The Life of John Lorne Campbell of Canna by Ray Perman
A print of this picture, cut from a magazine, is amongst the papers in Canna House. It clearly depicts several of the island landmarks and people going about island activities – farming, lobster fishing, sunbathing. Only the man with the gun is incongruous,since John and Margaret Campbell did not allow shooting (although John sometimes turned a blind eye to the shooting of rabbits, or hooded crows during lambing).
Rum belongs to a very rich & fast young man, by name George Bullough who is hardly ever there but he is building a large and very pretentious fine red sandstone house with dozens of rooms, and a long carriage drive.
The holiday diary of Viola May on the new Canna Local History website gives fascinating glimpses of island life more than 100 years ago. In most ways this is a very different world. At times you have to remind yourself these are the private thoughts of a young woman who is 20 years old. Read more
With a volatile mix of the visionary and a confrontational style, he campaigned mostly in print to turn his passions into reality.
There is a nice continuity about the review in the Scots Magazine – quite apart from the very generous comments by the writer, this is the publication which carried articles by John for many years. At times you suspect the editor must have wondered what was coming next. Read more
Last night was the launch of the website of Tobar an Dualchais – Kist o Riches – always said with that doubled barreled name because it contains songs, stories, children’s rhymes and other information in Gaelic and Scots (and English too, for that matter). The Canna collection of original recordings made by John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Fay Shaw have been digitised and put online, along with many more from the archives of the School of Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University and BBC Scotland.
Fred Pattison on his last visit to Canna in 2009
Sad news from Canna. One of John and Margaret’s oldest surviving friends, Fred Pattison, has died at the age of 87. He was a remarkable man, adventurous, creative, encouraging and kind. He was one of the first people to provide memories of early years on the island (including his first dram of whisky) so I am particularly sad that he died in August a month before the book was published.
Living history: the entrance to Canna House
John Lorne Campbell would have taken a keen interest in the storm over the (English) National Trust’s latest attempt to breathe new life into historic houses. He did not want the National Trust for Scotland to turn Canna into a tourist attraction and he would have been appalled at the thought of using actors and stage props to recreate the past for the benefit of visitors. Read more
Well, it didn’t make the Daily Mail (yet?) but I am told Roger Hutchinson is reviewing the book for The Scotsman. I have never met Roger, but admire his work, both on the West Highland Free Press, which he edited for many years, and his books, including the inspirational Calum’s Road, which has sold 40,000 copies. His biography of Fr Allan Macdonald is coming out in a couple of months. In my book I quote from Roger’s obituary of John, but he also played another part in the story.
Friends have been very kind about the book – that is what friends are for – but I live in trepidation at the appearance of dispassionate reviews. According to Birlinn, the first is likely to come from the Daily Mail, followed soon afterwards by The Spectator. Since my politics are – like John Lorne Campbell’s – more left than right, these are not publications I see very often. I wonder what they will make of a man who was a radical land reformer and a Scottish nationalist who refused to fight for the British Empire?
Light on the horizon: does Canna offer a model of good practice?
On a later summer afternoon patrons of the National Trust for Scotland looked out over the clear waters of Canna harbour to say farewell to the island sometimes described as the Jewel of the Hebrides. With the island bathed in sunshine, the dark cloud hanging over the trust itself must have been the last thing on their minds.
Today’s the day – but last night was my first experience of reading my own work aloud to an audience. The first of many first experiences I suspect.