Members NewsletterSpring 2015

02 Chairmantalks planned to suit everyone, from subjects such as the herring girls to archaeological finds at dun sites in Lewis and Harris.

New titles for 2015 include a history of Portree by Ella Liley, a lighthearted look at the Isle of Coll by Ewen McGee, a follow up to Robert Atkinson’s ‘Island Going’ featuring the Isle of Rum, an examination of Caithness by poet, playwright and native of the area George Gunn, and the combined proceedings of our two Slighe Chaluim Chille conferences held in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Details of all these can be found within these pages.

We very much hope to see you at one or more of our events this year, but if you are unable to make those, we’re sure that you will enjoy them vicariously through our books and booklets. As members you are entitled to 10% off all our titles, which you can order through our website or by phoning the office on 01851 830316 (please note change of number).

Our new office is at Laxay Hall, Laxay, Isle of Lewis, HS2 9PJ. We have our full range of books and booklets on display there, available to buy. It’s right on the main Butt to Barra road and has a coffee machine, so do pop in to see us and to try it out!

over 500 Facebook likes and 200 Twitter followers, as well as the ability to create publicity material and newsletters in-house instead of outsourcing; and on the other, detailed analysis of book sales over the last few years and realistic projections for the next three. All these things mean we go into 2015 in a strong position to maximize revenue from our own activities. We also have taken steps to reduce costs, by moving office and producing publicity material in-house, as already mentioned, but in addition we have ended the contract with our mainland book distributor Booksource, which will mean that while we will need to work harder to generate direct sales, we will no longer have to offer the large trade discounts necessary for mainland bookshops.

So while we know 2015 will be challenging, we are also hopeful that it will be a successful year. Our programme of events is packed as usual, with highlights such as a three-day conference in Barra on the subject of galley castles, an event commemorating the centenary of the Ross Mountain Battery’s WWI campaign at Gallipoli, and a one day follow up to last year’s Slighe Chaluim Chille conference in Donegal which will be held in Campbeltown in June. We also have boat trips lined up to, amongst other places, Mingulay, St Kilda and Taransay, and have a range of

Firstly, I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year and to thank you for your continued support. Our members are crucial to the ongoing success of the Trust and we would encourage you to make your voices heard regarding all aspects of our work, whether it be ideas for events, articles for the newsletter, matters of governance or indeed anything else.

2014 brought many changes for us – a new chairman, new staff and towards the end of the year, a new office; new challenges but also new opportunities. We were lucky to gain funding from Comunn na Gaidhlig to employ John Groom and Mairi Mackenzie for 10 months and I’m pleased to say that we have extended their contracts pending a further funding application. As a result of their work we have on the one hand a much enhanced presence on social media, with

03 NewsMairi Hedderwick Opens New IBT OfficeA new chapter opened for IBT in September when we moved out of our office and store at Ravenspoint and Habost respectively, and into a new combined unit at Laxay, a few miles away on the main Butt to Barra road. The new building is leased from the Kinloch Historical Society, and provides bright spacious office space as well as plenty of storage for our sizeable back catalogue. We were lucky enough to have some special guests to open the building on 11 November – Mairi Hedderwick kindly agreed to cut the ribbon for us, and Pairc School’s P1-4 classes came along to help celebrate. Mairi told the story of Katie Morag and the Tiresome Ted, and the children were all thrilled when she delved into her bag … and produced Ted himself, straight from the arms of Katie Morag! Books were signed, cakes (heroically baked by our own Mairi Mackenzie) were eaten and a great afternoon was had by all. All in all it was a very auspicious beginning to our time in Laxay.Our new address is Laxay Hall, Laxay, Isle of Lewis, HS2 9PJ and the telephone number is 01851 830316. Email addresses and website details remain the same. The office is open from 9am – 1pm every weekday so do pop in and see us if you’re able to.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

12th February, 8.00pmTaigh Chearsabhagh, Lochmaddy - ‘A Journey along the coast of Norway’ a talk with John Love

26th March, 8.00pmCladdach Kirkibost Centre, North Uist - ‘Tales of a wandering Planner ...’ a talk with Alastair Banks

26th March, 7.30pmAn Lanntair, Stornoway - ‘A Saga of Sea Eagles’ a talk with John Love

24th April, 7.30pm TA Drill Hall, Stornoway - ‘Centenary of Ross Mountain Battery campaign at Gallipoli’ a talk with Colin Scott MacKenzie and others

25th April, 10.00amGuided Walk to Eubhal from Locheport with Mike Townsend.

