Les pulls de Shetland Woolen Co sont fabriqués sur les îles Shetland. De la filature, au tricotage en passant par la teinture.
Si vous cherchez un pull shaggy brossé trois fois, vous l’avez trouvé. Ce triple brossage les rends doux comme de la barbe à papa. Car initialement la laine shetland est assez rèche . Ce traitement supplémentaire - mécanique et non chimique - permet un confort supplémentaire. Et un look très Ivy.
Over a hundred 145m wind turbines to dominate mainland Shetland
The Viking Energy wind farm in Shetland was approved last week. 103 wind turbines will be constructed, making it one of the largest in Europe. These turbines will be up to 145m high, which is taller than most of the buildings in the City of London.
There were 2,772 objections to the project and 1,115 notices of support.
I haven't been following this particular saga closely so can't comment in detail on the respective sides in the debate. Suffice to say it is the usual mix of monstrous-size / landscape-blighted / conservation compromised / generating jobs / valuable investment etc etc. Pretty much what you'd expect.
Ignoring for a moment the question of wind farm efficiency, I don't really know where I stand on issues like this. On the one hand I can understand how if you have sustainable resources and they can generate an income for you, then yep I suppose it's a logical move to exploit them and improve the lives of your residents. Shetland can quite easily place itself as an energy exporter and needs to safeguard its future.
On the other hand, it seems hugely unfair for any one area to bear such a large burden, especially in Shetland with its very small population, internationally important conservation interests and comparatively small land mass.
Dumfries & Galloway has been similarly exploited by virtue of its small rural population.....who obviously have a small voice in the larger scheme of things, as did those who objected to the development on Shetland.
I'm generally of the opinion that energy should be generated by the community, for the community, as close to point of use as possible. If we were to assume that wind farms were worthy additions to the energy mix then Shetland should obviously exploit the resources it has to supply its own people. That said, with its unique landscape and wildlife, a wind power station of 103 turbines seems excessive for such a small population.
But, from what I can tell, on the face of it this development differs slightly from those springing up elsewhere in Scotland. Viking Energy Partnership is a 50:50 split between SSE and Viking Energy Ltd, the latter of which is 'the company established to represent the interests of the Shetland community in large-scale windfarm development in Shetland.'
It is 90% owned by the Shetland Charitable Trust, 'the organisation set up to manage funds on behalf of the community'. They support through funding a number of charitable organisations and projects throughout Shetland, where there is perceived to be a clear benefit to the Shetland community.
Whether or not a wind farm of 103 turbines represents a clear benefit for Shetland residents isn't for me to decide. Shetland Islands Council, as local planning authority, has generally supported the project, prompting mixed opinions from the affected community councils.
Either way it's better to see a community having a much larger stake in a development than is usually the case. Typically these developers offer 'community benefit funds' to the local council or residents, which are feeble amounts really.
True, they run into the millions of pounds and are welcomed by many communities, but when you view them against the amount of money the landowner and the developer will pocket from feed-in tariffs and subsidies then they pale. They are, frankly, insulting given its the residents who have to live near wind farms while those who approve and host them generally do not.
I can't seen them as anything less than bribes, really. I firmly believe they are handed out only because it helps these things get through the planning process, not because there's benevolence on the part of the companies who come into rural areas seeking places to build their income-generating wind farms.
But anyway, that's another story.
In the mean time, if you've been thinking of visiting Shetland but haven't, and would rather see it BEFORE the dominant central bulk of the mainland is covered in a giant wind farm, you only have around 18 months to do so. Development will commence at that time after key connections to mainland Scotland are upgraded.
<rushes off to book holiday in Shetland>
EDIT: 2nd October 2013
I originally wrote this piece in April 2012. However, following a petition lodged at the Court of Session by Sustainable Shetland, it looks as though the development has fallen through.
Shetland News are today reporting that:
"SHETLAND’S huge Viking wind farm development no longer has planning permission, a court of Session judge ruled on Wednesday morning.
Lady Clark of Calton has set aside Scottish ministers consent granted to the 103 turbine development in April last year.
She said the decision to grant consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 was incompetent because the Viking Energy Partnership did not have an electricity generating licence.
She also held that ministers failed to have proper regard to the European Wild Birds Directive, relating specifically to whimbrel.
The court also ordered Scottish ministers to pay £60,000 of the legal expenses of anti-Viking Wind Farm campaign group Sustainable Shetland, who brought the case to court.
All parties have 21 days to appeal the ruling"
Mix Scots and Vikings and you get a seriously big, boozy fire…
Up Helly Aa refers to the annual fire festivals held in Shetland and Scotland to mark the end of the yule season. The festivals involve a procession of up to a thousand “guizers” marching in squads, who make their way through the town or village in a variety of themed costumes.
More on Lerwick Up Helly Aa by Somewhere in the world today…
Picture: Up Helly Aa 2008 by Dave Cleghorn, on Flickr
