These include data on production, imports and exports of roundwood (logs) and wood products for the UK for the calendar years 2007 to 2011.

The key points from the latest release are:

Removals (harvesting) of UK roundwood in 2011 comprised:

• 9.9 million green tonnes of softwood; a 7% increase from 2010; and
• 0.5 million green tonnes of hardwood; a 1% increase from 2010.

UK roundwood deliveries to industries and others in 2010 saw total deliveries of 10.3 million tonnes of roundwood (softwood and hardwood); a 3% increase from 2010. Of this:

• deliveries to sawmills totalled 5.9 million green tonnes; a 4% increase from 2010;
• deliveries to wood-based panel manufacturers totalled 1.4 million green tonnes; a 3% increase from 2010;
• deliveries to integrated pulp and paper mills totalled 0.5 million green tonnes; a 6% increase from 2010;
• other uses, including round fencing, woodfuel, shavings and exports of roundwood, took 2.5 million green tonnes; unchanged from 2010.

UK production of wood products in 2011 included:

• 3.3 million cubic metres of sawnwood (a 6% increase from 2010);
• 3.4 million cubic metres of wood-based panels (unchanged); and
• 4.3 million tonnes of paper and paperboard (a 1% increase from 2010).

Imports included:

• 4.9 million cubic metres of sawnwood;
• 2.8 million cubic metres of wood-based panels; and
• 7.5 million tonnes of pulp and paper.
• The total value of wood product imports was £6.8 billion, of which £4.7 billion was pulp and paper.

Exports

• The total value of wood product exports was £1.9 billion, of which £1.7 billion was pulp and paper.

The full statistics release is available here at the Forestry Commission website.

Note: These statistics will next be updated on 27th September 2012, which will be the final results for 2011; and on 16th May 2013, which will be the provisional results for 2012.
 


Timber Price Indices

Forestry Commission Scotland also released last week the latest National Statistics on Timber Price Indices.

These are based on Forestry Commission sales and consist of the Coniferous Standing Sales Price Index and the Softwood Sawlog Price Index.

They present data to March 2012 for Great Britain.

The key points from the latest release are:

• the average price for coniferous standing sales was £14.10 per cubic metre overbark standing in nominal terms in the year to March 2012;
• the Coniferous Standing Sales Price Index for Great Britain was 1.9% higher in real terms in the year to March 2012, compared with the previous year;
• the average price for softwood sawlogs was £37.83 per cubic metre overbark in nominal terms in the six months to March 2012; and
• the Softwood Sawlog Price Index was 4.5% higher in real terms in the six months to March 2012, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

Full information is available here on the Forestry Commission website.

Note: These statistics will next be updated on 8th November 2012, with data to September 2012; and on 16th May 2013, with data to March 2013).

The proposed plans and our analysis of them are here in an earlier article we published on 23rd April.

All three options will be put to an informal referendum and informal consultation before the Council proceeds with the contract procurement process.

This move is to be celebrated by anyone who cares for Helensburgh and for its future.

The proposed redesign was architecturally ignorant, brutalist and unsympathetic. It was being railroaded through regardless of public disquiet and opposition. This pause for the development of alternatives and for informed reflection has the capacity t0 be a literal face saver for Helensburgh.

A date has been set from the outset for the taking of the final decision on this, following the results of the informal referendum.

Councillor James Robb, whose motion to council  – given below – led to the suspension, says:

‘It was a commitment of the SNP Council Group that if we led the new Council Administration there would be a review of the design of Colquhoun Square within the Helensburgh Public Realm Improvement (PRI) Project under the CHORD Programme. A promise made and a promise kept.

‘The process has now been suspended to offer the residents of Helensburgh and Lomond a genuine choice on the design of Colquhoun Square. Informed by the results of an informal referendum the Council will take the final decision on the way forward on the 28th June.

‘I believe we should embrace this final opportunity to resolve significant differences of opinion and secure greater support and consensus for this investment in our town. ‘

Text of Motion to Co0uncil

Whilst the Public Realm Improvement (PRI) Project in Helensburgh under the CHORD Programme is generally welcomed there has been considerable disquiet, concern and protest regarding the design of Colquhoun Square. There is evidence of a public desire to remove the road bend, to increase the proportion of green space and to re-locate the bus stops. To achieve better community support for the Project as a whole the Council agrees to suspend the tender process and not issue any Intent to Award until this matter is brought back to the Council at a later date for a decision.

Council officers are instructed to bring forward to an informal referendum and informal consultation at least three alternatives: the current proposed design and at least two other alternatives incorporating the three issues above. The final design will take cognisance of the opinions expressed through the informal referendum and consultation which shall take place at a central location in Helensburgh on a date that allows the outcome to be reported to the Council meeting on 28th June 2012 to inform any decisions at that time.

The detail procedures for the informal referendum are delegated to the Director of Customer Services in consultation with the Chair and Depute Chair of the Helensburgh PRI Project Board. The arrangements with regard to providing the alternative design options and any measures which should reasonably and prudently be taken to minimise delays should an alternative become the preferred option are delegated to the Director of Development and Infrastructure Services in consultation with the Chair and Depute Chair of the Helensburgh PRI Project Board.

Proposed by Councillor James Robb
Seconded by Councillor Richard Trail

Responses

Councillor Ellen Morton  is quoted in today’s (24th May) Helensburgh Advertiser as saying: ‘I don’t know what an informal referendum and informal consultation is. It’s just another delay and I don’t know what it is going to achieve. It is going to put the money at risk and there is no guarantee of resolution at the end of the delay.’

Councillor Robb is quoted as saying: ‘Council officers gave a very clear explanation of why “informal” was necessary; to avoid the delay and expense of a statutory referendum.

‘The Council Leader gave a complete assurance on behalf of the Administration during the debate, which was also confirmed by officers, that this decision would not affect the allocated funding.

‘Whilst raising concerns is helpful input into enacting the Council decision, raising completely erroneous concerns is not.

‘I think all our local councillors should accept the Council decision and move forward together to progress this project and the town’s aspirations as quickly and efficiently as possible.’

For Argyll imagines – hopes, perhaps -  that the notion of an informal referendum and an informal consultation are designed to establish a form of community impact on decision taking that will be distinct from the almost wholly discredited formal consultations that have been a cynical blight on our political life.

They are less taking issue with the Lloyd’s List Article they quote than they are clarifying their joint position on the heart of the matter.

The article, of 21st May 2012 – ‘Legal challenge could delay Serco ferry takeover’ dealt with the legal challenge to Transport Scotland issued by freight company, Streamline Shipping, over the award to Serco of the contract to supply passenger and vehicle ferry services to the Orkney and Shetland Isles.

