Nollaig Chridheil

 

Wishing all this wee blog’s readers, family and friends (virtual and otherwise) a peaceful and happy Christmas.

Hope Santa is good to you…

M x

Phenomenal Xmas

 

An oldie but still a goodie. On re-run right now in the UK.

Newsweek

 

This week’s (well, the copy I got this week) Newsweek had an article on the Harris Tweed revival on page eight.

You can read the online version here

Island Blogging

 

I’ve always had a love / hate relationship with the BBC’s Island Blogging website.

It began originally in the Argyll and Clyde islands as a project to promote digital literacy and grew to encompass communities in the Northern and Western Isles. As this digital literacy grew and the blogosphere in general developed, it became very easy to set up blogs elsewhere across the web and concerns about Island Blogging’s technical limitations, House Rules and Terms and Conditions were noted as well as problems with the blogging engine and spam filtering which recurred with increasing severity. 

In short, five years on, it has become apparent that the site does not best serve the resident blogger’s needs and that the technology has reached the end of its natural life. So it looks like the site is shutting down and it’s bloggers moving to virtual pastures new.

The Lewis Island bloggers appeared to now be nicely WordPressed up with a nice matching template and a new batch of posts and I assume some kind soul has helped them out.

Why love / hate? Well some of the blogs were frankly awful. Not that my own is any great shakes at all, at all but a good few of them were just dire, looked like crap thanks to the restriction of the Beeb’s site, comments appeared to be heavily edited or censored and, a minor gripe, locals were in the great minority, so it kinda felt like the White Settlers Association at times But some are quite readable and there are a couple I really enjoy. Anyway, here are the main Lewis ones in all their virginal glory and I wish them good luck starting afresh in the new format…

 

Arnish Lighthouse: An self confessed outsider’s view on the island.

Calumannabel: An irreverent Niseach’s blog that often makes me laugh. (Prev)

Soap Lady: An duck keeping, soap making, sheep worrying dog owning English lady who loves island life.

The White Settler: Possibly the worst poet on the island on LSD…

Fred Blog:  Newly arrived handyman from Kent now living in Point.

x33xxx: A Dorset man with an x-rated car registration getting to grips with Lewis life.

 

And there are a few more you’ll find as you trawl their own links.

Christmas shopping

 

Christmas is coming (in case you hadn’t noticed).

If you fancy a bit of a Hebridean influence on the proceedings may I suggest some last minute ideas…

 

Silver sequined, Harris Tweed tree baubles, hand-made on Lewis by Harris Tweed Delights

Gaelic Christmas cards from Glasgow based Carla Jones Design

Smoked salmon sides from Uig Lodge, Isle of Lewis

Frankincense & Orange soap from The Hebridean Soap Company

Traditional island oatcakes, shortbreads and cheese biscuits from Stag Bakeries

Some fine ales from the Hebridean Brewing Company

Mod medal winner, Fiona Mackenzie’s album of gaelic Xmas carols Duan Nollaig

One of Bluewave‘s images from Imagekind…

Or a copy of this year’s Birlinn pubished Lewis In History & Legend

 

Happy shopping.