Whilst I think the existing flights from Inverness to London airports such as Gatwick and Luton are good, there is no getting away from the fact that flying into London or via London through Heathrow opens up huge additional possibilities, particularly as Heathrow is the UK's major international 'hub' airport. So the news that British Airways is to reinstate flights from Inverness to Heathrow after a gap of almost 20 years is unequivocally a "good thing" in my view.
I've taken a look in the British Airways website at the flights available currently (one a day in each direction) and these appear to be at pretty convenient times during the day, to suit both the business and leisure traveller. In particular, those arriving off of long-haul flights into Heathrow early in the morning will probably be able to catch the flight upto Inverness, whereas those who are leaving on a long-haul flight from Heathrow in the late-afternoon or early evening should be able to make the connection on the lunch-time flight out of Inverness in many cases. This will undoubtedly be very convenient for business travellers, but also to long-haul leisure travellers, whether travelling East or West from or to Heathrow.
The convenience for many buisness or leisure travellers of flying through Heathrow however comes at a price, so if one is not going further than London by air, or coming further, there may be little advantage in using this new service from a cost perspective, but for those coming from or going to long-haul destinations using flights via Heathrow, then the convenience of not having to transfer to/from Gatwick will be a major advantage, because it adds to be safe at least a couple of hours when a trip between the two airports is required, not to mention the additional cost, whether you travel via one of the regular scheduled coach services or take a taxi - going around a part of the M25 during working hours is unlikely to be a fast or particularly comfortable experience.
Of course some long-haul flights do go through Gatwick too, so for some travellers it may still be more convenient to take flights to/from Inverness there, but the reinstated link with Heathrow will provide much greater convenience and flexibility for many travellers to/from the Highlands of Scotland.
Showing posts with label Inverness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inverness. Show all posts
Tuesday, 3 May 2016
Friday, 12 October 2012
Gaelic school in Inverness cannot find head that speaks the language
There was an interesting article in the Daily Telegraph yesterday (Friday) about the repeated difficulty a primary school in Inverness, set up specifically (with Scottish Executive [aka 'Government']) money, in other words our taxes, has had in recruiting a head teacher who actually speaks Gaelic. Basically the idea is that if a new generation of Scots can be educated (aka 'brain-washed') using this moribund, if not actually 'dead' language as their main means of communication, then the language won't actually die out completely in a new generation. The fact they have had to employ someone who is not a Gaelic speaker, and not even a Scot, but a Swede (and lovely people the Swedes are, I have absolutely no criticism of the person employed, nor of course of her home country), reveals just how artificial this whole project is. Far better to educate these children in English and give them a fighting chance of a decent future, rather than try to make them pawns in some ludicrous project to resurrect a language that is on its last legs.
If people wish to use Gaelic as a means of communication I have absolutely no objection and wish them the best of luck, just to be clear, but I do think that it is, ahem, 'short-sighted' and not to put too fine a point on it not in the children's own best interests to foist a little-used language upon them for quasi political purposes.
If people wish to use Gaelic as a means of communication I have absolutely no objection and wish them the best of luck, just to be clear, but I do think that it is, ahem, 'short-sighted' and not to put too fine a point on it not in the children's own best interests to foist a little-used language upon them for quasi political purposes.
Monday, 23 July 2012
Asda opening in Inverness - after years of obstruction
(Please see UPDATE and /PS at end)
Asda is about to open its store in Inverness, after years of being stymied by rivals and partial local opposition. Generally a very positive thing, in my view, although I expect I shall continue to do the bulk of my shopping locally in Nairn at our recently-opened branch of Sainsbury, or at one of several Tesco outlets in Inverness or Forres. However, the addition of more competition in Inverness for Tesco can only be a good thing.
The only negative aspect is that Asda has been 'outed' as one of those which pays milk producers way below their cost of production, leading to planned protests by farmers outside the store on its opening day. As someone who does not consume milk, although I do buy cream, this is not of great personal interest to me, but it is probably true that whilst the farmers are being poorly treated, they perhaps require to take heed of economic reality - over-production inevitably leads to lower prices in a free market so perhaps some of them do need to shift their production to other things.
UPDATE (Thursday 26JUL2012 21.55 BST) I had my first visit to the new Asda store in Inverness yesterday afternoon and this is my report - I haven't had time to write about it until now. Although I had driven by the area some months ago, whilst it was still under construction (in the intervening period I have been at my home in Spain for several months), and although a little distance from it the signage was quite satisfactory and distinct, on approaching the turn-off into the carpark I was a little surprised by how 'obscure' the site is, because the car parking area is raised on a 'platform' several metres above the by-pass which takes you to it - no doubt this is a function of the hilly nature of the site which I had not fully appreciated during the construction phase. In any case, when I arrived at the parking area, and despite it being quite full (albeit with a few vacant spaces fairly close to the entrance, and a little distance from the store entrance) I was lucky to 'bag' a spot very close to the main entrance, just as someone was leaving! So, no long walk for me - I assume it would have been very different two days earlier on opening day.
Apart from my more recent visits to an Asda store in Elgin (and my last visit there was at least a year ago), my only previous experience of visiting this supermarket chain was quite a few years ago (when I lived in London whilst studying Arabic) when I visited their Isle of Dogs branch as my apartment in the Docklands area was only a 10 minute drive away. In general, I'd give the new Inverness store a 'thumbs up', but I have to record some slightly negative comments, too. In general, the store gave a rather 'enclosed' feel, a bit like the Tesco store in Dingwall and to some extent like the main Tesco store at the 'Retail Park' in Inverness, which although not using the same somewhat oppressive colour-scheme as its Dingwall branch or the new Asda Inverness store (which is not true of the Asda store in Elgin either, at least the last time I visited it), has recently become rather tiresome because of the end-of-aisle display units that Tesco has over the past year or so begun inserting there, specially on the aisles at the rear of the store and which project out in to the aisles and effectively make for a very congested environment.
The Inverness Asda is a large store, comparable in size I think to the largest of the Tesco stores in the city (at the retail park) and of course, at least from my first relatively brief visit, seems to have most of the requirements of a weekly shop for a family, but I did get the impression that the fresh fruit and vegetable offering was rather less extensive than is available at Tesco and indeed at the considerably smaller Sainsbury in Nairn, whilst the meat and fish offering did not seem specially remarkable either, even if I did get some very nice-looking ribeye steak, one of my favourite cuts, from what I thought was a somewhat pedestrian offering.
On balance I enjoyed my visit and purchased a few useful things, although because it is located halfway or two-thirds of the way across the city from the eastern side of the city, the closest approach from where I live in Nairn, I don't think I shall be making very regular return visits. Incidentally, I did not notice any dramatic differences in price from main local rival Tesco, bearing in mind that Asda does not have any point-earning 'loyalty card' scheme, as both Tesco and Sainsbury do. An interesting experience, nevertheless.
