Nunton Steadings

A ‘Field of Hope’ daffodil planting session is to take place at Nunton Steadings, with school pupils from Balivanich School having their own special bulb planting session the day before. The daffodils will bloom in the spring, 2007 ready for the next Marie Curie Cancer Care Great Daffodil Appeal.

The Field of Hope event is part of Marie Curie Cancer Care. It is a chance for everyone to plant daffodils in memory of a friend or relative, or simply to support the work done by Marie Curie. They fund nurses to look after patients at home and also run ten hospices in Britain, and fund research into cancer treatment.

The idea for siting the field of hope first came from Dr Kate Dawson, who thought the site would be ideal, being sheltered, and yet in a public place where anyone could come to admire them. The thought struck a deep chord with Marie and Phil Ladyman, who run Nunton Steadings. Marie’s uncle, Peter MacDonald (a ‘Red Tie’) died earlier this year from cancer, and the family has long established links with the building when it was in use as a byre and stables. There are also plans for a memorial bench and plaque in memory of Peter, provided by his wife. Phil’s mother died of cancer 19 years ago, and the family are very glad for the opportunity to do something to remember her too.

The profit from the sale of bulbs will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care, to support their work and it is likely that the event might be repeated in the future, with more bulbs being added each year.

A series of talks by Alastair MacEachan are to be held throughout November and January. The talks are supported by the Islands Book Trust and will give people the chance to learn about the Blasket Islands off the West coast of Ireland.

Nunton is hosting the Islands Book Trust dinner and presentations on the life of Alexander Carmichael. The conference will highlight the work of the great collector of Gaelic song and folklore in the second half of the 19th century, much of it from sources in the Uists and other parts of the Western Isles.

All that Jazz is a night of songs from popular musicals. Songs will be performed by Mairead Ladyman and accompanied on piano by Catherine Wells. Mairead is raising funds for her attendance at the Scottish Youth Theatre in Glasgow where she is to spend five weeks during the summer in 2006. SYT will hold a week of performances at the Citizens Theatre, with Mairead cast in the musical production of “Wee MacGreegor”.