunity to study at Glasgow University where he gained the necessary qualifications to enter the full-time ministry of the Church of Scotland.

Jim’s first charge was Yell where he was ordained and inducted in 1962. The family initially lived at the old manse at Burravoe before moving to the new manse at Mid Yell.

His ministry was never without incident and Jim later related some of his escapades in his series of articles in the Shetland Life magazine.

In one he told of a visit he made to an old lady in Yell late on a winter’s afternoon. The old lady went to make tea and told Jim to light the Tilley lamp. Jim was never very practical and his efforts nearly set the house on fire. The old lady had to come to the rescue, and later when he was leaving she said: “Minister, whan du comes ta veesit me again du wid be better ta come on a simmer’s day.”

Jim was always full of fun and he was never slow to laugh at himself and to see the funny side of many a difficult situation.

In 1967 he and his family moved to Sandwick from where he looked after the united parishes of Sand­wick, Cunningsburgh and Quarff. Along with Bobby Bristow he founded the 1st Sandwick and Cunningsburgh Company of the Boys’ Brigade and he invested much time and interest in promoting its success. He was also keen on singing and he organised regular soirees which proved very popular.

Jim then decided to return to the district where his ministry had begun at the West Side, though the charge now included Sandsting and Aith­sting. After seven years he retired though in retirement he was always on the go, taking services, conduct­ing baptisms, weddings and funerals, and visiting folk at home and in hospital.

He also published three books in which he related the story of his life and also the ministry of others who had served the Church in Shetland.

Throughout his ministry Jim’s open, friendly and understanding nature put folk at ease and allowed him to share his faith. He was very approachable and he had the ability to connect with folk of all ages and circumstances. He would even go where angels feared to tread and he would often help and support those that others would too readily forget.

“It is difficult to put into words our feelings. He lived such a full life and touched life at so many points that even to mention all his interests is an undertaking. His home was a real home to which all were given a warm welcome, and he sorely missed his wife when she died. He had a generous mind, a ready sym­pathy and an open kindness. He was truly one of life’s gentlemen.” Those were words written not of Jim – but of his grandfather. Some­one that he greatly loved and sought to emulate. He more than succeeded. He truly was one of life’s gentlemen. Someone who through his faith and life generously shared with others the love of Christ.

Contributed

Ian Jamieson was born in Unst and grew up on the family croft at the Westing. Schooling was a mixed experience for Ian but however much he enjoyed learning, family circumstances dictated that he left school at the age of 14 to earn his keep.

Ian’s first job was to flit peats with the use of Shetland ponies. The ponies had to be rounded up from the hill which must have been an exhausting task in itself. Flitting peats was hard work for little reward and so Ian progressed to working on roads and whatever else provided employment.

Ian then went off to do his National Service in the RAF. He had only ever been twice out of Unst and so the whole affair was a daunting and exciting experience and he came through it with flying colours.

On his return he worked at Hay & Co for a time but he was persuaded to consider furthering his education. Ian studied hard and gained entry to Edinburgh University where he graduated MA. After a year at Moray House he returned to Unst to teach in Baltasound School.

Though he had been trained to teach secondary pupils, Ian’s career began in the primary department. He was a natural teacher who got a ready response from his pupils. He had a great understanding of children and a great rapport with them and under his guidance they learned well.

Ian became head teacher of the new Dunrossness Primary School which was opened in 1969 and he did a remarkable job in uniting the pupils who had been previously taught in five separate schools.

Shortly after the school was opened the effects of the oil industry were felt in the South Mainland with a large influx of population which necessitated the construction of large extensions to the school.

Ian had the unenviable task of managing both the education of the pupils and the building work. He was an excellent headmaster who motivated and encouraged the staff and who sought to create an environ­ment where it was a pleasure to work and learn.

But he also promoted extra cur­ricular activities that added to the school’s reputation. He encouraged sport and he established a school choir among other things. Ian said that when he was at university he struggled to understand philosophy – but he was very philosophical when it came to understanding his pupils and indeed his staff.

Discipline was never an issue with Ian for he appreciated the stresses and strains that pupils and indeed staff were sometimes under and in his gentle and very under­standing manner he soon resolved situations of potential conflict.

After 17 happy and very reward­ing years at Dunrossness Primary School Ian took early retirement and embraced a new project – the compilation of the Second World War Roll of Honour. He set about the task in his usual methodical and meticulous manner and he very faithfully recorded the details of everyone involved in that difficult episode in our history. The Roll of Honour was published in 1991 and was a fitting tribute to those who had served their country during the war years.

For nearly 25 years Ian was session clerk at the Dunrossness Parish Church and during that time he served as presbytery elder and he trained as a reader in the Church of Scotland.

His readership was another opportunity for study and learning and Ian had a theological library as good as any minister’s. He conducted services all over Shetland and he preached with great ability and sincerity and understanding.

Ian was also captain of the Boys’ Brigade and he ran a very successful company, giving the boys invaluable training and the opportunity for exciting adventure through summer camps. One year he and the other officers took the boys on a trip to Germany. In all his service to the kirk Ian was more than generous with his time and talents and indeed with his money.

Beyond his work in the local congregation Ian was secretary to the SCCT and to the Dunrossness Inter Church Fellowship. For many years he was also secretary to the Dunrossness Community Council and he served on the Shetland Welfare Trust.Contributed