Welcome to the Voice of 2018! In this first issue of the new year we range across nuclear weapons, the Arran housing market, Brexit, the Corrie film club, the Lamlash fish farm expansion plans, the Arran Community Land Initiative, a suffragette from Arran, plastic waste and other topics.
The Voice will shortly be looking for a new editor. After two and a half years I shall be hanging up the green eyeshade and half-smoked cigar next month, so if you think you might be interested in taking on this (voluntary) role, please contact us at info@voiceforarran.com
Music Arran presents an intriguing concert to launch its programme for 2018, on 27th January, in the Community Theatre at Arran High School. Duo B!z’art consists of two pianists playing the same piano. André Roe and Geoffrey Baptiste hail from Belgium, and specialize in what is unusual and unconventional in music – hence their name, which echoes the word “bizarre”. In some ways, their music is not so bizarre, as on the island they will be playing much-loved pieces by well-known composers.
I recently heard from a friend staying on Eigg to write up her PhD and she asked me an interesting question about how we handle our plastic waste here on Arran. On Eigg, she’s meeting the people who organise the beach cleans and hearing of their frustration at not knowing what to do with the plastic they collect. The council won’t take it, so they’re faced with a choice between 'hiding it' in landfill, recycling what they can or burning it (ugh).
People often ask me questions such as what do vegetarians/vegans have for Xmas lunch. I assume this is meant to be amusing because the questioner invariably has the answer ready to hand which was the whole point of asking the inane question. ‘Nut roast’! Oh how we laugh. After all we’ve never heard that joke before. In reality the answer is difficult because we veggies/vegans generally have a greater variety of options up our sleeves than our meat eating friends. Perhaps in future I should ask the question and then quip ‘turkey’.
A Man’s a Man for a’Thatby Robert Burns
Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an’ a’ that;
The coward-slave, we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a’ that!
For a’ that, an a’ that.
Our toils obscure an a’ that,
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The Man’s the gowd for a’ that.
What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an a’ that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine
A Man’s a Man for a’ that:
For a’ that, and a’ that,
Their tinsel show an’ a’ that;
The honest man, tho’ e’er sae poor,
Is king o’ men for a’ that.
Ye see yon birkie ca’d a lord,
Wha struts, an stares, an’ a’ that,
Tho’ hundreds worship at his word,
He’s but a coof for a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
His ribband, star, an’ a’ that,
The man o’ independent mind,
He looks an’ laughs at a’ that.
A Prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an’ a’ that!
But an honest man’s aboon his might —
Guid faith, he mauna fa’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Their dignities, an’ a’ that,
The Pith o’ Sense an’ Pride o’ Worth
Are higher rank than a’ that.
Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a’ that,
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth
Shall bear the gree an’a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
It’s comin yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man the warld o’er
Shall brithers be for a’ that.
Over the last few months we have noticed more "Under Offer" signs appearing around the island and felt that the housing market was picking up. Ann Rhead of Arran Estate Agents kindly agreed to talk to us.
AR: The market on Arran was severely affected by the recession of 2007 and has been slowly recovering over the last year or so. We had a large backlog of over 120 properties up to 2011 but it is now closer to the usual 40-50.
VfA: Are values rising or falling and are asking prices being achieved, exceeded or falling short?
Thanks to everyone who attended the COAST public meetings where we discussed and explored our community’s opinions on the Scottish Salmon Company’s (SSC) proposal to double the production of salmon in the waters of Lamlash Bay and potential development at other sites.
The film for the 14th of January will be A Quiet Passion (UK/Belgium. 2016. Directed by Terence Davies. 126 mins Cert.12A)
This is a finely detailed portrait of Emily Dickinson, from girlhood to later years, a reclusive poet whose work was only recognised after her death. A thoughtful, profoundly serious film, that is sometimes surprisingly funny.
The Guardian said "it is Davies’ ability to invest even the most apparently-humdrum moments with some form of intense radiance that sustains his film. Every shot is beautifully composed and lit – as we have come to expect – and the actors deliver every line with absolute conviction. Dropping key poems on to the soundtrack may be a conventional move, but Davies’ selection is unerring and reinforces the emotion at every point."
A report by David Mackenzie and Jane Tallents for Nukewatch UK has highlighted the lack of preparation by Scottish public authorities for an incident involving the transport of nuclear weapons materials across the country.
Such transport convoys travel between the Aldermaston and Burghfield atomic weapons plants in Berkshire and Coulport on Loch Long up to eight times a year, carrying nuclear warheads.
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 obligies public authorities to identify potential threats to public safety and to list them publically. A survey by MSP Mark Ruskell has found that all Scottish local authorities on or near the convey routes are failling in this duty. None have carried out risk assessments with regard to the convoys, or informed and advised the public about possible emergencies involving the nuclear materials.
The State of Israel may have a right to exist under international law but we should not tolerate an expansionist and imperialist Israeli state and Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for Israel to end its occupation of Palestine.
Editor's note: The tone and arguments in this article are not necessarily endorsed by The Voice.
On the 22nd of December the CalMac ferry Loch Linnhe was on sea trials around Great Cumbrae and we noticed (on Marine Traffic) that the Master had created a seasonal message for us all.
It has been a long year, and the ongoing failures of the Brexiters gives no joy to the rest of us tied to the train crash they have set in motion. This week we finally saw some of the UK’s fabled impact assessments. There were no revelations since much of what they contained was simply an assessment of the status quo. The report on fisheries noted without irony that “there is a concentration of activity in coastal towns.” Who knew?!
