Artists, sharks and bollards ....
A mixed bag of news this week includes bollards, sharks and prizes.
By Alison Prince
Thursday, 2 July 2009
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0 comments
This week we have news on sharks (no, we don't mean hedge-fund managers), and on the Waverley near-disaster, plus a £200 prize for artists. And what about those bollards in Whiting Bay? Read on ....
People in Whiting Bay are outraged by a plan to restrict access to the narrow Middle Road in Whiting Bay by installing lockable bollards when a housing development is built there. The Arran Community Council opposed it, and Howard Driver’s objection on their behalf can be seen on the NAC website, but the plan was approved all the same.
Before you groan and shrug, you need to know this may not be the end of the story. The question of Right of Way now arises. It's more interesting than it sounds, for it reaches back into history, and at the same time has been firmed up by an Act of Parliament in 2003. The Arran Community Council agreed at its meeting this week that this should be investigated. Meanwhile, a member put forward a suggestion that, because the narrow lane belongs to Scottish Water at the top end and can’t be widened, it might be an idea to consider a One Way system, whereby traffic uses the Glenashdale road going up and the Middle Road coming down. How would people feel about that? Not ideal, but it could be better than bollards. More detail in General News — click on the bar at the left hand side, above this panel.
The lovely old paddle steamer Waverley had a mishap when she collided with Dunoon Pier last week. Both the steamer and the pier were damaged, and for a time the outlook was grim. Largs Pier is still out of action as it undergoes repairs, and it seemed all too possible that the Waverley’s summer season was scuppered, though this was the year when the weather seemed promising and a much-needed income really would be earned. Luckily, Farilie Pier has been made available until Largs comes back into service on July 24th, so all is not lost. The Waverley is an irreplaceable national treasure, and Scotland would not be the same without her.
More sea news – a research boat called the Aora is pottering about in Lamlash Bay this week, acquiring new data about scallop stocks and about the health of the water in the No Take Zone. The Aora looks very much like a fishing boat, but she is not fishing, so vigilantes need not hit the alarm bell. The No Take Zone itself is being explained to visitors by means of notice boards with a map showing where and what it is, and the first of these went up at the slip in Brodick Bay this week. Still on marine matters, if you happen to be out in a boat and spot a basking shark, or a shoal of them, please note the time and place, because a Basking Shark Project is anxious to log these amiable creatures. Contact details in General News, along with COAST's new signboard at Lamlash and the latest on what the RNLI has been coping with.
Artists, here’s one for you. The McLellan Festival this year is organising a touring art exhibition that will travel around the Scottish Islands, starting with Arran, and it is calling for submissions. To make matters even brighter, Nick Giles of the Whiting Bay Gallery has very kindly put up a prize of £200 for the best exhibit. Full details about submission address and date can be found inside, but the main thing to bear in mind is that the exhibits have to be light enough to get piledinto a van or be sent by post. No rocking chairs, delicate pots or 5-tonne sculptures, then — only flat drawings, paintings or prints can be accepted. They must be unframed, (the organisers will provide frames) and no bigger than A3. Great exposure though, and good sales potential. Go for it! Full details in the News section.
And Finally — a (tapping) footnote from the Jazz Café Band, which has at last got its act together — the next gig will be in Whiting Bay Hall on Friday 24th July. Bring your own bottle and your dancing shoes.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
671 views 0 commentsThis week we have news on sharks (no, we don't mean hedge-fund managers), and on the Waverley near-disaster, plus a £200 prize for artists. And what about those bollards in Whiting Bay? Read on ....
People in Whiting Bay are outraged by a plan to restrict access to the narrow Middle Road in Whiting Bay by installing lockable bollards when a housing development is built there. The Arran Community Council opposed it, and Howard Driver’s objection on their behalf can be seen on the NAC website, but the plan was approved all the same.
Before you groan and shrug, you need to know this may not be the end of the story. The question of Right of Way now arises. It's more interesting than it sounds, for it reaches back into history, and at the same time has been firmed up by an Act of Parliament in 2003. The Arran Community Council agreed at its meeting this week that this should be investigated. Meanwhile, a member put forward a suggestion that, because the narrow lane belongs to Scottish Water at the top end and can’t be widened, it might be an idea to consider a One Way system, whereby traffic uses the Glenashdale road going up and the Middle Road coming down. How would people feel about that? Not ideal, but it could be better than bollards. More detail in General News — click on the bar at the left hand side, above this panel.
The lovely old paddle steamer Waverley had a mishap when she collided with Dunoon Pier last week. Both the steamer and the pier were damaged, and for a time the outlook was grim. Largs Pier is still out of action as it undergoes repairs, and it seemed all too possible that the Waverley’s summer season was scuppered, though this was the year when the weather seemed promising and a much-needed income really would be earned. Luckily, Farilie Pier has been made available until Largs comes back into service on July 24th, so all is not lost. The Waverley is an irreplaceable national treasure, and Scotland would not be the same without her.
More sea news – a research boat called the Aora is pottering about in Lamlash Bay this week, acquiring new data about scallop stocks and about the health of the water in the No Take Zone. The Aora looks very much like a fishing boat, but she is not fishing, so vigilantes need not hit the alarm bell. The No Take Zone itself is being explained to visitors by means of notice boards with a map showing where and what it is, and the first of these went up at the slip in Brodick Bay this week. Still on marine matters, if you happen to be out in a boat and spot a basking shark, or a shoal of them, please note the time and place, because a Basking Shark Project is anxious to log these amiable creatures. Contact details in General News, along with COAST's new signboard at Lamlash and the latest on what the RNLI has been coping with.
Artists, here’s one for you. The McLellan Festival this year is organising a touring art exhibition that will travel around the Scottish Islands, starting with Arran, and it is calling for submissions. To make matters even brighter, Nick Giles of the Whiting Bay Gallery has very kindly put up a prize of £200 for the best exhibit. Full details about submission address and date can be found inside, but the main thing to bear in mind is that the exhibits have to be light enough to get piledinto a van or be sent by post. No rocking chairs, delicate pots or 5-tonne sculptures, then — only flat drawings, paintings or prints can be accepted. They must be unframed, (the organisers will provide frames) and no bigger than A3. Great exposure though, and good sales potential. Go for it! Full details in the News section.
And Finally — a (tapping) footnote from the Jazz Café Band, which has at last got its act together — the next gig will be in Whiting Bay Hall on Friday 24th July. Bring your own bottle and your dancing shoes.
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