Newsbleat
Wild and woolly opinion from the Scottish Highlands
23-Oct-09 Where Are David Vine And The Ski Sunday Theme When You Need Them?
Dadda-dum...
Hello and welcome to Ski Sunday, coming to you live from the slopes of Stephen's Brae in Inverness.
There's no snow - yet - but the newly-installed slalom is looking good.
We'll keep our eyes peeled - it surely won't be long before an unsuspecting cyclist comes belting down from the Crown, the wind causing his eyes to tear up, and wham!
23-Oct-09 Night Train For Inverness Will Make Film Buffs Chuffed
'Night Train for Inverness'.
Sounds romantic, doesn't it?
Those of us who've experienced it know different - freezing cold carriages and drunken parties heading back after painting Edinburgh or Glasgow various shades of puke.
Still, on a summer's evening there's no finer sight than that from the train as it curves towards Inverness after crossing the Culloden viaduct - the sun setting behind the mountains over Ullapool way and the Moray Firth glittering below.
Anyway, click here to discover a 'classic British movie' (yup, we'd never heard of it either) called Night Train For Inverness.
It's just become available on DVD.
It stars a seven year old Dennis Waterman.
No, we don't think he wrote the feem tune or sang the feem tune.
Dum-de-dum - night train...
Doo-be-doo - for Inverness...
21-Oct-09 Big-hearted Highlanders Urged To Make A Difference
We note that the Saturday after next, the 31st, is not only Hallowe'en but also 'Make a Difference Day'.
Up and down the country there are lots of events planned to encourage people to volunteer for good causes.
If you click here you can type in your postcode to see what's happening near you.
Sadly it appears not very much is planned in the Inverness and Inner Moray Firth area, apart from a litter pick in Forres and a party in Boat of Garten.
Are we really such mean-hearted Highlanders?
If you're organising something spread the word and if not, get something going!
The Highlands is a great place to live and if we all gave a little bit of time from our hectic schedules we could make it even greater.
Excuse us while we look out some stout footwear and a grabby stick.
Forres litter here we come!
17-Oct-09 This Sucks ... No More Lemon Tree?
It appears to be 'pip pip' from that bastion of fried egg rolls and split pea soup.
Yes, Inverness appears to have lost its zest for the traditional caff.
It's sad to see an independent business squeezed out of the marketplace.
It leaves a sour taste.
(Enough puns already. Ed.)
Ahem, so, anyway ... it seems the Lemon Tree in Inglis Street is shut.
We have fond memories of going up the narrow stairs to be greeted by the loud chap with the big moustache who took our order for macaroni cheese, relaying this to the underground kitchen via a crackling walkie talkie.
There's no indication what's caused the closure.
But at least the Millennium City continues to have a good collection of coffee shops that aren't chains.
Who needs Starbucks and Costa when we have the amazing setting of Mr Leakey's bookshop church, the towering meringues of Girvan's and the brisk service you get in Red Pepper. (Coffee? Yes. Soup? Yes. That'll be £3.40. Come on, come on! Ding. Next!)
13-Oct-09 The Good, The Ugly And the Badly Spelt
Spotted above the door of a beauty parlour in Academy Street, Inverness.
We're sorely tempted to mosey on in, slap a coin on the counter and ask for a whiskey before gobbing into a spitoon and plugging someone who looks at us funny.
13-Oct-09 Window Art Is Winning Idea For Inverness
Remember ‘Re-imagining the Centre’?
Thought not.
A load of poppycock and arty farty nonsense that in the end meant some graffiti and bits of knitting in Inverness city centre.
It seems those involved think it had us all ‘abuzz’ and was a ‘creative furore’.
Can someone please submit these guys to Pseuds Corner in Private Eye?
Anyway, they’re actually proposing a further venture which makes a lot of sense.
Click here to find out about the project to jazz up some empty shop windows.
Perhaps as an extension of the project we could decorate the windows of all the Tescos in Inverness with images of forlorn-looking independent retailers and out of pocket farmers?
19-Sep-09 And Finally... No More North Tonight?
We have mixed feelings about the latest wheeze being put forward by STV.
