Why I Love Skye

 The Home Office refused my application to remain in Scotland, even though I told them what an asset I am to the country. Can you imagine?! So off I flew last week to the United States, where I could be a fish out of water but I am still on Skye in my heart, so here is my Springtime on Skye.

In April, my friend Ann let me have a caravan on Tote, above Loch Snizort Beag, just across the loch from where I joyously spent the winter. Here are two of my views. The one on the left is the ubiquitous clothes line, which I never seemed to get the hang of...I saw clothing flying on lines all over the moors and lochs and townships and I have to assume something dried, as folks I talked to seemed to think nothing of it...of course, there is often the slight sour scent of old wet washcloth on some people--but not on my friends! I do think they are delusional about their drying lines.

Spring, I understand from Jennifer at the West Highland Free Press, is still upon the isle. Though I have only been away not quite one week, I have gone into summer mode and dread the heat, even though Portland
is supposed to have a rainy climate...where is it?
Sweat and two showers a day whisper...'summerrrrr' above my left ear.

 I was lucky to get so many shots of the pretty spring flowers on Skye.

I love bamboo and at my old home in the Rockies, I planted it, trusting what they said about it spreading...I said 'oh yay, I hope it does'...but it didn't. Wah. 

 Just walked around the isle snapping pretty flowers.

  Took a lovely drive off of the island to Attadale Gardens. My first thrill was to meet Nicky Macpherson, who owns and designed the gardens. I told her 'what a privilege' and mentioned that I wrote about her and the gardens in my book, Gimme the Song O' the Pipes. She is a gracious and very pretty woman of mature age and she was just taking a break from her heavy, springtime gardening schedule. Thrills happen every day of my life!

I have included here some of the sculptures in her gardens. The roe deer (above) crept upon me and we both startled each other. Hamish Mackie is the artist.

Alexander Jones carved the Chameleon (below) out of lime wood and cast him in bronze.

Profusions of bluebells were everywhere on Skye and in Scotland, as I made my way out of the country.

Above: 'Bream' in Attadale Gardens is a creation in pink dolomite by Kapasa Banda of Zambabwe.

 I actually drove to Attadale to
see the blue poppies--this is the only one I saw! Heavenly.

 I caught some children in Dunvegan, practicing their safety signals across the loch from McLeod's Tables, left.

 One of my many self-portraits, hopefully too small to scrutinize!

 Heading down the west side of Skye, toward the Cuillin, with Loch Bracadale on my right.

 My last little trek up from Sligachan was peppered with French teens passing me and me passing them. I practiced on them: 'Pas de probleme', 'Excusez moi' et 'C'est une bonne journee, n'est pas?'...oh yeah, my German and Dutch weren't so good but I faked it, by generally keeping my mouth shut...yes, me!

Good friends made it so hard to leave. Sob. Dawn is taking care of my sweet little Astra, Patience.

Stewart and Anne saw me off and received my second suitcase a few days later from an Edinburgh post office...consequences of my overly optimistic packing. I'd rather have it on Skye, waiting for my return. 

The Labrador puppy is Stanley--he kisses better than any guy I know and he lavished them upon me.

Photos of places and things that I love. The Fairy Glen, mid-winter, above.

I have a thing about gates. Sooner or later, I will do a post on Skye gates.

Uig Bay on a winter's day.

Edinbane Park Is a joy for mom and dad and kids alike. Dawn is the perfect example of motherhood.

Coral Beach, its turquoise water and mini islands are favorites of photographers and walkers.

Home Office wasn't happy that I was helping out at Crossroads Charity but it was so much fun, I'd never take it back...great employees, volunteers, community support and visitors to the island make it work and I've been volunteering since I was sixteen--wouldn't know what to do without it! 

Peter, the big cheese volunteer, with a certain reporter from the West Highland Free Press.
Two days before I left Skye, I was served tea and crumpets by Claire Macdonald, at a Marie Curie benefit tea under the trees at St. Columba's Church. I know we're not supposed to get excited by the laird concept any more, but I decided it was serendipity that this cook of Kinloch Lodge fame and wife of the Clan Donald High Chief spoiled me a wee bit!

Island townships are receiving defibrillators, one at a time. This was a neighborhood training session at Skeabost--young and old, we all took our turns and became pros at saving lives.

The Fairy Pools are a beautiful surprise on the way to the Cuillin's Sgurr an Fheadain.

