TEN YEARS AGO
Friday May 2, 2014
Auchindrain Museum saved
The future of Auchindrain Museum has been secured this week after receiving financial support from Historic Scotland.
Auchindrain Trust, which runs the open air museum, has been in discussions with Historic Scotland since June last year, when a financial crisis meant closure was imminent.
The cash injection comes in the 50th year of Auchindrain being classified as a preserved site; it is Scotland’s only remaining 18th century rural settlement which shows how people lived before the Highland Clearances.
The amount of money provided by Historic Scotland has not been revealed but a spokesman for the national agency said: ‘We have worked closely with the trustees to secure the immediate future of Auchindrain with a view to the township becoming financially stable and self-sustaining by the end of the two-year period.
‘It is now vital for the trust to use this period to implement a development that will secure them longer term through new income sources and increased footfall.’
Alison Hay, convenor of the trust said: ‘We are not going to be worrying about whether or not we will be open. We have to produce a forward plan which will give some indication of how we see fundraising going, how we manage the buildings.
‘We are working with Museums Scotland to do that. We have to try and broaden the talent within the trust, look for people with skills in fundraising, marketing and promotion…..and while doing that raise our profile and become more well-known.
‘We are pleased with the confidence there seems to be within Historic Scotland that we are worthy of the support and over the next two years we will work really hard to justify that support. ‘
The funding also secures the future of the museum’s two full-time members of staff.
‘Chocoblock’ raises £100 for charity
Two young lads who love chocolate and Lego raised £100 for charity by combining their two favourite things and opening their own sweetie stall.
Toby MacDonald, nine, and Christopher McCarthan, eight, opened up ‘Chocoblock’ on Saturday to raise money for the Mthunzi and Lilanda Initiative (MALI).
The Lochgilphead boys, who are both Argyll 19th Cubs, sold delicious chocolate cakes and chocolate Lego blocks from their stall at Lochgilphead Parish Church coffee morning.
Toby said: ‘We came up with the idea after Marian Pallister, the founder of the charity, gave a presentation to the Cubs. We really wanted to do something for the charity, so we decided to open a chocolate stall.
‘We made the chocolate Lego blocks using ice cube trays we bought on a trip to Legoland.’
The fundraising event will also contribute to their community Cub badge.
TWENTY YEARS AGO
Friday April 30, 2004
Tarbert juniors’ skiffs successfully launched
A great deal of hard graft went into two craft, Red Rocket and Blue Flash, which had maiden voyages on Loch Fyne on Saturday.
The two skiffs, funded by an Awards for All grant, were built by Tarbert Loch Fyne Yacht Club juniors with supervision from professional boat-builders A and R Way of Cairnbaan.
Construction began back in February on yacht club premises, with instruction sessions on Saturday mornings and work parties during the week required to meet the completion deadline of mid April.
Three hundred working hours were put in by the 19 juniors that took part, supported by some 50 hours of professional guidance and volunteer adult help.
Boat builder Adam Way instructed the youngsters on marking out and measuring, cutting and shaping, glueing, fixing, sanding and finishing.
The eight-oar boats, complete with metal fittings and warps provided by W B Leitch Sailmakers, were finished in time for the yacht club’s opening muster on Saturday.
Their names, carved onto the vessels by D G Farrar and Co., and taken from the colour finishes supplied by sponsor International Paints, had been chosen by the project’s keenest workers, who hoped the titles Red Rocket and Blue Flash would also reflect the skiffs’ performances.
Commodore Robert McPhail said: ‘We plan to use the skiffs in our beginners introduction programme and have been asked to organise rowing races at the Scottish Series in Tarbert at the end of May and again at our Traditional Boat Rally during the Seafood Festival at the beginning of July.’
The skiff launch took place at the start of Tarbert Loch Fyne Yacht Club’s open day, during which there was also dinghy sailing and keel boat races.
FORTY YEARS AGO
Friday May 4, 1984
Forest fires cause chaos
The dangers caused by the current good weather were highlighted this week with two potentially very serious outbreaks of forest fires in the Kintyre and Mid Argyll area, and fire brigade officials have issued urgent warnings about the dangers — one local senior fire official stating that he had never seen the grass so tinder dry.
The two outbreaks — one on Saturday and one on Monday were both caused by carelessly discarded litter, the fire brigade said this week.
Saturday’s fire at Lussa - which was fortunately contained before it spread to surrounding plantations, which could have proved disastrous — was started, it is thought, buy a broken bottle acting as a magnifying glass and Monday’s fire at Creachan west of Tarbert probably started when the grass was ignited by a carelessly discarded cigarette.
Monday’s outbreak near Tarbert was described by Mr Jack Willerton, fire officer at Campbeltown, as one of the most serious forest fires in the area for many years.
Six fire appliances attended the blaze - from Arrochar, Oban, Campbeltown, Tarbert, and Inveraray - and it took the firemen, with help from local forestry workers, over 10 hours to bring it under control.
The fire badly damaged an area of young woodland owned by the Scottish Woodland Owners’ Association, and their staff have been keeping a constant watch on the area to ensure that the fire does not start again, as they sometimes can.
Mr Willerton said that the blaze was probably started by a carelessly discarded cigarette, and he warned everyone who might be out and about to take extra care during the hot weather.
A less obvious, but no less dangerous, cause has been blamed for Saturday’s outbreak at Lussa.
Mr Willerton said that it appeared that this fire had been started by a piece of discarded broken glass acting as a magnifying glass, concentrating the sun’s strong rays and setting the tinder dry grass alight.
This fire was less serious, being contained on a patch of grass, but Mr Willerton said that it was only the quick response of the fire brigade which enabled the outbreak to be contained before it spread to a nearby area of woodland.
Mr Willerton’s calls for increased vigilance were echoed by Strathclyde Assistant Firemaster Hugh Hunter, who is in charge of fire prevention throughout the region.
He said that, over the three days at the end of last week, Strathclyde Fire Brigade attended 300 such outbreaks, or an average of one every 14 minutes.
SIXTY YEARS AGO
Tuesday May 5, 1964
Reynard a menace in Mid Argyll
Since 1942, the formidable total of 7,174 foxes and cubs have been killed in the area, the annual general meeting of Mid Argyll Fox Hunting Association was told at Lochgilphead on April 25 when the president, Mr Matthew H. Craig, was in the chair.
The members were told that last year their fox-hunter accounted for 163 foxes and 96 cubs, with brush money being paid for 57 foxes and 26 cubs, making a kill of 220 foxes and 122 cubs - a total of 342 for the year.
In addition, the fox-hunter killed 13 wild cats and 208 hooded crows.
Urging farmers to support the association in its work, Mr Craig, who was reappointed president, said there was no evidence of decline in the number of foxes in the area.
Expressing the hope that farmers not already in membership would come forward and bear their share of the upkeep of the association, Mr Craig said that the whole agricultural community derived considerable benefit.
Office-bearers were appointed as follows-President, Mr Matthew H. Craig, Barr; vice-president, Mr Allan M. MacKenzie, Ormsary; secretary and treasurer, Mr Dan A. Macinnes; com-mittee, Messrs Logan Richmond. Torran; Neil MeNeill, Dunamuck; James M. McNair, Ashfield; Duncan Lamont, Knock; D. J. D. Dixon, Kilbride; Hugh MacArthur, Kilmory: Lachlan L. Campbell, Daltote; and Mr George Dey (representing the Forestry Commission).
Payment of brush money at 10s per fox and 5s per cub will continue, with the levy on subscribers provisionally fixed at 27s per 100 sheep.
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