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knowledge of guides who were accompanying parties from outwith Shetland.
This was particularly galling to our local drivers who had to endure the often-ludicrous statements which were voiced as the various tours progressed,’ Les continued. ‘In any event, the inaugural meeting of the Shetland Tourist Guides took place in the Further Education Section of Shetland Islands Council on 19/3/1994. This was organised by Shetland Islands Tourism who established Tourist Training Courses with Shetland College. Only fully paid-up members would be allowed to wear approved badges. There was an attendance of 20, office-bearers were appointed and a draft constitution circulated and adopted. Gordon Laurenson was elected our first chairman, with an executive committee of six. A membership fee of £15 was agreed.
‘An A.G.M. was held on 10/12/1994 with 11 present. The following fees were agreed for the season 1995:-
Fees English 4 hours £35
8 hours £65 Evening £9 Extra hour £9
Foreign £45 £80 £9.50 £9.50
‘There was much discussion about the provision of maps for coach passengers and, in due course, A5 maps were prepared by the executive committee covering the whole of Shetland. These were photocopied and handed out by the guides so that the passengers had some idea of which part of the islands they were visiting. Some of the guides even coloured-in the routes being followed. These proved very popular. Shetland Enterprise offered a grant of £1,000 towards set-up costs.
Town walks in Lerwick were suggested and introduced but while these were initially not well attended, in time they were popular especially for cruise-ship passengers who wanted an opportunity to walk rather than sit on a coach. Training trips for guides were taken in various parts of Shetland including the North Isles. On some of these trips the route was divided into several sections and guides were nominated to demonstrate their knowledge to the others on the coach. This was also very useful in demonstrating the use of microphones.
‘At an Executive Committee meeting on 19/7/95, a letter from Cruise Development Shetland was read expressing their disappointment that the Shetland Tour Guides had decided not to join the Scottish Tourist Guides Association. (I think that this was because we would be guiding
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