Volunteer Dog Fosterers wanted for Guide Dog Uk in Wick area

Could you give a future guide dog a loving home? We are looking for two volunteer foster homes in Wick to take part in a 12-month trial to determine the feasibility of training in the area.
 
Our volunteer fosterers provide a guide dog in training with a safe and comfortable environment to relax after a busy day training. It is a rewarding opportunity, as you will be looking after a future guide dog in your home.
 
Our trainer will pick up and drop off the dog from your home four days a week. For the remaining three days, including the weekend, the dog will stay with you all day.
 
We are also looking for two respite foster homes to provide temporary cover when our full-time fosterers are on holiday or otherwise unable to look after the dog for a short period.
 
Guide Dogs provide exceptional training and encouragement throughout your volunteering journey and will pay all pre-agreed expenses.
 
For those interested in either of the above roles please contact Aaron.Puckrin@guidedogs.org.uk for more information.
 
Alternatively, and if you would like to apply, please visit www.guidedogs.org.uk/volunteerA collection of Dog photgraphs from Iain McLachlan

JIM Meeting

There’s FREE, pool, darts, games, music, tea, coffee, biscuits, chocolates etc, but most importantly a warm & friendly welcome. We have regular pizza & chippy meal nights & are planning on BBQ & Burger nights to come now that summer is coming. Why not pop in and Join In More. Any questions just PM us at Listening Ear and ask for Davie or Mark. reach us via 07529 248763.

GET IT

Get Employability Training and IT (GET IT) is a service which helps individuals with basic IT training and helps them to develop skills to go get into employment. This service is available 09:30 – 01:30pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Ormlie Centre.

Join and Natter women’s group (JaN)

The first ‘JaN’ women’s group will start on Wednesday 11th May in Messy Nessy Play, in Thurso town centre from 7-9pm.

Messy Nessy is a fully accessible premises with a wheelchair-accessible lift, and will make a wonderful venue for the group. In the future, we plan to run groups in Wick and online, so if a Thurso-based/in-person group isn’t right for you, please keep your eyes open for further information in the coming months.Donna and Gail will be at Thurso Community Development Trust‘s ‘We Want’ festival on Saturday 30th, so if you would like to discuss the group, or any of Listening Ear’s other services, please pop by and have a chat with us. You can also get in contact by emailing Gail at gail@cvg.org.uk. Please drop Gail a line, or send us a message on here if you would like to be added to the list for the JaN group. We’ll be sharing lots more information before the group starts!In the meantime, two things you told us about that were important to you were cost and confidentiality. Just to confirm that Listening Ear groups are absolutely FREE. The women’s group will also be very informal – a chance to connect with others, have a cup of tea or coffee, and take part in the odd activity if you want to. There is no expectation of sharing anything personal – just a place to ‘join and natter.’

Q&A Election Candidates Q9.

HERE for Caithness

Question 9.

After partygate and the fixed penalty fine do you think Prime Minister Boris Johnston should resign? – Yes or No

Thurso & Northwest Caithness

Iain Gregory

Yes.

(And so should one or two others, whether fined or not).

Ron Gunn

Yes. There was a time when, if politicians did something wrong, (or were caught out) they did the honourable thing and resigned. Now in both Holyrood and Westminster there is very little integrity.

Matthew Reiss

Yes or no questions often include a “Don’t Know” option. Sorry, to answer this question we need “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. I do not have this. A fixed penalty is not a criminal conviction but is offered to the “suspect” by the Police where they deem it appropriate in lower level cases. A verbal “warning” is another option, as the First Minister received. The office of Prime Minister is the highest democratic seat in the land, carrying massive responsibilities, not least Ukraine. There is no doubt in my mind that the current publicity is detracting from that high office and that is very unhelpful at this perilous time.

Struan Mackie

Yes

Alex Glasgow

In the early stages of the Great War, Asquith was replaced by Lloyd-George (the History Books still are unsure if this Welsh Wizard were a good one). In the run up to the Second World War, Chamberlain was replaced by Churchill; then, when the Pacific War still was ongoing, Churchill was replaced by Atlee. At the height of Suez, Eden was replaced by McMillan.

No-one is indispensable. Beyond that, the office of the PM is entirely beyond the purview of a ward cllr

Karl Rosie

Yes.

Wick & East Caithness

Bill Fernie

Yes………that is the short answer. The longer answer makes me so mad………and its personal. The covid rules affected my family when my wife’s health deteriorated over the two years during covid up to her death in July 2021. Like many we obeyed the rules and she missed so much contact with other family members.

Willie Mackay

Well this is not a question I would have expected with only days to go before our local authority elections. The question would have been better if it read …..When and if Prime Minister Boris Johnston resigns who would you propose leads the country and why ?

Neil MacDonald

Yes

Jan McEwan

Definitely, YES. The PM has lost all integrity by lying to the Country through Covid, when the rest of us were obeying the law

Andrew Jarvie

For me, Boris Johnston has no option but to resign as PM over the whole affair. Which is a great shame, because the whole fiasco completely overshadows all the great work he has lead, particularly the world-leading vaccine rollout, throughout Covid. It wasn’t just the fact that social gatherings seemed to be the norm in Downing Street, it was the denial, deferral and deceit throughout as more and more evidence of events came out. The PM had the chance, right at the start when the first story broke, to admit that this was not the only such event and to apologise profusely. Instead the situation spiralled in the bizarre situation where the PM said that no one told him the events were against the rules, despite being the one to tell us every night on TV what the rules were.

Raymond Bremner

This is not a matter relating to local Government elections or the Highland Council.

Kooth Digital Health

NHS Highland has commissioned the online counselling service Kooth, a service delivered by Kooth Digital Health. Kooth is an integral component of Highland’s mental health provision offering a digital counselling and emotional well-being service for young people.

Kooth is a free online counselling and emotional well-being support service providing young people aged 10-18 years (up to 19th birthday) across the Highlands with a safe and secure means of accessing support with their emotional health and wellbeing needs from a professional team of qualified counsellors.

Kooth has no referrals, thresholds or waiting lists. Young people can access this service anonymously by signing onto the Kooth site at www.kooth.com. Kooth provides unique out of office hours’ provision and is open 7 days per week, 365 days a year, with live support and counselling available from noon until 10pm weekdays and from 6pm until 10pm on Saturday and Sundays. Kooth provides added value with moderated, scheduled forums and self-help articles (many written by service users) to provide peer led and self-help support.