Iain Morrison

 

 

Iain Morrison is a singer/songwriter/piper from the Isle of Lewis. He has a soft, intimate singing style that has been likened to Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake. His debut album ‘Empty Beer Bottles & Peatfire Smoke’ was met with acclaim and established Iain as an emerging Scottish talent.

He now follows it up with new album ‘Skimming stones…Sinking boats’

Morrison is justly gaining a cult following in folk circles. He specialises in spartan elegies, beautifully sung like Tom McRae’s finest and similarly aware that what you leave out from a song can be as important as what you put in a song. Often moving listening.’ - John Earls at Planet Sound

The Sleepy Cafe Band are Marc Duff ex Capercaillie (whistles/bouzouki) & Martin Kelly (guitar).

www.peatfiresmoke.co.uk
www.myspace.com/iainmorrisonpeatfire

 

Julie Fowlis

 

Mark Radcliffe hailed her voice and songs as “enchanting, beguiling and as fascinating as songs by Kate Bush and Björk” and KT Tunstall described her voice as “formidable and amazingly rhythmic”. The elfin figure they are describing is Julie Fowlis, a talented singer and instrumentalist from North Uist.

She is the BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year 2008 and in a few short years has taken the music scene by storm. In 2007 she was invited to appear on “Later…with Jools Holland” and was a special guest on the critically acclaimed “Transatlantic Sessions” series and has entertained millions of radio listeners around the world with her engaging live sessions and live performances.

However she is somewhat of an enigma as she sings in Gaelic, a language only understood by around 60,000 people – approximately 1% of the population of Scotland. She sings and spends her time touring around the world bringing ancient songs from the Hebrides to new audiences. She is an accomplished musician as well, playing  bagpipes, smallpipes, whistles, oboe & cor anglais and three waltzes on the one row melodeon.

Recently Julie has delved a little into broadcasting, and has had the opportunity to present two flagship music programmes on BBC Scotland – the traditional music programme “Travelling Folk” and the world music show “Global Gathering”. A one hour documentary on Julie and her musical travels, entitled “Bliadhna Julie/Julie’s Year” was also broadcast by the BBC in 2007. She was publicly voted Gaelic Singer of the Year 2007 at the Scots Trad Music Awards and her album “cuilidh“, was voted “Album of the Year” at the same awards. She has a clutch of other awards, including BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award 2006 for Best Emerging Artist (the first ever Gaelic Artist to be nominated for such an award) and was also voted Gaelic Singer of the Year 2005 at the Scots Trad Music Awards. She remains the only singer to have won this prestigious award twice. 

Bringing centuries old songs from the windswept islands of the Hebrides to a modern audience, Julie remains steadfastly true to her roots in North Uist. If you haven’t heard her before, be prepared to be surprised by her music and her “breathtaking vocal power” (Folking.com).

This is true Gaelic music. Come have a listen.

 

“traditional music at its most seductive.” DAILY TELEGRAPH

“sings with mesmerising beauty and passion.” WORD MAGAZINE

“Sings the songs of the Outer Hebrides with coolest grace” SONGLINES

“Fowlis could be the first Scottish Gaelic crossover star in the making” DAILY TELEGRAPH

 

AWARDS and NOMINATIONS

• BBC Radio 2 Folk Music Awards 2008 Winner – Folk Singer Of The Year
• Scots Trad Music Awards 2008 Winner – Album Of The Year (Cuilidh)
• Scots Trad Music Awards 2008 Winner – Gaelic Singer Of The Year
• BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year 2007 – Nomination
• Best Folk Band (Dòchas) Scots Trad Music Awards 2006 – Nomination
• BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award 2006 – Winner
• Gaelic Singer of the Year Scots Trad Music Awards 2005 – Winner
• Best Up & Coming Artist (Dòchas) Scots Trad Music Awards 2004 – Winners
• Gaelic Singer of the Year Scots Trad Music Awards 2004 – Nomination
• Traditional Singer of the Year Pan Celtic Nations Festival 2003
• La Trophe La Bolee de Corrigans – Festival Interceltique de Lorient, 2000

Suilven

 

 

The Suilven was sold to Caledonian-MacBrayne whilst under construction and entered service between Ullapool and Stornoway in 1974. She remained on this route for over 20 years, being withdrawn in July 1995. She was sold soon afterwards to Strait Shipping of Wellington, New Zealand, for service between Wellington and Nelson, retaining the name (a mountain near Ullapool). In 2004 she passed to Bligh Water Shipping of Fiji, marketed as Suilven Shipping and here she still sails the seas n warmer and calmer climes. A well deserved retirement.