/PS (Monday 6AUG2012 15.55 BST) I observe that this article has been looked at twice now (according to my site stats) from a server of Wal-Mart (the parent company of Asda) in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA on 3rd and 6th August respectively; one hopes (that is to say, I hope) that this reflects mere interest on the part of a 'parent' in the doings of a far-distant minor 'off-spring' - in any case Welcome! I must admit I am slightly amazed by the interest of a major corporation in the minutiae of its operations, which I suppose is a very practical illustration of why it is so successful.
Asda is about to open its store in Inverness, after years of being stymied by rivals and partial local opposition. Generally a very positive thing, in my view, although I expect I shall continue to do the bulk of my shopping locally in Nairn at our recently-opened branch of Sainsbury, or at one of several Tesco outlets in Inverness or Forres. However, the addition of more competition in Inverness for Tesco can only be a good thing.
The only negative aspect is that Asda has been 'outed' as one of those which pays milk producers way below their cost of production, leading to planned protests by farmers outside the store on its opening day. As someone who does not consume milk, although I do buy cream, this is not of great personal interest to me, but it is probably true that whilst the farmers are being poorly treated, they perhaps require to take heed of economic reality - over-production inevitably leads to lower prices in a free market so perhaps some of them do need to shift their production to other things.
UPDATE (Thursday 26JUL2012 21.55 BST) I had my first visit to the new Asda store in Inverness yesterday afternoon and this is my report - I haven't had time to write about it until now. Although I had driven by the area some months ago, whilst it was still under construction (in the intervening period I have been at my home in Spain for several months), and although a little distance from it the signage was quite satisfactory and distinct, on approaching the turn-off into the carpark I was a little surprised by how 'obscure' the site is, because the car parking area is raised on a 'platform' several metres above the by-pass which takes you to it - no doubt this is a function of the hilly nature of the site which I had not fully appreciated during the construction phase. In any case, when I arrived at the parking area, and despite it being quite full (albeit with a few vacant spaces fairly close to the entrance, and a little distance from the store entrance) I was lucky to 'bag' a spot very close to the main entrance, just as someone was leaving! So, no long walk for me - I assume it would have been very different two days earlier on opening day.
Apart from my more recent visits to an Asda store in Elgin (and my last visit there was at least a year ago), my only previous experience of visiting this supermarket chain was quite a few years ago (when I lived in London whilst studying Arabic) when I visited their Isle of Dogs branch as my apartment in the Docklands area was only a 10 minute drive away. In general, I'd give the new Inverness store a 'thumbs up', but I have to record some slightly negative comments, too. In general, the store gave a rather 'enclosed' feel, a bit like the Tesco store in Dingwall and to some extent like the main Tesco store at the 'Retail Park' in Inverness, which although not using the same somewhat oppressive colour-scheme as its Dingwall branch or the new Asda Inverness store (which is not true of the Asda store in Elgin either, at least the last time I visited it), has recently become rather tiresome because of the end-of-aisle display units that Tesco has over the past year or so begun inserting there, specially on the aisles at the rear of the store and which project out in to the aisles and effectively make for a very congested environment.
The Inverness Asda is a large store, comparable in size I think to the largest of the Tesco stores in the city (at the retail park) and of course, at least from my first relatively brief visit, seems to have most of the requirements of a weekly shop for a family, but I did get the impression that the fresh fruit and vegetable offering was rather less extensive than is available at Tesco and indeed at the considerably smaller Sainsbury in Nairn, whilst the meat and fish offering did not seem specially remarkable either, even if I did get some very nice-looking ribeye steak, one of my favourite cuts, from what I thought was a somewhat pedestrian offering.
On balance I enjoyed my visit and purchased a few useful things, although because it is located halfway or two-thirds of the way across the city from the eastern side of the city, the closest approach from where I live in Nairn, I don't think I shall be making very regular return visits. Incidentally, I did not notice any dramatic differences in price from main local rival Tesco, bearing in mind that Asda does not have any point-earning 'loyalty card' scheme, as both Tesco and Sainsbury do. An interesting experience, nevertheless.
/PS (Monday 6AUG2012 15.55 BST) I observe that this article has been looked at twice now (according to my site stats) from a server of Wal-Mart (the parent company of Asda) in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA on 3rd and 6th August respectively; one hopes (that is to say, I hope) that this reflects mere interest on the part of a 'parent' in the doings of a far-distant minor 'off-spring' - in any case Welcome! I must admit I am slightly amazed by the interest of a major corporation in the minutiae of its operations, which I suppose is a very practical illustration of why it is so successful.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Internet speeds in Nairn
I've noticed over the past few weeks that the responsiveness of the internet in Nairn has grown very patchy, particularly during peak 'business hours' between Monday and Friday - certainly between 9am and midday and between about 2pm and 5pm. We are being promised 'high speed interet' fairly soon in Nairn and I can only surmise that business usage of the internet in and around Nairn has grown steadily in recent times, or perhaps the data links between this part of Scotland and the wider world have become saturated. My rated internet speed here is the ubiquitous "upto 8mB", whereas at my home in Spain it is rated at only "upto 2mB", but I have to say it seems better and more reliable in Spain - perhaps because my internet connection there is via an optical-fibre network, whereas I think in Nairn we are still reliant on good old copper wires so far as I am aware.
I did think at one point it may be my own internet connection that was faulty, or that my own PCs (I have a few which I use regularly) were somehow at fault, but I think I have established this is not the reason. However, I would still be interested to know if anyone else in the Inverness - Nairn - Forres - Elgin area is having similar experiences of late.
I did think at one point it may be my own internet connection that was faulty, or that my own PCs (I have a few which I use regularly) were somehow at fault, but I think I have established this is not the reason. However, I would still be interested to know if anyone else in the Inverness - Nairn - Forres - Elgin area is having similar experiences of late.
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Nairn bank fraudster fined for "ringing the changes" offences
The Highland News is reporting that a fraudster called Andre Rostas (from Thornton Heath, Croydon) has been fine at Inverness Sheriff Court for an attempted fraud and a further successful fraud at the Nairn branches of Bank of Scotland and The Royal Bank of Scotland respectively.
The fraud involved trying to confuse bank cashiers ('tellers') when asking for largie sums of money to be changed into different note denominations, then changing his mind and asking for another denomination, abstracting some of the notes in the process by sleight of hand. The report mentions that this individual had a conviction for a similar offence last February, although it does not mention where that offence took place.
The court warned Rostas that if he came before a Scottish court again the matter would be dealt with very severely. One does wonder whether this man, clearly a serial and habitual offender, has not been dealt with too leniently this time with only a fine (of GBP2,000-) being imposed.
The fraud involved trying to confuse bank cashiers ('tellers') when asking for largie sums of money to be changed into different note denominations, then changing his mind and asking for another denomination, abstracting some of the notes in the process by sleight of hand. The report mentions that this individual had a conviction for a similar offence last February, although it does not mention where that offence took place.
