massive oil boom. To taste a flavour of the mood in the islands, look no further than the film Local Hero, a huge hit in Britain when it opened in cinemas across the country in 1983. One scene in particular struck [...] what was needed in a community that had depended so long on fishing and farming.« »It was also an opportunity for so many Orcadians, who had been forced to leave to find work, to come back to the islands. [...] afford and it has brought huge benefits to Orkney.« Until the terminal opened, the population of the islands had fallen steadily from 30,000 in 1901 to just 17,000 in 1971. »One of the most important benefits