Brian Kelly, who with his wife Christine operated Kelly Opticians in the town’s Com­mercial Street for 20 years, is seeking the money because, he says, a court order taken out by her after their business partnership was dissolved in 2004 and he began operating as a sole trader had forced him to give up and leave Shetland.

He said the order had effectively prevented him from putting the lights on in the shop, never mind serving a customer, and he had to ask a member of staff to phone his wife to approve each transaction.

For her part, Mrs Kelly, who has been trading as C Kelly Opticians in the same premises since her husband departed, is alleging that she has been denied any money relating to her share of the original business which she had worked in since 1984.

A civil hearing at Lerwick Sheriff Court was told this week that Mr Kelly dissolved the partnership between them and went out on his own for seven months after the couple’s marriage began to break up in January 2004.

Mr Kelly instructed staff not to allow his wife into the premises from then on. He said he had received information that she had taken money from the business and put it into a separate account – a claim strenuously denied by Mrs Kelly. Mrs Kelly took over the running of the premises in August 2004 after Mr Kelly left the isles.

Much of the case focused on an interim interdict taken out by Mrs Kelly against her husband when he was a sole trader.

She had become concerned about stock being taken out of the premises after she was barred from entering the shop.

Sheriff Colin Scott MacKenzie – who has come out of retirement to preside over the case – heard Mrs Kelly took out the interdict ordering no stock be removed without her written consent.

Mr Kelly said the move would force him into bankruptcy. He walked out of the premises and later left the isles, telling staff they faced being paid off. He subsequently was made bankrupt, although not until much later in time.

Now Mr Kelly, who lives in Paisley, is seeking sums of £208,000 and £530,000 to reflect his share of the business. He is also seeking £80,000 in restitution of stock and £3,000 in interest.

Giving evidence, Mr Kelly told his advocate, Christopher Wilson, that the interim interdict had prevented him from even switch­ing on the lights.

“It meant I couldn’t move any of the assets whatsoever without first obtaining written permission from my wife, and therefore I would be unable to trade.”

He said on the day the interdict was issued he asked a member of staff to phone Mrs Kelly to ask permission for the first transaction to take place. She allowed the purchase to be made, he said.

However he added the staff member was given a less than welcome response when he re­peated the process for the second transaction.

“My wife said I was being stupid and bloody-minded about the whole thing,” he said.

Mr Kelly said legal advice had shown him that “by turning on the light switch I was breaching the terms of the interdict because I was dissipating assets”.

Asked by Mr Wilson what he did next, he said: “I packed my belongings into my brief­case and left the practice. I just went home. I have a farm and I just went there and worked. I stayed at home.

“Effectively my wife, when she was aware I had left the business, went into the business and began operating again.”

He said he had left “absolutely everything” behind in the premises, aside from a family photo.

Cross-examined by Mrs Kelly’s solicitor, Angela McCracken, he said he had initially hoped he could reconcile his differences with Mrs Kelly.

“My wife and I had been attending marriage guidance counselling. We had still been holding normal relationships and had been on a weekend holiday together.”

However he said he recalled telling staff members not to allow his wife into the premises.

“I do recall saying she shouldn’t be allowed in. Information had come to me that she had been taking cash from the business and putting it into a separate account.”

Mrs Kelly said she had no intention of driving the business into the ground, instead insisting she had been trying to protect it.

She said she had been effectively banned from entering the premises after her husband started running the business by himself.

She added Mr Kelly had told her she would receive “half of nothing” if she did not return to him.

“I told Brian. I said we couldn’t live together, but there was no reason why that should affect the children or the staff,” she said.

“I told him I could continue the partnership and support him in the business. It didn’t have to mean that everything was finished.

“He said ‘definitely not’. If I wasn’t going to stay at home with him then I’d have no part in the business and I wasn’t to bother coming back.

“A few days later he put a letter through my door saying the partnership had been dissolved. He told me verbally I wasn’t allowed to come through the doors.”

She said she was sent a letter from Mr Kelly, along with a £300 cheque, which said: “I am only too happy to let you arrange the details of sale of Kelly’s Opticians, the croft-land and matrimonial home.”

However she said she could not do that, as she had no access to the business.

Questioned by Mrs McCracken, she said she avoided going to the shop during working hours in case there was a scene.

“He [Brian] called me and said: ‘I need to speak to you about the valuation of the business.’ When I got there he’s brow-beat me and tried to force me to come home to the marriage. He used force to get his own way.”

She denied misappropriating money from the partnership, insisting: “I took money that was mine.”

“He used to say to me that I would get half of nothing unless I went back to him. He would not give me and the children a penny unless we were living with him.

“I thought the interdict was just to stop him doing a runner with the stock.”

The court also heard from Kelly’s practice manager, and qualified dispensing optician, Andrew Foyle.

He said he had attended the premises on a Monday morning to find the stock had been removed from it.

He telephoned Mr Kelly, who asked him to visit him at his home address. “He told me he was going bankrupt, that the practice was closing and that we [the staff] would be made redundant,” he said.

He said Mr Kelly changed his mind back and fore about whether he was staying.

However on the Saturday he “put on his jacket and left the practice. As the owner of the practice that was the last time he was there”.

