Issue 20

Fergus Tickell of Northern Energy has withdrawn his current application by for the combined Heat and Power plant proposed for the Heights between Lamlash and Whiting Bay. However, the applicant is still fully committed to the proposed project, and a new application may be submitted later in the year. 

Evidently, Mr Tickell took serious note of the points raised during the intense debate about the suitability of the project in its current form. Any new application, he promises, will include ‘a detailed report narrating the engagement process and outcomes as well as the additional information which addresses those legitimate concerns raised to date.’ Meanwhile, however, he says, ‘I formally request that Application reference 12/00282/PP is withdrawn.’

This provides a welcome breathing-space, but work on considering the proposal must continue. Arran Community Council has set up a small sub-committee that includes people with professional knowledge in the field, and is committed to producing a well-researched, detailed report. This will accompany any amended planning application that may be submitted. 

While technical questions can be investigated and clarified, some of the most significant factors in the proposal are more difficult to quantify. Though intangible, the question of perception is vitally important. Arran’s main income is through tourism, and this depends on the island’s image as a place of natural beauty and clean air, far from the rush and pollution of cities. Whether or not the imagined plant would in fact have a visible chimney and a plume of vapour is almost immaterial, for the personal reaction is essentially an emotional one. This has shown up, rather disgracefully, in an ‘opposition’ poster showing a wooded glen that has nothing whatever to do with the proposed site – but it reveals psychological fears that run deeper than any ding-dong of facts.

Looking beyond the current fracas, it is obvious Arran will need to develop its own sources of renewable energy. Oil is a finite resource and will become even more expensive as remaining supplies become rarer and more valuable. We must look to the future, with energy and imagination. Micro-generation is probably the way forward, with every new-built house capable of making its own electricity. But we must also safeguard the present. Rational or not, we have to cherish the clean, beautiful image that is so vital to the island.

A reader’s letter on the subject follows further down

Poetry is not usually reckoned to be a show-stopping entertainment, but last night, Friday, 31st August, a packed crowd in Brodick Hall realised that poet and novelist Jackie Kay is a phenomenal star, and their clapping and cheering was so enthusiastic that she had to do an encore. Jackie had been invited to give a reading of her ownwork and to judge the £1,000 poetry competition run by the McLellan Festival, but even the organisers had not quite realised quite what an astonishing performer she is. Galesof laughter alternated with rapt silence asJackie read - or more often, recited from memory - one poem after another.

Forget wandering lonely as a cloud or waxing lyrical about daffodils. Forget the jog trot of the boy on the burning deck. Jackie’s poetry is immediate and real, about life as she finds it, in all its absurdity and its powerful moments of tenderness. She can write about a desperately sick baby and about love between friends yet in the next moment deliver a piece about the trials of trying to diet that has the audience rocking with laughter. She has the born comedian’s mordant eye contact and wicked smile, yet radiates a genuine friendship and the wry, Glasgow-born humour that knows you’re done for if you don’t find something to laugh at. Born of a Nigerian father, she was adopted as a baby, and the Brodick audience was touched to see that her much-loved Scottish mum and dad had come with her to the Festival. Her account of finding her African father when she was in her forties and he seventy-five was at the same time moving, funny and desperately bizarre. She is not merely a brilliant writer but a consummate, endlessly talented performer.

Arran’s talented singing group, Ain’t Misbehaving, provided the perfect setting for the evening with a polished, brilliantly rhythmic rendering of a programme of jazz songs, and everyone had an extremely good time. David Underdown said in his words of thanks that we hoped this was not the last time we would see Jackie on Arran, and his wish was cheered to the rafters

The winner of the competition was Davnet Heery, for a moving poem called Diagnosis. Davnet is from Connemara in Ireland, but made the trip to Arran to receive her prize, and also to take part in the inspiring and brilliantly practical workshop that Jackie Kay ran the following morning.

Diana Hamilton, a leading figure in Arran’s music as teacher, conductor, performer and more recently as a national examiner, has composed a string quartet, due to receive its first performance on Sunday September 30th. This is an exciting event for Arran – and perhaps for Diana, too, for whom this is a new venture. When she was studying percussion and piano at the RSAMD there was no composition class on offer except for those taking it as a main subject, so as a teacher, she had much sympathy for her students when ‘invention’ was made compulsory in the music exam syllabus. She realised that even her best students were ‘getting stuck’ on the problems of writing music because they were not familiar with the principles of harmony and musical structure, and began to write her string quartet in an effort to see what the stumbling blocks were. Almost at once, it became clear that even to make a start was quite difficult. Once a form is established, it can be built on – but how does one find a first idea? Some kind of motif was needed. Rather than look for any vague inspiration of the cuckoo-in-spring kind, Diana turned to the structure of music itself. To put one basic building block on another seemed a simpler approach than trying to conceive an abstract idea.

