THE ARRAN BANNER 20 YEARS AGO

Funding refusal

Lochranza has been turned down by the Millennium Commission in its quest to build a new village hall which comes as a blow to those so active in raising money, but it is not the end of the line.

Having planned to build a brand new £417,000 hall, the conditions from the commission were that the village had to find half the money. In fact they have already done that, having started raising money in May 1998. They have raised £40,000 themselves and secured about another £170,000 from North Ayrshire and other public bodies.

Where Lochranza hall has failed to qualify though, is in the points system for: community profile, present and future needs, design, energy efficiency and disabled access.

However, other sources of funding will now be sought.

Gaelic resource

Arran has a Gaelic resource centre, based at the Glenartney Hotel in Brodick. ‘Taigh Arainn’ (Gaelic for house of Arran) is run by the Dalriada Celtic Heritage Trust and includes books, brochures, computers, internet access and a wide range of learning facilities for fluent speakers and beginners alike.

Speaking at the opening this week were Councillor John Sillars, Donald Martin of Comunn na Gaidhlig and James McKelvie of the Arran Society of Glasgow. Also invited was Brian Wilson MP, a keen supporter of all things Gaelic, but who could not attend as he is believed to be on a trade mission to Mexico.

Making history

A little piece of history was created on Arran last Sunday. At Corrie Church seven children were baptised together by the Rev Dr Ian McLeod.

Seven at one blow is unusual enough but what was unique was the service itself. The Church of Scotland has no service for the baptism of children but the Rev Macleod created a new service to match the occasion.

The Church’s Book of Common Order, which dates from 1652, only offers two types of service for baptism, one is for infants and the other is for adults. There is nothing in between and this is a measure of how unusual it is for children of school age to be baptised.

The Old Pier Shop in Whiting Bay re-opened its doors for business this week. Closed since January it will now be run as a DIY shop and builders’ merchants by Chris and Susan Marriott. Pictured at the new shop, called MBS, are Liz Kennedy, Chris Marriott, Neil McKechnie, Susan Marriott and Margaret Green.

01_B26twe01 The Rev Dr Ian MacLeod welcomes Robert Taylor, Patrick Taylor, Sophie Taylor, Simon Sloan, Kerrin Gorrie, Claire Taylor and Guy Sloan into the Church of Scotland where they were baptised.

01_B26twe05 Taking home the trophies at the Kildonan and District sheepdog trials was the highest placed local handler Willie McConnell of Lamlash, pictured with his winning bitch, Style, and her son Moss.

01_B26twe03 Taking shelter from the rain are some of the trophy winners of the Glen Rosa Horseshoe hill race who are joined by Marion Noble of Arran Distillers, sponsors of the event.

01_B26twe04 Arran’s young footballers got a chance to show off their skills at the annual Irn-Bru seven-a-side tournament at Sandbraes. Shiskine, pictured, were the senior winners while Whiting Bay won the junior section.