The letter from the two general secretaries is unequivocal in declaring where they stand, as the verbatim text below demonstrates.

Tex of Nautilus /RMT letter to Lloyd’s List

‘Your report on the current fiasco over the contract for the lifeline ferry services to the Scottish Northern Isles (‘Legal challenge could delay Serco ferry takeover’, 21 May) states that Nautilus and the RMT have both publicly opposed the award of the work to Serco.

‘For the record, it is important to make clear that this is not an issue about Serco and we do not inherently oppose the contract being awarded to that company. Our concerns are much wider – and reflect our fundamental belief that the tendering process is unnecessary, unwanted and unhelpful.’

‘Nautilus and the RMT question the very need for these essential services to be put up for tender every six years – a process that creates uncertainty amongst staff, shippers and passengers alike. It is a costly and time-consuming process that denies these vital routes the stability that they need if they are to receive the investment required.

‘Sadly, the process also exposes these services to risk of damage being caused by those who wish to cherry-pick the best routes or to cut costs by operating with cheap crews from outside the Scottish community or under flags of convenience. In this connection, the challenge by Streamline – which runs under the Cyprus register, with eastern European and Filipino seafarers – highlights the competitive pressures that tendering can unleash. Given the utter confusion which appears to exist within government circles over the work permit requirements for these seafarers, is it any wonder that Nautilus and the RMT have grave concerns about where the tendering process may lead us?’

Mark Dickinson
General secretary
Nautilus International

Bob Crow
General secretary
RMT

The question of stability

This letter raises and establishes the validity of the key issue of stability in lifeline services – for users and for those who provide and staff the services alike.

There is no doubt that the regular tendering of such services is destabilising. The point that this process and its consequences are out of kilter in the specific context of recognised lifeline services is well taken.

We find particularly compelling the view that: ‘It is a costly and time-consuming process that denies these vital routes the stability that they need if they are to receive the investment required.’

Events may well resolve this situation.

The imperative of tendering such services has been imposed by the European Commission. It is mnore rather than less likely that in the fairly near future, there will be no European Union, since the troubles of the euro are structurally irredeemable outside effective political union.

This change to the global political landscape, though likely soon, is not, in shipping forecast terms, imminent. The meantime will see some conclusion to the Northern Isles ferry services contract. Whatever that decision is, it will embed the sort of destabilisation warned of by the two maritime unions.

This has to be inspirational entrepreneurshiip at its best – private sector risk and an imaginative, intelligent reading of opportunity.

A new £2million vessel which aims to tap into Scotland’s growing renewable energy market was launched on Saturday, 19th May.

The Helen Burnie, built to a unique design at Macduff Shipyards in Moray, will create up to 12 new jobs once she is working to capacity.

The workboat is equipped with the latest technology to allow it to tackle specialist offshore windfarm and tidal survey work, as well as the more traditional workboat contracts.

At a time when many companies are laying people off, the venture represents a huge leap of faith in Scotland’s renewable energy market by Inverlussa Marine Services, a small family business based on the isle of Mull.

The company, which has two other vessels, has already carried out some tidal exploratory work off the islands of Skye and Islay.

And Ben Wilson, Inverlussa’s Operations Manager, speaking at the launch of the Helen Burnie in Oban, said he believes renewable energy opportunities have a lot to offer far-flung communities.

He said: “We think it’s a good time to invest in the renewables sector and the boat has been built completely with renewables in mind, because we do feel it is a sector with vast potential.

‘This is a state-of-the-art vessel, a total one-off design. It’s got the latest winch system and the latest crane.

‘It is a general purpose coastal supply vessel, available to assist with all the traditional marine service tasks which are the backbone of our business such as fishfarm feed deliveries and dive support work, but it is also kitted out to work on the construction stage of tidal and offshore wind farm sites.’

The company, evolved from a one man operation started by Mr Wilson’s father, Douglas, the company’s Managing Director, over 20 years ago, has employed 15 people in recent years.

As the Helen Burnie sailed off on her first delivery contract to the Shetland Isles, Mr Wilson said: ‘The new boat has already created six new jobs, all local jobs, but there will be up to twelve jobs created on the island, depending on the contracts we secure’.

The boat will be available for all logistical marine services, including cargo transport, general dive support, fuel and fresh water transfer, cable laying, container transport, plough dredging, anchor handling and towing work.

But Mr Wilson, whose company has received the backing of the Clydesdale Bank for the project, said: ‘Due to her versatility and high manoeuvrability we expect that Helen Burnie will be in great demand for a variety of renewable energy projects – from offshore wind farm work to tidal energy surveys.

‘There is a lot of money going into these windfarms and I think it is a great opportunity for the West Coast to be involved in an industry which is attracting investment.’

Argyll SNP MSP Michael Russell said: ‘It is great to see such a significant investment being made by a local company and it shows the huge potential of renewables in this area. I wish them every success with this exciting step forward.’

• 22 year old Arlene Robbie, (left, below)  founder of Arlene’s Coffee Shop at Craignure on Mull won the Economic & Community Impact award and a £1,500 cash prize.
• Lesley Smith (right, below) who owns The Honey Pot, an accessories and nursery wear boutique in Hawick in the Scottish Borders, won the Excellent Customer Focus award and £1000.
• 28 year old architectural glass designer Kathryn Neale (right, below) from Fife, who supplies 200 shops and galleries throughout the UK with her glass giftware. was winner of the Personal Growth & Development award and a £1000 cash prize.

The awards, now in their fifth year, are run by The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT) thanks to generous support from The Moffat Charitable Trust which has pledged almost £300,000 to support young people demonstrating outstanding talent in the Scottish tourism and travel industry. All three winners launched their businesses thanks to funding and support from PSYBT which helps 18-25 year olds start up and continue to grow their own businesses.

Congratulating the winners, PSYBT Director, Geoff Leask, said: ‘Thanks to the Moffat Charitable Trust we are able to support young people and help create a culture of entrepreneurship and enterprise in the Scottish tourism industry.’

Speaking on behalf of The Moffat Charitable Trust, Mr Jamie Moffat said, ‘We are delighted to be able to continue funding and recognising young people in Scotland who have a passion for business and who are striving to make a positive impact in their local communities.’

The award won’t make Arlene’s coffee shop at Criagnure any better than it is but it may make more people realise how rewarding a visit to it can be – and we speak as confirmed users at either end of the ferry journey from Oban to Mull.

For 2012, nothing in this has changed.

The new programme sees short films, sculpture and works on paper located within the historic interior and collections at Mount Stuart.

