The Wee County conquers

It was hard to believe that Inverurie were 26 points above Nairn before this game started but a shock always looked on the cards, even though Nairn gave away a silly goal early on. It looks like the players that Les Fridge has brought into the team are gelling now and although it is a bit late in the season to be doing anything serious we could be odds on to be a new ‘glamour’ side in Highland League terms next season.
Well over a hundred Inverurie fans made the trip and although they were a bit peeved with their own team, they were the usual good crac and it was good to see them – they always make us welcome through there. The Inverurie fans also made their customary pre-match visit to the Legion, a place they have become quite fond of since they joined the league and started coming to Nairn, in fact they have been known to stop off there too on the way back from trips further a field. Yeah reality football up at Station Park has got a lot going for it and while you can grudge the likes of the Premiership stars the mad wages they get, the guys that work hard for ninety minutes at Station Park deserved every penny of the beer money they will earn for their efforts.

Not long before Nairn has an SNP mp?

'The new Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency will be won by the SNP in a close fought contest according to the "Strategic Voter" website which combines past results with recent poll evidence to estimate the likely result of the election.'

So with a bit of luck Dave Thompson will be our MP. This blog supports Dave anyway because he is a nice chap and has learnt Gàidhlig :-)

Town centre gets Euro kick in the guts!

Breaking news in town that the £3 million community centre plan has been refused European aid of £750,000 towards the cost of the project – the reason given is that this area is too wealthy to qualify. Further money was to come from the sale of Sandown which is potentially delayed as well by a legal objection and a decision from the Scottish Land Court will not be forthcoming until at least May.
This puts in doubt the £250,000 that Highlands and Islands enterprise were willing to put in on condition of European funding being available
The town centre renewal dream drags on and on and one or two people have concerns about the direction of the whole project now. Perhaps the councillors should call another Town meeting and once again seek the blessing of the community? It would certainly save any more grief further down the line.
In the meantime does this put the proponents of the Viewfield Supermarket in a stronger position?

Raigmore Hospital – car parking charges

It seems to be morally reprehensible to charge people for visiting the sick anyway but that was an argument that was fought and lost a long time ago. However, you could drive around that car-park for long enough and still not find anywhere to park and still get charged a quid on your way out, double parking and climbing grass verges seems to be a common reaction. I wonder if anyone else has experienced similar?

A seagull pecks over last night's chip papers so majestically

A seagulls pecks over last night's chip papers so majestically, but so in vain, it wasn't the early bird today. Crocuses hold their brave heads up through a covering of snow. Overcoats necessary to fetch the papers to-day. Soon the silent bars will ring to the fortunes of an old firm game and many Nairnites will wear blue or green and sink a few bevyies and before you know it, it will be Monday but at least it won't be 5-2-3 .

Cross about the redundant Mercat cross

Ok there is the need to be thinking macro where food retailing is concerned but this blog would make a plea for the micro to be served as well. Bring back to life the ancient Mercat Cross outside the courthouse and let’s have a weekly market where the people of Nairnshire can buy and sell food from this area. We need more choice when it comes to fresh food, so why not be brave and set up a dozen stalls in the High Street once a week. The shops have nothing to fear, apart from more people coming into the town centre to spend money. Let’s be bold, so come councillors and businessmen, heed the call…..
….Just another dream - in reality better off with another consultant’s report?

Signs down and hopes back up

The parking 'two hours only' signs are down but hopes are high. The Council have been speaking to Somerfield. Sandy Park is quoted in a Nairn Weekly newspaper as saying:
'It was a very encouraging meeting.'
This contrasts badly with the disgraceful spin an Inverness Bi-weekly was trying to put on the situation last week. So if you want the latest news, stay faithful to the Nairnshire and their fearless truthseekers and put the Inverness propaganda in the wheelie bin.
But remember, like shares, signs and hopes can go up as well as down. Might be no need for a save '*****field' - please insert 'View', 'Show' or 'Sandown' according to your preferences or the latest rumour or speculative report in an Inverness paper!

Temporal distortion or simply other factors?

Sources close to a leading member of a Nairn Community Council were suggesting that many people were surprised about the parking restriction signs that Somerfield had erected and complaints were to be made. Or was, as a contributor has suggested – their removal merely a side effect of the temporal distortion that hit the town for a week. We won’t really know until 24 hours have passed. Please report any unusual events to the blog without delay. Has that bread you made yesterday suddenly gone hard?

Breaking news time flies in Nairn (contributed)

Thanks to our correspondent 'Spelding'

BREAKING NEWS!!Time flies in Nairn! It was amazing to stand in the High Street and literally watch time fly. The hands spun round from 5 to 3, to 4, to 5, to 11, and finally rested on one o’clock. With a triumphant chime, time was restored. But what has happened in those missing hours? Have we missed anything?

