Looking Back at 2006
Thursday, January 11 2007
January
The headline was - 'A First for Islay' - the first 'Civil Partnership'. Initial reaction? On balance one is inclined to favour the original Garden of Eden format. There was some disagreement over transfer of Council Housing stock to the Argyll Community Housing Association. John Findlay found reason for disquiet on the agricultural front, Ailsa launched her whisky-based toilet soaps and Stormcats produced a new boat of notably advanced design. Work commenced on the Port Charlotte Island Centre and Bowmore had the dubious honour of being selected as the appropriate location for the central disposal of Islay’s sewage sludge. The Bridgend Community Garden took shape and the old question of whether Islay needs two ferry ports reared its divisive head. There was well merited recognition of Zena Macmillan’s 50 years and more of melodious performance on the accordion, and plenty in the correspondence columns regarding the civil partnership issue.
February
Lord Robertson joined Western Ferries and an unexploded bomb was found at the airport. The excellent IDEA’s group announced a holiday house for the disabled in Bowmore and St Kiaran’s Church announced a partnership with Iomairt Chille Chomain to help finance a warden for the new Centre. Whisky from barley with a 5,000 year pedigree flowed from Bruichladdich stills and John Campbell became manager of Laphroaig. There were the first signs of an Air Discount scheme for the remotely situated and a fire destroyed the kiln roof at Kilchoman.
March
The failure to repair the pier walkway at Port Ellen caused concern and Neil Campbell opened his butcher shop in the village. Stormcats found an innovative use for recycled lemonade bottles and the MIJ group held a well-attended meeting at the Columba Centre with a view to exploring ways of “modernising” health and social services on the island. The Pillaged Malt was in the news again - this time including Bushmills in Northern Ireland and hoping to raise money for Scottish and Irish Children’s Hospices. CalMac won the Northlink tender to Orkney and Shetland and Christine Logan was annointed Whisky Ambassador 2006. Scottish Water were under fire in Portnahaven and the 144th Islay Gathering was a great success under the charimanship of Professor Iain Campbell. There was a nice photograph of convivial participants in the Annual Ploughing Match.
April
Michael Palin was pictured supporting the Pillaged Malt and Caol Ila, Lagavulin and Laphroaig distilleries were all honoured. Somebody had been stealing car number plates and Mark Reynier of Bruichladdich drew our attention to Islay Peru which shares both our name and our geological structure. Port Ellen Primary School’s “Brilliant Beginnings” award winning programme had produced some really scenic garden features. An unidentified body was washed up at Lossit. There was a lively discussion about the appropriateness or otherwise of community involvement in the running of health and social services. Malcolm Ogilvie and Gordon Langsbury published a fine work on Islay’s bird life and Islay bridge enthusiasts took on their counterparts from Hamilton. The finger was pointed at quad bikes over environmental damage, and three vessels were apprehended off Islay (Peru) for fishing illegally - with the Ileach account losing something in the translation...
May
Islay and Jura primary pupils descended on Paris. Donal Feist did well at the Highland Music Festival and the possibility of a direct sea link between Jura and the mainland was mooted. There was an Islay High School Reunion and Graham Logie returned to his Islay home as manager of Lagavulin. HMS Edinburgh visited Loch Indaal, Kilchoman Distillery was in full production and the Maryland Delaware Baptist Choir paid a memorable visit. Islay was reckoned to be number 5 in the list of top 40 places to visit in Scotland. Islay Lifeboat launched three times, the callouts dealt with in their usual unostentatious manner. Feis Ile presented a star-studded programme of malt and music and the Mayor of Islay (Peru) was welcomed at Bruichladdich.
June
Brilliant Beginnings won “Best Team” at the national COSLA Awards and the Rev Paul Read left for Caithness. Ross Currie triumphed in the Machrie Open. Pat Farrington was made MBE and Islay Ales produced a Single Malt. The Islay local Mod produced some fine performances and Melrose won the Beach Rugby (again...). There was a lament for the inadequacies of the refurbished Bruichladdich pier but a dredging operation helped to revitalise Port Ellen harbour.
July
Peter Timms of Bute was to succeed Harold Mills as Chairman of CalMac and with a rather twisted logic a WW2 mine was installed at Bruichladdich to raise money for the RNLI. The Observer listed the Harbour Inn as one of the nation’s best locations for a summer lunch. We received blue green and brown bins for recycling and some submariners from HMS Vanguard did a sponsored bike ride from Faslane to raise money for IDEAs. A heroic effort by the Mactaggart Leisure Centre Lifeguards raised serious money for the swimming pool’s 15th anniversary when they swam Loch Indaal. Rona Mackenzie won the Port Ellen Book Festival short story competition and Ella Edgar’s dancers obtained a 100% pass rate at the Scottish Dance Teacher’s Alliance exams.
