Beehive petition and a new chapter at the Torridon Stores

Welcome to our latest Wester Ross Round-up newsletter. If you enjoy this newsletter, please consider signing up as a paying supporter. And if you have already done that, did you know it's now easier than ever to buy a gift voucher for someone else who might like a subscription to the Gairloch and District Times? You can buy one here.

🟡 One year after an incident near Poolewe where two young people sustained around 150 bee stings each and had to be airlifted to hospital, relative Susan Kirkness has launched a petition calling on MSPs to ban beehives in public spaces until new safety regulations can be put in place. More: Petition and Instagram

🟡 Patients in the Highlands face delays and lengthy, expensive journeys for cancer treatment due to significant workforce pressures on NHS Highland’s oncology service. Read more: Scott Maclennan | Inverness Courier

🟡 There are new owners at the Torridon Stores. Rich and Jenny have posted on Facebook to introduce themselves. "We look forward to getting to know everyone over the coming weeks and months, and we hope you'll pop in for a chat, a coffee, or a bite to eat." More: Facebook

🟡 A former church and masonic hall in Aultbea is for sale for offers over £75,000. More: PB Solicitors

🟡 Some residents in Aultbea have received a letter from SSEN informing them of a planned power cut in the village on Friday 24 July from 09:00 to 16:00. The letter states that this is in order to "upgrade equipment on our overhead lines at Aultbea." Advice and information can be found at: SSEN

🟡 Planning permission in principle has been granted for a new house 800m east of Shieldaig Farm, near Gairloch. The application received one objection which related to the impact the proposal could have on ancient woodland. More: Highland Council

Events

This is just a selection of some of the latest events that have been posted to our people-powered Wester Ross events calendar. You can check out all the events here. If you know of a missing event, you can add it using this form.

🟡 Wester Ross Story Club
Local writers Rob Mackean, Ginevra House and Clare O'Brien will perform three original tales, each based on the legends and landscapes of our own corner of Wester Ross. Suitable for 12 years and upwards and enhanced by music, light and sound, these three stories explore some of the wilder and weirder edges of our environment.
Fri 24 Jul | 7.00pm | Poolewe Village Hall · Poolewe | More info

🟡 Heather Cartwright & The Peanut Gallery
Heather Cartwright is a Glasgow-based singer-songwriter whose detailed fingerstyle and flat-picked guitar-playing provide a vibrant backdrop to her self-penned songs and interpretations of traditional material. The Peanut Gallery play a wide range of tunes from funky Americana to traditional Scottish.
Fri 24 Jul | 8.30pm | Ceilidh Place Ullapool · Ullapool | More info

🟡 Applecross Bayrun [Every Sunday]
Weekly fun run, walk or cycle every Sunday 9.30am start. Meet at Walled Garden Carpark. See our Facebook page for more info!
Sun 26 Jul | 9.30am | Applecross Walled Garden Café & Restaurant · Applecross & Shieldaig | More info

🟡 Open Garden Event
Our garden is south-east facing on the edge of Little Loch Broom. It is a coastal plantsman's garden with a rich mix of herbaceous borders, trees and shrubs, vegetables, drystone wall planting. Proceeds from the event will be donated to charity.
Sun 26 Jul | 11.00am | 2 Durnamuck Garden and Garden Bothy · Ullapool | More info

🟡 The Ceilidh Trail
The Ceilidh Trail is open to young traditional musicians aged between 16 and 25, who will spend the summer playing music, travelling throughout Scotland and beyond, and gain experience playing for just about every kind of gig you may encounter as a professional musician!
Wed 29 Jul | 12.00pm | Inverewe Garden (National Trust for Scotland) · Poolewe | More info

🟡 Bio-Blitz on Isle Martin
This is a fun Citizen-Science event for families and an opportunity to discover and explore the rich resources of Isle Martin, our Community-owned Island. Ferry running from Ardmair 4:30pm to 8:30pm
Wed 29 Jul | 4.30pm | Isle Martin · Ullapool | More info