Sand blows past the Sand Dancer

Sand was piling up fast on the grass near Fort Apache and whistling along past the flats over towards the river. The sea was breaking over the harbour defences here and there but nothing too serious: thrill seekers could park their cars and risk a little rust without any danger at all. It had been a rough night, wet in the town but snowy anywhere higher, which saved a spate in the river. The swans were gracefully demanding their bread and pretending to empathise. The last Sunday Telegraph had been sold in the Harbour Street stores according to an annoyed friend.

Inverness based bi-weekly speaks to Provost.

'Hopes fade over Nairn superstore' quotes the said paper and our Provost is quoted too. Sandy says:
'The Somerfield site was part and parcel of the land package we needed and if the company is content to stay where it is it makes the town centre site unachievable.'
So there is the latest news on the supermarket situation, hope is fading fast but that still leaves Viewfield in the frame and Sandown too and for a real outsider bet 'The showfield?' again? End of the dream for the town centre but the start of a new saga elsewhere or as the Inverness newspaper says in the depths of its editorial this week.
'Indeed does Nairn need a superstore? It already has Somerfield and residents will always travel to Inverness for many of their shopping needs.'
Nice attitude that! ok if you have a car and the money to travel and of course the mental fortitude to cope with the traffic jams and the crowds. Nice to know they are concerned. That really is the last thing we need, Inverness newspapers telling us what we need in Nairn, we are quite capable of making our own mess without anyone chipping in. Something will eventually happen one way or another even if it means another 500 letters of protest heading for Glenurquhart Road. Shove off Inverness, we'll deal with this ourselves.
Freedom for Nairn!

Still 5 to 3.


Not much movement here.

Riverside paths.

A mess in places where it never was a mess before and worsening all the time. Could the person that instigated the path improvement scheme please go back and look at the result? The path surface needs raising here and there otherwise it will become a complete quagmire.

Sofa sets sail

The sofa trapped in the river Nairn made a daring bid for freedom on the High tide this morning. The creature realised that this was probably the last chance of reaching the sea and safety. So far there have been no reports of it being seen further down the river, so hopefully it got away.

Town centre still at Market Forces' mercy?

No sooner did the supermarket Quatermaster's store kit out the workforce in the new livery when word hits the airways about bids for Somerfield itself now. They are playing it down and saying that they want to remain independent but who knows how the internal dynamics of this sector will play out. Will Nairn be able to talk to any company about a new town centre until the activity in the supermarket world dies down?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2964842.stm

Always, always, always 5 to 3

The civic symbol that stares down on us remains stuck at 5 to 3. It’s dark now and things are slow in the fish and chip shop but above the hands remain at 5 to 3. Lorries move through town taking advantage of the 5 to 3 thin traffic. Youngsters seek fun and meander aimlessly, their hopes and fears and feelings under the scrutiny of CCTV and the hands at 5 to 3. We’ll sleep soundly tonight tapped in a 5 to 3 universe. The papers will be delivered at 5 to 3. Nairn will come back to life, piece by piece at 5 to 3. You’ll go to work at 5 to 3. Don't try and convince yourself that it isn’t 5 to 3.

Out of time and space

It feels so odd and personal when the town clock is not working. It is a shame it seems to break down every now and then, gives a bad impression. Just doesn't feel right when you hit the High Street at six a.m. just to be confronted with the landmark telling you it is only 5 to 3.

Just a little gurn today.

Sofa covered in frost

Sofa scandal Day 15

At the time of publishing the sofa was still covered in frost, the part above water anyway, but looked none the worse for the overnight cold. Heavy traffic crossed the town bridge as normal, but as yet most of humanity is unaware of the sofa's plight. Motorists proceeded to their daily captivity blissfully unaware. Even pedestrians who normally look into the river are keeping their eyes focused on the ground and pretending that it just isn't happening. Are we moving into a dangerous phase of denial?

No Spate - So Sofa stays

Sofa Scandal Day 14

Things must have turned white further up Strathnairn because the water level hardly rose. The furniture stays trapped. Maybe our civic leaders have been reading this blog over the weekend and will spring into action tomorrow morning. Another day passes in the sofa/settee scandal.
Another nondescript February day which finally made a successful effort to rain about three o' clock in the afternoon. It was a 'Groundhog' winter Sunday really, same faces in the paper shop and same sort of headlines designed to stir outrage over the cornflakes. We benefit from longer hours yes but grey skies conspired to deprive us of that benefit today. Another week lies ahead of both us and the pitiful piece of red furniture.

