Calum's Road
Page 16
There is no separate coroner or system of coroners’ courts in Scotland. It is the function of the Procurator Fiscal Service not only to prosecute criminal offences but also to investigate sudden deaths. In the definition of the Scottish Crown Office, ‘It is the duty of the appropriate Procurator Fiscal to enquire into all sudden, suspicious, accidental, unexpected and unexplained deaths and in particular into all deaths resulting from an accident in the course of employment or occupation.’ On other occasions, the procurator fiscal might have signed an order for a post mortem into the death of Calum MacLeod. He did not do so partly because he was that week in North Uist unsuccessfully pressing the case of the Department of Agriculture’s Aberdeen Angus stud.
‘As to whether my father died from a coronary thrombosis or a stroke or an aneurism or what’, said his daughter, ‘we will never know . . . in one way it might be useful to know. But he was dead, so it was hypothetical.’
Calum MacLeod was laid to rest on Friday, 29 January 1988 in a graveyard in the south end of Raasay on a wooded hillside facing east. He was seventy-six years old. He was joined by his wife, Lexie, who had lived to within three months of her ninetieth birthday, in January 2001.
Unlike previous generations and unlike his own father, Calum MacLeod did not have to be taken by boat from Arnish to the cemetery in southern Raasay. The hearse was driven to his door.
‘Calum was the last man to come out of Arnish’, said his former neighbour Donald MacLeod, ‘down the road he built with his own hands.’
A dry-stone cairn stands on the hilltop above Brochel Castle, a fifth of a mile up the adopted council road to Arnish. It is built of large blocks of Raasay granite. A plaque is affixed to the side of the cairn which faces the passing highway. The inscription upon it reads, in two languages:
RATHAD CHALUIM
RE IOMADH BLIADHNA BE SEO AM FRITH-RATHAD GU ARNAIS
13/4 MILE CHAIDH A LEUDACHADH AGUS A DHEASACHADH
GU RATHAD
MOR LE IONADAN LEIG SEACHAD GU IRE TEARRAIDH LE
CALUM MACLEOID. B.E.M.
(1911–1988)
ARNAIS MU DHEAS
SHAOTHRAICH E NA AONAR AGUS CHUIR ECRIOCH
AIR AN OBAIR AN CHEANN DEICH BLIADHNA
CALUMS ROAD
THIS FORMER FOOTPATH TO ARNISH – A DISTANCE OF 13/4
MILES – WAS WIDENED TO A SINGLE TRACK ROAD WITH
PASSING PLACES AND PREPARED FOR SURFACING BY
MALCOLM MACLEOD. B.E.M.
(1911–1988)
SOUTH ARNISH
HE ACCOMPLISHED THIS WORK SINGLE-HANDEDLY
OVER A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS
To the south of the cairn the reckless panorama of eastern Raasay unfolds. Cliffsides and waterfalls tumble down to the sea from high pastures above the empty ruins of Screapadal and Hallaig. To the north of the cairn the black road which leads to Arnish switchbacks smoothly over the moor. From that vantage point, it appears to be the beginning of a long journey.
* Coming as he did from a world in which everybody spoke Gaelic, most people spoke extremely fluent Gaelic and some people spoke only Gaelic, Calum MacLeod was exceptionally articulate in the language. In the 1980s Cailean Maclean conducted several Gaelic interviews with him for BBC radio. ‘The last one’, said Maclean, ‘was a long interview about fishing in which he named what seemed like every boat between Shieldaig and Kyle on the mainland and Portree in Skye. He explained their different styles and how their shape altered, and the way they would behave at sea. He recalled counting twenty-eight boats tied together one night at shelter in the harbour at Rona. Remarkably, he also talked of impressive boats he had seen which were based in Scalpay and Castlebay in the Western Isles. He mentions one from the latter called the St Columba, and on his last trip to Barra – at least the last before the interview with me – he thought he saw her ribs rotting on the shore.
‘The other remarkable thing about this interview was the fact that he spoke for about nine minutes, without hesitation, repetition or deviation, in answer to the first question. His Gaelic was also beautifully correct. Unusually in the late twentieth century, he very rarely used English words in his speech and mainly only to clarify if the Gaelic rendering that he had given might be ambiguous. For instance, he talked about a boat with a “lion cuairteachaidh”, and then said in English: “a ring-net, as it is termed”.’