04 Lecture

THERE were no spare seats at the eleventh Angus ‘Ease’ Macleod Memorial lecture, held in Pairc School on Thursday October 23. The guest speaker this year was Maggie Cunningham, a native of Scalpay who is chair of Gaelic broadcaster MG Alba. Fittingly, Maggie was welcomed onto the stage in Gaelic by John Randall, of the Islands Book Trust, which organises the annual event. Given in Gaelic, with simultaneous English translation, the lecture was entitled ‘Gaelic Broadcasting in the 21st Century’. Maggie well remembered her own first encounter with broadcasting. “We had one radio which was switched on at particular times of day,” she recalled. “I don’t remember it being on in the mornings, but my mother would listen to ‘Woman’s Hour’ and for us there was ‘Listen with Mother’. Fathers didn’t have a look-in when it came to child-rearing in those days.” There was a smattering of Gaelic being broadcast on the radio shortly after the establishment of the BBC in 1923, but neither islanders nor Gaels on the west coast could hear a word of it due to the lack of broadcasting masts. “At the time it wasn’t deemed important to keep people informed of local life,” said Maggie. “The broadcasters of the time were of the opinion that there was little to be learned

from rural areas, or from people who made a living from manual labour.” Attitudes started to change after the Second World War however, through the intervention of pioneers such as Hugh Macphee and Finlay J. Macdonald. “But there is little doubt that it was Fred Macaulay who really began to bring the views of the Gaelic community to the fore,” said Maggie. Like Angus Macleod, Fred Macaulay was only too aware of how vital the recording of oral tradition in every district would be. But that in itself presented a challenge, in that equipment was awkward and cumbersome, and then there was the arduous task of finding a slot in an already crowded broadcasting schedule. The sixties and seventies heralded a desire for change to become action, and in keeping with that spirit, a movement to fight for more Gaelic broadcasting was born. The BBC responded by moving out from their large offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen and setting up local stations in towns throughout Scotland. These would feed into one main station – Radio Scotland – and shortly after this Radio nan Eilean was established in Stornoway. Maggie was lucky enough to be part of the team. She said: “We were full of confidence, and even though to begin with we only had about quarter of an hour of Gaelic each day, with English news for five minutes after the Gaelic news and an hour of programming on Friday nights, we were full of hope that further developments would come. “And that’s what happened. It’s difficult now to imagine a time when Radio nan Gàidheal wasn’t available all day, but in fact it was only 20 years ago.” These changes soon took effect in television, particularly for children, as the Gaelic Medium education system came into being. Strangely, Maggie noted, as more demand was

By Iain A MacSween

By Iain A MacSween

heaped on broadcasters to air Gaelic content, the language continued to decline in many communities. Of Calbost, the village from which Angus Macleod had hailed, she said: “I’m sure Angus Macleod wouldn’t recognise this community today, in the same way as I don’t recognise the island of Scalpay.” This, she said, placed a responsibility on broadcasters and the decisions they made about the service and programmes they offered. The creation of a stand-alone digital TV channel was ground-breaking. It had come about as a result of two things – funding of £8 million from the Tory government in 1989, and the dogged determination of John Angus Mackay, the current chair of Bòrd na Gàidhlig. But before the formation of the channel, the funding had been used for a daily news service broadcast from Stornoway on Grampian, and of course, ‘Machair’. Maggie wondered if the new drama series ‘Bannan’ would last longer than its oft-maligned predecessor. “I hope it will, and we, as the Board of MG Alba, are working to secure the funding to ensure it does,” she said. But she added, Gaelic dramas cost ten times as much as any other programmes made by MG Alba, so there were obvious challenges to face. “The most important thing we can all do is to use the language in every situation in which we find ourselves,” said Maggie. “It is very easy to switch to English, particularly in office and formal settings, but those of us who make our living through Gaelic should be guiding lights in terms of using and valuing this precious language.” Long gone, said Maggie, were the days when decisions on what Gaels should listen to or watch laid in the hands of others. “Regardless of how useful or accessible the technology is, regardless of the speed of the broadband or the amount of funding we are given, Gaelic will not thrive unless we use it and add to it every single day,” she said.