🟡 Poolewe Cèilidh Partnership - Rogart Cèilidh Band
The Poolewe Cèilidh Partnership (P.C.P.) is a group of volunteers who run a series of cèilidh dances throughout the summer each year to promote traditional music and fundraise for local good causes.
Wed 29 Jul | 7.00pm | Poolewe Village Hall · Poolewe | More info

🟡 Coastal Walk for National Whale and Dolphin Week
Join the ranger for a short coastal walk in search of marine animals. This is part of National Whale and Dolphin Week and we will be looking and watching as we go. Otters, or at least their signs, frequent this area and we will have a general look at coastal wildlife and landscape in the area as well. Distance is about 3km for this circular walk.
Thu 30 Jul | 10.00am | Rhue Lighthouse · Ullapool | More info

🟡 Creative Writing Group
Our Creative Writing Group is a friendly, relaxed session to help you get writing. We will maybe do some writing exercises and share our endeavours.
Thu 30 Jul | 2.30pm | Gairloch & Loch Ewe Action Forum · Gairloch | More info

🟡 Batik Youth Art Camp [Until Fri]
A five day youth art camp (ages 13 - 18) with artist and former art teacher Pat Gulliver, introducing the creative process of batik.
Mon 03 Aug | 10.00am | Gairloch Museum · Gairloch | More info

🟡 Shieldaig Fete & Ceilidh
Fete Day features bouncy castle, hill race, burgers, bar, raffle, bottle stall, auction, local stalls, kids' activities, and more. Evening ceilidh with the Ragin' ceilidh band from 8PM.
Sat 08 Aug | 1.00pm | Shieldaig Village Hall · Applecross & Shieldaig | More info

🟡 Museum Book Group
Our Museum Book Group read this month is The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detectives by Sarah Lodge. You can join our friendly group for tea, coffee, cake and lively discussion in person at the Museum at 3.30pm or online - 7.30pm via Zoom.
Wed 19 Aug | 3.30pm | Gairloch Museum · Gairloch | More info

Jobs

Do you have a job vacancy you are trying to fill? Reach even more local people by advertising in the Gairloch and District Times. You can book space here.

🟡 There is a part-time book-keeping job going in Ullapool. More: Facebook

🟡 Highland Council are recruiting for a part-time school cook in Ullapool. More: MyJobScotland

More News

🟡 According to a new survey, 67% of self-catering operators in Scotland (with a third of the respondents from the Highlands) are concerned about rising costs of doing business. 4 in 10 businesses are uncertain about their future or are considering leaving the sector. More: Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers

🟡 The Ullapool organisers of the annual Oddballs fancy dress fundraiser are looking for local pubs to support the event. More: Facebook

🟡 The Daily Record sent a "tourism" reporter to Gairloch and they liked it. More: Daily Record

🟡 Jamie Stone, the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross has announced in a social media video that he is to have a heart operation. He will be on light duties during recovery and has sought to reassure constituents that his office team will still be able to help them. More: Facebook

🟡 The Scottish Land Commission has published a new report looking into the future of community land and asset ownership. More: Scottish Land Commission

🟡 Forty new satellite tags will soon track sea eagles in western Scotland to investigate how sea eagles and livestock interact. More: NatureScot

🟡 One of the first acts of the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham was to cut VAT on electricity from 5% to zero. This is estimated to cut £45 off a typical annual household bill, but if you rely on electricity to heat your home like many people do in Wester Ross, then the savings could be greater. Suppliers are "expected" to pass on the tax cut regardless of what kind of tariff you are on. More: UK Government

🟡 The UK Government has dropped plans to stop paying Coastguards. The GMB Trade Union has welcomed the move, after it challenged the government to pay Coastguards properly. Nicola Savage, GMB National Officer, said: "This is a richly deserved win for GMB’s coastguards. It was a scandal that these brave, life-saving workers would have their pay cut. But Ministers have listened and done the right thing." More: The Guardian

Do you know of something that you'd like us to include in the next issue of the Gairloch and District Times. The deadline is 10am on Friday. You can share your news, tips and photos here.