News Archive - January 2002
[December 2001] [February 2002]
31st January 2002
Grey Coast Theatre Company Gets Applause At Keiss Primary School
Proving
a great hit with children all over Caithness and Sutherland.
The actors come crew of Grey Coast Theatre's blend of teaching and
acting building towards an afternoon performance was a great hit in
Keiss Primary School Today.
Bower
Primary School Included In Council's Upgrade Plans
A
total of 25 projects have been included in the bid, which has been
sent to the Scottish Executive for a decision by the spring.
It is proposed that the 21st Century School Improvement Programme be
undertaken between 2005-2010. It is estimated that the programme
will attract an estimated £220 million of funding from the Executive
over its 30-year life. The net annual cost to the council is likely
to rise from £1.3 million to £6.5 million by 2010.
Council
Agree To Work Closer With Bear On Winter Road Maintenance
The Highland Council has agreed to hold top level talks with BEAR
Scotland, the private company with responsibility for trunk road
maintenance in the Highlands, to explore how best an enhanced
service can be provided to the public in adverse weather conditions.
Was there ever any doubt that this was the only way forward.
Wick Play Areas Community Group - January Minutes
One of the areas newer voluntary groups shows
how it should all be done. From its first meeting in May last
year they have progressed the organisation through all the steps
towards setting up a new Play Area in the Bignold Park, wick.
The latest meeting confirmed that their funding applications were
now in place and that all the other stages from plans to legal
matters were in hand. We wish them good luck with their
lottery application after so much hard work over the last few
months. Main
Index
Wick Girls Pipe Band Photo From Isabelle Thurley
Isabelle
has been hitting the emails with Carolyn Poulton to come up with a
list of names to go with this picture of the Wick Girls Pipe Band.
one name is missing and there is a little debate about the twins in
front. Can anyone help fill out the last details n this
picture and sort out the twins for sure. Many more pictures
still to come in this series.
49-51 Reunion
Group Still Sending Pictures
This
group may have had their latest reunion in August 2001 but the
pictures are still coming in. This one is of their reunion in
1991. Has anyone booked the hotel for 2011.
Scottish Women's Rural Institute (SWRI) Wick Branch
Here is another new page for a long established group. Their
full programme and list of office bearers is now on the new page.
Caithness Cross Stitch Using Caithness.Org Pictures
You might like to know that a range of
pictures from Caithness.Org are now available as cross Stitch Kits.
Sonya Adamson has created a unique range of kits including cotton
aida fabric, full skeins of embroidery threads, tapestry needle,
chart and full instructions. And of course they are all based
on some great pictures from Caithness.Org including Andrew Spratt's
castles and pictures of churches, lighthouses, boats and much more.
To get a catalogue contact Sonya Adamson
sonya@midclyth.fsworld.co.uk
30th January 2002
Educational Resources
Just added a link for teachers to get lots of
useful classroom items on the Winter Olympics starting in February
at Salt Lake City. See also our
Winter Olympics links.
We have also started our
2004 Olympics
links page.....and they are in Athens.
Highland Hospice Building, Inverness
Many
people in Caithness & Sutherland contribute to this well known
charity and as they are gearing up for their Tartan Ball in March we
though that you might like to see where some of the money goes.
The Building lies beside the River Ness opposite Eden Court theatre.
They provide care services for cancer patients from all over the
Highlands.
Caithness Patients Council Looking For New Volunteer Members
If you are a former patient of Caithness
General Hospital or Raigmore Hospital, or the relative of a former
patient, we would like to ask you now to consider putting your name
forward for vacancies which have arisen in the Patients Council.
Minutes Of Caithness Patients Council Meeting 24 September 2001
NHS Board Meeting
The next meeting of the Board will take place on Tuesday 5
February 2002 at 10 am in the Board Room, Assynt House,
Beechwood Park, Inverness. Board Meetings Are open to the
General Public.
29th January 2002
Small Boats Still Working At Wick Harbour
Donations
Online Now Beat Phone Donations For Some Bigger Charities
The bigger charities like Oxfam
are beginning to show much better results from online donations than
from telephone ones. At the very least small charities like
those in Caithness should be aware of the power of letting people
know what you need. Make sure your fundraising campaigns are
on your page on the web site. Some donations may come your way
just by telling people. All Caithness groups have a free page
on the web site so why not use it to let people know about your
campaigns no matter how small. Caithness groups can all
harness the power of the Internet on Caithness.Org.
All Names Now In For Team 16 East End Boys Football Club
Thanks to Brian Campbell for completing the
listing.
Other Old County Sport Pictures
We have a growing collection of pictures of
old football teams especially for Wick' s long running East End Boys
Club.
But what about the rest of the county. Has
anyone got some old pictures of other teams or other sports from a
few years back. If so send them in and don't worry about
names. See East end pictures and you will see we are gradually
getting the names from all those people who were in the teams even
though they may be far away now. So dig in those old albums.
