Bird competition winner

AARON IS ‘BIRDS OF LOCHABER’ WINNER

Iain Ferguson The May edition of Lochaber Life featured a competition ‘Carry on Nature – Birds of Lochaber’ which asked you to identify the birds (one was actually a mouse) featured in 10 pictures.

Thank you to all of who took the time a trouble to email their entries, but unfortunately there could only be one winner.

Ten-year-old Aaron MacLellan from Caol correctly named each pictures and his name was the first to be drawn out of the bag. Congratulations go to him, along with a superb book of Garden Birds which was kindly donated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Aaron, a pupil of St. Columba’s school took part in the competition as part of a home-schooling project set by his P6 teacher, Miss Anna Marshal, and like many of his classmates he enjoyed researching and naming the birds featured.

The answers were: 1) Bullfinch, 2) (Field) Mouse, 3) Starling, 4) Robin, 5) Feral or Urban Pigeon, 6) Blackbird, 7) Long Tailed Tit, 8) Collared Dove, 9) (House) Sparrow, 10) Blue Tit. Most people were absolutely right with their choices, so thank you again for taking time to send in your entries.

ARDNISH TRILOGY REVIEW

Rob Fairley Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s trilogy The Scot’s Quair is known to generations of schoolchildren who were introduced to Kincardineshire, The Mearns, through reading Sunset Song – though I suspect few completed all three books!

Angus MacDonald’s Ardnish Trilogy is in many ways the West Coast equivalent, though whereas Grassic Gibbons best book was the first, MacDonald leaves the best of his three until the end.

Ardnish, while containing all the minutia of historical research that MacDonald’s first two books do so well, this adds a personal metaphysical or spiritual conundrum. Donald John Gillies is on his death bed in Peanmeanach on Ardnish, he needs to make his last confession but the only priest available is his son. What he can confess to a priest but does not want to tell his much-loved son is the story behind this fine book.

In the two previous novels the Tarantino like blending of multiple stories and time frames is efficient but clunky, here however we have Donald John moving from his present but fading reality to remembering or dreaming back to his service and adventures in South Africa during the Boer War. It is masterful and works wonderfully. The stunning coup de théâtre at the end will bring tears to the readers eyes – do not, as a close friend does,

read the end first! MacDonald as yet may not quite be in the Grassic Gibbon class but Ardnish shows he is a fine storyteller, a superb historian and a writer whose work grows in stature.

FLASH FLOOD DEVASTATES LOCHAILORT CHILDREN’S CHARITY

Iain Ferguson The founders of a Lochailortbased children’s charity are facing an uphill struggle to restore their facilities after a flash flood washed away years of dedicated work.

John and Jan Bryden have devoted their lives to establishing the charity Kirsty’s Kids, named in memory of their 19-year-old daughter Kirsty who was killed in car accident not far from their home. It was always her intention to work with disadvantaged children and she had already spent time caring for 130 youngsters in Africa.

She raised the money for this trip herself and had planned further fundraising events to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people. To make sure her dreams were fulfilled, ex-policeman John and Jan travelled the world on Kirsty’s small motorbike and with assistance from police services in each country raised £100,000 to set up the charity.

Every penny raised then and since has been used to help children and their families through fully-funded respite care to just relax and have fun. For some these happy trips would be their last.

The house used by visiting families was flooded to a depth of two feet, protected by a thick wall, ‘luckily’ just completed by John two days before.

However, the gardens and buildings, specially designed for wheelchair users were totally destroyed or severely damaged. The water also carried off £1,000 worth of wood to be used in building a treehouse with a lift for wheelchairs to reach its heights.

Despite the devastation, the couple are doing all they can to avoid disappointing the many people due to stay in Lochailort and have been working day and night to try to restore as much as possible. A social media funding page set up by one of the volunteers

has so far raised £12,000, but estimates place the cost of the widespread destruction at around £150,000.

