John O' Groat headlines for July 7, 2017


TENNIS courts in Thurso, which have been condemned as unsafe to play on, are to get a £170,000 makeover. Thurso Squash , Tennis and Racketball Club has just been given the green light to proceed with plans to revamp the long-time rundown courts at Millbank.


HIGHLAND women in their 60s who had been looking forward to retirement, are "absolutely livid" after being told they should look for apprenticeships. Thousands of women in the north, born in the 1950s, have been affected by the increase in the state pension age from 60 to 65 and they say they were not aware of the change made in 1995 as they were never informed.


EFFORTS to improve accommodation on the NC500 route are being stepped up, with funding of £200,000 made available by operators of a regeneration fund. The initiative, which will run as a pilot project, was launched at the Castle of Mey at the weekend and is open to existing operators and those planning to start up a new business.


A NEW format is to be considered for next year's Lybster Gala after a disappointing turnout at this year's event. Shena McBeath who chairs Lybster Community Association which stages the annual carnival in the village, revealed is looking to change the traditional programme.


LAST Friday, Lyth Arts Centre celebrated its 40th birthday with a liberal splash of colour and some musical accompaniment. Various artists who had contributed works over the years, were invited to exhibit at the show and Ricky Mackay led a brass band in playing some rousing classics in the garden veranda.


THE new-look play area in Reay was unveiled at the weekend marking the culmination of a local fundraising drive. Reay recreational Regeneration spearheaded the bid to upgrade the rundown park in the village.


A SPECIALIST ship re-installed the cluster of sub-sea turbines in the pioneering MeyGen tidal energy project in the Pentland Firth at the weekend. The construction support vessel, Olympic Ares, arrived in the Inner Sound on Saturday, to put the four turbines back in the water.


LATHERON Show is to return home for the first time in three years, tomorrow, as its established showground has been passed to host its 95th show. In common with many other agricultural shows across the UK this year, organisers report a decrease in livestock entries with each of the main categories down by a third on last year.


CANISBAY on Saturday provided a later start than normal to the north Highland circuit of agricultural shows. Like many other small parish shows throughout the country, it had run out of steam after the end of the Second World War and had fallen into abeyance for some time until it was revived 28 years ago.