NEW PRINTER FOR WEST WORD
The new printer is here - as you can see for yourselves! What do you think?
There was an incredible response from West Word readers who have helped us raise over £2000. Once again (can we say it enough) many thanks to all of you. We hope you think the end result was worth it.
We must also thank the Gower Trust, the Arisaig Fund, the Road to the Isles Marketing Group, the Co-operative Community Fund, and Mallaig, Morar and Arisaig & District Community Councils, for donations which have made up the balance for the £10,300 machine.
Unfortunately, colour issues will be few and far between. The printing is expensive, and the colour back and front pages and the middle colour spread of this issue have cost us an extra £300 to print. You can see then that without sponsorship of colour pages we can't afford to do it.
So why have we bothered? We needed a new and more reliable machine (time will tell!) and we hope you'll agree that even the black and white print is crisper and clearer. It's good to have the colour option, whether for sponsored or special copies of West Word or for printing jobs for others. We hope that local businesses and perhaps some individuals will consider sponsoring a middle colour spread from time to time at the cost of £150.
MALLAIG LIFEBOAT OPEN DAY
Saturday 21st August dawned bright, if a little bit breezy - a far cry from the torrential rain of the day before. The Mallaig Lifeboat the Severn Class Henry Alston Hewat was open to the public with crew members happy to show visitors around the vessel and stalls were set up in the Prawn Market on Mallaig Pier selling everything from prawns, lifeboat souvenirs and photographs to knitwear. Local Coastguard personnel manned a very successful barbeque, selling delicious burgers, salmon and kippers which had all been donated by local businesses.
In the evening, Ballochmyle Band played to a very busy community hall, with lots of ceilidh dancing enjoyed by all.
Figures have yet to be finalised but we hope to have raised around £2,000 for the Mallaig Lifeboat. Thanks to everyone involved in such a successful day.
PRINCESS ROYAL VISITS ISLE OF EIGG
On Wednesday 8th September, the Isle of Eigg was privileged to welcome HRH The Princess Royal in perhaps the first Royal Visit since the time of the Lords of the Isles!
Her Royal Highness had a brief tour of the Island and met most of the residents in the Community Hall. The Royal Party learned about the challenges of the past few years, the changes brought about through sustainable energy, the Big Green Challenge and plans for the future.
Gifts were presented by Camille Dressler author of Eigg: the Story of an Island and the youngest pupils in the School, Breagha Millar and Clyde Wallace. Donna MacCulloch piped 'The Isle of Eigg's Welcome to the Princess Royal', a tune she composed specially for the occasion.
The Chairman of the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, John Hutchison, said; 'Eigg has become a place to be watched, to be associated with, a place to visit and a place to learn from. Although that is humbling we are also very proud of our achievements.'
In her response The Princess Royal congratulated the community and said that the dynamics on the island had made it successful and an example to others.
HARBOUR WORKS
Work on the £625,000 Mallaig Harbour Cathodic Protection Scheme was eventually completed a couple of weeks later that expected on Wednesday 11th August.
The Authority, via their Engineers Wallace Stone, had commissioned some extra work - the welding of the metal plates over several holes in the sheet metal piling on the Breast Wharf.
'I'm pleased that the work is now completed,' said Authority Port Manager Robert MacMillan, 'and it seems that the contract has come in on budget, which is very pleasing.'
Next on the agenda for the Authority will be the creation over the winter months of a series of yachting pontoons for the inner harbour - more on this next month.
KNOYDART
Hello again
August in Knoydart has been as busy as ever. The school holidays meant that all the holiday homes are full of families. The bay was full of yachts. The hills and campsite were never empty. The pub and the tea room were hoaching. And the midgies were, and are still, fierce. And the weird thing is that we're that busy ourselves we hardly notice, apart from the midgies of course.