These focus on contemplation and exploration, working together to bring into play the natural refuge of ‘islandness’  and the cultural diversity of Mount Stuart House.

Until we have experienced the specific works for ourselves we can say nothing about them independently, but they include:

Peninsula – by Ian Bourn conjuring changing ‘coastlines’ visually and symbolically. Ian Bourn is also creating a unique video installation specially designed for Mount Stuart and specific to its island location.

A Dance of Ownership, a Song in Hand – is a newly edited version by Skaer for Mount Stuart of the quite wonderful film commissioned by Siobhan Davies Dance, and made in 2011 on St Kilda and in Mount Stuart in collaboration with the late dancer and choreographer Gill Clarke. The work is inspired by the Mount Stuart family’s close relationship with St Kilda, which Lord Dumfries, later 5th Marquess of Bute, bought in 193, after the 1930 evacuation – and subsequently left to the National Trust for Scotland.

Communion – a short film by Nina Danino – a portrait of a young girl in the style of  Billy Williams, BSC Oscar winning cinematographer in 35mm and reminiscent of the photography of Hollywood stars.

What is the work of love today? – by Kate Davis, inspired by documentation recording the brief transformation of Mount Stuart to a naval hospital, offering care and sanctuary to military patients during the First World War.

We will be reporting on these exciting works when the new programme is launched in the third week of June 2012.

Job details are here on the TalentScotland website.

Community Land Scotland will receive all applications and check that the applicants are eligible under their programme criteria (graduated within the last two years).

The main focus of the job is on setting up a Knowledge Exchange Strategy by organising 6 seminars where knowledge exchange between actual and aspiring community landowners plus invited ‘experts’ will take place.

This post is part of the TalentScotland Graduate Placement Programme and part funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and European Regional Development Fund.

If one can describe great weather as ‘a following wind’ this was how the gods smiled on Auchindrain’s first Food Fair over the weekend of 19th and 20th May.

In typical Auchindrain style, the event at the preserved farm township was a fusion of then and now, with traditional food production methods – like churning for butter and buttermilk and making griddle scones and clootie dumplings on a peat fire – blending their aromas with those of the here and now and the classics.

The scent of the lamb spit roast -  part of the buffet organised by Leanne Muldowney of Inveraray’s George Hotel – dominated the outdoors centre of the event up beside the wooden ‘Colt House’ that is a listed building in its own right.

Down inside the ultra-couth reception centre, with its gleaming and open stainless steel kitchen. Chef Andrew Maclugash performed a cookery demonstration – with mass tastings. He smoked a mackerel, made mackerel pate, oatcakes and nettle soup.

Andrew’s cheffing credentials are very interesting – you could say mouthwatering. He was a chef on the Hebridean Princess – and we know how high-end that is, travelling to all of the glorious nooks and crannies of the Scottish inshore and offshore coast with the ship. He then transferred to its sister ship and did the Carribbean side of the business. He now works on developing ‘ready meals’ for Waitrose, through a company contracted to deliver this service.

So when Helensburgh gets its new Waitrose, there will be a readymade Auchindrain connection through Andrew Maclugash’s impact on the ready meals available there.

Up at the buffet area, there were stalls and skills, with Jill Bowis spinning even more yarns than usual.

The sheep that provide the raw material looked curiously through the fence.

The stalls featured a Celtic art gift display, Paradise Kitchen preserves from the Isle of Seil, Pamela Airlie’s jewellery from Ford on Loch Aweside.

And the most spectacularly irresistible (we fell at first sight) collection of cup cakes from two Inveraray women who just do this as a favour for a select few special events.

Karol Chodorowski from Eastern Poland who is one of the two new members of staff, churned butter in the thatch-roofed Bel Pol’s cottage.

Sheena McAlister from the Campbeltown Heritage Centre made wonderful griddle soda scones and clootie dunplings over peat fires in one of the cottages.

Both were served – as were all of the stall holders, the buffet and the arriving visitors at the gate by the hard working and cheerfully good mannered 14th Midlothian and Bonnyrigg scout troop.

They laboured endlessly with buckets of water hauled around the long township to all who needed it. They helped the spinner and the Inverclyde Gaelic Waulkers and they guided visitor parking.

Their camp site down by the burn below the Colt House was a bright splash of alien colour – and some of them had managed to get permission to sleep in the box beds in a couple of the cottages that night.

As the last of the visitors dallied with the griddle scones, little groups of the 14th Midlothian and Bonnyrigg legion slid politely behind backs topping up the peat fires. They wanted to be sure of a warm night. They’d heard the stories of the troop’s 2011 experiences when, in dreadful weather one of their tents became a kite and the boys who slept in the cottages were colder than those in the tents.

Eva Paterson (Swedish, now a resident Scot, snaffled up by a smart Loch Fyneside farmer)  who runs the catering service at Auchindrain, was on hand to support the buffet operation and meet old friends.

Bob Clark, Auchindrain’s Development Manager was everywhere but made sure he got to the butter shortly after it emerged from the churn, He had earlier welcomed Argyll and Bute’s MSP, Michael Russell to the event.

Cathy Wilson of Islay’s Ailsapress, dropped in with visitors from near Munich who were going on to stay the night in Kilmartin – because Bayern were playing Chelsea and they could catch it live if they waited to take the Islay ferry the next morning. (Given the result, we’d better say no more on this topic.)

Storyteller, the magnificent Padraig MacNeil, told us about Stirling twinning with Galway in the west of Ireland and sending over the Wallace sword for the agreement between the two towns to be signed on.P{adraiog has been commissioned to write a poem to commemorate the marriage – in Scots and Irish Gaelic and on the Doric. He gave us a sneak preview in song and recitation . This will definitely be an event to witness.

Residents from across Mid Argyll and Cowal mingled with visitors from all parts – some maxing out with a parallel visit to the established Loch Fyne Food Fair running at the head of the loch.

There were people everywhere, the Auchindrain livestock attracted cameras and a wary eye to those horns. They had some visitors VERY attracted by the smell of the Lamb Rolls.

On the second day there was a shinty match played by the Camanach Cup winning Inveraray Club on the field which Karol had cut two days earlier; and Cowal’s Walking Theatre Company amazed and astounded its audience as it towed them around the township, anxious to miss nothing.

All in all, this was a major success for Auchindrain and its unsleeping team – and a very enjoyable (and well  fed) experience for everyone.

And if you want cute…

The finalists in this year’s greeting card retailing awards – affectionately known as ‘The Retas’ – have been announced and and the Card Shop at The Square Peg has been nominated as one of the top card retailers in Scotland.

All the finalists in all the retail categories emerged from a massive nationwide nomination process. Earlier this year, UK greeting card publishers, card reps and agents nominated the retailers that they felt to be the worthy winners in each of the categories.

