Inverness Caley Thistle fans respond to Duncan Ferguson criticism; plus Highland green jobs boost; fake speed bumps; and 142mph motorcyclist
Future looks good for green energy jobs
It is welcome news indeed from Cerulean Winds that their Aspen wind farm in the North Sea will be assembled at the Ardersier fabrication yard.
This is a terrific boost for jobs locally and demonstrates that the Highlands are at the forefront of the green energy transition.
Following on from news in March that the UK Labour government has committed £55 million to the Port of Cromarty Firth to bolster the floating offshore wind industry there, this latest news for Ardersier shows that there are huge opportunities for the Highlands.
The UK Energy Minister, Michael Shanks MP, was in Ardersier on Monday last week to meet with staff. I'm sure that there will be many more visits in the future for the minister as the Labour government continues to invest further in clean energy, jobs and opportunities in the north of Scotland.
Shaun Fraser
Drumossie
Clampdown catches speeding motorists across region
Motorists were caught doing speeds of up to 142mph on Highland roads at the weekend, police revealed. Officers snared numerous drivers travelling well above the national speed limit during a weekend of "proactive patrols" across the region.
“Lots of bikes between Garve and Maryburgh roundabout on Saturday. One almost ran out of road and totalled himself on the roundabout. The previous weekend it was kit cars.” - Julian Patmore
“This is not an airport... sort it!” - Ryan
“In Australia we crush cars for that.” - Neil John Maclean
Fake speed bumps to be rolled out
Fake speed bumps which locals ridiculed after being installed on an Inverness street are being rolled out to another 10 Highland locations - at a cost of £40,000. Highland Council has confirmed that the fake speed bumps - painted two-dimensional road markings that are designed to create the false illusion that they are raised 3D obstructions - will be piloted in numerous communities’ 20mph zones where average driver speeds are “higher than desired”.
“As soon as drivers realise they aren’t real they won’t pay any attention to them anyway. It’s the sort of thing that will only work once or twice. What a waste of time and money.” - Kim Corbett
“Highland Council could have used the money to fill the potholes in properly instead of those waste of money and time paint jobs!” - Elaine Smith
“What a waste of time.” - Hugh Morgan
“The ones in Dalneigh are hilarious. Not slowing the speed at all.” - Michelle Woolley
“Looks like someone let their toddler loose on the road with some paint. If they’ve got money to spend on the roads then please just fix the potholes.” - Kevin Fraser
“At a whopping cost of £40,000!!!! Who did they get to paint them - Banksy?!?” - Elizabeth Jones
“Moan moan moan gnash teeth……take a breath……and repeat.” - Bill Macdonald
“More waste, fix potholes correctly.” - Davy Murdoch
“Highland Clowncil strikes again.” - Dave Reid
“Just for someone to be doing 20 or whatever then too late to realise the ‘fake’ speed bump and hard brake, for there to be someone behind and smash into the back of them. Stupid waste of money.” - Jay Harrower
“That only works the first time, maybe the second if you have bad memory; after that, it's just some paint on the road.” - Gemma Blazquez
Former manager savages Caley Thistle fans
Duncan Ferguson has branded Caley Thistle fans he clashed with during 13 months in the Highlands “a disgrace” in his newly-published autobiography ‘Big Dunc’.
“ICT fans need to consider a lot, whilst he was the manager and his approach to tactics may be contended look at what he did for the club as a manager. He had their best interests at heart beyond team day and paid for stuff that the club couldn't. What a shame.” - Nick Mahlitz
“Nick Mahlitz, while he got a lot of things right he didn’t get the important part right. The tactics, the management, the relegations.” - Euan Bain
“Blaming the fans for your own failure as a manager. The stats speak for themselves. Dunc the dud.” - Jonny Campbell
“Jonny Campbell, his stats from points collected from when he got the job would have placed the team fifth. One point out of a possible 21 from the first seven games under Dodds is what sent Caley down.” - Andy MacQuarrie
“Easy to blame but he needs to look in the mirror and admit he was out of his depth, thankfully we got a decent manager after him.” - Mark Wheeler
“Duncan Ferguson was a very nice guy who was manoeuvred by Scot Gardiner (who very publicly took the ‘credit’ for the appointment) into a job where he was unable to deliver. I often wonder what he thought when he arrived and discovered what (as it was at the time but no longer) a toxic cesspit he had signed up with. Fans inevitably get grumpy when things don’t go well on the field, but at the time this was a fan base that had already been hugely frustrated and antagonised by the manner in which the club was being run - and in particular by the actions of Gardiner. As a result, the reaction Duncan got was a lot worse than simply to team performance. He also carried some of the can for the deepening and near fatal administrative catastrophe that Caley Thistle was descending into at the time.” - Charles Bannerman
“He needed to fill the pages with something since there weren't too many good news stories to tell.” - Rachel Taylor
“Both the fans and Big Dunc were the victim of a poorly ran club and we need to remember there was more than Gardiner that were responsible and that was admitted by the board who took over after Gardiner. In terms of the fans, is he maybe one of the few managers out there that is willing to speak up? As much as you don't want to admit it there is always going to be a section of the crowd like that at any club, even Billy Dodds got the same treatment in terms of a barrage of personal abuse from the stands at Dens Park merely three months before taking the club to Scottish Cup final.” - Ewan Beattie
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