The past couple of months have been pretty stormy with what feels like an endless wind and so much rain that everyone seems to be in a permanent state of dampness. This is the grind of winter on Canna. The constant putting on of multiple layers to guard against the weather which have to be peeled off indoors and wrestled back on to go back outside. Mud is a feature. We did have a few days of snow however and the bright sunshine that followed bathed the island in a white, crisp blanket. Canna in the snow really is stunning!
Our new Visitor Hub is progressing well with the first concrete pour taking place before Christmas and we now have some walls rising up from the ground. We are finalising the designs of our Coroghan Barn project - WTA have done an amazing job of designing a building to suit our needs and the restoration of the beloved barn is inching closer.
As part of the Coroghan Barn project, Highland Archeology came and did a couple of trial pits. They discovered the old well which used to supply the Coroghan township that once stood there before being raised to the ground during the Clearances. A snapshot into the history of the island.
We had a Dark Skies art workshop just before Christmas. Residents painted the aurora borealis and stars in the night sky. We are nearly ready to submit our application to become a Dark Sky Sanctuary. Vicki has been diligently progressing this by doing light meter readings, gathering information and putting together the lengthy application. Thank you Vicki and watch this space!
A couple of weeks ago, Gareth put on a Burns Supper/late lunch at Cafe Canna. The community came together to enjoy a tasty haggis lunch and Gareth made a Clootie dumpling with homemade custard which was delicious. John Angus piped in the haggis. A few of us had a go at playing the bagpipes later on and all nearly passed out of puff - kudos to John Angus as he clearly has some lungs on him. Norah (the eldest in our community) joined us for lunch and here she is with Hector (the youngest in our community); both having a grand time!
Our annual Canna 10K Trail run is taking place on Saturday 24th May. If you fancy doing a trail run through our stunning landscape, enjoying a hearty BBQ afterwards followed by an evening ceilidh, head over to the Isle of Canna website and sign up!
We said farewell for now to Pete Holden in January. He has left these shores to join his wife Liz back on the mainland. I asked Pete to write a bit about his time on Canna - see below:
'Would you consider writing a short piece about your time on Canna for Westword?' came the request. After nine very happy years of living on this beautiful island – where to start..?
It was May 2015 I came to Canna to be the National Trust for Scotland's resident Senior Ranger. That might sound a little grand as I was, of course, the only Ranger on the island. It's tempting to say that at the time, Canna had acquired a (probably undeserved) reputation as 'a difficult place'. Having already worked for the NTS for twenty years I was not deterred and was looking for a new challenge, not a rest...
I'd long had a fascination for islands, including the good fortune to spend numerous short stints as relief Ranger on St Kilda. My wife Liz and I easily settled into our new home.
Welcoming visitors and showing them the delights of Canna became a regular responsibility during the summer months. Puffin and kittiwake counts, monitoring eagles and keeping biological records were an enjoyable aspect of the job, which also held an inevitable slice of paperwork too. The autumn change in the ferry timetable and the quiet winters herald a different emphasis – a chance for maintenance, reflection and spending time alongside your fellow residents. One soon realises that island life is not just about the seascapes and the wildlife – it is being part of a community, sharing experiences and aspirations. On Canna, with its small population, everyone knows everyone else and needs to work together, sharing skills. Becoming a director and latterly treasurer of the Community Development Trust I hope I played some part in helping the island move forward. The community can feel justifiably proud of its recent achievements – generating its own electricity, continuing to run the shop and moorings, a visitor hub and new housing about to happen, a new bunkhouse planned and the formation of a working partnership with National Trust for Scotland, the island owners.
The NTS itself experienced some challenging times - and after yet another 'internal re-organisation' that I felt I no longer had the energy or desire for – I decided to retire from my full-time job, somewhat sooner than originally intended – just because I could. This presented new opportunities and the decision to stay living on Canna as a resident was an easy one. Liz and I tended Canna House garden for a few years, and I found a niche undertaking general grass maintenance on the campsite and elsewhere, as satellite dish repair man, occasional sous chef and brewer for Cafe Canna and resident musician.
This year however, with the birth of a first grandchild and maintaining a house on the mainland too, I reluctantly gave up the tenancy of my wee cottage on Canna. I guess it's part of the fabric of island life – people inevitably come and go – my sincere hope is that someone new, with fresh ideas, will arrive on Canna to fill one of the latest job vacancies and enjoy living in Lag Nam Boitean as much as I have.
My favourite places on Canna? The view from Tallabric – Dun Mor (Puffin Stack) – Garrisdale – Coroghon and White beaches and cold water swimming – and looking out from my front door across the Sound to Bloodstone Hill on Rum.
Favourite memories? Too many to choose from... Perhaps I'll mention – a close encounter with a basking shark from the kayak – punk parties and music nights in Cafe Canna – hosting the Small Isles Games – ceilidhs generally – the weddings of Anna & Martin and Caroline & Craig – the Northern Lights – the One-Man pantomimes - surrounded by hundreds of guillemot chicks on the north cliffs helping the bird guys with the annual ringing....
Although now living in Speyside, possibly as far from the sea as one can be in Scotland , we still have so many friends on Canna, I know that Canna hasn't seen the last of me just yet. See you all in May for the 10k Run – if not sooner....
Pete Holden
We wholeheartedly wish Pete the very best and he will be sorely missed here on Canna. If you ever get a chance to play him at table tennis….be warned, he’s a total shark!
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