The Retas awards, launched in 2005 by Progressive Greetings Worldwide magazine, recognise excellence across the whole retail spectrum, from independents on the high streets, to the mini chains, national multiples, garden centres, department stores and supermarkets.

It was no round hole for this Square Peg, which found the perfect fit, seeing off the competition to become a finalist in the Best Independent Scottish Greetings Card Retailer award.

Unsurprisingly they’re delighted. Jilly Wilson says: ‘We are particularly pleased and intrigued by this nomination because, although shops are able to nominate themselves for this award, we did not.

‘We are always finding new and beautiful cards for our shop and this makes it all worthwhile.’

The overall winner will be revealed at a spectacular ‘Hollywood Classics’ themed award event at London’s Dorchester Hotel on Wednesday 11th Jul, attended by almost 400 people.

Jilly Wilson may be surprised at the nomination but no one who uses the Square Peg as gift source of first resort, will share that emotion. This establishment is in what is arguably the best retail position in Lochgilphead and it knows how to use it.

It is endlessly surprising itself, with a clear sense of style and fun guiding its stock decisions – individualist, amusing and with an eye to quality. Its Card Shop is Mid Argyll’s and its visitors’ answer to a raft of needs, challenges and emergencies.

The Square Peg fully deserves its place in the finals – and to win. We look forward to news from the glitz of 11th July.

And congratulations don’t seem quite the thing. do they?

It has to be ‘Greetings’.

An immediately unusual boat – the MV Ocean Nova, was at Oban’s North pier – and was the length of it – on Friday 18th May.

Long, narrow, tall, sheltered, with expansive observation facilities, five or six Zodiacs stacked on her top deck and a stout bow, she seemed built for action and possibly action in cold climes.

Research shows she’s a polar specialist, built in Denmark in 1992, as the Sarpik Ittuk, designed to navigate the ice-cluttered waters off Western Greenland.

She had a major refit in 2006 with a glass-enclosed forward observation lounge constructed on her top deck.

With a capacity of 98 passengers she carries only 68, with a very good ratio of a 38 strong team of crew and polar guides who oversee daily shore landings – by Zodiac – and lectures on Antarctic wildlife.

A serious activity cruise and adventure ship, the menu of opportunities she offers stress just how active is the experience aboard  – or off – Ocean Nova, Pretty well all embarkations and disembarkations – as well as shore landings and retrievals, seem to be by Zodiac – so the fit, flexible and relatively young seems her target market.

For the winter she appears to be based in Antarctica with passengers getting themselves to southern Chile (Punta Arenas) or Argentina (Ushuaia), depending on the chosen adventure.

Holidays seem to be priced from from either port, with fly/cruise from Punta Arenas – flying from there across the drake Passage to King George Island in the South Shetlands, in Antarctica; and then embarking the Ocean Nova by Zodiac from the shore of Fildes Bay.

One alternative option is an Express adventure from Ushuaia in Argentina. Here you embark Ocean Nova from the port

This takes the Beagle channel to the world’s most southerly town, Puerto Williams, on Navarino Island and then heads for the awesome Cape Horn where, weather permitting, the Zodiacs take passengers to the lighthouse.

After that the ship crosses the Drake Passage to King George Island, does some wildlife and iceberg watching, with a flight back to Punta Arenas in Chile, from where passengers make their own way home to wherever.

The menu of possibilities includes wildlife watching and whale photography. (Reincarnation or cloning becomes increasingly attractive – if not necessary.)

This is the boat’s winter programme which runs to the end of March.

Further research, prompted by the fact that here she was in Oban in May and we could find no evidence for what had brought her there, shows that she also does a summer programme of the same sort of adventure cruises around Iceland and involving the Faroes and possibly Greenland.

Oban now seems to be a starting point for these particular adventures. Obanites may well have already seen her berthed alongside the North Pier but certainly seem die to see more of her over the season.

She’s the perfect size of ship for the North Pier and her specialism in colder waters and polar exploration chimes with our natures and interests here.

She was a muscular and exotic addition to the Oban bayscape on Friday and we too hope to see her again.

Paddy Shaw and his 15 piece swing band will crank up the pace with Spotlight, Ballet West, Sequence Choir, Zumba Dance demos  and a special Jubilee supper.

This seems like a definite ‘must do; start to the Jubilee weekend -  at the Argyllshire Gathering Halls , with doors opening at 7.30pm for an 8.00pm start.. Tickets £8 from Alba in Oban.

This event neatly draws early attention to the Winter Festival designed to develop the tourism market at the quieter time of the year.

The mighty challenge of the Scottish Islands’ Peaks Race was all over Oban on Friday (18th May).

The moorings at Oban Sailing Club were swollen by just short of 50 boats in a huge fleet for the 2012 epic. Then at least two runners per boat took to the roads for a run up around McCaig’s Tower and back.

This is only the starter for a race that sees the combined skills and strength of road runners and yacht race tested to the limit in a unique challenge involving three islands, three mountain races, heading five peaks and a last sprint for the finish at Troon.

Nothing ever stops. When the crew aren’t sailing the runners are on the hills. If the weather turns wholly nasty – which it often does, if may need all hands on deck. Most of the rest of us, like two of the board of the hugely useful Cardingmill Pontoons and Moorings here, Adrian Lauder and Professor Duncan, enjoy contemplating the effort.

Food and sleep and grabbed equally hungrily in the down time of each contributor.

In Oban the returning runners are rowed back by dinghy to their boat by one member of the crew, heaved onboard along with said dinghy while the sails go up for a no holds barred race first to Salen on the Isle of Mull.

There the runners are rowed ashore to, well – run up Ben More, Mull’s only Munro. Just like that.

Then they’re rowed back for the yacht race to start again – this time back east through the Sound of Mull, south into the Sound of Lorne, through the Dorus Mhor, past the Grey Dogs and the Corryvreckan and into Craighouse on the isle of Jura. This is sailing that ticks an awful lot of boxes in the legendary west coast waters.

Splash goes the dinghy with the crew oarsman to set the runners ashore – to run all three Paps of Jura.

The crew get their heads down for four hours or so while the runners are murdering the Paps and the Paps are sapping their strength.

Another mad row back for the boat and it’s off out of Craighouse to round the Mull of Kintyre, past Sanda Island and the South of the isle of Arran to head up round its east coast to the Holy Isle and into Lamlash Bay.

Here the runners, who’ve been in their bunks since Craighouse, head for the top of Goat Fell, while the crew sleep.

Rowed out again more dead than alive they get food and this time the chance to collapse into their pits without having to face another mountain.

