Less space for Shetland travellers

We received our islander travel vouchers early this year and booked straight away for our trip later in the year to Sheffield. Demand for places are expected to be high after the government announced a reduction in fares for passengers and cars but not cabins.

In addition to this the cargo which used to be shipped south by a separate ship will now go on the ferry making less space available. So if you are coming to Shetland book early.

The weather this winter has been the worse in the last 20 years, plenty of ice about and more snow than we have witnessed since we moved here nearly 4 years ago. The wind has been stronger as well with a few Hurricanes and sever gales to contend with.

This winter has seen more visitors coming to Shetland than normal, with some coming to see the Up Helly aa festivals and combining this with the occasional Aurora sighting, although we are approaching a solar minimum (see shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk ) and Shetland Aurora Hunter on facebook for more information

The BBC drama ` Shetland' started on Tuesday 13 February and everyone that we know has been talking about it, having drawn over 4million viewers its proving very popular, Coronation Street only draws about 5.5 Million visitors.

Many Norwegians came here last summer to see the house that ` Jimmy Perez' is living in and as they knew that part of this series was based in Norway.

Part of this series is  also based a short distance from where we live, this time in Fladdibister a few miles north.

We like winter, the skies and seas  are dramatic the weather embracing. Often you can walk a beach without seeing anyone and places like Jarlshof or Scatness empty apart from the odd person studying for their tourist guide badge.

Our car broke down the last weekend and we called the breakdown service (Lucky we manage to get a phone signal), we know every organisation uses Jim's garage so having used them once before we were in good hands. We got the car going (Flat battery) and the following day we went to the Kia garage but they had to order a new battery and as yet we are still waiting for the replacement.

According to a few people we know in the car trade, they often fit reconditioned batteries rather than new, so no wonder they only last a few years. One friend has had two batteries in four years so it doesn't give you much confidence, and its not confined to just a couple of car dealerships.

If you are moving to Shetland its worth making sure you are on Vodaphone, they seem to have the best coverage, unfortunately, our problems didn't stop at a broken down car, i also lost our phone.

Our power costs have increased this year despite moving provider, with no mains gas its either down to electric, oil or solid fuel. The standing charge is double what we paid for electric in Sheffield. Another cost that is going up is the rates, an increase of 3% and it seems that petrol will continue to rise as well, currently at £1.26 per litre. So don't forget to take all these extra costs into account.

There are many compensations with lots to see, great wildlife and scenery, superb night skies, lots of music nights either to play at our just go and listen and of course lots of 8 o 'clocks (Cakes etc).

Winter is also a time i give most of my talks and in a couple of weeks i will be giving talks to the WI in Bixter (West mainland) and Sandwick, both on birds/ Wildlife and then we will be given a talk on Shetland at St Augustine's church in Sheffield on the 26 June- all welcome.

I am hoping to have my Canvas prints back up for sale at Hoswick Visitors centre next week after they have finished painting the rooms. Also tomorrow i will be giving an interview to Shetland Life on why Shetland is so good for photography and how to improve your camera skills.

Facecloot

Just back from 2 weeks in Sheffield and had a great time but we are glad to be back in Shetland. The weather at the time was better in Shetland than Sheffield and even Cornwall.

The trip did give us chance to give an illustrated talk on Shetland to 54 people at St Augustine Church hall in Sheffield, a mix of wildlife, Shetland Life and Landscapes. It was a very enjoyable night and i have been asked back next year.

While we miss our family and friends in and around Sheffield we don't miss the traffic. It doesn't get any easier travelling in Sheffield, with frequent traffic jams, pollution and difficulties in parking. The proposed Ikea store is well on it way to completion and an extension of Meadowhall still to commence,  all this will add to the congestion.

Our journey back to Aberdeen was straight forward after all, even though on the way down we had to go through 11 sets of roadworks. The fun run in Dundee had ended an hour before we arrived as had a number of roadworks

Don't forget to join us on Facebook (at Shetland Aurora Hunter) we are now on our way to 1,000 members. more at shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk

Lots of ships visit Shetland with a great variety of oil and tourist ships joining the local fishing boats

The nights are closing in now but with blue skies and sun today its great to be back in Shetland, the travel to work a pleasure with roads free of heavy traffic. We do have a few reminders of our visit south, Yorkshire teabags, Henderson relish ( a specialty from Sheffield) we called in at Tesco for Yorkshire puddings but didn't bring back the Sheffield fishcakes , although we did have a few at the time. Lots of photos to come as well

Counting the cost

Interesting to see e-bay selling a 750 ml jar of Shetland fresh air for £40 - I will be back in a minute.............. I now can offer 100 750 ml jars of Shetland fresh air - job lot  for £1000 (what a bargain)

We all take fresh air for granted, back in Sheffield certain areas - around Meadowhall, have warning signs about air pollution and this will only get worse with the go ahead for Meadowhall extension and a new IKEA

No such problems in Shetland, clean air is one thing most people don't even think about unless you have some sort of breathing problems.