But I remember a few crossings like this one which shows footage of MV Suilven shot whilst departing Wellington, New Zealand in a SW gale. 

Sick bags ready…

 

Siadar Wave Power

 

Waves at Shawbost – Via Bluewave

 

The Siadar Wave Energy Project (SWEP) is an exciting proposal consisting of an “active breakwater” which would harness power from the Atlantic waves in Siadar Bay to generate up to 4 megawatts of electricity. It will be a near shore structure, about 350 metres from the shore.

The SWEP is based upon the Oscillating Water Column (OWC) principle.

The energy produced each year could supply the average annual electricity needs of approximately 1500 homes equal to a fifth of all homes on Lewis and Harris.

If plans are given the go ahead by the Scottish Government, building work could start as early as 2009. The project could generate up to 50 construction jobs and would take around 18 months to complete. 

Stornoway Gazette article

Hebrides News Article

Video Presentation ( A wee bit boring but lots of detail).

 

No Wind Factory

Arnish Moor, Lewis. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

 

The Lewis Windpower scheme has finally been rejected. 

Ministers have concluded that the proposed 181 turbine Lewis Wind Farm would have a serious impact on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, which is designated under the EC Birds Directive and protected under the EC Habitats Directive.

I sincerely hope that more realistic schemes are brought forward in the very near future and a balance struck between the pressing economic needs of the islands and our overwhelming need to meet the impending consequences of Global Warming and the long tradition of Lewis’ inhabitants acting as custodians of their land and resisting damaging exploitation of it by big business.

Meantime the rest of the UK catches up with the debate with everyone from the Beeb to the Herald, The Independent to the Guardian getting their opinions out and allowing the heavyweight minds of the Great British public to weigh in with their intellectual gems:

” …Lewis which is basically one great peat bog is one of the ugliest, most despressing places outside Birmingham. Another is that its inhabitants are amonst the most consistently miserable in the world. Another is that they are mollycodled with one of the biggest state subsidies per head in the UK yet refuse a modest return to the wider community via a windfarm and for that matter, to do anything useful.”

Wonderful stuff.

 

 

 

Metagama

 

Today is the 85th anniversary of the departure of the SS Metagama from Stornoway on 21st April 1923 with 260 islanders bound for Canada, an event that has become entrenched in local history.

The  sailing of the Canadian Pacific owned Metagama achieved international prominence as it was the first such event broadcast on cinema news reels on both sides of the Atlantic. Even though some 800 youths, many just teenagers, would leave Lewis on other ships within the year and despite a major emigration from South Uist it is the Metagama sailing which is best known.

The Canadian Government had turned to the Hebrides in its search for domestic servants and farm hands to work in its expanding economy. In contrast, prospects on Lewis were poor and the island still grieved for hundreds of her men who died in the First World War. But within a few years many emigrants hit poverty during the Great Depression with a few returning home to the croft. Those who stayed dispersed into Gaelic communities in Canada and the USA with many heading to the car factories of Detroit.

To commemorate the last large wave of post-war emigration, verses from a well known Gaelic song, Eilean Beag Donn a’ Chuain, written by emigrant Donald Morrison, originally of Bragar, yearning for his beloved island, will be engraved in glass screens being installed by Stornoway Port Authority in the town’s ferry terminal.

Port chief executive John Maclennan said: “These verses portray in a most poignant manner, the level of home-sickness, or more appropriately in Gaelic “cianalas”, that clung to the many Lewis-born folk, who left Stornoway for a better life in Canada.”

