Skyecomuseum

STAFFIN’S warrior women say the roar of their supporters provided the spark for their aching limbs, as they reclaimed the coveted tug o’war 2015 title at the Skye Games.
The island’s most decorated tug o’war team ever – having won 11 championships at The Lump in a row – had failed to hold on to the crown in the last two years, as the Portree Bootcamp team took the silverware.
However, the fighting spirit in the Trotternish squad, and a tough pre-games build ...

A DETERMINED Staffin team are going all out to haul back their Skye Highland Games title next week.
After a decade of dominance – but two recent hollow years – the talented squad from the Taobh Sear, who are no strangers to silverware, are stepping up their training for the tug o’ war in Portree on Wednesday.
And they are imploring everybody from Staffin and Trotternish to head up to The Lump to roar them to to victory.
Forty eight hours before the contest, the team will ...

STAFFIN residents and businesses – who are currently plagued by frustratingly slow internet speeds – are needed to help secure a new superfast broadband scheme.
The North Skye Broadband Project, which was launched by the Glendale Trust, investigated internet provision in Glendale, Waternish and Duntulm in a major public consultation between April and May and concluded that there was demand for a community-led broadband service.
Almost 50 people from Staffiin also completed a survey outlining the current online service in the Taobh Sear, which ...

A LOCH Ness-side man beat off the Emerald Isle charge to secure victory at the 2015 Staffin Sheepdog Trials.
In a stellar international field of 52 dogs at Elishadder, John MacKillop from Fort Augustus emerged the victor with his dog, Joe.
The pair won the annual competition, which is part of the Hebridean Circuit, by a five-point margin.
Behind John, in runner-up position, plus third, fourth and fifth, were a group of talented Irish handlers. In sixth position was Kensaleyre’s Jimmy ...

STAFFIN residents who are keen to take part in a new walking group are being offered the chance to have a day’s training next month as a guide.
The Staffin Community Trust is progressing plans to create additional footpath routes in the district as part of the Skye Ecomuseum, Ceumannan. http://www.skyecomuseum.co.uk/staffin-trust.php  The paths are not just for visitors though. SCT wants to encourage local people to get the benefit of the Ceumannan sites and enjoy pleasant walks all-year round in Staffin and is keen to set up ...

STAFFIN residents and businesses have outlined the limitations of their current internet service – amid moves to secure high speed broadband for the district and other north Skye communities. 
The North Skye Broadband Project (NSBP), which is being led by the Glendale Trust, investigated internet provision in Glendale, Waternish and Duntulm in a major public consultation between April and May.
BT is in the midst of a region-wide roll-out of superfast broadband but none of those communities are included. In Staffin, limited superfast broadband ...

THE Staffin Sheepdog Trials takes place next week with competitors from several different countries making their way to the hugely popular annual event in Trotternish.
The judge presiding over the handlers and dogs has an impressive pedigree himself.
Stuart Davidson, who will be casting an expert eye over a stellar field of competitors, is no stranger to silverware and has been the Supreme Champion twice and Scottish National Champion five times.
Handlers from all over Europe, Wales, England, Ireland, and of course ...

AN IRISH student is looking to interview Staffin people for a documentary about the role of Gaelic in community life.
Lauren Beehan, a postgraduate student of Edinburgh’s Napier University, will be in Staffin between Wednesday, July 15 and Friday, July 17. 
A copy of Lauren’s letter is published below. If anybody is interested please get in touch with Hugh Ross at the Staffin Trust who will pass on details to Lauren or e-mail her directly via beehanl@tcd.ie
Feasgar math,
I am ...

VOLUNTEERS in Skye and Lochalsh are being invited to take part in a leadership course in Staffin.

Skye and Lochalsh Council for Voluntary Organisations has teamed up with Columba 1400 to offer the programme next month. 
Columba 1400 values-led leadership course is being offered to volunteer members of SLCVO, who are over the age of 16.
The course starts on Monday, July 6 and runs for five days. It is free.
Anybody interested should contact Meg Gillies ...

NEWS and updates from Staffin with contributions from the various organisations in the district is now published in the summer edition of the Staffin community newsletter.
There is the latest on the new Staffin gym, Fèis Thròndairnis, the Staffin Slipway, the campaign for affordable housing, new Skye abattoir, Gaelic courses by the Flodigarry and Staffin trusts, the Staffin Sheepdog Trials and more. 
Copies of the newsletter will be available at the Staffin Post Office, Staffin Stores, MacKenzie Shop and Columba 1400 Centre.

A SUMMER fair will be held at Staffin Primary School this weekend.
And parents, pupils and staff are hopeful it will blow away the community’s blues at such a poor start to the summer weather-wise, with a dry forecast for the event. There will be refreshments, home baking, face painting, “Guess the Name of the Dolly”, a raffle, tombola and car washing. Parent Kirsty Faulds added that there had been great local support for the event. “There are fantastic prizes for raffle ...

MORE than 4,000 people – many from Staffin and the Trotternish peninusla –  have signed a petition demanding that Portree Hospital is saved from closure, as plans for a protest march have been announced.
The Save Portree Hospital campaign group has confirmed a march will be held in Portree on Saturday, June 20. The group and supporters will walk from Somerled Square to the hospital demanding the reinstatement of out-of-hours doctors and a full Independent Review of the health service in the ...

A PLAQUE marking the tragic loss of nine men in a Staffin air disaster during the Second World War has been erected on the district’s main war memorial. 
The B-17 Flying Fortress from America crashed in fog at Beinn Edra, the highest peak on the Trotternish Ridge, in March 1945.
The Staffin community held a commemoration in March marking 70 years since the tragedy, with the crew’s names now added to the Staffin War Memorial, by the Kilmartin River.
Ninety people ...

SEVERAL whales have sadly died after being beached in Staffin, despite the efforts of rescuers.
The long-finned pilot whales, part of a pod of more than 20 which arrived in Staffin on Monday, had got into severe difficulties in the bay.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue has been tending to the animals with locals also helping. A large crowd had gathered at Brogaig but were kept away from the whales to avoid the rick of infection.hey were refloated but ...

A RESEARCH visit to public artworks in the Central Belt – which will aid the creation of the much-anticipated Staffin Crofters’ Memorial – has been carried out the Staffin Community Trust (SCT).
The fact-finding trip to Edinburgh, Lanarkshire, Lothian and Perthshire, which was funded by Creative Scotland, was led by Emma Nicolson, the director of the Skye-based arts organisation ATLAS. Emma was accompanied by SCT director Sine Gillespie and local development officer Hugh Ross.
ATLAS is working in partnership with SCT on ...