Wick & Thurso High Schools To Benefit From New
Community School Spending
The Council has attracted the third highest spending allocation in
Scotland - £1,021,440 in 2002/2003 and £1,149,120 in 2003/4, as well
as £200,000 of existing pilot funding for 2002/2003. And there are
hopes that the Council can add to this by tapping into funding which
is available via the Changing Childrens Services Fund and the
Discipline Task Force Fund as well as the existing Social Inclusion
Partnership funds.
Highland Hospice Annual Tartan Ball
Saturday 9 March at Portland Arms Hotel,
Lybster sees the 5th annual Tartan Ball. If you would like to
attend full details of how to obtain tickets and a form are just a
click away. The night will combine a buffet, dancing, music
and entertainment. Check it out to attend or make a
donation. Money raised is spent on palliative care in
Caithness and Sutherland and the Hospice now employs two nurses in
the area.
More
Resources Needed For Winter Road Maintenance
The Highland Council has once again urged the Scottish Executive to
plough more resources into the trunk road winter maintenance
contract, which is run by private contractor, BEAR Scotland, to
avoid further chaos on the roads.
More Wick Girls Pipe Band Pictures
Was This Dr Barbara Moore On One Of Her John O'Groats To Lands End
Walks
This
picture is one from the Wick Girls Pipe Band collection we are
adding to the site. Although no details are with the picture
it looks very much like the famous Dr Barbara Moore being played
from Wick by the girls of the band. Can anyone let us know the
year this event took place?
Answer In From Hugh Ross - 7 June 1960.
28th January 2002
Next
Part Of The History Of Caithness
How the fishing started in Wick, population
levels, public buildings go up, one of the worst storms ever 19
August 1848 with 41 boats lost at sea and the ever present castles.
Start At The Beginning
Blue Monday Club Storms Back With A Touch Of Acid
Acid Inc. Getting Going with A Series Of Numbers
WEATHER CONDITIONS
Northern
Constabulary area is presently experiencing extreme weather
conditions, high winds and driving rain. At this time both the
Skye Bridge and the
Kessock Bridge have been closed to high sided vehicles.
Many roads are affected by lying water and some are littered with
fallen branches from trees. Some trees have fallen on roads but they
are being removed by various agencies including Bear Scotland,
Highland Council and local contractors. Drivers are being
warned to reduce their speeds, drive with headlights on and to
exercise extreme caution in the prevailing conditions. Other
parts of Scotland are experiencing similar conditions. Gusting
in some places between 80 and 100mph.
Disability
Rights Commission To Launch New Code of Practice
On 26 February the Disability Rights Commission will launch a new
code of practice offering advice to businesses and services in
Britain on how to overcome the physical barriers to access
experience by disabled people.
Updated Disability Information Links
Wick
Girls Group Had a Busy January So Far
Wick Girls Group formed very recently and already have lots of
activities under their belt. Check out their programme on the Main Page.
A new Thurso Girls Group is getting started and details will
appear in the near future.
Woman's Body Found In Tent Near Wick
The body of a missing person KAY EVANS
(37) from Stoke on Trent has been found in a tent near Wick.
North School Football Team 1974-75
Rube
Bain sets the scene of the invincible North School football Team
from back then. Read his side of kicking butt to all the other
teams. Is this how you remember North Schools team from then.
Lets hear you version of the team and help Rube and us check a few
names on the picture.
Road Accident
Near Smiddy Inn, Thrumster
About 0145 hrs. on Sunday 27th. January, 2002, a road
accident occurred on the
A99 Latheron to Wick road opposite the Smiddy Inn.
Dounreay Climbs
International Safety Ratings System
Improved management of safety at
Dounreay has helped the site to earn its highest ranking yet on the
International Safety Rating System. The plant has been graded
Level Eight, placing it among the top five per cent of industrial
units that are audited by the independent foundation Det Norske
Veritas.
27th January 2002
Thurso High Class
1974 Reunion
Karen has sent in the latest updated lists of
the year and indicated that 114 tickets have been sold so far.
Still plenty of time but the sooner you all indicate that you want
tickets the easier it is for the organisers to plan. If any of
you have school photos or other pictures from your old school days
send them in for the web site. Reunion is at the Weigh
Inn on 24 August 2002.
Forss Village Hall - Burns Supper
26th January 2002
Forss Mills - Restoration Of The Larger One Is Complete
Freswick House - House Or Castle?
This tall gaunt house stands with its feet in the sea on the east
coast of Caithness. It is a tower-like structure which bears a
resemblance to the tall gaunt Scottish castles which are all around
the coast in this northern land. They were built to defend
themselves from the Viking raids which were numerous and which
lasted for many years.