And the months just roll into one. Was it in August that Fay went into shock because of an unspecified allergy? I think it was. Luckily for her there was an air ambulance here at the time dealing with another casualty. Not so lucky for the other casualty.
I got back from holiday just in time for the visit of Fuiam and the Games at the start of the month. The Italians I left with a baffling case of snow blindness are ruing the day that I ever put on the shorts. The games seemed to go well. The weather was grand and the ceilidh, with the Jim Jam Ceilidh band, fantastic. The next weekend was Stephanie's 21st which again had us all inhabiting the wee small hours. The month was rounded off socially with a massive touring music session, organised by Drew Harris, which had the pub jumping, and lots of tourists pleasantly bemused.
But forbye the social scene we're all a bit manic. Ian and Jackie's new venture, Knoydart House, is open for business. A frenetic final week for the builders, painters, cleaners and curtain hangers, along with Ian and Jackie themselves, meant that deadlines were just about met, and guests had someplace to put their head. The first of the new community owned accommodation is looking the part now, with the walls boarded and David Haynes in about the plastering. The site at Airor has been surveyed and the ground will be broken very soon. Airor was also the site of another productive meeting, to go with the one a few months ago, although this one was more concentrated on crofting. Grant has started some more work at his site. Discussions are at an early stage about the possibility of another music festival. The Forest Trust will be advertising to replace Danny in the near future. A meeting discussing a few land management things, organised by the Rangers, passed off with some accord and little incident. All is good. And of course the kids are back to school so the weather has turned and we're basking in sunshine. More importantly, there's a hint of frost in the air bringing with it the promise of the demise of the midge, at least for a few months.
Oh, but just one gripe. If a government agency is going to ask for applications, it shouldn't wait until after the application date before telling everybody that the fund is restricted. Days and weeks of time that people don't have were wasted all over the country due to just such a scenario with Rural Priorities. Anyway, hope all is well
Davie Newton
ISLE OF MUCK
There was consternation on the island when the bids arrived to build our new Community Hall. All were way over budget and some were over £million. As one islander put it ,'Builders consider the Small Isles in the same breath as St Kilda'. They were not taking any risks and one firm was involved with the new school and knew what to expect. So what can be done?
Removing the 'gold plating' from the building will take top priority and we can do more work ourselves. The third option -raising more money - is not I believe on the Committee's agenda, The Hall is expensive enough already.
On the farm we are preparing for the lamb sales amid an air of optimism. For the second year prices are better than 20 years ago and we have more lambs to sell. On the arable side an amazing new crop has made it's appearance - Tritecale. Similar to wheat but with awns, it has been sown by Toby as game cover but would make superb whole crop silage. It can stand a similar soil pH to oats but it must be much more resistant to rain and wind as so far none has gone flat. All very interesting.
Next month we have more families visiting with a view to coming to live. Perhaps I can report more in October.
Lawrence MacEwen
ISLE OF EIGG
August arrived as quickly as it has passed, kids are back to school already and the visitors are starting to slacken off. The weather this month was at least kind enough to give us a couple of scorchers to allow us to squeeze all our summer activities into two days! With the new school term a few bleary eyes have been spotted (especially me) still adjusting to the early morning starts. The school roll has 10 pupils this year which is fantastic and quite a handful for our teachers as it is the full range from P1 to P6 so good luck to Mrs Ibrahim and Ms Hollands in keeping one step ahead of all those bright sparks. Unfortunately we have none in nursery so Miss Carr can go back to being called Frances!
We have sadly lost Megan Morrison to high school, she will be sorely missed by everyone but in particularly by Ailidh and Hannah. A wee leaving do was held for Megan with a true style beach barbeque with charcoaled sandy sausages and the weather was glorious allowing a fine bit of sea activity but despite it being scorching hot there was still a few blue children coming out of the water by the end of the day!! We wish Megan all the best with her time over the waters and look forward to seeing her at the weekends.
