Also in the news / Also in the news – 17 March 2026
- Special food event to celebrate book centenary
- Carmichael heating oil concerns
- Sumburgh Head reopening
- More details of poet exhibition
A SPECIAL heritage food evening is coming to Shetland Museum and Archives next week to mark the centenary of the publication of Margaret B. Stout’s Cookery for Northern Wives.
Hosted by Claire White, Taste of Shetland’s Past: 100 Years of Northern Cooking will take place on Tuesday 24 March at 7pm, bringing together food tastings, storytelling, and film to celebrate the culinary traditions of islands’ past.
Storyteller James Tait will lead an illustrated talk on Shetland’s farming heritage, exploring traditional practices such as the run rig system and their influence on island food culture.
Tickets are limited and cost £10. They are available on the Taste of Shetland website here.
NORTHERN Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has welcomed the UK Government’s £53 million package to support families struggling with the rapid rise in heating fuel costs.
But he warned the most important question was whether the government will step up should there be a need for further funding in the weeks to come.
He also called on the Scottish Government to outline how the Scottish share of £4.6 million will be distributed.
“If this money is properly directed then it could have a real benefit to struggling families in the isles – but I suspect I am not the only one who is a little sceptical about the Scottish Government’s ability to administer this effectively for our communities,” the Lib Dem MP said.
“We have some of the highest levels of fuel poverty and the highest heating needs in the Northern Isles. Any scheme that does not give due priority to our communities is not going to be fit for purpose.”
IT IS that time of the year again – the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse Visitor Centre officially opens for the season on Saturday 28 March.
Members of the public are invited to win a competition to help the lightkeeper start the foghorn engines and sound the foghorn.
All ticket holders are welcome to join the ‘Lightsome Tour’ at 11.00am to hear the story of Shetland’s first Stevenson lighthouse. This will be followed by the customary blast of the foghorn with the help of retained lightkeeper Brian Johnson at 12 noon.
The lucky competition winner will help Brian to open the final valve to sound the foghorn whilst the three runners up will each be given the chance to help start one of the engines.
Sumburgh Head site manager Jane Outram said: “We are excited to be opening for 2026 at the start of the Easter holidays and can’t wait to welcome everyone back for what will no doubt be another busy season.”
Details on how to enter the foghorn competition are on the Sumburgh Head website and social media pages. The closing date for entries is Wednesday 25 March.
TWO EVENTS are set to be held at the end of this month to coincide with a new exhibition celebrating Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid, who lived in Whalsay in the 1930s.
Outwith: Valda, MacDiarmid and Whalsay will focus on the years that poet MacDiarmid and his wife Valda Grieve spent in Whalsay, exploring how the island influenced their lives and work.
Two ticketed events will be held to mark the exhibition, starting with a talk from the Royal Scottish Academy’s head of collections Sandy Wood to commemorate its bicentenary.
The talk on Friday 27 March at Mareel will give insights into the collections and some of the many links there are between Shetland and the RSA. The event is free but ticketed, starting at 7.30pm.
Then, on Sunday 29 March at Shetland Museum and Archives, an “in conversation” event will discuss the life and works of MacDiarmid.
Alexander Moffat, Ruth Nicol and Alan Riach will share how his poetry, letters and deep connection to the landscape continue to influence contemporary art and writing.
This event starts at 2pm and costs £5 a ticket.
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