 Me lovin' it all - an early March day so warm, I could wear a light cotton skirt... and my little blue kitchen in my cottage on Snizort Beag.




Skye Gathering Hall

 More that I love...Portree Bay, above...

I haven't seen a sheep in Portland yet...

 Remnants of the Clearances are all over the island...

 Castle Duntulm has an amazing prospect...Lewis and Harris are far off on the horizon...


...Skye roads are sublime.

Springtime on Skye is an explosion of babies...beware the roads...the good thing is, lambies and calves are not jaded yet and will run from the road at the sight of humans or automated creatures.

I am enamored of the history here. The McLeod castle of Dunvegan has this marvelous sea gate off of the loch. Below this, the Portree Skye Quilters' representation of the Battle of the Braes, for the famous Great Tapestry of Scotland, which chronicles 12,000 years of Scottish history. Notice the lassies throwing rocks...the women of this community beat the tar out of the bad guys (policemen and soldiers). This gives me faith that I shall overcome the 'powerful ones'.

Cheery, til we meet again.

Poet Don Paterson: Not a Calling, a Diagnosis!

Charlotte with Tony, one of our fellow writers.

As we waited for Don Paterson to arrive from a morning gig at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, Charlotte Johnson celebrated her last day as president of the Reading Room by indulging her taste buds with a yummy cone in the bar of Skeabost Country House Hotel. The rest of us had tea and cookies I brought in case of the munchies--and we had them! We were gathered to partake of what turned out to be a gem of a poetry workshop, some hours before the Reading Room evening meeting at the end of April. Yes, it was a month ago and as is the case recently, I am

Don Paterson at the head of the table: 'Try to converse in iambic
pentameter. It's much easier to do with a gin and tonic in your hand!'

remiss with my postings. My mind has been twiddled by dealings with the Home Office
and at writing time, I am in Edinburgh waiting to pick up my passport from immigration officials and take off for the U.S. of A. But as I've said before, that is another posting! Just wait til I've stopped crying.

From our patio location, I could look across Loch Snizort Beag and up the hill to Tote and my little pink caravan I had been offered for a month, by my friend, Ann. It was like having a workshop in my own backyard.

Margaret, Beverly, Charlotte, Val, Kathy and Tony.

Our good bud Don is an astute editor and teacher, thus we at the workshop were much better off as poets when we dispersed. I have all kinds of tidbits written in my little silk book: 

'Stick it in the title - then it relieves the poem of having to mention it!'            

'Identify the intention of the poem, then see the way it is doing and not doing it.'

'Is the word working? What is the line doing? What we're trying to do with the poem is being memorable.' 

'Fuzziness gives readers problems, when you could have told them. Is it literal?' 

'Emphasize but be careful of typography. You can literally do what you want, but what are you risking?' 

'If you are making a metaphorical move, be sure the reader knows.' 

'With hanging lines, the phrase can take a battering.'

'Try it in quatrains - makes it tighter, to move stuff it doesn't need - less is more.' 

'Show, not tell, but be careful of lots of concrete descriptions. What you're trying to do is prompt the feelings. The reader is concerned with his own feelings, so write with the feeling - provoke the feeling.'

'Sing your poetry!'

Don Paterson was introduced to the Reading Room audience by incoming president, Linda Henderson, with a list of impressive awards. Don said, 'It's a funny thing about poetry readings...I hate them and I'm just drunk enough to admit it,' though he said he loved one because of the introduction: 'A marvelous introduction - better than the poems.'

Still, the credits make you want to go and stick your head in the oven...this guy who stands at the blackboard at the University of St. Andrews has received the 2008 OBE, 2010 Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, TS Eliot Prize, Forward Prize, Whitbread Poetry Prize, Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the English Association. He is also Poetry Editor at Picador MacMillan. He does music too...look up his website at www.donpaterson.com.

Doesn't he look like he has an attitude?
Folks didn't realize we had an agreement--I was to let him know
when I was going to shoot him...okay Don, NOW!

   More on the meeting: It was an occasion for accolades, hugs and tears, as Charlotte Johnson slid over for Linda Henderson, amid the gift presentation and verbal love tokens for the job well done. Charlotte told members that the highlight of her stint was Anthology - Words from an Island that the group produced: 'The reality is it's beginning to make money, thanks to all the artists.' She continued, 'I have to say as outgoing chair - I cannot stress enough - what a great committee we have. They're brilliant...and the high caliber of writers we're attracting... I'm also very grateful to Sarah Pentland for her work over the past two years.'

