Get ready for Storm Éowyn

🌄 Good morning and welcome to today's Wester Ross Round-up. Our newsletter is being sent to 738 people this week, of whom 227 of you are paying subscribers. If you're one of the latter - we're super grateful to you for helping to keep the show on the road! 🤩

🌬️ Storm Éowyn looks set to be the biggest storm of the winter so far in Wester Ross - even if the central belt is likely to see the worst of it. There are a number of weather warnings in force for wind and snow with an Amber Warning of wind in place from 13.00pm on Friday 24 until 06:00am the following morning.

🌊 Winds are set to peak around 19:00 in Gairloch. Exposed coastal areas could see gusts of up to 87mph. High tide is at around 15:30 on Friday with the next one at 03:40. Around these times there could be a risk of coastal flooding, so SEPA have also isssued yellow flood warnings too.

⚡ Power firm SSEN want you to dial 105 to report any power outages or to do it via the Powertrack website. They also have advice about preparing for a power cut.

🛑 Lots of things are cancelled! Thanks to Storm Éowyn there will be no passenger trains of Calmac ferries running anywhere in Scotland on Friday 24, and there's likely to be disruption to most other forms of transport everywhere. The Scottish Government describe the storm "a multi-hazard event," with "all parts of the UK covered by one warning at some point on Friday.”  So get cosy and don't go anywhere if you don't have to.

There are also local event cancellations due to the installation of a new heating system in the Gairloch Community Hall taking longer than anticipated. This means that the Ewe Brew Beer and Skittles event on Saturday 25 is off, and so is Warm Mondays on the 27.

🎒 You may have seen headlines highlighting high absence rates at Highland schools recently. This may be true in aggregate, but a council report with the latest local statistics (pdf) for Gairloch High School and it's feeder primary schools shows that all the local schools have better than average attendence rates - whether you compare them with other Highland schools or the nation-wide average.

🏫 Sticking with schools, it's enrolement week next week. If your child will be five years old on or before 28 February 2026, they are eligible to enrol for Primary 1 in the 2025 to 2026 session. You'll be able to do it online here.

💩 There have been a few local complaints about dog-fouling appearing on social media lately. Also, some dog owners are inexplicably bagging their dog poo and then failing to bin it. Given that the council have only issued two fines to anti-social dog owners since 2021, it looks like creative solutions might be needed. If you have a good idea, add them in the comments below or send them to us. If we get any good suggestions we'll share them in the next issue of the paper.

🍲 The Links Cafe is back after a short break and opening at weekends. Meanwhile Fish Fridays are to make a return at The Wee Whistle Stop Cafe in the Loch Torridon Community Centre. It is opening on Sunday, Monday and Friday during February.

🏠 If you are a council tenant brace for a rent rise. It looks like an 8% rise in April is coming. The Inverness Courier reports that this is the largest rent hike in a decade.

🐏 There is also some bad news for crofters who transport their beasts via ferry to and from the islands. Calmac have been forced by the Animal and Plant Health agency to introduce new rules affecting journeys over three hours. The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) call the new regime "non-sensical." The SCF are also running a "crofting for the future" training course in Applecross starting on Friday 31 January. Sign-up here.

📍After a lot of consultation work by the Wester Ross Biosphere, local councillors agreed to formally adopt the Area Place Plan for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh. It is hoped it will guide planning and development work across a huge area, spanning the patches covered by 20 community councils.

🪖 A fascinating tale about a WW2 soldier from Gairloch, who was buried without his brain, has emerged via the BBC.

Some more dates for your diary...

⚘ Dundonell House are planning a Snowdrop Day on February 9, 11am-15.00pm. £5 entry, cash only. Money raised will be donated to Little Lochbroom Marine Life.

🎭 The National Theatre are bringing a play in Scots with Gaelic songs called Through the Shortbread Tin to Ullapool on Saturday April 12.

🏛️ Aultbea Hall SCIO, the charity focussed on redeveloping the local community hall are holding their AGM. It will take place on March 11 in the Crows Nest at 19.30.

🐦‍⬛ It's the Big Back Garden Bird Watch this weekend. Let us know how many Gocan-gorm's you see.

🐬 And lastly, here's some nice video footage of some dolphins, courtesy of Ullapool Sea Savers.

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