Brough, Dunnet - The Village of Captains
The Caithness
Bouilag Four Poster
As a result of work carried out by the
Archaeology Branch of the Ordnance Survey during the period 1982-83
a number of previously unrecorded antiquities were identified in the
parish of Latheron to the south of Dunbeath Water between Achnaclyth
and Bouilag Hill (Proudfoot, 1983,54). This is an area of abandoned
crofting communities and well known are the remains of wags, or
galleried dwellings, nearby.......more
25th January 2002
SOME CENSUS
SIDELIGHTS ON MID NINETEENTH CENTURY CAITHNESS
PART 1: FLITTING FARMERS AND SETTLED FISHERFOLK Angela Finlayson
Migration is a
term that conjures up uneasy thoughts of the Clearances and the
dispersal of families overseas. Currently, however, historians and
demographers are increasingly interested in internal migration - the
ways in which our forebears moved around their own localities and
further afield without necessarily becoming part of the emigrant
stream........more
Back To Snow In Caithness Today - These Scenes From Thurso River 12.30pm
Caithness Rugby Club
Caithness Rugby Club have a new website
which is up and running at
www.caithnessrfc.co.uk Links will be made shortly in the
Sports pages. More information will be added shortly to the
new web site. So all you rugby fans put it in your favourites
now.
Old Rural
Caithness Though Writer's Eyes
An aerial view of the rural arable landscape of
lowland Caithness gives an instant impression of neat geometry
created by our agriculturalists. This is essentially a very modern
picture, largely forged in the nineteenth century: it is a landscape
of revolution rather than evolution. This revolution was
accomplished by the consolidation of land and the replacement of
joint farms by single holdings. By the middle of the 19th
century the old system of township agriculture was virtually
extinct, the remaining examples of run-rig (or rig and rennal at it
was sometimes termed) being mere curiosities.
24th January 2002
New
Neurological Group Gets Ready To Start Work In Caithness
The new group will be located at the Pop In
Parlour, Thurso. The centre will be manned by volunteers for perhaps two
hours per day initially, and full training will be given. If
anyone is interested in volunteering, or wishes to know more about
what is proposed, get in touch with the Secretary Carole
Henderson at
neuronorth@aol.com or by leaving a message on 01847 890996.
History Of Caithness Continues
Here Calder continues with his description
mainly of the Caithness coast with its castles, bays and
nearby lochs. The process of adding links to pictures and
illustrations on the web site has also begun. If you are starting
out then go to
Page One.
Items For Sale Section
The section has been getting busier all the
time and Niall noticed that more folk were posting wanted ads.
So to make life easier for you all he has set up a new section for
Wanted Ads. For private individuals only the ads service is
completely FREE. So if you are looking for a particular
item and you do not want to buy a new one try out the wanted
section. Find that bike for the summer or sell your own one
that is cluttering up the garage. We are monitoring the ads
and may shortly set up new sections for particular types of items to
make them easier to find quickly.
Highland
Council Launches A Drive To Recruit More Children's Carers
Highland council
have launched a drive to increase the numbers of people available to
act as short and long term foster carers, adoptive parents,
specialist carers for children with special needs and respite carers
for families with children who have disabilities.
Aviemore Is
Frontrunner In Bid For Scottish Natural Heritage New Office
Aviemore is emerging as the favoured location to be promoted as the
Highland bid for the headquarters of the Scottish Natural Heritage.
The holiday village and gateway to the Highlands is seen as the
natural choice for a "state-of-the-art" home of the Governments
environmental agency. The organisation who also have a small
office in Golspie are being encouraged to move into the Highlands
where many of the major sites of environmental importance are
located.
Sutherland & Caithness
Recycling Action Partnership (SCRAP)
The group have been having great success
distributing over 550 composting bins so far. Their next
meeting open to the public is on 4 February at 7.00pm in Thurso Town
Hall. If you live in Caithness or Sutherland and are
interested in a composting bin to save you money and help the
environment then check out their pager for details
Highland
Council Winning The Council Tax Collection Battle
The Highland Council is one of five councils in Scotland, which has
been commended by the Accounts Commission for Scotland for
increasing its collection of Council Tax in each of the past five
years. The council increased its level of collection from 85.1% in
1996-97 to 91.4% in 2000-2001.
23rd January 2002
More Miller Family History Pictures
More
pictures and information in the growing Miller Family History pages.
This set focusing on the three who were killed in the first World
War. A stark reminder of the Caithness-Canadian contribution
to that terrible conflict showing the families who lost their
fathers, brothers, uncles. If you have not seen the section
Start Here
Edinburgh John O'Groat Literary Society 1959 Magazine
It's
surprising what turns up from time to time. And today we begin
to publish this magazine first published by a small literary group
in Edinburgh with Caithness connections. The magazine turned
up along with photographs of the Wick Girls Pipe Band. We will
publish the whole magazine over coming weeks. This one is from
1959 but we would be interested to hear from anyone with other years
that we might also share. Or if anyone has information on any
of the authors then get in touch. So many thanks to the
literary group from back then for this latest contribution to the
web site.
Thurso Streets Photo Index - Thurso Main Index
Canisbay And Dunnet Day Care Centre
The centre is organised
and funded through a volunteer committee and they would like to find
some new members. The next meeting will be held in the
Castle Arms Hotel at 7.30 PM on Thursday, 7th February 2002 and new
volunteers will be welcome. Go along and find out a bit more
about the centre.