Now it’s all down to the crew in the last yacht race to Troon in Ayr, first negotiating the notoriously fluky winds off Holy isle.

As we write this, they’re on that last leg already. And the runners did the Paps of Jura (dawn)and Goat Fell (midnight) in the dark.

The start at Oban

Several in the large fleet couldn’t get a mooring, some using the Cardingmill Bay pontoons as a staging post until they had to go off and tootle around in the moorings until pick up time.

Pick up time is, of course, preceded by effort of a different kind. The starter run up to McCaig’s Tower.

In the hour before the start at 12.00 noon, runners are walking around, limbering up, going off on short runs to loosen up. There are serious  runners here from all over the UK, dauntingly fit.

The best of them seem to semi-levitate, moving in an even glide that barely touches the ground, upper body held independently off the lower body. They look as if they could run for ever and many probably do.

We meet the runners from the dark blue-hulled yacht, Riva and some determined  Norwegians from one of the boats briefly alongside at the  Cardingmill pontoons.

There’s  a Swiss boat too – on a mooring.

Just off Cardingmill Bay and at the edge of the moorings is Pole Star, one of the Northern Lighthouse Board’s two heavy duty work boats that maintain buoys around the west coast and islands.

Then there’s a team from Fettes College ashore from the yacht Lydia, with enough runners to have one set do the starter run around McCaig’s Tower while others wait to face the challenge on Ben More.

A red helicopter comes in over the Isle of Kerrera and vanishes, dropping down to land. It looks like it’s headed for the Manor House Hotel – but is there landing room there? This aircraft will reappear in the not too distant future and all will be known.

The gathering at the Sailing Club, with runners galore, yellow-jacketed Bruichladdich Race Control organisers, photographers and the frankly amazed gets bigger by the minute. The narrow road has been full of parked cars all along. it appears that this is not down to the race but is mainly the cars of CalMac staff down at the harbour who park up here.

The start is awesome. We almost forget to get out of the way. And the road falls silent as all that energy vanishes elsewhere.

This whole area is one Oban needs to address seriously  and coherently – and why this was not part of the failed CHORD project is hard to tell. The shoreside area is ill maintained by the council and undeveloped. The slipway is overgrown and less than it might be, Access to the shore is otherwise left to nature and the risk of broken ankles, There is no rational use of space.

There’s an odd, quite narrow fenced off strip of overgrown land just shoreside of the wall at the edge of the footpath. What’s supposed to happen here? There’s recently cut grass running down from the charming little Temple of Seafood stone building beside the Sailing Club and tumbling, literally, onto the boat park at outdoor adventure Stramash’s wooden hut.

This area has all the ability to develop into an ad hoc shanty town if heads are not banged into stopping down all additions until there is a rational plan for the the strip from, say, the Sailing Club north to the end of Cardingmill Bay. This could be a designed area, built for a future with watersports, leisure sailing and support ervices, with some aesthetic and created with a considered and enabling functional relationship between its elements.

What are the odds? The track record suggests that ‘shanty town’ may well win out.

The first runners appear from this 30 to 45 minute warm up run and the different tactics become evident. The shore is spattered with waiting dinghys and rowers looking at their watches.

Based at the vantage point above the Cardingmill pontoons, we see some runners come down the grass and then take a short cut down the steep and uneven earth bank before hitting the stony and slippery shore to head for the dinghy on the waterline.

The smart ones run further but, to our eyes, gain time – heading to the slipway where they can carry on running to their dinghy. The bank descenders have had to walk, break rhythm and cannot risk even a trot across the shore.

The major competitors on the moorings already have their sail covers off and their sails hooked on ready to hoist. Some more leisurely – or supercool -  boats haven’t even got their mainsail covers off yet.

Somewhere in the bedlam on the moorings is Bequia, skippered by Colin Craig of West Coast Motors, with his brother Ian, MD of Lothian Buses, John Grant of Owen Sails and runners Stuart Malcolm and newbie to the team, Gordon Lennox.

Bequia is tweeting its race – as they have done for the last two – and you can read all three race accounts.

One of the multihulls, a big cat, Sail number GBR 715M, is first out of the moorings followed in close company by a monohuller. They tack off fast, past Pole Star, down the east side of Kerrera heading for the exit from Oban Bay.

Soon there are two more, already racing out of the moorings, well heeled over. We think the first of these might be Bequia. (Note: It wasn’t – but Bequia was 8th out of the bay.)

On the moorings local legend, Tangle o’ the Isles (second shot from the top) – with some unbelievable passages behind her and more to come, waits for her runners. The Norwegian boat (the dark blue hull in the shot below) jills around and the Swiss mark time.

Then it’s all activity, little dinghy’s bundling out from the shore, bodies climbing and being hauled on board, dinghys hoisted in and secured, sails up and flapping, waiting to be sheeted in and power the boat away. There are some close calls between urgent crews fighting for space – but that’s racing. Others take a chance and go inside the yellow buoyed reef known locally as ‘the Scrat’. We’re told that there are two types of sailor in Oban – those that have hit the Scrat and those that haven’t – yet.

As the moorings clear, it becomes even more obvious just what a visually stunning place to sail this is – and if you read the tweets from Bequia, they testify to the role the place plays in doing this race. Ian Craig – who we think was doing most of the tweeting, constantly catches his breath in mid-tweet at the seascapes and landscapes unfolding as Bequia moves purposefully on.

With most of the fleet on the move, the big cat is clear of the fleet, still with her shadow though, both tacking across the head of the bay from under Dunollie Castle and over towards the little island of Rudha Cruaidh off Kerrera, where they will vanish off to Salen.

In the middle of it all emerges a very large, sleek black shark – Pharos, the Northern Lighthouse Board’s main workhorse of the seas, chooses to leave her berth right now and drives forcefully toward the entrance to the bay, on her foredeck the punctuation mark of the red helicopter that flew in earlier.

Within minutes she’s mixing it with the full fleet under Dunollie, She gives five loud hoots – code for ‘Get out of my way’. Not a chance. Doesn’t she know these guys are racing? ‘Steam gives way to sail’ and, mad as it seems from the shore, this is ‘not an inch’ time afloat, The yachts sail on. Almost none deviate. The skipper on Pharos abandons the code of hoots and just keeps his thumb on the horn. The angry sound echoes far and brings not one jot of change to the fleet.

Later the Calmac ferry from the outer isles comes in through the tailenders. She hoots as well – but not the full high five. she has less need now and ploughs steadily in to her berth.

With Bequia

Online, Bequia reports getting into Salen at 15.05 with their runners are away by 15.15. Neat. The crew expect them to do the Ben More run in 4.45 hours and to be away again by 20.00.