Two jazz intervals provided a start-point – a major and minor seventh. That may seem a complex idea, but the chords will sound easy and familiar to anyone with a taste for jazz. As a cellist herself, Diana worked with friends who played violin, viola and a second cello, and started to put the emerging ideas onto a computer programme. She found that one small piece of invention led to another, and a bigger structure started to form. The result is exciting. The sevenths underlie establish the first movement and the second uses ninths in a gentle, lyrical construction The third draws on Diana’s talents as a percussionist to great effect, plunging into an exotic tango that then shifts into a jazzy waltz.

The Hamilton First String Quartet is a highly attractive, beguiling piece. Its world première will take place at a concert in the Community Theatre, Lamlash, on Sunday 30th September. Tickets at £8.00 will be available online at the Theatre and Arts Trust website. http://www.arranart.com/atat/ or from the Book and Card Centre in Brodick, or at the door on the night of the performance. Doors will be open at 7.00 for a start at 7.30 pm.

The concert will also feature a piano quartet (piano, violin, viola and cello) by Josef Suk, a piece full of the warmth and richness of the Romantic period, and such string favourites as Massenet’s Meditation from Thais, Rachmaninov’s Vocalise and Monti’s Czardas.
Two of our local singers, alto Aileen Wright and baritone John Cruikshank, will be singing songs by English composers, Elgar, Quilter, Vaughan Williams and Warlock as well as German Lieder by Schubert and Schumann, accompanied on the piano by Douglas Hamilton.

Diana is delighted that the McLellan Festival has been willing and able to include this concert in their 2012 programme, and equally delighted that friends from the Eumalia Ensemble, professional string players, led by the violinist, Angus Anderson who has regularly performed on Arran in the Summer Serenade and other events, have been willing to come to Arran for this event. The viola player, John Harrington, has been the lead viola in the RSNO for many years and his daughter, Sarah, who comes to play the cello, plays in the Scottish Opera Orchestra. Both John and Sarah have had many holidays on Arran. Jan Anderson, a friend of Diana’s from days at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music (now the Royal Scottish Conservatoire), also comes to play the cello. Jan teaches the cello in Renfrewshire.

North Ayrshire Council is to invest £1 million to buy back former Council house, to help address the increasing housing demand.

Councillor Anthea Dickson, spokeswoman for Health and Social Care, spoke of the high demand for affordable housing and the shortfall of available houses. ‘We are building 500 new Council houses over the next decade,’ she said, but admitted that, while this is a significant investment, it will not meet the overall demand. Purchasing former local authority housing shows ‘a willingness to explore every possible avenue to tackle this ongoing issue.’

Many will feel that the original tragedy was the loss of the Council housing stock, but NAC cannot be blamed for that. The new move is a sensible one, and very welcome.

Anyone who saw the brilliant 1995 Arran production of Tony Roper's nostal­gic smash hit The Steamie will never have forgotten it. Set in 1950s Glas­gow when the public laundry was still a social part of tenement life, it’s a feisty show, both comic and touching, and its first performance here was so notable that the cast was invited to perform it at the Magnum Theatre in Irvine.

This year, The Steamie is to be the Arran Mu­sic and Drama Club’s annual production. It has a great musical score with countless catchy tunes, and the Glasgow patter on its own is a delight. If you are interested in taking part, contact Ian Watt in Lamlash on 600 382 for fuller details. Ian says the winter's re­hearsals will start ‘with a com­pletely new format and lots of new members, both front and backstage. It’s also a fabulous opportunity to make your debut as a director, either of music or the stage play, and people with fresh ideas will be enthusiastically welcomed!
The Music and Drama Club started life in 1975as the Isle of Arran Gilbert and Sullivan Society, but over the years has turned its talents to many dif­ferent types of musicals. As well as the classic shows, there have been more controversial ones such as Jack the Ripper, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and the unforgettable Bad Girls, which delighted everyone in 2011.
Starting dates for rehearsals will be an­nounced as soon as possible, so look out for further details. Meanwhile, call Ian Watt on 600 382. Being in this show will be a truly great experience!

