A Traditional Skill

It was great to see one of the traditional skills being exercised at Trevor Potts' campsite this week. While the village is making great strides with the new machinery that crofters are investing in - I cannot remember seeing so much baled silage in the fields as we have this year - there are too many places in these rugged croft lands where machinery cannot go. With land taken over by brambles, bracken, thistles, nettles and rosebay willow herb, a scythe is a wonderful way of clearing them.

Jimmy Anderson, who has been working with Trevor, is in his mid 70s, and from Northumberland. Jimmy still works full time repairing agricultural machinery at his workshop and with his mobile welder, and only goes on holiday if there is plenty of work to do. In the past he has been involved with working parties for the National Trust on Canna and St Kilda. Trevor is now hopeful that he will get a crop of hay from his field.

Perhaps training in this skill is another course we'll shortly see being offered at our famous local University of Kilchoan.