West Side Historical Society Information

The Story Of A Ness Exile

Metagama: A Journey from Lewis to the New World - Jim Wilkie

 

Lyrics:	English Translation:
Do làmh, a charaid, do dh ‘Eilean a’ chuain	Your help, my friend, to the Island of Lewis
‘S a h-eallach cho cruaidh is trom	Since its burden is so difficult to bear
Tha’m bàs’na chabhaig ri sgathadh ‘s a’ buain	Death is reaping its terrible toll
Gun duine ni suas an call	With no one to make up the loss
Tha’n òigridh sgoinneil a sheòlas na caoil	The upstanding youth who sail the straits
An àite na laoich a bh’ann	Instead of the warriors who once were there
Gun bhoineid, gun bhròig, a’ siubhal an raoin	Are without clothing or shoes, traversing the moors
An Eilean an Fhraoich ud thall	In the distant Island of Heather
Hì ri o rì, togaidh sinn fonn	Hi-ri-o-ri, we’ll sing a song
Air Eilean beag donn a’ chuain	About the little brown Island in the ocean
Eilean beag Leòdhais dachaidh nan seòid	Little Island of Lewis, home of the warriors
A chumas a’ chròmhrag suas	Who will keep up the struggle
Eilean nan tonn, a dh’àraich na suinn	Island of the waves, which reared the heros
‘S a chuidich an Fhraing gu buaidh	And who helped the French to victory
Còmhla ri chéile togaibh sinn fonn	All together we’ll sing a song
Air Eilean beag donn a’ chuain	About the little brown Island in the ocean
O ‘s làidir na bannan ‘g am tharruing a nall	Oh strong are the ties that are pulling me across
Gu eilean beag donn Mhicleòid	To the little brown island of the MacLeods
‘S gu stiuir mi gu h-ealamh gu cala mo long	And I shall quickly steer my ship to harbor
‘Nuair ruigeas mi ceann mo lò	When I reach the end of my days
‘S ma ghreimicheas m’acair ri Carraig nan Al	And if my anchor catches the Bird-Reef
Bidh m’anam tighinn sàbhailt beò	My soul will come safely alive
Mo shiùil air am pasgadh am fasgadh Chill-Sgàir	My sails folded in the shelter of Cill-Sgair
Le m’athair ‘s mo mhàthair chòir	With my dear father and mother
Hì ri o rì, togaidh sinn fonn	Hi-ri-o-ri, we’ll sing a song
Air Eilean beag donn a’ chuain	About the little brown Island in the ocean
Eilean beag Leòdhais dachaidh nan seòid	Little Island of Lewis, home of the warriors
A chumas a’ chròmhrag suas	Who will keep up the struggle
Eilean nan tonn, a dh’àraich na suinn	Island of the waves, which reared the heros
‘S a chuidich an Fhraing gu buaidh	And who helped the French to victory
Còmhla ri chéile togaibh sinn fonn	All together we’ll sing a song
Air Eilean beag donn a’ chuain	About the little brown Island in the ocean

 

Books At Bedtime

 

Books currently being read at bedtime…

Small-scale Sheep Keeping - Jeremy Hunt

Crofts And Crofting – Katherine Stewart

The Lewis Land Struggle “Na Gaisgich” – Joni Buchanan

Speak To Us Catriona: New Tales and Traditions Of The Lews – Donald S Murray

Cas-Cheum An Leodhas: Footfall In Lewis – Robert M Adam

Go Listen To The Crofters: The Napier Commission & Crofting A Century Ago : AD Cameron

The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency: The Classic Guide for Realists and Dreamers – John Seymour

 

The Crofter

 

The Crofter has been published regularly since 1985.

They welcome articles from anyone with a relevant interest or opinion and their aim is to inform and broaden the debate on land issues, environment and rural development.

The Crofter is posted to all members of the Scottish Crofting Foundation on a quarterly basis and if you enjoy reading the pages here, you can obtain your own regular copy of the newspaper by becoming a member yourself.

Recent editions are available to download as PDF files from their dedicated website page.

Finally be sure to look out for a wonderfully written two piece article by yours truly in the May and August issues!

Lambing 101: A difficult birth

 

Part four of a general overview of the basics of the lambing experience. I’ll refine this in future as I get a better grip on the whole thing so please excuse any inaccuracies and don’t take any of this as gospel.

 

Most ewes will lamb unaided and about 95% of lambs are born in the normal presentation, forefeet first. 

However if the ewe continues to strain, but there is no sign of the waterbags, she continues to strain an hour after the rupture of the waterbags, there is no sign of a lamb, the lamb appears to be wedged in the birth canal or if there is an abnormal presentation, a leg back, head back etc. assistance may be needed.