Many people, specially those in Whiting Bay, were saddened to hear of the death of Sheila Rees, who lived for many years in Glen Ashdale, with her husband, Arthur, until his death. Sheila was robustly Left-wing, a member of Arran Against the Bomb and a life-long supporter of the Woodcraft Folk, and she made highly original contributions to the writers’ group that ran for some years.
At a non-religious ceremony in the chapel at Lamlash Memorial Hospital, members of Sheila’s family spoke simply and movingly of their memories of her. Her children recalled the warmth and security of their early years, and Sheila’s daughter Janet recalled the wonderful deserts her mother used to make. ‘No meal is complete without a pudding,’ she remembered with a smile.
As one of the people present, this struck me as a broader truth than it might seem, and gave rise to a poem in Sheila’s memory. With her family’s agreement, we reproduce it here.

Requiem for a Communist

For her, it was so clear.
Virtue did not sit on some high cloud
but breathed among the confraternity
of those who are alive, no single one
born to the right of privilege and none
condemned to the rubbish heap
as though not mattering.

The picket line, the carrying
of the brave flag, had always been
practical, a present need,
less the answer to a bugle call
than the provision of a good pudding
of care and courage,
raspberries, equality
and cream.
Alison Prince

Over 80 people, both children and adults, had a great time building kites during European Fish Week. Rosie Guy and Cicely Gill, helped by other members of COAST, ran eight kite-making workshops. The theme was of course Fish, and the participants produced a fabulous collection of kites shaped like fish and jellyfish. It culminated in a grand parade of fish kites from the High School to Lamlash Green. Everyone had fun, the sun shone, and with a gentle breeze the kites flew high. COAST had a stall with a tank of sea creatures and seaweed, and dished out lots of information.

The workshops celebrated European Fish Week and also promoted OCEAN2012. This is a group of over 160 small community and inshore fisheries organisations from all over Europe, who are lobbying for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. COAST is of course a member.

OCEAN2012 wants to look at fishing in social and environmental terms, not purely as an economic pursuit. It is asking for a clear target for conservation of fish stocks and effective ways to minimise ‘bycatch’. It argues, too, against the present Total Allowable Catch (TAC) regulations, which give the big boats the bulk of the allowance. 90% of boats are under 10 metres long and so their owners cannot be members of the Producers Organisation and cannot lobby for improved rights. Small, inshore traditional boats are restricted to 2 tonnes per month, though they are far less harmful to fish stocks.

Meanwhile, destructive fishing methods, such as bottom trawling and scallop dredging, continue unchecked. These must be reduced if stocks are to recover. If you are concerned about this, please contact Struan Stevenson MEP, who has represented Scotland in the European Parliament since 1999 and is the Senior Vice President of the European Parliament Fisheries Committee. He’s at European Parliament, Rue Wiertz 60 Brussels B-1047, or you can email him on struan.stevenson@europarl.europa.eu .

Dr Bill Turrell is leader of Marine Ecosystems at Marine Scotland Science. His talk given in Lamlash Golf Club during the week of the Arran Show was called, ‘The Clyde Marine Ecosystem: is it in Meltdown?’ A good question. Beside him was a magnificent carving of a leaping cod, made by Marvin Elliott from driftwood and designed as an eye-catching reminder of the size of fish that used to be caught at the now-defunct Lamlash Fishing Festival. ‘Until we change our ways,’ Dr Turrell insisted, ‘our fish won't be able to recover.’

The size of fish in the Clyde has radically changed. One-year old whiting now represent 72% of the fish present and 90% of fish are below minimum landing size. The Clyde has changed from an even mix of fish with many large predators to one dominated by few types and no large fish. It is clear that overfishing and modern types of gear have impacted on fish stocks. In 2010 data showed there were 66 prawn bottom-trawling boats and 24 scallop dredgers at work in Clyde waters, clocking up a total of 52,802 fishing hours. And that is without counting the non-Scottish boats such as those from Northern Ireland that just ‘turn up’.

It took 10 years of campaigning by COAST to establish the No Take Zone in Lamlash Bay, and since then, the Government has done little more. However, Dr Turrell has hopes for the future. Bioproductivity in the Clyde is good, and with protective measures in place, over time there is a chance a mixed fishery could return.

Film-goers should note that the next showing is on Saturday, September 8th, not the usual Sunday. This is because of the McLellan Festival activities.