22nd January 2002
49th Caithness Music Festival 10 - 14 June 2002
This should have been the 50th year but due to
the general election being called the festival was had to be
cancelled last year. The Caithness Music Festival is probably
one of the largest music festivals in Scotland entered mainly by
local school children. It is a mammoth undertaking for the
volunteer committee who run it every year and it always attracts a
huge entry. The sheer range of cups, shields and other awards
is staggering. This is the first year that Caithness.Org has
featured the festival and we will be following it through from the
programme issue in March to the festival and last night concerts
that run in Wick and Thurso. Take a peak to see the huge range
of music drama and verse competitions.
Message
Boards Get a Major Overhaul
Following the server problems last week with
the loss of four weeks messages the message board has had another
overhaul and will shortly have a new range of colours added for you
to choose from. The Items For Sale section will also be
changed very soon to give more categories and an Items Wanted
section to reflect the growing demand by people looking for
particular things. Some people have been advertising houses
for sale and that's fine although we would point out that for £15
an advert in the
Property Pages is excellent value (One payment until
property sold).
Dounreay Gets All Clear From Health & Safety Executive
Following over complying with nearly all of 143
recommendations the Dounreay Nuclear Plant has been given a clean
bill of health. In the late nineties a series of problems
culminating in the cutting of a major power cable by a digger on the
site gave rise to series of bad reports. The long list of
recommendations have been complied with resulting in Dounreay being
well placed to carry out the decommissioning work now underway.
The announcements regarding the current standards at the site were
made in Inverness today.
New Dounreay News Index.
Wick Has An Airport
Inverness folk are hopping mad that the latest
issue of 350,000 tourist brochures shows the nearest airport to be
in Aberdeen. The brochures that have been sent all over the
world have omitted the symbol for an airport beside Inverness. OOPS!!
Well they do indeed have a lovely airport and recently opened new
terminal buildings. But if you cannot find Inverness -
"Mak Yer Way Tae Caithness Flying In To
Wick Airport" Ach Weel!!
Take A Look Up And Down Robertson Lane, Thurso
Cottage, Main Street, Castletown
Heading
up a section to contain the pictures of Main Street, Castletown is
this little cottage situated at the very end of the street as you
come into Castletown from Wick
21st January 2002
Council
Photographs
another
section for Council and Official photos has been prompted by a
couple from Alex Sutherland who now resides in Inverness and whose
father Dr W R N Sutherland was provost of Thurso in the late 60's
when this picture was taken. The reason for the picture was a
presentation to Bella Cormack. Alex is working on the names
for the other picture he has sent in.
Chat Room Now Back In Action ....But
Only but is that everyone needs to re register to enter. No
problem to all you old hands in the chat rooms. For new folk
its easy and usually gets busier after 8.30pm unless you arrange to
meet people in there at other times. There is a section on the
message board to set up organised group chats for any topic.
Happy chatting.
Wick Girls Pipe Band - More Pictures And A Poem
The
Wick Girl's Pipe Band probably did more than its founder Jim
Christie ever intended. They had them spluttering in their
porridge in die hard male dominated piping circles when the first
all girls band won the piping competition in Edinburgh in 1958. A
poem by an ex girl piper shows the affection with which they
remember their days in the band that took them all
over the UK and to Europe.
The Place It All Began - Jim Christie's Old Bake House
At
the beginning no one not even Jim himself could have foreseen the
phenomenal success of the Wick Girls Pipe Band. From taking
the girls through their early chanter practices to the full pipes
with his wife making uniforms. Jim gave his lessons for free
and there is little doubt that he and his wife gave many girls a
different perspective on life that they may never have had without
their time in the band. Many more pictures still to come.
Eigg History Secured
for the Future
A fascinating new collection of photographs depicting the social
history of the Island of Eigg can now be viewed at Inverness City
Museum thanks to the work of the Eigg Historical Society. Over
2,000 images have been collected, arranged and labelled into
collections.
Message
Boards Now Running Again
The message boards are back online but all messages after 19
December have been lost. Please add your message again for
anything important or if you have items for sale then add the
message again if its missing. Once again apologies for the
problems that were entirely out of our control. It is hoped to
have the Chat Rooms up and running by 7.00pm UK time. We have
had some discussion about dealing with future problems like this and
if we solve the financial side of that equation then we will let you
know. Does this mean we will have to rerun Christmas and New
Year on Caithness.Org. Ach Weel cheers and Happy whatever.
People First Group Next Meeting 12 February at Thor House
Speaker Councillor Roger Saxon
History Of Caithness Continues
For those of you following the History of
Caithness another paragraph has been added to
Page 3
and a longer Page 4 now added. If you are just starting then go
to Page
1. Remember that these pages may be the equivalent of
several pages of a book. We may make them longer as we
proceed.
20th January 2002
Moving Further Down South Road, Wick
More Maps On Caithness.Org
The
latest map on Caithness.Org is a basic
Road & Rail Map. The
maps are linked to a variety of pages on the site to make them easy
to find. Sections that have links to the maps include -
Maps,
A - Z,
Tourist Information,
Geography,
UK Information,
Links,
Site Map, Travel To
Caithness and several other pages. Plenty of choice to
find a local or other map both on Caithness.Org or other webs sites.
The Castle area maps are now also linked on the Maps page.