Despite all of this and battles with their insurance company, the couple and all of Kirsty’s Kids volunteers are trying to remain positive and ‘get on with it’ for the people who rely on them.

Words from one of them in a recent letter may explain why: “I really do appreciate all the nice things you have done for me. I love your hugs and your sense of humour. Your kindness knows no bounds.

“Thank you for listening to me and being so understanding of my illness. I may not always be here physically, but I will always be there with you in my heart”.

If you can help the charity in any way, please remember Kirsty’s Kids and the work they do.

Join us and over 37,000 students at Scotland’s largest learning community

We know that things are a little different right now and you may be wondering how this affects your options for studying with us in September.

As your local college and university partner, we want you to know that WE’RE HERE FOR YOU and we are ready to help you on your learning journey. We offer a full range of courses at whatever stage or level is right for you – and you’ll be joining one of the highest performing colleges in Scotland with our learners consistently reporting satisfaction rates of 97% or even higher.

Whether you join us at one of our 10 college centres or online from home, or a combination, you won’t feel alone as our staff support you every step of the way. Study in real-time, within an online classroom, in collaboration with fellow students and lecturers on a mix of interactive platforms.

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OR CONTACT US AT info.whc@uhi.ac.uk

West Highland College UHI is a company limited by guarantee (SC153921) with charitable status (SC024193)

McLell ans are here for you, when you need us the m ost.

THANK YOU!!..to all families who have, and continue to entrust us to care for their loved ones. Currently, funerals have been different in many ways but very memorable, and honouring those to whom we say our goodbyes. Many people who cannot normally attend the graveside or church, have expressed gratitude that our funeral processions have enabled them to pay their respects. McLellans want to thank our communities, for your loving and respectful support for all families who have lost loved ones in these difficult times. The clergy, and council graveside staff deserve a great deal of praise. We continue to be very grateful to all care, care home, community and hospital nursing and medical staff.

YOUR CHO ICE Families have the right to the funeral director of their choice, even if the death of a loved one is a police case and is attended by the police contracted undertaker.

MESSA GES OF SU PPORT Our staff are happy to pass on cards to families. Or to receive flowers on the morning of a funeral. Your heartfelt messages of support on our Facebook page are precious, thank you! You are also able to post messages of support on our website,under the notices section.

www.mclellanfunerals.co.uk

HEADSTONES & MEMOR IALS: new and RENO VAT IONS - The Highland craftsmen we use for our memorial work offer high quality stones and hand cut (not machine cut) lettering. We are careful to ensure that the quality of stone is superior, so that your choice will stand the test of time and weather.

DIRE CT CRE MAT ION - A very dignified and cost effective option, especially at present, when a memorial service may be planned at a later date. VIEW ING BY APPOINT MENT - Includes evenings and weekends. An opportunity for families and friends to spend peaceful and private time with a loved one. MORTUARY CARE - We have excellent facilities and experienced staff. On occasion, a family may wish to have a female family member dressed and prepared by one of our female staff, who have been trained to do this. BEREA VEMENT SU PPORT - We are here to support you through difficult times of grief, and we typically have a member of our team available on Tuesdays for this support. We can meet you at the office or by video or phone call. GATHER ING ROO M AT DUD LEY RD - When considering a ‘Celebration of Life’ gathering in the future, we have dedicated space for this if the gathering is for 30 people or less. A Minister, Priest, Celebrant or McLellans can preside. Smaller groups are currently possible in line with Covid guidelines. LOCHA BER FUNERA L PLANS - Plan ahead for peace of mind. We can arrange your wishes by phone, zoom, at the office or at your home. Our plans are administered by an FPA approved provider and trust. We continue to carry out full funeral services for other funeral plans as well. MEMOR IAL GIFTS & RE MEMBRAN CES - We have a wide range of jewellery and glass items that can be discussed before or after the funeral.