* Calum manned the Rona light for a month on and a fortnight off.
Notes
Chapter One
The Island of Strong Men
p. 5: ‘There is bad weather . . . don’t have them here.’ Interview with Alan Hamilton for BBC radio programme ‘Our Wild Peregrination’, broadcast 7 October 1980
p. 6: ‘this little isle . . . in Circumference’ Martin Martin, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, p. 165
p. 6: ‘Raasay is . . . solitary herdsman.’ Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, p. 53
pp. 6–7: ‘The north ... a pavement.’ James Boswell, Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, p. 122
p. 8: ‘the green . . . western coast.’ John MacCulloch, Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, including the Isle of Man, p. 132
p. 12: ‘The coast . . . in clambering.’ The Scotsman, 23 May 1883
pp. 14–28: Evidence to Napier Commission given in Torran Schoolhouse, 22 May 1883, extracted from Minutes of Evidence to Highlands and Islands Commission, pp. 438–474
p. 31: ‘At one time . . . in 1929.’ Charles MacLeod in interview with author, 2005
pp. 31–32: ‘Donald’s wife . . . being careful.’ John Nicolson, I Remember, p. 62
p. 32: ‘He must . . . school day.’ ibid., p. 93
pp. 32–33: ‘Mr MacKinnon ran . . . the place.’ John Cumming, interviewed by Timothy Neat in When I Was Young: The Islands, p. 24
p. 33: ‘children at . . . English language.’ I Remember, p. 94
pp. 34–35: ‘That was how . . . we called it.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 35: ‘When I was . . . if not more.’ BBC radio programme ‘Our Wild Peregrination’
p. 35–36: ‘One evening . . . me in bed!’ BBC radio programme ‘Our Wild Peregrination’
pp. 36–37: ‘In my younger . . . the saying goes.’ Interview with Derek Cooper for BBC television programme ‘The Island That Nearly Made It’, broadcast 5 June 1973
Chapter Two
The Book of Hours
p. 43: ‘we will take . . . little children’ ‘Revealed after 60 years – the story of the Raasay land raids’, West Highland Free Press, 8 January 1982
p. 43: ‘took possession . . . for the lands.’ The Scotsman, 7 October 1921
p. 44: ‘erected several . . . of the island.’ The Scotsman, 3 August 1921
p. 45: ‘The men repudiate . . . longer in Rona.’ The Scotsman, 3 August 1931
p. 46: ‘some pathetic . . . prison gates’ The Scotsman, 21 September 1921
p. 46: ‘Although the hour . . . about 40’ The Scotsman, 23 September 1921
p. 46: ‘in some respects . . . difficult’ The Scotsman, 7 October 1921
p. 47: ‘It is impossible . . . of Heaven.’ ‘Revealed after 60 years . . .’ West Highland Free Press
p. 48: ‘a large crowd . . . mainland.’ The Scotsman, 23 December 1921
p. 51: ‘a rather gloomy . . . Rona’ John Cumming, ‘Reminiscences!’, Skyeviews (Issue 8), 1996
pp. 51–53: ‘Peggy Benton . . . the island.’ ibid.
p. 54: ‘I found . . . carrying guns.’ ibid.
pp. 51–57: ‘The thing that . . . or wherever.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
pp. 57–58: ‘It was a . . . crowd did.’ ibid.
p. 58: ‘we were . . . being late.’ John Cumming, interviewed in When I Was Young: The Islands, p. 24
p. 59: ‘Wood would . . . the herring.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
pp. 59–60: ‘They used . . . it happened.’ ibid.
&nbs
p; p. 62: ‘They got . . . coming in.’ ibid.
p. 62: ‘The townships . . . fortunate crofter.’ I Remember, p. 31
p. 64: ‘by residenters ...or thereby’ Minutes of Roads Committee of Inverness County Council, 23 September 1931
p. 68: ‘re-submitted . . . own tenants.’ ibid.
p. 70: ‘should consider . . . matter meantime’ Minutes of Roads Committee of Inverness County Council, 16 November 1934
p. 71: ‘It was . . . cart road.’ I Remember, p. 63
pp. 71–72: ‘The people . . . to Inverarish.’ ‘Reminiscences!’