Further maps will be added in the near future cover other aspects of
Caithness
Castletown Community Council Minutes 13 December 2001
These minutes cover the controversial closure
of the Clydesdale Bank Branch and a commitment by the Royal Bank to
rural branches.
Political & Government Sections Revamp And More Links
As part of the major upgrades to sections
currently underway we have now gone back to the government
information to revise the pages. A little more is still to be
done but we hope the new links on the pages make it easier for you
to find local information on representatives and news.
19th January 2002
North Highland Archive January - March 2002 Newsletter
18th January 2002
Unemployment
Rate Up Slightly In Caithness & Sutherland in December
The number of unemployed in Caithness and
Sutherland rose from 954 last month to 1,014. The revised
unemployment rates in the Sutherland, Wick and Thurso Travel to
Work Areas respectively are as follows (corresponding figures for
last month are shown in brackets) 8.2% (7.1%), 7.0% (7.0%) and 3.3%
(3.4%).
Wick Girls Group Programme January - March 2002
Wick Squash Club
Gets Grant £2445
The club received a Community Action Grant to
assist with upgrading of the squash courts.
£258,875 To
Grampian Records Under Finance To Business
Grampian Records received one of the largest
grants in December from Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise.
this grant is to assist with new facilities to produce CD's and
DVD's now that the tape market they had done so well in are finally
beginning to disappear.
Caithness & Sutherland Enterprise December 2001 Report
History of Wick Girls Pipe Band
A recent picture of Wick Girl's Pipe Band has sparked off some
surprising contacts. We now have two collections of
photographs and information about the band that started during World
War II and went on to become very famous. We start off with a
tribute to Jim Christie (died in 1988) the founder of the band and
written as an obituary/tribute for his many years of dedication and
work with the Wick Girl's Pipe Band. Much more to come.
Newton Avenue, Wick
Pictures
of Newton Avenue taken recently when the snow as on the ground.
A quiet area of Wick consisting of mainly bungalow type properties
17th January 2002
Wings
Over Wick - Met Flights
In the second half of World War Two, Wick became home for important
meteorological flights which were used to collect important weather data.
It is said that the date of D-day was changed as a result of one of those
flights. At first the small unit 1406 were based at Wick and this later
developed into 519 squadron. L F Hart, Orpington, Kent,
F Vaisey, Moulton, Northants,
Mr David Bain, Wick,
Stanley Chambers,
lpswich, Peter
Rackliff, Wokingham, Berks
WK151 Two
Boys
First boat built after WW2 by Alexanders of Wick
for Skipper Dan Plowman (& others) of Wick (1946).
Initially equipped for dual purpose fishing - seine net and drift net -
reverting to seine net only upon the demise of the local herring fishery.
Pictured here off Holborn Head.
Wings Over Wick - Squadron 43
Probably one of the most notable events involving a
fighter squadron at Wick was the landing of a German Heinkel III bomber on
Wick airfield. This capture was made by Squadron 43 - "The Fighting Cocks"
who flew Hurricanes from Wick. The story is a fascinating one. F Lt
Peter Townsend in his version from his book "Duel Of The Eagles"
and Cook Butcher with the RAF Harry Thompson remembers that
night.
Heinkel 111 Shot
Down At Wick Airport By Sgt Hallowes Squadron 43
Heinkel
111 shot down at Wick airport 8 April 1940. The picture shows
the many bullet holes in the tail and the lion emblem of the German
squadron KG26
Caithness - Castle County Of Scotland - A New Map
As
the Castle section has progress with contributions of
Reconstructions by Andrew Spratt and information gathered by Robert
Richmond along with photos and area maps he has prepared it has
become apparent that this part of the county's history has been too
long neglected. Today Robert introduces a Caithness Castles
Map that begins to bring home the sheer size of the task we have
undertaken. It has been as much a surprise to us as it may
have been to you to find all of these castles. Sinclairs,
Gunns, Keiths and many other families have associations with the
area but so also do Scandinavians with all the viking castles and
many more as we are beginning to see.
Home Delivery and
Hole In The Wall Banking in Co-op Stores in Caithness
Humping
heavy shopping home may be a thing of the past now that Coop's new
Home Delivery service is in place. Anyone purchasing over £25
worth of shopping can get it delivered to their home FREE of
charge Monday to Saturday. just tell them when you want it
delivered up to 5.30pm. The recently opened new hole in the
wall Coo-p bank looks to be a hit also.
Latest Fundraising New
For Charities
Some interesting items in this latest news
from Fundraising UK. One in particular might make Caithness
Charities think twice about accepting old computers as a donation -
see
Charities Say No To Obsolete Crap. Lets you see the
problems of getting a free old computer.
Haggis Heuchs by Jenny Stewart
Many thanks to Isabelle Thurley for this
latest timely contribution to the poetry section. This one on
the Burns suppers that Jenny has attended and contributed to.
And one more that will give you a smile -
New Years Resolutions
SKILLSTREAM - A SPOTLIGHT
ON SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Friday 18 January 9.00 -
6.00pm Assembly Rooms. Wick
The event is aimed principally at all
businesses in the area, its purpose is to ensure they have access to
the best possible information and advice in relation to the skills
needs of their businesses and their employees. A range of speakers
will give short presentations throughout the day each one repeated
allowing businesses to attend at the point of the day which suits
them best.