Summing up, Mr Wilson told sheriff Scott MacKenzie Mrs Kelly had appeared to be trying to use the case as a means of “ventilating her frustrations at the marital difficulties, which of course are part of a separate action rather than to assist the court to determine the issues in dispute”.

He said Mr Kelly, in contrast, gave evidence in a straightforward manner and attempted to assist the court.

However Mrs McCracken said: “It is for the pursuer to prove his case on the balance of probabilities. The pursuer has failed to prove there is any payment due by the defender.”

Sheriff Scott MacKenzie will deliver his ruling at a later date.

In March 2004 a London optician appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court to admit having assaulted Mr Kelly after discovering his wife had had an affair with him. Peter Alexander had flown to Shetland from London to confront Mr Kelly at his shop.

In a statement this afternoon, Mr Buch­an said an informal seminar with members on Wednesday after­noon had gone well and he would now be putting a formal report with ideas to tackle the malaise within the SIC before members for a public session of the Full Council on 15th September.

He said: “It is the first time that I’ve had the opportunity to meet with all members collectively. I gave them a briefing from my perspective of the key issues the council faces. I have met individually with members over the past three weeks, as well as the senior officials who report to me, to hear their views.

“I can tell you that my discussions with members have been very posi­tive and they are under no illusion as to the scale of the task we face. They recognise the need for change and it is my job to ensure that this happens from the staff side. There is collec­tive support and a willingness from members to do what is required. I’ve said to them that the improvement plan which I’m working on should be the council’s top priority for the next 12 months and I will support them together with staff in driving this forward.”

Mr Buchan said he was looking for a “rigorous but supportive” ap­proach aided by elected members, staff and – he hopes – from collea­gues elsewhere in local government circles. It is understood that he beli­eves the use of contacts from other local authorities built up during his decade at the helm with Orkney Islands Council can be particularly helpful in ushering in a new era for the SIC.

Convener Sandy Cluness said he welcomed the Accounts Commis­sion’s report, which described the council as “haphazard” and identi­fied shortcomings in governance and leadership, as a “catalyst for change for the better”. The SIC has to deliver a formal response by November.

“It’s a detailed document which deserves proper and lengthy con­sider­ation,” said Mr Cluness. “We might not agree on every point in the report, but I can assure you that we will do what is required to take the council forward. This process will require further informal discus­sions to enable members to share their views and to support our chief executive.”

Click on image to enlarge.

Multiple Grammy winner Steve Earle, the outspoken singer-song­writer responsible for a host of classic Americana songs including Copperhead Road, Guitar Town and Galway Girl, will be stopping off in Lerwick next Thursday for a re-arranged show at Clickimin.

The Virginian-born erstwhile out­law is returning for what will be his second solo show in the isles. He had been due to appear for a sold-out gig here last December but an un­timely bout of freezing fog put paid to that, leaving him stranded in Inver­ness and prompting an exple­tive-laden curse, nine months on, at whoever was responsible for the siting of the city’s airport.

Speaking from the country­side retreat in Woodstock which he shares with fifth wife, singer Allison Moorer, and their new­born baby, Earle told The Shetland Times he was very much looking forward to making up the show as part of a short five-date tour on this side of the Atlantic. By accident rather than design, the tour will take in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

I approached this interview with a degree of trepidation, for Earle has in the past had a reputation for being somewhat cantankerous in his deal­ings with the press. But that could not have been further from the truth on this occasion, as he courteously waxed lyrical about everything from how he enjoyed a short fishing trip on his previous date here to why it is well worth studying the collapse of western European empires in the past few centuries.

When he was here last, in 2003, he was impressed – as so many are – by the distinctive quality of local musicianship. “I remember going to hear some traditional music after the show and being struck by how unique it was. I’ve heard a lot of music on a lot of little islands scat­tered around the world and music in Shetland is unique, almost like western swing, country music and with piano – piano was at one time a strong tradition in Irish music, but it’s now left. So few of the instru­ments are really native to those islands but anything that washes up, people play it and often play it better.”

Earle, now 55, first shot to fame in the eighties with successful country-rock albums including Guitar Town and Copperhead Road. But serious pharmaceutical problems including a debilitating heroin addic­tion saw him wind up in prison on drugs and firearms charges. His low point came when mentor and cult singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt – whose own addictions were much more severe – came to visit and gave him a temperance lecture (“at that point I knew I was in f*****g trouble”).

But he has been clean for a decade and a half now. Recent years have seen him dipping his toes in a range of Americana-related musical styles, particularly a winning acous­tic blue­grass sound. The opening track of his last self-penned album poignantly bids farewell to his former home of Tennessee and also to Guitar Town. He is clearly revel­ling in making the most of the talents he has, also appearing as a recovering drug addict in acclaimed US TV series The Wire, and believes the notion that the best songs are invari­ably written under the influence of one substance or another to be a myth.

“I wouldn’t pay too much atten­tion to people’s behaviour. You need to discern any equation between artists’ behaviour and the art they make. Towards the end of my drug/alcohol period, I quit writing for five years. I write better songs than ever now [and] I go to the gym every day. I think this is a God-given gift and if you abuse it, it will eventually go away.”

