Issue 31

John and Janet Baraclough, whose garden looks over Brodick Bay towards Goat Fell, started from scratch when they bought their house not much more than a decade ago – and created a miracle. Walkways among massed banks of foliage in colours that range from every shade of green to a deep, rich purple give access to magical areas where an intriguing sculpture arrests attention or a great blue bowl of water reflects the sky. With its pools and stone benches, its aromatic forests of herbs and sudden detail of bright blossom, the garden is a delight to explore or else to sit in for a while, in perfect peace. On the day when it was open to the public, dozens of people came to explore and wonder, and to sit for a while in peaceful contentment. The day realised just under £200 for Arran’s cancer support team.

Thursday August 8th, Brodick Hall 7.30 pm

Joy Dunlop will be performing in Brodick with two equally talented musicians, Soren Maclean on guitar and Lorne MacDougal, on pipes and whistles. Joy herself is known throughout the world as a leading performer of folk music, both as singer and dancer. As a solo performer she has won countless prizes, including the coveted Gold Medal at the Royal National Mod in 2010, but she is also heavily involved in Gaelic choral music. A fluent Gaelic speaker, she conducts a choir called Còisir Ceann an Tuirc which won gold at the 2008 National Mod, and her Argyll based female quartet, Dealrach, won Mod Gold at their first-ever outing in 2008.

Joy’s debut album Dùsgadh (Awakening) received a 4 star review in the Scotsman and was album of the month in The Scots Magazine, amongst others. She has performed at numerous international festivals including the Celtic Colours Festival in Nova Scotia, and the Dutch Schotland Festival as well as our own Celtic Connections.

Tickets for this phenomenal event cost a mere £8 (including free programme and tea or coffee) and can be pre-booked from Inspirations at Brodick or online at Arran Events, but they will also be available at the door.

Saturday 24th August, Whiting Bay Hall, 7.30 pm

Jimmy Moon, as many people will know, lived and worked for a long time on Arran, though he now runs the highly successful Moon Guitars in Glasgow - while, of course, continuing to perform with his unique jazz and swing group, Rose Room. It is an enormous pleasure to welcome him back to Arran for this one-off performance in Whiting Bay Hall.

Seonaid Aitken, who sings with the group, has one of those cream-and-honey voices that stay long in the mind, and is also a virtuoso violinist. Jimmy himself plays double bass, and Tam Gallagher and Tom Watson are on rhythm and lead guitars respectively. They came together as a group through their shared love of the Gypsy Jazz style pioneered by the great Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, and immediately made their mark on the Scottish (and world) music scene.Their new CD is full of that easy, utterly seductive way of presenting the grand old favourites, and we are in for a treat on Saturday 24th of this month.

Tickets at £10 can be booked online at Arran Events or else at Inspirations in Brodick. They will be available at the door as well, but seats are not numbered, so it’s a good idea to get there in plenty of time.

Creative Scotland offers a prize of a block grant to a community that can put forward a good case for its arts activities. The sum offered is related to the size of the community, and Arran comes into the category that could win £100,000. Our Theatre and Arts Trust, which already runs the McLellan Festival and much else, is co-ordinating the bid, but anyone with ideas to offer is urged to get in touch - quickly, as Arran’s bid has to be in by the 19th of this month.

Established organisations such as Arran Visual Arts and the Music Society are already listed, together with details of what they could do if given some additional funding, but the people working on it are anxious to contact anyone in what can loosely be called the arts business. Artists, musicians, craftspeople, dancers, providers of open space for creative purposes, embroiderers, patchworkers, jewellers, runners of Internet businesses with a creative content, - all are welcome to apply. Just drop an e-mail to Jan McGregor on kmacgregor@12smiddy.fsnet.co.uk or phone her on 700249. But hurry - there’s not much time.

Though this annual festival is mostly in September, it begins at the end of August with a flourish of music, poetry and drama. On Friday and Saturday, the 23rd and 24th, there will be a McLellan evening in the Community Theatre at the High School, with a performance of his strange and mysterious play, The Carlin Moth. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the new play by Cicely Gill planned for the same night cannot be performed, but it is high on the programme for next year.

