Also in the news 7 October 2026
- Longer Shetland Wool Week
- MSP slams Loganair ADS comments
- Lerwick 28 commissions
- Oil and gas company fined
SHETLAND Wool Week is set to return for even longer in 2027 to celebrate 100 years of the Shetland Flock Book.
The annual celebration of all things woolly will return for nine days next year, stretching from Saturday 25 September to Sunday 3 October 2027.
Shetland Amenity Trust’s Jacqui Birnie announced the elongated wool week in a video on social media today (Wednesday).
The Shetland Flock Book was introduced in 1927 as a way of protecting and maintaining the purity and quality of the native Shetland sheep and its wool.
LOGANAIR passengers would be “choking on their caramel wafers” at comments about the air discount scheme (ADS) made by an airline official today (Wednesday).
That is the view of Orkney’s MSP Liam McArthur, who was less than impressed by comments made by Loganair’s head of government and corporate affairs Simon McNamara, as reported by Shetland News today.
Removing ADS would not affect passenger numbers, Loganair official claims
McNamara said he did not think that the loss of ADS – which offers islanders a 50 per cent discount on air fares – would affect Loganair’s passenger numbers.
But McArthur has described those comments as “utter nonsense”.
“Even with ADS, however, I’m painfully aware that air travel remains beyond the means of many constituents in Orkney.
“I don’t believe the Scottish Government has plans to withdraw ADS support, a move that would certainly be fiercely resisted.
“Meantime, Loganair need to reflect on comments that will have many islanders choking on their caramel wafers.”
ARTISTS, creatives and organisations are being invited to pitch ambitious ideas for Lerwick 28.
Lerwick is shortlisted to become the UK’s first town of culture in 2028, with a potential windfall of £3 million available if Lerwick is successful.
The first commissioning opportunity includes nine principal commissions, spread across three chapters of the proposed Lerwick 2028 programme.
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Three commissions of up to £200,000, three of up to £100,000 and three of up to £50,000 are being sought.
This is open to artists, creatives, companies and organisations from Shetland, across the UK and internationally.
They will fit into one of three chapters – “inspiration” from January-April, “play” from May-August and “launch” from September-December.
Artists and organisations considering an application can arrange an informal conversation. Expressions of interest close on Friday 16 October 2026.
Find out more here.
OIL AND gas corporation CNR International has been fined £300,000 for breaching its vent consent on its Ninian fields off Shetland.
The company self-reported on 26 November 2024 that it had exceeded its vent consent of 272.2 tonnes for the period 15 June to 31 December 2024 by nearly 21 tonnes.
CNR was previously fined £250,000 in 2023 for exceeding its vent consent in the same area.
The company experienced a series of operational events that increased venting volumes in 2024, including weather-related flare issues in October and a six-day production outage in early November.
It has now put in place more frequent and more analytical reviews of venting events, including daily reviews of venting volumes.
North Sea Transition Authority regulation director Jane de Lozey said it was “deeply disappointing” that CNR had breached its consent again.
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