Nairn

Vicky wines doomed too - do the Co-op now have a bevvy carry-oot monopoly on Nairn?

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | yesterday

Thanks to Anon who pointed us in the direction of a Herald article . That article gives a link to further list of booze stores to close in Scotland . Sadly Vicky wines is to go too. Recently the shelves in there have been pretty bare, so if they still have any of your favourite tipple left you'd better get down there fast because soon you'll have to go to one of Nairn's many co-op outlets if you want...

Caledonian Blues

Alex Massie (Free subscription) | yesterday

Ochone, ochone! The plight of the Scottish Tories has been receiving attention again this week. As Pete pointed out, the latest Tartan poll puts the Tories at just 18% north of the Tweed. This means, 12 years on from the 1997 disaster, that, in Iain Martin's words , "They’re getting absolutely nowhere, slowly." True. In 1979, Scottish Conservatives won 22 seats and comprised 6.5% of...

A Royal Burgh Community Council – Tain has one – the time has come for Nairn to follow suit!

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 25/11/2009

Regular readers know that the Gurn has backed efforts for a single council before and that the title ‘Royal Burgh’ should be part of that title. With politicians at Holyrood level showing increasing interest in the role of community councils now surely the time has come for us to make a leap forward in restoring local democracy to the town. Suburban Community Councillor John Mackie attended...

Telegraph review - Sensational as usual - plus Nairn Gaelic Choir criticises the Wintersong Festival for a lack of Christmas content

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 23/11/2009

The Local paper splashes with ' Sandown Showdown', next year's forthcoming public inquiry promises to be a feisty affair if the pre -inquiry meeting was anything to go by. We won't spoil your fun, go and buy the Nairnshire for further details. Inside there is news of how bus passengers were kept in the dark over timetable changes, the River CC election, an article on the by-pass (as discussed at West...

More Nairn bloggers - Nairn Academy at Murrayfield

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 23/11/2009

The PE department at the Academy have a blog to keep parents up to date with the sporting curriculum and other activities. They have posted an article about the pupils that were down at Murrayfield to witness Scotland's victory on Saturday. An article complete with pictures over on their blog. A few of the teachers at the Academy have blogs too, you'll find the on the blogroll on that page. Other blogging...

Could Nairn follow Forres cuts?

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009

It doesn't sound good along the A96 in Forres, the inevitable is happening as council funds dry up. The Forres Gazette reports: 'If approved by councillors, the proposals would see archives moved out of the Tolbooth, and the council no longer using the building. Nelson's Tower would also be closed to visitors. Jobs could go at the library, with the introduction of self-service machines, the swimming...

River Community Council - Margaret Mackintosh bows out

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009

Whatever complexion the new community council takes next month there will be one face sorely missed. Margaret Mackintosh is stepping down after 14 years on the council. Over that time she has been to the forefront of debate and many of the issues that the River Council has campaigned on. Only recently she was asking serious question of the planners at the Highland Wide Plan meeting at Nairn Community...

Douglas Street 24 hour taxis - are all bets now off?

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 15/11/2009

Attention now turns to the former bookies at 44 High Street and the new planning application received by Highland Council . Nairn seems to have no shortage of taxis, in fact the recent advertisement in the Nairnshire asked readers to use local drivers in preference to others. The taxi driver's licence is a Highland wide one and thus a free market exists. Recently there were complaints in Inverness...

Take That members reach Scotland for Mark Owen’s fairytale wedding

Entertainment and Showbiz! (Free subscription) | 15/11/2009

Take That members Gary Barlow, Jason Orange and Howard Donald have reached Scotland for the wedding of their bandmate Mark Owen. The group did everything possible to keep their arrival on a 17-seater Lear jet a secret. After landing, the band headed to a luxury accommodation six miles away at Cawdor Castle, near Nairn. “They tried their best [...]

How much of Nairn's rubbish goes to China?

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 15/11/2009

Recent media coverage has highlighted the scale of UK rubbish heading elsewhere in the world, somtimes to be 'recycled' or even to be dumped illegally. The Mail on Sunday has an investigation into the amounts of Scottish rubbish going to China. It highlights the obvious fact that it makes no environmental sense at all to send rubbish to the other side of the world as efforts of 'green' households to...

High street to get loadsofmoney

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 13/11/2009

As earlier reported on the Spin but perhaps they have the figures a little wrong. Anyway Gurnites here's some comment from David Brownless: 'Perhaps old news now................ but Nairn has been awarded £800,000 as part of the Scottish Executive town centre regeneration programme. Given that parts of the Highland Council , quite deservingly at times , come in for a fair amount of flak, I would...

A referendum on UK's EU membership? Please not yet!

Labourlist (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009

By Brian Barder / @BrianLB In an eloquent article on Our Kingdom , David Marquand , the academic, former Labour MP and later chief adviser (1977-78) to Roy Jenkins as President of the European Commission, laments that the Britain he’s proud of, the Britain that “stood alone against Nazi Germany for twelve long months”, that welcomed foreign exiles and was a beacon of free speech...

• A referendum on the UK’s EU membership? Please not yet! - Ephems of BLB

Just how expert can Highland Council expert opinion be when it comes to Nairn issues?

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009

At Gurn headquartes we’ve had a chance at last to go through all the council documentation concerned with the proposal to part demolish the Woolies building and over develop the site with five ‘town houses.’ This documentation was made available in the Courthouse service point after the intervention of Sandy Park. One thing that emerges clearly is how thoroughly the planning officer...

It's Haddows that will close - plus other High Street matters.

A Gurn from Nurn (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009

A startled Gurnmeister was shocked to learn (whilst buying the evening's supply of Pear Cider) that it is Haddows that has been selected for execution by the administrators, it seems the Vicky Wines outlet made more money than the counterpart store up the street. It is hard to believe because Vicky wines always seemed to be a lot quieter. But there you go, the only bonus is perhaps even more people...

Threshers shut 53 stores across Scotland

Andrew Reeves' running blog (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009

53 Threshers shops out of the 219 across Scotland are now to close down. There will be 373 closures across the UK out of a total of 1,300 shops which will affect all of First Quench's brands including Threshers, Wine Rack, Haddows, Bottoms Up and Victoria Wine. As most people know the parent company, First Quench went into administration just last month and have appointed KPMG as their administrator,...