That was a lesson he learned all too painfully in 1997. His close friend and guiding hand Van Zandt died, aged 52, after a heart attack having battled with alcohol and hard drugs addictions for decades. Earle’s abortive visit to Shetland had been part of his tour in support of last year’s Townes album. Though he has moved on artistically since – he is due to begin working with producer T-Bone Burnett on a new record in November – he will still be show­casing tracks from the album.

Cherry-picking 15 songs from Van Zandt’s catalogue was some­thing of a therapeutic process for Earle, who recalls visiting Van Zandt as a youngster in the late 1970s. He asked if he could recommend any good books. As well as a volume on Native American history, Van Zandt urged Earle to plough his way through the 1,000-plus pages of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Upon returning with questions about the dense literary tome, Earle discovered that Van Zandt had not actually read it himself. “I just thought you should,” he was idly informed by his mentor.

“He was such a huge part of who I was, who I became as a writer,” says Earle. “What I found out is I’m even more Townes at my core than I thought I was. It blew my mind the more I got into it. I hired a friend who’s a really good engineer to record it on my pro-tools rig. He said that sometimes he felt like he was witnessing something so intimate that he shouldn’t really have been in the room.”

In the past decade he has been known as much for his outspoken left-wing political views as his music. He is firmly ensconced in Greenwich Village, New York, having become frustrated at the level of intolerance he experienced else­where.

He says he wanted to be able to walk out of his front door and see a same-sex biracial couple walking down the street hand in hand: “I was a socialist living in Tennessee … I could have been a black homosexual socialist, and I’d have been even more an outcast than I was, but I feel like I fit in where I live now.”

One thing he does not comprehend is New Yorkers – and city dwellers in general – who spend their time literally shutting out what is going on around them: “I don’t understand people who ride around with ear buds in – you miss life, you miss the songs if you internalise like that. All the material is around you.”

An outspoken critic of the Bush administration and the fear and paranoia in his country following 9/11, Earle was vilified by right wingers for John Walker Blues, his portrait of John Walker Linde, an American citizen who joined the Taliban.

Is he any happier with the state of the nation under Barack Obama’s presidency? “These are really, really hard times. I don’t think it’s fair to blame Obama for a single job lost since he took office. I’m disappointed in a lot of things Obama has not done, but he’s done everything he said he was going to do. But then we could have elected a cocker spaniel and done better. Obama is a really smart guy and I still have some faith that he’ll rise to the occasion.”

He believes the US has a lot of growing up to do as it comes to terms with the impending end of its empire. The biggest problem is that successive American governments have tried to “take over the world and lower taxes at the same time – the Brits and the Romans didn’t do it that way”.

Instead of spending a trillion dollars on war in the Middle East, it might have been cheaper to “just buy the oil from the people whose feet it was beneath”, but now the country is bankrupt and it is affecting everyone in and beyond America – including established musicians like himself: “I didn’t sell out the Olympia in Dublin for the first time in my career. I was about to slit my wrists, but the promoter said they were perfectly happy with the sales given the state of the economy.”

Loosely following the literary singer-songwriter path which Bob Dylan blazed a trail for, Earle wants his music to be “like literature that you can consume while driving in your car”. Although such artists are not especially prominent in popular culture today, he does believe there are good young exponents around. He name-checks the homespun hymns of Brooklyn singer Ana Egge and the work of Chicago’s Joe Pug, along with his own son Justin Townes Earle, as being among the fine literary writers making music today. “You have to look a little harder to find us and we’re like jazz musicians, on independent labels putting out our own records.”

Finally, he says making up the date in Lerwick means a lot to him and he promises to play plenty of “what people want to hear” next week. He also hopes to bring his band The Dukes here one day: “I think you’ve got to try harder for places that are more remote and don’t get as much. If I had to cancel a show in Dublin, I’m going to play Dublin next time anyway. It’s probably more important to me to make up a show in Shetland – you’ve really got to be going there to get there; there’s nothing past and there’s nothing on the way but Ork­ney. People are generally looking for excuses to invade the mainland.”

● Steve Earle plays in the main hall at Clickimin on Thursday at 7.30pm, with support from local singer Duncan Phillips, and tickets are still available from the Shetland Box Office priced £20.

Click on image to enlarge.

Tom Jamieson could hardly have taken in just how big a part his pleasure-boat service to Mousa would play when he first started ferrying tourists to the isle in 1971.

Back then his little Shetland boat could carry a maximum of 10 passengers depending on the weather conditions. Nowadays his specially-built vessel, MV Solan IV, is capable of carrying 60 people on a busy day.

All of which could make the business a potentially attractive proposition for anyone looking to take over the service. That is exactly what Mr Jamieson hopes someone will do. After almost 40 years in the business, he is looking to sell up and retire.

Mr Jamieson, of Sandwick, took over the service from the late Peter Smith who died in early 1971. Since then he has taken up to 3,000 visitors a year to the island, many of who are drawn to see Mousa’s famous landmark – the broch – and spectacular wildlife.

The 69-year-old said the business has been doing particularly well over the last 10 years.

The former baker and fireman at Sumburgh Airport retired from full time work in 2000 and, since then, has devoted more time to his boat service.

He said many Shetlanders, as well as visitors, enjoyed the trips. “There are quite a lot of Shetland folk that come across, as well as the tourists,” he said.