The court warned Rostas that if he came before a Scottish court again the matter would be dealt with very severely. One does wonder whether this man, clearly a serial and habitual offender, has not been dealt with too leniently this time with only a fine (of GBP2,000-) being imposed.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Local 'good service' award - "Stitch in Time, Inverness"
I can sew on a button, I can do a few other basic haberdashery tasks where functionality is more necessary than elegance in the finished product, although I am a reasonably proficient embroiderer and enjoy the detailed work this involves - it relaxes me.
However, hemming trousers is way beyond me; it is probably unnecessary to add that I do NOT possess a sewing machine. I did occasionally (under supervison) use my mother's sewing machine when I was a boy, but only avoided sewing my finger to a piece of material as a result of her panicked intervention on one memorable occasion, so it is probably safer for me to stay away from these devil's devices! I jest, of course.
In any case, apart from the quite rare occasions nowadays when I wear a suit or even more occasionally a dinner suit, as a 'retired gent' I tend to wear jeans or chinos. I usually buy both from the UK part of an American mail-order/on-line company [Lands' End] because their styling suits me and because their sizing is reasonably 'generous', no doubt to cater for its mainly US clientele and of course British people such as me. One important feature that particularly attracted me to them is that they offer 'free' hemming (either turn-up or plain) for all their trousers and jeans and as I am shorter than the standard 29" shortest trouser length this is quite important so that I can get a good fit. I've been using the Lands' End service for over 15 years and have always been and remain completely happy with it. In addition to trousers and jeans, I tend to buy shirts, polo shirts, t-shirts and jackets from them and various other items from time to time.
Fairly recently I got a pair of dark brown chinos from them, perfect as usual, but after two or three cleanings the stitching on one of the leg hemmings unravelled, so for a couple of months they have hung forlornly in one of my wardrobes. Rather than send them back to Lands' End for repair I hoped to find a local solution, but in recent years places to get minor jobs of this kind done have grown scarce in most cities and towns. I was not aware of a local service (apart from a lady who used to do adjustments for my late mother) and whilst I had thought of contacting her I had never gotten around to doing so. Anyway, yesterday a leaflet appeared in my postal mail-box from a local firm in Inverness called "Stitch in Time" offering all manner of tailoring adjustments for male and female clothing, so I thought I'd give them a whirl for my minor problem. Today I had occasion to go to Inverness to do some food shopping and during the visit I popped in to "Sitch in Time", located in the Victorian Market (covered market) at 5 Queensgate Arcade - one of the assistants took the torusers from me, asked me if I could wait and I said 'Yes'. He moved across to one of the sewing mahines along one side of the shop and in less than 5 minutes had done the job perfectly. I got out my wallet to pay and he waved it away, saying that for such a small job they didn't want payment; I said I was happy to pay and he laughed and said no, it wasn't necessary. Now that is what I call service! And good business tactics, too! I shall certainly always think of them for jobs like this in future and recommend them to friends. Incidentally, two of the three staff I saw were Indian/Pakistani/Iranian (not sure which) and the other was British. I dealt with one of the former as it so happens. It is really pleasing to find such courteous, willing and helpful service nowadays - and offered with a smile. I have a lot of experience with Indian/Pakistani/Iranian/Chinese tailoring services from my time in the Middle and Far East, invariably they were expert at their jobs, friendly, courteous and willing. It is a pleasure (and a little bit of a surprise, I must admit) to find such similar superb service so close to home.
However, hemming trousers is way beyond me; it is probably unnecessary to add that I do NOT possess a sewing machine. I did occasionally (under supervison) use my mother's sewing machine when I was a boy, but only avoided sewing my finger to a piece of material as a result of her panicked intervention on one memorable occasion, so it is probably safer for me to stay away from these devil's devices! I jest, of course.
In any case, apart from the quite rare occasions nowadays when I wear a suit or even more occasionally a dinner suit, as a 'retired gent' I tend to wear jeans or chinos. I usually buy both from the UK part of an American mail-order/on-line company [Lands' End] because their styling suits me and because their sizing is reasonably 'generous', no doubt to cater for its mainly US clientele and of course British people such as me. One important feature that particularly attracted me to them is that they offer 'free' hemming (either turn-up or plain) for all their trousers and jeans and as I am shorter than the standard 29" shortest trouser length this is quite important so that I can get a good fit. I've been using the Lands' End service for over 15 years and have always been and remain completely happy with it. In addition to trousers and jeans, I tend to buy shirts, polo shirts, t-shirts and jackets from them and various other items from time to time.
Fairly recently I got a pair of dark brown chinos from them, perfect as usual, but after two or three cleanings the stitching on one of the leg hemmings unravelled, so for a couple of months they have hung forlornly in one of my wardrobes. Rather than send them back to Lands' End for repair I hoped to find a local solution, but in recent years places to get minor jobs of this kind done have grown scarce in most cities and towns. I was not aware of a local service (apart from a lady who used to do adjustments for my late mother) and whilst I had thought of contacting her I had never gotten around to doing so. Anyway, yesterday a leaflet appeared in my postal mail-box from a local firm in Inverness called "Stitch in Time" offering all manner of tailoring adjustments for male and female clothing, so I thought I'd give them a whirl for my minor problem. Today I had occasion to go to Inverness to do some food shopping and during the visit I popped in to "Sitch in Time", located in the Victorian Market (covered market) at 5 Queensgate Arcade - one of the assistants took the torusers from me, asked me if I could wait and I said 'Yes'. He moved across to one of the sewing mahines along one side of the shop and in less than 5 minutes had done the job perfectly. I got out my wallet to pay and he waved it away, saying that for such a small job they didn't want payment; I said I was happy to pay and he laughed and said no, it wasn't necessary. Now that is what I call service! And good business tactics, too! I shall certainly always think of them for jobs like this in future and recommend them to friends. Incidentally, two of the three staff I saw were Indian/Pakistani/Iranian (not sure which) and the other was British. I dealt with one of the former as it so happens. It is really pleasing to find such courteous, willing and helpful service nowadays - and offered with a smile. I have a lot of experience with Indian/Pakistani/Iranian/Chinese tailoring services from my time in the Middle and Far East, invariably they were expert at their jobs, friendly, courteous and willing. It is a pleasure (and a little bit of a surprise, I must admit) to find such similar superb service so close to home.
Thursday, 26 August 2010
A96 Inverness-Nairn dualling - design consultant appointed
The Scottish Executive (aka 'Scottish Government') has appointed a design consultant to look at "preferred solutions" for the dualling of the A96 Aberdeen-Inverness highway between Inverness and Nairn, to include a Nairn bypass. The funding for this is 500,000 Pounds.
How soon the funding might be found to do the actual road-works is anyone's guess, but I suspect it may be some years away, considering the budgetary problems in the whole UK and of course in Scotland, too.
