Back of Beyond - September 2006

It seems I missed my one and only chance to set eyes on the elusive Arnish Lighthouse at Faclan, the Hebridean Book Festival last week. Judging by his posts, the only event at which we crossed over was Mairi Hedderwick. Engaging speaker though she is, I'm sure that had everyone known that Arnish Lighthouse was in the room, their attention may have wandered a little.

I was most disappointed that The Great Godwin did not deign to grace the Book Festival with His words of wisdom, and his absence left me with no option but to go and see Kevin MacNeil, an island-born poet, playwright, and author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Stornoway Way. Evidently popular with the girls, he reminded me of Chris in the Morning, the philosophical DJ from that now ancient American TV series, Northern Exposure. Self deprecating, ie." If I can do it, anyone can" - no I don't think so Kevin; funny, and irritatingly original, he talked about writing, Lewis, Gaelic and many many other things before treating us all to a song, surely a winner if ever the Mercury Music prize introduces a Best Song Title category, named as it is Local Man Ruins Everything. A most enjoyable hour, worthy of the inaugural festival, but marred (for me) by one of the questions at the end, which was along the lines of "What do you think about increasing numbers of incomers moving here, ignorant and irrelevant as they are to our culture and language?" Eh? Is this the sort of cross cultural celebration our first ever Hebridean Book Festival is looking for?