Gigha’s Gallery is hosting an exhibition – Three Friends – open daily until until the 7th May. It features the paintins of three local artists, Diana Olof, Alan Mills and Dianne Fairweather.
Monthly Archives: March 2009
Weaving weekend with Louise Oppenheimer on Gigha
Louise Oppenheimer is leading a tapestry weaving weekend on Gigha at the end of March – on the 21st and 22nd. The quickest of glances at her own website shows just how inspriational her work is.
The cost of the weekend course is £60, whcih includes tuition and materials. The Gigha Hotel (Phone 01583 505 254) is offering a special discount of £50 for dinner, bed and breakfast – and the inevitable Gigha ceilidh on the Sunday night. Continue reading
Welcome for Scottish Government’s support for rural schools
Education Minister Fiona Hyslop yesterday made it known that the Scottish Government is moving its commitment to rural schools to a position described as ‘a presumption against closure’ and to be enshrined in forthcoming legislation.
The Minister made the announcement at a 10-pupil primary school at Dalwhinnie in Strathspey. If this fragile school were to be closed, it would mean a thirty mile journey for its pupils in attending an alternative school.
This commitment is of real significance to Argyll and Bute, with its large and far flung territory of deeply serrated mainland peninsulas and islands, home to a small and dispersed population. The importance of its local school to any community is well known and the ongoing vulnerability as the numbers of children fluctuate is a constant worry.
Jim Mather, MSP for Argyll & Bute, has welcomed the announcement from his colleague. He says: ‘I very much welcome this move by the Scottish Government to meet yet another of our manifesto commitments and look forward to broad parliamentary support for this overdue legislation.
‘Similar legislation has been in place for several years in England and in Wales and appears to work well. Certainly it has helped to arrest the momentum of rural school closures there. I am pleased to see that in this case moves are now being taken to catch up. This does not give an absolute guarantee that schools will be retained when a justifiable social and economic case can be made for closure but the onus will always be on the administrative body to make that case before closure can be affected.
‘Cost alone should not be allowed to be the determining factor in the future of rural schools. The educational needs of a rural area, the availability of transport, the welfare of pupils and the all important role that the school plays in the life of its community are all crucial elements in any decision about the retention of schools.
‘If we want to encourage people to live and work in our fragile rural communities we must provide local schools within these settlements for children to attend.
‘For that reason I look forward to this move which should safeguard the future of these units and I welcome the cross-party approach that has been evident in the early stages of the legislation’.
Gigha’s weekend Gaelic class was gle mhath
Henri Macaulay is delighted with the response to the monthly weekend Gaelic classes he’s running on the Isle of Gigha. The second one finsihed last weekend, with the same successful tutor as the first one – Ciomhin Rodgers – and with another great ceilidh at the end.
Henri’s emails are so tantalisingly scattered with Gaeic phrases that his pupil list may be expanded sometime soon.
The classes are for beginners and better and they’re open to anyone. The ferry from Tayinloan at the north end of the Kintyre leninsula to Ardminish on Gigha takes about 20 minutes or less and the weekend sessions are becoming something of a legend.
Passenger and crewman injured this morning as Aberdeen-Shetland ferry hits rough water
The Northlink ferry, Hrossay, coming in to Shetland on the overnight run from Aberdeen, hit rough water this morningat around 6.00am as it rounded Sumburgh Head on the approach to Lerwick.
The ferry rolled twice in quick succession in a sever gale and this is when the injuries happened. The passenger and the crewman were thrown against bulkheads. The passenger sufferd a rib injury and the crewman a head injury. Both are in hospital in Lerwick.
Gauging the window of opportunity – Oban business expands against the wind of recession
Staff from Gage Joinery suddenly materialised on Oban’s North Pier and turned quite a few heads as they set up windows and patio doors in the open. This was their way of grabbing local and media attention for the launch of a sister company – Gage Windows.
The company had been fitting windows and patio doors but rather invisibly, under the name of the first company, Gage Joinery – which actually did more than it said on the tin.
Starting three years ago with a training grant from Highlands and Islands Enteerprise (HIE) Gage Joinery has built up a strong contract portfolio in joinery work from kitchens and bathrooms to property renovations and new builds.
George Gage (pictured left), owner-operator of both Gage Joinery and Gage Windows says: ‘After the success of our previous windows service, I felt it was time to expand in this industry and I identified that there is a real market for this locally and Argyll wide. This is a fantastic opportunity for Gage as a business and for local residents to have access to an affordable and local service that is just along the road’.
Since he started the business, George has taken on two professional joiners local to Oban and plans to employ an apprentice joiner in the next year. Always keen to transfer his trade skills to young people, he regularly takes on work experience pupils from Oban High School, his own old school and plans to continue working with the school’s work experience programme. Sixteen year-old Scott Maitland is currently working with the company as part of the school’s employment training initiative.
