Hello and welcome to the June edition of the Voice.
This month we have the usual mix of local and not-so-local news and views. In fact, speaking of ‘local’, in the making of this issue, the term has become something of a theme, one that is not easily definable or generalizable and one that may continue to be a source of reflection in forth-coming issues of the Voice. What makes something or indeed someone ‘local’? This is possibly Arran’s most perennial question! In this edition, through the issue of ‘real food’, some of these ideas are raised, but certainly not definitively answered.
Alongside these preoccupations, we have an historical theme which continues from last month. There is the second part of a Robert the Bruce history from Jim Henderson, as well as a pictorial record of Arran from Stuart Gough. ‘Looking at Arran’ gives a fascinating insight, and some amazing views, of Arran through the lens of a collector’s postcards. These are interesting historical artefact’s in themselves, not to mention the wee snippets of holiday life we are given by the tourists of yesteryear.
We also have some information about a couple of upcoming events, one at the beginning of the month, on Holy Isle, and another at the very end, the annual Malt and Music festival at the Lochranza distillery. And don’t forget the Arran folk festival in the middle! Or the film showing of ‘Albatross’ on the 23rd, an event run by TAP Arran and COAST, at the High school… Hope it’s a good month, and long may the lovely weather continue!
We spoke to Andy who was in the van on a beautiful May morning at its weekly Brodick stop. Andy and Jenny McDonald, of Woodside Farm in Kildonan, are the organic growers, and brains, behind the Real Food Shop. Andy had been up and ‘cropping’ salad and herbs for the shop that morning at 7 am. He told the Voice that the van “was a natural progression, after starting the Community Supported Agriculture vegetable boxes at the farm. The next thing seemed to be to set up a shop that we could take round the island”.
The Voice went to visit George Grassie and his team at the Blackwater Bakehouse where they have been baking amazing bread (and other delicious things) for some years now. More recently George, along with Stuart Fraser from the Bay Stores in Whiting Bay, has established the Arran Gin company. An hour spent amongst the floury surfaces and mouth-watering croissants, while tasting the fragrant Gin was an inspiring way to learn about George’s part in Arran’s growing artisan food movement.
Four of us decided to have lunch at the Wineport; two grandparents, a parent, and her lively nearly six year old. The weather was fine and we had a table on the lovely spacious grassy area in front of the house. Nearly all the tables were occupied and it was very busy. Our reception couldn’t have been friendlier from Gina, co-owner for the last few years.
The menu had many attractive options and the choice was not easy! Starters on offer include Cullen Skink, garlic mushrooms, and smoked mackerel pate, while main courses cover the usual good pub food, such as scampi, fish and chips, sandwiches and toasties, and burgers (often though with an unusual twist), as well as some interesting vegetarian and vegan choices. There was a spicy cauliflower steak which had unfortunately just sold out that day!
Saltcoats was a mecca for summer holidaymakers, with the trains from Glasgow doing a roaring trade. Here with the magnificent backdrop of the Arran mountains the beach was thronged with people, as was the grassy area, with its swings etc., between it and the long frontage of B & B’s, hotels & guest houses. This 1938 Valentine’s card shows that the elder generation still preferred to keep “covered up” with their long coats, suits and hats. But still they were prepared to struggle down to the sand with the big pram!
One of the positive aspects of Britain’s departure from the EU is that it has sparked off a debate on the future of UK farming, requiring us to question fundamental assumptions. Should we see food as a commodity for export, or to feed ourselves? What counts as a public good? And can we restructure our food system in a way that meets more of our needs – nutritional, social and cultural?
It’s hard to escape the growing interest in local food over the past few decades. Whether it’s restaurants boasting fresh, local produce on their menus, the rise in farmers’ markets and farm shops or the growth of box schemes such as Riverford, it’s clear that people value food that comes with a story. Even supermarkets have noticed, as Morrisons credits soaring demand for regional produce for its healthy profits last year. In order to understand the movement better, and to see where it might be headed, it is worth exploring the motivations behind it.
The film showing on Sunday 10th June at Corrie film club is The Last Picture Show (USA 1971 Directed by Peter Bogdanovitch 118 mins Cert 15).
A coming of age movie set in rural Texas in the early 1950s that centres on two high school friends played by Timothy Bottoms and Jeff Bridges. In tiny Anarene, Texas, in the lull between World War Two and the Korean Conflict, Sonny and Duane are best friends. Enduring that awkward period of life between boyhood and manhood, the two pass their time the best way they know how -- with the movie house, football, and girls. Jacey is Duane's steady, wanted by every boy in school, and she knows it. Her daddy is rich and her mom is good looking. It's the general consensus that whoever wins Jacey's heart will be set for life.