How soon the funding might be found to do the actual road-works is anyone's guess, but I suspect it may be some years away, considering the budgetary problems in the whole UK and of course in Scotland, too.
Saturday, 19 September 2009
Inverness makes choices about burying its dead
People get born, live their lives and eventually die. What to do with the bodies of the deceased? Traditionally, in western culture, the custom has been to bury people 'six feet under' in a coffin usually made of wood, for the body to decompose over time or as the minister seems always to say when 'committing' the body to the ground:
Earth to Earth
Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust
In more recent times it has become increasingly popular to cremate the body and either to 'scatter' the ashes or to keep them in some kind of urn or container. Partly in my view thas has been because of pressure (i.e. shortage) of space, partly for other cultural reasons. Indeed cremation was for many centuries frowned upon by an all-powerful church, until this began to be challenged in the UK in the latter part of the 19th century (and there's an interesting article about this in the University of Durham Schools area).
However, for many people burial remains the preferred way, so Inverness is to decide shortly whether to demolish a derelict house and its walled garden within the Kilvean Cemetary in order to provide upto 750 additional burial spaces. Getting a burial 'lair' or 'plot' has become increasingly difficult (and sometimes costly) in many part of Britain. In British society there does not seem be any negativity in overlooking a cemetary from one's home (certainly not the case in some Asian cultures - east Asia, at least) so if the property were redeveloped as a house or apartments I am sure there would be a market for it. I confess I have no particular feelings about this one way or the other, except that it will shine an interesting light on Inverness's priorities (and on the city where I happen to have been born).
Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust
In more recent times it has become increasingly popular to cremate the body and either to 'scatter' the ashes or to keep them in some kind of urn or container. Partly in my view thas has been because of pressure (i.e. shortage) of space, partly for other cultural reasons. Indeed cremation was for many centuries frowned upon by an all-powerful church, until this began to be challenged in the UK in the latter part of the 19th century (and there's an interesting article about this in the University of Durham Schools area).
However, for many people burial remains the preferred way, so Inverness is to decide shortly whether to demolish a derelict house and its walled garden within the Kilvean Cemetary in order to provide upto 750 additional burial spaces. Getting a burial 'lair' or 'plot' has become increasingly difficult (and sometimes costly) in many part of Britain. In British society there does not seem be any negativity in overlooking a cemetary from one's home (certainly not the case in some Asian cultures - east Asia, at least) so if the property were redeveloped as a house or apartments I am sure there would be a market for it. I confess I have no particular feelings about this one way or the other, except that it will shine an interesting light on Inverness's priorities (and on the city where I happen to have been born).
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Ryanair cancelling swathes of bookings - involving Inverness and perhaps other destinations
(Please see UPDATES at end)
I just had an email from Ryanair advising me that a flight I had booked some time ago with them from East Midlands airport (EMA) to Inverness airport (INV) has been cancelled. In my case it's a flight several months in the future (15th October), but the cancellations seem to affect people travelling a lot sooner than that! And perhaps on other routes too, because although my email tells me about my own flight (roughly speaking) and no doubt fulfils their legal obligations to the letter, there is absolutely no mention of this in their website, so there may be many other changes/curtailments of service which won't be obvious to anyone not directly affected. Here's the text of the email I received, which illustrates the guarded way in which my email (and presumably those received by many other people who have booked flights) is worded:
Of course I am only transiting East Midlands airport (EMA), as I shall be arriving there on an easyJet flight from Spain some hours before my Inverness was originally scheduled to depart. This airport serves the English Midlands cities of Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham and Derby, not places I have ever had any particular requiirement to visit.
It is, somewhat to my amazement, still technically feasible for me to get to Nairn that day by taking the airport bus into Derby, then a crosscountry train to Edinburgh, then a direct ScotRail train to Nairn/Inverness via Aberdeen (rather than the more usual Perth). It would of course have me arriving at Nairn at 11.45pm approximately rather than 5.20pm at Inverness airport and, although I haven't priced it yet, undoubtedly cost more than the now-cancelled Ryanair flight. I may therefore look at changing the itinerary for my return to the UK completely, as I have no over-riding need to be back here on that date.
Whether these flight cancellations by Ryanair have any direct correlation with the announcement of the first ever losses by the company just a few days ago is not known to me, but one might perhaps be forgiven for wondering if these are not 'slash and burn' tactics in operation to get the company back 'into the back' as expeditiously as possible, with the routes affected being those they consider marginal to their main route network.
It'll be interesting to see whether there are any flights to/from Inverness by Ryanair in the foreseesable future, specially during the current economic recession/depression whose end-date can only be guessed at. One must I suppose hope that it will be less long than the one which blighted the 1930s with such terrible consequences. Do you think I am being melodramatic? I sincerely hope I am.
UPDATE: (Tuesday 9JUN09 22.10 BST) Within less than an hour of uploading this article, there were 'Google' searches using as their search criteria some of the same precise wording used in the email I received from Ryanair, originating from Poland - indicating perhaps that these 'slash and burn' route network cuts do go rather further than their Inverness-East Midland route, as I had speculated. I wonder just how many destinations are affected.
2nd UPDATE: (Wednesday 10JUN09 02.18 BST) It seems that the Durham Tees Valley airport to Dublin service is also being withdrawn from July.
3rd UPDATE: (Thursday 11JUN09 10.32 BST) Now I see internet searches alighting here from the Czech Republic over the issue of Ryanair flight cancellations. Just how far does this thing extend?
I just had an email from Ryanair advising me that a flight I had booked some time ago with them from East Midlands airport (EMA) to Inverness airport (INV) has been cancelled. In my case it's a flight several months in the future (15th October), but the cancellations seem to affect people travelling a lot sooner than that! And perhaps on other routes too, because although my email tells me about my own flight (roughly speaking) and no doubt fulfils their legal obligations to the letter, there is absolutely no mention of this in their website, so there may be many other changes/curtailments of service which won't be obvious to anyone not directly affected. Here's the text of the email I received, which illustrates the guarded way in which my email (and presumably those received by many other people who have booked flights) is worded:
Ryanair Flight Cancellation Dear Customer Ryanair regrets that following an operational review your flight/s detailed below will cease operation from the 16/07/09 - 24/10/09. Please advise any other passengers who may be travelling in your party of the cancellation of this booking. Any flights booked departing between the 16/07/09 - 24/10/09 have been cancelled and a refund will be automatically processed back to the original form of payment used to pay for the original booking. If one of the flights in this reservation is due to depart before the 16/07/09 and you do not wish to use the flight you can receive a refund by clicking on the link below and completing the form. (URL to my flight booking) Ryanair sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by this route cancellation. |
Of course I am only transiting East Midlands airport (EMA), as I shall be arriving there on an easyJet flight from Spain some hours before my Inverness was originally scheduled to depart. This airport serves the English Midlands cities of Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham and Derby, not places I have ever had any particular requiirement to visit.