They took over Grampian and the local identity went.
Then the name North Tonight was dropped from the teatime news.
Now they're looking to do a Scottish Six.
It could be good but the unions fear it'll mean job losses. (Housewives across the north gasp at the thought of losing the Gaelic George Clooney - Norman Macleod - as host of their teatime news.)
But it also seems to promise more local news with a possible nightly bulletin from Inverness - surely better than the two current opt outs from Aberdeen and Dundee.
Whatever happens, it's change, and people don't like change.
It is making us all nostalgic for the old Grampian days.
Who remembers Diana Speed reading out birthday cards before Home & Away followed by North Tonight in which a thickly-bespectacled John Duncanson gave grave news about farming subsidies.
And then there were the sheepdog trials.
Click here for a trip down memory lane.
17-Sep-09 Xmas Fever In The Highlands With Just 98 Days To Go!
For.
The.
Love.
Of.
God.
Some of us are still making the most of the sunshine, pretending we've had a nice summer but already the shops are shoving Christmas tat in our faces.
On the right is something we spotted in the window of a Nairn shop a couple of weeks ago.
Meantime in pretty much every shop in Inverness there are stacks of mince pies and other festive fripperies.
To quote Loudon Wainwright III: "It's a season, a marathon, retail eternity. And it ain't over till it's over and you throw away the tree."
17-Sep-09 Re-Imagining Inverness City Centre The Newsbleat Way
What a load of tosh the 'Reimagining the Centre' thing was.
Some graffiti and a bunch of knitted wotsits.
We have a better idea for 're-imagining' Inverness.
We spotted the sign on the right above the door to the toy shop - taking delivery of a mammoth Xmas stock - in Union Street and memories came flooding back of the downstairs children's section, the tubs of glitter, packets of Monster Munch and, er, books.
How about a day when all the old Inverness shops come back to life?
As well as a poor selection of dusty books from Melven's we hanker for a gloomy capuccino in the windowless downstairs Crawfords Country Kitchen which later became Aunt Fanny's then Iguana Wana.
Who needs Borders and Starbucks?
17-Sep-09 Moray Flood Critics Need To Look Closer To Home
Following the latest flooding in Moray the council was quick to point the finger of blame at the government.
Many residents who’d been flooded before and had been promised an alleviation scheme criticised the council for taking so long but the local authority pointed out it had submitted its plans to the government quite a while ago but due to bureaucracy and objectors little progress has been made.
While flooding is distressing what the critics didn’t seem to be asking was - who are these objectors holding everything up?
It’s Moray’s own backyard where any focus must be.
It’s a low-lying area with fast flowing rivers and it rains in Scotland from time to time!
Dealing with flash flooding is always going to be difficult.
But it seems some don’t like the idea of their land being made soggy rather than people’s homes being wrecked.
Click here to see how the P&J has reported on three of the Elgin scheme’s objectors - all big businesses.
And David Ross had an excellent story in the Herald that nobody seems to have noticed about a potentially-enormous bill to compensate an estate and a distillery at Forres who might be affected by the alleviation scheme already in operation there.
The public inquiry into the Elgin scheme starts next Wednesday.
17-Sep-09 Nickel & Dime Suggests Two-Bit Town
We shuddered when we read on the Gurn blog that Nairn’s former Woolies is to become a Nickel & Dime store.
It’s quite a pretty building (once upon a time a church, we vaguely recall) in the middle of the High Street directly opposite the courthouse and clock tower.
Think of all the things Nairn needs - an art gallery, a cinema, a decent deli, a record shop and a bar that isn’t a dive.
But no, the Brighton of the North is obviously crying out for a better selection of ironing board covers and life-size plastic Alsatian dogs.
29-Aug-09 Hoots, Mon! Welcome To Inverness-shire
Nice one, Willie.
Sounds like a line from a racy episode of the Simpsons but we’re simply patting on the back the real life Willie from Drumnadrochit - Willie Cameron, wit and raconteur of the Great Glen.
Click here to see a feature he had in the Guardian recommending some cool places to check out in Inverness-shire.
We heartily agree with the thumbs up for Hootenanny - even the wobbly likely-to-give-way-at-any-moment chairs have their charm.