She added: “Regardless of equipment and the type of community we live in, if we don’t have a firm footing in the oral tradition, the precious language of our mothers will be impoverished in the future. “Our broadcasters have a responsibility to ensure that our viewers and listeners are encouraged, informed, and entertained every time they watch and listen.” Following her lecture, as is customary at these events, a word of prayer was offered by Rev Iain T. Campbell, of Pairc Free Church. Those gathered then sang Psalm 109, with Torquil Macleod precenting. Speaking to EVENTS later, MAGGIE Cunningham admitted to being nervous before her lecture, because of the large contingent of her fellow Scalpaich who had made the journey to hear her. But she was relieved to report that the wobbles had soon disappeared after she started speaking. “I’m very pleased with how it went,” she said of her talk. “You’re always a bit more nervous when there are people you know in the audience, but they were very kind to me.” Being in such a high profile position, where visits of any kind to her native island were rare, the lecture was an invitation she was delighted to have accepted. “I don’t get home nearly as much as I would like,” she said. “I’m always in a hurry because I’m very bad at organising my own life!” Maggie is based in Plockton, where she lives with her husband John, who is a native of the town. She has two children, Fionnlaigh (30), and Sandra (28). In her spare time she cycles, walks, reads books, and goes sailing with John. “And I watch the television quite a lot,” she added, laughing.

Transcript of lecture available for purchase £6.00We are very grateful to Events newspaper for permission to reproduce this article

05 Lecture

Uist Events06The 2014 programme of Uist and Barra events was rounded off with several well attended talks. Murdo Beaton continued on his travels from Ness to give his presentation Walking in the Footsteps of Heroes, about his war grave excursions over a number of years, to an audience gathered at the Sgoil Lionacleit theatre. Murdo was delighted to meet up once more with some of his Uibhisteach ex-pupils from Portree High School, who came along to hear his talk. At the beginning of October, the Uist and Barra launch of the Hebridean Connections website took place at Kildonan Museum and we look forward very much to the extension of this excellent project in our direction as part of the follow-up phase. At the end of the month, we took a couple of the Faclan Book Festival events to Uist and Barra venues, as in previous years. This year’s topic for the two talks, one at Taigh Chearsabhagh and the other in Castlebay Community School, was on the subject of the evacuation and resettlement of Tristan da Cunha, following the volcanic eruption on the Island in the early ‘60s. There was a particularly interesting link with Barra, as one of the scientists who was on the Royal Society of London expedition to Tristan in early 1961, to assess the environmental impact of the volcano, was Mr Donald Baird who went on to take up the post of science teacher in Castlebay School. At least one of his ex-pupils attended the talk and could clearly recall Tristan da Cunha coming up frequently in their science lessons! To round off the year, it was back to Kildonan Museum for a presentation on the photographic collection of Margaret Fay Shaw of Canna. December 2014 marked the tenth anniversary of Margaret’s death followed

by interment on her beloved South Uist, and there are plans to publish a selection of her photographs taken in the course of her travels around the islands. The presentation was led by Professor Hugh Cheape, assisted by John Love and Paul MacCallum, all of whom were well known to Margaret and her husband Dr John Lorne Campbell (Fear Chanaidh). That publication, among others, will be progressed as part of the Book Trust’s plans for 2015. Keep an eye on our website for the latest information on publications and events throughout the year … and, finally, thanks to all who supported the Book Trust at events and in other ways in the past year. Bliadhna Mhath Ur dhuibh uile.

