UKC

Following the Scottish Executive decision not to grant permission for the Sheldaig hydro scheme to go ahead, it seems there's a proposal to put a mobile phone mast on the slopes of the cutest mountain in Scotland. Deadline for objections is this Friday.

http://www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk/news/brief_news.html#polly

In reply to tony:
How many local jobs will it provide?

In reply to Simon Caldwell: none i'd guess

In reply to tony:

I thought this has to be a troll, then I realised it was you and saw the link. You couldnt make it up could you.

In reply to tony:
I'm not saying it makes a crucial difference, but I feel obliged to point out it's a police radio mast, 200 metres from the car park.

as opposed to vodafone on the summit cairn, which was my first thought when i was looking at the MCofS site for news on Sheildaig

In reply to tony:

Dear Tony

When I was up the Stac last year I could not phone my wife although I could see her at the car park. I had to wait for the cup of coffee when I returned, with the mast I will not have this problem in the future.

Norrie

In reply to mav:

there usually a lot lighter structures though and arguably more a community good

In reply to Norrie Muir:

Dear Norrie, perhaps you may like to use this system when you can see her in future. If she waves her arms wildly it may be better to ignore this and hurry to her side;

http://www.anbg.gov.au/flags/semaphore.html

In reply to mav:

Dear Mav

Your new information does change my responce.

I think it should not be given planning permission as the police will only use the link to get into the porn sites instead of chasing rare bird eggs thiefs.

Norrie

In reply to sutty:

Dear sutty

Being an old boy scout, I did try this , but it failed. I am really bad at spelling and my dear wife misunderstood the message.

Norrie

In reply to Norrie Muir:

Ah yes, I see the problem. You thought you had signalled bring more fags and she read it as bring more fish. Smoked fish is a bit of a sod to light IMHO.

In reply to sutty:
You thought you had signalled bring more fags and she read it as bring more fish.

Dear sutty

You are nearly right, I thought she drove to Ullapool for fags. She brought back 2 hags who were hanging about the pier.

Norrie

In reply to sutty:

Presumably the confusion was caused due to the close proximity of the Alten-dhu smokehouse just down the road...

In reply to stuartf:

That will be it, a puff of smoke just as she moved from one letter to the other and the subliminal signal from the smokehouse.

In reply to sutty:

Dear sutty

I was up near Ullapool for a week's holiday and I posted something about the hill being quiet - "not a sole in sight". Someone took me to task about the fish. Spelling is not my strong point.

Norrie

In reply to Norrie Muir:

In that case it may be better to put the mat on the smokehouse so that it provides a convenient smokescreen for it.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

What sort of stupid dumb assed reply is that?
Are you having a go at people who support employment in the Highlands?
Or are you just as thick as mince?

In reply to Anonymous:
Who are you?
Are you one of those who supports employment in the Highlands regardless of the environmental impact?
Or are you just very shy?

In reply to tony: might be good if UKC spelled it right as well 'Stac Pollaidh'

In reply to tony: ::And there is more to come!

As technology supposedly advances we use higher and higher radio frequencies for professional communication systems so that we can get the bandwidth to carry more and more completely useless information and employ more data protection f**kwits to keep an eye on it all. As this trend progresses, communications in mountainous areas becomes more and more difficult for the professional user as the higher the frequency the more difficult it is to make is bounce round corners (mountains). This means more masts are needed.

Wait, be patient, it gets far worse yet. In amongst this, you adopt a nationally and internationally agreed standard for coverage and the result could be the inability of emergency services and local authorities to communicate at locations that are not within short distances of a public road. Oops: accidents, crimes and fires occur in all sorts of places. Emergency services may require an old style system AS WELL AS the new fantastic "don't ask me to work when the going gets tough" hi-tech one. Presumably the intention is to cripple the tax-payer to the maximum possible extent as well as shower the most beautiful places in the nation with UHF and microwave masts.

Fortunately, Scottish MRT radio frequencies are staying on VHF. Phew! However, I understand that this was a close run thing at some stages.

(By the way Norrie, you still couldnt have called your wife even if Norcon did lease to the phone f**kwits. No signal under the mast.)

In reply to JimF:

Dear Jim

I made a mistake in telling the wife I could not get reception in the Kingshouse Bar. When I am away and she can't get me on the phone now she thinks I am in the Kingshouse.

Norrie

In reply to Norrie Muir: :
Here's a tip for you Norrie.
If you ever find a newspaper article about bad phone reception in an Amsterdam brothel, don't read it out to her!