It would be nice if there were something else to write about this month – some positive, inspiring story, from which we could all take comfort. But unfortunately it seems impossible to avoid the rather uninspiring tale of David Clark and his expensive exit from the top office of the council.

I have begun going through the newspapers here in Cumberland for the period 1812-1912, extracting various materials, including any relating to Orkney and Shetland, especially in the era before local newspapers were established in the Northern Isles.

A school inspector has suggested to Shetland Education Committee that they should consider combining Virkie/Quendale/Boddam schools into one new three-teacher school, sited probably at Virkie.

It was reported last week that close to £200,000 worth of Class A drugs had been seized by police in Shetland during 2008/2009. This was primarily heroin.

There are a number of ways we can think about this figure. For Shetland, it shows a continuing increase in heroin use, which is severely worrying. But for the police it will be seen as something of a success – proof that current methods are having some impact.

I’ve never seen Up-Helly-A’.
The name is strange, outlandish –
For who could take time off
In the middle of a busy life?
Such a time of year to have it.
Shetland in January!

This is an artist’s impression of the North of Scotland Shipping Company’s new motor ship St. Clair. The building of the ship is progressing very satisfactorily, and the launching should take place within the next few weeks. All going well, the ship will be in service early in July.

At the end of any year there will be things you wish to remember and things you would prefer to forget.

Looking back over 2009, there are many things we might want to forget. The sorry state of our council would be one obvious example, though there is little chance of that matter slipping our minds. In fact, this coming year is likely to bring further embarrassments from that direction, so I suppose we might as well get used to it.

From The Shetland Times, Friday 15th January, 1960

Lerwick Town Council are to advertise for a “town clerk with suitable qualifications” to succeed Mr Thomas Johnston who retires at the end of March.

From Shetland Life, January 1985, No. 51

While many people will be glad to see the back of 1984 it was, on the whole, a good year for Shetland. It was marked by the driest summer for a long time which nevertheless produced excellent crops and livestock. The greatest contradiction surely came in the fishing industry when a year marked by an acute scarcity of white fish proved to be a record one for the local fleet, with high prices compensating for a drop in landings.

It would hardly be controversial to suggest that there is something of a crisis in Shetland politics today.

At the time of the last elections, in 2007, there was considerable hope within the community that a new group of councillors would bring life to the authority – fresh ideas and a renewed sense of direction. The reality could hardly have been more disappointing.

A fish farm worker who assaulted his daughter and threatened to kill a man as he battered him with a hockey stick managed to avoid jail at Lerwick Sheriff Court this week.

Jonathan Wills has accused the five people who referred him to the Standards Commission for an alleged breach of the councillors’ Code of Conduct of spending more than £3,000 of public money on preparing the complaint without the authority of the council.

An elderly woman in Lerwick thought that the stranger who appeared in her house on Monday was her new home help.