Plans for a new Voice - and triumph for a Corrie poet
Plans for a new Voice Arran needs a medium through which it can announce events and exchange views, without hefty charges or editorial interference.
Written by Alison Prince
Thursday, 18 March 2010
1 view 
1 comment
Plans for a new Voice
Arran needs a medium through which it can announce events and exchange views, without hefty charges or editorial interference. So we are going to re-launch the Voice on a new, easy-access website. We'll make it available to people who are not online by asking computer owners if they will download and print a few copies and put them in the local hall, shop or post office. Costs of doing this will be reimbursed, but all readers will get the Voice completely free, whether on screen or on paper.
Any group that would like its events handsomely publicised throughout the year can have 52 weeks’ publicity for a very moderate annual subscription, or in the case of penniless voluntary organisations, for nothing.
If you’d like to know more, come to a meeting at the Glencloy Suite, Auchrannie Spa on Thursday 25th March at 7.30 pm. You will be very welcome. We need lots of people willing to chip in very small amounts of help. Deliver posters, perhaps, or print off some copies of the paper each Thursday and put them somewhere accessible in your village. Send in photos and/or reports, give a hand on the technical side or with editing. If you are interested in how journalism works, it's a great opportunity to get some free training, too. Please come to the meeting on the 25th — it's going to be the start of something big, useful and a lot of fun.
Corrie poet’s win.jpg)
Last autumn, David Underdown entered a collection of ten unpublished poems for a competition called The Cinnamon Press Poetry Collection Award. In January of this year, he heard that he’d been short-listed and was asked to submit a further ten poems. And this week, he learned that he is the winner.
‘I've always wanted to write,’ David says. However, it’s only since coming to live full-time on Arran ten years ago that he has started, as he puts it, ‘gradually learning the craft and catching up on a lifetime's reading.’ His concentration on poetry began about five years ago, and he has had some poems published elsewhere and included in anthologies – but this will be his first full collection. The poems submitted for the competition were written over the past year though the final publication, provisionally called Times Lines, will include some earlier work.
Cinnamon is a small independent publisher based in North Wales. They will be publishing Time Lines next year.
Here is one of David’s thoughtful, evocative poems.
3 a.m.
Those nights when sleep leaves you stranded,
a sand-bound hulk on the bed
of a long gone sea.
Heavy-lidded, flannel-headed,
straining for familiar sounds,
a scutter of rain, the riffle of wind.
Outside, over Cumbrae
distant house lights blink and tremble,
dance through drifting veils.
Inside a silent presence of machines,
garnet in the dark,
an amber eye on the skirting.
Unkempt thoughts,
their tangled skeins,
searching loose ends
among the wind-snagged rigging.
To sink and watch
the hulls of passing ships,
keeled and barnacled.
And later, a wandering absence of light
against the star-pinned dark.
The Council’s curious mathematics – and a threat to village halls
NAC declares a need to save £9 million pounds this year. In 2008-9 they expected a deficit of £319,000 and in fact came out with an under-spend of £4.22 million That’s equal to nearly 8% of its Council Tax income. (Many thanks to Kenneth Gibson MSP for confirming these figures.) We also learn via Ms Elma Murray, CEO of NAC, that the Council is considering a ‘phased reduction in the number of community centres as part of its budget setting process.’
To the best of our knowledge, the only Arran hall now owned and run by NAC is Brodick, but the idea of striking at the basic means by which the community can meet for a whole range of activities is appalling. Elected members will meet later in March to consider where the axe will fall. We’ll keep you posted.
Man blows up
Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for North West Gas said, 'We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It's possible Mr. Purdey has been charged for the gas used up during the explosion that destroyed his house.'
Thanks to a reader for supplying that wee gem.
‘Loud and clear’ at Planning meeting
The meeting held on Monday of last week produced a message of overwhelming solidarity from the island. Housing is the essential that underpins everything else – the ability of our young people to live and work here is the basis of Arran's continuing life in every meaningful sense.
Kenneth Gibson MSP commented after the meeting:
‘I think that Planning are now fully aware of the views and feelings of islanders which were expressed robustly and with a high degree of unanimity. It is clear that removing village envelopes, encouraging businesses to grow and develop, allowing more flexibility in building and design are all vitally important. The good news is that the message was received loudly and clearly and I expect NAC to take these views on board.’
Argyll & Bute Award for Planning
Somewhat enviably, Argyll and Bute Council has designed a range of sustainable housing that has won a prestigious Scottish Government National Planning award and is praised for its ‘holistic approach’. Councillor Ron Simon, Chair of A&B’s Sustainable Design Forum, said, ‘We are determined to ensure that Argyll and Bute Council, which covers one of the most scenic parts of Scotland, sets the standards in terms of sustainable development.’ The area, he said, must be ‘a sustainable, economically viable and high quality place in which to live and work.’