The following Thursday, August 29th, sees Joni Keen performing with the Euan Stevenson Trio, again in the Theatre, and the poetry competition with its £1,000 prize will be judged the following evening, Friday 30th, by the renowned poets Anne and Peter Sansom. They will be running a poetry workshop the following morning in Corrie Hall, and to judge from previous experience, these get-togethers of like-minded people are highly simulating. That same day is rounded off by a ceilidh, where Arran’s redoubtable Jazz Café Band will play and the magical cooks of Corrie will provide delicious food.

The next week romps on with a Tuesday showing of The Angels’ Share, a great Scottish film about whisky and much else, followed by more archive film of old Arran. The splendid Opera Gala, at which the talented students of the Royal Northern College of Music will once again stun everyone with their talents, takes place on Friday 6th September. The Festival ends with a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, in which local singers join with the students.

All details are shown in the programme below. Tickets can be bought at the door or online at www.arranevents.com, and a fortnight of mingled delights is all set to unfold.

McLellan Festival website     McLellan Festival advert

John Inglis, Chair of Arran Community Council

The Dyemill biomass application is one of the most contentious we have had to face on Arran. The application quickly stimulated an opposition group largely based round Whiting Bay. They may have initially reflected on a different type of biomass plant, mooted some years ago, whose working processes were indeed entirely unacceptable. The objections were many and varied and the emphasis changed as more information was forthcoming. They can be summarised as: unsightly, noisy, polluting, inefficient, no community benefit, increased road traffic and a predicted adverse effect on tourism.

The Community Council, in lengthy discussion both verbally and by e-mail, asked over 80 questions of the Forestry and. the company, NEDL - which gave two public presentations. No previous application has resulted in so much collected information, all of which was provided on the Community Council website.

The proposed biomass site is situated on forestry land on the far slope of the hill (the Heights) on the right if you are going from Lamlash to Whiting Bay. It is surrounded by trees and would remain so. It would not be possible to see it from any Arran home, the nearest of which is several hundred metres away and shielded by a permanent bank of trees. These trees, combined with an erected earth banking, would act as a sound baffle for what is already a controlled noise output. The top of the flue may be visible on Holy Isle but only at the summit and eventually may be hidden as the trees reach their full height. On certain specific weather conditions there would be a plume of largely water vapour, similar to a cloud, as seen on other, smaller biomass plants on Arran. It takes a stretch of the imagination to think that this plant would adversely affect tourism. Far more probable is that, if built, it would soon be ‘out of sight out of mind’.

The question of the plant’s low efficiency of 23% is cited as grounds against the application. This means that 23% of the wood fuel comes out as electricity - but this efficiency rate is not dissimilar to all plants which burn wood or coal to generate power. Of course, if the heat given off were to be used for an additional purpose, this level of efficiency would rise. That is a future possibility since the company would make no charge for the heat.

There is another way of looking at ‘efficiency’. No trees will be cut down to be burned in this plant. All the wood used is the waste from trees cut for other purposes, wood which otherwise has to be shipped off the island at taxpayer’s expense. Selling that waste wood to the plant is an efficient alternative for the Forestry.

Of course the most serious accusation against the plant is that it will pollute the atmosphere. Scientific papers analysing emissions can cause alarm if read out of context. Seen in comparison with other outputs, the plant emissions are not as virulent as the open coal fires, wood burning stoves and car exhausts that are already prevalent in Arran. There are small biomass plants operating in Arran already, with one planned for the hospital by the NHS. The Dyemill biomass application meets the strictest emission requirements but will utilise additional filters not legally insisted upon. The overall accumulative effect is that Arran’s air quality will remain high on the purity scale. Since the plant would be in the middle of forestry land, there would be a significant reduction in heavy loads on public roads since the bulk of scrap timber for biofuel would only be transported on forestry roads. The persistent claims contradicting this are simply wrong.

These are planning issues but there are other factors of concern to the island in terms of possible island benefit. The plant would employ four people, with some subsidiary employment in preparation and processing the wood. It would be desirable to have four local people employed, but if people of working age and possibly with families were to be brought in, that would still benefit the island, which needs younger people and children.

The Community Council have been assured by the Forestry that some of the money from the sale of the biofuel will be used for tourist recreation purposes on forestry land in Arran. The Community Council has made its acceptance of the plant conditional upon some community return by way of a share in ownership of the plant or some part of the revenue for the electricity.

