Gaelic film fest and snow funding for crofters

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🟡 Early plans for World Gaelic Week 2026 have been announced, with a host of events all over the country planned from February 23. In Wester Ross, Plockton High School has organised a whole week of events in the village, including a Gaelic Orienteering Challenge. In Applecross, a community arts and crafts event is planned. The Wester Ross Biosphere are coordinating a film festival of Gaelic films across the area, with details still to follow. It's not too late to organise an event and add it to the program.
More: seachdainnagaidhlig.scot

🟡 Farming charity the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI) has launched a £100,000 Snow Impact Fund to support Scottish farming and crofting families that have been severely affected by recent exceptional wintry conditions. The charity can also provide financial support for farming households that are struggling to pay their heating bills. More: RSABI

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🟡 An agency supporting care worker recruitment says it has workers with offers of jobs, but they can't find anywhere to live in the Aultbea area. Do you have rooms or property to rent? More: Scottish Care Highland / Facebook

🟡 After a series of challenges and a public vote, local radio presenter, Joshua Taylor, came in second place in an international Radio Star Competition. Joshua is the Deputy Station Manager at Wester Ross Radio. More: Iona M.J. MacDonald | Ross-shire Journal (£)

🟡 Gairloch Pharmacy have announced that they won't be able to dispense prescriptions between 10:00 and 12:00 on Mondays and Thursdays to allow for staff training. More: Facebook

🟡 MSP Maree Todd has launched a petition on the Houses of Parliament website calling for a change in the rules that determine whether communities qualify for a "shared banking hub," when the last bank closes in a town. She argues that the current rules mean that rural communities miss out. Her petition follows the planned closure of a number of Bank of Scotland branches in the Highlands, including in Gairloch. Under the current rules, Gairloch doesn't qualify for a replacement banking hub. You can sign the petition here: Parliament.uk

🟡 Highland Council confirmed the Bealach na Bà was finally opened to traffic on January 14. It had been closed for a fortnight after snow first shut the road on New Years Day. More: Highland Council.

🟡 NatureScot have released updated research into where Deer - Vehicle Collisions occur (DVC). You may be surprised to learn that all the DVC "hotspots" are in the central belt, not the Highlands. More: NatureScot

🟡 Someone vandalised the Aultbea Public Toilets recently using brown paint. More: Facebook

🟡 Aultbea Hall are selling bags of kindling for £10 each. The wood is a byproduct of the hall renovations, and proceeds go to hall funds. More: Facebook

🟡 Having closed for the winter, Shieldaig General Stores has announced it is to re-open on January 20. More: Facebook

🟡 Gairloch Museum have announced the dates and venues for their popular winter pub quizzes.

🟡 There will be a pop-up cafe by the pupils of Bualnaluib Primary in Aultbea Hall on February 12. Proceedings kick of from 11:00.

🟡 Gairloch Markets have announced that they will be held on Saturdays instead of Thursdays when they start up again in March 2026. More: Facebook

🟡 A few classes have changed their name at Gairloch Leisure Centre. All is explained in this social media post revealing the new January timetable. More: Facebook

🟡 You can help Loch Ewe Community Enterprise raise the cash they need to bring the vacant industrial unit at Bac Dubh, Poolewe into community ownership by filling out this "wants and needs" survey. More: lece.info

🟡 The Mikeysline mobile mental health support service is coming to Wester Ross on January 19, visiting Gairloch, Poolewe and Aultbea. They'll be at the Gairloch Community Hall betweem 11:30 and 13:30 to coincide with the Warm Mondays lunch group. More: Facebook

🟡 A new virtual drug and alcohol charity, Highland Anywhere, has launched in the Highlands, becoming the first of its kind in the UK. It is hoped that the fully online service will be more accessible to people living in remote areas. More: Olivia Andrews | Ross-Shire Journal (£)

🟡 Highlands MSP Ariane Burgess has reiterated her call for a pause on new salmon farm licences until better regulation is put in place, after the industry was found to have understated its use of antibiotics by 66%. More: Rob Edwards | The Ferret.

🟡 Numbers of critically-endangered flapper skate are beginning to recover in Scotland, new research has suggested. The huge fish are becoming more common around the coasts of Wester Ross. More: BBC

🟡 If you have an old toaster you want to recycle you might need to hold onto it for a bit. At a recent Gairloch Community Council meeting concerns were raised that the local Recycling Centre had no more capacity for unwanted electronic goods. A council officer has since been in contact to say: "The Waste Electronic and Electrical equipment area is almost full but there is still a little room left. As usual the festive period is difficult for the contactor used to clear and process the waste but is working on clearing all the sites as soon as they can."

🟡 And lastly, here's some nice drone footage of a snowy Gleann Shìldeag pine forest from the Woodland Trust. More: Facebook