pp. 72–73: ‘When they left . . . after the war.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
Chapter Three
A Few in the North Would Not Be Catered For
pp. 75–76: ‘Now, if . . . a wee turn.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 77: ‘was a very . . . was declared’ Letter from Lexie MacLeod to her grandson, undated
p. 77: ‘By 1941 . . . my age.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 79: ‘All of the . . . Skye name.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
pp. 79–80: ‘The one and . . . cooking.’ I Remember, p. 117
p. 80: ‘She was . . . appointment.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
p. 81: ‘No broad . . . a few days.’ Letter from Lexie MacLeod to her grandson
p. 82: ‘He was once . . . the hands went.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
pp. 83–84: ‘’N am cogadh . . . usual tobacco.’ Calum MacLeod in interview with Cailean Maclean for BBC Radio Scotland, 1986
p. 85: ‘some time ago . . . catered for.’ Letter from NOSHEB to Inverness County Council, 29 October 1954
pp. 85–86: ‘well the . . . six o’clock news.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
pp. 87–88: ‘with our . . . final make-up.’ ibid.
pp. 88–89: ‘Fladda was . . . very passable.’ Charles MacLeod in interview with author, 2005
pp. 89–90: ‘Everybody’s all . . . Calum did.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
pp. 90–91: ‘intimated . . . Public Highway.’ Minutes of Roads Committee of Inverness County Council, 10 October 1950
p. 91: ‘The Engineer . . . relation to use.’ Letter from Lt Col Neil McLean, Scottish Office, Whitehall, 5 June 1962
pp. 91–92: ‘After the Second . . . no other work.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 93: ‘We started . . . with breaks.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
p. 94: ‘It wasn’t really . . . you might say.’ Jessie Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 95: ‘Calum took . . . think back on.’ ibid.
p. 95: ‘As far as . . . in jail!’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 96: ‘We got all . . . lots of things.’ Jessie Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
pp. 96–98: ‘There were three . . . Closed Brethren.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
p. 99: ‘When we came . . . education . . . no!’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 99: ‘got a letter . . . my primary.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
pp. 100–101: ‘You were taken . . . my abilities!’ ibid.
pp. 101–103: ‘Another factor . . . of their homes.’ Calum MacLeod, ‘The Ruination of Raasay’, West Highland Free Press, 14 September 1973
Chapter Four
No Chance of Being Run Down by a Car
pp. 105–106: ‘In the 50s . . . trying to do.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
pp. 108–109: ‘After the war . . . County Council.’ ibid.
p. 109: ‘The Royal Engineers . . . ever used.’ West Highland Free Press, 16 February 1979
p. 112: ‘by hand to . . . road surface.’ Campbell Sandilands, ‘Calum’s Road’
p. 114: ‘With the . . . Arnish as well.’ Oban Times, 25 December 1964
p. 115: ‘Oh, it was . . . much so.’ Jessie Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 115: ‘My father . . . straight home.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
pp. 116–117: ‘Is it any . . . and Islands.’ Stornoway Gazette, 22 April 1967
pp. 117–119: ‘Socialism . . . and Islands.’ Calum MacLeod, letter to Stornoway Gazette, 9 May 1970
p. 119: ‘We were . . . the community.’ Jessie Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 120: ‘He was . . . up on it.’ ibid.
pp. 120–121: ‘I don’t think . . . for progress.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
p. 121: ‘Lexie wasn’t . . . he finished.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
pp. 122–123: ‘When you saw . . . to do.’ ibid.
p. 123: ‘There were two . . . that pinnacle.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
p. 123: ‘Oh, there was . . . it all in.’ Jessie Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 124: ‘I started . . . measure rainfall.’ West Highland Free Press, 22 January 1982
p. 126: ‘with tulips . . . the cliffs.’ D. A. Maclean in Derek Cooper, Skye, p. 33
p. 129: ‘It was . . . his grandchildren!’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
pp. 129–130: ‘Of course . . . burn out.’ ibid.