It is, somewhat to my amazement, still technically feasible for me to get to Nairn that day by taking the airport bus into Derby, then a crosscountry train to Edinburgh, then a direct ScotRail train to Nairn/Inverness via Aberdeen (rather than the more usual Perth). It would of course have me arriving at Nairn at 11.45pm approximately rather than 5.20pm at Inverness airport and, although I haven't priced it yet, undoubtedly cost more than the now-cancelled Ryanair flight. I may therefore look at changing the itinerary for my return to the UK completely, as I have no over-riding need to be back here on that date.
Whether these flight cancellations by Ryanair have any direct correlation with the announcement of the first ever losses by the company just a few days ago is not known to me, but one might perhaps be forgiven for wondering if these are not 'slash and burn' tactics in operation to get the company back 'into the back' as expeditiously as possible, with the routes affected being those they consider marginal to their main route network.
It'll be interesting to see whether there are any flights to/from Inverness by Ryanair in the foreseesable future, specially during the current economic recession/depression whose end-date can only be guessed at. One must I suppose hope that it will be less long than the one which blighted the 1930s with such terrible consequences. Do you think I am being melodramatic? I sincerely hope I am.
UPDATE: (Tuesday 9JUN09 22.10 BST) Within less than an hour of uploading this article, there were 'Google' searches using as their search criteria some of the same precise wording used in the email I received from Ryanair, originating from Poland - indicating perhaps that these 'slash and burn' route network cuts do go rather further than their Inverness-East Midland route, as I had speculated. I wonder just how many destinations are affected.
2nd UPDATE: (Wednesday 10JUN09 02.18 BST) It seems that the Durham Tees Valley airport to Dublin service is also being withdrawn from July.
3rd UPDATE: (Thursday 11JUN09 10.32 BST) Now I see internet searches alighting here from the Czech Republic over the issue of Ryanair flight cancellations. Just how far does this thing extend?
Saturday, 30 May 2009
The reversal of the natural order of things?
Is the world turning upside down?
Just a few moments ago I took screen-shots from my embedded weather data 'gizmo' which reveal the stark truth - today at 12.58 BST the temperature was 25 degrees Celsius at Inverness airport (about 7 miles from my home in Nairn, Scotland), whereas at 13.00 CEST today the temperature was 22 degrees Celsius at Murcia-St Javier airport, roughly 70Km from my Spanish 'casa de vacaciones' near Mazarrón.
Accordingly it's shorts and deck-shoe weather up here in Nairn today!
- to be quite frank, such an occurrence [a happy one for me] is such a rare event, it's well worth blogging about!
Just a few moments ago I took screen-shots from my embedded weather data 'gizmo' which reveal the stark truth - today at 12.58 BST the temperature was 25 degrees Celsius at Inverness airport (about 7 miles from my home in Nairn, Scotland), whereas at 13.00 CEST today the temperature was 22 degrees Celsius at Murcia-St Javier airport, roughly 70Km from my Spanish 'casa de vacaciones' near Mazarrón.
Accordingly it's shorts and deck-shoe weather up here in Nairn today!
Weather reversal - 30 May 2009 Inverness airport - 12.58 BST - 25 degC  Murcia-St Javier airport - 13.00 CEST - 22 degC  |
- to be quite frank, such an occurrence [a happy one for me] is such a rare event, it's well worth blogging about!
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Embezzler gets 40 months gaol-time at Inverness Sheriff Court
Christopher Proudfoot, who embezzled £936,452 from Highland Network between December 2004 and January 2008, has been sentenced to 40 months in gaol. Presumably he will be out in less than two years with 'good behaviour'. In neither the latest report, nor in an earlier one during the trial, did the BBC choose to include Proudfoot's photo. Personally I think this is wrong, so with just a little bit of searching I found articles in both the Press & Journal and the Sun which helpfully included his photograph, just in case he tries to touch any of us up in a few years time for a 'loan'. Forewarned is forearmed.
I hope Mr Proudfoot can learn the discipline he obviously lacks so that he doesn't fritter away in future more money he doesn't have on his so-called 'gambling addiction', but until then it is clearly necessary for the public and his former employer to be protected from his weakness.
On the other hand a fraudster from that current 'hate-group', banks, quite rightly receives no such 'anonymising' treatment from the BBC - Carol Barclay, of Kinghorn (Fife), has pleaded guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of embezzling over GBP30,000- from the accounts of customers, principally from the account of one of them, an elderly gentleman. She was employed as an assistant manager with HBOS at its Gyle Shopping Centre branch in Edinburgh. Sheriff Alistair Noble has called for 'background reports' (What's to know? She's a crook!) before sentencing her.
I hope Mr Proudfoot can learn the discipline he obviously lacks so that he doesn't fritter away in future more money he doesn't have on his so-called 'gambling addiction', but until then it is clearly necessary for the public and his former employer to be protected from his weakness.
On the other hand a fraudster from that current 'hate-group', banks, quite rightly receives no such 'anonymising' treatment from the BBC - Carol Barclay, of Kinghorn (Fife), has pleaded guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of embezzling over GBP30,000- from the accounts of customers, principally from the account of one of them, an elderly gentleman. She was employed as an assistant manager with HBOS at its Gyle Shopping Centre branch in Edinburgh. Sheriff Alistair Noble has called for 'background reports' (What's to know? She's a crook!) before sentencing her.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Is it time for a 'mini-meet' of north-Scotland bloggers?
(Please see UPDATES at end)
Some years ago, when I first began this blog (in April 2002), it was kinda lonely up here in the north of Scotland. In those first few years there were hardly any 'serious' blogs in Britain, far less Scotland (and the north of Scotland was but a distant dream!), although there were a few bloggers from Inverness (or nearby) who blogged sporadically for a while, but soon disappeared; now I know of only one Inverness-based blogger who blogs with any regularity (Bernard blogs at The Sound of Gunfire); I've seen another former(?) occasional Inverness blooger in evidence in comments recently in a few other blogs, but apart from that - 'zilch'. Then, for a few years, there was an Elgin-based blogger, but he stopped blogging a couple of years ago and seems to have disappeared completely.
At present, to my knowledge, we have the amazing situation that there are three regular bloggers in of all places Nairn, in the north of Scotland. Maybe there are others in the region, and if so I apologise to them, but I am unaware of them. I am one of the three Nairn-based bloggers of course, and the other two are Graisg, who blogs at A Gurn from Nurn (he blogged for a while a few years ago, then stopped blogging for a while, at least in English, but more recently resumed blogging much more regularly) and thirdly Brian who blogs at My Nairn (also somewhat less frequently at My Scotland).