Sofa or settee? Experts baffled! Furniture welfare experts now involved.

Nairn is split over the issue and expert opinion itself is divided as previous comments on the blog show. Hopes are high however, that mother nature will take the matter into her own hands and take the object onwards to its destiny in a spate during the night as the heavy rain runs off the hills.

The longer nothing happens the more danger that the Brighton of the South will win over our tourists.

More about our MP

Here's a fab web page about our MP David Stewart. Some good stuff and some bad. Hardly ever rebels about the Party it seems. And free use of Inverness staff airport car park - a site worth a browse.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/?pid=10568#performance

Sofa - At last picture shows the awful truth

Sofa Scandal Day 11

This blog apologises for technical difficulties that prevented us from bringing you visual evidence of the danger facing us all. Our technical teams were working round the clock consulting html experts throughout the world and scanning all the technical resources the world wide web has to provide. At last the fruits of their long hours of struggle are to be seen on the blog.
The authorities are still failing to act and the only hope now is that David Stewart MP or some aspiring Prospective Parliamentary candidate will don wellies and do something for the community they aspire to represent. Keep on this blog for further breaking news on the sofa this weekend.

Remarkable gurn contributed

Please waste no time: read the comment contributed to the article below!

Blog fails in Daily Mission so discusses Gàidhlig census figures

This morning the Blog editorial team woke up with nothing to complain about. It is hoped this situation will not remain for long. The weather is however, ‘caran mossach’, or dreich in the language that 100% of the population would understand as opposed to the 2% thereabouts in Nairn that understand, speak or read Gàidhlig or even combinations of those three. Did you know however that in 1891 27.07% in Nairnshire spoke Gàidhlig and even still 5.91% in 1931? There was no census in 1941 and by 1951 it was down to 1.69 % and remains around that to this day. Sometimes you hear the opinion that Gàidhlig was never anything to do with Nairn; the census figures prove otherwise.
If by any chance you are interested in learning Gàidhlig in Nairn there is an article about classes available in the town in the January archives of this blog

But back to the business in hand. Is there anyone out there that can save the day and submit a good gurn?

Sofa scandal exposes shallow survey shortcomings

Today many citizens woke up to find a ‘Tackling anti-social behaviour survey’ on their dorstep from our MP David Stewart and the MSP Maureen MacMillan. They must think we’re daft. We know that there is an election coming.
‘We would like to receive your comments on how you think we could better tackle crime to make our community a safer place?’ Well Davy ma loon, if you really want to find out what this community needs, you need to take a walk around yourself and get your wellies on and drag that sofa out of the river – then and only then would I come within spitting distance of even thinking about voting for you or the Liberals either no matter how many nice pictures of them standing by the side of the A96 appear in the local press. Politicians, please treat us as intelligent human beings. Let's here you admit about the stuff you've messed up before you start trying to seduce with spin and surveys!

Brighton of the south fights back.

With the treacherous help of an Inverness based paper our rival tourist destination in England is trying to lure the unwary by pointing out it isn’t far from Gatwick. Don’t fall for it. Demonstrator’s bus leaves Nairn Bus Station for the airport 11.37p.m. Saturday night.

By-pass: Fishertown the Taboo route – Why?

Think of the benefits if the A96 were to follow the logical but unspeakable route. I was when I walked up the High Street this morning and saw the tremendous holiday bargains in Macraes Travel’s window. Quick and easy access to Inverness for the Fishertown professionals if the dual carriage way were to run along the beach. If it were made 30 feet high we would also have a sea defense for no extra charge and no worries about replacing the Bailey bridge either. So come on let’s hassle our elected representatives on this one. Government funding would be available for a casino on the links and there would be no need for houses on the Carse if we had a nuclear power station there too.

We will probably get casinos and nukes all over Scotland anyway if Labour get back in so let's be first in the queue and reap the benefits

August the 23rd – a day to take the cd’s upstairs?

I was speaking to a knowledgeable sort of chap this morning, a man that knows a little about the environment and keeps his ear to the ground, I discovered that he believes that Aug 23rd will see the heavenly bodies aligned up to give us a tide 2 meters higher than normal. Is there anyone out there with knowledge of the marine ecosystems etc (the like of some of our outstanding citizenry that make regular comments on this blog) who can confirm this? Readers of Old Moore’s Almanac may also have valuable information.

Seriously folks – is it true and do the authorities know?

Sofa Scandal day 9 – Photos maybe to come

The Blog’s technical support unit were working late into the night to get the html codes to work properly so that we could bring you further news and graphic pictures of the sofa. We need to keep this subject in the public eye. Why? Well our editorial team spent at least thirty minutes on the streets yesterday and couldn’t find anything else to complain about.