The Strathspey Steam Railway currently operates its own steam train services on almost 10 miles of line from Aviemore to Broomhill, with its first regular passenger services to Boat of Garten having begun back in 1978. The railway is operated almost entirely by volunteers, with a round trip on the line lasting about an hour and a half.

Plans are being discussed to extend the existing line from Aviemore to Grantown-on-Spey, which will require some £5 million to provide the required platforms and buildings for the 3 mile extension, including the restoration of the former Grantown West station, and about £1 million of the total being required to provide a new tunnel under the A95 at Gaich. The line was closed in 1965, as part of the cuts made to the rail network at that time.

Of note is the fact that the project has cross-party political support, and the line has the backing of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Highland Council and the Cairngorm National Park Authority. The trust has said that bringing the railway into Grantown would generate significant economic benefits for the area.

According to the archives, it is now fifty years since the reactor at Dounreay in Cathness first went critical, and electrical power was genereated on November 14, 1949.

This was an event of further significance, as it was also the first time that nuclear power would be generated using fast breeder reactor technology. The great dome at Dounreay had been constructed to contain the results of any mishaps. Fast breeder technology was new and untested. Unlike gas or water cooled reactors, the nuclear core was taken past the point of simple criticality to generate heat, and operated at a much higher power level, such that the uranium fuel was converted, or bred, into plutonium, and giving the the fast breeder its name.

In order to harvest the heat of the intensified reaction, it was necessary to replace the more usual gas or water cooling with something that could carry more heat energy. This was achieved using a liquid metal known as NaK, an alloy of sodium and potassiu, of which the Dounreay reactor contained almost 170,000 litres. Although effective at controlling the intense heat, the alloy is toxic and poses a serious risk to health. It also ignites on contact with air, and reacts violently with water.

However, such reactors are extremely compact, and prove useful for nuclear power vessels, and explains the development of the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment next door.

The former nuclear reactor site is being restored by Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL), which has just been taken over by Babcock International Group, a move which marks the end of the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s presence at Dounreay after 55 years, and also completes the privatisation of the entire workforce at the site.

The DSRL site contains numerous archives relating to the Dounreay, including documents, photographs, and videos, such as shown below:

Usually, when you try and do something a little out of the ordinary, the problem is that some little Jobsworth with a big head pops up and tells you that there is some rule or regulation that means you can’t, or makes the cost prohibitive.

Unusually, it seems that suggestions which place Lossiemouth (in the north of Scotland) on the short list of potential spaceport sites for Virgin Galactic are not currently practical for exactly the opposite reason, and the lack of rules and regulations means that there is no regulator, insurance, or structure in place to deal with such a venture. The Outer Space Act, which Britain created in 1986, didn’t really envisage a system such as that proposed byVirgin, and simply did not consider the possibility of space launches in the UK.

In the days when missiles such as Blue Streak were being developed by the UK, although the liquid fuelled rocket motors were subject to static testing on the south coast of England, official were unable to decide on a suitable UK test site where test flight could be carried out safely, and the missiles were sent to Australia, where the Woomera Test Range was established. Blue Streak was a British ballistic missile designed in 1955 as part of a ballistic missile programme which was cancelled in 1960. The civilian Black Prince and Black Knight satellite launch system would have used the same technology within its stages, but the entire Blue Streak project was finally cancelled in 1972.

The UK currently has no legislation to allow Virgin Galactic’s space operations there – there is no regulatory authority, and it will be necessary for UK ministers and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to review the situation before operation could legitimately commence with fare-paying passengers.

The former RAF Machrihanish site was also mooted for this job a few years ago, but all references to this option now seem to have been dropped.

(The image of Spaceship One is attributed to rokits.org by Creative Commons SA, but the source appears to be defunct.)

Possibly coming as no great surprise, the four days set aside to hear the case regarding the dispute of mooring rights at Kames Bay, Isle of Bute, were not sufficient to resolved the matter, and the case is to be reconvened at some future date, when all parties concerned are available.

Both parties appear to have made relatively well reasoned and presented arguments, without moving into what sometimes become the realms of fantasy, and can even defy reason when reviewed by a comparatively sane outside observer, and the final outcome remains difficult for a neutral observer to predict.

One of the intriguing aspects which has been raised is the validity and influence of documents raised hundreds of years ago, and which could not have foreseen future developments that they may impact upon, and whether or not their existing scope extend to those new items not specifically mentioned within in them, but which could be materially affected by them.