Alasdair

Report by Alasdair MacEachen

07

Air latha fliuch, ceòthach, grannda sa Chèitean, rinn mu dheichnear againn air Eilean Ìosaidh – eilean ìosail fada aig beul Loch a’ Bhaigh, a’ sìneadh eadar Bhatairnis agus An Claigeann, tuath air Dùn Bheagain. Bha mi ann an deagh chuideachd an latha sin, oir b’ e muinntir Bhatairnis fhèin an cuid bu mhotha dhiubh – daoine cho gasda, cho fiosraichte agus cho Gaidhealach sa ghabhas. B’ ann leis na Leòdaich a bha Ìosaigh (nuair a bha Olaf the Black deiseal leis), agus b’ ann air an eilean sin a chaidh dusan dhuine de chinneadh Mhic Leòid am muirt le Ruairidh Nimheach, a bhuineadh do Shìol Thoircail, agus e a’ feuchainn ri dhèanamh cinnteach gum faigheadh an teaghlach aige fhèin sealbh air oighreachd Gheàrrloch agus Ratharsair – plana nach do dh’ obraich. Chaidh a thairgsinn don Dòtair Sòmhairle MacIain nuair a bha e air aoidheachd aig Dùn Bheagan air a thuras ainmeil, ach chaidh a dhiùltadh. Nuair a fhuair am Maidsear Ailean MacDhòmhnaill sealbh air Bhatairnis agus

Eilean Ìosaigh anns na 1830an, stèidhich e stèisean iasgaich far an robh na h-eileanaich a’ pàigheadh am mal ann am barailean èisg. Tha barrachd na 14 taighean air an togail mar sràid eadar a’ chidhe agus an taigh mòr a chaidh a chleachdadh mar stòr agus àite obrach dhan ghnìomhachais. B’ ann le Donovan, an seinneadair ainmeil, a bha e eadar na 1960an agus na 1970an. Bha iomadh eun a’ neadachadh nuair a bha sinn ann - faoileagan, geòidh, starragan agus eile - agus mar sin bha againn ri bhith faiceallach nach cuireadh sin cus dragh orra. Thill am bàta air ar son agus mus deach sin air bòrd, ghabh sinn strùpag theth, bhuidheach, agus bha cèilidh againn fo tharpaulin cho math ri cèilidh sam bith aig an robh mi a-riamh ged a bha an latha grod, agus nuair a chaidh sinn air bòrd, lean sinn oirnn le òrain is sgeulachdan gus an do ruig sinn cidhe Stèinn a-rithist – latha nach tèid às mo chuimhne gu brath.

Iona

Skye Events

Aithris le Iona Domhnallach

Events 201509Pabbay Taransay

Vallay House Stornoway Herring Girl

Monach Isles Scarp

10 Events 2015

I write this on Blue Monday, officially the most depressing day of the year, and indeed it is a typically dead, grey January day. Here at IBT HQ though, we are anything but gloomy, looking forward as we are to the long golden days of summer and the many exciting events in our 2015 programme. We kick off this year’s events on 12 February at Taigh Chearsabhagh in Lochmaddy, with a talk by John Love entitled, ‘A Journey along the Coast of Norway’, a fascinating look at the landscape and natural history of this unique region. The following month, on 26 March, John will be at An Lanntair in Stornoway to talk about the white-tailed sea eagle reintroduction project, which he managed from 1975 – 1985 and has kept a close interest in ever since. He has recently published a book on the subject, ‘A Saga of Sea Eagles’, so this is a wonderful chance to hear the three decades-long story of the project straight from the horse’s mouth! Also on 26 March, this time at Claddach Kirkibost in North Uist, we have Alastair Banks spinning his ‘Tales of a Wandering Planner; From Uist to Orkney and Back’, which promises to be an entertaining evening. April sees the centenary of the Ross Mountain Battery’s campaign at Gallipoli, and on the 25th of that month we will be commemorating this in the Drill Hall in Stornoway with Colin Scott Mackenzie and others. On the same day in North Uist there will be a guided walk from Locheport to Eabhal led by Mike Townsend, author of the Cicerone walking guide to Uist and Barra.

