Wednesday, 14 January 2009

A Rum deal

I am continuing my habit of mentioning events in the Small Isles as and when appropriate, like I did when we were still on BBC Island Blogging.

In the Isle of Rum, 100 miles south of here, residents are voting to take over management of certain amenities. Rum is an island, measuring 8 by 8 miles, showing a diamond shape on the map. It has some stunning scenery, with mountains rearing up to 2,800 feet about sealevel. It has been owned by government agency Scottish Natural Heritage (and its predecessors) since 1957, and was a study area for red deer for many years. The 17 adults who are eligible to vote are expected to agree to the takeover. Their plans include the establishment of 5 new crofts and the building of new housing, which would take the number of residents from 30 to 80. Following the clearance of Rum in the 1820s, it would certainly be a welcome boost of population.



Bullough Mausoleum, Harris, Isle of Rum



Dining Room, Kinloch Castle



Rum's main road
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9 comments:

  1. ALZ14 January 2009 at 13:47

    The picture of the Mausoleum is really lovely. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. mjc14 January 2009 at 13:56

    Puzzled, Arnish: where is there a sort of a table cloth partly covering the table? Curious.

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  3. Barney14 January 2009 at 14:37

    Arnish,
    We landed on Rum in 2008 and talked with the locals about the housing situation. This sounds like an excellent initiative. Who is funding it? As you probably know, Eigg seems to manage local government rather well but I have never been able to find out how.
    Mjc, obviously the dining room table is so long that the staff-in-residence only need a little bit of it..... or?

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  4. arnish14 January 2009 at 15:04

    If memory serves, the dining table had been in actual use the evening before my visit. They had not yet gotten round to clearing up. Who was dining? Guests at the hostel, currently in the castle.

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  5. Flying Cat 214 January 2009 at 15:33

    It looks a bit like an impromptu piece of curtaining.

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  6. Jill14 January 2009 at 15:58

    Not cleared up? You can't get the staff, you know. Not like in the old days... :-)

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  7. Barney14 January 2009 at 21:48

    Sorry, typo, 2007, not that it makes any difference to the end of the world.

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  8. Flying Cat 215 January 2009 at 13:39

    Damn! I didn't notice... Have you got a date Barney? It's just I may have a few things to tie up and round off before it happens.

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  9. Barney15 January 2009 at 17:49

    Do you mean a date with you, EffCee? Not that I am aware of.

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