Space for one car bin please 

                                                                 Shetland Bus memorial service on Norwegian day

                                                                                      Bigger than your average insect

The Shetland Times has just published an article about the Conservatives pledge support for the bigger Wind farm projects including those on remote Scottish islands including Shetland. as far as i am concerned this is bad news for Shetland

Dr Wills said `` Some folk will not be pleased, of course, but when they consider the potential income to the charitable trust perhaps they will cheer up''

Alot of folk have said that the the oil money that the Charitable Trust was looking after for the Shetland people has been wasted, why should this be any different

Cute Perrie Shetland ponies

What cost the Shetland Landscape and wildlife ???,

Once the interconnector is in place it is not just the 103 Viking turbines that will blot our landscape but Peel projects will also start their Wind farms including a further 21 turbines near Lerwick and 17 in Yell, others will follow.

Currently Shetland has 5 large turbines at Burradale, construction of these completed in 2003 and a further 5 smaller ones in Yell

Also remember that on Offshore windfarm project may get the go ahead, a map sometime ago showed Shetland surrounded by  deep sea wind turbines

Back in 2014 eighteen companies expressed an interest in building a large wind farm in Unst and Yell, with a small cable connecting to the interconnector at Kergord.

If you are up in Shetland or any part of Scotland this autumn be warned, The Police have announced that they are axing the speeding thresholds. Scottish drivers even going fractionally over the limit will receive a formal warning letter. If they are stopped a second time they will receive a £100 penalty and three points.

Today i wish the police could have caught a 4x4 driver who decided to overtake three cars on Cunningsburgh hill going at least 80 mph, while just missing an oncoming car. If they had crashed it would have also involved another three of us.

Anyway the rants over for a while, it is still a great place to live,  we have been here for over 3 years and never regretted the move. Things do change but sometimes you just need to stand by what you believe.

Facebook - Shetland Aurora hunter - send me a request to join

http://www.amazingshetland.co.uk (Canvas prints)

Odd Visitors to Shetland

With two Russian Bombers escorted away from British airspace near Shetland, it  came as no surprise that the Russian planned to sail a fleet of seven heavily armed warships close to Britain on the way to Syria.

It planned to practice bombing off the coast of northern Scotland and come within a mile of the UK limit as they journeyed through the English Channel

So HMS Richmond turned up in Lerwick ready to take action if required. Although to confuse the Russian according to the Royal Navy website it was still berthed in Portsmouth not actually in Shetland.

On a lighter note

It was interesting to hear about the North Isles awards, here is the criteria:

1. Unsung hero
2. Best Beard in the North Isles
3. Cheeriest Crofter
4. Funniest Person
5. Friendliest Islander
6. Most Caring
7. Best wearer of a Boilersuit
8. Nicest Ferry person
9. Best smile

This is for those living in Unst, Yell and Fetlar.

I love lamb, especially Shetland lamb and we normally get it direct from the local farmer. In the Shetland Times this week it came a bit of surprise to find that prices have tumbled to as little as 50 p per animal. Most going for £5 per animal but some small lambs 0.50 p.

This is making the native Shetland lamb flock unsustainable. How much are you paying for 4 lamb chops at the supermarket ? bet it is more than £5.

Better news on the Shetland fish front with news that Shetland landed more fish than England, Wales and Ireland combined. Over 72, 000 tonnes of fish and shellfish worth £61 million were landed here in 2015.

This represent over a 1/4 of all fish landed in Scotland. Interestingly the EU catch (including UK) landed 450,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish worth around £300 million all caught within Shetland waters. Hopefully leaving the EU will generate a massive boost to the Shetland fishing industry creating more jobs- that's providing the government doesn't barter it away.

We have now moved into a cold period after a brilliant October. Cold winds from the north in the last few days have resulted in the heating going up. We don't have too many options in Shetland, no gas so electricity at a higher cost than England has to heat our homes.

We hope that the new Quantum and other storage heaters are better than the Air- Air heating which was a disaster, hardly providing enough heating in winter. We have left these in for light summer use. The smell of peat is now in the air although its not an option for us.

To see more photos please go to www.amazingshetland.co.uk

Next week , 7 November I will be giving an illustrated talk to the WI Boddam Group on Sheffield & Peak District and on the 17 November an illustrated talk on Night Lights to the RVS social group at Hoswick.