“We’ve been quite busy. I would say the broch is the main attraction, but there are also seals on the island and a lot of bird life.

“It started when I came to live at Liberton in Sandwick. The man before me [Mr Smith] was operating the boat then, and when he died I bought the boat from his widow.”

He said people were always “delighted” with the trip and always enjoyed the peace and quiet Mousa has to offer.

“There is the boat trip, plus a walk around the island. We give people a map. There’s a path marked on the island and they follow that around.”

An integral part of the operation has been Mr Jamieson’s wife, Cynthia, who has busily carried out all the bookwork for the business. “She has had a big part to play,” he said.

An average trip to Mousa, he said, should take around 10 minutes to complete.

However the trips have taken longer recently since the boat had to leave from Cunningsburgh instead of the Sandsayre pier, which is currently being restored to its original condition. Sandsayre is traditionally the starting point for trips to Mousa.

He admitted he would miss doing it, but was also looking forward to a bit of free time.

“We’ve worked every summer for a long, long time. We’ve always got our holidays later.

“It would be a splendid business for someone to take over. It’s only half a year’s work, and then you have another half a year to go and do some other job.”

Members of the services committee agreed an outline proposal for a shared equity scheme and more detailed work is now to be carried out by council staff on precisely how it would work. The idea of the council directly providing mortgages was ruled to be “unhelpful” and will not be pursued.

New local authority projects in Brae and at Hoofields, Lerwick, are to be used as a pilot. The SIC hopes that by acquiring a stake of, say, 30 per cent when a first-time buyer purchases a house, it would address the 857-strong waiting list and generate income to build more council houses.

A report from head of housing Chris Medley stated: “It is an alternative form of investment for the council, where the council is purchasing a share in a property and will be repaid when the property is sold, or the council share is bought by the purchaser.”

With the council part-funding the purchase of houses, incentives will be put in place to encourage house-buyers to buy out the council’s share “at the earliest opportunity” where possible.

Mr Medley said the scheme would have a range of social and health benefits for individuals and would also help the local economy, but he noted it would “require careful consideration to ensure that it properly targets the right groups and income levels”.

Further work was unanimously agreed by members, but a suggestion by North Isles councillor Robert Henderson to look at providing grants for people to build houses in more remote rural locations was ruled out on the grounds of cost.

Mr Henderson had pointed out that the proposal “seems to be mainly looking at bigger schemes” in already well-populated areas, which he felt would only serve to increase centralisation.

There was sympathy for his suggestion, but members agreed there was no money available for such grants. Lerwick South councillor Jonathan Wills said Mr Henderson’s idea was something the government “should be doing … but they prefer buying nuclear submarines”.

North Isles member Laura Baisley said it was good to see the scheme developing so quickly and it would be a case of “suck it and see – if it’s good we can roll it out elsewhere”.

While no other local authority in Scotland is pursuing such an arrangement, plenty of councils in England and Wales are doing so and North Mainland councillor Bill Manson thought it could prove to be a crucial crutch to “help folk onto the ladder at a much lesser cost”.

But Mr Manson wants the final proposal to establish the cost of homes the council would invest in to ensure it is purely for low-cost affordable housing rather than “folk trading up to a bigger house”.

Meanwhile, more needs to be done to ensure that new housing developments like the one at Quoys in Lerwick have adequate play areas for children, councillors agreed.

Lerwick South councillor Jim Henry said he had been approached by constituents concerned that the nearest play area to the housing development, at Sound Primary School, was too far away.

Fellow ward members Gussie Angus and Jonathan Wills were in agreement with Mr Henry after hearing from sports and leisure services manager Neil Watt, who said many children at Quoys did not have much in the way of a back garden to play in and were looking for a flat green area for sports and recreation.

During the committee meeting in Lerwick Town Hall, members agreed to recommend that the planning board insists on the provision of play area spaces at all new housing schemes.

Providing such spaces is important but need not be buttressed with “outrageously overpriced” equipment, pointed out Dr Wills. Councillor Laura Baisley agreed, saying children were much more likely to occupy themselves with a simple wooden log than with a variety of “elaborate” play apparatus.

Thursday, 02 September 2010 at 10:20

HEADLINES

TODAY: DRY AND BRIGHT
TONIGHT: MISTY
TOMORROW: DRY BUT CLOUDY
DAYS 2-5: MOSTLY DRY, FRESHENING SE WIND
DAYS 6-10: SOME RAIN

SUMMARY

Dry and bright today. Becoming cloudy and misty tonight. Light winds.

Friday also dry, but with rather more cloud around. With a light SE’ly breeze, eastern coasts and hills could be misty at times.

The weekend is expected to stay dry though cloudy, with patchy mist and hill fog in places. SE’ly winds will also freshen.

While a little rain may just about reach Orkney by Tuesday, for Shetland much of next week looks likely to be mainly dry. The strong SE’ly wind possibly easing and backing E or NE’ly later.

GENERAL SITUATION AND SYNOPSIS 06:00 UTC

A large area of high pressure lies across the British Isles, North Sea and southern Norwegian Sea. With the main centre to the north, a light SE to E’ly airflow covers Shetland. Little change is expected during the next 24 hours.

During the weekend – as the high drifts into southern Scandinavia – a SE’ly airflow will freshen, as low pressure in the Atlantic edges closer.