There are wider, national concerns that we on Arran should consider. Biomass is ‘baseload’ electricity. That’s to say, its fuel is always available, unlike wind or some tidal mechanisms. It is independent of other countries and of large oil companies whose supply to us may not always be guaranteed or affordable. The UK government intends to build 20 nuclear power stations. These have no carbon emissions but they may have other disadvantages some of which have already been experienced on Arran - many of us remember the restrictions and anxiety that followed the Chernobyl disaster. Without taking the side of any political party, I support the Scottish Government’s drive for renewables and consider subsidies a price worth paying as a means of developing our own safe power source under our control. These are my reasons for not opposing the Dyemill Biomass application. However, it is well to remember that NAC make the ultimate decision and are under no obligation to take the advice of the Community Council.

The ever-productive Corrie painter, Jan Inglis, had a show of new work last week and it was, as always, a pleasure. Her constant interpretations of the sea in its many moods and colours continues, though three pictures feature dominating trees in the foreground and one, shown here, featured a pale narcissus, oddly poetic against its greyish background that so clearly recalled a late, still-cold spring. Her Golden Clouds is full of movement, people with flying scraps of blue that could be birds or, one feels, fragments of dream. Unusually, Jan also showed a seascape painted in smooth, transparent washes almost like watercolour, very tranquil in its evocation of clear light.

Save the Children Arran branch is holding a Family Ceilidh in Shiskine village hall on Friday 16th August, 7.30 - 10.30 p.m. A delicious buffet supper is promised, and there will be a tempting raffle. Bring Your Own Bottle. Tickets at £8.00 for adults and £4.00 for children can be bought from branch members and from the Book and Card shop in Brodick.

This year’s seventh Mountain Festival continues to be an amazing event, taking people across the beautiful Arran mountains and ridges in the full safety of expert local guides. Over the four days of the Festival, walkers could bag all four of the island’s Corbetts, learn about Arran’s unique whitebeam trees, climb along the exciting A’Chir mountain ridge with its challenging Bad Step, and enjoy all the wild places that Arran offers. See their Facebook page to read people’s responses to the experience. ‘A lifetime’s ambition fulfilled,’ said one. Another said, ‘I never felt worried or anxious because I felt so confident in their [the leaders’] experience and knowledge.’

The Arran Trust presented the Festival with a small grant in April of this year, to provide scholarships that will help three people gain their Mountain Leader award. The Festival’s programme of guided walks relies entirely on volunteer leaders with this qualification, so increasing their number is extremely valuable. Jo Totty, AMF chair, says the scholarship is immensely valuable, as the recognised qualification ‘demands financial and time commitment, often taking years.’ Anyone interested in being selected for one of the three scholarships please contact the Festival directly. Just Google Arran Mountain Festival, where you’ll find a very clear contact message waiting to be sent.

Next year’s Festival is 16-19 May 2014.

The Salmon & Trout Association (S&TA), has found that juvenile wild sea trout in Little Loch Broom are carrying huge numbers of parasitic sea lice. Forty-six juvenile sea trout were monitored over six days, and the results were appalling. The average number of sea lice per fish was 133, with many carrying over 200. Two were burdened by over 500. None of these young fish would be likely to survive.

Little Loch Broom is part of the Kennart to Gruinard area, and already has a bad record of lice infestations in its seven fish farms. In both February and March this year the average number of adult female sea lice on salmon in the seven fish farms was nine times over the threshold set by the salmon farming industry's own Code of Good Practice

Hughie Campbell Adamson, Chairman of the S&TA in Scotland, said the astronomical number of sea lice on the hundreds of thousands of farmed salmon in Little Loch Broom are ‘in effect out of control.’ He added that such a reservoir of adult breeding female lice ‘will have produced literally billions of juvenile sea lice’ that are in turn populating the wild sea trout ‘with devastating consequences’.

Describing what happens, he explained, ‘Lice feed by grazing on the surface of the fish and eating the mucous and skin. Large numbers of lice on fragile small sea trout soon cause the loss of fins, severe scarring, secondary infections and, in time, death. Quite literally, these young fish, which do not usually experience such heavy lice burdens, are being eaten alive - a direct consequence of the failure by salmon farms to keep on-farm sea lice numbers in check.’

The Wester Ross District Salmon Fishery Board formally reported the situation in Little Loch Broom to the Fish Health Inspectorate on June 14th, asking them to investigate. To date there has been no response.

