It’s hard to put into words the horror of recent and ongoing events in Israel and Gaza. The murderous rampage and hostage taking by Hamas militants targeting a music festival and kibbutzim across southern Israeli was unspeakably barbaric.
Happy retirement to MV Golden Mariana, which completed her final journey between Papay and Westray at the end of last week. Built in Devon in 1973, at 50 years old the Mariana was the oldest vessel in the Orkney Ferries fleet.
The Prime Minister chose the eve of Climate Week to announce he was watering down his environmental commitments. With a general election due next year, Rishi Sunak has calculated that delaying targets will revive his party’s prospects at the polls.
Two years ago, I launched a consultation on proposals for a bill to allow terminally ill adults with mental capacity in Scotland the choice of an assisted death.
During its construction, the Scottish Parliament building attracted more than its fair share of criticism. For all the delays and cost overruns, however, thankfully the project never resorted to using ‘flaky concrete’.
Sanday got Show Week off to a promising start last Friday. Despite a chill in the air it was a fine day, encouraging locals and visitors to turn out in decent numbers, which was good to see.