pp. 130–131: ‘Before me . . . Homosexual Bills?’ Calum MacLeod, Stornoway Gazette, 26 October 1970
p. 132: ‘Oh, plantlife! . . . in Kent.’ Calum MacLeod in interview with Derek Cooper for BBC TV programme ‘The Island That Nearly Made It’, broadcast 5 June 1973
p. 133: ‘The voice of . . . prize-winning essay.’ Daily Telegraph, 28 May 1972
pp. 133–137: ‘A few months . . . but to himself.’ BBC TV programme ‘The Island That Nearly Made It’
pp. 138–139: ‘I was digging . . . in Denmark.’ Calum MacLeod in interview with Ian Grimble for BBC TV programme ‘Grimble on Islands: Raasay’, broadcast 2 October 1984
pp. 140–141: ‘Not far . . . he did that.’ Donald MacLeod, interviewed in When I Was Young: The Islands, p. 1
Chapter Five
A Kind of Historical Justification
p. 143: ‘My husband . . . best of times.’ Jessie Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 144: ‘I remember . . . achievement!’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 144: ‘Calum’s road . . . original form.’ Magnus Magnusson, ‘The Road That Calum Built’, Today, March/April 1982
p. 144: ‘It will . . . lovely area.’ Campbell Sandilands, ‘Calum’s Road’
p. 144: ‘I don’t . . . Calum now.’ ‘The Road That Calum Built’
p. 146: ‘I would not . . . the EEC.’ Alistair Nicolson, West Highland Free Press, 9 November 1973
pp. 149–151: ‘is officially . . . about it.’ ‘The Road That Calum Built’
p. 151: ‘When Calum’s . . . the cost.’ Sam MacNaughton, email to author, 27 January 2006
p. 159: ‘People have . . . everything over.’ John Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 159: ‘He was chuffed . . . them home.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
p. 160: ‘I go in . . . the family.’ Jessie Nicolson in interview with author, 2005
p. 160: ‘People from . . . it’s brilliant!’ ibid.
p. 160: ‘I am very . . . he had seen.’ Calum MacLeod interviewed in West Highland Free Press, 22 October 1982
Chapter Six
The Last Man Out of Arnish
p. 165: ‘My father ... as well.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
p. 165–166: ‘I had to . . . or civilised.’ Campbell Sandilands, ‘Calum’s Road’
p. 167: ‘My cousin . . . than English.’ Calum MacLeod in West Highland Free Press, 29 April 1983
p. 168: ‘The most . . . good at!’ Julia MacLeod Allan in inter
view with author, 2005
pp. 168–169: ‘Calum MacLeod . . . own lifetime.’ Campbell Sandi-lands, ‘Calum’s Road’
p. 169: ‘The man . . . his sheep.’ Tom Weir, ‘Return to Raasay’, Scots Magazine, October 1986
p. 169: ‘The coastguard . . . north end.’ ibid.
pp. 169–70: ‘At 74 years . . . the car park.’ ibid.
p. 171: ‘He corresponds . . . on him.’ ibid.
pp. 170–171: ‘He’d had . . . on the hills.’ Julia MacLeod Allan in interview with author, 2005
p. 172: ‘As to whether . . . hypothetical.’ ibid.
p. 173: ‘Calum was . . . own hands.’ Donald MacLeod, interviewed in When I Was Young: The Islands, p. 1
Bibliography
Books, reports and unpublished material
Aitken, Thomas, Road Making and Maintenance (London, 1900)
Boswell, James, Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (London, 1785)
Cameron, A.D., Go Listen to the Crofters (Stornoway, 1986)
Cooper, Derek, Hebridean Connection (London, 1977) Skye (London, 1970)
Draper, Lawrence and Pamela, The Raasay Iron Mine (Dingwall, 1990)
HM Government, Report of the Royal [Napier] Commission into Crofting (London, 1884)
Hunter, James, Last of the Free (Edinburgh, 1999)
Johnson, Samuel, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (London, 1775)
MacLeod, Norma, Raasay (Edinburgh, 2002)
MacCulloch, John, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, Including the Isle of Man (London, 1819)
Martin, Martin, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (London, 1703)
Neat, Timothy, When I Was Young: The Islands (Edinburgh, 2000)
Nicolson, John, I Remember (Edinburgh, 1989)
Raasay Heritage Society, Duanagan, Dain is Dualchas a Eilean Ratharsair, Fladaidh is Eilean Tighe (Raasay, 2001)
Sandilands, Campbell, ‘Calum’s Road’, thesis for Duncan of Jordan-stone College of Art, 1984
Sharpe, Richard, Raasay (London, 1978)