August
A very handsome Ileach colour cover showed Queen Elizabeth gracefully accepting flowers from children in Port Ellen and Prince Philip boarding the Hebridean Princess which had been chartered by the Royal Family for a summer holiday cruise. West Highland Housing finished “affordable” developments in Newton and Bowmore and George Robertson published a very attractive book of Islay photographs. There was comment on the number of second homes in Port Charlotte and Portnahaven and a claim that 20% of all Islay houses are empty for 80% of the time. Mrs Jean Hunter, former head at Islay High School and long-serving director of The Ileach passed away. Champion of Champions at the Islay Show was Highland Pony Rhinns Point Fergus. The Islay Lifeboat had ten 'shouts' in three months. There was a much appreciated visit from a Danish pipe band. Leading Medical Assistant Mhairi Muir chalked up a remarkable record in both occupational and sporting fields since joining the Royal Navy.
September
'Beechgrove Gardens' filmed at Bridgend Community Garden and Port Charlotte Primary School. The Finlaggan Trust restored Clan Donald grave slabs at Nerabus. There were stirrings of interest in the restoration of Kilchoman Church and the Citizen’s Advice Service. Cathie Woodrow, former headteacher of Keills School was rememberesd with affection. Ruaridh McLeod recalled tasting the original Port Charlotte whisky on the occasion of the launch of the first product from the re-opened Bruichladdich. Islay Pipe Band triumphed at Pitlochry and the Islay Masters raised £700 for the RNLI by swimming from Feolin on Jura to Port Askaig. Dr Ken Muir, under whose beneficent oversight so many Islay and Jura infants have come into the world was retiring. There was a move afoot to increase the use of Gaelic in European affairs. John McIntyre caught a 67lb Tope and there was a contention that Celts are actually descended from Iberian seafarers.
October
There was possibly disquieting news of pharmaceutical services being centralised in Bowmore. Lifeboat coxwain Alasdair Barker retired and there was a breakdown of the costs involved in the redevelopment of Port Askaig. Carl Reavey appealed for the Malthusian Principle to be taken seriously and Port Ellen Primary did well at the National Mod. Islay MacEachern, plus wife and niece, abseiled 165 feet down from the Forth Road Bridge to raise £2,300 for the RNLI - that’s £14 a foot by my reckoning. There was another medical retirement - that of Dr Henderson from Oban Hospital, a long time friend of Islay and the Blythswood charity effort, organised by Stan and Mary Richards to collect clothing etc for the needy in Eastern Europe was very worthwhile as usual. The imminent Phase 2 of the Port Askaig redevelopment was outlined at a public meeting.
November
Neil MacLachlan was equipped with a new mobile Royal Bank and Alexis Johnston took over the Chair of the Feis Ile committee. The frigate HMS Northumberland called in to Loch Indaal and the Mactaggart Pool mysteriously emptied itself - costing the Centre an exhorbitant amount to refill. 'Brilliant Beginnings' won a Lottery award of £50,000 for their all-weather pitch and bp thanked the commercial vehicle drivers of Islay for their courtesy towards those who choose to propel themselves bipedally without recourse to fossil fuels. The 'Isle of Arran' proved incapable of shipping enough freight to Islay while the 'Hebridean Isles' was away for her annual refit and Argyll and Bute Councillors standing down next May shared out £200,000 in incentives. There was a conference in Bowmore that drew 200 delegates from small European islands. There was an Armistice Day reminder of the appalling loss of life when the troopship 'Otranto' foundered off Islay in October 1918 and Morrison Bowmore literally set the sky alight with the launch of a £20million marketing campaign.
December
Floods! There was a remarkable photograph of Port Askaig completely awash. Distilleries ground to a halt when the heavy fuel oil tanker was unable to dock at Bruichladdich in extreme weather conditions. The freak summer resulted in a disastrous malting barley harvest in continental Europe although the Scots harvest was very good! A special bottling of 15 year old Bruichladdich raised £15,000 for the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and the Ileach featured a good photograph of Barbara McEwan presenting a bottle of same to Jack McConnell (who suffered somewhat by comparison). Professor Sir William Stewart, warmly remembered over the years, is to take the chair at the 2007 Islay Gathering, his second ‘turn of duty’. A new Islay ferry costing £20million was announced, but Port Askaig pier was suddenly closed with all ferry traffic redirected to Port Ellen for the next three months pending completion of works. A major restructuring of the Church of Scotland ministry on Islay would reduce the number of ministers to two. Christmas! Let us say that it did not pass un-noticed. School nativity plays, carol services, parties, male and female Father Christmases in the shops, but a notable absence of mistletoe. One could say there was an underlying spirit of Christian goodwill.
This was the review of 2006 which appeared in the Ileach Newspaper edition of 10 january 2007.
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