Without having to even step on a boat it has been an absolute pleasure to see so many dolphins and basking sharks present in our waters this month. It has become a daily occurrence, dolphins leaping happily along with the Sheerwater and seeing the basking sharks sifting the plankton tranquilly although, however well you know they are harmless vegetarians, their huge fins still always puts the jaws theme tune in my head! Other than that the other most noticeable things are how much wild fruits there have been on many plants this year. Especially rich pickings from the wild raspberries and the next in line are the apples and hazelnuts as the trees are hanging heavy with fruits, although the brambles appear to be a bit late this year still having a long way to go before being ripe, and then the jammers and pie makers are spotted by their red dyed hands.
We've had some cracking events. Finishing July off nicely was Sharon King and the Reckless Angels which was a fantastic intimate evening of music and songs. On the 20th August a fine performance from Blaze with our very own Mick Brett and friends played into the wee small hours with any request played along with a lot of golden oldies! Some unusual moves could be seen on the dance floor... along with folk you don't see to often these days giving it a hop bop and boogie, a great fun evening all round! To get the balance right and to keep all ages happy (apart from John Cormack who had his tranquil beach house being blasted by the banging beats!) the following evening saw a rave on the Laig beach and stamina was needed to last through to the following afternoon. Not just for the rave but in general it has been great to see the gathering of the clans over the summer months with the different generations of Eigg children coming back to catch up on their Eigg time. To round off August perfectly on the 28th is a boat load of extreme talent - you can't go wrong with a line up from Innes Watson, Garry Innes, John Somerville to mention just a few, and fab to see Kath Robinson from Knoydart in there too! The next big event will be the Away Game organised by Fence Records in Fife who have been hosting weekend music events in Anstruther for seven years called The Home Game and they have chosen Eigg as the venue this year. Tickets sold out in a record six minutes and that was before a line up had been announced, anybody with a slow internet connection had no chance! The full line up is still to be announced but we do know we will be in for a treat as 30 acts will be performing including King Creosote, British Sea Power and Daimh, fingers crossed for calm seas!
Visitors have been MSP's Peter Peacock and Sarah Boyack, genuinely interested in what we have been up to and keen to help out with future plans.
Developments towards our additional PV panels for Eigg Electric have progressed with the arrival of the equipment to lay the base. Once the additional PV's are installed this will bring the array to 30KW in total and will be the first spending of our prize monies from the Big Green Challenge and Ashden Awards.
Good luck to Catriona Helliwell who is setting off to India for six months volunteering as an occupational therapist.
Happy Birthday to Baby Maggie, Frances, Colin, Marie, Sarah Boden and a belated 30th Birthday to Megan Frey for last month!!
Tasha Lancaster
CANNA
A new National Trust of Scotland Manager has been appointed for the island. Mr Stewart Connor from Largs in Ayrshire will be the first manager to live on the island as opposed to running the island from a mainland office in Inverness. His arrival has boosted the population by 5%!
Mr Connor said he was very much looking forward to the challenge and added: 'The community on Canna is bursting with ideas and a large part of my job will be to work closely with them to look at how we can develop the island in the future.'
An ode to Mallaig
In a place like Mallaig, a place so reliant on the tourist trade, it becomes easy to decipher between who is 'a tourist' and who is 'a local'. A few important things need to be discovered before categorisation. Firstly, can they pronounce the deceptively-sounding 'Mallaig'? Secondly, do they know where 'The Mission' is? I can safely say that I can correctly pronounce 'Mallaig', and I absolutely know where the mission is. But am I a local? Or a tourist? I like to classify myself as being somewhere in between.
For as long as I can remember, every school holiday was spent in Mallaig. Mum, Dad, sister and I would journey up to Mallaig from our home near Aberdeen. We always stayed with our Granda, Petie McLean (a bona fide local!). There was always something to do or somewhere to see, whether it be going on 'runs' to Morar to see 'the falls' or taking a drive through Arisaig. And who can forget the obligatory Saturday shopping trip to 'The Fort'.
