COLONSAY AND ORONSAY HERITAGE TRUST
URRAS DUALCHAIS ORASAIDH IS COLBHASAIDH
January 2011
Fàilte! / Welcome!
- to our series of newsletters which we will be producing quarterly from now on to keep you informed and involved in the Trust’s latest developments. A version of this newsletter was posted out to all Colonsay and Oransay residents in October 2010, but we hope it will be of interest to Colonsay folk and friends everywhere. For those of you who need reminding of the Trust’s activities on Colonsay and Oransay, here is a brief reminder of what the Heritage Trust is about.
Our aim is to work together with island residents and with ‘Colasachs’ everywhere to celebrate and promote the fascinating history and archaeology, magnificent environment and rich traditional language and culture of these small, but very special islands. There are many different ways to do this and we want you to be able to follow progress and feel part of the process.
Having vacated the Old Waiting Room at Scalasaig where we held regular temporary exhibitions for over fifteen years, we are now working towards something more permanent which will create an important legacy for future generations. The new centre proposed for land at Lower Kilchattan will ensure that a whole range of material relating to Colonsay and Oransay will be secured in one place and kept in a safe environment where it can be enjoyed by everyone: families, visitors, researchers, school children; in fact anyone who wants to find out more about the place, past and present, or who might have something of interest to contribute.
The proposal is to provide an introductory display, a series of temporary, changing exhibitions, a library, archive and reading room to house the expanding book collections, and display areas to show the growing number of objects and documents which continue to be donated to the Trust, and which are being kept ‘in trust’ for the island. As part of this we would wish to create our own website in due course so that the collections can be enjoyed in digital format from anywhere in the world, but that is for a next phase!
The good news since our letter went out in October is that the Colonsay Community Development Company has formally agreed to lease Colonsay and Oransay Heritage Trust a piece of community owned land at Lower Kilchattan. This option was put to the ballot and the great majority of CCDC members supported the proposal. So the opportunity to build a truly sensitive and appropriate centre is now an exciting and real possibility. Not only will it provide an invaluable resource, it will create opportunities for learning and for employment. Seasonal and part-time staff will be essential to make it succeed, and there may be other opportunities for involvement through partnerships or franchises.
As part of the Trust’s planning process we will be involving the local community through a series of dedicated ‘focus groups’ on relevant topics. The current financial climate will be a challenge to us, so it is important to have the support and goodwill of the community.
We are in the very early stages, but we are hopeful of raising sufficient funds from a wide range of sources over time. If any readers of this would like to assist us please feel free to contact us for more information or to offer your support in any way. Your local Trustees are Carol MacNeill, David Binnie, Rhona Robinson (Secretary) and Keith Rutherford (Treasurer). Other founder members and Trustees include Mary Carmichael, Alasdair McMorrine and Jane Robertson. We look forward to bringing you an update on our activities and further progress in the Spring.
For more formal and in-depth information on the Trust’s aims and objectives and its activities over the years, please take a look at the earlier section of this webpage. Look out for advance notice in the Corncrake and on this webpage of a two day event during the Easter holidays in April and to the publication of a collection of favourite Colonsay recipes! More information will be published in March.
Until then, let’s work together towards securing our island's past – and present - for the future.
Deagh dhùrachdan / Best wishes from us all.