Is it not time that we had a meeting of Nairn bloggers? I would certainly be willing, if my fellow Nairn bloggers are at all interested; just let me know so we can perhaps arrange a mutually-convenient time if you are up for it. For my part it would seem like a good idea to invite Bernard from Inverness, too, if he's at all interested. So far as I'm concerned it'd have to be within the next fortnight, however, as I shall then be in Spain until mid-May, or of course it could be later in the year if more convenient. Just let me know.
UPDATE: (Wednesday 4FEB09 09.50 GMT) An email from Brian at 'My Nairn' awaited me this morning expressing willingness to take part in such a 'blog-meet' if one can be arranged. Thanks Brian for getting back to me so promptly.
2nd UPDATE: (Wednesday 4FEB09 17.15 GMT) Graisg has now confirmed (see comments) that he is interested in a 'blog-meet', too and is contacting his anonymous 'sources' to see if any of them wish to be there as well. I've also suggested in the comments a couple of possible dates for the meeting during next week. Let's hope we can firm something up.
Some years ago, when I first began this blog (in April 2002), it was kinda lonely up here in the north of Scotland. In those first few years there were hardly any 'serious' blogs in Britain, far less Scotland (and the north of Scotland was but a distant dream!), although there were a few bloggers from Inverness (or nearby) who blogged sporadically for a while, but soon disappeared; now I know of only one Inverness-based blogger who blogs with any regularity (Bernard blogs at The Sound of Gunfire); I've seen another former(?) occasional Inverness blooger in evidence in comments recently in a few other blogs, but apart from that - 'zilch'. Then, for a few years, there was an Elgin-based blogger, but he stopped blogging a couple of years ago and seems to have disappeared completely.
At present, to my knowledge, we have the amazing situation that there are three regular bloggers in of all places Nairn, in the north of Scotland. Maybe there are others in the region, and if so I apologise to them, but I am unaware of them. I am one of the three Nairn-based bloggers of course, and the other two are Graisg, who blogs at A Gurn from Nurn (he blogged for a while a few years ago, then stopped blogging for a while, at least in English, but more recently resumed blogging much more regularly) and thirdly Brian who blogs at My Nairn (also somewhat less frequently at My Scotland).
Is it not time that we had a meeting of Nairn bloggers? I would certainly be willing, if my fellow Nairn bloggers are at all interested; just let me know so we can perhaps arrange a mutually-convenient time if you are up for it. For my part it would seem like a good idea to invite Bernard from Inverness, too, if he's at all interested. So far as I'm concerned it'd have to be within the next fortnight, however, as I shall then be in Spain until mid-May, or of course it could be later in the year if more convenient. Just let me know.
UPDATE: (Wednesday 4FEB09 09.50 GMT) An email from Brian at 'My Nairn' awaited me this morning expressing willingness to take part in such a 'blog-meet' if one can be arranged. Thanks Brian for getting back to me so promptly.
2nd UPDATE: (Wednesday 4FEB09 17.15 GMT) Graisg has now confirmed (see comments) that he is interested in a 'blog-meet', too and is contacting his anonymous 'sources' to see if any of them wish to be there as well. I've also suggested in the comments a couple of possible dates for the meeting during next week. Let's hope we can firm something up.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Tesco gets planning approval for 4th Inverness store ...
... amid dissent within the Council, silenced by the planning committee chairman.
Now, does anyone think this planning committee decision affecting Inverness will be 'called in' by the Scottish Executive (aka 'Government') as was similar council approval for a Sainsburys in Nairn? Of course, 'over the border' in Forres (i.e. Moray, rather than Highland Region) supermarket chain Lidl seems to have been able to move with remarkable speed.
What is it about Nairn? Mind you, things are not advanced here (in my humble opinion) by the rather 'beggar thy neighbour' attitude of too many Nairn residents, groups of whom have 'successfully' (if that is the right word) blocked most commercial developments in the town for decades, never mind years!
Now, does anyone think this planning committee decision affecting Inverness will be 'called in' by the Scottish Executive (aka 'Government') as was similar council approval for a Sainsburys in Nairn? Of course, 'over the border' in Forres (i.e. Moray, rather than Highland Region) supermarket chain Lidl seems to have been able to move with remarkable speed.
What is it about Nairn? Mind you, things are not advanced here (in my humble opinion) by the rather 'beggar thy neighbour' attitude of too many Nairn residents, groups of whom have 'successfully' (if that is the right word) blocked most commercial developments in the town for decades, never mind years!
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Inverness-Dusseldorf flights summer 2009
(Note: this post has been heavily-amended since I first wrote it)
I had missed the announcement last October that there are to be direct flights between Inverness and Dusseldorf weekly on Saturdays, operated by Lufthansa, during the summer months (July-September) of 2009; however, I did spot this today - workshops designed to help local businesses in the north of Scotland make use of the new route to Europe's wealthiest country; businesses need all the help they can get even at the best of times, but during the current recession/depression it may well be vital.
As for passenger traffic, I did a few sample journeys on the Lufthansa website and whilst the costs are quite high (about GBP250- to GBP270- depending on date, for a return journey), it involves a journey time of less than two hours and the flight times seem pretty convenient (mid-morning/early-afternoon). With luck these summer flights might help to bring in additional tourists from Germany and other nearby areas (in the Netherlands or Belgium most likely) to the north of Scotland and there will undoubtedly be those from here who could make use of this route, too, for trips to that part of Europe.
Even using Ryanair or easyJet to fly at that time of year (from Inverness via Luton or East Midlands) the costs would probably not be very much lower and the journey times would certainly be longer. NB/ However, closer study of these two websites shows their flights are completely impractical - where they exist - because either one would have to spend a night in transit, or get oneself to a UK airport not served from Inverness, eg. London Stansted.
PS/ I've just been checking the flybe website and indirect flights (via various places such as Manchester, Birmingham and Southampton) are available between Inverness and Dusseldorf for less than GBP100- in June this year; generally much longer journeys times, of course, than for a direct flight and naturally you have to contend with flybe's reliability record when considering the wisdom of some of the connecting flights.
I had missed the announcement last October that there are to be direct flights between Inverness and Dusseldorf weekly on Saturdays, operated by Lufthansa, during the summer months (July-September) of 2009; however, I did spot this today - workshops designed to help local businesses in the north of Scotland make use of the new route to Europe's wealthiest country; businesses need all the help they can get even at the best of times, but during the current recession/depression it may well be vital.
As for passenger traffic, I did a few sample journeys on the Lufthansa website and whilst the costs are quite high (about GBP250- to GBP270- depending on date, for a return journey), it involves a journey time of less than two hours and the flight times seem pretty convenient (mid-morning/early-afternoon). With luck these summer flights might help to bring in additional tourists from Germany and other nearby areas (in the Netherlands or Belgium most likely) to the north of Scotland and there will undoubtedly be those from here who could make use of this route, too, for trips to that part of Europe.
Even using Ryanair or easyJet to fly at that time of year (from Inverness via Luton or East Midlands) the costs would probably not be very much lower and the journey times would certainly be longer. NB/ However, closer study of these two websites shows their flights are completely impractical - where they exist - because either one would have to spend a night in transit, or get oneself to a UK airport not served from Inverness, eg. London Stansted.
