Scottish Islands Explorer 41: Jan / Feb 2017

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Apostle of Land Reform By this stage of his life, Murdoch was residing in the Lowlands, but continued to engage in political activities at both local and national levels. But what motivated him? His primary concern was never for his own welfare as his campaigning made him a persona non grata to those in authority. That made sure his advancement in the service never went beyond that of supervisor. Guiding Principles Religious conviction was the reason why he set out on his course. ‘I had no right to hoard money,’ he wrote of one of his guiding principles in life, ‘no right to think of myself as anything better than an instrument of God to do whatever good came my way.’ Murdoch died, aged 85, in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, on 29 January 1903 and was interred in Ardrossan Cemetery. He le a detailed, if unfinished, autobiography, penned between 1889 and 1898, and which has yet be published in full. A close friend commented, ‘He has le, we believe, a series of reminiscences of his varied and interesting story … to present, as far as is now possible, an adequate record of his lifelong, selfdenying and public-spirited career.’ Never one to conform, Murdoch’s political evolution was most unusual. 20 years prior to his death, he moved left, and not to the right as would, perhaps, have been expected. Murdoch was many things to many people: an active temperance reformer, a land reformer, a journalist and editor, a champion of the Gaelic language, a collector of Highland folklore, a founding member of the Scottish Labour Party and, perhaps most telling of all, he was a humanitarian. Here was a man who possessed the vision to allow people’s potential to flourish if the right conditions could be set in place and the right type of practical philosophy applied. Murdoch was far ahead of his time as are so many other visionaries before and since. Further Information Page 41: Photographic Portrait of John Murdoch c. 1890s and Claggan Farm, Islay. Above: The Highlander. James Hunter (ed.) For the People’s Cause: From the Writings of John Murdoch Edinburgh 1986. 42 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
A Short Hop to Papa A Short Hop to Papa James Hendrie takes the trip Ifinally managed, last summer, to tick off one of my ‘bucket list’, namely to be a passenger on the ‘world’s shortest scheduled flight’ - from Westray to Papa Westray. It is famous for this accolade and a mere two minutes is the scheduled time allotted to make the short 1.7-mile hop between the two Orkney islands. This was the second occasion, having been thwarted two years earlier by a dense Orcadian sea mist which enveloped Kirkwall airport and most of the island when my wife, Gillian, and I were due to travel. If the mist had lifted the flight would have left immediately, but sadly it did not. There was no such problem this time and with no baggage, the check-in process was swift and much more relaxed than customary. Being a plane-spotter in my formative years, I had already spied the Britten-Norman Islander aircraft that was likely to be our plane. When ‘Delta Victor’ taxied towards the terminal, I was proved right. JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER 43
Page 1 and 2: SCOTTISH ISLANDS THE UK’S ONLY MA
Page 3 and 4: Gallery of Rust Page 36 Scottish Se
Page 5 and 6: VISION FOR 2020 ‘Challenge Ordina
Page 7 and 8: INSIGHTS Page Index Header Shipping
Page 9 and 10: Scottish Seabird Islands - Part One
Page 11 and 12: Scottish Seabird Islands - Part One
Page 13 and 14: House on the Point - Ullapool House
Page 15 and 16: ISLANDS BEYOND Island of and Iceber
Page 17 and 18: ‘Archaeologists believe that the
Page 19 and 20: ‘A Good Enough Day’ e archaeolo
Page 21 and 22: ‘As well as being crucial for nat
Page 23 and 24: New Marine Protected Area in Wester
Page 25 and 26: READERS’ OPPORTUNITIES Page Index
Page 27 and 28: Golden eagle in flight during winte
Page 29 and 30: The Atlantic Grey Seal ‘Grey seal
Page 31 and 32: distances of over 200 miles. Man ha
Page 33 and 34: A History of Lismore A History of L
Page 35 and 36: A History of Lismore Roman Catholic
Page 37 and 38: JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SCOTTISH IS
Page 39 and 40: A Gallery of Rust next to a redunda
Page 41: Apostle of Land Reform The Crofters
Page 45 and 46: A Short Hop to Papa Flying Time Fro
Page 48 and 49: RESPONSES Responses The west coast
Page 50 and 51: ISLAND INCIDENTS Mike Heslop wonder
Page 52: £60 Richard Kershaw www.nake

Scottish Islands Explorer 41: Jan / Feb 2017

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