After the Rhoddies: The Castle Grounds and The State We’re In
I lived in Glasgow for 17 years and I always said I would never move back to Lewis. I remember the moment I changed my mind. I was out for a run in the Castle Grounds. This is a place […]
Willie McCallum pays tribute to father after sad end to competition
Hearts go out to piper Willie McCallum and his family after the sudden loss of his father at the end of the Donald Macleod Memorial Competition on Friday night. It had been an amazing day, with great piping and a […]
Donald Macleod Competition celebrates piping legend
The sound of the pipes will be ringing in the air tomorrow as eight of the best pipers in the world gather to celebrate one of Stornoway’s most famous sons in a unique competition. The Americans have The Donald — […]
Phil and Aly and Scottish Opera are returning
You can’t get very far into a discussion about the arts and culture scene in the Outer Hebrides without arriving at An Lanntair. In Gaelic, the name means the ‘lantern’ and it truly is a beacon for the arts in this […]
Scottish Opera magic at An Lanntair
The Scottish Opera night at An Lanntair is A Big Deal. Tickets sell out way in advance for what is always one of the most popular nights in the arts centre’s calendar. My first time seeing Scottish Opera in Stornoway […]
Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain on traditional music
First time I ever saw Phil and Aly play, it was 1998 and I was a baby reporter with the West Highland Free Press on Skye. They were playing a gig down in Sabhal Mor Ostaig, in the old barn, […]
Empowering young performers at the local Gaelic Mod
There was only one story in our house last week… Michael, five, went to the Mod! This, as many of you will know, is a great festival celebrating all that is fabulous in the Gaelic tradition and includes a whole […]
Adventurer Mark Beaumont launches Hebridean Way
Talk about a coup for the Outer Hebrides. Mark Beaumont, at one time the fastest man to have cycled around the world, launched the Hebridean Way Cycling Route by biking up through the isles in 24 hours. He was “amazed” […]
To Blog or Not To Blog?
I have been a journalist for a good few years now and have written about all manner of things in that time, some of them challenging. But the articles I have always struggled with most are the ones like this; the […]