SYSTEM©Morag Fleming takes an island tour through the fantastic landscapes of the Outer Hebrides, in the January 28, 2023 issue of “The People’s Friend”.
The small islands at the southern end of the archipelago of the Outer Hebrides, or the Western Isles, may be a pretty tiny bunch, but they pack a real punch.
Join Morag as she visits Barra, Vatersay and Eriskay. While on Barra, we’ll stop at the very successful Isle of Barra Distillers. The main botanical, apart from the juniper which has to be there for gin, is the Carrageenan seaweed of which there is no shortage all round the island’s coast. This is the stuff you can slip on, if you’re not careful, on the rocks when the tide is out – now you can sip it on the rocks instead.
We’ll climb the hill – Heaval – to the statue of Mary near the top. The views of Barra and the surrounding sea and islands of Scotland are a great reward for the arduous climb.
Find out more in your magazine about what Barra and the other islands have to offer.
Glass Sculptor
Photograph by Charlotte Graham.
Life is fragile, and working life is most certainly that for Chris Day. When he’s not working his day job as a plumber, Chris sculpts delicate creations in glass.
It’s a remarkable mid-life turnaround for a man whose dyslexia led to numerous struggles and limited career options.
Now, as one of a handful of black glass blowers in the UK, Chris has found the freedom to express himself.
He’s doing so by crafting magnificent pieces, many of which focus on the slave trade, racism and the plight of black men and women who went before him.
The Washing Machine Project
Photograph courtesy of The Washing Machine Project.
It’s a part of everyday life we take for granted, but for many people, washing clothes involves physical labour and takes many hours. That’s something Nav Sawhney is on a mission to change.
His charity, the Washing Machine Project, manufactures and distributes low-cost, manual, crank-handle washing machines that can be used where there’s no access to running water or reliable electricity.
Thousands in refugee camps and poor communities have had their lives transformed by the off-grid machine.
Bill Gibb finds out more in the magazine.
Winter Garden
Photograph by Shutterstock.
In the last 12 months, gardens have been chilled, warmed, frozen, baked, drowned and boiled successively.
Nobody can be sure about whether any given year has been a quirk, or whether we’re finally reaping the effects of global warming – or both.
But it’s worth planning to make your garden a little more resilient for the next year.
Many 0f the best gardens focus on interesting foliage effects rather than getting their impact purely from flowers.
Alexandra Campbell has some inspiring ideas for garden planning that can be done during the winter months.
Elsewhere, we have a collection of delicious soup recipes, and a knitting pattern to make a textured cardigan.
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