Also in the news / Patient travel, exhibition, subsea cable, Loganair partnership and much more …
NHS Shetland’s patient travel department has reopened in a new location at the back of Montfield in Burgh Road, Lerwick.
The new office will be open from Monday to Friday between 10am and 2pm for the collection of travel documents, parking tickets and for dropping off claim forms only.
Patients who are entitled to have claims reimbursed on the same day will continue to be paid by same-day bank transfer.
Bookings for travel will still have to be made over the phone or by email and cannot be made in person.
If patients are unable to get to the office during the opening hours, they can arrange for travel documents to be left at the hospital reception where they can collect them at a convenient time. Claim forms can still be handed in at reception and they will be forwarded to patient travel for processing.
To contact patient travel, e-mail shet.patienttravel@nhs.scot or call 01595 743305.
A NEW exhibition of paintings by late Shetland resident John Johnson will open at the Shetland Museum and Archives on Friday this week.
Johnson was born in Papa Stour in 1873 but lived most of his adult life in Lerwick.
He was a seaman, and as an amateur artist he enjoyed painting local scenes depicting typical seascapes and landscapes.
Museum curator Dr Ian Tait said: “Many a Shetland seaman tried his hand making model ships or painting their vessel, but John’s work was a cut above the usual for a hobby artist.”
The exhibition is located at the ‘Neuk’, a small new display space located in the upper boat hall viewing area of the museum, and includes 11 framed painting and two ships in bottles.
LOGANAIR has renewed its charity partnership with Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) to ensure essential connectivity for families in the most remote areas of the country.
Through its partnership with CHAS, the airline has provided children and staff nurses with flights for CHAS at Home services, offering specialist care and vital respite to families across the country within their own homes.
Loganair has also been fundraising and volunteering for CHAS and gifted several children and their families with an Easter experience flight at Glasgow Airport.
The airline’s chief commercial officer Luke Lovegrove said: “As the country’s only palliative care provider for children, it is imperative that CHAS can reach those in need and we’re extremely proud to renew our partnership and assist the charity as it expands its reach.”
PEOPLE with a close link to Scottish island life are being asked to participate in a short survey conducted by a researcher from Aberdeen University.
Kirsten Gow aims to map people’s connections to Scottish islands to find out how islanders maintain links to their communities when they are living elsewhere.
She explores how those with island connections could play a part in the future of island life, including through return migration.
Based on the Isle of Jura, Gow says she knows from personal experience that someone doesn’t necessarily stop being part of an island community just because they move away.
“I believe that it’s important to pay attention to the strong connections people have with Scottish islands even when they are living elsewhere,” she said.
“It potentially tells us a great deal about island culture and identity, but it also might help us understand how we can make the most of these continued links to build sustainable futures for our islands.”
The survey can be found here.
THE FIRST 100 kilometres of subsea cable connecting the Viking wind farm to the national grid has been successfully installed, according to SSEN Transmission.
Starting in July, the subsea HVDC cable was pulled-in to where it makes landfall at Noss Head near Wick from aboard the cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria and was installed onto the seabed as the vessel made its way out to sea to a point east of Orkney.
Once installed on the seabed, it was trenched into position where possible.
The next phase of the project is due to start in spring next year when 57km of cable will be laid from Weisdale Voe heading south.
Lead project manager Chris Finnigan said the whole project is on track to be completed by 2024.
LUNNA House is opening its doors to the public this Sunday (6 November) with a pudding day in support of the Lunna Kirk Preservation Group.
Owner Helen Erwood said the idea behind the ‘Sunday in Pudding Day’ was very simple: “We’ll be serving those traditional puddings that we all know and love, along with a cuppa coffee or tea (or juice for bairns).”
To manage space booking is advisable for slots at 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, or 5pm by phoning 01806 577311.
Costs are £5 for adults and £2.50 for children; donations also welcome.
The Lunna Kirk Preservation Group aims to purchase the historic kirk from the Church of Scotland for community use.
VOLUNTARY Action Shetland (VAS) is to celebrate trustees week with a free networking event of trustees and committee members of voluntary groups in Shetland.
The event will take place in the Islesburgh Community Centre on Thursday 10 November between 6.30pm and 8.30pm.
A spokesperson for VAS said: “As a trustee/committee member of a voluntary organisation or charity you are helping to guide and support organisations delivering services and activities to keep Shetland running; often making difficult decisions for your group, staff and volunteers, and the people they support
For more information on the event contact Ayesha.huda@shetland.org. People can book a space here, or just drop in on the night.
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