After the recording for June 27 Riddoch Questions finished, the audience and panel stayed on to debate education, Gaelic and de-population. It's about 20 minutes long and features contributions from audience and panel alike. Click here to listen and download 'the Islands Debate Aftermath
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June 2008
June 29, 2008
June 27, 2008
June 26, 2008
Writing Course - Westray - October
Along with Ron Ferguson, I will be part of the creative writing course in Westray from Friday 10 to Monday 13 October - click on the poster and it will enlarge to give you all the contact details you need to book a place ! Hurry the places are limited and filling fast.
June 25, 2008
Oh what a night !
Benbecula and the Islands Debate...phew what a night ! The debate was a corker and you will be able to hear the edited highlights on this week's Riddoch Questions.
This picture of the Lionacleit audience is courtesy of Eileen Bell at the Stornoway Gazette.
Young cyclist needs support
This young lady is cycling from Moscow to Edinburgh setting off on June 30. Not only that; she intends to busk all the way to raise money for street children in Ethiopia. Isla is the daughter of a good friend of mine, Andrew Wightman. She has written a little bit about this trip here on her website.
Isla is looking for sponsorship and I am sure she would be grateful for any contributions you could make. Details of how to give are on her web site at buskingforchildren.org or sweetypops.net
And, just in case you were worried, mum and dad will be coming along too. I know there are a lot cycling fans out there and I do hope you can support Isla. Having seen the route, I am impressed and a wee bit jealous !
June 24, 2008
The Iceland Aftermath
Last week when Pennie Taylor held the fort on Riddoch Questions, I was in Iceland on an ICHI sponsored cultural exchange. That’s an EU programme and it allows people to explore other cultures – My big mission was to find out how a community on an isolated fjord in an isolated country can be confidently developing natural and cultural heritage when similar communities in Scotland seem overwhelmed by red tape, regulation, health and safety rules and a shortage of volunteers. The place is Skalanes -- bought four years ago by the family of Elfa Hlin Petursdottir -- a young historian and Museum curator in East Iceland.
The 3000 hectare estate lies 17 kms beyond Seydisfjordur – now known as the “turn of the century town” after a group of local women blocked a project to create a sterile new harbour and instead refurbished the old Nordic wooden and tin pier buildings to house hotels, museums and young families.
At Skalanes. Elfa’s family are managing their native arctic tern and eider duck colonies successfully, and have boldly gone where “professional” conservationists fear to tread, exploring local archaeology, culture, place names, genealogy, wildlife and botany in one combined heritage project.
Aided by teams of volunteer zoologists from Glasgow University and by our ICHI bunch of Scottish heritage experts, the owners of Skalanes have cheerfully cut across funding streams, bureaucracies, specialisms, national boundaries and areas of expertise to offer a new model of human and natural development.
This podcast features a discussion between Elfa, Sharon Webb, of Kilmartin Museum in Argyll, Mia Scott of the Highland Buildings and Preservation Trust and Annie MacSween of Lews Castle College in Stornoway. They’re discussing how best to lead visitors around the amazing rugged natural environment of Skalanes without having signs everywhere…….. Click here to listen to the Iceland Aftermath.
