“Wherever you can help, your NHS needs you” Back in March this year, I sent a tentative email to the Western Isles Hospital offering to return to work to help out regular staff who were preparing for a Covid-19 influx to the hospital. At the end of last month, I...

When I became the minister in Bernera 12 years ago I was ably, prayerfully and seriously supported by the elders in the church. It was easy to remember their names for the three of them had the same name – Fionnlagh or Finlay. This ensured that I could not go too far...

The opening of the bridge, through the eyes of a 10 year old. I’ll never forget the feeling of excitement on the morning of Wednesday 22nd July 1953. Today was the day that Bernera was no longer going to be an island, it was finally linked to the mainland by a...

Neil Macleod was an illegitimate son of Roderick, the last of the Macleod chiefs of Lewis. Roderick had three legitimate and five illegitimate sons who, before and after his death, fought between themselves, and later with the new lords appointed by King James VI in...

‘Connected Communities’ is a term that we have come to know over the past few years. It speaks of communities effectively linking and interacting with one another more closely, more intimately and more inter-relatedly. That is what was seen last Tuesday, as the...

What on earth is a Bernera girl doing in a Carloway choir, you may well ask? I was fortunate enough to be invited along by our lovely Angela from Lundale, who had been in the choir for a few years, when I moved back home from Inverness after 31 years living away. I...

The Salvation Army is a Christian church and charity, and from our very beginnings we have tried to step up and take action in any crisis. It has long been in our core values to roll up our sleeves and serve suffering humanity. The COVID-19 crisis is no different....

There’s a place for everyone at Befriending Lewis & Harris Befriending Lewis and Harris supports people over the age of 18, in all villages and communities right across the Isles of Lewis and Harris. Our service is not your average Befriending service, it is...

When I look out the lounge window I see in the distance the glistering white bridge linking Great Bernera with mainland Lewis. A clear and visible symbol of two communities linked together physically, but as we know the connection is more than the physical. Involving...

One of the things that I love most about living here is the incredible skies, especially in the evening sun.  With such wide, open vistas, with few buildings and trees to block any views, it means that we generally have a lot of sky to admire, and Mother Nature has...

An artist on lockdown , what's new there then ? We nearly always work alone , we eat like students because the function of feasting is just not as nourishing as getting that tiny flash of titanium white just right and we learn quickly that touching your face at any...

Last night I finished a woollen shopping basket (didn’t want to use up my cotton yarn, but also thinking of future bags to be made using Bernera wool) Anyway, I used a free pattern which you will find below. Here is the picture of the finished item. It now holds the...