Category Archives: Skye

Uilleam writes

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In reply to Mr Bob Duncan’s letter on March 8 it seems to me that he is misguided in his points. Let’s take you through some facts that might bring some light on this current situation. Mr Duncan clearly states in his letter that “The Scottish Government had encouraged them to split the schools contract into separate chunks which could then have been tendered for separately by local firms. They decided, instead, to lump them all together into one huge contract.” “Them” being the council.

Fact of the matter is that it was the local builders, our local council and the Scottish building federation that pushed for the 5 year deal NOT the SNP government. At the meeting, attended by the local builders and the Scottish Building Federation, council lawyers clearly stated that their hands were tied by the Scottish Government with the procurement process that they had implemented with regard to this project.

If it weren’t so serious it would almost be laughable that Mr. Duncan, along with his SNP colleagues, think that the people of the Western Isles actually believe these bare faced lies. Do they think the people of the Western Isles are this naive?

I do however agree with one thing Mr. Duncan stated and that is that the procurement process implemented by the SNP government does need to be changed. Unfortunately, he and the SNP are not the right people for the job and clearly cannot be trusted on this matter.

Vote wisely this May and remember your vote does make THE difference. Look Local, Think Local, Vote Local.

Uilleam Macleod
Independent candidate Stornoway South

Harris ferry bust

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It’s another day of travel turmoil in the islands – this time not due to weather.

The ferry Hebrides is still broken and remains in Tarbert where engineers are trying to fix it. It’s turned into a big job, though. Now traffic and passengers have been sent to Stornoway where the relief vessel, the Isle of Arran, will take them from Stornoway to Uig.

Any overspill of traffic from Tarbert will be taken from Stornoway to Ullapool on the lunchtime 1.50pm sailing of the ferry Isle of Lewis.  CalMac advises all intending passengers  to contact their port of departure before setting off.

Problems with your satellite TV reception? UPDATED

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I am hearing reports of people having severe problems with satellite TV.  Have you – or someone you know – experienced disruptions to service in the last few days? Please send me an email to [email protected] or call me on 703000.

UPDATE - Don’t let Sky TV tell you there is a problem with your box and that you must pay £65 for a callout. It’s very unlikely to be your box. Full details here soon.

Sunday ferry service from Tarbert – CalMac

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Ferry Operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) has announced it is to timetable a service between Tarbert, Harris and Lochmaddy, North Uist, on Sundays during the winter.
The ferry already sails between Tarbert and Lochmaddy on a Sunday during the Winter as a repositioning run, but up until now has not taken fare-paying traffic. However,  following representations by some Harris residents and a consultation with the local community, CalMac has agreed to make the run part of its Winter timetable starting on October 23, 2011.
In addition to providing indirect access to and from Skye from Harris on a Sunday, it reduces the need for ferry travellers to travel across the Sound of Harris from Leverburgh to Berneray and also provides a useful back up to that service, which is prone to tidal, as well as weather, disruptions.
In economic terms, the use of the repositioning run is attractive because there are no additional costs in providing the service and it creates an opportunity to generate revenue to offset the existing costs.The timetable will operate on a Sunday as follows:

Depart Tarbert                               09:00
Arrive Lochmaddy                       10:45
Depart Lochmaddy                     11:15
Arrive Uig                                        13:00
Depart Uig                                       14:15
Arrive Lochmaddy                      16:00
Depart Lochmaddy                     16:15
Arrive Tarbert                              18:00

These services will be available to book in the next few days.