Any delay in assistance could mean the difference between a live and dead lamb.

Cleanliness is important to prevent infection of the uterus. Scrub hands and arms with soap and a mild disinfectant, and lubricate with soap or an obstetrical cream. We used Agri-Gel.

The hand is then carefully slid into the vagina to feel the lamb and assess the situation. Obviously a person with a small hand (me!) is best suited for this task.

In many cases the lamb will be presented tightly but normally, you will feel two forelegs with the head between them but in others there will be a malpresentation there may be:

One or both forelegs back.

Head back.

Hindlegs instead of fore legs.

Two Lambs Together

 

Tight Birth. This can be caused by a large lamb, a small ewe, a small pelvis or any combination of the three. This is probably the most common delivery problem in sheep. It is most common among young ewes or flocks that have a preponderance of singles. Presentation of the lamb can be normal and birthing is still not progressing. Often the lamb is in the birth canal and may be partially presented. Firm pressure is often all that is needed to remove the lamb. The best method of applying pressure is to grab a front leg below the knee and pulling it in a downward arc towards the ewe’s hocks until it is extended. Take care that the head is coming and you may actually have to pull the skin over the lamb’s head. Then pull the second leg into an extended position just like the first. From this point, steady, firm pressure may be all that is needed.

If the lamb is still not coming, steady arcing pressure towards the ewe’s hocks should be continued with a slight swaying or rocking from side to side. If things are still not progressing, the ewe can be rolled onto her back and often this frees up a bit of space and the lamb can be delivered.

One Leg Back. This malpresentation is a reasonably common one. The head and one leg are coming normally, while one leg is not extended into the birth canal. If the ewe is roomy or the lamb is not large, often one can pull the lamb with the leg back. If this is not feasible, then the lamb’s shoulders, leg and head should be pushed back and the turned back front leg should be “flipped” into the birth canal. Take care not to lose the lamb’s head when doing this.

Both Legs Back. This presentation entails the head only coming, with both front legs back. This can be a very serious situation. If the head is sticking out of the ewe it can swell and it is then difficult to push the head back to obtain one or more of the front legs. Prompt action is required to successfully deal with this type of delivery.

Head Back. This can be one of the most frustrating malpresentations that occur. The head has to be brought into place before the lamb can be delivered. It takes patience and perseverance sometimes to locate the head. When located, be sure it is the head of the correct lamb and not its sibling. This type of presentation, it is often handy to have a lambing snare to hold either the front legs or head in place once you sort the situation out. This can be one of the most difficult malpresentations, especially if the lamb is large.

Hindlegs First. This is an easy situation to overcome. Simply pull the lamb backwards. However, one needs to be careful not to injure or break the lamb’s ribs as it is being pulled. Also, often times when lambs come backwards, the ewe will not present a water bag.

Two Lambs Together. This problem takes some sorting. One has to follow heads, feet and legs all the way back to the shoulder or source to be sure what lamb they belong to. This takes time, patience and a visualization process. Usually, they can be sorted out and the fact that it is more than one lamb can be in our favor, as the lambs are not usually large. Identify, the body parts of lamb, deal with it, and the next one is usually easier.

There are plenty more permutations of a difficult birth. if you want to know more click here.

 

When assisting ewes lamb it takes: patience, perseverance and gentleness. Rushing the job won’t work and actually can lead to further complications and even permanent injury to ewes. When lambs need pulled, steady, gentle, but firm pressure works best. To successfully pull lambs, one needs to be able to visualize lamb parts and positions by touch. This takes a limited knowledge of anatomy and a bit of concentration.

As ewes often have multiple births, the same sequence of the rupture of the waterbag and expulsion of the lamb will be repeated for the delivery of each lamb. After an assisted lambing always check the ewe internally that there is not another lamb to be delivered. For one check for two, two check for three and so on!

One they’re out, clear the mucus, tickle that nose and show them to mommy. Good job!

 

 

 

Agri-Gel

500ml Agri-Gel bottles. Tong Barn, April 2008.

 

When you absolutely, positively have to put your hand in there…use Agri-Gel!

A long lasting lubricating gel which will not dry or flake and has a mild chlorexidine antiseptic. Ideal for obstetric use, pregnancy diagnosis, ear tagging and other beautiful moments.