It isn't just being with family in Mallaig that sticks in my mind, but also being with friends. Over the years I got to know the local kids and come rain, hail or shine we were always out and about playing until it got dark. I fondly remember one winter when Mallaig was blanketed in snow, we all went sledging down Coteachan Hill. We had become accustomed to snow-free winters in Mallaig, so we didn't bring our sledge from home. Mum found us a great alternative to hit the slopes with: a tinfoil turkey tray!
In 2006, we moved to a place of permanent snow-less winters - Australia. And while we are far away from a place we hold so dear, you don't have to look far to see its influence. The decision to name our new house 'Camusdarach' was cemented with a green plaque hanging from our letter box. When we bought a new pet, the breeder informed us that this particular pup was called 'Skye', and she was ours. And we are still clinging to our Scottish traditions. Last New Year's Day we enjoyed a Scotch broth like so many we had enjoyed before, but this time we were sweltering outside in 40 degree heat.
Mallaig is a place that touches both tourists and locals alike. Tourists flock to Mallaig in droves to catch the steam train, board the ferry to Skye, or see first-hand the post-card scenery in the area. But the locals give Mallaig its character, a character built on community spirit, a character that welcomes. A character I will never forget.
Allana Wares
THE PRINCE RETURNS TO SCOTLAND
After over 250 years Bonnie Prince Charlie has re-created his journey from Rome to Prestonpans on the world's longest tapestry.
As has been previously reported in West Word local ladies Christine Haynes, Pauline Elwell, Helen Brodie, Vera MacDonald , Ann Cameron, Rosie MacEachen and June Cairns all worked on panels for the tapestry. They were all invited to a Gala Day to see the tapestry in all its glory. Christine, Pauline, Helen and June attended along with the ladies from Fort William and Kinlochmoidart and the rest of the 200 stitchers it took to complete the tapestry.
On arrival at Prestonpans we registered that we were there and had coffee.
One of Arisaig's panels: 'The Prince orders du Teilly to unload and depart'. The du Teilly was the French ship which took Prince Charlie to Erisaky and then brought him to loch nan Uamh. All tapestry photos Richard Lamont.
We then moved into the tent holding the tapestry. Each set of five panels was called a cohort and to begin with we went to our own panels. After a few minutes a bell rang and you moved to the next cohort. Again after a few minutes the bell rang again for you to move to the next cohort and so on until you had seen all 104 panels. This meant everyone was spread through the tent and there was no bunching up at the beginning or end and everyone could see all the panels.
'The Prince's standard is raised' (at Glenfinnan)
'Foot soldiers are slaughtered at walls of Preston House'
Next on the agenda was a buffet lunch. The panels have all been photographed and made into a book of the tapestry. After lunch we were invited, a cohort at a time, to sign the master copy of the book which will go to the Library of Scotland.
After tea and shortbread there were a variety of entertainments laid on from a lady hand bell-ringer from Dunblane to a group singing Jacobite songs, to a group of actors doing sketches about the tapestry and the number of husbands who had to eat burnt food while it was being stitched. There were also highland dancers followed by the pipes and drums of the Allan Breck Regiment.
Then followed dinner (they really fed us well all day). After dinner Martin Margulies, Colonel of the Allan Breck Regiment gave a very interesting talk on the battle at Prestonpans. The day finished at nine o'clock with a dram of Drambuie delivered to us by the Prince himself and Auld Lang Syne. It was a day we will all remember for a very long time.
Then the tapestry started its long journey, first to Eriskay and then to Arisaig.
There were nearly 400 people who came to see it in Arisaig and seeing it in good light and in the hall really made it look spectacular. Aaron Johnston gave a talk on the battle on the Tuesday night which was well attended and very interesting. The local stitchers from Morar and Arisaig were on hand to give information on the stitching to visitors and Aaron and Fiona answered questions on the history.