The four days’ worth of hearing to date can be read in The Buteman:

Kames Bay moorings hearing: Day 4 – Buteman Today

• Moorings hearing – Day 3
• Moorings hearing – Day 2
• Moorings hearing – Day 1

With a summary being promised later.

We’ll watch for these and post updates.

Since many of the items which interest us arose during the war, I like to take the opportunity to mention Remembrance Sunday and the Poppy Appeal, which is now PoppyScotland here.

I never quite know what to write, since this is a recurring event, but had been mulling over the significance this year of the absence of any survivors from the first great conflict, as the last survivor – Harry Patch, known as The Last Tommy – passed away earlier this year, aged 111 years and 38 days, and the last surviving soldier to have fought in the trenches of the World War I.

It had never occurred to me before, but when I noticed his birthday fell in 1898, it reminded me that my own grandfather had lied about his age so that he could join up during World War I, but I don’t know exactly when. Whatever the events, it wasn’t something he mentioned often, and  I don’t recall the details now, as he did live to a fair age, but his later years were ruined thanks to a lifetime of tobacco – it may not have killed him outright, but it led to a series of strokes, ruined his circulation, and all but destroyed his ability to walk. Despite this, he fought to retain his independence right up to his last day, and insisted on living on his own. Possibly a characteristic of that generation.

Respect

However, I’ve cut short the thoughts I had on that subject, after I was diverted onto the topic of respect, which is something I believe is deeply entrenched in the spirit of Remembrance which we commemorate at this time.

This happened when I saw a recent BBC Scotland video report which allegedly show a woman, accompanied by a male who diverted the shop staff, stealing a Poppy appeal container.

I could probably waffle on for ages about how despicable this is, as in any sort of theft or crime carried out against those who depend on the charity of others in any way, but I think the cowardice and lack  of respect in the case of this particular action marks it out for special mention, and merely adding further words to its mention would be pointless

I prefer to simply give the couple, and their faces, the publicity they deserve, and let the world see this brave pair in action:

I never cease to be impressed by how easily and quickly what seems to be a fairly simple and straightforward decision can descend into a declaration of war – and I’m sorely tempted to add especially when councils and other self-interested groups are involved (but I won’t). Even appointing outside consultants doesn’t seem to help.

A couple of months ago, back at the start of September, it was announced that three possible sites for a visitor centre dedicated to St Kilda had been selected. It looked as if this was going to proceed sensibly, as Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) had declared that Hirta, the main island of the St Kilda archipelago, was not a possibility, because it is often inaccessible. Even though it is only about 40 miles west of the nearest islands, conditions are so severe that travellers can set out for St Kilda in fine weather, only to find that it is impossible to land on Hirta by the time they have sailed to the island.

Three potential locations were identified, all on the Western Isles, about 40 miles over the sea to the east of St Kilda: Cleitreval in North Uist, Leverburgh in Harris and Mangersta in Uig.

A few weeks later, by the End of October, a preferred site had been selected, and the consultants’ recommendation was Mangersta in Uig. The recommendation is far from final, and the plan still has to make its way through the local council’s decision making process, be considered by the sustainable development committee, and be considered by other public bodies before the visitor centre proposal is finalised.

But is looked as if the initial phases was over.

Not so…

A war now looks likely as the groups representing the Harris and North Uist bids are claiming that the rules were changed part way through the selection process, and the criteria were changed – Harris is seeking to resubmit it plans, and South Uist is considering similar action.

The media reports so far are short of detail, and those not involved in the process are not privy to the details and criteria the consultants worked to, so it’s not possible or fair to judge. However, this story seems to follow many similar complaints, where the parties involved are happy to conform to the criteria – until the decision fails to favour them, whereby they suddenly reveal to the world that the “rules changed and were cheated”.

Even if the claims are substantiated, this procedure still significantly weakens the complainant’s case, since it implies they would have kept quiet about the changes, and happily accepted the ruling had been in their favour.

If there is a problem, the time to speak up about it is before any final decision is made, not to wait for the outcome, and then jump up and down if it doesn’t suit you.

Ferry services in the Clyde, Hebridean and Northern Isles are provided mainly by state-owned Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) and NorthLink Ferries. Most, but not all of the routes operated by these companies provide services to, from and between islands, and as a consequence are referred to as lifeline services.

