Forres Local 
Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth were scrambled yesterday (Wednesday 29 April) to monitor two Russian maritime patrol aircraft operating in the UK’s area of interest. The Tu-142 ‘BEAR-F’ aircraft approached from the North-East and flew over the Norwegian and North Seas, but did not enter UK airspace. Typhoons provide a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) service in … Read more
Tourism is knackered for 2020. There is no nice way of saying it. It’s been winded by the hardest body blow. It could never have expected this… nor could it have prepared for it. While it is a bitter pill to swallow all over the UK, in fact the world, it is perhaps harder in … Read more
The Berry Burn Community Fund has allocated an emergency pot of £6,000 to help front-line community groups and voluntary organisations in Forres and surrounding areas to deliver services during the Covid-19 pandemic. The focus of the funding is for those offering direct support to people and communities affected most. The Community Fund receives an index-linked … Read more
Moray Council will start cutting grass in Forres area from next Monday (27 April), starting with cemeteries and amenity areas. The grass cutting schedule, due to begin at the start of April, was halted to allow for council services to restructure and ensure Covid-19 pandemic social distancing measures could be complied with. Large areas of … Read more
An RAF Puma helicopter based at Kinloss has flown a critically-ill patient off the Isle of Arran to a hospital on the mainland, suspected of having coronavirus. Three Pumas are currently based at Kinloss Barracks in Scotland as part of a new Aviation Task Force which was set up to support the government’s response to … Read more
A musician well-known on the Forres circuit will play the best of the ‘wurst’ as he adds a German beer festival twist to his accordion set. Graeme Mackay, an accordionist with Tweed, was due to play a gig with the band in the Mosset Tavern on Friday, but had to cancel due to the Covid-19 … Read more
Moray Council has reversed its decision to stop recycling of metal, paper and plastic at the kerbside following a re-assessment of safety measures and staff availability. Blue and purple bins will now be collected on a three-weekly cycle alongside existing green bin collections instead of the previous fortnightly collection. No glass collections will take place, … Read more
Moray Inshore Rescue Organisation (MIRO) have recently taken delivery of a new tractor and are hoping the public can come up with a name for the bright red Kubota. MIRO were allocated £15,592.45 from the 2019/20 Inshore and Inland Rescue Boat Grant Fund to support the purchase of this tractor and five dry suits. The … Read more
We’re now three weeks into a lockdown. And it’s decision-time for the Government. Will it continue to restrict our movements to slow the spread of the coronavirus? Will restrictions get tougher? It would be foolish to think that we could go back to normal just yet, but at this point, the people in power must … Read more
A Forres butcher has got little to beef about despite losing a large chunk of his business to the coronavirus lockdown. Jock Gibson who owns and runs Macbeth’s on Tolbooth Street has seen one half of his business dry up following the Government’s edict to stay at home yet the other half is rocketing. Macbeth’s … Read more