Nairn supermarket rumour no 237b: No escaping Tesco they say - will that be true in Nairn too?

'Britain's biggest retailer is to open its most remote supermarkets in the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland after buying shops operated by a rival company.' Reports the Telegraph.

Will Somerfield unload the Nairn store to Tesco as well? Will another 'morph' halt the planned new store?

Nairn beach again or Polish migrant tries to beat Terminal 5 chaos?

'Początki są trudne, lecz nie zapomniane;) a to nasz instruktor Michał;) ' As the Utube page explains.

Slow motion football on Nairn Beach (with a great soundtrack)

Always something new on utube:

Attention to detail at the higest level

The Gurn is sure that this has been mentioned elsewhere before but here it is again anyway.

Labour Party policy bears fruit in Nairn

As Wendy Alexander said herself at Aviemore:

'Because for us – "Labour" is never simply a political party.
It is an attitude of mind;
An outlook on life,
a sense of historic,
of solidarity with and for others,
of struggle and achievement,
and even occasionally - heroic failure'

If you have a strong stomach the full speech is here

Building houses on farmland - a good idea just now?

It's called the Sandown Farm isn't it? Well perhaps we might need to grow a bit more food soon so should we rush into tarmac the whole site in one go? Maybe a few more allotments first until we see how things develop worldwide?

The New York Times reports:

Shortages and high prices for all kinds of food have caused tensions and even violence around the world in recent months. Since January, thousands of troops have been deployed in Pakistan to guard trucks carrying wheat and flour. Protests have erupted in Indonesia over soybean shortages, and China has put price controls on cooking oil, grain, meat, milk and eggs.

Food riots have erupted in recent months in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen. But the moves by rice-exporting nations over the last two days — meant to ensure scarce supplies will meet domestic needs — drove prices on the world market even higher this week.

Full NY Times article here.

Photomaniac123's work

An interesting slideshow of Nairn pictures on Flickr.

The River Nairn above the Howford Bridge

Hard to believe that 500 houses could be built here.

This side of the Sandown fields might not look too different if the plan goes ahead, it is zoned for a park and an allotments.

A view that will vanish in the near future? Or will the process be delayed by local protests?

The tranquility of the Sandown Allotments, soon the allotment holders might have to drive through a housing scheme in order to indulge their favourite pastime.

Got anything for the Gurn?

Do you have any news, pictures, opinions, silliness etc, for the Gurn? Maybe you feel like starting a local blog yourself - why not? The Gurn will link to you. Please remember however that the laws of the land apply to blogs too and although we do our best to have lots of fun and sometimes even raise serious points we have to be careful just like all the other forms of media. Anyway if you have anything of interest please send an e-mail to: gurnnurn(naespam)@googlemail.com after taking out the (naespam) of course.

Good night all :-)

The giant log moves a little bit.

The Gurn wonders if the log was an early victim of Dutch Elm Disease. Previous log pics here and here.

Sunshine and snow showers, brisk weather but bearable if you are still fired up with chocolate

The shifting sands of time threaten Fort Apache?

The growth of the sand dunes on the beaches to either side of the harbour has been impressive in recent years especially on the East Beach. The wind has been blowing from the North for a few days now and once again sand blows on to the grass near the harbour. Is it now becoming a little bit more than a nuisance? The Sandancer alos gets a chance to live up to its name.

Easter snowflakes, bonnets optional

Easter in Nairn, holidaymakers were in evidence and even tents had been erected down at Parkdean. Next comes the spring heatwave?

Snow stays off but red card blizzard hits Nairn

Eight man Nairn beat Brora 4-3 as hot tempers surface on a cold day at Station Park

Sorting office odd hours concern

A reader to the Gurn has noted a potential problem in the brave new world of less post offices that awaits us!

'For any of us who will have to travel an extra mile or two to get to our local post office next month only to find the postie has tried to deliver a parcel to you when you were out beware!

The enquiry office in Millbank Street now has 'odd' opening hours, namely it closes between 10:00 - 11:30. A mid morning siesta maybe? Is our government trying to tell us something about the Royal Mail now?'

Yes there is obviously a problem here, you could go the extra mile lol, only to find out you had to go it again and then again until the sorting office opens . Never mind the Gurn is sure that this is an issue that many anti-closure Labour MPs would have the bottle to abstain about! Cowardly comrades?

The Post Office closures - a really bad move by Labour?

The protesters in Nairn were ignored and the Harbour Street PO will close in April. No doubt many of the campaigners will take revenge at the ballot box as soon as the opportunity arises. This is a process that is being repeated right across the UK and in many towns and villages there will now be a nucleus of anti-labour activists wound up by the closure decision. Labour MP's must have realised this and the vote last night on the closures at Westminster was very close:

'The government's majority was cut to just 20 as the Conservatives lost a bid to prevent the planned closure of 2,500 sub-post offices. ' More on the BBC site.