Concerns that the government’s funding of the country’s lifeline ferry services breached European competition law have been rejected by an official inquiry. The European Commission said this was “compatible with state-aid rules”.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Ferry subsidy ‘in order’, says EC

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I’ve voluntarily withdrawn from passing direct comment and opinion on ferry issues. I’m only an occasional tourist-style user, but have done so for decades, received fine service when I needed it (and there wasn’t a strike in porgress), and seen enough to learn that there is some sort of nasty anti-CalMac attitude fostered by some, determined to undermine anything the operator does regardless of whether it is good or bad, and that spilled over into the sort of messages I received when I spoke up in favour of the operator. So I’m not mentioning any specific commentators.

What I will venture to say is that reading the BBC’s report of the comments made by the various parties that feel CalMac impacts on them could still be scripted in terms of the positive or negative spin they put on the commission’s ruling, and none of the players have changed their positions or opinions on this, or the part played by the Scottish Government.

The same entrenched attitudes can still be found in the report provided by the Dunoon Observer online:

EUROPE DECIDES: Tender for Dunoon ferry

(The link will change, and may not be operational as the Observer archives its articles, but will be updated.)

Relatively unknown until recently, when it featured in the media with news of its forthcoming demolition and residential redevelopment, the village of Polphail was created during the 1970s to serve as accommodation for workers employed at a concrete oil platform construction being constructed at Portavadie.

Despite millions of pounds of government money being poured into the development, both its concept and product were deeply flawed, having been rushed in order to cash in on the oil boom of the the time. The construction yard was never completed and never came close to production. The accommodation was never occupied and never saw a single resident. It did leave behind a hole, which we have seen referred to as the “biggest man-made hole in Europe” (but we haven’t been able to verify this one).

The site was abandoned and has lain derelict ever since, and became the subject of a public enquiry.

Portavadie currently serves as the terminal for a CalMac ferry connecting with Tarbert, across Loch Fyne, and has seen a fish farm be developed in the multi-million pound hole that was created there, where the concrete platform legs were supposed to be constructed. A marina opened in the mid-2000s, and a brand new facilities building opened there in May 2009, containing toilets, showers, bar and restaurant. Although there have been a number of proposals to develop time-shares on the Polphail site, none of these ever materialised, but a few holiday cottages have been built nearby.

However, progress was made in 2009, when a plan to create up to 270 home on the site was announced by the owner, and demolition of the original Polphail accommodation was scheduled to begin in following December.

Agents of Change

Thanks to media coverage of the development, the site came to the attention of a group of artist known as The Agents of Change. Although they are graffiti artists, this in not a group kids running around with cans of spray paint vandalising the streets and tagging any clean surface, but are well-established artist, and in their forties. Having seen the derelict village in the news, they got in touch with the owner requesting permission to carry out a project in the village, and were pleased to receive a positive response to their enquiry, provided they were prepared to pay homage at hallowed altars such as Elfin Safety.

The arrival of the six artists involved was generally well met an appreciated by most of those who live near the village, who said the artwork made a welcome change from their usual view of the drab grey concrete of the decaying ruins which they have had to look at for some forty years.

An introductory video was made of the project:

And a couple of examples of the work carried out in the village:

Polphail Agents of Change graffiti art © paul birrell

Polphail Agents of Change graffiti art © paul birrell

It’s some years now since a story from the Isle of Bute caught my eye, concerning a few ordinary folk versus the Crown Estate. When I first saw it, I really expected it to go away quite quickly (with the Crown Estate walking all over its adversaries), and I thought it had back in 2006 (when the local council folded under the Crown Estate), but it refused to die as the people concerned refused to accept the council’s capitulation, and carry on their battle with the Crown Estate.

The problem centres on whether or not yacht owners need to pay to put down a mooring in Kames Bay, and the local newspaper has reported that the story will come to a head at a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, due to be heard over a period of four days next week.

Rothesay is a Royal Burgh thanks to two charters granted in 1400 and 1584, and the owners believe that the charters give them the right to establish a mooring on the sea bed without charge.  On the other hand, the Crown Estate believes they are bound to pay it a fee for establishing such moorings.

