Something completely different …
From dreaming spires to peat smoke lums...
STUDENTS from Oxford and France have swapped lecture halls for Auchindrain township to get handson experience over the summer.
IT’S FAIR to say that the damp of Argyll is something these young people have not been used to.
But just ask the three students and they will tell you they would not have missed their Auchindrain experience for the world.
For two of the students, 20-year-old Amy Perkis and George Bustin, both of whom are at Oxford University, their summer internship at Auchindrain Museum, near Inveraray, offers the chance to experience new things.
Classics scholar George, from London, said: ‘One of my hobbies is film-making, and that has been put to good use here at Auchindrain.’
The man to spot George’s potential as the museum’s very own film-maker was manager and director of the Auchindrain Trust, Bob Clark, who said: ‘I wanted to harness the skills George has to record moving images for use in tablets that visitors have access to when they first arrive. What we are aiming for is to bring the site to life and record some of the history all around us at Auchindrain.’
With experience in archive work, Amy has also been very useful to Bob and his team. ‘The experience at Auchindrain has been so diverse,’
said Dorset girl Amy, studying history.
‘As well as archiving, I have been taking the opportunity to research historical grafitti, and I hope to get to Kilmartin and over to Iona to see these places.’
But Amy, with an interest in theatre, has also been involved in the film-making. ‘It’s something I hadn’t done before, though I have directed some theatre and small-scale operatic productions. I have found it really interesting.’
The Oxford duo are joined by French agricultural student, Paul Samin.
Studying for a degree in agriculture at the Institut Polytechnique LaSalle Beauvais in northern France, Paul is here for a fourmonth period of practical experience.
The university prefers its farming students to gain experience in English-speaking places, so Argyll was the ideal choice.
As well as fencing, ploughing and doing any other jobs required, he is also preparing a report for the Auchindrain Trust on restoring the land to the way it might have looked when regularly worked by the residents of the township.
‘I am really enjoying it here, and there is so much variety of work,’ said Paul.
What does leave a little to be desired is the social life, the students admitted.
‘We don’t drive, and the bus service is not great, so we don’t get out to socialise that much,’ Amy explained.
But that is a small price to pay for the rich experience of working at Auchindrain, though Amy wasn’t quite so sure she enjoyed the midges so much.
‘We want to allow students the chance to gain life experience, while delivering value for the museum,’ continued Bob, ‘and I thing we have managed that with these young people.’