On the second Sunday of every month, as every Arran film buff knows, an interesting and probably off-beat film is shown in Corrie and Sannox Village Hall. This month, on Sunday 11th August, the treat in store is Poetry, made in South Korea and described by the Guardian’s often taciturn Peter Bradshaw as ‘inexpressibly gentle and sad’.

The plot is simple yet full of complexity. Mija, a sixty-six-year-old grandmother memorably played by Yoon Yung-hee, retains something of her youthful beauty yet knows her memory is slipping away. She looks after a domineering teenaged grandson whose divorced mother (Mija’s daughter) works and lives away from home. When it is confirmed that Mija has Alzheimer’s, she desperately wants to write a single poem before her grasp of words deserts her entirely, and in this search, joins a poetry group that leads her into a state of constant poetic awareness.

Directed by Lee Chang-dong, the film packs a punch despite its gentleness. Mija’s grandson and his group of feral mates have raped a girl who as a result has committed suicide, and his grandmother, with her failing abilities, does her best to heal those caught up in this terrible situation. The film, though sad, is intensely beautiful and has a strange wisdom.

The showing starts at 8.00pm and admission is free, though contributions to the hall’s running expenses are always welcome.

There was a lot of discontent when the old Scottish Arts Council morphed into Creative Scotland. People missed the modest handouts for research and travel that had been so useful, and doubted that the slicker, more business-orientated body that replaced it could do the same job. The doubts swelled to a tide of protest, and heads duly rolled.

In the place of the headless is a new CEO, Janet Archer, the Director of Dance for the English Arts Council. Janet was the unanimous choice of the Creative Scotland Board for a post which attracted almost 100 applications. She currently chairs the artists-led organisation, The Work Room, based at Tramway in Glasgow. A former dancer and choreographer herself, she conceived and ran the ‘Dance Mapping’ project that surveyed the work, challenges and opportunities of over 1400 practitioners, companies and promoters throughout England.

This week, Janet sent out a friendly letter, summarised here.

First and foremost, I'm humbled and delighted to be appointed to lead Creative Scotland. It's brilliant to be living and working in Scotland, where the arts, screen and creative industries are recognised and appreciated for being intrinsically important by both the government and the public. The quality of work coming out of Scotland is extraordinary, across all areas of creative practice.

It's clear that we have issues to resolve. The Board have recognised this and work is underway to deliver the commitments made back in December 2012. The open sessions earlier this year have provided a rich source of useful and powerful guidance on what artists, film-makers and creative people want and need from us.

Creative Scotland will listen, learn and adapt, working with artists and creative businesses as partners to continue to grow opportunities to enrich the cultural lives of people in Scotland. I want to stimulate an environment that grows confidence and enables the very best work to develop across the arts, screen and creative industries.

Warmest wishes,

Janet

A study funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey confirms that injecting fluid underground can increase pressure on seismic faults and make them more likely to slip. The result is called an ‘induced’ quake. Nicholas van der Elst of Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, who led the study, said, ‘The fluids [in wastewater injection wells] are driving the faults to their tipping point.’ Seismologists at Columbia University say they have identified three quakes - in Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas - that were triggered at injection-well sites by a major earthquake a long distance away.

Last week the Treasury set a 30% tax rate for onshore shale gas production - less than half the 62% on new North Sea oil operations. Meanwhile, a survey has shown that almost 80% of people polled believe Britain should reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Cuadrilla, the company that will benefit from the cheap tax rate, says the benefit will not result in cheaper gas for its customers.

Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party, sensibly pointed out that George Osborne's 'dash for gas' threatens to lock Britain into a high-cost energy future, whereas the ‘fuel' for wind farms and solar panels costs precisely nothing.

With the Independence Referendum just a bit over a year away, YES activists on the island have not been idle. On 17th July, prominent Scottish journalist Dr Ruth Wishart and Jean Urquhart, MSP paused on their way to Islay and Mull.to meet an informal group of Arran people with questions and /or reservations about Independence. There was a stimulating exchange of views. The visitors were seeking to establish a new model for engaging people outside party politics. Their aim was to engage with people as yet undecided, and offer a dialogue and sources of information.

Most of the nations achieving independence in the last half century have had to face violent opposition, rather than the peaceful route via the ballot box that we have been offered. Interestingly, not a single country that has become independent has sought to return to its previous state.

