I.B.H.Q. - June 2005

I mentioned the other day some of the changes new island Blogging will have and you can see something similar as part of the new Africa Lives site, go to My Africa here and choose from one of the five 'diarists' on the right hand side.

At one point it had been suggested that as many as half the crofters were against the move but this proved unfounded. Islanders on Eriskay, South Uist and a large part of Benbecula have voted in favour of attempting what could become Scotland's biggest community purchase to date.

Community leaders said the ballot which secured a 70% majority to proceed with the purchase, was a "defining moment" in the area's history.

As well as 850 crofts, the 93,000 acre estate includes fish farming operations, quarries and shooting, mineral and fishing rights.

Full BBC Online story here:

Hi Folks - just to say there will be no more posts for today as we put the new site in place.

As from tomorrow your page on Island Blogging will include several new features and it’s worth a few words of advice.

All the blogs will be put onto a new system nd will have a new look. Everyone’s blog will revert to one design. You then choose from a choice of six beautiful new designs. Sorry about this – but it’s the only way that we can do it without chaos.

• You can order your photos into an individual gallery, rather than just align them above each other

•the facility to display a permanent set of favourite links

•display some biog information ‘About your blog’

•the dreaded 250 word limit has gone – write as much as you like!

The ‘About Your Blog’ should be about what your interests are, what you are likely to be writing about, what island your on etc You can say: “I’m a farmer/Virgo/ice-skater” but please avoid giving out personal information such as your email address, home address, phone number, age etc

Second of all we have added the function for you to list your favourite websites, but these are restricted by the same rules as apply in general. For a full list see the House Rules.

As always, any questions email us at: islandblogging@bbc.co.uk

thanks
Mike

I've been on the road for almost a week now and met fantastic people on the way. Thanks to Albert and Paris on Arran for showing me the amazing Eas Mor Waterfall, a place where magical things happen...

Thanks to Vickie and Angus at Ardbeg, Brian at the Ileach on Islay (keep us updated on the missing submarines!) and Elaine and Maggie on Jura, and Ewan also on Jura.

Listened to Sigur Ros on the way over the east coast of Jura in the mist and am still recovering from the experience.

On my way home off Islay I visited the Finlaggan site near Port Askaig former home to the Lord of the Isles and Kilmartin yesterday so my head is full of the Bronze Age.

If your new to the site - welcome - if your not so new I hope your getting your head round it all.

Mike

You may have noticed some gremlins in the formatting of the images on your archived posts or of new posts, and we're getting these ironed out today.

For your reference all images should be 440 pixels in width and under 200k in weight, and then should work fine.

I'll be posting this on all relevant parts of the site now.


thanks
Mike

Arran

I hadn’t been in Arran for years and years and I almost missed the first ferry at Ardrossan, but made it and enjoyed the swanky ‘Goat Fell View Café’ in the bows.

The first thing I liked about Arran were the great place-names: ‘Blackwaterfoot’, ‘Lamlash’ (sounds like somewhere to get very drunk), ‘Shiskine’, ‘Sliddery’, ‘Dippin’, ‘Sannox’ and ‘Lochranza’.

To be honest most of the time I was in Arran I couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of me.

After a meeting in the south of the island I drive past a sign saying ‘Waterfall’ and decide to park and explore. Up a winding path through the thick fog I go. It’s all getting a bit Tolkienesque as the path winds through a thicket of trees. There’s a sound of rushing water and to my right an amazing vista opens a sheltered glen appears. A strong-running stream runs out of land/rock and launches itself off a cliff some 100 feet high (?) You can see the peatiness of the water as it cascades off the side of the hill. In front of me stands a sign saying ‘Library’, which is not really what your expecting half way up a hillside in the middle of a forest walk.

Round the corner and into a clearing sits a turfed building, open, unattended, doors wide open. It was a dream-like experience.

The waterfall stands only a mile or so from Kildonan village yet few of the local people had been able to visit it. The forest has been thinned out, carefully managed paths carved out and the project – a charitable trust – aims to create an ecology centre and renewable energy and education facility to showcase sustainable practice. Albert and Paris, the people behind the work welcomed me with cups of coffee and a tour of the whole thing. For more go to there site here: Eas Mor Ecology

Memories of Arran? Wet, grey, lush. Big rocks.



Islay

Onwards and Westwards. Lochranza – Claonaig then across Kintyre to Kennacraig – Port Askaig. My motto of ‘Never Book on Calmac’ is catchy but self-defeating. I was subsequently grilled by a terrifying woman when my address didn’t register on her computer. “Computer says no?” I ventured, reassuring her that I did live there, and I wasn’t inventing the address as some kind of elaborate ruse.

Visited various distilleries in search of a whisky writer, the things you have to do for the BBC! We’re looking for someone who lives on the island, can write knowledgeably about Islay and other whiskies. Went to the award-winning Port Ellen Cyber Café run by Spike McGilviray. What a great place – take a look at their site here:

Also visited the Ileach to meet Brian Palmer and hear the latest island news, such as the Geep (Sheep mates with Goat) and the story of the fishermen who picked up a yellow-submarine belonging to the MOD, only for the MOD to deny any such thing.

Also had a great visit to the impressive new Iomairt Cholm Cille / Columba Initiative (a prject inspired by the ‘demand from Gaelic speakers in Scotland and Ireland for the chance to meet each other more often, and in so doing to learn more of the language, heritage and lifestyles of one another’) to meet Dòmhnall Angaidh. See their site right here.

Some cool green initiatives on Islay. The school swimming pool is heated by the excess energy from the Bowmore distillery, the gaelic centre (Iomairt Cholm Cille) is powered by solar panels and the electric bus is powered by a wave energy scheme at Portnahaven, though admittedly some locals cast doubt on this last project…

Lasting memories of Islay? It’s much much bigger than I’d thought, Finlaggan (home of the Lord of the Isles) was amazing as was Machir Bay. Thanks to everybody I met who was very friendly and helpful.



Jura

Jura is an amazing place, somewhere I’d never been to before and was looking forward to. For most of the day the thick mist rolled off the hills or shrouded the Paps, with deer occasionally roaming out of the gloom towards me as I drive North along the East coast. ‘Atmospheric’ doesn’t really do it justice.

Visited with Elaine and others at Craighouse where the weather was – however briefly – lovely. Was encouraged to sample the Venison Burger and can highly recommend this free range organic lunch treat.

Travelled North after lunch and got as far as Ardlussa, but didn’t really have time to explore the beaches and caves properly. Like everywhere I went vowed to return for a proper visit soon.

Also visited the Feolin Centre by the ferry, who’s huge site you can visit here, Isle of Jura.



Gigha

The short trip from Tayinloan to Gigha takes fifteen minutes or so, and from half way across you can see the ‘dancing sisters’ of Gigha, which provide the island with most of its energy and create revenue projected at around £64,000 a year towards community funds. Not exactly a King’s Ransom but a tidy sum. There’s more about the Gigha windfarm project here... but as the site says: “Gigha's windmills are ground breaking. This is Scotland 's first community owned, grid connected, windfarm. Perhaps even more significantly, the financial model that has been developed to underpin the project is very robust and capable of widespread replication by communities throughout Scotland . In this way we anticipate that where Gigha's ‘dancing ladies' have led the way, many more community windfarms will follow.”

I spent an afternoon at the Achamore Gardens, which were amazing, with tremendous views across the West coast of the island.



Thanks to everyone I met on the trip. Hope you enjoyed the photos.

Mike