Switched-on Katy Switches off.jpg)
Katy Clark MP, shown here with a very big light bulb, is supporting WWF’s Earth Hour on Saturday 27 March 2010. The World Wildlife fund is calling on everyone to switch off their lights for one hour on that evening, between 8.30pm-9.30pm. The idea is to show we care about people and wildlife threatened by climate change. The initiative has run several times before, but it is bigger than ever this year, with over 1,100 cities and towns across the globe switching off their lights in support of Earth Hour.
Last year 88 countries did an hour’s switch-off, and with 2010 seeing more than 91 countries taking part, a ripple will cross the world as landmarks in 25 time zones switch off. Famous buildings that will go dark include the Golden Gate Bridge, the Las Vegas strip, Table Mountain and the Burj Khalifa tower- the tallest building in the world. In London Piccadilly Circus, the Royal Albert Hall and the London Eye will be dimming their lights for Earth Hour. Companies supporting the event include M&S, Coca-Cola and Ikea.
‘WWF is aiming to reach a billion people,’ Katy says. ‘By signing up and taking part we can all show support for strong international action to tackle climate change.’
For further information or to sign up to WWF’s Earth Hour please visit: www.wwf.org.uk/earthhour or by texting 80010
Tenacious T’weed in Brodick.jpg)
We never got to understand what their collective name means but Gemma Carlin, Alexa Mason and Christopher Baxter gave a splendid concert last Saturday night in Brodick Hall. Gemma and Alexa started with three wordless songs by Vaughan Williams, using Alexa’s strong soprano voice instrumentally to weave with Gemma’s fine performance on clarinet. They were joined by Christopher on piano for the Schubert piece that followed, and here the balance was sometimes a little over-weighted in favour of the vocal line – though, as Christopher said, playing the Music Society’s totally unknown Clavinova was like being asked to drive a strange car. He is a fine pianist, however, and with good reason holds the post of Accompaniment Fellow at the RSAMD. His lively playing brought out the best in the Horowitz Sonatinas that followed, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the fiendishly intricate jazzy piece that ended the first half of the concert.
Walton’s Façade Suite was originally performed with a spoken narrative over the orchestral pieces, so it appeared as a slightly different beast – though still enjoyable – when adapted for soprano and piano. Next came Christopher’s solo performance of three Debussy preludes, which was quite outstanding. A creatively intelligent, highly sensitive pianist, he gave full value to the composer’s use of space and emptiness, establishing a sense of sustained meditation that was extraordinarily beautiful. Roger Steptoe’s La Lune Blanche combined the three players in a lovely, reflective modern piece, Alexa demonstrating the sweeter qualities of her operatic voice. In the final folk songs, she ‘told the story’ with wit and clarity, and where combined with the clarinet in its lower register, the combination worked beautifully, as did the five marvellously witty Flower Songs contributed as a welcome encore.
The Trumpet Shall Sound in Lamlash Church – quite literally.
Last autumn, a concert booked to take place in Lamlash Church had to be cancelled with the trumpet soloist, Grant Golding, was injured in an accident. The Arran Music Society is delighted to say that Grant, together with organist Matt Edwards, will be giving their much-looked-forward-to concert on Saturday 27th March. Please note the date and time – 7.30 pm – as this could not be added to the printed list that had been circulated. Full details of their programme will be given next week.
Waves, not coal
On March 15th, Ayrshire Power submitted an application for the consent required to build a coal-fired power station at Hunterston. Friends of the Earth Scotland, along with local campaigners, are strongly opposed to this development. Juliet Swann, Head of Campaigns at FoE, said: ‘Scotland has 25% of Europe's renewable energy potential. The last kind of development that should be proposed is a new, polluting coal fired power station.’
A few days later, Greens welcomed confirmation that up to 1.2 gigawatts of marine power will be installed in the Pentland Firth and around Orkney. Patrick Harvie MSP said: ‘Even this first round of wave and tidal licences will lead to as much power as Torness currently generates, and this is just the start. With a proper commitment to the marine power industry, following on from the £10m we secured in this year's Budget negotiations, Scottish devices could be generating clean power in waters around the world and boosting jobs at home.’
He added, ‘It's time for Ministers to choose. Will they get fully behind the Scottish surge in renewable innovation being showcased today, or will they stick to the dirtiest fossil fuel Scotland has ever used? The future of our economy and our environment depend on them making the right choice.’
25p – if you live long enough
A not-so-young reader reports that his annual pension notice ends with the words, ‘Age Addition of 25p per week will be payable from your 80th birthday.’