By early next week, the SE’ly airflow will be strengthening further, as fronts – pushed east by the depression – become stalled over western Scotland, as high pressure holds on to the east.

With the latest prognosis suggesting the Scandinavian high will act as a block to the Atlantic depression, a strong mainly dry SE’ly airflow looks set to continue until the middle of next week. Thereafter, with the high predicted to transfer into the Norwegian Sea, we may see an easing SE’ly airflow backing E or NE’ly in direction.

FORECAST FOR NEXT THREE DAYS
Confidence level: Weather type – high/medium. Timing – medium/high.

Temperatures today ranging from a high of 14° to 16° Celsius, and perhaps 17° Celsius in the sunnier parts of Orkney. A low of about 9° Celsius tonight. On Friday and Saturday, temperatures in the daily range 14° or 15° Celsius down to about 9° Celsius.

THURSDAY 2nd: Another dry day, brighter than of late with sunny periods, the best of these across Orkney. Shetland will see some cloud at times. F1-2 SE to E’ly winds. Most places will be dry with some clear spells at first this evening, but cloud will increase, with mist and hill fog becoming more extensive overnight. Across Shetland, the cloud could well become thick enough to give some drizzle later.

Sea state – Mainly slight, with a less than 1 metre E’ly wind-swell. Around Fair Isle and Orkney later becoming slight to moderate, with a 1 to 2 metre SE’ly wind-swell.

FRIDAY 3rd: Dry, but it will be rather cloudy with a few bright or sunny interludes. F2-3 SE’ly winds are likely to carry some low cloud on to the east side of Shetland from time to time.

Sea state – In most Shetland waters remaining slight, with a 1 metre E’ly wind-swell. To the west and around Fair Isle and Orkney, slight to moderate, with a 1 to 2 metre SE’ly wind-swell.

SATURDAY 4th: Mostly dry and bright but, as SE’ly winds freshen F3-4, eastern coasts and hills could see some mist and low cloud.

Sea state – In eastern Shetland waters becoming slight to moderate, with a 1 to 2 metre SE’ly wind swell. To the west becoming moderate to rough, with a 2 to 3 metre SE’ly wind-swell. Around Fair Isle and Orkney becoming rough, with a 3 metre SE’ly wind-swell by evening.

10-DAY OUTLOOK

Confidence level: Weather type – medium. Timing – medium/low.
Temperatures in the daily range 14° or 15° Celsius down to about 9° Celsius.

SUNDAY 5th: Rather cloudy, with the best of any brighter periods – and perhaps a few sunny or clear spells – in the west, sheltered from a SE’ly breeze freshening F4-5 by evening.

Sea state – Mostly rough, with a 3 to 4 metre SE’ly wind-swell. Moderate to the northeast of Shetland, with a 2 metre SE’ly wind-swell.

MONDAY 6th: Mainly dry though cloudy, with some mist and fog affecting eastern hills and coasts. The SE’ly wind increasing fresh to strong. Some patchy rain perhaps reaching the west of Orkney by the end of the day.

TUESDAY 7th – SUNDAY 12th: While a little rain may just reach Orkney for a time on Tuesday, the remainder of next week looks likely to be mainly dry. A strong SE’ly wind possibly easing and backing E or NE’ly later.

DISCLAIMER

Be aware that the weather over north-west Europe – and especially around the Northern Isles – is part of an ever-changing and dynamic system. Therefore regard the ‘10-Day Outlook’ as a guide only – there are times when any outlook going beyond about 36 to 48 hours is likely to prove unreliable.

Always check the latest forecast from the UK Met Office before undertaking any weather-dependent activity.

All forecasts are for planning purposes only.

Neither Dave Wheeler, nor any employee of Fair Isle Weather Services, accepts any liability for the accuracy of this forecast.

E-mail: dave@davewheelerphotography.com or dave.wheeler@fairisle.org.uk

Weather: www.northisles-weather.co.uk

Councillors voted by five votes to four against the application by JHB Ltd, currently in liquidation, which first went to planning in January. The councillors at the planning board meeting said that many issues which had been raised at that time had still not been addressed.

The application for 21 houses and access roads and parking at Utnabrake would have been the first phase of a larger development, for which outline planning permission was sought, which would ultimately comprise around 100 homes, business and commercial zones, all at Utnabrake and stretching northwards from Scalloway. JHB Ltd had also pledged to make space available somewhere within the controversial development for a health centre. This larger development was also recommended for refusal.

Chairman of the board Frank Robertson said that the 21 houses would be a major development for the area and would require a road system, but the board had not been given an adequate traffic assessment.

This was echoed by roads chief Ian Halcrow, who said the traffic information had been “quite inadequate” and the application was “no further forward” than when it came before the planning board in January.

Councillor Caroline Miller moved that the application be recommended for refusal as there was insufficient transport information, but councillor Gary Robinson said there was more wrong with the application than that. As well as the roads issue, he reiterated points already raised saying the development was “premature”, the public benefit had not been demonstrated and it was a poor layout on good agricultural land.

Councillor Laura Baisley said the “dilemma” here was that the council wanted development but this application had “more holes than a sieve”. The fact that the developer had not found time to do the roads assessment was “disappointing” and further consideration was needed for an application of this size. Reluctantly, therefore, she would be recommending refusal.

