FROM OUR FILES
TEN YEARS AGO Friday February 2, 2010 New start for Keil Hotel
Water, wood and a tub of whole grain mustard – all that is left inside Keil Hotel, Southend, but after lying derelict for two decades, a father and his two sons have decided to take on the task of bringing it back to life.
Dunaverty’s Donnie McLean bought the Keil Hotel and along with his sons Alasdair and Oliver is looking to renovate the existing building, hopefully creating jobs for the area and bring Southend back to life.
Although structurally sound, the Keil is listed as a ‘building at risk’ on the Scottish Register.
A survey at the end of last year described it as being in ‘very poor condition’ due to exposure to the elements over the years. This has not daunted the trio, who have started the slow process of turning this run-down building into a successful family business.
Donnie said: ‘Although we have no definite plans for the old hotel yet, with guidance and help from the Business Gateway team and other agencies, we will, hopefully, not only manage to save a significant building at risk, but get it back in use again thereby creating jobs and boosting the local economy.’
Whilst clearing out the rubble and remains of rooms, the family discovered some unusual objects including a pair of surgical scissors and jar of wholegrain mustard.
Since son Oliver was a young lad, he has always dreamt of doing up the hotel, and little did his father know that when they purchased it, his dream was one step closer to coming true.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Friday February 10, 1995 Battling bus man says he’ll fight on
Last week council officials chained up the gates to Ess Bee’s depot at Bengullion Road and police swooped on Ess Bee and rival West Coast Motors buses while they were dropping off children at Campbeltown Grammar school. One of the Ess Bee’s buses was found to have a faulty brake light.
Argyll and Bute District Council chained up the gates at Bengullion Road because it said that Ess Bee had no permission to use the site as a bus depot.
Ess Bee then cut down the fence next to the gate to give it access to the depot.
But Mr Smith claims he has the backing of the public in his efforts to introduce competition to bus services in Kintyre.
Lanarkshire-based Ess Bee was brought in by the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (SPTE) to run several subsidised services in Kintyre which had previously been operated by Campbeltown-based West Coast Motors.
FIFTY YEARS AGO Thursday February 5, 1970 Pair-trawl controversy - a year on...
I believe the fishermen of Carradale are genuinely perturbed by the damaging effect this form of fishing will possibly have on the Clyde herring stocks. Of course, professional jealousy could be a factor in the ring-net fishermen’s opposition to the pair-trawl.
The frustration of the Tarbert and Carradale ring-net fishermen can be easily imagined just by considering the success of Irish and East Coast trawlers in Clyde waters, where they nightly fish up, from under the noses of the locals, hundreds of crans of herring. The ring-netters are having to make do with 10 and 20 crans of herring per pair.
I talked to Archie Paterson on Friday night, standing by the wheelhouse of the Harvest Queen. In the long nights of winter when the nets lie unwetted on the stern and the black sea looks like offering nothing, fishermen have little else to do but talk.
We watched the 80-ft long trawlers shooting and hauling in their big nets with lights blazing. Archie pointed towards them and said: ‘There is no competition in it. We can only stand by and look on.’
One could attribute that remark to professional jealousy. I prefer to believe that it was an unequivocal statement of fact: that the pairtrawl is a more advanced instrument than the ring-net is: that the boats must, of necessity, fish more successfully than the smaller boats, which cost comparatively less to run.
But he talked of the future. And through his conversation, like an ugly festering vein, there ran a streak of pessimism.
Now, I know that the fisherman is a downto-earth sort of fellow and is seldom guilty of unjustifiable pessimism.
His pessimism is a product of rational observation: it is seldom motivated by dishonest reasoning or by sheer self-pity.
The fisherman is one of those rarities of modern society – a cheerful worker, and even when things are running badly for him, he can see a brightness over the horizon, a better week to come.
ONE-HUNDRED YEARS AGO Saturday February 7, 1920 Sparks and flashes
An organ recital will be held in Longrow Church on Tuesday night, when the Rev. B. B. Blackwood B.D. will be the soloist.
As a result of last week’s storms the bell buoy at Patterson’s Rock, off Sanda Island drifted a bit and mariners were warned to note the fact.
Three boys who were caught red-handed stealing iron from the railway were before Bailie Campbell on Monday and were put on probation for six months.
The local edition of Bill Sykes who has been in evidence of late is still undetected. His latest ‘job’ was in a business office from which about £10 is reported to have been cleared. Moral – don’t leave anything in the till.
A Glasgow pressman who ran against the Duke of Argyll in the Mitchell Library last week describes him as looking exactly like several thousands of the citizens of Glasgow, the only difference being that he did not put on quite so much side.
Campbeltown Comrades of the Great War have a diversion tonight which should be interesting. Rev. C. V. A. MacEchern, M. A. is going to entertain them with a talk which he describes as ‘An hour with the Jocks.’ The meeting takes place in the Argyll Drill Hall.
A correspondent who has been pondering over things wonders if it would not be advisable to shut down the gasworks at Millknowe and make use of the natural gas that is being generated in the Town Council Chambers. If he is an expert, does he consider the quality of sufficient illuminating power?
The vigorous onslaught begun last week on the drains in Longrow came to a sudden stop after a few days’ activity. It is understood that the contractor has found himself up against a bigger job than he anticipated and is dissatisfied with the terms of his contract. The matter has been referred to the engineer.
January was a tempestuous month all through and made its exit in a whirling blast on Saturday night. February has been making noble efforts to improve the weather, with a little success, but the good days this week had a job holding their own. Wednesday came out with the first spring-like touch, and the moonlight at night had a very pretty effect.
Dancing is the popular social expression now-a-days, and the local Post Office employees fell into line with a ‘hop’ in the Town Hall last Friday night. The function was highly successful and enjoyable. Mr Chas. Keith was M.C., the music was supplied by Messrs Hogg (piano), Smillie (violin), and McKiernan (cornet), while the buffet was in the hands of Mrs McInnes.