Following a period in early 1307 on Rathlin Island, and Robert the Bruce's alleged meeting with a spider in a cave, Robert the Bruce and his supporters made another attempt to gain freedom from English rule. They were betrayed however and Robert the Bruce's brothers were captured and executed...
Around the same period Sir Robert Boyd and Sir James Lord Douglas, accompanied by a group of about 20 men in a ‘Birlin’ set off via Sanda Island, Kintyre heading for Arran. Their mission was to ascertain the strength of the English troops based on the Island. They landed on a rocky beach at Machrie near Drumadoon, dragged and concealed the boat above high water, initially taking refuge in a cave nearby.
Although badgers are found throughout the United Kingdom, they are not native to the Isle of Arran. So, when did they arrive and where did they come from? Articles dating from the end of the 19th century indicate badgers were introduced to Glen Sannox around 1895, and more recently, genetics research of Isle of Arran badgers in 2017 considered that our badgers most likely originated from the area to the south of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, between the villages of Beith and Giffordland. However, it is currently not known who owned that land, or who transported the badgers to the Isle of Arran.
In her first interview since taking the helm, new director-general of the National Trust Hilary McGrady has said she wants things to get “radical” at the charity, by looking to more urban conservation. McGrady told the BBC:
I want to reach more people, and more people live in urban areas. The days of walking in to one of our beautiful houses and saying a family lived here, that’s not going to do it. We need to think about what’s relevant – why would someone in the middle of Birmingham say that’s interesting? What is it in Birmingham that they would get more value from?
A meeting of Scottish CND members on Arran was held on Saturday 26th May in Lamlash Church Hall.
Three main areas were discussed: proposals for a Hiroshima Commemoration event in Lamlash on 5th August, attendance at the major demonstration planned for 22 September at Faslane and the success of the on-going book group meeting periodically in the Glenisle to discuss Timmon Milne Wallis’ The Case Against Trident.
Lamlash Church Hall has been booked for the Sunday afternoon proceeding Hiroshima Day on Monday 6th August. Janet Fenton of SCND/ICAN and David Mackenzie of NukeWatch can come to Arran and Patricia Gibson MP will also come subject to her holiday commitments (as part of the Parliament Recess). David Newbigging the Director of the crowdfunded docudrama Benchmark 6 about a nuclear incident off Ardrossan has agreed to the showing of this work in progress. Interesting discussions about how this Commemoration can have maximum impact took place and,in particular, the idea of having a Peace Tree was explored.
Salmon aquaculture in Scotland: is it coming to the end of the line?
by Sally Campbell
2018 has been the year, so far, when the Scottish Parliament has taken a long hard look at salmon aquaculture in the sea lochs of western Scotland. First the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee (ECCLR) took evidence on the damage being done to the environment. Then more recently the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee (REC) took evidence on the effects of the industry on communities and Scotland’s economy. You can read in more detail the evidence presented on the Scottish Government website under the two committees’ reported work.
A criminal investigation is being held into the sinking of a fishing vessel in which two fishermen died. The Nancy Glen went down in Loch Fyne, near Tarbert on January 18 2018. Duncan MacDougal 46, and Przemek Krawczyk 38 who lived in the village were on the boat and the men’s bodies were recovered in April.The Crown Office said the procurator fiscal had instructed Police Scotland to investigate the circumstances around the deaths.
This year's Arran Malt and Music Festival is on from Friday 29th June to Sunday 1st July
We are really looking forward to welcoming everyone to Lochranza again this year, and hope you will find something in the events and classes below which will help to make it an even more memorable weekend for you.Tickets for each class will be on a first come, first served basis. At the time of going to press there are a few places left on the Chocolate and Whiskey masterclass, for details see below.
There are also limited tickets left for the Saturday evening ceilidh.
Poemby Charles Simic
Every morning I forget how it is.
I watch the smoke mount
In great strides above the city.
I belong to no one.Then, I remember my shoes,
How I have to put them on,
How bending over to tie them up
I will look into the earth.
This poem is taken from Charles Simic’s 1971 collection ‘Dismantling the Silence’ . Simic was born in pre-war Belgrade and grew up in Chicago after his family emigrated to the US. Critics have likened his poems to Chinese box puzzles because of the way deeper meanings can be found within an apparently simple structure. In ‘Poem’ the two short stanzas, one looking up and the other down, can be seen both as a simple observation of everyday existence and a profound reflection on the human condition. A good selection of Simic’s work can be found in ‘Looking for Trouble’ published by Faber.