Hotntot33′s Robbie Simpson, does it in 3 hours 11-59, taking almost 14 minutes off the record. Bequia’s Malcolm and Lennox do it in 4 hours 11, seriously under expectations – and the boat’s out of Salen ‘like a shotgun’ and away for Craighouse, marveling that at this time it’s still daylight as they come under Duart Castle.

Bequia’s in Class 2 where the racing seems to be tight at the top, with Dorothea who beat Bequia into second place last year, a contender to be respected along with Clockwork and Sea Fever. The arrival order in Jura at 4.40am (Saturday) was Dorothea, Bequia, Sea Fever.

By 9.15 the runners are back on board [ having done an anticipated 5 hour run across the three Paps in 4 hours 18. A massive achievement.

With Clockwork and Sea Fever ahead, Bequia is on a spinnaker reach until the wind steadying east ahead of the beam allows a fast reach south. They say they’re ‘smokin’ at 8 knots. Light winds and a few predictable problems with the spinnaker behind them and a quick photo of the glen through from Machrihanish to Campbeltown ‘for the Kintyre brigade’  they round the Mull of Kintyre around 5.30.

Colin Craig sees his own Stormforce ferry, Kintyre Express 111, headed into the North Channel en route for Ballycastle to pick up passengers from the North West 200 bike race before Bequia leaves the Pladda Light south of Arran abeam, with Clockwork, now the class leader, ahead. Kintyre Express III appears later, for a ‘fly by’ on the return trip from Ballycastle.

Bequia is 4th boat in to Lamlash at 23.45, having improved four places since leaving Oban eighth in the fleet.

Clockwork gets away at 03.35 and Dorothea at 03.45, with John Grant of Bequia ashore waiting to retrieve their runners. They were back aboard by 04.05, leaving the crew to deal with the frustration of the fluky winds around Holy Isle and settle down for ‘the straight drag’ east to Troon. They were predicting: ‘ a grandstand finish between Bequia, Moby J, Sea Fever & Dorothea’. Racing all the way in to the inner harbour.

And now they’re in: 08.48 Sunday morning, 20th May – provisionally finishing second in their class and 4th overall – a mighty performance.

Now for next year.

Postscript: Other boats have been complimenting Bequia on its tweeting – with good reason. They took us with them, through the dawns, the pasta, the sunsets, the places they love, the strategies, the frustrations, the great blokey banter, the camaraderie with the other competing boats and that edgy competitive spirit that saw them race to the last into Troon’s inner harbour. Thanks guys, This is your story.

The 2012 Festival of the Sea, run by the Scottish Marine Institute (aka SAMS) for Oban, Lorn and the Isles got off to a running start yesterday, 18th May,

The bore is that we have a problem with the newsroom’s online operation at the moment and cannot use the photographs we took – but will upload them as soon as the problem has been resolved.

This festival has always been an inspired idea. This part of the world has physically and historically been shaped by the sea, which governs our key internal movements today.

The revered Scottish Marine Institute, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands is headquartered here in Argyll, at Dunstaffnage, must north of Oban.

This institution is making headlines for the quality of its degree teaching, its research and its managed knowledge transfer to commercial implementation,

This has most recently borne fruit in major business developments at one of the companies involved in this partnership, Aquapharm, developing marine material into products combating digestive disorders.

There is a strong logic in developing a recruitment base for study and research in marine sciences amongst young people in the area where SAMS/SMI is based.

There is an equally strong logic in developing a relationship of ownership with the area n which SMI exists.

The sea is of course the link between the two. We all exist with the sea here and SAMS is a specialist research and teaching institute on marine sciences.

SAMS has realised that it is the interface in developing the relationships described above and has been imaginatively proactive in a host of initiatives to move this forwards.

The Festival programme

The Festival of the Sea is one of these initiatives – a major one – and is designed to activate interest and engagement from the youngest local school pupils to SAMS peers in the academic world.

So the programme for the Festival of the Sea runs the gamut from storyteller Patsy Dyer researching a wide spectrum of cultures to find myths and legends based on seaweed – and she did it; to a three day academic conference on Scottish Sea Lochs and Adjacent Waters, run by the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association.

In between these polarities are a host of events of all kinds for all audiences and involving partner organisations from Oban’s richly fascinating Dunollie way out to Lochmaddy in North Uist and an exhibition called the Secret Sea – Cuan Uibhist at the arts centre there, Tigh Chearsabhiagh.

You can find all of the programme information online here (www.obanseafestival.org) but i a way the hard copy of the pull-out leaflet wIth the programme rams home most powerfully just how huge and varied – AND ACTIVE – the Festival of the Sea programme is.

SAMS, the new Guide badge and the Tobermory connection

It’s far too glorious a set of opportunities even to attempt to summarise – but even the programme is something to immerse yourself in – fast. You can get to see places you’d never otherwise get near, to learn about fascinating subjects you’ve not even thought of and to do coasteering, family canoeing and RIB trips to all sorts of the amazing coastal and island nooks and crannies in Argyll.

Yesterday we learned about an innovative link between SAMs and the Scottish Guides Association, developing a special Ocean Challenge badge – and running a competition for the design of the badge.

The idea for the Guide badge came form Anuschka Miller, who leads the communications team at SAMS/SMI and is herself a marine scientist by training.

This has been won by Asha Nelson of 1st Tobermory Guides – and you can see Asha’s design for it above

The World of Algae

Yesterday, at the Argyllshire Gathering Halls in Oban, this theme included information on algae – with the glow-in-the-dark algae that are plankton and whose effect we call phosphorescence; and with an ingenious experiential display where the scientists enabled visitors to see this effect in action. Try it.

There was a competitive exhibition of art work produced in 2009 around the theme of algae, with a stunning spectrum of shapes and colours, hung by Helen McNeill from the SAMS communications team.

The winner was Mariano Sironi with Green Tide in Patagonia. (left) While it showed a 14 metre long (43 ft) Southern Right Whale mother with her calf, swimming along the shore of the Peninsula Valdes in Argentina, you wouldn’t have realised that they were the subject. Why? Because what yo see is not the whales but their impact on the glow-in-the-dark algae. As they move their tails stir up a green tide of planktonic algae behind them – and this is what the aerial photograph records. Spectacular.

A shortlisted piece of magic was by Galice Horeau, called Enchanted Cavern (top photograph). This shows the view looking out of an underwater cave off the coast of Brittany, at Roscoff, three metres down and looking into a forest of giant algae.

The storytelling

We’ve mentioned above the challenge faced by storyteller, Patsy Dyer from Ardfern in having to find a find of stories based on seaweed, one of the algaes.

