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.

"Bad elements" from Aberdeen take a trip to Banchory ...

... and are alleged to have got up to no good in the post office there.

Fire at Aberdeen Crematorium ...

... not normally a problem as fires are part of the normal procedure at a crematorium. However what occurred at Aberdeen Crematorium was evidently not part of the usual procedure and a service at the crematorium has had to be be rescheduled for today, after the family and crematorium staff were evacuated safely.

On a personal note, I should add that my late father was cremated in Aberdeen, so whilst this story has aspects of irony, it also has a personal interest for me. I have every so often taken my mother to visit the 'Garden of Remembrance', where there is a small plaque commemorating my father, either on the anniversary of his death about 26 years ago (earlier this month), or around Christmas-time. Had he lived their 60th ('diamond') wedding anniversary would have been in early July this year.