PS/ I've just been checking the flybe website and indirect flights (via various places such as Manchester, Birmingham and Southampton) are available between Inverness and Dusseldorf for less than GBP100- in June this year; generally much longer journeys times, of course, than for a direct flight and naturally you have to contend with flybe's reliability record when considering the wisdom of some of the connecting flights.
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Massive rise in racist attacks in Inverness
Local newspaper The Inverness Courier carries a report from local police body Northern Constabulary that there has been a dramatic rise of 72.9 per cent in racist attacks in Inverness this year. The main targets of these incidents are English people, with next in line for targetting being Poles, of whom there are significant numbers in and around Inverness in recent years.
There are divergent views about the causes, or even if in fact the seriousness of many of the recent attacks matches their severity twenty years ago. For example, the Courier reports that one Independent councillor (originally from Glasgow, apparently) attributes the anti-English feeling to a rise in 'nationalist' sentiment, whereas Highland Council's London-born leader (and leader of the LibDem group in the Council) says there is no link to SNP sentiment and believes the situation was worse 20 years ago in his personal experience. The SNP group leader insisted there is no place for racism in society.
The police figures reveal that the majority of the perpetrators are Scottish (given the fact this is a city in the north of Scotland, this is to be expected in my view and it would be surprising if it was not the case) and other than Poles the other non-British victims include Pakistanis and mixed race people. Incidentally I would query the use of the word 'racist' to categorise crimes against English residents in Inverness; after all your average English person is racially pretty much the same as your average Scottish person and there has been so much mixing through marriage between all the peoples of these islands over several hundred years that they are to all intents indistinguishable racially I'd have thought. It'd be equally ridiculous, for example, to describe as 'anti-semitic' attacks by an Arab on a Jew as both are semitic peoples.
The rise in these crimes is prompting Northern Constabulary to set up a new 'hate crime' reporting system, which will go live in the new year, and this 'will enable incidents of racism, homophobia and religious conflict to be flagged up to officers anonymously', according to the report. Northern Constabulary's website is here.
There are divergent views about the causes, or even if in fact the seriousness of many of the recent attacks matches their severity twenty years ago. For example, the Courier reports that one Independent councillor (originally from Glasgow, apparently) attributes the anti-English feeling to a rise in 'nationalist' sentiment, whereas Highland Council's London-born leader (and leader of the LibDem group in the Council) says there is no link to SNP sentiment and believes the situation was worse 20 years ago in his personal experience. The SNP group leader insisted there is no place for racism in society.
The police figures reveal that the majority of the perpetrators are Scottish (given the fact this is a city in the north of Scotland, this is to be expected in my view and it would be surprising if it was not the case) and other than Poles the other non-British victims include Pakistanis and mixed race people. Incidentally I would query the use of the word 'racist' to categorise crimes against English residents in Inverness; after all your average English person is racially pretty much the same as your average Scottish person and there has been so much mixing through marriage between all the peoples of these islands over several hundred years that they are to all intents indistinguishable racially I'd have thought. It'd be equally ridiculous, for example, to describe as 'anti-semitic' attacks by an Arab on a Jew as both are semitic peoples.
The rise in these crimes is prompting Northern Constabulary to set up a new 'hate crime' reporting system, which will go live in the new year, and this 'will enable incidents of racism, homophobia and religious conflict to be flagged up to officers anonymously', according to the report. Northern Constabulary's website is here.
Friday, 4 July 2008
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Cost of Inverness southern by-pass could exceed GBP200mio!!
It is being 'privately-'admitted (*) that the cost of the planned Inverness southern by-pass could reach GBP200mio, way above the current 'conservative' estimate of GBP120mio (itself well above the initial estimate of GBP83mio). On this basis, I suspect that GBP250mio might be nearer the mark eventually!
I know, despite the somewhat narky tone of the previous sentence, that this by-pass is becoming increasingly necessary. However, according to the linked article, at its eastern end the by-pass will involve a 'Trunk Link Route' (TLR) to link-up the A82, A9 and A96 and is likely to involve the demolition of either the Tesco store there or Inshes Church, a pretty recent construction itself. There are also numerous new 'executive-style' homes pretty close to the Church.
Later in the article, however, it is indicated that Highland Council have more or less committed to retaining the retail centre where Tesco is located, so things probably look bleak for Inshes Church and some nearby houses! I imagine that tonight's public meeting, held earlier this evening at Inshes Church, will have been a lively affair!
Another question that needs to be asked is if the high costs likely to fall on Highland Council as its share of funding this development will impact adversely on other parts of Highland Region? We in Nairn know already how parsimonious Highland Council has been with expenditure here, as compared to Inverness (e.g. the unwillingness to fund proper repairs to the Baillie Bridge across the River Nairn at the harbour, as against the wilingness to pay a significant sum to provide such fripperies as seasonal lighting on a bridge across the River Ness for use on special occasions).
(*) Not so very 'privately', as the details are splashed across an Inverness Courier article. Either the 'officials' referred to are very naive, or the Courier's reporter a venal knave (or possibly both) or the Courier article is completely made up. I doubt the latter is the case.
I know, despite the somewhat narky tone of the previous sentence, that this by-pass is becoming increasingly necessary. However, according to the linked article, at its eastern end the by-pass will involve a 'Trunk Link Route' (TLR) to link-up the A82, A9 and A96 and is likely to involve the demolition of either the Tesco store there or Inshes Church, a pretty recent construction itself. There are also numerous new 'executive-style' homes pretty close to the Church.
Later in the article, however, it is indicated that Highland Council have more or less committed to retaining the retail centre where Tesco is located, so things probably look bleak for Inshes Church and some nearby houses! I imagine that tonight's public meeting, held earlier this evening at Inshes Church, will have been a lively affair!
Another question that needs to be asked is if the high costs likely to fall on Highland Council as its share of funding this development will impact adversely on other parts of Highland Region? We in Nairn know already how parsimonious Highland Council has been with expenditure here, as compared to Inverness (e.g. the unwillingness to fund proper repairs to the Baillie Bridge across the River Nairn at the harbour, as against the wilingness to pay a significant sum to provide such fripperies as seasonal lighting on a bridge across the River Ness for use on special occasions).
(*) Not so very 'privately', as the details are splashed across an Inverness Courier article. Either the 'officials' referred to are very naive, or the Courier's reporter a venal knave (or possibly both) or the Courier article is completely made up. I doubt the latter is the case.
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Financial reality catches up with Inverness Aquadome
A 'company' (the implication being it is somehow a commercial venture, whereas it is nothing of the kind, as 100 per cent of the shares are owned by by Highland Council) operating Inverness Aquadome, a sports and leisure facility in the town/city, is being wound-up and the facility will in future be operated by the local authority direct.