Bon-accord Street, Wick
More
additions to our street pictures.
History Of Caithness - Next Part
The John O'Groats Ferry, In 1496 John
Groat, son of Hugh obtained by charter a portion of land in
Duncansbay called One Penny land paying yearly "tres modius Brasii"
(three measures of malt). Where did the term Pentland come from.
Was it Pictland or Pentland Firth?.
Praise For
Voluntary Action In Highland
Highland communities have been praised for their commitment to
volunteering by Councillor David Alston, Chairman of The Highland
Councils Renewing Democracy and Community Planning Select Committee.
At 40%, the level of adult volunteering in Highland is 13% above the
Scottish average and only in Shetland and Argyle & Bute is there a
higher level of commitment.
Dornoch
Abattoir To Reopen
An investment of over £1 million will see the re-opening of a north
abattoir for the first time in a decade and the venture has the
potential to create more than 50 new jobs for the Sutherland area.
Scotch Premier Meat Limited is taking over the former Grants of
Dornoch slaughterhouse to establish a dedicated lamb slaughter and
processing line.
Minister Launches Gaelic On-line Forum
16th January 2002
Area Plan For
Old Wick Castle (The Old Man O' Wick)
Still
moving through the castles area plans today we bring you Robert
Richmond's latest drawing. This plan shows extremely well just
how difficult it would have been to take the castle by force.
Robert says "The Castle of Old
Wick is the only one in Caithness I have come across so far which
had two ditches and drawbridges, the outer one contained in an
impressive gatehouse. The whole complex, with this double protection
and its natural position on 100 ft cliffs, must have been
impregnable in its day. Little wonder there has been a defensive
fortification on this spot for at least 800 years!"
Old Wick Castle Index
Main Castles Index
where a new navigation bar is under test.
14th January 2002
Caithness Rural Gaelic
Choir - Open For New Members
The
choir are about to start to get ready for the Royal National Mod in
Largs. If you are interested in joining them now is a good
time to get started. No auditions - just sing in tune.
No need even to be a Gaelic speaker. Learn the music by coming
along and bring a sense of humour
Caithness Waybaggers First Walk of 2002 - Berriedale Water
The
first walk of 2002 for the Caithness Waybaggers was up Berriedale Water on
Sunday 6th January 2002.
The Braemore road was still quite icy and required careful driving. We left
a car at the disused quarry and then drove back to Berriedale where we were
to start our walk.
13th January 2002
Next
Part Of History Of Caithness By J T Calder
We have decided to make the pages longer and
have therefore combined the previous pages int0 one. The
latest section is on
Page Two. Here Calder continues his description of the Caithness coast and
includes the story of a man who has a relationship with a mermaid.
But his descriptions of the coast end lighthouses are still as
accurate today as when he wrote his history.
Duke Of Edinburgh Award - Caithness Branch January Newsletter
The
Annual Presentation of The Duke of Edinburghs Award to Caithness
recipients took place on Friday 30th November when over 30 young
people were awarded Awards or Sectional Certificates.
Berriedale
Castle Area Plan
The
whole site is best viewed from the graveyard at Berriedale where
there is a convenient lay-by as the main road twists and turns up
out of the village going North. From here you can clearly see the
natural defensive position upon which the castle was built.
Marie Curie Cancer Care
Daffodil Day Saturday 9 March
For
the last couple of years Caithness.org has been helping to promote
one of Marie Curie's biggest fund raisers of the year. Not
only do they need donations but each year an army of volunteers go
into shopping centres and streets with the small daffodils to
collect money their work. Volunteers are needed to donate a
couple of hours on the day to help with the collection of donations.
We have been in Safeways and the Co-op for the last couple of years.
Check it out any time and sign up for a couple of hours. We
have.
Serendipidists Club Is Underway For 2002
If you are single and over 30 you don't have
to sit at home alone. This friendship group have a monthly
meeting every second Friday in Mackays Hotel at 8.00pm. They
organise a whole range of nights out and trips. Its all about
making new friends and enjoying yourself by extending your social
life. Contact details in the section.
12th January 2002
Site Map
We have started to build a site map as yet
another aid to navigating the site. The link to the site map
is at the top of this page at present. More will be added to
the site map over coming weeks. It is a straight alphabetical
listing and we hope this helps your searches.
The
Write Place - Latest Web Site From Scorrie Internet Services
The Write Place is what it says. The right place to come with your
documentation problems, of which the biggest one at present is the
requirement for small businesses to comply with the Health & Safety
at Work Act (1994). Under this Act, every business employing one or
more persons is required to have a Health and Safety policy. In
addition Dougie Don offers a range of services from producing raffle
tickets to letter headings, posters etc reflecting his experience in
the printing business. Dougie has a great deal of experience
in both the areas shown on his new web site. Based in
Castletown
The
Write Place will always be worth contacting to ask for a price.
Burns
Style Poetry
Burns Suppers are looming and following our
publishing
Jenny Stewart's Reply till E Toast others are coming in.