Winter's Bone, directed by Debra Granik, won the Grand Jury Dramatic Film Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It stars Jennifer Lawrence as 17-year-old Ree Dolly, who looks after her younger brother and sister and her depressed mother as best she can. There is no money. Ree’s father, Jessup, is out on bail for cooking up illegal methamphetamine, but is on the run. The sheriff tells Ree that if Jessup doesn't show up for his court date, the house and land will be seized because they were put up as part of his bond.

Ree sets out to find her father. She starts with her meth-addicted uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes) and enters a frightening world of violence and enforced loyalties. Ree tries to tackle the local crime boss, Thump Milton, but is warned to keep out of it. Jessup, it is rumoured, died in a meth lab fire – or else he skipped town to avoid the trial. If the latter, then Ree has about a week before the house is seized and she and the young children are homeless. She needs proof that her father is dead, but pursuing the search gets her beaten up. Her uncle Teardrop tells her Jessup was killed because he was going to inform on other meth cookers – but Teardrop does not know who the killer was.

The truth is only found through a macabre experience, but Ree has achieved a kind of redemption. The house is secure. In a gentle ending, Teardrop brings two baby chicks for the children to raise. And Ree’s little sister retrieves her dead father’s banjo and begins to play.

The showing begins at 8.00 pm in Corrie Hall. All are welcome. There is no charge but contributions to the hall’s upkeep costs are very welcome.

www.arranart.com/corriefilmclub.html

Does anyone make wine? Or have a juicer? The Black Hamburg vine in my greenhouse has a big crop of grapes, just beginning to ripen. If anyone would like to pick and use them, they will be very welcome. No charge, but a small contribution to the Voice would be welcomed.

Phone 700 574

A man died on Saturday August 25 after falling from a boat while on a fishing trip off the West Coast. Clyde coastguards were alerted when a ferry reported a small, unmanned boat floating near the Isle of Coll at around 11am. Ten local boats, including the all-weather Tobermory lifeboat, searched the area, along with an RAF Rescue Helicopter from Lossiemouth. The man was found in the water by a local boat and airlifted to hospital in Oban where he later died. Clyde Coastguards said he had been seen earlier, heading out on a fishing trip. He was not wearing a lifejacket when he was found, but one was discovered in the water nearby.

We welcome contributions from readers on any subject. Julian Davidson of  Rosemount, Whiting Bay, sends us a copy of his letter to John Michel, NAC Planning Officer.

Dear Mr. Michel,
 
Re: Planning application Case Number 12/00282/PP
 
I wish to lodge a mild protest at the biomass plant proposed by Mr Fergus Tickell.
 
I attended both the preliminary public meeting on the 24th July and the Community Council meeting on the 31st July, at which Mr. Tickell spoke very honestly about his proposals. I listened to many vehement and scientific objections from the floor. I am a simple man: facts and figures about particulates, plume heights etc. go quite over my head.
 
Mr Tickell is convinced that his biomass plant will succeed. However he has not taken into account the fragile environment this island has, both ecologically and sociologically. He should have taken some time in researching what makes Arran tick (excuse the pun!). Arran is not simply part of North Ayrshire as NAC would like us to be. I have therefore two quick objections:
 
1. A plant such as Mr.Tickell proposes could not be commissioned or run without expert engineers brought in from the mainland. He could not staff his plant from the indigenous workforce available on the island. Where would these ‘immigrant’ engineers live? As NAC well knows, there is an acute shortage of affordable housing on the island. Maybe NAC or Northern Energy (Mr. Tickell’s company) would fund the construction of perhaps twenty or thirty homes adjacent to his proposed plant: this would alleviate the problem he has with waste heat. I seriously doubt NAC or Northern Energy would plough £25m. or so into this scheme!
 
2. This proposed plant will have tonnes of combustible material within its fence. The main building will be timber-clad. The whole kit and caboodle is surrounded by trees. If there were to be a fire how would we control it?
The island has but a handful of volunteer fire-fighters. It would take at least forty-five minutes for an engine to arrive at the site. By then the fire would be raging...with three schools and numerous dwellings nearby? Not a good idea at all!
 
I have no complaint with Mr. Tickell’s ideas. They are great and will benefit the Scottish economy. However, Arran is not the right place for this plant. Mainland yes, but not here!
 
Yours faithfully,
 
 
Julian Davidson

Sally Campbell of COAST flags up the fact that mussels in Lamlash Bay have for some time been cited as polluted in the Government’s Food Safety Monitoring report. Malcolm Wheeler, who does the testing for the mussel farm in Lamlash for the government and is therefore is the source of the report, says the mussels are always contaminated at this time of year. They are not lifted till the all clear is given, but Malcolm says, ‘Maybe a warning to people  not to pick their own mussels in the summer might be in order.’ He adds, I test monthly for E coli, the  present E coli state is A class, which is the safest, and the mussels could be sold now but for the other contaminants. Lamlash Bay is rich in phytoplankton, which produces these contaminates as well as feeding the mussels.’