Inverness Aquadome is a maginificent facility, grandiose even, for a relatively small place such as Inverness, but this change in the way it is operated (there is NO change in its ownership - this is an accounting fiction in my opinion) will of itself have absolutely no effect on the basic problem. The facility does not generate enough revenue from the 'punters' who use it to allow for the regular maintenance of a building of this size and complexity. As with a lot of publically-financed, publically-subsidised large projects, little thought goes into their long-term financial viability. The classic case was the huge stock of council dwellings in places such as Glasgow, and to a smaller extent even in cities like Inverness, which were probably pretty nice when they were built (and certainly a lot better than the housing most of the tenants lived in before), but the rents they were charged to occupy them simply did not cover the regular maintenance that the fabric of any building requires and over several decades much of this housing stock slid into desrepair.
The problem with such socialist-inspired projects is that the desire is to make a facility available to everyone, but to charge very little for using it. However, salaries have to be paid, the fabric of buildings deteriorates over time and requires money to be spent to maintain them - then when elections come along there is the desire, at least for that part of the election cycle until the election is safely over, to keep tax increases (national or local) as low as possible.
Inverness has seen the same problem over the decades with that other major local cultural venue, Eden Court.
At least this change of legal status at Inverness Aquadome will be a little more honest than the fiction that has been played out since it was built. It won't solve the basic problem of a lack of revenue or the fact that projects dependent on public finance are always at the mercy of many compteting pressures; voters don't like taxes, far less rising taxes, except when other people are involved of course! No doubt this project will be added to the long list which scrapes by from hand-to-mouth and occasionally manages to get a grant from central government (i.e. the tax-payer) or the National Lottery (i.e. the tax-payer, if only by proxy) so it doesn't actually fall down.
Inverness Aquadome is a maginificent facility, grandiose even, for a relatively small place such as Inverness, but this change in the way it is operated (there is NO change in its ownership - this is an accounting fiction in my opinion) will of itself have absolutely no effect on the basic problem. The facility does not generate enough revenue from the 'punters' who use it to allow for the regular maintenance of a building of this size and complexity. As with a lot of publically-financed, publically-subsidised large projects, little thought goes into their long-term financial viability. The classic case was the huge stock of council dwellings in places such as Glasgow, and to a smaller extent even in cities like Inverness, which were probably pretty nice when they were built (and certainly a lot better than the housing most of the tenants lived in before), but the rents they were charged to occupy them simply did not cover the regular maintenance that the fabric of any building requires and over several decades much of this housing stock slid into desrepair.
The problem with such socialist-inspired projects is that the desire is to make a facility available to everyone, but to charge very little for using it. However, salaries have to be paid, the fabric of buildings deteriorates over time and requires money to be spent to maintain them - then when elections come along there is the desire, at least for that part of the election cycle until the election is safely over, to keep tax increases (national or local) as low as possible.
Inverness has seen the same problem over the decades with that other major local cultural venue, Eden Court.
At least this change of legal status at Inverness Aquadome will be a little more honest than the fiction that has been played out since it was built. It won't solve the basic problem of a lack of revenue or the fact that projects dependent on public finance are always at the mercy of many compteting pressures; voters don't like taxes, far less rising taxes, except when other people are involved of course! No doubt this project will be added to the long list which scrapes by from hand-to-mouth and occasionally manages to get a grant from central government (i.e. the tax-payer) or the National Lottery (i.e. the tax-payer, if only by proxy) so it doesn't actually fall down.
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Inverness and Nairn and their different policies on bridges
I read that Highland Council is to spend GBP167,000- on lighting one of the major bridges across the River Ness in Inverness. It's undoubtedly a charming idea to have the ability to have changing lighting displays to mark special events.
However it shows clearly where Highland Council's priorities lie when you contrast it with the fact that the Harbour Bridge crossing in Nairn has been closed to vehicular traffic for about four years (pedestrians may still use it) and there are no plans to carry out the much-needed repairs to make it safe for vehicles again. From memory the esitmated cost of these repairs would have been less than the cost of lighting up the Ness Bridge! Although Inverness is the most populous settlement in the Highland Council area the impression is given, I'm afraid often borne out by fact, that the rest of the roughly 10,000 square mile area under its control is of relatively minor importance when compared with the showcase projects with which Inverness and its Councillors surround themselves.
The ball was very firmly put in Highland Council's court by the Scottish Executive (now known as the 'Scottish Government') as this written answer (S2W-9043) in June 2004 makes clear (scroll down the page to the section entitled 'Bridges'). The fact that the bridge leads from Harbour Street at its bottom end across to one of the major tourist destinations in Nairn, a very large static caravan park whose patrons must spend significant amounts in Nairn during the holiday season, seems to be of minor importance to Highland Council when compared to the need for 'The capital of the Highlands' to show a pretty face to visitors.
However it shows clearly where Highland Council's priorities lie when you contrast it with the fact that the Harbour Bridge crossing in Nairn has been closed to vehicular traffic for about four years (pedestrians may still use it) and there are no plans to carry out the much-needed repairs to make it safe for vehicles again. From memory the esitmated cost of these repairs would have been less than the cost of lighting up the Ness Bridge! Although Inverness is the most populous settlement in the Highland Council area the impression is given, I'm afraid often borne out by fact, that the rest of the roughly 10,000 square mile area under its control is of relatively minor importance when compared with the showcase projects with which Inverness and its Councillors surround themselves.
The ball was very firmly put in Highland Council's court by the Scottish Executive (now known as the 'Scottish Government') as this written answer (S2W-9043) in June 2004 makes clear (scroll down the page to the section entitled 'Bridges'). The fact that the bridge leads from Harbour Street at its bottom end across to one of the major tourist destinations in Nairn, a very large static caravan park whose patrons must spend significant amounts in Nairn during the holiday season, seems to be of minor importance to Highland Council when compared to the need for 'The capital of the Highlands' to show a pretty face to visitors.
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
Asda finally wins approval for Inverness store
After many years of trying to gain a foothold in Inverness, supermarket chain Asda has at long last received formal planning approval from Highland Council ofr its proposed new outlet in Inverness, the vote was an overwhelming 15-2 in favour of permitting the development, despite the opposition to approval of planning planning officers (*). The only 'negative' thing I can think of to say here is that the name of the suburb in Inverness where the store is to be located, Slackbuie, sounds faintly ridiculous to this writer's ear. It is high time, however, that Tesco and to a lesser extent Morrison's are faced with some real competitiion.
(*) Ive written a couple of times before about this and other aspects of 'supermarket wars' in Inverness - see here and here. An earlier article on Asda's US parent, Wal-Mart, is also of continuing interest, I think.
(*) Ive written a couple of times before about this and other aspects of 'supermarket wars' in Inverness - see here and here. An earlier article on Asda's US parent, Wal-Mart, is also of continuing interest, I think.
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