She found Japan and Hawaii fabulously fruitfully cultures for such material and ended up with some compelling insights.

Britain, Ireland – and Russia – are the most romantic. And the Lofoten Islands are the most terrifying.

Patsy was merciful to her young audience on Friday and did not include Lofoten material amongst her repertoire for the day. So it was all Oohs, Aahs and smiles.

Virtual Landscapes and Future Seascapes

This touring experience from the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen – a year-old marriage of two existing academic institutions, one in Dundee, one in Aberdeen – was on show yesterday.

Professor David Miller, with an assistant on the remote controls, guided young audiences – with some hands on navigation – around the landscapes of Oban and its surrounding areas. looking at hew perspective is affected by specific standpoints and marveling at how others see us.

Professor Miller had the enviable ability to engage easily with young people and to enter in to their ready excitement and curiosity.

And the unique CD?

Called Essence of the Sea, this is a compilation of music by musicians from Oban, Lorn and the Isles, agreed and put together by Finlay Wells, whose abilities are breathtaking.

The idea came from former councillor Neil Mackay who can take well deserved pleasure in seeing it come to fruition so well.

The CD is there to help to make money towards the cost of the event and the generous contribution to it by the musicians involved is very much a spirit of the times in Argyll and the Isles, with which Neil Mackay was also involved from the outset.

You can buy it for £10 and having listened to ours in the car on the way home, you won’t be disappointed. You’ll find Skerryvore, Angus MacColl, Gunna Sound, Mary catherine MacNeil, Skipinnish Ceilidh House Band, Joy Dunlop, Angus Smith, Macadam, Achnaba, Oban High School Pipe Band and Finlay Wells with Sileas Sinclair.

So…

Get the CD, get hold of the programmne and dive in. The Festival of the Sea is a once-a-year pleasurefest of information, conundrums and experiences of the marine world and the coastal environment.

The problem is one of choice and available time. It could not be more rewarding and it demonstrates that the best of the academic world can make itself fully accessible, enthralling and welcoming.

The MoD are known and serial polluters.

Some of this is inevitable in the nature of the work, equipment and stores at various bases.

However, what is fully culpable is the MoD’s total lack of interest in cleaning up after itself.

SEPA becomes again a pivotal failure in this situation.

If we accept that the MoD will pollute and walk away, SEPA is the agency we imagine will protect our environment and will enforce cleaning operations.

This is a foolish notion belied by the facts.

We contacted SEPA directly over RAF Machrihanish at the time of forcing the admission on non-screening from the MoD.

SEPA expressed shock and gratitude for the information but appear to have done absolutely nothing about it – as, despite brave words on what they might do, they have done at Dalgety Bay in Fife.

Of remaining concern is that there are three MoD sites in Scotland where SEPA admits to knowing of radium contamination and will not identify their locations.

This is a serious matter of serious public concern since, in regard to the admitted known contamination at RAF Kinloss, the MoD will not say whether or not the contamination affects adjoining land.

For Argyll has now lodged a Freedom of Information request with SEPA, to see all their communications with the MoD on issues relating to radioactive contamination at RAF Machrihanish.

Burcote – which says it has around 800MW capacity in wind farm applications for installation at ten locations across Scotland. One – at Creggan – is in Argyll.

The agreement is that Burcote will provide the opportunity for Wind Towers to provide the towers for its Scottish sites (a rather carefully worded commitment); and in exchange Wind Towers will support Burcote’s initiatives with technical, commercial and operational expertise.

The agreement is being touted as capable of leading to the generation of 600 jobs in construction and maintenance.

We can but hope. There is something about the matter that seems more connected to appearance than reality – one could say there is the scent of flummery about it. If this proves to be the case it will be a cruel deceit for Campbeltown and Kintyre, which has seen Wind Towers as the third generation of employers in this same industrial activity at the same plant at Machrihanish.

Commenting on the announcement, South Kintyre Councillor, John Semple, who is widely tipped to become the new Council Spokesperson for Renewable Energy, says:

‘This agreement signifies an important milestone in the development of renewables manufacturing in Argyll and Bute.

‘It is important not only for the employment and training opportunities it brings but also for the message it sends to the renewables industry – that the Windtowers Ltd. manufacturing facility at Machrihanish is on-course for steady, sustainable growth.

‘I look forward to seeing more developers and manufacturers recognise the advantages of the investments in infrastructure, location and skills-base that exists in Kintyre as off-shore opportunities open up.’

Councillor Donald Kelly, who has not been involved in the process leading to the agreement, has welcomed it, saying:

‘The agreement reached by Burcote Wind and the Windtowers can only be beneficial for future employment prospects at the Campbeltown plant.

‘If the proposal to establish a modern apprentice scheme is implemented this is a welcome step in the right direction.

‘It is very important that the skills currently present at the factory are not lost and are passed down to future generations.

‘This announcement can only help to maintain pressure on the Scottish government to resolve the issues currently associated with the A83 especially the trunking of the road between Kennacraig and Campbeltown.’

We agree that the adequacy of the A83 is critical, and that skills retention is an imperative. We also agree with John Semple that there is real potential capacity at this plant and at Campbeltown in its ability – or coming ability – to ship out turbine towers by sea.

Somehow, both previous businesses  – Vestas and Skykon – have not succeeded or have not been managed for success.

It is worth noting that the estimable and experienced David Steel is still there, having played many roles in the various incarnations of wind tower manufacture at Machrihanish under a succession of owners. This time he is in charge of business development. His fidelity to the operation and the area deserves a ‘third time lucky’ result.

The five month long trial period of the device – over the most difficult weather period of the year – has been targeted on enabling the planned timetable for the Islay installation  to stay on schedule.

This array is now said to be on target for implementation between 2013 and 2015.

An Argyll Ferries spokesman says: ‘The performance statistics for April demonstrate that technical issues are being kept to a minimum.

‘It is therefore extremely frustrating that a sudden and unexpected turn of extreme weather led to the loss of a day and half’s sailings on April 3 and 25.

‘These account for the majority of bad weather cancellations in the month and had it not been for these two isolated occasions weather disruptions would have very low indeed.’

Argyll Ferries wish to take the opportunity of making widely known the changes to the sailing timetable in the week from 28th May. This is because of the scheduled refit of the Argyll Flyer. Details of this revised schedule while the Flyer is in refit are already in our Today’s Travel Updates feature.

They are that the timetable will be reduced to hourly departures. The 0100 and 0125 sailing’s are also cancelled on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd June.

The national tourism agency has previously been pretty territorial, unhelpfully so – but the calibre of the initiative coming out of Argyll and the Isles tourism partnership is such that minds are changing towards a revaluation of the partnership approach at this level too.

