Over the holiday season many Scots will have a bit of a clear out, especially those who have grabbed a bargain in the sales.  This inevitably means households have a number of bulky items and bags of rubbish to get rid of.   ... [more]

Plan ahead to help avoid a nightmare move Making life changes such as moving to a bigger dream home or downsizing for a better quality of life are popular New Year resolutions.  However, many are put off in carrying out a move as it is one of life's most stressful events.   ... [more]

As you might imagine, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) gets a lot of queries every year.  They arrive in their thousands by email, web, and phone.   ... [more]

During his last visit to site Laurence Williams, Health & Safety Director, NDA presented certificates to the latest candidates who have completed their SVQ Level 2 in Nuclear Technology Decommissioning following 9 months of extensive training and assessment verification in D1204.   The candidates are required to demonstrate their competence by completing a series of core units which are independently and nationally verified to maintain the required standard.   ... [more]

The Highland Council has issued a message to its staff advising them not to give out personal Bank details over the phone.   This warning has arisen due to the Council's Finance Service being alerted by employees who said that they had been contacted by telephone from individuals claiming to be from the Council's Payroll and Pensions office asking for personal Bank details to enable outstanding payments to be made.   ... [more]

When a local video production company announced that they were nominated for a major Scottish Wedding Industry award last month little did they know that they would actually be walking away with the pretigious "Voted Outstanding Wedding Supplier (VOWS) award.   Video Viewpoint proprietor, Colin Sinclair, along with his wife Susan attended the glitzy award ceremony recently in the Edinburgh Corn Exchange along with other top industry professionals and nominees.   ... [more]

Plans for one of the UK's biggest cosmetic makers to turn bog myrtle into an income-earning crop have moved a step closer with approved funding of £201,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).   Boots Company PLC has developed products using the essential oil extracted from bog myrtle, a native plant of the Highlands and Islands.   ... [more]

A planning blueprint, which sets out a 30-40-year development plan within the A 96 Corridor between Inverness and Nairn from 2011, has been by The Highland Council.   Covering all of the land eastwards from Inverness to the border with Moray and south to the B9006, the A96 Corridor has been identified in both the Highland Structure Plan and Inverness Local Plan as the preferred location for long-term development.   ... [more]

The Highland Council has established a cross-party working group to spearhead the Council~s commitment to tackling climate change.   At its first meeting, the group agreed its remit in overseeing the production and implementation of a climate change strategy for the Highlands and elected as its chairman Councillor Drew Hendry, (SNP), Chairman of the Planning Environment and Development Committee.   ... [more]

Businesses across the Highlands and Islands are full of praise for a series of e-tourism workshops that reveal the secrets of how to run a successful online marketing campaign.   Organised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in partnership with the Scottish Tourism Forum and VisitScotland, the workshops show tourism businesses how to use e-marketing and e-commerce to compete more effectively in a busy marketplace.   ... [more]

Macmillan Cancer Support would like to thank the people of Scotland for helping raise £1million for people affected by cancer.   The "Macmillion" was raised by the dedicated staff and customers of Somerfield stores across the UK ? with a fantastic £117,161 raised in Scotland.   ... [more]

Outgoing Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Chief Engineer and Nuclear Safety Director Laurence Williams was at Dounreay recently in time to see the shell of the old fuel fabrication plant come crashing down.   The plant, code-named D1202, was the first of the "atomic factories" built at Dounreay in the 1950s to become operational.   ... [more]

Scottish Shopworkers urged to report retailers if they're forced to work on New Year's Day Usdaw, the retail union, is urging Scottish shopworkers not to suffer in silence if they are forced to work on New Year's Day.   "This is one of the most important days in the Scottish calendar and I repeat my call to Scottish retailers to respect it," said Usdaw General Secretary, John Hannett.   ... [more]

Open Letter Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company Community Groups Dear Community Groups, We are pleased to advise you that Lews Castle College have led the development of the Scottish Curriculum for training in Renewable Energy.  Lews Castle College have recently been validated for the delivery of unique training in Renewable Energy at HND and BSc level available from August 2008.   ... [more]

A three year 50-point action plan for regenerating the Caithness and North Sutherland economy has been agreed by key stakeholders.   The plan has been developed from the regeneration strategy which went out for consultation a year ago, and input from the Caithness Conference in September.   ... [more]

Staff at Harrold Bros, based in the High Street in Wick, have been particularly busy over the past few weeks, preparing a mouth-watering array of Mey Selections meat and accompaniments in time for the Festive Season.   As Neil Harrold explained, "Every year we aim to offer the finest meat but this year we feel we have surpassed ourselves in that not only, as the Mey Selections licensee in the area, can we offer excellent beef and lamb, but also a vast range of the company's other products - all guaranteed to make the Christmas and New Year celebratory meals ones to remember." Preserves and chutneys, crunchy oatcakes, biscuits and shortbread, as well as traditional clootie, are just some of the temptations for sale at this local Wick shop.   ... [more]

Trading Standards Officers of The Highland Council have provided 12 handy tips to help the public avoid the pitfalls of Christmas shopping.  They are: - 1.   ... [more]

UKAEA Dounreay and its contractors are again generously sponsoring a free bus service on the evening of 'Mad Friday', to help party goers to get home safely.   Everyone is welcome to use the buses, whether you work at Dounreay or not.   ... [more]

FIRST OF DOUNREAY FUEL PLANTS IS DEMOLISHED Demolition has started on the first of Dounreay's redundant nuclear fuel plants.  The fuel fabrication facility manufactured more than 10,000 fuel elements for research material test reactors in the UK and abroad, until it was shut down in 2004.   ... [more]

Highland Councillors will be asked on Thursday to confirm their corporate commitment to Fair Trade by progressing work already underway to gain council-wide Fair Trade status.   Inverness, Ullapool, and Dornoch already have Fair Trade status and can call themselves Fair Trade towns and it is being recommended that the Council agrees to show support by forming a small Working Group to expand Fair Trade status for the local authority.   ... [more]