Alison Hay: My Argyll

Argyll and Bute means family, home and community to me.

I live in Minard, in an old house that takes up a lot of time and energy but my family love the house. It is right opposite Minard School and that was great for me when the two boys were small and going to primary, before they reached their teenage years and headed off to Lochgilphead High School.

When the boys were young I got very involved in the life of the local community. I joined the community council and also helped start the playgroup, as it was in those days. The boys grew and I started working in the Primary School as school auxiliary and cleaner, so I was able to match my job with their timetables.

I am still involved in a lot of local activities in the Minard / Furnace area. I sing in the choir in Cumloddan Church and I am a member of the Minard Hall Trust.

I think one of the things I most love about Argyll & Bute is the access to the outdoors that it gives, and we have memories of really happy family holidays in Argyll. My husband has particularly fond memories of childhood holidays spent on Islay and I have a particularly vivid memory of the time I and my youngish family went over to Islay to see the limpet at Port Whymes when one of my sons received a soaking as they scrambled as near to the incoming waves as they could.

When the boys were young, the family often spent weekends roaming around Argyll & Bute in the company of relatives and friends, walking the many trails in and around Taynuilt and North Argyll, down to Campbeltown and the lighthouse at Southend. In those days money was tight and picnics were the order of the day, wonderful for allowing you time to take a breather and admire the scenery.

I have relatives in Taynuilt so, although the boys have moved on, my husband and I still spend a lot of time in that area and we still do a fair bit of walking.

The boys still work locally, one in Crarae Gardens and the other with Scottish and Southern which is marvellous for me as I get to see them on a regular basis. I realise that my family has been lucky in finding employment in Argyll (my husband works for the Council) and that makes a great difference to the quality of our lives here. Far too many of our young people need to leave Argyll to find work and that is not good for the area.

One of the aspects of Argyll & Bute that I am most interested in is its history. I have long been involved with the Auchindrain Museum, and in 2009, our most depressing year, I was the only trustee, along with a loyal part-time staff member, living close enough to do the painting of the buildings before opening in the spring.

We were facing closure. However, with help from Museum Galleries Scotland, along came our new Curator/Development officer who has made our future much more secure.  Argyll & Bute now has a Farming township telling the history of its unique survival, showing what the Highlands and Islands were like before farming improvements and the Clearances in the 1900s.  Auchindrain is at last able to present its unique place in history and time.  I love being involved in Auchindrain as a project that is moving forward successfully.

Kilmartin is the other museum I’m involved with and I can also say that it too is unique in how it portrays Argyll & Bute’s archaeological past.  It also has an exciting future looking at how we, the trustees, take forward an expansion of the museum allowing it the space to show case the best in what should be a ‘world heritage site’ in Kilmartin Glen.

I like films so I have a keen interest in the cinemas in Argyll & Bute. Recently Oban lost theirs and I support everyone’s effort to get it reopened. A memory I have of attending the Oban cinema is to see the first part of the trilogy Lord of the Rings with my husband and cousins. We were hardly through the credits before my three companions were asleep, a tribute to the comfort of the cinema’s seats rather than the film I always thought.

However, Argyll and Bute has one other well kept secret in the shape of a cinema in Campbeltown, a Grade ‘A’ listed one, of which I am a member.  It is a gem of its type and again is looking forward to a secure future with support from its membership and funding bodies. For me it’s vitally important to keep the history of Argyll & Bute alive. However before leaving cinemas I can’t omit to mention the wonderful ‘Screen Machine’ very popular and a great boon to people who do not have access to up to date films.  Long may it travel.

I love living in a community where a lot of the people I pass are known to me; where I see children growing up, sometimes moving away but then returning home again; where I know that older people are kept an eye on by their neighbours; where I open my curtains in the morning and see the waters of Loch Fyne shining in the sun or covered in mist on a wet day, never boring and ever changing.

In conclusion, over the years Argyll & Bute has given me and my family a wonderful life, it is a fantastic place to bring up children, it has a great community spirit and I know it will in due course be a great place to spend our retirement in, but not just yet!

Alison Hay

Alison Hay is the Liberal Democrat Party’s candidate for the Argyll and Bute seat in the Scottish Election 2011 which will be held on 5th May.

The photographs above show:

• Alison Hay
• The hills of Argyll
• Belle Pol’s cottage at Auchindrain Farm Township
• Opening the curtains in the morning