It was a pleasure to meet Andrew Tibbles and Mark Craig from Maklab last week, who have been helping us create plans for two bell forms which will be created at Ratho Forge later this week. Maklab is a charity focussed on “providing resources for people from all backgrounds, of all ages and all abilities to use physical making as a tool for social empowerment, regeneration, economic growth and social capital”. It’s an amazing resource as is the online project Make Works.Read more

At the close of our time on Lewis, An Lanntair hosted an open conversation between ourselves and Alastair McIntosh. Alastair is a Scottish writer, academic and activist. He was brought up in Leurbost on the Isle of Lewis and has written widely about spirituality, human ecology and land reform. After an introduction to our work and the Re Soundings project, Alasdair spoke about the impact of the reformation on the spirituality of the Hebrides and questions soon followed. It was aRead more

With its stone font from the Flannan Isles and a Medieval sister church at Eorpie, Ness, St. Peter’s covers a long period of religious history on the island. We spent a very enjoyable and informative time with Reverend Terry Taggart and Marion Mackay from the church’s Ministry Team talking about the history of the bell at St. Peter’s and it’s current use as part of the church’s daily life. The bell came from the Medieval church of St Lennan’s, nowRead more

Our Sunday last week was spent on the shores of Geirinis, overlooked by the MOD missile testing site and Our Lady of the Isles, a 30 foot high sculpture of the Virgin Mary, by Hugh Martin Lorimer. The sculpture was commissioned in 1957 by Canon John Morrison, the local parish priest in response to concerns that proposals from The Ministry of Defence for a large missile testing range and associated military facilities in the area would undermine the island’s culture,Read more

As we visit sites such as Tigh a’Bheannaich, The Blessing House, in Uig and the further westerly site of Taigh nan Cailleachan Dubha, The House of Black Old Women, we’re noticing the history of the MOD’s presence in the Lewis landscape. The abandoned MOD site at Aird Uig, Gallan Head, clearly visible from Tigh a’Bheannaich, was a top secret radar station established 60 years ago as part of NATO’s early warning system for Soviet submarines and aircraft. The Gallan HeadRead more

A break in the weather and we were off to Eilean Fir Chrothair The Island of the Men of Crotar, a tiny island which lies about 800 feet off Bearnaraigh Beag, Little Bernera. Under the steady hand of Donald Macaulay the journey took about 20 minutes by rib and we landed on the east side of the island. Jim Crawford, who has made a lifetime study of bothan or beehive sites on Lewis, took us to the putative remains ofRead more

Re Soundings – The Carloway Bell About 5 miles west of Shawbost is the village of Carloway. Well known for its impressive broch, Dun Carloway, Carloway is also home to one of the few church bells on Lewis. There was a warm welcome to Carloway Free Church from Rev. Thomas Davis and his wife Una, on a wet Friday afternoon at their open day. There was time to chat to members of the congregation about the project and the afternoon endedRead more