Coming up this month, there will a street presence in Brodick on 7th and 10th August, with opportunities to obtain information and sign the YES Declaration. The 2013 Indy Barbecue takes place at Strathwhillan on Sunday 18th August.

In September, the artists collective ‘AYE’ will be holding a second exhibition, over a two-day period, with details to be announced shortly.

Finally, preparations are being made to offer a return coach trip to Edinburgh for the Independence Rally on Saturday 21st September, connecting with our ferry timetable, for the very reasonable sum of £10. For more details about any of these events contact: yesarran2014@aol.co.uk or visit Yes Scotland Arran on Facebook.

We at the Voice feel it is only fair to offer space to all opinions, so if there is someone out there who would like to contribute a piece in support of a NO campaign, just drop an e-mail to info@voiceforarran.com and we’ll get in touch with you.

Some reflections from Linda Hartley of the Cats Protection League

I often hear it said that people won’t take on an older cat because it will make its way back to its original home. Can we please dispel that myth? Cats are incredibly adaptable creatures but do need to be given the same care you would give your dog or children when it comes to settling them in their new home. An older cat has seen something of life. As such it will retain the personality and character it developed in that ‘previous’ life. When we take in an older cat we don’t always know its full background and so we are only able to judge its character and personality by how it behaves with us. Some cats have such huge personality’s that you can’t help feeling an instant affection for them. Others may have been treated badly and as a result, they may be fearful and withdrawn, acting in a way that is really a defence from what they may perceive to be a threat. It’s only with time and patience that these cats begin to realise that this new home is not like the old one, and that they are safe. When that happens, suddenly they will shine with new confidence - but it may take some time. A cat is still a wild creature even though it is domesticated and a frightening lesson learned never goes away, so maltreated cats need reassurance to know that its different now.

What we at the CPL don’t always know is how an older cat will respond to children or dogs. If they had a bad experience with either or simply don’t like them we won’t home them in that situation. Having recently acquired a new dog, I found out that some of the cats in our care reacted badly, so now I have a better knowledge of what kind of future home will suit them - or not. It will be interesting to see if some of the hostile or scared cats come to accept Jasmine, our Old English Sheepdog puppy. If they do, that will change their homing possibilities yet again. Jasmine,. too, has to settle in her new home of cats, and I’ll let you know how she gets on.

Returning to the question of a cat going back to its old home, let me reassure you that if a cat has come from a bad home it certainly won’t be making its way back there! A cat that has got lost often tries to return home, but that also depends on what or who it meets along the way. If it meets a situation that seems very comfortable and is welcomed then it might decide to stay at that point, but a cat that has a really close bond with its original owner will probably use an intermediate house as a 'rest stop' and then continue on its way.

Most of the cats coming into our care are given a period of recuperation and rehabilitation before we try to home them. When they are placed in their new home, with advice from us to the owner on the right care and attention, then there is 99.99% chance of that cat settling down well. In rare cases where the cat does not settle, it is usually because of something in the history of the cat we were unaware of, or that the new owner has tried to rush the settling-in process and made the cat feel uneasy.

We are always on hand to help with further advice on how to deal with a problem or difficult - and we do hope people are not too previse in their demands for a particular kind of cat, i.e. that it must be white or Persian or tortoiseshell. They are creatures after all and not products. We will, of course, endeavour always to home a cat that suits the owner’s lifestyle but also hope to find a home that suits the cat!

Please, please don't discount an older cat. They have characters and personalities that are simply looking for a home where they can be loved as much as they would have been when they were kittens. I know from first-hand experience how different older cats can become from the time they arrive to the time of settling ina new home. One that I’ll always remember was a true fighter and it seemed impossible for him to get along with other cats - yet today he has become one of the most affectionate, funny and loveable residents, and runs from any kind of confrontation rather than face it head on. A complete transformation! The rewards that came from taking in an older cat can be truly enormous. You know that YOU have been accepted and are loved in return, and that is a great happiness.

You can buy Jim Henderson’s From Arran to Canada - One Way and also our book of funny verse, Flying Cat, by clicking on one of the images below.

