Norrie and the Quarry

I was on the Island of Luing for much of the day , after a surgery on neighbouring Seil.

One of the things I did there was visit the  Atlantic Islands Centre for the first time.  I had been due to open the centre in June but I was ill and the task fell to my colleague the new MP for Argyll & Bute, Brendan O'Hara.  I promised at the time that I would get there this year, so it was a great pleasure to cross on the little ferry, the Belnahua (itself a reminder of the slate islands) and drive the short distance to Cullipool and what is a beautiful and fantastically situated building  (designed by Shauna Cameron who also designed the Visitor Centre on Lismore) beside an old flooded slate quarry and with an outlook to the sea.

I toured the building with the project director, Andrew Pinkerton and  Norrie Bissel and his wife Birget  (as my extra photo today shows).

Norrie - teacher, poet,  writer, historian, promoter of geopoetics and friend -  has been one of the mainstays of the campaign to establish the centre and I was pleased to be involved at various stages over the past four years with him and others in trying to secure and then hold onto various bits of funding from a variety of sources.

This is Norrie in front of the window  which looks out onto the quarry and which also illustrates the story of these remarkable places which were industrial centres in Argyll for generations but which natural forces (like storms and flooding ) and rising  competition  forced out of business over the course of a century or so. 

The exhibitions in the centre are of the highest standard , especially the local history room, and the little restaurant and cafe is excellent too.   My Constituency Manager Marie Claire and I had a most enjoyable lunch there with Norrie, Birgit, Andrew, Alastair & Zoe Fleming and the new manager Laura McIntyre talking about future plans. 

Despite the dreich weather it was a great day out and I hope to be back many times.  There are some exciting events  shaping up over the next year or so but the very committed board of volunteers hopes to keep the centre open over the winter, so it will be possible to visit at any time.