A Drop in the Ocean Polly Pullar Birlinn 2014
“A watercolour painting hangs above my bed. A treasured possession, it depicts a Hebridean shoreline: turquoise, black, grey and moody, a surging sea with foaming waves leads the eye to the distinct shapes of Rum’s forbidding peaks. In the foreground there is another island. Muck, a place that has punctuated my thoughts since I was a child growing up on Britain’s most westerly mainland peninsula, Ardnamurchan.”
(Polly Pullar – A Drop in the Ocean – Lawrence MacEwen and the Isle of Muck – Birlinn 2014)
Many many thanks to Nathalie and Fabien, my dear daughter and son-in-law, for having offered me this extremely interesting book. They always find treasures for me, especially books – mostly Scottish books – and cute collectable teddy bears 😉
The cover of A Drop in the Ocean is very attractive in itself and quite representative of life and landscape in the Scottish islands. I immediately fell under the charm of the man and his dog sitting side by side in the lovely landscape of Muck, great friends as we can guess from the picture ;-).
We would have liked to visit the Isle of Muck during our last trip to Scotland but we lacked time after re-visiting Skye, Mull, Iona and Staffa and… discovering Islay for the first time 🙂 :-)… I’ve put this wonderful destination on the list of places to visit during our next Scottish itinerary, “Itinerary 9”, the length of which is already reaching a challenging point 😉
Can you see Muck on the map? It is situated just off Ardnamurchan peninsula, and south of Eigg, Mull and Canna, the Small Isles.
Inner Hebrides with Muck in the Small Isles Wikipedia jpg
Muck is the smallest of the four main islands in the Small Isles and are part of the Inner Hebrides. It measures roughly 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east to west and has a population of around 30, mostly living near the harbour at Port Mòr. The other settlement on the island is the farm at Gallanach. The island’s only road, about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) long, connects the two. (Wikipedia)
Isle of Muck Port Mor Wikipedia
You can’t find a better introduction to Polly’s book than Mark Stephen’s extremely interesting foreword. His enthusiasm is catching. Indeed, much of what he underlines about life in Muck could certainly apply to life in many Scottish Islands and even to some of the remotest places in Scotland. Great but hard life in such kind of environment and also a rare sense of community life.
Mark Stephen presenter of BBC Radio Scotland’s Out of Doors
“All islands suffer from a sort of romantic overlay, the application of a heedrum-hodrum filter that softens the edges, prettifies the reality and disguises all warts or blemishes; it’s a sort of geographical beer-goggles. That’s what makes writing about Muck so difficult. Muck is one of the smaller Small Isles, the others being Rum, Canna and Eigg.
Muck is no Shangri-La, but the folk here seem, on the whole, pretty happy and content.
Much of this is due to the man who, together with his family, owns the island: Lawrence MacEwen.
This is a man who dearly loves his flocks, both animal and human.
Polly is a country woman to her bones, curious about all things and closely familiar with plants, birds and animals. And she has a rare gift. She can listen, really listen, to what people are saying, their stories, memories and anecdotes. Her genuine admiration and respect for storytellers shines through and, like a glass lens on a sunny summer day, she focuses each tale to a point of brightness and helps warm it, bring it to life.”
(A Drop in the Ocean – Polly Pullar – Foreword by Mark Stephen, presenter of BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Out of Doors’, Isle of Muck, Spring 2014 )
No need to say that Mark Stephen has made me want to listen to his BBC Radio Scotland programme ‘Out of Doors’ ! I’m pretty sure I will soon become a fan 😉
Polly Pullar writer photographer field naturalist
Polly is a field naturalist, wildlife rehabilitator, freelance journalist, photographer and wildlife guide who has always worked in the rural environment, surrounded by animals. For many years she and her family farmed and she has always written and illustrated her articles since soon after leaving school.
She has a passion for remote places and feels strongly about the need to support small rural communities, particularly in the Hebrides and more far-flung areas of Scotland. In her work she strives to promote the importance of having respect for nature and feels without this we have no hope.
She is currently the wildlife writer for the Scottish Field, a monthly correspondent for Tractor and Farming Heritage Magazine, and The People’s Friend, has regular columns and features in a wide range of other magazines including Scots Magazine, and Scottish Farmer.
http://www.pollypullar.com/
A Drop in the Ocean Polly Pullar Birlinn 2014 back cover
Review
About the Author
Polly Pullar has worked with animals all her life, as a sheep farmer, wildlife guide, field naturalist, photojournalist and wildlife rehabilitator. She writes and illustrates articles for numerous magazines including the Scots Magazine, Scottish Farmer, Tractor and People’s Friend and is currently the wildlife writer for Scottish Field. She has written a number of books including Dancing with Ospreys, Rural Portraits – Scotland’s Native Farm Animals and Characters, and is co-author of the acclaimed Fauna Scotica: People and Animals in Scotland. She lives in Highland Perthshire.
Description of the book
Polly Pullar tells the fascinating tale of one of the Hebrides, unique thriving small communities through the colourful anecdotes of Lawrence MacEwen, whose family have owned the island since 1896.
A wonderfully benevolent, and eccentric character, his passion and love for the island and its continuing success, has always been of the utmost importance. He has kept diaries all his life and delves deep into them, unveiling a uniquely human story, punctuated with liberal amounts of humour, as well as heart-rending tragedy, always dominated by the vagaries of the sea. Filled with fascinating and extraordinary tales and priceless observations, this is not only a highly entertaining read but is also an important part of Scottish social history.
The story begins with the amusing debut of Lawrence as a new baby when his mother returned from the hospital on the mainland, and carries on through his colourful island childhood and up to present day. Here are tales of coal puffers and livestock transportation on steamers and small boats, extraordinary chance meetings and adventures that eventually led him to finding his wife, Jenny, on the island of Soay. It’s a book about the small hard-grafting community of 30 souls on this fertile island of just 1500 acres. Residents work closely with the MacEwen family in business interests: the thriving farm, market garden, a modern school, a busy tearoom, craft shop, and a winter shoot. A new village hall was opened in 2012, and a guesthouse in May 2013. Until March 2013, Muck depended on an unreliable generator for electricity that only came on twice daily, but now has finally been electrified with solar panels and wind turbines. It was one of the last places in the UK to receive 24-hour power.
A reader’s comment, on Amazon:
Tom Weir statue in Balmaha Trossachs © 2015 Scotiana
And now what about “un petit tour de l’île” in company of Tom Weir?
https://youtu.be/xxGfXQ7Mj7M
https://youtu.be/MArYAFpEG7w
Enjoy !
A bientôt to discover more Scottish books for Christmas.
Mairiuna
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