However councillor Jim Budge recommended giving permission for the 21 houses. He was not convinced a traffic assessment was needed for this number of houses, he said, and would support the building of the houses if the requirement for a health centre was removed. He was backed by councillor Bill Manson, who said the proposed road, which would be built by the developer and would not go past the school, could stand traffic from 21 houses but not the numbers from the larger outline development.

The two councillors lost the vote and the application will now go before the Full Council.

Speaking after the meeting John Halcrow of JHB Ltd vowed to continue the fight to develop the area, if necessary taking it to the Scottish ministers. He dismissed the query over roads as being a “smokescreen” and said the development would be “crucial” for his company, which owns the intellectual property of the plans. Should the development ever go ahead the actual builder would be a matter of negotiation, he said.

A spokesman for organisers Shetland Arts said those with tickets for either of her events, one on Saturday afternoon and one on Sunday afternoon, should contact the Shetland Box Office on (01595) 745555 for a full refund.

Alternatively, ticket(s) can be replaced with tickets of the same value for another Wordplay event, subject to availability.

Janis Mackay has kindly stepped into the breach and will run a session about the influence of traditional story telling on her writing, in which she will share the stories that inspired her novel Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest and speak about how writers can use traditional stories to inspire and develop their own writing.

Lovers of stories and writers of all ages are welcome: tickets for this session are available from the Shetland Box Office.

Click on image to enlarge.

As the local football season draws to a close, Whitedale and Spurs will contest Saturday’s County Shield final at the Gilbertson Park after the West Side team narrowly defeated champions Whalsay in the semi-finals. Otherwise Delting picked up two more wins, including a first league defeat for Whalsay, and are now favourites to finish second in the G&S Flooring Premier League.

G&S Flooring Premier League

Ness United 0, Delting 2

An even opening to the game saw an early chance for Delting with a back post header.

Ness then had the better of the territory and possession in the first half, creating numerous chances with Alex White, Declan Adamson and Ian Bray all forcing saves from the Delting keeper. But much to the home team’s dismay it was Delting who went into the break one up through Ian Greenhill.

The second half continued in the same vein but Ness failed to supply the killer ball and finish and with 20 minutes to go Delting were given a dubious free kick. The ball was only half cleared and when it dropped just outside the area Leighton Flaws hit a left-foot volley straight into the top corner of the net to put the visitors two up.

County manager John Jamieson then donned the claret and blue due to an injury to Ross McDougal and five minutes later was involved in a altercation with Ness forward Ian Bray which saw the latter sent off.

Even with 10 men Ness continued to press on and create chances but were unable to convert, a disappointing result given the amount of possession the home team had.

Ness United 2, Scalloway 4

Scalloway started at a brisk pace, looking to get an early goal. Ness seemed to have weathered well but were caught out at the back post as Scott Henderson cut in to fire a shot past keeper Erik Peterson.

Ness started to get into their stride and came close on a few occasions with Kevin Smith having a goal-bound shot saved at point blank range by the Scalloway keeper.

Declan Adamson was proving a handful down the left wing and his crosses into the box were begining to cause the visitors problems. As ever though Scalloway were dangerous on the break and after a quick diagonal ball found Laurence Pearson, who had given his marker the slip, he despatched the ball into the net to put Scalloway two ahead.

Ness went in at the break feeling that they should have had more to show for their large spells of dominance in the half and were rueing their inability to convert the chances they created.

The second half started better for Ness as they began to assert more pressure in the midfield. They made a change, bringing on James Farmer for Scott Marshall-Ferguson.

After some good work in the middle saw the ball played through to Kevin Smith he beat his marker and the keeper to stab the ball home and give the reds a lifeline.

The game was played mainly in Scalloway’s half in the next 15 minutes with the visitors still looking dangerous on the break.

The Ness manager made a second subsitution, bringing on Alwyn Flaws for John Rosie and reshuffling his midfield. This move paid dividends as the reds got the equaliser five minutes later when Alex White rifled the ball into the roof of the net.

Ness pushed hard for the winner and were again hit with a sucker punch as Pearson got his second and Scalloway’s third after breaking away down the left, driving in on goal and finishing past Peterson at his far post.

With the home side seeking to get an equaliser Scalloway again hit them on the break with Henderson netting his second of the night with a few minutes left on the clock.

Thistle 1, Spurs 5

This was Thistle’s final match of the season and they continued to be without the experienced Craig Gerty and Kevin Teale, as well as Stevie Michael, while Spurs, with one eye on tomorrow’s County Shield final, took the opportunity to rest one or two players.

Spurs struck first, taking the lead in the 17th minute following a corner. Thistle defender Khalid Rasul cleared off the line but the loose ball was met by Lewis Kay who smashed it into the roof of the net. Sam Goudie doubled the Spurs tally in the 35th minute when he skilfully evaded a couple of challenges and calmly stroked the ball beyond Thistle glovesman Ryan Leask.

Leask was called into action again in the 50th minute when he tipped a shot from Goudie round the post following a fine solo run.

The Jags hauled themselves back into the match two minutes later. They were awarded a free kick on their left flank and Neil Riddell whipped in a tantalising ball which was deftly flicked into the net by veteran striker Stuart Smith.