Sally Campbell agrees, and comments as follows :

It is quite right that they are testing for phytoplankton, which can cause severe reaction in humans, so comes under human health. Of all the places tested around Scotland, many are not closed because the concentration of harmful phytoplankton is lower or absent. This may be because the water is cleaner, thus containing fewer nutrients, or faster flowing. It is well known that concentrations of these are often higher near fish farms, or where farm runoff etc may provide extra nutrients in the water. The Lamlash mussel farm is near burns, farms and a major salmon farm. I don't know if they test for E. coli, which of course is associated with untreated sewage.

For anyone interested in the scientific details, Sally offers the following explanation of Harmful Algal Blooms

Harmful algae blooms (HABs) are microscopic single-celled plants that live in the sea. HABs is a term used to describe a proliferation, or ‘bloom,’ of single-celled marine algae called phytoplankton. Most species of algae or phytoplankton are not harmful and serve as the energy producers at the base of the food web. While there are thousands of algae species in existence, only a few dozen are known to be toxic. These few toxic species produce potent neurotoxins that can be transferred through the food web, where they affect and even kill the higher forms of life such as zooplankton, shellfish, fish, birds, marine mammals and even humans that feed either directly or indirectly on them.

Five major human toxic syndromes can be caused by the consumption of shellfish contaminated by algal toxins. The increased risks to humans of shellfish (and mussel) toxicity from the prevalence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) may be a consequence of large-scale ecological changes. These could include anthropogenic activities, marine transport and aquaculture, and global climate change. Improvements in toxin detection methods and increased toxin surveillance programmes are positive developments in limiting human exposure to shellfish toxins.

The Scottish Salmon Company has reported that its revenue for the second quarter of 2012 has fallen by almost 50 per cent. It ascribes this to ‘increased volumes available on the world market’ but says it is ‘further exacerbated by a dip in the company’s own production levels.’ No mention, strangely enough, of the disease outbreaks, the results of which have decimated the stock during these months.

Meanwhile, the caged fish industry is still seeking to maximise its profits. Trials by Nofima have found that salmon in ‘recirculating aquaculture systems’ can adapt to ‘relatively high concentrations of ammonia’. This discovery they say, could save considerable costs. Ammonia bouillabaisse, anyone? Go on, it’s lovely.

news items from www.eufishnews.com

Nominations for people who would like to stand for election as Arran’s Community Councillors close on September 18th. There are several vacancies, and it is very much hoped that new people will join this active group. The Community Council is there to listen to the needs and opinions of Arran and do everything possible to convey them to North Ayrshire Council or to the Scottish Government, or to whatever specialised body is appropriate. Meetings are held at the Ormidale Pavilion in Brodick on the last Tuesday of every month, but there is lots of informal communication by phone or e-mail between members, and nobody has to tackle any problem alone.

Being a village representative on Arran Community Council brings a whole new range of information and understanding about what is happening on the island and what plans are in the pipeline to change or improve it. As an ACC member, there is a certain sense of being ‘in the know’ – and what’s more, of being able to do something about it. Countless people are always ready to say what the Community Council should or should not do, and though all views on any topic are welcome, it is much more useful to take part in what it does.

The Community Council website is kept constantly updated and gives a lot of detail about its activities. See http://www.arrancommunitycouncil.org.uk/ Bill Calderwood, the current secretary, will be glad to answer queries on the easy-to-remember address of acc.contactus@btinternet.com, and nomination forms can be obtained from the local NAC office in Lamlash. Please think seriously about joining – some villages are badly under-represented, and there is a real need for new members.

The annual bonanza of drama, music and poetry has already begun, and continues through the next week. There is still time to buy tickets for the remaining events, either online though www.mclellanartsfestival.co.uk, at the Book and Card Centre in Brodick or at the door.
 
On Saturday 1st September (tonight, if you are reading this on the first day of this month’s Voice) the Famous Festival Ceilidh takes place in Corrie and Sannox Hall at 8.00 pm, with a galaxy of  island talent –  Tim Pomeroy, Angus Adamson, Sheila Gilmore, John Sillars and the Jazz Café Band, to which you can dance if so inspired, plus an open mic for poets and a great supper. 
 
