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23rd February

Youth Activities

Photo attached Durness under 19 and under 15 indoor football taems

Last Friday Durness youth club hosted a valentines Disco  with 2 minibus loads of youths form Kinlochbervie joining the session. The hall decorated with lights and the sound system blasting the latest daning music. In the lounge were the recreational games of pool, table tennis air hockey play station and refreshments,

Recently the youths have been involved in t competitions to represent Sutherland at next months Highland finals in Inverness. First round has been held in 2 different venues. First in Durness hall where the results were

Darts Under 19                                             Ross O’Brien

Badminton under 19 boys                             Donald Morrison

Badminton under 19 girls                              Donna Mackinnon

Badminton girls Under 15                             Ashleigh Boyd

Table Tennis Under 19 boys                         Michael Forbes

Table tennis Under 15 girls                           Emma Boyd

chess Under 15                                            Christopher Arrowsmith

Dominos Under 15                                       Mark McCowan

Draughts Under 15 `                                     Nakita Bleasdale

Last Saturday Durness were at Assynt leisure Centre where the results were

Pool Under 19 boys                                     Liam Wood

Pool under 15 Boys                                     Gary Morrison

Lochinver boys under 19 won the indoor football

Durness under 15 boys won indoor football

The group from Durness were led by youth workers Margery and Jackie and Thank Hughie Matheson for refereeing the football, all the ladies at the Assynt centre for catering, Fiona Belbin and Gill Shields for helping with catering at Durness.

Book launch

Picture Attched Front row Mike Russell, Stan Parkes, Malcolm Morrison and Kevin Crowe Back Marty Mackay, Tim Bleasdale and John Morrison

Proprietors of the Loch Croispoil Bookshop and Restaurant Kevin Crowe and Simon Long have created a new company Balnakeil Press “From talking to customers in the bookshop, we realised there was a demand for books about the north of Scotland, and for books written by those from or living in the area. We knew this demand was not being met by any other publisher so we set up our own imprint. We will be publishing three or four titles each year, covering a wide range of subjects from fiction to history to biography to poetry, and including books in Gaelic.” Says Kevin.

Last Saturday was the launch of their first publication, “The Next Big Thing”, based on John Lennon’s links with Durness. The book has been written by leading SNP politician Michael Russell, the party’s former culture spokesperson. 

Stan Parkes, John Lennon’s cousin and oldest surviving relative, made an emotional return to Durness, the summer childhood home he shared with the ex-Beatle for the book launch and to meet up with old friends.Stan inherited the crtoft and lived in Durness for 11 years. The launch was held outside old croft house where he and John Lennon spent many summers. The house, which has a spectacular coastal backdrop, is recognised with a blue plaque marking Lennon’s time in Durness.

For the launch four local Durness musicians became the “Beatles” dressed in Sergeant Peppers outfits, appropriately being the 40^th anniversary of the release of the Sergeant Pepper album. The event started with the press call at 1pm and the four local lads, Marty Mackay, John Morrison “Carbrek”, Malcolm Morrison and recent Durness resident himself from Liverpool giving the authentic accent Tim Bleasdale gave a performance outside the croft. The afternoon continued at the village hall with local people invited and Michael Russell signing copies of his new book.

John Lennon spent many of his childhood holidays in the Highland village of Durness, a place which provided part of the inspiration for the Beatles’ song “In My Life”. He also visited Durness with Yoko Ono and their respective children, Julian and Kyoko in 1969. Durness Village Hall is the site of the only Scottish memorial to Lennon created during the Community Garden initiative in 2002 with the BBC television programme Beechgrove garden. The stones commissioned by Durness garden group was carved by local stone mason Neil Fuller, and carry some lyrics from the song “In My Life” which was included on the album Rubber Soul.

Lennon’s links with Durness have been highlighted in a tourism initiative headed by HRH Prince Charles. The website www.northhighlandsscotland.com has received a staggering 155,000 hits a day from all over the world since the press launch last month. Discussions are underway to further explore avenues that could highlight interest for visitors and have an ongoing maintenance to the garden.

