Speedy skiffs, stupendous scones and a sign mystery

Hello. It's time for another Wester Ross Round-up. WARNING: We're now entering what journalists call the silly season. Everyone is on holiday so there's less news. Fear not, we won't pointlessly pad this newsletter out for the sake of it. And we've still found a few things you need to know for this week.

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ℹ️ There will be a celebration of Doreen Keogh's life on July 23rd from 13:00 in Gairloch Village Hall. Everyone invited. More: Facebook.

🎉 Congratulations to the Ullapool U40s men's Skiff team who came 2nd in the world at the St Ayles Skiff World Championships in Stranraer. Overall, Ullapool Coastal Rowing Club finished 13th in the world, out of 79 teams. More: Iona.M.J.Macdonald | Ross-Shire Journal (£)

💯 Also winning in Wester Ross - The Am Bàrd cafe at the Gairloch Museum have been awarded 10/10 for their scones from the Sunday Post. More: PressReader & Instagram

🦆 A Gairloch wildfowl warning sign has mysteriously disappeared and Gairloch Community Council would like it back. In a social media post they said: "Would whoever removed the wildfowl warning road sign from the entrance to the village please put it back, or hand it to any member of the Community Council." More: Facebook.

🐬 From 22-24 July there'll be wildlife experts on board the CalMac Ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway (10.30pm) and Stornoway to Ullapool (2pm), supporting passengers to spot whales, dolphins, and coastal marine mammals - as well as seabirds. To take part, all you need to do is buy a normal ferry ticket. More: Facebook

👣 It's not long now until the Great Wilderness Challenge. But it's not too late to book a spot on the shorter routes and to get raising some sponsorship. More: Great Wilderness Challenge.

🧑‍🍳 The Gille Brighde at Diabaig have announced that they're now opening for some lunches. Here's their new extended opening hours: Gille Brighde

📖 But the Button Bothy and Ron's Book Bothy in Poolewe are going to be closed until July 29, for holidays. More: Facebook

🎥 At the Aultbea Community Hub they are planning a couple of events to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the ending of WWII. More details in the flyer below.

🪵 At Aultbea Hall, they've chopped up lots of excess wood for kindling and put it up for sale. Delivery available. Proceeds to the hall funds. More: Facebook.

🦅 The Scottish Wildlife Trust are hiring a reserve manager who will cover their Inverbroom Estate and work at their other North West reserves. More: Scottish Wildlife Trust

👻 It's not until the end of September, but we have had a premonition. Highland Paranormal are planning a History and Paranormal Investigation at Pool House in Poolewe on September 27 at 13:30. More: Eventbrite.

💷 NHS Highland have been criticised for spending a small fortune on locum psychiatrists. More: Daily Record.

🌳 If you have land and are considering planting trees there's a grant scheme from the Tree Council that could help you meet the costs. Deadline is July 31. See: The Tree Council

🐑 If you have a croft or farm, the "Future farming investment scheme" is open until August 22. It can fund 100% of proposals that will improve the environmental performance of a farming enterprise. According to the Scottish Crofting Federation, "From shearing machines to bracken rollers, this scheme backs smart, sustainable improvements." More: Scottish Government

🐟 Proposals from Bakkafrost for 42 temporary accommodation units at Kishorn have now received an objection from the Highland Council transport team. More: Council planning portal.

🚦Road resurfacing has finished on the Bealach na Bà, so it is now open at night again. However, there's now roadworks on the Applecross coast road in the evening so that will be closed on Thursday July 17 overnight. More: Facebook

☑️ With Holyrood elections next year, Highland Council have said everyone should expect a letter soon encouraging you to register to vote. If you are not registered, you can do it online quite easily here: gov.uk

🧙 Private Eye have picked up on the UK-Government U-turn on tackling rural mobile signal "not-spots." The original programme led to controversial proposals for mobile masts in very remote places. Many of these have now been ditched. More: Private Eye via Facebook. Nevertheless - the UK has reportedly some of the worst 5G coverage in Europe. More: The Register.

🪶 Lead ammunition is to be almost completely phased out over three years from 2026. More: The Guardian.

🐕 And lastly, here's an interesting video about Reid the Biosecurity Dog who took a trip to the Shiant islands recently. Facebook