On the 2nd May we will be kicking off our boat trips with a visit to Taransay. It is some years since we were last on the island, which was inhabited until 1974 and is now most famous for hosting the BBC’s ‘Castaway’ series, shown in 2000. Places are very limited for this trip and we are expecting a lot of interest so, do please book early. Another island we are returning to after a long while is Pabbay, near Barra Head. This trip will also take place on 2nd May, leaving from Castlebay in the company of Jonathon Grant, the NTS ranger for Barra. Again, please do book early for this trip. On 30th May our own very knowledgeable Alasdair MacEachen will lead a walk to Rossinish and other former settlements on the east of Benbecula. This walk will be conducted in Gaelic but non-Gaelic speakers are very welcome. In June we have a boat trip to the Monach Isles, leaving from Kallin Harbour on the 20th, and a one-day symposium in Campbeltown on the 27th. This is a spin-off from our two very successful Slighe Chaluim Chille events held in 2013 and 2014, and will further examine the links between the Hebrides and Ireland. A guided walk to Vallay Island led by Iain MacDonald is not to be missed on the 18th July, and in August we hope to run boat trips to St Kilda and Ronay, on the 1st and 22nd respectively, so we shall keep our fingers crossed for some nice calm weather. The final boat trip of 2015 will be to Scarp on 12th September, as part of the Harris Mountain Festival. The festival has become a fixture on the Harris events calendar and is well known for high jinks such as the annual raft race, involving teams of lunatics taking to the waves in various shades of barely seaworthy craft. We’re not expecting anyone to paddle to Scarp though, you’ll be pleased to hear; there will be a fully serviceable boat leaving from Husinish! Our annual conference takes place in Barra from 18 – 20th September, on the subject of ‘Island Castles - A Reassessment of the Historic Galley Castles of the Norse-Gaelic Seaways’. With a stellar range of expert speakers, this should be a fantastic few days and an experience not to

Our newest title, ‘Dolina; An Island Girl’s Journey’ the memoirs of Lewis-born singer, actor and writer Dolina Maclennan, was

launched at Faclan, the Hebridean Book Festival on Saturday 1 November. Despite the early hour of 10am, the main auditorium at An Lanntair was buzzing as people seated themselves to hear Dolina talk about the book with well-kent Gaelic broadcaster Kenny Maciver. The interview, conducted in both English and Gaelic, was very entertaining, even at times hilarious, as Dolina elaborated on some of the stories in her book, abetted by Kenny, who of course is also familiar with many of the characters described within. An hour later, with aching sides, the audience left, to form the most enormous queue for signing books yet seen at An Lanntair. A few days later at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh, Dolina’s right hand was again pressed into service as the book was introduced to a capacity audience of 150 people, most of whom bought a copy. Dolina’s co-authors Jim Gilchrist and Stuart Eydmann were also there to talk about the book, and a great night was had by all … as evidenced by the fact that the plentiful supply of wine ran out!

News11

be missed. As the nights start to draw in we have a range of talks for you. We are very excited to have Elisabeth Shipton coming to talk about ‘The Frontline Women of WW1’ at An Lanntair. Elisabeth’s new book, ‘Female Tommies’ tells the story of the numerous women who were engaged on the front line, not just through nursing, but as ambulance drivers, journalists, or even espionage agents and resistance fighters. Elisabeth herself is a military historian and archivist and has worked as a researcher for the BBC. We are also pleased to welcome Jill de Fresnes to Stornoway in the autumn to talk about ‘Scots Herring Girls, 1900 – 1950’. Jill currently works for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland, but for many years she lived in Mallaig and taught at UHI. Jill is an expert on the history of the herring girls, although she did confess to feeling a bit nervous about coming to Stornoway, saying, ‘…

it’s always a bit of a thought that many in the audience know far more about the topic than you ever will - coming from fisher families or with relatives that went to the fishing - but it’s great to learn more too!’ The dates for both Elisabeth and Jill’s talks have still to be confirmed but we will let you know in plenty of time to book. The final event of 2015 will take place on 26th November, when, in a lovely piece of symmetry, John Love will be back to talk about ‘Islands around the British and Irish Coast - From the Channel Islands to Shetland’, at Sgoil Lionacleit in Benbecula. So it might be grey and murky outside now but cast off the January gloom - spring’s just round the corner and we’re looking forward to seeing you in 2015!