The town was established as a royal burgh by King Robert III in 1400,  and later declared a free port by James VI in a Charter of Confirmation granted in 1584, stating:

we give and grant to the magistrates and inhabitants of the said Burgh, present and to come, a free port and harbour for ships in the bay and station of the said Burth of Rothesay and the Kyles of Bute, the stations of Cumbray and Fairly and Holy Isle, and all others within the foresaid bounds, with free entrance and exit for ships and boats for carrying burdens with all kinds of goods and merchandise not prohibited by our laws and Acts, with all the privileges and liberties of a free port, and receptacle for ships, with power for the support of the foresaid port, to receive and raise off goods, merchandise, ships and boats.

In 2006, Argyll and Bute Council failed in its attempt to take on the Crown Estate, and it looked as if the fight was over, and the Crown Estate had prevailed.

The Port Bannatyne Moorings Association (PBMA)was formed in early 2007 (most, but not all owners joined), agreeing to collect fees from members for the Crown Estate’s, in return for a discount compared to paying up personally, however this “deal” led to a twist in the tale that kept the fight alive.

In April 2008,although the members had paid the required fees to the PBMA, it said it would not pass on the money unless it saw evidence of the Crown Estate taking action against holders of unlicensed mooring equipment. This led to the Crown Estate Commissioners raising a petition at the Court of Session in  seeking a declaration of their entitlement to remove all unauthorised moorings from the bay.

The case is due to be heard next week, with the local newspaper, The Buteman, promising to report daily.

While it’s said that there is no such thing as bad publicity, it’s hard to see any real benefit in the scare stories spread by extremists and conspiracy theorists when the surveillance state, our civil liberties, and our personal freedoms are being considered. For one thing, the true stories are generally shocking enough all on their own, and need no such embellishments.

Glasgow has trialled surveillance cameras with microphones which can listen in without the knowledge of those being watched. The press has reported that the Mayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill, and her Council have just banned parents from watching their own children at two council play areas in the town. We just had the ridiculous scenario where it was suggested that parents who might help one another by looking after each others children, or merely drove them somewhere, would have to be officially vetted first. We now have The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), created to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults, however some writers have suggested this body will be subject to abuse, claiming that not being registered with it will be interpreted can’t, and even those who have little contact with those it is intended to protect will end up having to register, or be disadvantaged.

A new campaigning group has been formed this month Big Brother Watch:

Coming this October, Big Brother Watch is the exciting new campaign from the founders of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, fighting intrusions on the privacy and liberties of ordinary Britons.

Big Brother Watch plans to produce regular investigative research papers on the erosion of civil liberties in the UK, beginning with a detailed investigation of the ways in which individual local authorities have encroached upon the lives of the ordinary British citizen, whether it be placing microchips in rubbish bins or snooping on your private telephone records. We will name and shame the local authorities most prone to authoritarian abuses.

We will also champion individual cases. We want to use the legal system to help the man in the street fight injustice and regain his personal freedom. We are building up a legal fund to back cases in which we feel a key principle is at stake.

…

Big Brother Watch also aims to expose the extent to which the web has become the first line in state surveillance. Recent examples of web companies being leant on to release personal data have opened the floodgates for the co-opting of internet activity into the state’s control. Safeguards are needed before it’s too late.

We hope Big Brother Watch will become the gadfly of the ruling class, a champion for civil liberties and personal freedom — and a force to help a future government roll back a decade of state interference in our lives.

This particular campaign is, of course, brand new. It remains to be seen how neutral it is, if there is an underlying agenda, and whether or not it is apolitical. These aspects can only truly be revealed in the fullness of time, as it develops a track record, however it does seem to form a broader platform than the various groups that have already formed to try and highlight the excesses of state intervention that have been railroaded into our lives on the back of claims that they are necessary for the “War on Terror”.

While I like to think I provide information to inform, I also try to avoid influencing anyone’s decisions (appeals against the destruction of historic sites excepted of course ), so I merely leave the last word to Big Brother Watch, and their own published mission statement:

Mission Statement

Big Brother Watch fights injustice and campaigns to protect our civil liberties and personal freedoms.

The British state has accumulated unprecedented power and the instinct of politicians and bureaucrats is to expand their power base even further into areas unknown in peace time.

Big Brother Watch campaigns to re-establish the balance of power between the state and individuals and families.

We look for the sly, slow seizure of control by the state – of power, of information and of our lives.

We advocate the return our liberties and freedoms and look to ordinary people to join our cause.

Big Brother Watch is on your side.