FIMETI and The Northern Periphery Programme

E-mail notification was received on Thursday, 30th that the Fair Isle Marine Environment and Tourism Initiative, along with its Scandinavian partners, has been accepted into the EU/Norwegian government Northern Periphery Programme - following a meeting of the NPP Monitoring Committee (NRAG) on 26/27.9.99.

The title of our trans‑national project is Safeguarding Our Heritage: community development through sustainable resource management in peripheral areas - process and practical demonstration. This is likely to be shortened for every day use to Safeguarding Our Heritage and the partnership will be referred to as the SafeinHerit Network.

The SafeinHerit Network comprises Fair Isle Marine, Environmental and Tourism Initiative (project leaders), Norwegian partners Nord-Trøndelag County Council and Steigen Municipality (Nordland County) and Swedish partners Inlandslaget, which comprises the municipalities of Arjeplog, Arvidsjaur, Malå, Sorsele and Storuman, Vindelälvskommunerna which comprises the municipalities of Sorsele, Lycksele, Vindeln and Vännäs, and SOS-kommunerna, which comprises the municipalities of Arjeplog, Arvidsjaur, Sorsele and Storuman, in Counties Norrbotten and Vasterbotten, Laponia, Sweden.

The locations of operation will be the above pilot areas but the aims of the Project, through its structure, practical measures and results, is to provide information, ideas and impetus to the entire Northern Periphery region.

NPP funding for the project, which runs to the end of 2001 is 190,154 Euros. Matching funding for Fair Isle elements of the project is being provided by Scottish Natural Heritage, The National Trust for Scotland, Shetland Islands Council, Shetland Enterprise, Dunrossness Community Council and a Hervør Williamson memorial bequest.

Prior to approving the project, the NPP monitoring committee evaluated the application as follows: "The project would combine elements of process, information exchange and practical projects which demonstrate the economic attributes of the cultural and environmental heritage for community development. The aim of the network of communities and agencies would be to demonstrate how thoughtful, innovative practice may safeguard these assets and bring value and confidence to peripheral communities. In practice, the project would focus on information exchange and development of new mechanisms for achieving sustainable economic development within rural areas which have big potential in their environment but which have fragile economies."

NRAG comments: "In the NRAG comments there were several differing points of view around the application. Some thought that the idea was too abstract. Others thought that it was very innovative."

The Decision: "The Monitoring Committee 'approved the project and allocated 190 154 EUR for the project's execution. However, the support may not exceed 50% of eligible costs. Before the final approval the concordia should.. clarify its end‑user orientation and concrete tasks, which should be done under the project period, clarify the actual outcomes of the project, clarify how the project will disseminate the project results as well as the best practice."

I am sure this can be done, once I have deciphered the Eurospeak!

Nick Riddiford, Coordinator, FIMETI & Project Leader, SafeinHerit Network

Weeks Awa in the Past.

Needing some prompting to get into writing mode, so I'm sat in front of a good fire, beer on the table and an old Kris Kristofferson tape in the deck‑ memories of late nights long ago. Looking for newsworthy happenings from the end of September, but I fear it may be a thankless task.

1973
Lovely weather on the 24th and 25th and Dad and I are cutting corn at Kenaby. All hard work in those days and I can still remember the rip of the scythe as Dad cut a wide swaar among the ripe oats.                                        

1977
Lots of work on the installation of the Water Scheme and it's nearing completion as we are testing the line , replacing leaking valves, clearing up debris and erecting a fence round the tanks at Tarryfield. Poor weather at the end of the month and the watchers are taking turns in the lookout.

1979
A better variety to life this year and the main work is building the Hall. The job is well advanced as we are hanging doors, fitting skirtings etc.
Crops are being cut, lambs are being shipped and a fishing trip with Mires Jimmy, Leogh Jerry, Taft Sandy and Stewart (Quoy) yielded 14 olicks. A big piece of timber was seen ashore on Gorsensgeo.
There was lots of trouble with the old slipway. The cradle comes off the rails while the boat is being lowered. High tide comes to the rescue about 1 p.m. lifting the boat just enough to let her float off the cradle and then to make the trip to Grutness. The hard job was lifting and levering the old cradle back on the rails.