Alayne Barton

12 Lewis Events

Everyone knows Katie Morag, the mischievous, loveable wee island girl created by Mairi Hedderwick. The stories are now children’s classics and recently adapted for television, however not so many people know that she has written several books for adults too. ‘An Eye on the Hebrides’, her account of six months spent travelling around the Scottish islands in a camper van, was first published in 1989 and has never been out of print since. Another book, ‘Highland Journey, A Sketching Tour of Scotland’, a journey in the footsteps of John T. Reid, author of ‘Art Rambles in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland’ is also still popular. On the evening of 11 November Mairi came to An Lanntair in Stornoway to talk about the experience of writing these books and of how perceptions of the islands have changed since they were published. When Mairi began her ‘Eye on the Hebrides’ expedition in the late 1980s, many of the islands were still in private ownership, travel was often difficult and there was no internet or mobile phones. She began the journey in her home town of Gourock, heading first to Arran, with which she was already familiar,

having stayed with her Gaelic-speaking aunts in Corrie as a child, before moving on through Cumbrae, Bute, Gigha, Islay, Jura, and the islands of the Clyde. From there she visited Colonsay, Mull, and on northwards, taking in Coll, Tiree, the Small Isles, Barra and the Uists, Harris, St Kilda and finally, Lewis. As she says in her 1994 introduction to the book, ‘The journey … encompassed 40 islands, 750 sea miles, 4,500 land miles, 30 boats … and every day for 195 days the discipline of sketching, sometimes five or six times a day.’ The resulting book is a unique snapshot in time, and for that reason Mairi has since been under pressure to repeat the journey. She admitted being tempted by the idea, but besides the enormous physical resources required, she explained that she felt concerned about how islanders themselves would feel about it, conscious of the difference between artists’ perception of the islands and those who live and work on them. Often, she says, artists representing the Highlands and Islands filter out things that are visually offensive, for instance, by

13 Lewis Eventsexcluding kit houses from their work. This is not a modern phenomenon, indeed John T. Reid, in neither his art nor his diaries, records the abject poverty he must have seen on his travels, and nor did any of his contemporaries. Mairi herself feels that it is essential to be honest about the subject; she tries to record the reality of the islands, describing what she does as ‘visual journalism’. A case in point was during the 5 month ‘Highland Journey’ project, when she followed in John T. Reid’s footsteps, painting the same scenes depicted in his book from the same vantage point. His view of Stirling Castle was taken from what is now the middle of the Raploch housing estate, at the time a run-down area of council flats and houses. Mairi got out her sketching equipment regardless, and found herself assailed by curious locals, whose interest soon faded when she tried to explain what she was doing. Nowadays, many of the things which indicate that an island has a healthy population and an optimistic future are unsightly; wind turbines, new housing and telecommunications masts for instance. Sometimes though, new development can echo past times, as in the new museum building at Lews Castle in Stornoway, where the ghosts of the old hothouses can be seen in the new glass frontage. Many of the issues that Mairi raised in the first edition of ‘An Eye on the Hebrides’ are still being debated, but what isn’t in doubt is that thirty years on there is a renewed vigour in the islands; whether brought about by community ownership, better communications, investment, an increase in tourism, or all of the above and more. Mairi believes that all these changes need to be truthfully recorded … and to that end she may be persuaded yet to take to the road once again!

WAR GRAVES

On Tuesday 11 September at Comunn Eachdraidh Nis Murdo Beaton gave a talk on Walking in the Footsteps of Heroes, an account of the many visits he has made over the years to Commonwealth War Grave sites in Belgium and France. It was a most interesting presentation and we are very grateful to Murdo.

14Isle of Coll: Facets of a Gem

Author: Ewen McGee

This book looks at one gem of a Hebridean island from every angle, from the very earliest days to today. It looks at land, law, language, education, emigration, employment, travel, housing, communication, nature and much more; for example the references to flora from 1764, ‘… the most beautiful embroidered carpet that the earth perhaps is anywhere covered with’ and from 1803, ‘… a plain thickly covered with a wild geranium of the finest purple colour I ever saw.’

Comprehensively illustrated, it tells of the fun of the good times but does not ignore the hardships of the periods when the crops failed and the kelp industry suddenly ceased. It is sourced from many books, old and new, from newspapers and, of course, from the very many tales that have been told in front of a good peat fire. If nothing else, it should answer the often-asked question: ‘Coll. Where’s that?’

