Comments please on the question...

Should they get 'shot' of the cannon from the Riverside?
THE NEWS that they want to move the cannon back to its original stance at the harbour, brought back a flood of childhood memories to me, and, no doubt, many others of similar vintage.
Standing sentinel in its commanding position overlooking the green sward of the Riverside, it was a popular play-thing in my childhood. The gun fought many a battle as it was frequently trained on an armada coming up Wick river and always repelled the invaders.
As reported in the Groat, the ancient gun was gifted to the area as a fog signal gun in the late 1800s before being replaced by a proper fog horn warning system. Now the harbour authority wants to reclaim it as part of its marine and waterfront development to generate additional interest with historical artefacts.
I would disagree with Willie Watt when he says that the cannon often goes unnoticed. If you approach the Riverside from the Station Road end, you can’t help but see it, before the twin path dip down to the playpark below. Let me stress, I back him and his board, wholeheartedly, in their efforts, in diversifying and developing things at the harbour, but is the cannon really going to make much difference in its plans?
The gun is part and parcel of the Riverside area below the railway tunnel, and has been for many a year. I don’t know if the younger generation of the day train the gun on Wick’s, enemies, sailing up the river. It did have a less belligerent role on one occasion when the Dynamos Showband sat astride it for a publicity picture. I could be needed for a similar purpose again. Who knows?
There is often little room for sentiment in business and progress, but I would make a plea for the cannon to remain at is present home. For one thing, it would require a Simpson crane to lift it, and for another...how are we going to repel our river raids of the future?
What do org-anauts at home and abroad think? Does the cannon have a special place in your childhood or am I guilty of oversentimentality. Feel free to have your say on the general forum.