At the other end Leask, who was having a good game in goal, dived full length to push a Scott Morrison drive away for a corner.

On the hour mark Spurs increased their advantage when a Morrison cutback was driven home by Alan Page.

With 15 minutes remaining and the home side striving to claw themselves back into the game again, Connell Gresham broke clear and finished with aplomb.

Five minutes later Gresham completed the scoring when he added his second and Spurs fifth with another well-taken strike.

Whalsay 2, Delting 3

A disappointing end to the season for champions Whalsay was further compounded by a loss to a Delting team fielding manager John Jamieson in the forward line. Indeed the visitors finished the match with 10 men after losing Peter Peterson to injury with 30 minutes remaining.

Whalsay had the wind behind them in the first half and certainly had the bulk of the play. Stuart Shearer tested the handling of Danny Reid in the Delting goal with a shot on the angle from 12 yards but Reid was equal to the task and saved comfortably.

That was the only real chance of note in the half with Whalsay failing to turn their possession into chances.

The second half was barely 10 minutes in when Delting found themselves two ahead. The first came from a John Jamieson pass which found Ian Greenhill running in from wide and the new signing finished well into the far corner.

Moments later a Leighton Flaws free kick from the halfway line saw Ross Jamieson run unchallenged into the box to nod the ball into the empty net.

Whalsay tried to bring themselves back into the game and some sustained pressure saw the award of a penalty kick when Reid was adjudged to have taken the man before the ball when making a challenge on Stuart Shearer. Ian Simpson stepped up and coolly dispatched the penalty.

Any hopes of a Whalsay comeback were dealt a blow almost immediately when the home defence rather inexplicably failed to deal with a crossed ball which Greenhill, running into the back post area, forced over the line with his chest.

Whalsay, to their credit, continued to push forward but found Reid in fine form, the keeper’s best saves coming from a Keith Pearson free kick and a Stuart Shearer header, both efforts being palmed away to safety at full stretch.

Whalsay did claim a further consolation goal deep into injury time when a free kick was slid low into the box and Brian Irvine directed the ball from six yards inside the post.

Whitedale 2, Celtic 1

With the two sides having only faced each other once this season, resulting in a 1-0 win for the Lerwick side, this was a difficult one to predict.

The first half started with Celtic taking the game to Whitedale, settling into their passing game which has been a feature this season, but the nearest they came in the first 15 minutes was a Joe Leask effort from distance which cleared the bar.

In the 18th minute a good move on the right from Whitedale involving Matthew Williamson and Duncan Fraser set up Gary Tulloch who finished with a curling right footer to the keeper’s left.

On the half hour mark Whitedale’s Duncan Fraser headed a hard driven corner kick into the middle of the net for Whitedale’s second.

Celtic, looking a little aggrieved at the way the half was turning out, went on a 10-minute blitz on the Whitedale goal. A combination of three top drawer saves from Martin Young and sound defending from Whitedale’s back four kept the score 2-0 at half-time.

Whitedale brought on Paul Molloy and Jamie Wilson for the second half to hopefully put pressure on the Celtic defence but they were to see little of the ball for the opening 20 minutes as Celtic pressed to get back in the game. They were rewarded when a strong run up the right wing from Joe Leask was met by Lowrie Simpson who placed his shot wide of Young.

Whitedale had to endure a lot of pressure as Celtic pushed for the equaliser but they weathered the onslaught and nearing the end of the game created a couple of good chances for Molloy and Wilson.

Referee Steven Goodlad blew the final whistle on a gripping game in which Celtic had greater possession but lacked the finishing touch.

Whitedale spent long periods in their own half but took their chances well when they came. Best for Celtic were Joel Bradley, who was solid in defence, and Joe Leask for his work rate.

Martin Young in goal and defenders Jordan Morrison and Duncan Fraser all had outstanding performances for Whitedale.

County Shield (semi-final)

Whalsay 1, Whitedale 2

On a wet and breezy night full credit must go to an understrength Whitedale for a battling performance which saw them come from a goal behind to book their place in the final with makeshift forward Martin Clark the hero with both goals.

Clark signalled Whitedale’s intentions from the kick off, testing young Davie Williamson with a shot from halfway that saw the keeper having to backpedal and tip over the bar.

Whalsay soon settled, enjoying most of the possession, and it was no real surprise when Stuart Shearer gave them the lead, the front man running onto a through ball to cut the ball across keeper Martin Young into the far corner.

Whalsay continued to press and more chances followed. Shearer rose highest at a corner but his effort was headed off the line by Duncan Fraser. Alistair Johnson hit the bar with a lobbed effort soon after and Keith Pearson had a drive from outside the area palmed away by Young before half time as Whalsay failed to put the game beyond the visitors.

As so often happens when a team fails to take their chances they are punished and Whitedale provided a ruthless example of this in the second half.

The equaliser came following a swift move, the ball being fed to the back post where Gary Tulloch nodded down for Martin Clark to turn the ball in from close range.

The rest of the half saw a mainly midfield battle with Whalsay probably edging the territorial advantage. But chances were few and far between, the only real one falling to Keith Pearson. A fortuitous break of the ball saw him through on goal but under pressure his attempted lob sailed over the bar.