VIDEO MEMORY - At the family’s request, we are able to include this. It has been very popular and ideal to share with those unable to be present. THE McLELLAN TEA M’s PLED GE TO YOU

McLellans have an experienced team of six dependable, calm and caring people who are well known and respected in the Lochaber and surrounding areas. You will find that we arrive on time, are organised and efficient, with attention to detail and integrity. Your loved one will always be treated with dignity and care. You are our main focus, and you will receive experienced and helpful advice, with a quality of care that McLellans has upheld for almost 100 years. You will see we work hard to fulfill not just some, but all of these promises, which is why McLellans have a full team of dedicated people working together to ensure your wishes are met, and that your loved one is genuinely cared for. OUR SER VICES ARE AVAILABLE 7 DAYS A WEE K, 24 HOURS A DAY

My name is Susan MacMillan and I have been working as a Body Shop rep for 13 months.

I initially started it as a hobby and to get some extra income and I am now Area Manager in charge of a team of 25 with new recruits from Uist, Skye, Mull and even Kent.

All our products are 100 per cent vegetarian and vegan

friendly. We have products ranging from beauty, spa, home and body for both male and female. The Body Shop from home can post to clients anywhere in the UK as many sales are all online. Hosting parties is also a great way to meet new friends and hopefully once everything settles we can start our party nights.

I want to build an amazing team welcoming sales reps from all over the UK. It’s a great way to make friends in your community and earn an extra income from the comfort of your own home.

If this sounds like something you would like to do and you are over 18 and a UK resident please get in touch..

Have you seen the swifts?

Anna Feeney, RSPB They sleep, eat, and mate in the air, careen around rooftops, and migrate thousands of miles from Africa – they are the swifts! These incredible migratory birds visit the UK every summer, so there’s still time to marvel at them before they leave in late July or early August.

Their in credi ble journey

The swifts we see in the UK migrate from Africa, travelling up to 6,000 miles over forests, sea and the Sahara Desert – no easy feat for a bird that weighs about the same as a Cadbury’s Crème Egg! But their long, narrow wings make them well-adapted for the journey. They are the fastest birds in level flight with top speeds of nearly 70mph, and one swift carrying a tracker made the 3,000m journey from West Africa to the UK in just five days.

Refuelling on bugs

This takes a lot of energy, and the swift isn’t too picky about what it eats. In fact, they probably eat a wider range of species than any other British bird. When feeding their chicks, they pass it on in a ball of food, or ‘bolus’, that can contain anywhere from 300- 1000 insects and spiders!

A swi ft de cline

Swifts are struggling, with their numbers halving in the UK in just 20 years. After flying all the way from Africa, they may arrive in the UK to find their former nesting sites in old buildings and rooftop cavities destroyed. Insects are also declining in the UK, with moth numbers down a quarter since 1970 and butterfly numbers down by 17%, which might be making it harder for swifts to feed themselves and their chicks. There may also be any number of threats along their migration route.

Pictures by RSPB library

What can I do to hel p?

The good news is that there’s a lot you can do to help without even leaving your home:

If you see swifts swooping around, log them with Swift Mapper! By visiting www. swiftmapper.org.uk and providing information about your local swifts, scientists can better understand where they are nesting, what areas to protect, and where to provide new nesting sites. Guidebooks such as the RSPB Garden Birds book can you help you tell them apart from their fellow migrants, the swallow and house martin.

Give swifts a home in your garden by putting up a swift nest box! Check out the RSPB website for information on how to make one yourself, or you can always buy one ready-made from the RSPB shop or other outlets: https:// shopping.rspb.org.uk/.

Plant insect-friendly flowers to help swifts get the food they need.

All these actions add up, and, with help of organisations across the world dedicated to helping swifts, we can hopefully look forward to welcoming swifts back to the UK for years to come.