And don’t spend it all at once, you profligate old person.
John Kinsman has 3 marine items in General News, and there's a very sensible letter about the management of one's final days in Voicemail.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
1 view 1 commentPlans for a new Voice
Arran needs a medium through which it can announce events and exchange views, without hefty charges or editorial interference. So we are going to re-launch the Voice on a new, easy-access website. We'll make it available to people who are not online by asking computer owners if they will download and print a few copies and put them in the local hall, shop or post office. Costs of doing this will be reimbursed, but all readers will get the Voice completely free, whether on screen or on paper.
Any group that would like its events handsomely publicised throughout the year can have 52 weeks’ publicity for a very moderate annual subscription, or in the case of penniless voluntary organisations, for nothing.
If you’d like to know more, come to a meeting at the Glencloy Suite, Auchrannie Spa on Thursday 25th March at 7.30 pm. You will be very welcome. We need lots of people willing to chip in very small amounts of help. Deliver posters, perhaps, or print off some copies of the paper each Thursday and put them somewhere accessible in your village. Send in photos and/or reports, give a hand on the technical side or with editing. If you are interested in how journalism works, it's a great opportunity to get some free training, too. Please come to the meeting on the 25th — it's going to be the start of something big, useful and a lot of fun.
Corrie poet’s win
Last autumn, David Underdown entered a collection of ten unpublished poems for a competition called The Cinnamon Press Poetry Collection Award. In January of this year, he heard that he’d been short-listed and was asked to submit a further ten poems. And this week, he learned that he is the winner.
‘I've always wanted to write,’ David says. However, it’s only since coming to live full-time on Arran ten years ago that he has started, as he puts it, ‘gradually learning the craft and catching up on a lifetime's reading.’ His concentration on poetry began about five years ago, and he has had some poems published elsewhere and included in anthologies – but this will be his first full collection. The poems submitted for the competition were written over the past year though the final publication, provisionally called Times Lines, will include some earlier work.
Cinnamon is a small independent publisher based in North Wales. They will be publishing Time Lines next year.
Here is one of David’s thoughtful, evocative poems.
3 a.m.
Those nights when sleep leaves you stranded,
a sand-bound hulk on the bed
of a long gone sea.
Heavy-lidded, flannel-headed,
straining for familiar sounds,
a scutter of rain, the riffle of wind.
Outside, over Cumbrae
distant house lights blink and tremble,
dance through drifting veils.
Inside a silent presence of machines,
garnet in the dark,
an amber eye on the skirting.
Unkempt thoughts,
their tangled skeins,
searching loose ends
among the wind-snagged rigging.
To sink and watch
the hulls of passing ships,
keeled and barnacled.
And later, a wandering absence of light
against the star-pinned dark.
The Council’s curious mathematics – and a threat to village halls
NAC declares a need to save £9 million pounds this year. In 2008-9 they expected a deficit of £319,000 and in fact came out with an under-spend of £4.22 million That’s equal to nearly 8% of its Council Tax income. (Many thanks to Kenneth Gibson MSP for confirming these figures.) We also learn via Ms Elma Murray, CEO of NAC, that the Council is considering a ‘phased reduction in the number of community centres as part of its budget setting process.’
To the best of our knowledge, the only Arran hall now owned and run by NAC is Brodick, but the idea of striking at the basic means by which the community can meet for a whole range of activities is appalling. Elected members will meet later in March to consider where the axe will fall. We’ll keep you posted.
Man blows up
Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for North West Gas said, 'We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It's possible Mr. Purdey has been charged for the gas used up during the explosion that destroyed his house.'
Thanks to a reader for supplying that wee gem.
‘Loud and clear’ at Planning meeting
The meeting held on Monday of last week produced a message of overwhelming solidarity from the island. Housing is the essential that underpins everything else – the ability of our young people to live and work here is the basis of Arran's continuing life in every meaningful sense.
Kenneth Gibson MSP commented after the meeting:
‘I think that Planning are now fully aware of the views and feelings of islanders which were expressed robustly and with a high degree of unanimity. It is clear that removing village envelopes, encouraging businesses to grow and develop, allowing more flexibility in building and design are all vitally important. The good news is that the message was received loudly and clearly and I expect NAC to take these views on board.’
Argyll & Bute Award for Planning
Somewhat enviably, Argyll and Bute Council has designed a range of sustainable housing that has won a prestigious Scottish Government National Planning award and is praised for its ‘holistic approach’. Councillor Ron Simon, Chair of A&B’s Sustainable Design Forum, said, ‘We are determined to ensure that Argyll and Bute Council, which covers one of the most scenic parts of Scotland, sets the standards in terms of sustainable development.’ The area, he said, must be ‘a sustainable, economically viable and high quality place in which to live and work.’
