Fàilte! (Welcome!)

Fàilte! (Welcome!)
This blog is the result of my ongoing research into the people, places and events that have shaped the Western Isles of Scotland and, in particular, the 'Siamese-twins' of Harris and Lewis.
My interest stems from the fact that my Grandfather was a Stornowegian and, until about four years ago, that was the sum total of my knowledge, both of him and of the land of his birth.
I cannot guarantee the accuracy of everything that I have written (not least because parts are, perhaps, pioneering) but I have done my best to check for any errors.
My family mainly lived along the shore of the Sound of Harris, from An-t-Ob and Srannda to Roghadal, but one family 'moved' to Direcleit in the Baighs...

©Copyright 2011 Peter Kerr All rights reserved

Tuesday 18 March 2014

Listening For The Past

Shima, The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures, Volume 5 Number 1 2011 contains an essay by Cathy Lane with links to the audio pieces she composed as a result of the research she undertook:




I like to think of what I am trying to do as 'docu-music'...(which) can be defined as works using sound materials which have recognisable real world associations and roots...

The intention of docu-music is to build up a sense of meaning, history and place through sonic association in order to relate to the world outside the composition.”

Cathy's essay and accompanying compositions, 'Tweed' and 'On the Machair', provide an interesting read about (and artistic interpretation of) island culture.

Saturday 8 March 2014

HMS Shackleton/HMS Sharpshooter (1936-1965)

This was the survey vessel which, in 1958 (and 1960), came to the Sound of Harris to update the chart that had been made 100 years earlier.

The 1959 chart was published as a Revised edition of its 1859 predecessor, which surely is testament to the extraordinary skills of Captain H. C. Otter .
and the crews of 19thC survey vessels, including Captain FWL (Fred) Thomas.

HMS Shackleton was originally commissioned as HMS Sharpshooter but was renamed in 1953 in line with her new duties engaged in hydrographic surveying. She marked five datum points in Leverburgh, Harris and Bays Loch, Berneray using three cuts, a rivet (in Leverburgh) and a bolt (in Berneray).

A very full account of her history can be read here: HMS Shackleton.