1981
The usual Autumn work of shipping lambs, lifting tatties, cutting corn and the Sheep Hill was on the 26th.
A big job going on at the North Haven. The new slipway is almost finished and a nickname is soon invented for the opening into Buness - the biggest noost in Shetland!
A note about a load of furniture going out on the Spes Clara and ending up on Whalsay instead of Lerwick.
A small tug - the Workhorse - made a bruck of leaving the pier and ended up with a rope around the prop. He spent a poor day at the Shepherd's moorings before getting a tow back to Lerwick.

1983
Yet again the Hairst work is recorded but most of it is done after work as the Aesterhoull houses are being built. Harling, levelling heaps of soil, concrete paths and gas piping are the jobs so the houses are nearly finished.
The Council boat Spes Clara does a couple of runs to shift lambs out of the Isle, so that eases the load for everyone.
The South Light is undergoing conversion to rock station status and big new engines are shipped in. The old glass and brass lenses from the tower are sent away in crates - a casualty of progress or so we were told at the time.

1992
A week of south east and southerly winds from the 19th kept rare birds coming. Yellow browed warbler, pectoral sandpiper, yellow breasted bunting, Bonetti's warbler, woodchat shrike and eyebrowed thrush are most of the good ones while most of the common migrants arrive in huge numbers.
Kiers are building the breakwater and berthing face at the North Haven, so material and plant are spread from the water's edge to the Obs.
Various jobs get a mention - the Schoolhouse gets a new bathroom suite and kitchen units. The Lifeboat house is re-roofed and Dave's shed gets louvred vents to keep the cows cool.

1997
Fair Isle was left out this year as Mary and I were on holiday in the Caribbean. A week on St. Lucia then a week's cruise to visit other islands. The memories come flooding back - dinner in the Palm Grille then drinks in the Sundowner Bar while listening to a steel band - rain forest walks - the huge plume of ash over Montserrat after the volcanic eruptions. We were back home on the 30th. and the landscape looked so bare after the stunning flowers and greenery we had just left.

  Enough for now as this still has to be typed up for printing.

Yours aye Brian.

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On Fair Isle this summer I was told that folk were ignorant of my past. What do you want to know? How far back? To my school days? Well, these were much the same as for other children being brought up in the 'twenties and 'thirties in a London suburb. All of us were encouraged to conform to the behavioural patterns of the time and to make the most of our schooling. Looking back, three things strike me as having been of major significance.

First life was very organized and very disciplined. Thus, for instance, at home, meals were at fixed times, three times a day, seven days a week and indeed throughout the year. Bedtime was laid down by my parents and had to be obeyed. At school we all wore school uniform and sat in serried rows.  In silence we listened to what teacher was saying or worked on exercises he had given us. (As it was a boys' school, all the teachers were male.) Altogether it was a very organized and disciplined life. I learnt much about the value of organization and discipline.

Secondly from an early age I had been interested in all things mechanical. At secondary school I joined the engineering society which organized visits to industrial organizations on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, I also remember that with the help of a friendly school engineer I was able to explore the school's steam boilers when they were shut down for maintenance. All this confirmed my desire to become an engineer. Fortunately, encouraged by my parents, I did reasonably well at school and was particularly good at maths and science. (I hated english and foreign languages!) Thus an engineering career became a possibility.

Thirdly I am also aware that I often, particularly in the early years, did not find school a happy experience. Unlike most other children I was not just an only child but until I went to school had had hardly any contact with other children. I had great difficulty in relating to my contemporaries, or for that matter to adults and I made very few firm friends. I was very shy and much preferred my own company to the company of others. I was, and in many ways still am, an individualist. On leaving school I clearly still had much to learn.

Jack

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BOTTLE MESSAGE
Brian (Wilson) found the following message (on an acetate sheet) in a bottle washed up on the beach in Hesswalls on 23 rd September 1999 
As can be seen the bottle containing the message was one of 180 thrown into the sea off Iceland in March 1997 ‑ 28 months ago.