Switched-on Katy Switches off
Katy Clark MP, shown here with a very big light bulb, is supporting WWF’s Earth Hour on Saturday 27 March 2010. The World Wildlife fund is calling on everyone to switch off their lights for one hour on that evening, between 8.30pm-9.30pm. The idea is to show we care about people and wildlife threatened by climate change. The initiative has run several times before, but it is bigger than ever this year, with over 1,100 cities and towns across the globe switching off their lights in support of Earth Hour.
Last year 88 countries did an hour’s switch-off, and with 2010 seeing more than 91 countries taking part, a ripple will cross the world as landmarks in 25 time zones switch off. Famous buildings that will go dark include the Golden Gate Bridge, the Las Vegas strip, Table Mountain and the Burj Khalifa tower- the tallest building in the world. In London Piccadilly Circus, the Royal Albert Hall and the London Eye will be dimming their lights for Earth Hour. Companies supporting the event include M&S, Coca-Cola and Ikea.
‘WWF is aiming to reach a billion people,’ Katy says. ‘By signing up and taking part we can all show support for strong international action to tackle climate change.’
For further information or to sign up to WWF’s Earth Hour please visit: www.wwf.org.uk/earthhour or by texting 80010
Tenacious T’weed in Brodick
We never got to understand what their collective name means but Gemma Carlin, Alexa Mason and Christopher Baxter gave a splendid concert last Saturday night in Brodick Hall. Gemma and Alexa started with three wordless songs by Vaughan Williams, using Alexa’s strong soprano voice instrumentally to weave with Gemma’s fine performance on clarinet. They were joined by Christopher on piano for the Schubert piece that followed, and here the balance was sometimes a little over-weighted in favour of the vocal line – though, as Christopher said, playing the Music Society’s totally unknown Clavinova was like being asked to drive a strange car. He is a fine pianist, however, and with good reason holds the post of Accompaniment Fellow at the RSAMD. His lively playing brought out the best in the Horowitz Sonatinas that followed, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the fiendishly intricate jazzy piece that ended the first half of the concert.
Walton’s Façade Suite was originally performed with a spoken narrative over the orchestral pieces, so it appeared as a slightly different beast – though still enjoyable – when adapted for soprano and piano. Next came Christopher’s solo performance of three Debussy preludes, which was quite outstanding. A creatively intelligent, highly sensitive pianist, he gave full value to the composer’s use of space and emptiness, establishing a sense of sustained meditation that was extraordinarily beautiful. Roger Steptoe’s La Lune Blanche combined the three players in a lovely, reflective modern piece, Alexa demonstrating the sweeter qualities of her operatic voice. In the final folk songs, she ‘told the story’ with wit and clarity, and where combined with the clarinet in its lower register, the combination worked beautifully, as did the five marvellously witty Flower Songs contributed as a welcome encore.
The Trumpet Shall Sound in Lamlash Church – quite literally.
Last autumn, a concert booked to take place in Lamlash Church had to be cancelled with the trumpet soloist, Grant Golding, was injured in an accident. The Arran Music Society is delighted to say that Grant, together with organist Matt Edwards, will be giving their much-looked-forward-to concert on Saturday 27th March. Please note the date and time – 7.30 pm – as this could not be added to the printed list that had been circulated. Full details of their programme will be given next week.
Waves, not coal
On March 15th, Ayrshire Power submitted an application for the consent required to build a coal-fired power station at Hunterston. Friends of the Earth Scotland, along with local campaigners, are strongly opposed to this development. Juliet Swann, Head of Campaigns at FoE, said: ‘Scotland has 25% of Europe's renewable energy potential. The last kind of development that should be proposed is a new, polluting coal fired power station.’
A few days later, Greens welcomed confirmation that up to 1.2 gigawatts of marine power will be installed in the Pentland Firth and around Orkney. Patrick Harvie MSP said: ‘Even this first round of wave and tidal licences will lead to as much power as Torness currently generates, and this is just the start. With a proper commitment to the marine power industry, following on from the £10m we secured in this year's Budget negotiations, Scottish devices could be generating clean power in waters around the world and boosting jobs at home.’
He added, ‘It's time for Ministers to choose. Will they get fully behind the Scottish surge in renewable innovation being showcased today, or will they stick to the dirtiest fossil fuel Scotland has ever used? The future of our economy and our environment depend on them making the right choice.’
25p – if you live long enough
A not-so-young reader reports that his annual pension notice ends with the words, ‘Age Addition of 25p per week will be payable from your 80th birthday.’
And don’t spend it all at once, you profligate old person.
John Kinsman has 3 marine items in General News, and there's a very sensible letter about the management of one's final days in Voicemail.
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