Whitedale were gifted a chance with just five minutes remaining when Williamson was harshly penalised for carrying the ball outside the area while clearing from hand. From the resultant free kick Clark rifled the ball into the back of the net via a slight deflection off the wall to put the visitors 2-1 ahead.

Whalsay pushed for an equaliser and Brian Irvine came closest with an effort from outside the box that whistled past the post. The elusive goal just wouldn’t come, however, and it was holders Whitedale who progressed to the final to defend their trophy against Spurs.

Shearer Shield

Spurs 6, Zetland 4

Spurs started with only 10 players but applied pressure straight away. Accurate passing from Rona Simpson into the box helped Sarah Grogan slot the first goal in after eight minutes.
Spurs continued to push forward and link well and an unmarked Grogan scored her second in quick succession.

Zetland kept their heads up and some good runs were seen from Aimee Keith, Wilma Sim and Maisie Unsworth. The Spurs defence held well, however, with debut goalie Gail Donohue keeping everyone organised.

A good run up the wing from Gayle Johnson saw her pass a strong ball into the box which Karen MacKay swiftly put into the back of the net. This was followed soon after by another goal from MacKay, after good linking from Ava Sim, Fiona Shearer and Sarah Grogan.

Zetland did not give up and good defending from sisters Dawn Anderson and Lara Jamieson prevented several of Spurs’ attacks. A series of short corners were then awarded to Spurs, with a strong accurate hit from Morag Fox past Zetland goalie Helen Robertson resulting in the fifth goal of the first half.

The second half saw an early goal from Gayle Johnson after good linking with Susan Morrison up the right wing, making it 6-0.

That seemed to spur Zetland on, and good play from Aimee Keith and Caitlin Holmes helped Stacey Gardner put away their first goal of the night.

The goal gave Zetland the confidence they needed and the game picked up pace, with end-to-end play and good passing from both teams. Irene Gray put in some well-timed challenges to thwart any Zetland advances.

Good linking from Zetland’s midfield saw them dodge Spurs players and a good strike from Aimee Keith gave Zetland their second goal of the night.

The game continued to be quite even, with Gayle Johnson’s runs to the baseline unfortunate not to result in any goals. Spurs appeared unorganised at times, play becoming lethargic in parts owing to their only fielding 10 players.

Zetland continued to fight on and after good play from their midfield, a strong accurate pass from Aimee Keith found Maise Unsworth in the box, which after an initial save from Spurs keeper was slotted in by Unsworth.

The last goal of an eventful game was similar to the previous with Keith and Unsworth linking well and Unsworth sliding the ball into the Spurs’ net.

Players of the match were Gayle Johnson for Spurs and Ailsa Sinclair for Zetland.

Grutness Trophy

Spurs 0, Delting 2

Delting immediately began to apply pressure on the Spurs defence with good linking play from Jillian Copland, Jill Hibbert and Julie Leask. This resulted in a series of short corners with Spurs stand-in keeper Gail McCulloch pulling off a number of impressive saves. Gwen Malcolmson, Irene Gray and Susan Morrison also worked hard to clear the ball from danger.

It was 30 minutes into the first half when Delting’s effort finally paid off, with a beautiful strike from Jill Hibbert from a short corner leaving McCulloch with no chance.

Spurs did not give up with a period of applied pressure on the Delting defence. Rona Simpson played a key role in the midfield supported by Gayle Johnson and Fiona Shearer. They fed balls to the Spurs front line with efforts from Karen McKay and Sarah Grogan thwarted by the extremely agile Toni Sidgwick in the Delting goal. Nicola Johnson also stood out for her defending efforts.

The second half saw some good end-to-end play, Delting having the slight edge with their ability to keep possession and pass the ball effectively.

Delting’s second goal of the evening was again a result of a short corner. McCulloch made the initial save but the ball was not cleared from danger and up stepped Brenda Leask on the back post to score a brilliant goal from a tight angle.

Player of the match for Spurs was Gayle Johnson while for Delting Toni Sidgwick stood out.

Scalloway 5, Zetland 0

Scalloway started strongly, pressurising the Zetland defence right from the beginning. The midfield of Lynne Scollay, Emily Tait, Kate Moncrieff and Naomi Johnson worked hard, playing good balls up to the forwards who were unlucky not to score.

Zetland’s Aimee Keith and Hannah Irvine linked up well together on the counter attack but the Scalloway defence was solid. Scalloway won a series of short corners and it was not long before Scollay scored to give Scalloway a 1-0 lead.

In the second half Scalloway had the upperhand and great work from the midfield found Mhairi Moncrieff perfectly placed to make the score 2-0.

Lara Jamieson and Abby Irvine played well together for Zetland on the left but Zetland were stopped in their tracks by Lara Kay and Rhiannon and Mel Inkster in the Scalloway defence. Scalloway were strong on the counter attack and a ball from Hannah Hunter found Mhairi Moncrieff in the D who scored her second.

Scalloway were determined to score more and Karis Irvine made it 4-0 with an excellent solo run up the park and lovely strike.

Zetland began to tire and great work from Scollay found Mhairi Moncrieff in the D again to complete her hat trick, making it 5-0 to Scalloway.

Players of the match were Aimee Keith for Zetland and Karis Irvine for Scalloway.