Also in the news / Book launch, new Compass Centre manager and more…
A NEW book exploring part of Shetland’s heritage and culture will be launched at the Shetland Library later this month.
Vod is a colourful montage of photographs – many taken by Neil Fraser – of Shetland’s abandoned crofthouses, with poems by local writer Christine De Luca.
The selection of crofthouses, 38 in all, range from Unst to Fair Isle and from Foula to Skerries, with each accompanied by a short poem in Shaetlan (with an English version) “evoking something of the individuality of the place and of the people who lived there”.
People can find all the crofts using the OS grid references and also read about the derivations of place names.
At the launch there will also be a few poems, in Shaetlan and French, from De Luca’s recent bilingual collection Whit ails, whit heals Ce qui afflige, ce qui apaise. She will be accompanied by her translator, Jean-Yves Le Disez.
The event, which is being held on Tuesday 29 July at 7pm and will also feature music from Claire White, is free and open to all.
THE COMPASS Centre has appointed Debbie Sangster as its new managing director.
Sangster brings over 14 years of experience across multiple sectors, most recently with the mental health charity See Me Scotland which is based in Glasgow. She has recently relocated to Shetland.
She said: “I am delighted to be taking the helm at the Compass Centre and continuing to support the staff to deliver this valued service in the local community.
“I have visited Shetland many times and am looking forward to making my home here”
The Compass Centre provides free, inclusive and confidential support and information to any non-perpetrating person of any gender aged 13+ in Shetland affected by sexual violence. This includes survivors as well as family, friends and supporters.
Further information is available here.
AROUND 300 children in Shetland are affected by the two children benefit cap, according to statistics from the UK department for work and pensions.
Then Scottish Government is currently mitigating against this. More than 100,000 children are affected Scotland-wide.
However, according to the Alba Party only Scottish independence could guarantee that children will not be living in poverty because of government policies.
The party’s former Highland councillor Alan Duffy said: “If all the Scottish Government does is mitigate things, eventually things will get worse.
“What we need is a proper strategic approach to making the 2026 Scottish Parliamentary election a plebiscite election whereby gaining Scottish Independence.”
THE CO-OP has confirmed that all of its 6.5 million members had data stolen in its cyber attack earlier this year.
The retailer has two stores in Shetland – Brae and Lerwick – with delivery of supplies affected following the attack.
Chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said no financial or transaction data was stolen but names, addresses and contact information was lost.
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