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ROASTED CHICKEN WITH SUN BLUSHED TOMATO, BROAD BEAN FRICASSEE AND JERSEY ROYAL POTATOES (Serves 4) CHEF STEWART MACLACHLAN, LOCHABER LARDER

4 Chicken breasts (skin on) 200g Sun blushed tomatoes 200g Broad Beans (shelled) 200g Peas (fresh or frozen) 1 bunch of Asparagus 500g Jersey Royal Potatoes (cooked and cooled) Handful of spinach (chopped) 100g Butter ½ tsp chicken stock

• METHOD •

Heat oven to 190°C Make a pocket under skin of chicken and stuff with tomato Heat oil in large oven proof frying pan on hob Place chicken skin side down in oil Cut the potatoes in half and scatter round chicken Brown chicken, then turn chicken and potatoes Add butter and place in oven for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked In a small pot, heat butter with a splash of water and chicken stock Chop asparagus and add to butter along with broad beans, peas and spinach to warm through Remove chicken from oven, rest for 3 minutes and carve Serve with Lochaber Larder sun blazed tomato and hazelnut pesto

THE BIKE KITCHEN - HELPING TO KEEP YOU CYCLING

The Fort William Bike Kitchen now has a permanent base in a newly built shed in Claggan, and in August Lochaber Environmental Group will be welcoming a new bike mechanic, funded by Paths for All Smarter Choices Smarter Places, to help deliver the Bike Kitchen activities.

Last year’s successful Adopt A Bike scheme will be resumed, off ering more restored bikes to new owners, along with bike repair workshops and guided ebike rides. The Bike Kitchen shed will also be home to our new Bike Tool Library, with bike tools available for you to borrow to help you keep your bike in good condition and running smoothly.

Our Bike Library continues to grow and will soon have fi ve electric bikes available for you to borrow, free of charge, for a few hours or a few weeks, whatever suits you. An ebike will help with your daily journey to work or the shops, so you don’t arrive exhausted, or will give you an extra boost if you are recovering from injury or illness.

As we emerge from lockdown we need to continue reducing

our carbon emissions and keep riding our bikes, rather than returning to our cars for short local journeys. If you don’t have a bike, or you want to improve your bike repair skills, the Bike Kitchen can help you.

The Bike Kitchen is funded by the Climate Challenge Fund as part of LEGs project ‘Low Carbon Lochaber’, Paths for All Smarter Choices Smarter Places, and Cycling Scotland. For more information about the Bike Kitchen activities visit www. lochaberenviro.org or email kate@lochaberenviro.org.uk

Pictures by Kim Ferguson

BIRD LADIES OF SPEAN BRIDGE

Iain Ferguson If a tree gets cut down and a nest of three young chicks falls out what would you do? Kim Ferguson in Spean Bridge was presented with that very dilemma and came up with an immediate, positive response – take them in and hand rear them.

When the nest fell out of the tree, it landed upright on the ground, with the chicks still inside. They were very young, certainly a long way from being able to look after themselves and in need of constant attention.

With no sign of the parents they would have died of starvation, but thanks to Kim these little Blackbirds are now very much alive, well and regular visitors to her house.

For many years Kim watched her mum, Ann, look after all sorts of animals in need of help. People would bring them to her knowing that she would look after them and gain their trust thanks to her great natural affinity with all creatures.

Had it not been for lockdown with time to stay at home Kim said she would probably have had to pass them on to her mum who now lives a just a few miles away, still quietly and tirelessly assisting wildlife in trouble back into nature.

However, even calling on the years of experience gleaned from Ann, getting them through their early stages was no easy matter, with Kim spending a lot of time, day and night keeping them safe, warm and fed. As the replacement ‘Mother bird’ she also had to nurture them through the many stages in a young birds life from nest to flight.

Anyone who follows Kim’s Facebook page will know the sheer time and effort she put in to looking after the tiny charges alongside her own pets.

At first they stayed in their

nest, but inside a cage so they could be kept safe and warm, with Kim feeding the constantly open beaks with a syringe containing a mixture with eggs, which contain the nutrients very young birds need.

In a very short time the youngsters found their feet and were hopping on to the perches, flexing their wings.