Sally Campbell

"All learning has an emotional base."
-- Plato

Most of us did an IQ test at school, probably as part of the ‘Quallie’ that determined who went to a grammar school place and who did not. IQ stands for Intelligence Quotient, and the test presented a series of questions and puzzles that attempted to measure quickness of understanding. Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), is a more recent yardstick, though Charles Darwin’s book, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, was written in 1872. He was a long way ahead of his time, the first to document the role of emotions in everyday life, but the ‘people skills’ of today depend on a complex ability to regulate impulses, understand others and be resilient in the face of obstacles.

Research has shown that three quarters of work careers which come off the tracks do so because of reasons that are basically emotional. 80% of employees who quit their job do so not because of the work but because of an intolerable manager.

Most of us have at some time suffered from the effects of a person who doesn’t interact well with others. Such a person, though competent ‘on paper’ often can’t handle change and fails to elicit trust because he or she doesn’t listen to others and comes over as unsympathetic and abrasive. Ever since data, has been collected, the trends remain unchanged, and will come as no surprise many of us.

• 90% of those who quit report that lack of appreciation and respect has led to their decisions to leave.
• 80% of all ethical complaints are about personal harassment, or abuse of others, coupled with the misuse of organisational resources
• 90% of measured differences between high and medium performers show that the best performers have high scores in terms of empathy, interpersonal skills and social responsibility.

Such factors as cleverness, experience on the job and a high educational level do not come into the difference between the best and the worst managers. Consistently, those with high degrees of emotional intelligence consistently outperform those without it. So what exactly are these EQ qualities?

Basically, there are three main aspects, Awareness of Self, Self Regulation and Working Well with Others. Within these main headings, scientists have identified 54 detailed areas of functioning. Just as our bodies have their circulatory, skeletal, neurological and muscular systems, our emotional, behavioural and cognitive systems need to function well and work together as a whole. Each of us is, in effect, a small eco-system, just as the vast marine environment is. Stressful mechanised efficiency will never be as good as a healthy system that ‘feels right’.

References:

1990 - Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer publish their landmark article, "EmotionalIntelligence", in the journal Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.
1995 - Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ popularises the concept of emotional intelligence.
2012 - Judy Aanstad, Pamela Corbett, Catherine Jourdan and Roger Pearman publish People Skills Handbook: Action Tips for Improving your Emotional Intelligence. Acorn Abbey Books.

Early in 1889 a group of Lamlash businessmen who were attracted by the sport of golf decided to establish a golf course in the village. They included James Allan of Clauchlands, James Montgomery (joiner), J.B.Sweet (banker) and John Bannatyne, owner of the Pier Head Tavern. The first Treasurer was J.R.Thomson of Monawillne and A. Davids was the first Secretary. T. Robertson became the first Captain.

James Allan and his son, who had formerly farmed Balnacoole in the Shiskine valley, leased the Clauchlands Farm from Arran Estate, and negotiated recognition of Blairmore and the lands of Margnaheglish also as a farm, which enabled him to allow Blairmore to be developed into a golf course. The Arran Estate Trustees, with support from the 12th Duke of Hamilton, agreed to this and adjusted the ground-rent of Blairmore, with the committee paying £2.00 per year. Funding to construct the proposed course was essential, so in the early summer Captain Buchanan of the P.S. Scotia organised a cruise on the Clyde between the steamer’s scheduled sailings. The sum of £40.00 was realised, which was the equivalent of an average year’s wage in the late 1800’s.

During the blizzard week when the roads were closed and e-mail was down, the Music Society had no means of contacting a group from Germany called the Kammerphilharmonie Europa to tell them what had happened. These young musicians were touring Britain and were booked to play at Whiting Bay on the snowed-in Sunday afternoon, but nobody knew where they were or whether they would turn up. They did arrive, and as everyone who was there will never forget, they played magnificently - but to an audience of only 35 people.

The resulting financial loss was daunting. It will not cripple the Music Society, which is backed by Enterprise Music Scotland, so a great programme of concerts for the coming season will go ahead - but it does mean the Society may not be able to put on any concerts next summer. In the next few days, it is hosting the magical Gaelic singer, dancer and player, Joy Dunlop, with her trio, then the gloriously retro jazz group, the Rose Room, headed by Jimmy Moon, who began his career as a guitar maker and player on Arran. Next summer, however, is doubtful. In June, McFall’s Chamber would like to include Arran in their Scottish tour. As one of the most innovative and exciting groups working in Scotland, this would be superb, specially as they are bringing fantastic musicians from Brazil. But if it is to happen, the commitment has to be now.