ISBN: 978-1-907443-18-3 | Paperback | £14.99 | Available 31 May 2015

A Stag from Rum

Author: Robert Atkinson

Robert Atkinson first came to the Hebrides in 1936 and was immediately smitten by the islands and their people, returning every summer up to the outbreak of WW2. In those years he travelled throughout the islands, reaching even the remotest of the uninhabited outliers. His experiences provided rich material for a book, ‘Island Going’, (Collins 1949) that with the passing of time has become a travel classic, sympathetic and gently humorous in its portrait of the Hebrides and their people. Returning after the war he resumed his travels in his own boat, the ‘Heather’ and wrote about it in ‘Shillay and the Seals’ (Collins & Harvill Press 1980).He hesitated to include ‘A Stag from Rum’ in either of these works, and only revealed the manuscript a few years before his death in 1995. This tale of youthful derring–do, successful poaching and extreme sailing is published here for the first time, as a tribute both to him and his fellow bold spirits, John Naish and Hugh LeLacheur; who between them brought the fictional poacher ‘John Macnab’ to life on the forbidden hills of Rum.

ISBN: 978-1-907443-65-7 | Paperback |£9.99 | Available 30 September 2015

New Books

Isle of Coll - Facets of a Gem

15 New BooksThe fact that Portree might have a history or even at one time, not have existed at all, had never occurred to me. Portree seemed as if it had always been there. It was the capital of Skye. It was where we went to school. But a series of Local Studies courses with Aberdeen University prompted some questions: Who decided to build a village here? When? Why? Who were the first villagers? And why was it called Portree anyway?This book begins by determining how the village came by its name, dispelling the myth that it was changed to Portree after the visit of King James V in 1540. It then traces the development of Portree from the first suggestion of a few houses to a village with churches, schools, banks … and the jail.Ella Liley comes from Claigan, near Dunvegan and has lived in Portree now for over twenty years.

ISBN: 978-1-907443-29-9 | Paperback | £8.99 | Available March 2015

Author: George Gunn

A journey to the radical heart of the far north.

A dramatic plateau of sedimentary rock with the Pentland Firth to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the North Sea to the east and a vast sea of bog to the south, Caithness is an island in all but name. Caithness also sits in a sea of time.

As often misunderstood as it is overlooked, this is a poet’s journey through Caithness, its landscape, people, culture and history. In The Province of The Cat you can experience the unique blend of Norse and Gaelic cultures which has given Caithness its distinctive place in Scotland’s story.

In Caithness the landmass of mainland Scotland stops, but the story of Scotland’s social formation starts.

The Province of The Cat is a lyrical, heartfelt portrait of the far north of Scotland. It is an epic story of human achievement, struggle, tragedy and survival told in language that is as clear as the Caithness air itself. In this book, with the poet as your guide, you can reach back far into the past, walk out across the wide open and flowing lands of ‘The Province of The Cat’ and into the future.

Caithness will never be the same again.

ISBN: 978-1-907443-42-8 | Paperback | £9.99 | Available 31 July 2015

16 Round upDATES FOR YOUR DIARY

12th February, 8.00pmTaigh Chearsabhagh, Lochmaddy - ‘A Journey along the coast of Norway’ a talk with John Love

26th March, 8.00pmCladdach Kirkibost Centre, North Uist - ‘Tales of a wandering Planner ...’ a talk with Alastair Banks

26th March, 7.30pmAn Lanntair, Stornoway - ‘A Saga of Sea Eagles’ a talk with John Love

24th April, 7.30pm TA Drill Hall, Stornoway - ‘Centenary of Ross Mountain Battery campaign at Gallipoli’ a talk with Colin Scott MacKenzie and others

25th April, 10.00amGuided Walk to Eubhal from Locheport with Mike Townsend.

A new home for Islands Book Trust

Pop in to see us at our new home in Laxay, just beside the main Stornoway to Tarbert road.

Office hours are normally 9am - 1pm Monday to Friday, although you might also catch us in the afternoons. The kettle’s usually on, so feel free to come and browse, and you may just get a cuppa too!

Our new telephone number is 01851 830316