After a trip to Invergordon the tapestry then made its way to Fort William. The council gave a reception for the stitchers and local dignitaries in the Nevis Centre. It was nice to be acknowledged in this manner. The 1000th visitor to the tapestry came on the first morning it was in Fort William. Once again we were all there the first day to give advice on the stitching and when I visited with family on the second day there were three school parties there taking great interest in the panels.
Christine Haynes
Orcas seen off Eigg from the Shearwater at the beginning of August. Photos Arthur Campbell.
West Word - ten years ago
- The front of the 36 page, 75p September issue contained two cracking photos; one of the raft race at the Pool Gala Day and the other an action shot of yacht Lola, owned and skippered by Simon Helliwell of Eigg, winning the first Eigg and Spoon race in the inaugural Arisaig Regatta.
- For only the second time in its six year history, West Word carried a Page 3 pinup - in West Word tradition always a male! - this time we featured the Bearded Lady from Knoydart who had flaunted his charms at the pH2000 parade in Inverness in June.
- David Stewart MP was flagging up concerns about the future of the Post Office as the way of paying pensions and benefits was changing to the use of bank accounts, while Fergus Ewing MSP was concerned with exam fiascos involving the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Mallaig High School's page also had quite a bit to say about it.
- Coastguard and Lifeboat were involved in a search for a man who had left Morar Estuary in a rubber dinghy with a bicycle on board, heading towards Eigg. The search carried on into the next day when the man was found - and he was abrupt and bordering on the abusive to the men who had spent time making sure he was safe.
- Fireman Sam's Monthly Log included the following:
15.22 Pagers operated for young boy trapped at Ferry Terninal, Mallaig.
15.32 Boy removed from railing.
16.00 Crew returned and off duty.
Must have made a change from muirburn and chimney fires!
- Lochaber Communications network was starting up in Mallaig, based in the Mallaig Study Centre/Library (then based in what is now part of the Co-op) offering free computer access and lessons.
- The decision was taken to name the new Social Work centre, The Mackintosh Centre.
- Glenuig were still struggling with their plans for a new shop, fuel pumps and tearoom.
- It's happy 10th wedding anniversary to Neil Robertson and Sue Hollands, whose wedding featured in the Eigg article - and we had a photo too! And also to Heather and Neil Gillies, Kinloid, who featured in the Snippets.
- The retirement of Arisaig District Nurse Kath Cameron was featured, on the same page as an account of Dr Shina Young's sponsored walk of St Cuthbert's Way in aid of Alzheimer Scotland.
- St Cumin's Church, Morar, was visited by a TV crew who came to record a Gaelic Mass, which parishioners and friends from other churches had been rehearsing all summer. Lady Lovat Primary Gaelic Medium were featured.
- Local band Daimh launched their first CD in Glenuig Hall.
- We carried a tribute to the Roshven Fiddler, Farquhar MacRae, whose funeral had just been held in Glenfinnan, attended by some 600 people.
- A few more photos of the Pool Gala Day, held at the Harbour, which had some of the features usually held at the Mission weekend - the Raft Race and the Fishing Boat Race.
- We had two pages of photos of the first Arisaig Regatta, featuring trophy winners and yachts in action; and the Church Flower Festival and model exhibition held at the same time.
- We also ceeried two pages of results and photos of the Mallaig & Morar Games - and featuring a photo of Eilidh Buchanan (on our centre pages this month!) who had won the Girls' Race for 8 and under.
- The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme was in full swing locally undee the aegis of Ranger Angus.
- Regular columns that are no more the monthly recipe by Stirrer, Down to Earth (gardening), the Encounter Group (Senior Citizens), Traigh Golf Club, Fireman Sam's Log, Constabulary Corner, and the Coastguard monthly report.
- We carried a whole page of staff vacancies in the new 'Resource Centre for Older People' - soon to be named The Mackintosh Centre.