Linda Henderson is the brave new president of The Reading Room on Skye.

...and me, I'm missing the May meeting tonight, with Linda Cracknell and her just published book, Doubling Back. Boo hoo. I will continue Angel on Skye, because no matter where I roam my heart and soul are on the island. Feel free to send me info on what's happening.

Mandy Haggith Charms the Reading Room

Maoilios Caimbeul (Myles Campbell) and Mandy Haggith after a
spellbinding feast of tree poems in English and Gaelic.

It's a joy to be back on my my blog, Angel On Skye, after a long holiday and struggles with applications to remain here. More on that later but I am remiss, having promised myself to do a post on a wonderful event I attended in early February...so here goes, glad to be here!

The Reading Room presented environmental activist writer/poet, Mandy Haggith, in a late winter meeting on Skye, at the Skeabost Country Hotel on Loch Snizort Beag (incidentally a lovely historical stop for afternoon tea or dinner--see photos on my previous posts). 

Haggith introduced Into the Forest: An Anthology of Tree Poems, a book which she edited while working on her project, A-B-Tree, celebrating the link between trees and writing. Certain trees or shrubs are associated with every letter of the Gaelic alphabet and I'm not sure if anyone else could make it as interesting as Mandy does. Her extensive education, novels and books, and life path through collaborations and activism give her an assured demeanor and guaranteed an intriguing exchange of information of that winter's eve. 

The writer lives on a Lake Roe croft in Assynt, Scotland. She says, 'When I say I live in the most beautiful place in the world, most people nod. On Skye, they all say, "Yeah!"'

Her favorite tree is the Rowan, which is associated with the second letter in old Gaelic, Luis, from the Norse 'raun', meaning 'charm' or 'spell'. 'The Vikings thought the first woman came from the Rowan, the man from the Ash,' explains Mandy. She has so many curious, silly, intriguing and delicious tidbits about trees and things, you must check her out.

The selection of poems, chosen from works by poets of various nationalities, was made even more memorable by the participation of Maoilios Caimbeul, who followed some of Mandy's English versions with readings in Gaelic. 

Mandy Haggith is full of stories, anecdotes and hilarious quips and if you like trees, or bears, or anything in the natural world, I recommend that you search out this fascinating lady. Her blog is at www.cybercrofter.blogspot.co.uk  or search just by name. She's out there, in more ways than one!

Walkers Step it Up on Skye!

A gale of a day, with trees leaning and stinging rain,
will never deter this group of diehards.

Tramping over the hills on Skye is nothing new. There are so many intrepid walkers here, it might seem odd if you don't froth at the mouth without your daily dose of fresh air and leg work...but I find keeping a date with a group of fellow enthusiasts once a week is a social engagement that rewards me with much more than my own company.

Next to singing, there is nothing I like better than to walk and if I walk, I am usually talking to myself. Too many hours at home see me introspecting, meditating, and generally being silent as tombs. As noted in other posts, it is not unusual to see me grasping desperately at the chance to converse with sheep, cattle, chickens, dogs, cats, birds and any critter who passes my way--'Carpe' is my walking motto: carpe dog, carpe tree, carpe anything that moves, and blether, blether, blether. How rare to have a group of humans with which to share general information, personal stories, and even troubles. I have also accumulated a valuable cache of local history from my fellow walkers.

Just lean into it, ladies.

Partners for Wellbeing (PfW) are a registered charity that is supported by the National Health Service, Paths for All, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Inverness Common Good Fund.  PfW recruits volunteer walk leaders, who are trained to run weekly health walks in local communities in the Highlands. On Skye, there are groups in Lochalsh, Dunvegan and Portree. Sue Wood, of Roskhill, is our trusty leader in Portree and Dunvegan.

There is no lack of beautiful walks on Skye and they always end with a warm tearoom and hot cuppa something...and of course, the chatter of beautiful birds revelling in their strong bones and muscles, clarified brain power, and relaxed attitudes.

If you want to save your marriage, plump up your skin, and feel beautiful, start walking!

Our Step It Up Highland leader, Sue Woods, is second from right.

Step it Up Highland news and photos are on PfW's excellent website: www.pfw.org.uk


Bring your fellow or any companion that loves the outdoors and step up your life!