Smoo Cave Hotel

Senior Citizens of Durness are invited each week to the lunch club at Smoo cave Hotel. Every Friday a 2 course lunch is served and although already attended by regulars is open for new people. Anyone wishing to go should phone the Hotel on the Thursday and transport to and from the lunch can be arranged.

On the first Saturday in February was the first of the regular open Mike nights. Several young people and some local musicians were displaying their talents. The evening was proclaimed a success and plans are occurring for the event to become a more regular occasion, each week, during the tourist season.

The hotel has been having regular events and competitions and a very successful Burns night was recently held.

Highland Gathering

The Highland Gathering committee have announced that Willie Morrison has accepted the invitation to the chieftain at the 2007 Highland Gathering, the Durness Games.

Willie born in Sangomore, three houses south of where John Lennon holidayed, is 60 years old. The family moved to the home at Sangobeg shortly after his grandfather died when Willie was still a baby. Willie has recently retired after 40 years in journalism. Last year he received the prestigious Barron Trophy award which recognises a lifetime achievement in journalism in the Highlands and Islands.

Willie recalls his childhood at Sangobeg with great affection and a lot of nostalgia and attending Durness Primary School which he remembers with great affection with two very good teachers, Robina Mackay and Dolly Macdougall, women of very different temperaments, who complemented each other so well and  his senior school years at Dornoch Academy. He graduated from the Scottish College of Commerce in Glasgow and entered journalism with DC Thomson at the company’s Sunday Post office in Glasgow in 1966. It was later that year that he was given the opportunity to return to the Highlands as the Inverness based reported with the Peoples Journal until 1981 when he moved to Edinburgh to work in public relations with the National Trust for Scotland. He had spells with the Alloa Advertiser and Lothian Courier before the late Willie Wilson then editor of the Northern Starr offered him the chance to come back to the Highlands in 1984. Willie joined Aberdeen Journals in 1989 to set up and edit the Dingwall based East Ross and Herald & Post He became the Press and Journal’s Dingwall based reporter in 1991.He edited the Northern Starr for 3 years from June 2002 then a spell with the Inverness Courier before retiring in 2006. A well respected man in his field He occasionally provides holiday relief for weekly newspapers. When presented with the award Gordon Fyfe, chairman of the Highland Media Awards, said: "In his 40 years as a journalist. Willie has covered the full range of stories form the MOD to Madonna he is known as a stickler for detail and accuracy qualities which have earned him the respect of politicians’ sheriffs and other prominent community leaders.”

Willie is a native Gaelic speaker and covered the Royal National Mod for many years and as a fine singer himself is often called on at Ceilidhs to contribute something form his repertoire of Sutherland songs. Willies other main interest is serving with the Territorial Army. He joined in 1960 and retired as major in 1992 spending the final 13 years in TA public relations.

He and his wife Jennifer live in Inverness the couple have 2 grown up sons Ian and Callum and a granddaughter.

“I'm very honoured indeed to have been invited to be chieftain. The first Durness Highland Games I remember attending were those of 1949. It was a wet day - so what's new? They went into abeyance for many years before being resuscitated in 1970. Sadly work commitments kept me from attending very often in recent years, and when I did turn up it was usually quite late, but I look forward very much to this year's games and hope I'll do justice to the faith the games committee have put in me. I'm sure I'll enjoy them, whatever the weather and whatever the circumstances.”

The gathering committee has recently distributed letters to local groups and business offering the opportunity to provide local sponsorship and those interested are urged to return the form or contact the secretary.

CAPE WRATH TRAINING CENTRE DEFENCE TRAINING ESTATE SCOTLAND

The Cape Wrath range area will be active for live firing activities and movements from land, sea and air during the 23rd February 07, times 0600 to 1800. When the range is active, red flags/ lights will be flown/displayed and sentries positioned on the u70 road. All efforts will be made to keep the road open.  However, due to the nature of some practices and in the interest of public safety, closure may be necessary.  during the above dates the road will be open/closed. Access advice can be sought from the sentries, who will be in contact with the range officer conducting the firing, or by contacting the freephone number.  However, whatever the nature of the practice, under no circumstances is any person to leave the road or proceed anywhere onto the land particularly the land north of the road within the range area, when the red flags are flying. for further information on the opening and closing of the road, and military activity telephone the range freephone 0800 833300