Sam Ford, from HIE’s Argyll and the Islands team said: ‘We are delighted to see this business grow in size and ambition. This is a natural diversification for Gage Joinery – using current skills to provide another service’.
Along with the start of its second company, Gage has launched a new website, covering the services provided by both Gage Joinery and Gage Windows. These developments are an example of the sort of get-up-and-go attitude that will turn around Argyll’s economy.
The photograph above is reproduced by permission. It shows George Gage, hanging on to a patio door on Oban’s North Pier – trying not to sail away in the wind – and with the local landmark of McCaig’s Tower at the top of the hill in the background.
Talk about on the ball – Tobermory High School pupils win SFA coaching certificates
Twenty senior pupils from Tobermory High School have been awarded their Scottish Football Association (SFA) Level 1 coaching certificates.
The boys and girls concerned won their ‘Early Touches’ certificates following a challenging six hour course. Level 1 certificates qualify them to coach younger children – aged 5-12 – in basic footballing skills.
Councillor Douglas Philand, Argyll and Bute’s Council Spokesperson for Sport and Leisure, taking a swift shot into the top of the net, says: ‘I would like to congratulate all the young people who took part in this course and gained their coaching certificate. This is an inspiring way of increasing the opportunities for younger children to experience playing football, and a good way of raising the level of the game in Argyll and Bute. So, well done to all of them and I hope many will choose to take their coaching skills to a higher level’.
The course was organised by Active Schools Co-ordinator Babs Whyte, and delivered by Argyll and Bute’s Football Development Officer, Dylan Kerr.
So let nobody dare say Argyll’s not on the ball?
The photograph shows some of the new football coaches with their certificates – Tobermory is now expecting a lot of fancy footwork from the 5.12 age group.
This Is Who We Are – opportunity for Rothesay, Campbeltown, Calgary, Tobermory and Lismore
The organisers of the This Is Who We Are exhibition are making contact with places in Canada sharing these names. This means that both the Scottish and Canadian places will be featured in the evolving exhibition – if they want to get involved.
The interest is huge. Rothesay in New Brunswick came straight back at the organisers with an instant response. It is very enthusiastic about being involved and interestingly, next year – 2010 – is its 150th anniversary. Good connections made between the two Rothesays now could lead to exciting developments for both next year. For Argyll is already on to this and will be covering what happens next.
Campbellton (slightly different spelling) is also in New Brunswick. Lismore, as mentioned in the feature article on This Is Who We Are, is in Nova Scotia. The organisers are making contacts there at the moment. Calgary – the massive oil and gas metropolis – is in Alberta and is already involved in the project. Tobermory is in Ontario, on the Bruce Peninsula and is a lakeside resort with a very active scuba diving community.
What happens is that people in both communities simply take photographs representing their own lives in their own place. Sequences from both communities are then exhibited in the visual conversation that is This Is Who We Are. Suddenly we are no longer strange to each other. We have the sort of knowledge that enables us to go on to renew, make and develop our own contacts, individually and as communities.
This project extends everyone’s reach and its consequences can be enduring if the opportunities are seized with interest on both sides.
SO – Rothesay, Campeltown, Lismore, Tobermory and Calgary, over to you. The organisers have asked us to pass on a direct invitation to you to become a part of this.
You don’t even need a central organisation – although community groups and community councils can get organised collectively and get the images rolling in. Individuals in these four communities can start taking photographs on their own initiative now. In both cases - email your images direct to Graeme Murdoch at: graeme@culturalconnectscotland.com
If there are other communities in Argyll and the Islands who are aware of places in Canada that share their name – email that information to Graeme and Harry at the email address above.
And you may want to know about the image accompanying this article – it’s the neat logo for Cultural Connect Scotland, Graeme and Harry’s organisation that is creating this project. (If you click on the link above, you’ll see how this image works live and how it says what it means.)
The project will over time, be extended to other parts of the world with Scottish connections. We understand that New Zealand may be the next target – so if you know that your community has a counterpart there, start taking your photographs now and let the organisers know.
Mid Argyll Camera Club Exhibition, Lochgilphead
Mid Argyll Camera Club Exhibition is in the Community Education Centre, Lochgilphead. It starts on Monday 2nd March.
Unusually, it is a rotating rtather than a fixed exhibition. Every few weeks a new set of member’s prints will be displayed and the Exhibition will be on show for several months.
Feis Ile – Islay Whisky Festival
Feis Ile – Islay’s Malt & Music Festival runs from the 23rd- 31st May, featuring a week long programme of events at distilleries and venues across the island.
See article with full programme details: