Issue 96

March 2019

Hello and welcome to the March issue of the Voice for Arran!

This month we bring you an interesting mix of Arran based news, reviews and previews. It has been a real joy as editor to receive news of the interesting things that have been going on and also be able to share what is to come. While the island is not apart from the foremost challenges of our time, it is great to have an edition of mainly ‘locally sourced’ news. And as ever, we welcome contributions, so if you feel moved to tell a story or report on an event please send in letters, articles, even complaints!

Last month saw a very lively and successful Arran Drama Festival. We have a fabulous report from Alice Maxwell as well as some equally fabulous photos from local photographer Mairi Simpson. We have put these images into a slideshow and for anyone interested in obtaining some of these, they are available from the Voice website. Looking forward, next month the new holistic therapy centre in Brodick, Heather Lodge, is holding a series of open days, and there is also the launch of local poet David Underdown’s second collection, A Sense of North, in the Corrie and Sannox Village Hall, to which all are welcome. Of further note in the poetry calendar is the opening of this year’s McLellan Festival Poetry competition – see the article for details on how to apply.

We also have a report from the Arran CND group who are looking to gather in old and new supporters, and will later this year be bringing the exhibition A Peace of History to the island. Many of us forget the huge problem that nuclear weapons pose to the world. Yet in a week with news of an escalation in hostility between nuclear powers India and Pakistan, the continuing work of this 60 year old organisation is a reminder of how relevant it still is.

Things that are not right in front of us are so easy to put out of our minds, as has been the case for a long time with climate change. However with the freakishly warm weather we’ve been experiencing over the last couple of weeks, it’s probably not possible to do that anymore. As we’ve been hearing in the national news, February saw the hottest temperatures since records began. Can these kinds of temperatures be put down to one-off weather events anymore? Will the government still continue to act as if the signs aren’t right in front of them? Here in Arran, Eco Savvy continues to work away at the situation, and they have great news to report this month on the increasing numbers of people on the island who are investing in solar panels for their homes.

Slightly further afield, if anyone fancies some political activity on these climate matters then over in Glasgow on Saturday 2nd and Friday 15th March are some Extinction Rebellion happenings. The Blue Wave on the 2nd is a family-friendly event and XR are inviting people to dress up in blues and greens to form a great blue wave of people to represent the rising sea-levels and flooding caused by the changing climate. Gather at 12.30 at Clydeside Amphitheatre, or later in George Square at 2pm. On the 15th is another global Youth Strike for Climate, taking place between 11 am – 2 pm at Glasgow City Chambers in George Square. We heard a rumour here at the Voice that some of the children in Arran took part in the Youth Strike for Climate last month. If you did, or know of someone who did, please get in touch! We would love to hear your story!

Happy March everyone!

Arran, the Solar Island

A Report from Eco Savvy

Sunlight is free, and many Arran households are implementing solar PV to capture this free resource, cut electricity costs and minimise fossil fuel dependence to benefit our environment.

Eco Savvy is excited to report that out of the 25 households we are helping along in Solar PV projects, 4 installs have taken place now, with many more being scheduled to take place in the next weeks before the project end. Eco Savvy is funded by the Scottish Government to provide energy efficiency audits, and through these audits, realised the exciting potential for households and the Arran environment to benefit from solar PV installations. Wanting to make the process as easy as possible, and being an impartial advice service, Eco Savvy did extensive research on installers, the quality, track record and the best deal that they could give to households interested. With EPCs conducted by energy auditor Charlotte to inform them on savings and what to implement to get the most out of Solar PV installation, households were then able to make an informed decision on installers. Most have gone for the same installer, offering a deal that averages around £4,500 for the maximum kilowatt installation for domestic homes which is 14 panels. Eco Savvy has also helped with the interest free loan applications to Home Energy Scotland. After the install Eco Savvy helps with the FIT application and can also conduct the mandatory EPC post install.

Tonic of the Wilderness

Psychoterratica is the trauma caused by distance from nature

By Ephrat Livni, published on the news website Quartz.com on February 24, 2019

You’ve got problems. Perhaps more than you know. Apart from all the usual woes—work, relationships, money, time—the civilized life may also be causing you psychological trauma.

Disconnection from nature can be bad for our mental health. But there was no name for this particular malaise until 2000, when Australian sustainability professor Glenn Albrecht coined the term psychoterratica, creating the beginning of a vocabulary to discuss the relationship between mental health and environment.

Heather Lodge, Brodick

In 2017, Malcolm Kerr and Susan Knox bought Heather Lodge in Brodick with the intention of developing a centre for holistic therapies. Set in the grounds of the historic Douglas Hotel (but with its own ‘secret garden’) the building, in Victorian times, was one of the ‘farm offices’, maybe a stable, of the Douglas, which was then a hunting lodge. For decades subsequently Heather Lodge was a private dwelling.

centre website@heatherlodgearran‘Open Days’ on March 16th, 17th, 22nd, 23rd, and 24thinfo@heatherlodge.scot

COAST is Recruiting!

COAST is looking to recruit two Volunteer Marine Programme Assistants for the summer. The closing date for applications is 5 pm on 17th March 2019. They are looking for people who can commit to 37.5 hours a week for 3 months – the post starts on June 3rd 2019, who will be based at COAST’s Octopus Centre in Lamlash, on the Isle of Arran. The work involves a range of tasks including Centre management and visitor experience, communications and outreach.

Arran CND: the year ahead

  • With Scottish academics on wider climate justice concerns.
  • The Scottish Greens.
  • Arms experts who are monitoring technological change which is undermining the effectiveness of submarine based nuclear missiles.

A Review of the Arran Drama Festival 2019

This unsettling ghost story was brilliantly acted by Zara Wilson as Janet, Jemma Totty as Fenelia (Janet’s daughter) and Freya Campbell as Aunt Rose. It was a wordy play, lacking action, yet the actors did a marvellous job at keeping the audience’s interest. Janet is practical, while Fenelia is a strange child with a vivid imagination – even houses have souls – and Jemma made her character wonderfully believable. Aunt Rose remembers a strange girl who used to come to her garden and sit on her swing. She turns to see Fenelia sitting on the swing, exactly fitting the description of the girl from the past. She is so shocked and frightened that she has a heart attack, which Freya conveyed very well. The actors did well to leave the audience disturbed and confused – who was Fenelia?

Margot Sandeman at Cyril Gerber Fine Art, January 31- February 23 2019.

Review by J Inglis

Margot Sandeman and Joan Eardley were good friends as students at Glasgow School of Art and later as they worked together in Arran in the small house to the rear of the converted church in Corrie known as the “Tabernacle”. Their painting styles were very different. While Joan took advantage of the freedom allowed the artist by Modernism and the American Abstract Expressionists, Margot chose a quieter, reflective route more akin to ‘ feeling’ and’ being’ than the power and gesture of her friend Joan.

Poem for March

The secret of flying The breakthrough is to stop thinking about aerodynamics. Concentrate on the immeasurable pleasures of floating above roofs and the open mouths of chimney pots stems of road budding houses, the rumple of fields and, beyond, the dark spot of a copse or how the river feels up into its tree-lined tributaries. And later, after that first step into space the art of soaring on thermals of passing over boundaries a sense of north.                                             David Underdown

Corrie Film Club in March

The next film showing in Corrie Village Hall on Sunday March 10th at 8 pm, is Paterson (Director Jim Jarmusch USA 2007 118 mins Cert PG ).

A gentle drama starring Adam Driver as a bus driver and poet, and his wife Golshifteh Farahani who runs a cup-cake business and dreams of being a country and western star.

Paterson is a bus driver in the city of Paterson, New Jersey - they share the name. Every day, Paterson adheres to a simple routine: he drives his daily route, observing the city as it drifts across his windshield and overhearing fragments of conversation swirling around him; he writes poetry into a notebook; he walks his dog; he stops in a bar and drinks exactly one beer; he goes home to his wife, Laura. By contrast, Laura's world is ever changing. New dreams come to her almost daily. Paterson loves Laura and she loves him. He supports her newfound ambitions; she champions his gift for poetry. The film quietly observes the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details.

Music Arran Concert with Escocia Duo

The Escocia Duo will be performing at the next Music Arran concert, on Saturday 16th March, in Brodick Hall at 7.30 pm.

Newly established duo Chilean Guitarist Roberto Kuhn and Yorkshire Violinist Katrina Lee play a diverse variety of music ranging from Paganini to Piazzolla.

Roberto Hernán Kuhn Versluys is a Masters student, studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He previously completed a Bachelor Degree in Music Performance (Guitar), a degree in Musical Composition and a degree in Musical Education in the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Roberto has participated in the Guitar Ensemble of Chile, The Pontifical Catholic University Guitar Ensemble, The PUC Institute of Music Guitar Ensemble and has recently worked alongside the Jugend-Guitarrenorchester Baden-Wurttemberg Guitar Orchestra from Germany. His solo work has taken him to parts of America, including Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia and Chile.

Future of Ulva secured

The community buyout of Ulva in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland was one of the most inspiring island stories of 2018. The move was driven by the dedication of a group of local people who mounted a campaign to secure a better future for their home. Their efforts were rewarded with over £4m from the Scottish Land Fund as well as countless individual donations from across the world. Rebecca Munro, an islander who championed the community buyout, recently blogged for the National Museum of Scotland about her experience, and is featured with her family in the film below, also produced by the museum.

Marine News

Warning to Dog Owners

Dog owners in the East Neuk of Fife and parts of Scotland have been warned to be on the lookout for lumps of palm oil that is being washed up on local beaches. The palm oil can be fatal to dogs if eaten. Coastwatch St Monans team and other agencies are keeping an eye on the situation and reporting any sightings of lumps of palm oil on beaches.

Coastwatch News

A Scotland – Canada Partnership

The New Scotland - Canada Social Enterprise Partnership

By Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North

In February, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP announced a landmark international agreement to grow and sustain social enterprises in Scotland and Canada.

The Social Enterprise Academy, which provides learning and development for the sector in Scotland, has now launched a partnership with the Canadian Community Economic Development Network, supported by Toronto’s Learning Enrichment Foundation and the SNP Government.

Local MP Patricia Gibson speaks out over plan to charge for TV licence

TORIES TO CHARGE OVER 75s FOR THEIR TV LICENCES

By Patricia Gibson, MP for North Ayrshire and Arran 

The UK Tory Government has decided to scrap the free TV licence fee for over-75s.

They are rolling back on a manifesto pledge to maintain pensioner benefits, including free TV licences.

At present, all households with someone aged over 75 are entitled to receive free TV licences, funded by the UK Government to help tackle pensioner poverty and isolation. The Tories have now decided to cease funding completely from next year.