High up in the atrium at KGS, the voices of the Orkney Rocks choir were ringing out last Saturday morning. Music full of joy enough to lift the soul, although in some senses it felt at odds with the nature of the event I was there to attend.
All credit to the team at Radio Orkney for their fine tribute to Dave Gray last Friday morning, following his sudden and untimely death earlier in the week. I’m really not sure how they managed to hold it together while recording.
Each Thursday morning, the Presiding Officer, DPOs and officials meet to prepare for First Minister’s Questions. It generally concludes with an informal sweepstake on what issues the opposition leaders will raise.
The long wait for an Orkney Sports Award continues for me and Robbie Fraser after last Friday’s ceremony in the Orkney Theatre. Despite that disappointment, the awards remain one of my favourite events of the year.
James Stockan’s announcement on Monday that he is stepping down from Orkney Islands Council caught most people by surprise, certainly in its timing. Indeed, the echoes with a similar, sudden resignation almost exactly a year ago are uncanny.
Coming into 2023, Nicola Sturgeon remained the dominant figure in Scotland’s political landscape. While frictions within her party were becoming more obvious and public, nothing suggested an implosion was imminent.