If you can spare a small donation to help ensure that these great concerts keep on happening, countless people of Arran would benefit. The Music Society treasurer, Sandra Bentley, can be found at Inspirations, the Brodick gift shop. Cheques made out to the Isle of Arran Music Society would be welcomed with heartfelt thanks.

Well, it’s good to have had all that sunshine for once. Watering became a priority chore, and the plants have done their best to catch up after a slow start. Now the heather has joined in, and I found it blooming unusually early on the hills near Machrie two weeks ago.

During August, winter spinach can be sown in a sunny position. Soil rich in organic matter will give you a sweeter-tasting leaf. For a late crop of carrots, sow the short-rooted varieties like ‘Amsterdam Forcing’. Cover with a cloche and lift in November/December.

Spring cabbage can be sown now, either into modules or in a seedbed. Plant the seedlings out in October for use early next year. Try ‘Durham Early’ or ‘Spring Hero’ for a ball-headed type with close-packed leaves.

Save a few of your early potatoes when you lift them, and replant them in a warm spot in early autumn, covering them with a cloche. If all goes well, you could be enjoying new potatoes at Christmas.

Remember to add colour to your salads by using flowers. Honeysuckle blooms look charming, and so do pot marigolds (calendula, not French marigold) with their bright orange petals. Nasturtium flowers have a whole range of colour from yellow to orange to pale or dark red, and nasturtium leaves, known as Indian cress, are good, too. And if you are relaxing in the sunshine with a Pimms, remember that borage is de rigueur, not just for its sky-blue blossoms but its fresh, clean taste.

In January I began writing a daily blog for a year about my life on Arran called Scottish Island Mum. I had no idea where it would take me, and could never had anticipated that six months later my little blog would be the subject of a full page spread on the Sunday Post newspaper. When an email popped into my inbox from a journalist with the paper I was a little sceptical but there followed a whirlwind of emails and phone calls back and forth and by the following Sunday the story was in print. The fact that I was actually in Portsmouth that week didn't faze the journalist, and a photographer was booked to take my picture down there. This was then photoshopped out and put on a photo of the island!

Scottish Island Mum has been a truly humbling project and it has attracted a huge following. In just six months it has received over 20,000 page views and has readers in every continent in the world. It continues to grow and develop daily and I am about to leave for the Isle of Eigg on a writing commission to uncover what is truly unique about that island. Where will this all go next?

www.scottishislandmum.blogspot.co.uk

Fiona’s blog, described above, is not only about her life on Arran but also publicises the fundraising campaign she and her family have been running since the end of April. The campaign has been a simple but effective one, making little tulle butterflies to raise money for the Butterfly Tree charity that works with communities in Zambia.

The charity raises funds for mosquito nets as part of the fight against malaria. The nets cost just £5.00, but are a simple way to save lives. Fiona says, ‘We have ladies all over the UK making tulle butterflies to sell on the island. You can join us by buying tulle butterflies from Bay News and Gifts in Whiting Bay. They cost just £1.00 each and every single penny counts. We will also be taking them to the Victorian Day at Brodick Castle on the 4th August and the Highland Games on the 10th August.’

The final fundraising event is a Butterfly Supper on 10th September at the Coast Café in Whiting Bay. ‘We will be hosting a fabulous evening with welcome drink, two course buffet, entertainment and a raffle,’ Fiona promises. Tickets cost £25.00 each and £5.00 of that goes to the charity plus all proceeds from the raffle. Tickets can be purchased from Coast and Bay News and Gifts in Whiting Bay or from us via email at fionadoubleday@me.com . We very much look forward to seeing you at the supper.’

Every 40 seconds a child does from malaria but where nets have been distributed there are no new cases.

The Friends of Loch Etive are battling to resist a massive 10-cage fish farm at Sailean Ruadh on Loch Etive. As well as the 80-metre cages, the Dawnfresh Farming Limited proposal will feature a permanent feeding barge and the noise pollution, apart from all else, will ruin the tranquillity of this beautiful place. It will also utterly spoil the famous panoramic views of Ben Cruachan. They ask for support, so if you, too, object to the proposal, please drop an e-mail to Richard.Kerr@argyll-bute.gov.uk.

