I’ve always got the idea of the barbecue.

On Monday night I caught a little of Radio Shetland’s Speakeasy on the windfarm.

On the Bressay ferry on Monday at teatime, on the way to a meeting of the marts board, I encountered an assessor.

For those of a non-crofting dis­position, an assessor has respon­sibilities for assessing crofting issues.

Brussels in spring. What could be nicer? It’s certainly better than those dark, damp days in December wait­ing for the latest terrible pronounce­ment from the fisheries ministers over the deal they have patched together which achieves nothing.

On Monday I arranged to meet three separate European Commission departments to pursue a variety of Shetland and…

I was sitting in a traffic jam the other day. Not in Edinburgh or Glasgow, but in Lerwick!

The one advantage of the extra­ordinary traffic lights arrangement at Grantfield is that it allows drivers some time to look at the new Hjalt­land houses emerging from the corner site. Shetland has a desperate need for more…

I found Wednesday a totally surreal day. At lunchtime, Grieg Seafood Hjaltland in Lerwick opened its new factory extension. This will produce smoked salmon and other products for supermarkets and others across the country. People will be employed in the real economy in real work. The factory expansion is a tribute to the vision of…

I had to escape the feeling of rejection. So there I was on Sunday morning, sitting at Sumburgh waiting for the Aberdeen plane … and who should walk into the terminal but a fellow contestant.

The aftermath of the CLAN dancing judges’ decisions and marks were discussed, analysed and noted. How could they not recognise…

It is said that you can’t walk down Aberdeen’s Union Street without bump­ing into a Shetlander. This week it was Edinburgh’s Princes Street.

On Wednesday I was ordered to get my hair cut. “You will have to look presentable for the Strictly CLAN dancing” was the general observation. Nothing to do with Par­lia­ment, First Minister’s…

There is a primary school right next to the parliament building at the bottom of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. At lunchtimes the children pour into the playground and do what kids do – run around, kick a football and generally let off steam.

My office window opens out onto these happy sights and sounds. In moments…

Parliament did not debate last week because of the Scottish school holidays. We have Up-Helly-A’ so Shetland has a different pattern to school holidays. So I was spared a week in Edinburgh and instead managed a couple of school visits, something my colleagues in the south couldn’t manage.

I was firstly at the Brae High…