Latest news with #Orkney
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Orkney and Shetland internet cable to be fixed by next weekend, say owners
Damage to the undersea communications cable which has affected internet services in Orkney and Shetland should be fixed by next weekend, the cable's owners have company Shefa said damage to the cable between Orkney and Banff was most likely to have been caused by a fishing has led to disruption for hundreds of broadband customers in the islands since it was reported at about 03:00 on was initially thought up to 10,000 people would be affected. Most have now had their services restored. Shefa spokesman Pall Vesterbu told BBC Radio Orkney a repair vessel would be at the site of the break around 5.5 miles (99km) from Orkney this week to assess the damage and and fix the Vesterbu said it was probably a fishing boat which caused the damage but the company could not be sure until inspections have been carried is calling on fishing boats to avoid fishing directly over the cables and to keep their Automatic Identification System (AIS) indicators on at all times so they can be warned if they are fishing too close to the cable provider OpenReach initially said 10,000 customers had been affected but then scaled that back to "hundreds".The Balfour Hospital's switchboard and phone system has been restored after it went down on Saturday, with patients asked to call a mobile number while it was being Shefa-2 cable provides a wholesale link which is used by telecoms companies to deliver services to their is used by OpenReach to deliver the broadband network to the islands, which is then sold on by individual companies like EE, Vodaphone, Sky and PlusNet in different is one reason why customers and businesses have had different experiences this weekend - with some experiencing no interruption, others coming back on overnight, and some taking longer to be restored.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Cable damage disrupts internet services in Orkney and Shetland
Internet and phone services in Orkney and Shetland have been disrupted because of damage to a subsea cable. Shetland Telecom said the Shefa-2 cable between Orkney and Banff sustained damage at about 03:00. The switchboard at Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall is currently down, with patients asked to call a mobile number instead. The cable, which links Orkney, Shetland and the Faroe Islands to mainland Scotland, was last damaged three years ago in an incident thought to have been because of a fishing vessel. Openreach, which supplies broadband in Orkney, has been approached for comment by BBC Newes. Communications in Shetland were severely disrupted in October 2022 when the south subsea cable between the islands and the mainland was declared a major incident with landlines and mobiles unusable. At the time, BBC News heard reports that many shops were unable to take card scale of the current incident is still being investigated.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Orkney carved stone head could be more than 900 years old
An intricately-carved sandstone head which could be more than 900 years old has been found on the Orkney island of head was discovered by University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) archaeology student Katie Joss at the Skaill Farm was exploring the foundations of a large wall when the head popped out into her hands."It was quite a shock, we were removing a slab when the head came rolling out at us and as we turned it around we saw a face looking back at us. It was really exciting," she said. Dr Sarah Jane Gibbon from the UHI Archaeology Institute is co-director of the dig at Skaill Farm, which is now in its 10th year. She said she was surprised at the intricacy of the carved face and hair, which looks serene despite its nose being broken off."It looks very similar to a carved head in the south aisle of St Magnus cathedral," she added that the style of it suggested it might have had a similar function in a 12th Century building."It's really unusual, we've found nothing like this here at Skaill before," she said."We don't know how the head ended up in the backfill of this building, though the fact the nose is broken could be a clue." The head - which has not been given a name yet - is being preserved with the other finds from the will be cleaned up and put on public display at some point in the name of Skaill farm comes from from the Old Norse word "skáli", meaning "hall".The Skaill excavation site sits directly on top of what was once the Norse settlement of powerful 12th Century Viking chieftain, Sigurd of Westness. Dan Lee, an archaeologist with the UHI Archaeology Institute, said: "Sigurd was pals with Earl Rognvald, who built St Magnus cathedral in Kirkwall."We think we are standing on the hall that Sigurd built and lived in, which then became a late-medieval farmstead."Right next door we have the remains of St Mary's chapel and a medieval tower called The Wirk."We think this was a real seat of power in that period."
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Joy and despair as 2027 Island Games sports unveiled
Guernsey were third in the medals table at the 2025 Island Games in Orkney [Kirstin Shearer] Judo's return to the Island Games has been heralded as "amazing news" for the sport in Guernsey. Judo is one of seven sports to be added to the programme in the Faroe Islands in 2027. Also being added are basketball, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball after their omission in Orkney this summer. Advertisement But golf, sailing, lawn bowls and squash have all been omitted from the programme. For judo it is the sport's first inclusion at an Island Games since Gibraltar in 2019, when Guernsey's five-strong side won a silver and two bronze medals. "It's amazing news for the sport and for judo on Guernsey in itself," Guernsey Judo Club's Eddie Mann said. "We had a sort of an idea maybe six months ago that it was possibly going to be in there, so we have initial discussions about who potentially could go." He added to BBC Radio Guernsey: "It'll be a younger team that go across in 2027 compared to who went to Gibraltar. Advertisement "They'll be in their late teens a lot of them, early 20s, and they've got competitions ongoing throughout the year and going into the next couple of years." But while some sports are celebrating, other sports will have to find alternative competitions in 2027, among them squash. Guernsey sent three male players to the 2025 Island Games earlier this month - the fourth games in the last seven that the sport has been included. "It was great that we were in this year, " said Martin Watts, Guernsey's development officer for squash. "It really creates a buzz around the sport. Obviously there's only a limited number of people that can actually go to the Island Games, however those players train, they train with other players and everybody's looking at their results. Advertisement "So without that sort of buzz and that event to look forward to in the next couple of years, it makes it slightly more difficult for the players to train and focus on something." He added: "We do have an alternative which is the European Team Championships. "However that is just a team event, there's no individual bit, there's no doubles. "So the Island Games being a mixed sport event adds something to it, it adds doubles as well, you have the team event, you have the individual event. "So for the players that go and what it brings to our system, it really does raise the level and keep people's focus."
BBC News
7 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Joy and despair as 2027 Island Games sports unveiled
Judo's return to the Island Games has been heralded as "amazing news" for the sport in is one of seven sports to be added to the programme in the Faroe Islands in being added are basketball, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball after their omission in Orkney this golf, sailing, lawn bowls and squash have all been omitted from the judo it is the sport's first inclusion at an Island Games since Gibraltar in 2019, when Guernsey's five-strong side won a silver and two bronze medals. "It's amazing news for the sport and for judo on Guernsey in itself," Guernsey Judo Club's Eddie Mann said."We had a sort of an idea maybe six months ago that it was possibly going to be in there, so we have initial discussions about who potentially could go."He added to BBC Radio Guernsey: "It'll be a younger team that go across in 2027 compared to who went to Gibraltar."They'll be in their late teens a lot of them, early 20s, and they've got competitions ongoing throughout the year and going into the next couple of years." But while some sports are celebrating, other sports will have to find alternative competitions in 2027, among them sent three male players to the 2025 Island Games earlier this month - the fourth games in the last seven that the sport has been included. "It was great that we were in this year, " said Martin Watts, Guernsey's development officer for squash."It really creates a buzz around the sport. Obviously there's only a limited number of people that can actually go to the Island Games, however those players train, they train with other players and everybody's looking at their results."So without that sort of buzz and that event to look forward to in the next couple of years, it makes it slightly more difficult for the players to train and focus on something."He added: "We do have an alternative which is the European Team Championships."However that is just a team event, there's no individual bit, there's no doubles."So the Island Games being a mixed sport event adds something to it, it adds doubles as well, you have the team event, you have the individual event."So for the players that go and what it brings to our system, it really does raise the level and keep people's focus."
