It is the nature of people to imagine their world as solid and certain, even as things begin, undeniably, to fall apart. Too often, the illusion of stability is preferred over the recognition of its absence. ...

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Cathy Feeny gets a taste for local produce at Shetland’s first ever food festival.

As the plates are put in front of us, Trevor Laffin of Slow Food Edinburgh requests us not to consume their contents all at once. This, in every sense, is what the Slow Food movement is abo ...

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Eric Johnson remembers his father, who always wanted to return home, but never succeeded.

You will have seen us at Holmsgarth, just off the Hjaltland or the Hrossey: summer visitors trundling our over-stuffed cases and looking for car- hire or taxis ...

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From The Shetland Times, Friday 21st November, 1958

The North of Scotland & Orkney & Shetland Shipping Co. Ltd., have placed an order with the Ailsa Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Troon, for the construction of a single-screw, diesel-driven, passenger cargo and livestock carrying ship ...

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From Shetland Life, November 1983, No. 37

The St Clair’s recent visit to Bergen and the exhibition of Shetland goods which took place in the city’s Trade and Shipping Centre, seems to have made a good impression according to reports in the Bergen press. ...

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There is little doubt that, because they often involve long flights and ferry-journeys, arrivals and departures can provide important landmarks in islanders’ lives. ...

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Aabody is blyde o a guid freend. We coont Birsie da Hedgehog as een o wir best. Wir used tae seein him ivery day as he nests no far awa. We see even mair o him as da nichts draa in as he’s nocturnal laek wirsels. ...

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I’ve been following the curious story of a woman in Japan who was recently arrested for “virtual murder” after she killed a character, her cyber husband, in an online game ...

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Part of the community

There would have been a time when the local shop was, quite literally, indispensible for a community. Transport was more difficult, more time consuming and expensive, and the shop catered for the needs of all those who lived nearby. ...

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Marsali Taylor investigates the changing shopping habits of the islands’ consumers, and asks if it really is cheaper to shop in the supermarket.

I began thinking about this article earlier this year, when Somerfield closed and all of a sudden panic ensued. The Co-op was full to bursting point, with every check-out busy ...

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