West End house for sale

Offers Over £420,000

The amazing perpetually wet Firhall footbridge – is it a miracle?

No matter the weather conditions the foot part of the footbridge at Firhall is always very wet and the Gurn speculates as to why this is happening. Could we have a potential tourist attraction to rival the likes of the Chalice Well at Glastonbury? What an amazing chance, all the Tourist Authority has to do is download the Glastonbury spiel and put a Nairn Slant on it.

At the foot of the Firhall Village is the Chalice footbridge, a place of beauty, peace, and healing. Spiritual Pilgrims of all kinds have come to this special place from time immemorial.

Another theory is that Highland Council installed a ‘get the turds off your shoes’ mid-way dip on the re-vamped riverside walks, although most people seem prepared to pick up their animals mess as and when is necessary as they go round the river (we live in changing times indeed). This dip scenario is a good theory but surely it would have been mentioned in the press releases to the local media complete with picture of the ranger and the provost?

One regular walker has suggested that there may be a more mundane temporal reason that would need the intervention of a utility firm to sort things out? No can’t be true – let’s go with the miracle theory.

As the Great Dane sees us

She thinks we're 'We're a pedalpushers kind of crowd'. More of her Nairn pictures here.

The Nairnshire Telegraph - should readers call for an end to monochrome?

How the Nairnshire might look if monochrome became a thing of the past for our much loved weekly institution.

Why is such a question being asked? Well over at the Bleat (4th article down) it has been noticed that 'The local newspaper is still black and white.'

And tonight something about:

But Newsbleat can exclusively reveal that the ‘software glitch’ was in fact part of a conspiracy by Elgin and Nairn radicals to ‘rub out’ Forres. These renegades secured the A96 by-pass - the next stage was to confuse rail visitors.

Unlimited space

This picture from Brödi really captures that feeling you can sometimes get when you have the beach to yourself. The picture looks even better on his flickr page.

Approaching storm

Thanks to El Inglés for the use of this picture taken last year, a larger version can be seen here.

Nairnshire Constabulary 1920's

Thanks to Dave for the use of this picture. He has another picture from the 30's too and additional information on this picture on his flickr website.

New blog on the block with a interesting view about shopping in Nairn

'Newsbleat' claims to offer wild and woolly opinion from the Highlands. Why not take a look and judge for yourself. Newsbleat has also noticed that our local paper is still black and white. Well it is nice to have a newspaper that you don't have to wear your sunglasses to read isn't it?

Sainsburys get the go ahead! (From the punters in Nairn anyway)

Basking in the March sunshine the new community centre, today the scene of a steady stream of Nairn residents turning up to visit the Sainsbury consultation put in place by the supermarket store. It wasn't so much a question of people wanting to find out more about the planning application but more of a pilgrimage to show support for the proposal, for the dream of not having to drive to Inverness or Forres for a real choice of food such as other towns in the Highlands have. The proposal also offers 300 jobs, well we'll see what number of jobs are created if the proposal gets the go ahead but it would mean that people that travel to work in the Inverness supermarkets might soon have the chance to work in Nairn and not have to pay expensive bus fares or for fossil feul to get to work.

The punters want Sainsburys will the Highland Council go with the punters?

Meanwhile across the road from the community centre the boarded up buildings await another planning decision. Will it finally be all change in the town centre at last?

PS who was that guy with the ginger hair? Did he have a surgery in the community centre today or was he too showing his support for Sainsburys?

Big city techniques in the small town

You expect it in the big stores in Inverness but when the shop assistants in Nairn start asking you, 'Would you be interested in...' it really is too much. It is irritating for the shopper and embarrassing for the assistant. Shopkeepers and managers please resist this trend. The Gurn suspects that the majority of people want to get their shopping without this but are willing to indulge in small talk, gossip etc with shop staff in the time honoured traditions of small town community life. Please keep Nairn different - well until Sainsburys get here anyway.

Commemorative stamp to celebrate our community’s betrayal by the Post Office and the Labour Party in Westminster?

How the stamp might look.

Seems the Royal Mail offers an interesting service on its website. Your average aimless surfer is informed:

'Capture and share your treasured moments with personalised Smilers stamps. For as little as £13.50 you can add your favourite photo to a sheet of 20 stamps.
From weddings to new arrivals you’re just a few step away from creating stamps that are uniquely yours.'

A regular reader of the Gurn informs us that he is considering taking advantage of this service to order a stamp that depicts the famous Fishertown Uprising of last month.

The Gurn calls for a boycott of the Olympics

Yes just watch something else on your TV. The Gurn knows of two regular readers who don't have a TV so it will be easy for them to take part. We probably won't win any medals anyway (if you still subscribe to the version of 'we' that takes part in the Olympics). Besides  Haile Gebrselassie won't be going because of smog fears.
"The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42km in my current condition."

