The bears are back!

I remember when that headline popped up in The Shetland Times, back in early 1988 I think. The CUI (Corrosion Under Insulation) project was kicking off in earnest and hundreds of workers had arrived in Shetland to rip out Sullom Voe’s rusty pipes and replace them with ones that wouldn’t corrode quite so quickly.

Girvan is a seaside town in Carrick, South Ayrshire. It has 8000 inhabitants and is the biggest community between Ayr and Stranraer, straddling the main A77 road to the main Irish ferry port and thus prone to constant thrumming attack from giant lorries.

April will be a cruel month for the expectations of some Council candidates, as, to the general relief of those of us who think democracy is important – and, let’s face it, have a weakness for electioneering as a spectator sport – there is competition for seats in every Shetland ward. Some candidates will rise to the occasion, will triumph by their wit, intelligence, passion and commitment to serve. Others will not.

Rosa Steppanova is aghast at the antics of amorous amphibians, and has some tips on how to turn your potted plants into miniature marvels.

Cars. I can’t resist them. Well, to be specific, old cars. There’s just something about the risk, the hope, the belief that this one will be the bargain it appears on Shetlink, eBay or in The Shetland Times classifieds. And then the first thing you have to do, inevitably, is replace the tyres or exhaust or clutch. Or engine. or, for that matter, entire car.

Robert Rodriguez made his first movie, El Mariachi, for $4000, some of which he raised by letting drug companies use him as a guinea pig. Now, he’s a superstar director, responsible for the likes of Spy Kids, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Planet Terror.

A miracle, assisted by some sturdy rope, is responsible for one of the tallest trees at Lea Gardens to remain upright after 2011’s Christmas day hurricane. The tree in question is Eucalyptus parviflora ssp. debeuzevillei, usually referred to as Eucalyptus beelzebubii, because it is such a handsome devil. It hails from New South Wales and the seed my specimen was raised from must have come from a high altitude location, as it outshines all the other eucalyptus species I’ve tried over the years.

I’ll miss the Chief Executive’s office. For the last 12 months or so I’ve been helping out the Council as ‘communications consultant’, and I’ve had a desk in the rather lovely suite, just below the Town Hall clock, which used to house the council’s top manager.

Sigurd the Tentative, Bohemian Viking! Follow his adventures ONLY in the print version of Shetland Life. Subscribe or buy throughout Shetland.

In winter, there’s a natural tendency to ‘coorie in’, to nestle around the stove and huddle together against the darkness and raging storms outside. But long experience has taught islanders that you need fight off and illuminate the darkness, to get out and about, socialise and affirm both community and the light that’s on its way. Eventually, it will be spring.