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With a population of only around 22,000 Orkney may be small in size, but the islands seem to be punching above their weight when it comes to producing top athletes.

Determination to succeed, coupled with top notch sporting facilities spread throughout the Mainland and smaller isles and a fantastic sporting support network offered through the Council, Picky, sportscotland and volunteers may play a part in the latest round of success stories. Orkney will play host to the 20^th International Island Games 2025, which may also be spurring on our athletes to greater their achievements.

This year’s Team Scotland representation at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (28 July – 8 August) will include four sportspeople with an Orkney connection – Taylah Spence (athletics), Ross Sinclair (not competing but in the Achieve Programme for weightlifting), Sarah Macphail (netball), who all grew up in Orkney, and then Sean Vendy (badminton) who was born in Orkney but will be competing for England.

The second Peedie County Show at St Rognvald’s has been hailed a great success.

From the age of just two weeks old to 101 years young, friends and family joined together at the residential care home with loved ones and staff for a day of music, animals, games, food, fun and laughter.

Manager Shirley Miller praised the efforts of everyone involved in bringing the event to a successful conclusion once more.

Crew members on board the Golden Mariana have been commended for their swift response to a yacht in difficulty off Pierowall on Saturday morning.

Thanks to the quick actions of Skipper Christopher Davidson and Able Seaman Adam Tulloch, two yachtsmen and their Glasgow-registered vessel were freed and safely towed to Pierowall.

The Council is reminding operators of temporary and holiday accommodation that its consultation on short term lets licensing ends on 7 August, and has published an FAQ.

Low water levels in areas of Scotland have led to water scarcity reports in some areas.  Most of the east coast is now at “Alert or ‘amber’ moderate scarcity” due to an extended period of low river levels and dry weather and due to lowering water tables, Orkney has been raised to “early warning”.

The advice from Scottish Water is for folk to use their water supplies wisely, so Orkney Islands Council is reminding owners of private water supplies (PWS) to do the same and report any concerns they have about water levels or quality to OIC’s Environmental Health team.

The Council’s Environmental Health team are advising that John West have issued a precautionary recall notice on tins of their sardines due to a suspected microbiological contamination risk.

The product details are:

• John West boneless sardines in sunflower oil 95g, best before end of December 2026, batch codes 109, 110, 111, 112, 113.
• John West sardines in olive oil 120g, best before end of December 2026, batch codes 109, 110, 111, 112, 113.

An updates on road works to be mindful of this next week.

Refurbishment works are due to get underway to further enhance our Orkney Library and Archive building in Kirkwall from 1 August.

The Council Cancer Challenge has raised over £11,000 for Cancer Research UK at the half-way point – more than double the original target - and donations continue to pour in.

Advice issued today from NatureScot is for public landings to stop on 23 Scottish islands, including islands in Orkney, to help limit the spread of avian flu and give seabirds the best possible chance to survive and recover from the current severe outbreak.