These poems in the style of Burns may not be highly crafted but they
are usually amusing and often one is recited at less serious
suppers.
11th January 2002
Jessie Paul From
Halkirk Celebrated Her 100th Birthday Today
Happy
Birthday To Jessie Paul who had lots of her family and friends to
see her today at Pentland View Nursing Home. Jessie has
relatives all over the UK and in Canada. A great writer about
her family and experience we are delighted to have found some of her
Memories of Halkirk From 1920
10th January 2002
More Scrabster Pier Pictures - On Schedule
Murdo Rivach's Grave
This
very interesting article by George Watson for the Caithness Field
Club Bulletin sets out the evidence and tales surrounding a burial
site near to Loch Watten. Cattle droving with all its inherent
dangers (was this the reason for so many Scots/Irish in the American
West droving cattle as "Cowboys"). This article is followed by
an
Addendum To Murdo Rivach's Grave by Elaine Smith with more
information on northern drovers and the origins of things like
"Blackmail" from the Rent or tribute extracted from the passing
herds of Black cattle. Another interesting point was "Were the
heads of Caithness warriors brought home for burial in a grave where
only skulls were found?" The start of Money - the IOU.
Scrabster's New Pier Has Begun To Show
The
new pier at Scrabster can be seen as the pile driving has
successfully driven in the first supports. the masses of metal
supports are lined up along the new road recently completed.
More pictures coming later tonight.
London Caithness Association Speech Stirs Old Memories
Alastair Walsh Atkins son of Mrs
Marguerite Walsh Atkins, nee Black originally from Halkirk who made
a speech in Caithness dialect to the London Caithness
Association nearly 30 years ago has been in touch to say his mother
has been delighted to hear that her speech from so long ago is on
the Internet
My mother Mrs Atkins, is now in her 92nd year.
Fun With Fruit -
Children's Health Initiative
Fun with Fruit aims to increase the consumption of fruit in 3 and 4
year olds and help to establish good eating habits in early
childhood. £35,000 per year from the Health Improvement Fund will
finance this project over the next 3 years.
9th January 2002
Reply Till E Toast by Jenny Stewart
As Burn's night comes rushing towards us,
Isabelle Thurley has got cracking to send Jenny's take on the bard
for the famous toast at all Burn's Nights. Has anyone else had
a go at ripping off Scotland's famous poet and wants to share it
with us. Send it in for consideration.
New Thurso East Castle Pictures & Castle Gatehouse Pictures
A
Second Glance At Brims Castle by G Watson
The
article now published in the Brims castle section was written by
George Watson for the April 1998 Edition of the Caithness
Field Club Bulletin. It tackles the architecture, history and
mentions some of the hard to prove connections to Bonnie Prince
Charlie and The White Lady Ghost.
Castles Section
Davidson's Lane and Thurso Library
River Thurso Swollen With Melted Snow on 5 January
8th January 2002
Braal Castle Area
Plan
The
latest area plan is for Braal Castle near Halkirk. Robert
Richmond who drew up the plan is more convinced than ever that - "Without a strong natural position a barmkin wall
and ditch would have been essential and I'm pretty sure in this case
that the ditch would have contained a moat of sorts fed from a burn
coming down off Hill of Sour".
Mill Road, Thurso
This
street runs from Millbank Road Into St Andrew's Drive
New Thurso A - Z
Street List
A new Thurso A - Z Street Index Page has been
set up as we are now putting many more Thurso pictures into the
section over the next few weeks. The
Main Thurso page will remain in
place and will have general information pictures and links to other
information.
7th January 2002
Revised Child
Protection Policy From Highland Council
Community groups in the Highlands are welcoming the
re-launch of a policy, which aims to ensure the safety and protection of
children while attending community or sporting activities.
The full copy of the updated policy is reproduced in our Community
Pages.
Click Here
Spreading That New Look
The front page has had a makeover and over
coming months many more sections will get a boost with the new
navigation bar. In the Links Section
Women On The Web
and Human Rights have
changed over and had some new links added.
River Thurso At Halkirk Sunday 6 January
Wick High School In Cold Weather
Broubster Forest Walk With The Rangers
A great day out with the rangers was had by a hardy band to blow
away the New Year cobwebs. The day turned out be very good
with almost no wind and surprisingly a much higher temperature than
the early part of the year. Terrific views especially over
Caithness to Sutherland were had from one of the higher parts of the
forest. This must be yet another of Caithness best kept
secrets as the area comprises several Trout Lochs and a few good
walks round the forest.
Caravan Thefts At
Aviemore But Police Warn Holiday Makers To Be Vigilant
Two caravans at Dalraddy Caravan Park,
Aviemore were broken into and property stolen. Highland Police
are warning that the thieves may move on to other areas and that
holiday makers and camp site owners should be vigilant.
6th January 2002
5th January 2002
Kenneth Street Houses and snow Clearing
Portland
Arms Hotel, Lybster In Recent Snow
Lybster
certainly had its fair share of snow in the recent cold weather in
Caithness.
