Bridge over the Atlantic to Seil and Easdale Argyll Scotland
Bridge over the Atlantic to Seil and Easdale. A short video of my trip to two of the slate islands and passing over the famous bridge over the Atlantic. Both Seil and Easdale along with Luing and other islands where at the centre of the slate industry in Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries.
It was an overcast day but these islands have a distinctive landscape and atmosphere. A mixture of industrial landscape and the stunning coastal scenery of the West Coast of Scotland.
More videos of my travels around Scotland hopefully on my Triumph Bonneville T100 but also by car, bicycle and hill walking are here on You Tube or at:
bonniescotlandtours.com
Islander, A New Musical
Tickets:
Helen Milne Productions in association with Mull Theatre present
Islander - A New Musical
Eilidh has never left her island. Every day is the same. Same chores, same people, same conversations. She stands on the cliffs and dreams of the Bigland over the sea.
Then one day a strange girl from faraway arrives on the Island - and with her, events that will change Eilidh's life forever.
Boldly exploring themes of conflict, migration and identity, Islander is for everyone 8 years and older. Blending dramatic action, epic storytelling and a cappella song, the performers live-record and layer their voices with looping technology to create a feast for the ears and imagination.
Supported by Creative Scotland
Cast
Bethany Tennick - Eilidh
Kirsty Findlay - Arran
Creative Team
Directed by Amy Draper
Written by Stewart Melton
Music & Lyrics by Finn Anderson
Assistant Director - Kate Nancy Stevens
Workshop Facilitator - Alasdair Satchel
Production Assistant - Luke Morley
Company Stage Manager - Claire Litton
Publicity Design - Madison Clare
PR - Storytelling PR
Producer - Helen Milne
TOUR DATES
Mull Theatre, Isle of Mull | 31 August | 7PM
Iona Village Hall, Iona | 4 September | 7PM
Bunessan Village Hall, Isle of Mull | 5 September| 6.30PM
Atlantic Island Centre, Luing | 7 September| 7.30PM
Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine | 8 September| 2.30PM
Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock | 9 September|
Alhambra Theatre, Stirling | 11 September | 7PM
Paisley Arts Centre, Paisley| 13 September| 7.30PM
Carmichael Hall, Giffnock | 14 September| 6.30PM
The Byre Theatre, St Andrews | 15 September | 7.30PM
Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh | 16 & 18 September |11AM & 2.30PM
The Anatomy Rooms, Aberdeen| 19 September | 7PM
James Milne Institute, Findhorn | 21 September | 7PM
Lyth Arts Centre, Wick | 22 September | 6.30PM
Eden Court, Inverness| 23 September | 5PM
Aros Community Centre| 25 September | 7PM
Fochabers Public Institute| 26 September | 7.30PM
Eastgate Theatre| Peebles| 29 September | 2.30PM
CREATIVE TEAM REVIEWS
★★★★ Time Out (Critic's Choice) Ingenious revival...Amy Draper's extraordinarily sensual production... deserves massive praise Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World
Usagi Yojimbo 'Stewart Melton's loose, funny adaptation... a seasonal treat' ★★★★ Time Out (Critic's Choice)
★★★★★ Writer Finn Anderson has truly come into his own... with quality writing, a beautiful musical score, vocal harmonies that send shivers down the spine ...this is a musical which hits the spot in some style (Broadway Baby on Alba)
Old Photographs Easdale One Of The Slate Islands Firth of Lorn Scotland
Tour Scotland wee video of old photographs of Easdale, Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Èisdeal, one of the Slate Islands, in the Firth of Lorn. Once a centre of the British slate industry, Easdale had a community of more than 500 working as many as seven quarries, some of which extended to 300 feet below sea level. Easdale slate helped to build major cities of the British Empire and can still be seen on rooftops as far afield as Melbourne in Australia, Nova Scotia and Dunedin in New Zealand and Dublin, Ireland. The great storm of 1850 flooded most of the quarries. Lacking any means of pumping the water away, the slate industry on the island more or less came to an abrupt end. By the early 1960s, the population had dwindled to only four people and the island appeared doomed. Descendants of the original quarrymen, along with others from around the world, have moved to Easdale to create a model of island regeneration. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day
Oban
Oban
Your first view of Oban is one you are unlikely to forget. From the north, you glimpse this bustling port from the top of the 'Bealach-an-Righ'. As you sweep down the hill towards the expanse of the bay, the view opens up before you and one begins to appreciate why Oban has developed into Scotland's most popular west-coast holiday town.
Read about the history of the town below and explore the rest of the site to find out more about this beautiful area of Scotland.
Beyond Oban (little bay in Gaelic - Scotland's ancient Celtic language) lie the islands of the Inner Hebrides: Kerrera, which protects the town from Atlantic storms; the low, green island of Lismore; majestic Mull, and the granite mountains of the Morvern peninsula. Beyond them, the sacred island of Iona, Coll, Colonsay and Tiree.
Oban today has a resident population of 8,500 and is the unofficial capital of the West Highlands - the Gateway to the Isles - however it has recently become better known as The Seafood Capital of Scotland. The panoramic views of the mountains, lochs and islands which have captivated artists, authors, composers, and poets for centuries are as striking now as they were when Dunollie Castle, a ruined keep which has stood sentinel over the narrow entrance to the sheltered bay for around six hundred years, was the northern outpost of the Dalriadic Scots.
It is no surprise to find Oban in the 21st Century remains a magnet for travellers from all over the world. The town's present day popularity owes much to the Victorians, and as early as 1812, when the Comet steamship linked Oban with Glasgow, the town played host to intrepid travellers touring Staffa - the inspiration for Mendelssohn's Hebridean Overture - and Iona - home of Scottish Christianity since St Columba stepped ashore in AD563.
Indeed once Oban had the royal seal of approval from Queen Victoria, who called it one of the finest spots we have seen, the town's destiny as an endearingly enchanting holiday destination was as firmly set as the lava columns of Fingal's Cave in Staffa.