Little birds can grow up very quickly and they soon moved on to variety of food – cat and dog food, mince and mealworms mixed together all specially prepared by Kim

who carefully fed them with chopsticks.

As they grew Kim tried to encourage them to develop as they would in the wild. gradually replacing hand feeding by hiding mealworm and grubs in an earth filled cat litter tray, then leaving them alone to forage for food. Nature also took its course when it was time to fledge and the young birds managed to learn this largely on their own.

Now as young adults and perhaps a bit like human children they do ‘their own thing’ but still manage to

hang around the house in the company of ‘mum’.

Kim said: “I can shout them and nearly always, at least one of them will appear and if I look round the garden I can usually find them.

“If it is a nice day and I am having a coffee in the garden they come down and sit on the table. They are losing some of their tameness and I just let them get on with, although I always make sure though that there is food for them so I think they will always know where home is.”

In Loving Memory of

GLADYS MASSIE 1931 - 2020 A much loved wife, mum, sister, granny, great granny and a great friend. After successfully completing a 4 year apprenticeship in Esslemont & Macintosh, Aberdeen, one of Scotland’s most famous department stores she worked for over 50 years on Fort William High Street. A real people person and an exceptional medal winning ballroom dancer. Forever loved and missed.

In Loving Memory of

ANDREW COKE 1933 - 2020 A much loved husband to Jean and dad to Catriona and Gillian, grandpa and a friend to many. A talented musician and accordion player, keen gardener and a devoted Elder of Nether Lochaber Parish Church, Onich, Sadly missed by family, friends and his dogs who he so dearly loved.

In Loving Memory of

MARION MACRAE 1927 - 2020 Loving wife of the late George, adored mother, Granny and Great Granny. Marion was born in Spean Bridge, and brought up in South Uist. She married George in 1957 and they raised their family in Knoydart before returning to Spean Bridge where she lived happily for nearly 40 years. She will be remembered for her kindness to many and will be missed by her friends but especially by her family. A wonderful,loving mother and grandmother, she will never be forgotten and always loved. Rest in Peace.

In Loving Memory of

CHRISTINA (NANA MOON) LANDER 1963 - 2020 With love we remember Nana Moon. A long serving employee of the Highland Getaway, Kinlochleven. A much loved Mum, Granny Sister and best friend, so dearly missed.

In Loving Memory of

SALLY JOHNSTONE (MALARKEY) A much loved and missed mum. Time cannot heal the heartache, or stop a silent tear, it won’t take away all the memories of one we loved so dear.

In Loving Memory of

KERRY STUART 1991 - 2020 With eternal memories we remember Kerry. A loving wife and soulmate to Colin, a much loved sister, step-daughter, auntie and a caring friend to so many. Kerry loved all creatures great and small and was loved by everyone that knew her. Rest In Peace.

In Loving Memory of

JAMES BRADY 1932-2020 In loving memory of James, a gentle and caring man, husband to Betty, Dad to Kathleen and Grandpa to Grace and Constance. James was well-known, respected and loved by many in the Plantation and throughout Lochaber. May he rest in God’s everlasting peace.

In Loving Memory of

PAM MATHESON 1943 - 2020 A loving wife to Ken, a wonderful mum to Eileen, Alistair, Duncan and Fiona and a much loved nana and great nana. Pam will be greatly missed by all her family and friends she will never be forgotten and will live forever in our hearts.

In Loving Memory of

MARLENE MONTGOMERY 1953 - 2020 Marlene was born in 1953, and lived all her life in Kinlochleven. Over the years Marlene worked in the Coop, in Glencoe hotel, in school catering, as an assistant registrar, in Heatherlee Court but latterly she and Kenny had a taxi business - Rob Roy Private Hire. She loved to meet and chat to everyone she met. Marlene took early retirement to care for Kenny when he took ill in 2018. He sadly passed away in May 2019. Marlene was surrounded by loving family, friends and neighbours and she will be missed by everyone.