Meantime we see in the Record that Supersize Me filmmaker Morgan Spurlock is making a documentary about Groundskeeper Willie.
Sadly both the Record and Morgan don't seem to have seen that episode where Willie goes home to Drum to meet his ma and pa who in fine Highland style say 'aye', shrug and then bid him cheerio.
29-Aug-09 Who Needs Bagpuss When You’ve Got John Byrne’s Fishertown Cat
Moustache Of The Year winner for the thirty-seventh year running (previously it was Lee Van Cleef) John Byrne looks set to put Nairn’s Fishertown on the map.
The children‘s fiction map that is.
We remember some years back talk of the Tutti Frutti-writing legend creating stories about a cat but nothing ever appeared.
Check out this article in the Times - you’ll have to wade through heaps of tabloid guff about his private life; the cat story is at the tail end (geddit?!).
29-Aug-09 HIE To Fund Study Into Whether Bears Poo In The Woods
We like this study carried out for Highlands & Islands Enterprise.
Apparently a lot of young people think the Highlands is a bit boring and choose to study or find work elsewhere.
File under ‘stating the obvious’ or ‘No S**t Sherlock’.
The report recommends improving education (even if UHI becomes a proper university will that stop young Highlanders wanting to get away?), employment (you mean there’s more to life than nail bars, tanning salons and supermarkets?) and public transport (good luck with that given the local authority and government are obsessed with ring roads and dual carriageways rather than trying to fund earlier, later and more frequent trains and buses at prices people can afford).
That said, a very positive finding is that those who choose to come back to make a life in the Highlands are very satisfied.
So, if you’re an ex-teuchter reading this in some exotic location such as New York, Paris or Kirkcaldy, what are you waiting for?
The Highlands has everything from squirrels to Starbucks.
Haste ye back!
29-Aug-09 Seventh Heaven For A9 Users?
We see John Swinney has been busy, opening a new junction on the A9 in his constituency of Perthshire.
Bankfoot this time.
We haven’t seen the new road layout yet but if it’s anything like the improvements made in recent years at Ballinluig (also in Perthshire - truckers’ caff does great bacon rolls) and North Kessock then those of us who use the notorious A9 will be grateful.
The article mentions a recent upgrade at Carrbridge.
We passed that way the other week and didn’t notice anything different - have you?
Interesting to note the government is only committing itself at this stage to dualling the A9 to Blair Atholl - the rest of the way north to Inverness (and right up to Thurso come to think about it) is simply earmarked for more crawler lanes.
Mind you, dualling the road is a bit like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic - the real solution is surely to improve the train service, although it would be nice if someone in a position of authority could do something about the Inshes turn off and the Kessock Bridge roundabout!
22-Aug-09 Haste Ye Back!
And so another Highland tourist season comes to a close.
Wee towns like Nairn are transformed overnight, around about Easter, from cold, grey, quiet places where natives huddle round mutton pies into bustling centres heaving with large Glaswegian families feasting on fish and chips and ice cream, while shouting at 'the weans'.
But now the schools are back and the bustle is pretty much gone.
Only a few reminders remain...
20-Aug-09 Highland Rubbish To Be Fired Into Space
Okay, so not really.
But the plot of an episode of Futurama doesn't seem that far fetched now that NIMBYs have made Highland councillors wobble and reject plans for an incinerator near Invergordon.
Despite being recommended by the council's officials with appropriate experts stating there were no environmental or traffic concerns, the politicians voted against the proposal over, er, environmental and traffic concerns.
Even more disturbing is the level of hysteria surrounding the proposal which made one councillor stay at home for fear of 'action' against her.
Shame on these people.
We're all to blame for the incessant rubbish mountain in the Highlands - our landfills are full and we need an answer now.
Heat and power from a plant on an industrial park sounded ideal to us but anyone with other bright notions, speak up and be quick about it!
20-Aug-09 Lockerbie - The Aviemore Connection
Amid the storm of interest in the Lockerbie bomber's case we spotted an item we were previously unaware of.
Many questions remain about the Camp Zeist trial with victims' relatives still looking for answers to what really happened in 1988.