Sunday 2nd September sees a service in Corrie Church at 7.00pm, with beautiful choral music from the summer school students
 
On both Tuesday 4th and Thursday 6th September (due to high expected demand) an evening of Arran on Film will be shown in Corrie Hall at 8.00pm. New archive film and photographs have been incorporated into a fascinating compilation of old Arran, including island holidays and events of the 50s, 60s and 70s. Much of the footage has never been seen before.
 
The Festival culminates in two stunning events. On Friday 7th September at 8.00pm in the Community Theatre, Lamlash the Opera Gala will feature fabulous singing from the opera stars of the future currently finishing their studies at the Royal Northern College of Music. This feast of opera favourites and songs from the shows is always a real treat. Years later, when the names of these young stars are in big lights, you’ll remember that you saw them first on Arran.
 
On Sunday 9th September at 7.30 pm (please note the time, earlier than the other events) in Lamlash Church, a performance of  Haydn's glorious oratorio,.Creation will take place. Solo parts will be sung by Royal Northern College students, who will also join the chorus of Arran singers.  A fitting climax to two crowded festival weeks

Vegetable Pie with Cheddar Cheese Pastry
Ingredients

400g (14oz) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
225g (8oz) fresh carrots, peeled and sliced thickly
225g (8oz) fresh swede, peeled and cut into chunks
175g (6oz) pearl barley
50g  (2oz) red lentils.
3      Bay Leaves
900ml(11/2 pt) vegetable stock
175g (60oz)  button mushrooms, washed

For the cheese pastry

225g(8oz) plain flour
50g(2oz)   lard
50g (2oz)  Scottish butter, unsalted
110g(4oz) Scottish matured Cheddar cheese, grated
1x15ml sp (1tbsp) dried mixed herbs
4x15ml sp(4tbsp) cold water
 
Method

1. Place the potatoes, carrots, swede, leeks, pearl barley, lentils, bay leaves and stock in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
2. To make the pastry, sieve the flour in a bowl. Cut the lard and the butter into cubes and rub lightly into the flour, lifting the mixture through your hands to add air. Continue to mix until the ingredients look like fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add the grated cheese and the dried herbs and mix through.
Make a well in the centre of the mixture and stir in enough water to form a soft dough. Whilst adding the water, mix with round-bladed knife. Wrap the pastry in cling film and put in fridge for 15-20 minutes.
4.Meanwhile transfer the vegetable sauce into a deep pie dish or oven-proof dish. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce. Leave the sauce to cool slightly.
5. Roll the pastry out to required thickness and lay it on the top of the vegetable sauce, making sure the pastry is sealed onto the edges of the pie dish. Cut away any excess pastry from the edge of pie dish. Decorate the top of pie with any leftover pastry.
Baking until the pastry is crisp and golden for around 20-30 minutes.
Oven temperature: 190c,375f.Gas 5.

Here's another vegetarian recipe, this one from Chris Attkins, owner of the Brodick restaurant, Arran on a Plate. It sounds delicious

Ingredients
500g mushrooms (pick your own if you know what you are doing!)
250g broken walnuts (Green City Wholefoods)
2 cups bread crumbs
1 large or 2 small oranges (plus one for 'gravy')
1 small onion (optional)
6 shoots of fresh marjoram (or 2 teaspoons of dried)
2 eggs
Vegetable stock to moisten

Method
Preheat medium oven and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
Chop onion finely and sauté in a little oil and butter.
Clean and chop the mushrooms, without skinning, then chuck them in the pot.
Put the walnuts in a polythene bag and smash with a rolling pin (or use a food processor) before adding them to the mixture.
Turn down the heat.
Grate the rind of the orange(s) and add this and the juice to the pot.
Throw in the breadcrumbs and chopped marjoram.
Mix well, adding a little vegetable stock as necessary to produce a stiff, but moist consistency.
Add several turns of freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
Take off the heat and mix in the eggs.
Transfer the mixture to the loaf tin and bake in the middle of the oven for around 40 minutes, until firm.

You can of course eat the freshly baked loaf, although it will be almost impossible to serve! For best results, allow the loaf to cool, leave in the fridge overnight, covered with cling film, then slice into portions. Wrap these individually in cling film to freeze.
Be sure to remove cling film prior to defrosting! Reheat in a hot oven.

Serve with roasted root vegetables, peas or green beans and a 'gravy' made from a reduction of fresh orange juice and the remaining vegetable stock.