Rachel Phillips sends us a brief note about her MBE investiture last month, and about the members of her family who came to the ceremony. Her son, David, was still teaching at his college in Leicestershire, so was unable to join his sisters at Holyrood, where the Queen was holding an investiture and Rachel was awarded the MBE for services to Scottish Country Dancing. Rachel had enjoyed this activity ever since her parents began the Stockport branch of the Scottish Country Dancing Society in 1940, during the time of the blitz. Her mother had been a student of Jean Milligan at the old Dundas Street institute that later became Jordanhill College, and was pianist of the Society for many years.

Rachel’s three daughters were able to enjoy the day. Marianne flew in from Perth in Western Australia, Rachel came from Oxford and Alexandra from Essex.

On Saturday 31st August, as part of the McLellan Festival, there is an exceptional opportunity for anyone with an interest in writing. Peter and Ann Sansom have agreed to run a poetry writing workshop in Corrie Hall.

Professional tutors as well as practising poets, Peter and Ann bring a lifetime’s experience to their work - the Guardian newspaper once described them as ‘the best poetry teachers in the world’.

The event is open to all, experienced and novices alike, and will take place from 11 - 4 p.m. with a break for lunch (soup and hot drinks provided, though feel free to bring your own alternatives if you wish). The cost, £10, is an absolute bargain - a course of this quality would normally cost far more. Numbers will be limited so if you’re interested contact Cicely Gill (700464 or cicely25@btinternet.com) to reserve a place.

To read more about the other McLellan Festival events please click here.

Stephanie Dickens of COAST sends us this note on the public consultation about the proposed Marine Protected Area (MPA). The consultation is open for the next 16 weeks, and Stephanie stresses the importance of responding. She says, “Over the coming weeks COAST will provide helpful statements to assist you in your response.” Read COAST's official press release for the start of the consultation HERE.

The management of our coastal waters will affect future generations as well as our own, and it is vital to make sure that a sustainable, non-toxic system is established.

The consultation documents about the MPA are available HERE.

COAST's information page can be found on HERE.

Scottish Natural Heritage will be visiting Arran on Wednesday 28th August to host a drop-in session about the MPA and how it fits into the wider national network. The session will be at the Ormidale Pavilion between 1pm and 8pm. Phone COAST for details, on 01770 600656 or see www.arrancoast.com.

Lochranza hall looks spectacularly festive this summer, with its lofty space filled with coloured paper globes of every size. The exhibition by local artists had spread into the stage area, giving a good feeling of space and scope. The same could be said of the work on show, wide-ranging and full of interest.

The constant delight in Arran’s landscape and seascape was, as always, well represented, sometimes with a freshness of vision that stood out. Yvonne Bailey’s strong, subtle drawing of an old, ruined building used a subtle combination of pastel and a fine ink line that made the viewer look afresh. Pat Eyres, in a very different way, used a fine patterning that gave her view of Corrie Harbour a detailed, decorative effect, missing only in the handling of the red boat in the foreground. Stephen Gill, well known for his small, thoughtful paintings, broke new ground in this show with a dreamlike composition of children and a dog playing in woodland, and Gaynor Harris showed three works that continue to explore a personal vision of life.

David Penn’s accomplished paintings evoked the blizzards of last winter with overwhelming effect, touching on the desperation of men out on the hill searching for drift-buried sheep in a landscape that had become a white nightmare. Rebecca Roberts, at the opposite end of the scale, showed an ink drawing of a curled-up Dalmatian dog that beautifully caught the quiet pleasure of observing its black and white patterning. Simon Sloan’s watercolour drawing of a reclining figure used a fine line combined with free washes of indigo that implied a sense of bulk and landscape. As in the work of Henry Moor, limbs and body bulk could be seen as a structure similar to a rocky cliff – an outstandingly interesting work.

Mary Dick’s exquisite little constructions pack a whole evocation of doll’s house life into a size that could be held in a child’s hand, while Jan MacGregor, one of the most exploratory artists in the show, uses machine embroidery and fabrics to create a rich, strange vision of the world. Her interpretation of a walk in Glen Ashdale creates a world full of detailed interest and patterning, with ebullient whorls of silver thread that sail free of all convention. Exciting stuff.

Janette Mcleod, unusually for an artist better known in the fields of still life and fantasy, shows a portrait – but what a portrait! Anyone who knows the sitter will recognise instantly the whole essence of the man, encapsulated into a fine invention of colour and cats and patterning. An outstanding achievement.