To add to the doubts surrounding the case, click here to see 'The Aviemore Connection'.
17-Aug-09 Inverness Lacks Bums ... On Seats That Is
That great Highland trait, apathy, appears to be ruling once more.
We spotted a couple of letters - this one in the Courier and this one in the P&J - asking where everyone was at a couple of recent Eden Court gigs.
Could it be the credit crunch is forcing folk to stay at home and re-watch their DVD box sets instead of forking out for live entertainment?
Maybe it's because the coffee's awful.
Or could Eden Court blow their publicity trumpet a bit harder?
For the record, Newsbleat is a big fan of Eden Court - it's a superb facility and we should all make the most of it.
Check out their website, here.
17-Aug-09 Local Food And Fair Trade In Tesco Town?
Regular readers will know that one of Newsbleat's pet peeves in supermarkets.
So our little woolly eyebrows were raised not insignificantly when we spotted this advert in the window of the former Blythswood bookshop on Academy Street in Inverness.
Is Tesco Town ready for the concept of food that hasn't been flown half way round the world and driven up the A9?
We really do miss the superb wee veg and bakery shop that operated in the Victorian Market for a while - we understand they still have a stall at Raigmore Hospital a couple of days a week.
Meantime let's hope this venture gets off the ground - just imagine: fresh local produce next door to Farmfoods.
Talk about chalk and cheese!
17-Aug-09 Inverness Club Fit For A King?
We're having difficulty imagining which king would feel at home in this potentially ugly looking blot on the Inverness skyline.
Maybe that chap Harold from 1066 who had his eye put out.
We did a double take going along Culcabock Road.
It's going to be called the Kings Club (the lack of an apostrophe gives it an enigmatic sheen) and will apparently be five-star.
The construction of this 37 bedroom 'luxury' hotel next to the Kingsmills is highly visible - and it seems the finished result will also be eye-catching, but in a different way.
Where have all the good architects gone?
16-Aug-09 Welsh War With Supermarkets - Why No Highland Rebellion?
What a mess the Highlands is getting itself in as it continues to crave massive out of town supermarkets, like some obese American who reckons just one more Krispy Kreme donut can’t possibly hurt.
The planners seem to have cocked up yet again by not pinning down Asda on a suggestion that it contribute to an upgrade of the notorious Inshes Roundabout now it has permission for a huge store at Slackbuie near Inverness Royal Academy.
Meanwhile lazy Nairnites keen on a Sainsbury’s should find out in the coming weeks, according to the Scottish Government's planning department, the result of the public inquiry.
If it's a green light, how soon before the greengrocers, butchers and other retailers in the town centre go bust?
Will the council planners learn a lesson from the Asda experience and insist Sainsbury’s pays for a Nairn bypass?
We mention these points after spotting a superb article by author George Monbiot, currently battling a supermarket development in his small town in Wales.
If only Highlanders saw supermarkets for what they really are and mounted an uprising rather than salivating at the thought of driving out of town, polluting the atmosphere, buying over packaged food from miles away (and thanks to the special offers too much food so half of it has to be binned) in a soulless shed.
And remember, when you get your Asda or Sainsbury’s you better buy plenty of meat.
They burn their leftovers - tonnes of them.
Nice.
16-Aug-09 Will NIMBYs Make Councillors Flip Flop On Rubbish Solution?
We look forward to the planning meeting on Tuesday (18 Aug) at which councillors will be stuck between a rock and a rubbish place.
There's a perfectly sensible plan for an incinerator on an industrial site near Invergordon to help tackle the Highlands' growing garbage mountain.
We're already sending lorryload after lorryload along the A96 to Aberdeenshire for disposal in landfill.
The Invergordon idea will mean we deal with our waste closer to home with the added bonus of heat and power for local consumption.
But, you've guessed it, there's a protest group.
We recommend reading the FAQ on the CPH Highlands site for a balanced view, and here's the recommendation of the council planner, pointing out that issues such as pollution and traffic have been addressed by the appropriate bodies.
Will the councillors put their votes where their authority's policies are and help generate some green power or will they buckle because of a few NIMBYs?