Attempted Robbery At
Elm Tree Filling Station, Wick
About 5.30 pm on Wednesday 2nd January 2002, Elm Tree Filling
Station, George Street, Wick, a man wearing a ski mask
threatened the staff member and demanded money.
My Great-grandfather Goes To Work
Fiona Hamilton who has Caithness roots in her
family and now lives in Bristol is a poet and has sent us this
example of her work that describes her connection to him and the
county as he skates on the river to Thurso.
Scrabster Castle/Bishops Palace Area Plan
Another
area plan now in the castle
section that continues to grow. This castle site is easy
to find as it lies just off the Scrabster road. The castle
site is at the beach on a low cliff and has excellent views in both
directions as you might expect from a spot chosen to be able to keep
an eye on what ships might be approaching or maybe they just liked a
nice view as much as today.
Winter Fun -
Kids Links
With the weather so cold here are some
interesting links for children with an emphasis on snow.
Got A Property To Sell
£15 is still the rock bottom price to
advertise your property in our Business Pages. Not every week
but one payment for the whole period until its sold. No matter
what else you do get your property seen all over the world with this
value for money offer. How many
folk look at the web site?
4th January 2002
Bus Service Withdrawal - Parents
To Protest
Scrabster parents faced with the withdrawal of bus services that
normally took their children to school are planning to hold a
protest march.
Brims Castle Area
Plan
Another
area plan is now in from Robert Richmond. Pictures of the
castle are already in the section and information can be found at
the Brims Family web site. Several other new castle sections have been set up ready to receive
information as we have it ready. Meantime a few details like
map references are in place. There are now sections on 33
castles but we know there are more still to put in. The
section has a long way to go yet.
Even More In Free Online Courses
3rd January 2002
History
Of Caithness - Next Page
The page numbers relate to the web site and
may contain two or more page lengths compared to the printed book.
2nd January 2002
Genealogy Links
Just added to the Genealogy Links is a new web
site The 1901 Census for England & Wales. It has over 1.5
million pages of records and is sure to be a very busy web site.
in fact it so busy that its already crashed due to heavy demand.
but if you are looking for information on ancestors from the south
put this on in your favourites and try later.
Roxburgh Road, Wick
Roxburgh
Road runs from Old Wick Road to Battery Road and has South School
nearer the Old Wick Road end.
Assault/Impersonation Of Police Officers
An incident which took place at
Crofters Showbar, Aviemore about 0145hrs on the morning of Tuesday,
1 January, 2002 is being investigated by the police.
Battery Road,
Wick
This
is Battery Road as the snow begins to melt. the street is on
the outskirts of Wick with great views out to sea and looks in one
direction out to the old coastguard station and houses. In
view of the numbers of streets now going in a new
A - Z Index to Wick streets
is now in place.
Calder's
History of Caithness
Today's additions
1st January 2002
One Of The Old Wick Lybster Railway Cottages
Whaligoe Mill With
Frozen Pond
This
was the Mill with its pond frozen over on Sunday. The mill sits near
to Whaligoe Steps and has great views out to sea. The pond has
ducks and the owners grow their own trout.. Ideal conditions
as the pond is fed by a stream from
Loch
Watenan
The History Of
Caithness by J T Calder
Starting today and running throughout the year
we commence to bring to the web site that huge work - J T Calder's
Civil And Traditional History Of Caithness. This
will become another huge section on the web site as not only will we
be bringing the whole of the history onto the web site it will be
linked wherever possible to other sources and illustrated by links
to pictures on the site and new pictures wherever possible. We
begin with chapter one but
chapter
five is already in the Caithness Castles Section. The
second edition of the history was published in 1887 and is still one
of the most comprehensive works available.
The Euro Starts Today
If
you are going to mainland Europe from now on this is the currency.
You can now travel through heaps of Europe with one set of notes.
Comparing prices will be much easier when you go on holiday.
Happy New Year From Caithness in 2002
We hope everyone has a great year. And
just for the record what decade are we in. Have still
not decided. We had the 1960's, The 70's, eighties, nineties.
The early nineteen hundreds for the first decade seemed to fit.
But what are we in now? The 20 hundreds? The early two
thousands? And what was the first decade ever counted? The
Ten? Any one got an idea? Enjoy the 1st of January.
2001
Smashed The Records
Hits 18,119,285 Pages 3,353,023
Visitors 558,576
December 2001
Hits 2,372,004 Pages 375,968
Visitors 52,877
What a year - doubling , tripling
and in some case four times the numbers from the start of the year.
Even if visitor numbers stay as they are 2002 will beat 2001 as the
early part of 2001 had much lower visitors and page views.
Just multiply December's figures by 12 and you will see what we
mean. Thanks to all of you for looking in over the year and to
all of you who sent in items for the site.
January Newsletter Coming Soon
Our monthly ramble through what has been
happening on the web site and in Caithness generally will be on its
way shortly. If you would like to receive it every month in
your email just enter your email address in the box on this or any
other page. We do not pass your email address on to any other
place and you can unsubscribe any time. Its Free and
its only once a month.
Search Our Site
Caithness.Org
Business Indexes
Property
Classifieds
Services
Forums
What's On
Popular Sections
Weather
