Features
A Now and Again Note from Andrew Appleby
23/07/2010 08:35:00
Shedding light on ancient days
During the last digging season at the Ness of Brodgar excavations, the Orkney Archaeology Society was able to establish a wee shop to sell publications, replica ancient pots, T-shirts and the like to help fund Orkney's Archaeology. The shop was similar to a horsebox and was quite good, but limited in its scope to really make the best of our wonderful opportunity. We did, however raise a goodly sum to put back into several projects and especially our Daphne Lorimer Student Bursary Fund. We sold Lottery Tickets by the hundred. We sold many copies of Julie Gibson and Frank Bradford's book, Rising Tides. We had huge interest in our replica prehistoric pottery and flints, along with ceramic brooches and other interesting artefacts.
Health Matters A personal view from the chair of NHS Orkney John Ross Scott
23/07/2010 08:32:00
Heading for recovery
Like many other folk, I left last month's health board meeting with a sense of hope that we were heading in the right direction. The assessment of the financial outlook could not have been clearer or foreboding and yet everyone there on the day showed a real sense of ownership as we set out our recovery plans to deliver better health, better care and make better use of our resources.
Liz Ashworth on Food
16/07/2010 08:33:00
The Orcadian network
It is often said that no matter where you go in the world, there has always been an Orcadian there before you. However, from my experience, there is usually one beside you.
Are you being heard? by Frazer Campbell
08/07/2010 08:50:00
Great day
Monday, June 21 was a great day! Advocacy Orkney, along with 8 other
organisations, signed the See Me Pledge, a commitment to challenging the
stigma and discrimination that is often attached to people with mental
health issues. There are statistics that one in four people will have a
mental health issue at some point in their life, that's a lot of people.
Loose Talk by Les Cowan
08/07/2010 08:47:00
Pens, paper and Facebook friends
Anyone who hasn't spent the last thirty years in outer space or marooned on Love Island knows we're living in the Information Age. Whatever there is to know about anything - we now know more of it than anyone else in history - with all that information instantly available. My random web searches on Begonia, Beatles and Barbecue produced 1,820,000, 54,300,000 and 36,700,000 hits respectively in about 0.2 seconds each. In the case of any of them I could probably grown old and die before reading a tenth of it. So you would probably think that anything that could possibly count as information is bound to be in more plentiful supply than ever before. Wrong. I've recently stumbled on something truly informative that used to be part of almost everybody's life but has now almost entirely disappeared. It's not the secret knowledge of the druids or even the contents of latin volumes nobody can read any more. It's the humble, hand written, personal letter.
Tales out of School by Anne Cormack
08/07/2010 08:29:00
To hell and back
We spent a couple of hours in Hell during the NTS cruise to Orkney, Shetland and Norway earlier this summer. Never fear, all will be revealed later.
Womanly Wiles by I Venus
02/07/2010 08:17:00
Reunions
I'VE just been to a reunion. Not usually my cup of tea, it has to be said. Indeed I hesitated before accepting, but since there were not many in my group, I felt constrained to go.
A Now and Again Note from Andrew Appleby
25/06/2010 08:12:00
The Tooth Fairies
IT was at the end of last summer when our friend Shayla gave us a parting gift of some lovely, healthy and bonny pink rock salt. She is always very thoughtful and generous. The crystals seemed to glow in their crinkly cellophane wrapper. Their gentle hue resembled the most delicate of rose petals, or 'rose leaves', as GMB would have said.
How an omelette was hatched
18/06/2010 08:16:00
A few months ago I was asked to take part in Elgin Rotary's fourth Annual Charity Motorfun, which earns valuable support for many charities. This year added a Foodfest and June 6 was the day.
Womanly Wiles by I Venus
04/06/2010 08:13:00
June is bursting out all o-o-ver
Can it really be a year since I last waxed lyrical about St Magnus Festival and its chorus?