News around Oban

"Remove killer road barriers" (from the Oban Times, September 11, 2008)

A retired senior law figure who dealt first hand with the death and destruction caused by wooden road barriers in the 1970s and 1980s has spoken of his outrage at the appearance of new structures across Argyll...
The fences, which began appearing across the area in May, have been put up to protect pedestrians from a fall or drop of more than 1.5 metres...
Mr Pagan said: 'I first became aware of the extreme danger of wooden roadside barriers in 1968... I had to deal with the aftermath of a number of fatal and other serious road accidents caused entirely by these barriers.'

I've seen some of these killer wooden barriers myself lately, and I've noticed that they seem to usually occur right next to a killer cliff, killer loch, or killer rock wall. We're screwed.

"Fishing contest clarification" (September 11, 2008)

An item in last week's Oban Times, page three, referring to Stormcats Islay Fishing Festival, wrongly stated that a contestant in the fishing competition had caught a blue whale. The report should have read that in previous years a blue shark had been caught in the competition. As Stormcats rightly pointed out, blue whales are an endangered species and catching them in the festival would be completely discouraged.

I should hope so!

"Garden unearths 'liquid gold'" (September 11, 2008)

A Plockton man struck liquid gold in his garden while digging the foundations for a new shed last Thursday morning. George Glasgow was busy with the pick at his Harbour Street home when he heard a sudden clink deep in the soil--and with his hands unearthed a treasure trove of whisky in a flagon, demijohns and bottles... It is believed the cache had been buried for more than 40 years...
George is continuing to build his shed, but everyone passing stops to talk to him about the whisky, and hoping they might get a 'wee taste.'

Only in Scotland!