Harris Tweed Ride II

Last year I organised Glasgow’s first Tweed Ride and such was the demand for another one in 2012 it would have been rude not to oblige.

Being so far from the city meant that this time around I took a back seat / saddle and placed the event in the hands of two Glasgow chaps I knew would make a sterling job of it.

And that they did…

Images of HTR II

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Images © Dominic Cocozza. All rights reserved.

HTR Bike

To celebrate Glasgow’s inaugural Harris Tweed Ride we commissioned a special build with Lee Muir of Re-cycle Cycles to be auctioned, with proceeds of the sale going to our chosen charity, the Linda Norgrove Foundation.

The resulting bike is a super-light (8kg) fixed gear machine with bespoke Harris Tweed finishes to the saddle, bar grips and toe straps.

All components are in excellent condition and the build is of extremely high quality.

This is a truly unique bike and we hope it finds a unique owner who will ride and appreciate her for years to come.

If you’d like to bid then please head to the ebay page HERE.

Heb Haulage

Great brand ident, don’t go changing.

www.hebrideshaulage.co.uk

Bàtaichean is Psalmaichean

Keose via Lochiegirl

Some of the older inhabitants of Keose village remember the distinctive sight and sound of psalmsinging on boats that would bring South Lochs communities across Loch Erisort for kirk services in the villages on the north side of the Loch. If you have never heard or seen this, there is a chance to get a sense of what it was like on Friday 10th June when a group will come together for a re-enactment and celebration in Keose Bay.

Writer Donald S Murray will read his new poem sequence,’ PsalmBoat’, written in response to the story of the Loch Erisort psalm journeys. Artist Déirdre Ni Mhathúna will record the event on video and audio. Writer and artist Ian Stephen will sail the beautiful ‘Broadbay’ community boat, with a specially restored old brown sail hoisted on its mast. Community activist and historian Maggie Smith will keep things in good order and has promised a wee gathering in Laxay Hall afterwards.

This is fast turning into a very special event involving local history buffs, writers, artists, singers and of course – boats. Maggie Smith, Falmadair and An Communn Eachdraidh have been working behind the scenes to bring everyone together.

Psalmsingers, boats, sailors and all interested folk are warmly invited to join in.

Harris Tweed Run

Another project.

The first ever Harris Tweed Run will take place in Glasgow this summer.

Bikes, Harris Tweed, music, tea, whisky and good times ahoy…

More soon.

Snow (1963)

Hardly island related at all, at all especially given that there’s been no railway lines on Lewis since Leverhulme’s plans went awry, but I found this video and liked it.

It reminds me of my Grandad (my Dad’s dad) who had a croft in Moray and worked on the railways. He was part of the Garmouth Gang (No. 52) who kept the nearby lines cleared and maintained in the early 60′s before the Beeching Axe fell.

In this weather they’d have had their work cut out, but as you can see the trains always got through.

Shot and edited with great style and imagination back in 1963, “Snow” was produced as a propaganda clip for British Railways and it comes with an amazing soundtrack, an inspired vari-speed re-arrangement of Sandy Nelson’s instrumental hit ‘Teen Beat’, that sounds like a Joe Meek attempt at proto industrial music.

Enjoy.

Via.

BEB – SYY

Nice vid of a great flight.

I flew this route once. Arrived in Benbecula from Glasgow on the tiny H.A. plane, disembarked flight and went into the tiny terminal. They refuelled and loaded some newspapers on and we all got back aboard.

The flight was fairly empty though, so with the added newspapers we had to move seats to keep the plane balanced. This was a tiny plane. So tiny that I could see past the pilots eating sandwiches and out the front windscreen.

The journey up to Stornoway was spectacular, the pilot announced he’d be flying a little lower than usual as it was such a nice day.

Best flight home ever.

R.I.P.H.A.

Kelvin Pawsey

Kelvin @ MacSorleys. Image used with kind permission of carolannpeacock

Amateur cyclist and trainee gentleman Mr. Kelvin Pawsey set out from Folkestone’s Sunny Sands Inshore Recuse Boathouse on the 31st of July  to embark on a tweed-powered two-wheeled charity adventure.

Hoping to raise as much money as he can for the Harris Tweed Authority Educational Trust and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Kelvin is pedalling himself over 900 miles to the Isle of Lewis home of the famous Harris Tweed.

Having no support team with him, Mr. Pawsey carries everything on his trusty Holdsworth bicycle. Tent, bed, cooking pots, moustache wax and of course an expeditionary Tweed RNLI flag to hoist in every campsite and tweed bunting to add a sense of occasion.

Punctures and map reading aside, Kelvin is aiming to complete his journey in three weeks, stopping for cake and ale along the way. (And saluting Magpie’s) Following the Grand Union Canal he also hopes to pop into the Reynolds Tubing factory in Birmingham which supplied the world with its legendary ‘531’ bicycle frame tubing. He will also be stopping at a tearoom in Penrith to find the ‘finest wines available to humanity’.

Somewhat typically one of his chosen charities, The Harris Tweed Educational Trust, is shrouded in mystery, I’ve certainly never heard of it but according to Kelvin it has been established by the Harris Tweed Authority as a means of advancing the education of the public in the history, production and properties of Harris Tweed. He says that Harris Tweed Education Trust aims to ensure that young people from the Outer Hebrides and indeed further afield, are educated and informed about this most cherished and beautiful, but sometimes fragile parts of Scotland’s national heritage. The first project of this recently formed trust is to support a formal recognised vocational qualification in Harris Tweed. From August 2010, this course will be offered through the education curriculum to S3/S4 pupils in one school on the Isle of Harris. So you heard it from a tweed-wearing Englishman first.

Anyway, here he is in MacSorley’s Bar where he parked himself on a tweed covered bar stool and tried a dram of Abhainn Dearg to warm him up for the day. If you see him on his travels give him a wave. Better still donate some money to him via the link below. He’ll be finishing his journey at the Harris Tweed Authority HQ and then at the RNLI station at Stornoway.

http://www.justgiving.com/The-Very-Long-Tweed-Ride

Google Streetview

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In the summer of 2009 Google Streetview car finally made it to the Isle of Lewis.

Despite no word of the vehicle being on the island until months afterwards I was positive I saw the damn thing roll by while I was camping out at the far end of Reef beach in Uig.

As it went live yesterday I thought I’d check out where I spotted it and lo and behold…

Here I am!

Funnier still was spotting Mom and Pops Croft loitering in their own garden with Charlie cat as the car rolled through Tong.