Mike Story, Vice-Chair of Argyll and the Isles Tourism will be part of the team at the Visit Scotland drop in tourism workshops at the Columba Hall in Islay on Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd May.

Up to now, the company has offered only a 5-day supersaver ticket on the route – at a 30% reduction on the normal fare.

This is unusable by visitors on a one week residential or self-catering holiday to Mull and Iona.

Mr Dorchester has agreed to change this to a 9-day supersaver which will comfortably embrace the needs of holiday visitors,

We understand that the change has now been agreed by all concerned and is waiting only for signing off by Transport  Minister Keith Brown – with Scottish Ministers the ultimate owner of Calmac.

With tourism operators on Mull finding the coming season a real challenge in slow bookings and the price of fuel in the Highlands and Islands inflated above an already high average, this initiative from CalMac is a welcome one.

Tourism is Argyll and the Isles’ lifeline industry. It could not be more important. It is appropriate and commendable the CalMac lifeline ferry service weighing in to help.

They are:

• Dr John Howe from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) UHI – named as most inspiring lecturer;
• Professor Toby Sherwin, a colleague of Dr Howe’s, was voted best research supervisor ;
• Dr Kirsty Macdonald, a cultural studies lecturer based at Argyll College UHI, was judged best in providing the most constructive feedback on assessment.

As a former academic and post-graduate research supervisor, I know at first hand just how important to students are the specific characteristics for which each of these lecturers has been so signally recognised.

For the majority of students, a subject at any level – is no more or no less interesting than a teacher makes it. Our national failure to produce the volume of scientific and mathematical expertise we might, is born, in no small measure, of a weakness in this area. Teachers who inspire are to be institutionally treasured and retained at all cost – and it has to be said that SAMS appears to major in lecturing staff with this ability. Oddly, in many universities, the best teachers are the least valued, yet few can deliver at this level of impact and when they do, they are the element in any course that makes the difference to student performance. The enthusiasm and excitement for learning in this subject area by Dr Howe’s students comes leaping at you in what is being said.

Research supervision is a highly erratic provision in the academic world. A substantial number receive nothing other than the minimal, some virtually nothing of note. Research supervisors have their own work to do and many treat post graduate supervision as a nuisance of a chore. Many have never done much teaching because their focus has been on research so their skills in understanding, interacting with and guiding students are undeveloped. As an external examiner of post graduate theses at a prestigious UK University, I was aware that what I saw in my own institution was replicated widely. Theses were presented with unstructured arguments, inconsistent criteria for relative judgment and uncorrected weaknesses in literacy. They had barely been seen, never mind ‘supervised’ in the meaning of the word, yet many of these students had obvious ability their supervisors had not helped them to bring to bear. I find the testimony of his students to Professor Sherwin particularly inspiring.

In similar vein – because this is where first class ‘supervision’ starts, Dr Kirsty Macdonald’s recognition by grateful students of prompt. focused and constructive feedback on their work is, in every way, an academic growth hormone. Undergraduate students are so accustomed to poor practice in their tutors managing of their assessed work that finding something different is like coming across an oasis in a desert. The norm is that work comes back so long after students have done it that they can no longer remember what they were trying to do. In this context, even focused and constructive comment can have little f0rmative impact – and all too often there is little detailed analysis anyway. The students who progress best are always those whose work is treated with the engaged respect and timeliness Dr Macdonald clearly dedicates to it.

Most inspiring lecturer, Dr John Howe, an Oban-based marine geologist, was commended for his positivity and his passion for geology. One student commented: ‘John is the most incredible lecturer I have ever had. With love for his subject, he has the ability to bring across knowledge in a short time and raise the interest of the whole class.’

Speaking about his award, Dr Howe says: ‘I was surprised and delighted to be recognised in this way. Geology is all around us, from the tops of the mountains, to the bottom of the sea so it’s a very easy subject to get excited about! I’m pleased the students also find it so interesting – even when we do have to stand in the rain.’

Best research supervisor, Toby Sherwin, a Professor of oceanography at SAMS UHI, was selected for his commitment and support. One student wrote: ‘Toby is a dedicated and diligent supervisor and has supported me over a number of years, including during a period of ill-health. He has an open door policy and was extremely supportive during the year I was unable to study because of ill-health. He collected samples at sea for me and drove me home when I was too ill to use public transport.’

Professor Sherwin says: ‘It’s a great honour to be considered the best supervisor because there are a lot of very good teachers and supervisors in the university. This should also be a great fillip to the support team at SAMS UHI who do all they can to ensure students get the highest quality of support. Training a young researcher and watching them develop from their first hesitant steps to becoming a fully-fledged, mature scientist is a great reward in itself so to be honoured for doing this is a very nice experience.’

Best assessment feedback winner, Dr Kirsty MacDonald, was complimented for giving thorough, fair and timely feedback. One voter said: ‘Kirsty is extremely quick with her assessment feedback, often giving it back within a few days. She is also excellent at presenting it in a way that positive attributes are highlighted with equal weight to
negative. I feel she is exceptionally fair and constructive.’

Dr Kirsty MacDonald, based at Argyll College UHI and living in Oban, says: “I’m delighted to have won this teaching award – it’s particularly meaningful because it has been voted for by the students themselves. I love teaching, so it’s wonderful to receive some acknowledgement from those who matter most.’

Organised by UHISA, the UHI Students’ Association, the awards recognise excellence in seven categories. The other winners were:

• Jane Edwards, Perth College UHI, outstanding student support;
• Colleen Maclean, Perth College UHI, most engaging online tutor;
• Matt Sillars, Inverness College UHI, best student adviser and most engaging video-conference tutor;
• Murray Stark, Inverness College UHI, best preparation for employment.

The University of the Highlands and Islands was one of the first institutions to work with the Higher Education Academy and the National Union of Students to introduce student-led teaching awards. They have now been adopted throughout Scotland and will be introduced to the rest of the UK this year.

UHISA president Nathan Shields says: ‘The awards clearly highlight that we have tutors who regularly go above and beyond their roles to support their students and create an outstanding student experience. The quality of nominations this year aptly reflects the students’ appreciation of the support, skills, and expertise that their lecturers
bring to the classroom.’

UHI’s head of student services, Dr Iain Morrison, says: ‘These awards are run and awarded by the people who are best placed to judge the quality of university staff – our students. Once again the students’ nominations suggest that the region’s local university has staff delivering excellence in both teaching and student support. We are proud
of our colleagues and the positive impact they clearly have on individual student’s lives.’

Winners each receive a trophy and certificate.

Lynda Henderson