Anyway, why boycott the Olympics? The answer of course is Tibet. Isn't it about time Tibet was allowed  a bit more say in its own affairs, after all even Scotland has a little bit of autonomy these days.

Death sentence passed on Harbour Street Post Office

The struggle is over, the Glasgow Herald reports that Harbour Street is to close along with 16 others in the Highlands . A Labour party sponsored kick in the teeth to our community (via the post office lackeys).

Comments on the BBC site:

Liberal Democrat MP, Danny Alexander, is to seek a Commons debate on what he called "this betrayal by government".
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Peter Peacock said he was pleased Pultneytown had been saved.
He added: "I appreciate the impact the closures elsewhere will have on local communities, particularly for the elderly."
Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber described the consultation process as "more cosmetic than real".

What about a major protest march in Inverness?
That would be a bit more use than debate!

Supermarkets and the cost of HGV fuel

Iright writes:

Nairn would be a real supermarket town if each and every retailer who has feigned interest in the last few years actually opened a branch here. The latest on the long list, that of Sainsburys.
Their latest plan for a Nairn store seems quite modest in size having just 20 stores in Scotland, the nearest being Aberdeen.
With HGV fuel costs going toward the £2 a mile any supermarket is going to find suppling NE Scotland as one with a high overhead, the nearest depots are usually hundreds of miles away
http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/files/pdf/property_brochure.pdf
for all that Sainsburys might offer us. One thing for sure, if it does open it will clog the A96 even more as the masses from nearby Tesco towns come to see what all the fuss is about.

Thanks Iright, doesn't most of 0ur food come up the road from the central belt? Obviously most of it has another carbon footprint before it gets here. Maybe some of it even went down the road first before it came back up. Would the inquisitive heading for Nairn be cancelled out by those who no longer wished to go to the Tesco towns?

More Kirk work

Beware the tides of March

With the storm further south forcing water up the North Sea the tide in Nairn was quite high and came over onto the riverside footpath in places but never posed a serious risk. Nairn has not always been so lucky in the past.

Learning Gaelic with a seventies flashback!

Another chance to see the cult learner series Can Seo. Here's the first one and a link to a page on Utube where someone has uploaded the first ten. Who needs a Gaelic channel? Certainly not Gorgeous George anyway.

Could the people buy what the people already own?

Interesting article on the BBC website today.

'Essex County Council has become the first local authority in the country to discuss taking over the running of post offices earmarked for closure. ' Essex County Council seems to be a convservative dominated council. Is a new form of capitalism on the horizon? You certainly know you are in a new millennium when the wicked capitalist labour party attack our communities by closing post offices and then the nice Tories try a bit of communty sponsered socialism to defend us. But then perhaps all of the post offices could have been saved for the price of a House of Commons wine cellar refit.

Could this be a prospect for the Highland Council? The BBC reports a representitive from Essex 'Councillor Stephen Castle said some 15 other local authorities had expressed an interest in its project. '

Maybe we could pay our council tax down in Harbour Street, even our Harbour fees too?

Opinion - Nairn Harbour

Thanks to Iright for the following contribution.

Nairn HarbourThe once busy fishing port of Nairn is now in common with many other harbours a place for leisure boats. The harbour itself was completed as the demise in the fishing trade started. In recent years it is the pleasure boats that have kept it alive. An alarming development at some neighbouring harbours is that of a minimum charge. Lossiemouth harbour has introduced a minimum 8m provision, and the new marina at Inverness has in place a 10m charge. This means if you wish to moor a boat at either place that is less that the minimum length you will still be charged as though you are a larger vessel.Nairn harbour is enjoyed by many users with craft of varying sizes and we can only hope that Highland Council do not impose a minimum charge. One item in the small boats favour at Nairn is that the river and the harbour are continuing to silt so that access is increasingly limited, but one good dredging could see that problem shifted. We will wait and see

Thanks again Iright, by the way what do you think the effect of the proposed marina at the Carse might have on Nairn Harbour?

Fears are growing with regard Nairn's last remaining fish wifie

It met with much controversy in terms of cost and then location, but it seems that plans are afoot to make changes to the fish wifie statue at Nairn harbour. What appear to be footings have been dug around the fenced off statue. The sea scout hut suffered a similar fate last year and is now a block of flats, will the same happen to the bronze one?

The changing face of Nairn

Soon the old garage will go and 51 flats will be built on the garage site and other nearby land. Might be a bit stressful for residents trying to get their  cars on the A96 at peak times but the proximity of the beach and the riverside walks should make up for it.

Big Fat problem for Nairn - chip pan vigilante group to start up in Seabank Road?

And it isn't Weight Watchers that are involved but Scottish Water. Looks like someone could loose a few pounds however.

Thanks to iright for mentioning this one :-)

Nairn pics on a blog out there somewhere

Aimlessly surfing and Clonjark was found, another link on Clonjark takes you to a flickr page.