In Brief

* “We are not a bunch of preachy lentil munchers telling you how to live your lives.” So says the leader of Transition, Black Isle’s energy group. “Transition is not about how dreadful the future could be” he said. “It is an invitation to join hundreds of communities around the world taking steps towards a nourishing and abundant future.” (www.ttbi.org.uk)

* A company has developed TELEPRESENCE, a high-definition video and spatial audio system that links up two rooms to look like a boardroom table, even though they may be on different sides of the globe. Members of the Climate Change group, who could not be in Copenhagen recently were linked up via TELEPRESENCE.

* Farmers in Ross-shire are being reassured that there is no need for immediate action on new sheep-tagging rules. European regulations on Electronic Identification (EID) came into force on January 1st 2010, and apply to lambs born after December 31st (2009?) and then only when they reach nine months old or leave their birth farm.

* The first phase of Dingwall’s new High Street, featuring Caithness slab paving, has been completed. Plans for the revamping of the remainder of the pedestrianised area should run from February to April. The plans will be displayed in Ross House, Dingwall, and also on www.dingwall.org.

* Muir of Ord Skatepark is set for expansion. The park is really designed for older children and a new extension of 15 metres will encourage younger skateboarders. Once the new extension is in place the club will consider building a roof over the park to allow boarders to use it all year round! The Skatepark is situated near the BMX track behind the Police Station in the centre of the village.

* A Ross-shire estate has established a ‘collecting stone’ for Highland Hospice, within their gardens. The Brahan estate owner continues to volunteer in the in-patient unit and has long been an ambassador for the Hospice. Now a permanent donation box is in place at Brahan to allow visitors, at any time, to leave what they feel they can afford. Named trees and a river walk and pond add to the attractions of the Dell with its azaleas and ancient rhododendrons.

* As long ago as the third century BC, Plato wrote that “one of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is you end up being governed by your inferiors.” Oh blimey!

* Vattenfall, Europe’s fifth largest energy group, wants to have a further five onshore windfarms operating in Scotland within the next three years. Details of the plan emerged as Alex Salmond, our First Minister, prepared to officially open the company’s office in Edinburgh. The company’s first windfarm in Scotland is on the Isle of Skye and has 13 turbines with 5 due to be added later. Puzzlingly the firm hopes to become “climate-neutral”.

* “There is a lot to be said for an interest in gardening. For one thing, it helps you come to terms with February.” So begins an essay by Ursula Buchan in her collection of writings called ‘Back to the garden”. £16.99 by Frances Lincoln. Think I’ll speak to the Library van…

* There are 23 automatic open crossings in Scotland. 21 of the 23 rail crossings are in the Highlands. Two on the Fort William to Mallaig line, Seven on the Dingwall to Kyle line and twelve on the Inverness to Wick and Thurso line. Because there are so many crossings on those lines, MSP Willie Coffey pointed out that in the Highlands, a train somewhere is using an open crossing every 10 minutes.

* Quality Meat Scotland is suffering a severe decrease in their spending power because their funding comes via a levy system on all animals slaughtered in Scotland. As Scots eat a relatively small amount of lamb, many of our lambs find their way into England to be finished or Wales to be slaughtered and so take the levy with them.

* The proposed resurfacing of the Kessock Bridge could provide a golden opportunity for businesses and services in Ross-shire. The bridge carries approximately 30,000 vehicles a day, between Inverness and the Black Isle. Proposals to be looked at are:
a temporary bus/HGV lane between Tore roundabout and the bridge, additional train services, a passenger ferry between North Kessock and Inverness and a car share promotion.

* The Contin Community Centre Trust  lodged plans to build a 200 seat hall and coffee lounge, in the grounds of the former village primary school. However, scheme hangs on whether the Council exercises a pre-emption clause, which would allow it to buy the school back from Contin Community Council for the original fee of £1.00.

* Let’s hope that the RED squirrel my neighbour spotted in Lochluichart, at the end of last year, found somewhere cosy to hibernate during the freezing weather - along with others who have, very occasionally, been seen in that area.

* A Highland MSP is pressing local authorities to show their support for newspapers by continuing to advertise public notices in them. An estimated £10 million is at stake if councils switch advertising to online sources - a move which would also limit the number of people seeing them.

* Farm safety is firmly on the curriculum for a new intake of students at the Scottish Agricultural College. The idea is to stamp out bad working habits before they begin. Tractors, complex machinery, lifting and carrying heavy loads as well as working from heights, all make the farm a hazardous environment where workers need to take extra care.

* An Easter Ross businessman has received the back of a local MSP. The Northern Tyre Recycling Centre believes bales (URRO blocks), formed by compressing 140 old tyres at a time, have major part to play in flood defences, road building, buildings, embankments and dams. This use of waste provides good quality long lasting material. (www.northerntyre.com)

Pam Morrison