Since the same master Hebridian boat builder has shown up three times, it is only fitting to make note. I guess I should have expected to find familiar names and such (e.g. the poem The Scarecrow twice referenced, the lynch-man Patrick Seller...) while doing research of a sparsely populated area, but it still feels a bit strange when it happens. Strange in a nice sort of way. Leslie Riddoch writes about him in her book, but then she interviewed lots of local people as she bicycled across the Outer Hebrides so I did not fully appreciate his significance.
In one of my favorite books so far, The Sea Room, Adam Nicolson writes extensively about the kindness of his friend the shipwright. Designing and building the perfect boat for Nicolson was not such a big stretch. Mentoring an outsider like Nicolson was quite another thing. As Nicolson sailed out from the bay into the unsettling waters of the Minch, "there on the headland by the Norse seamark, a tall, lichened stone pillar, stood a man. He was waving to me. I waved back, and then I realized. It was John MacAulay. He must have run a half a mile to get there...this was his farewell, a shipwright saying goodbye to his boat." (at pg. 25) Generations have sailed and navigated the challenging waters off the east coast of Lewis. Generations of respect. I had to stop and put down The Sea Room and thumb through Riddoch's book. Yes, it was the same person. And now, while looking up a completely unrelated article about some ancient bones recently uncovered in a kist, who should I run across but the very same man. He would be John MacAulay of Harris.
Rotting away on the shore of Valtos Harbor, on the east coast of Lewis, was one of the last remaining original Western Isles "double-enders", the Rose. Some ninety years old. The local historical society rescued her and who else but Mr. John MacAulay has the pleasure of restoring her. Not a difficult decision - who better to put your trust in to do the job right, but in the hands of MacAulay. It is a testament to the fine craftsmanship of the original boat builder the Rose survived at all. It will be a testament in another 90 years to the craftmanship of MacAulay in preserving this treasure.
The Rose will never again carry wet seaweed or peat or sheep. I can only hope they will celebrate the restoration by putting her in the water once again.
The Only Rose (Runrig)
Between the shifting shadows
In the no-man's zone
There's a bar at the end of the street
Some poor country music
One or two sixties songs
This is the place where the night owls sleep
Oh, loneliness
You're a hard earned crust
You're the night at the end of the day
'Cause you pay your dues
On the road you choose
With the price you have to pay
Down the neon aisles
And the twilight miles
Where the world takes comfort in shame
And all I can hear
Is a voice in my ear
And its calling out your name
Still the silence glows
The four winds blow
And a dark moon rising above
To rest by your side
In the heat of the fire
In the sleep of the night of love
When darkness hangs
On the dirty city
Winter falls on a foreign town
And it's all I can do
To be with you
Tonight as the sun goes down
But I would cross
The ocean wide
I'd walk the mighty foam
If I could lie
In your arms tonight
You're the only rose I know
The lovely youtube video of the sea and sky and dancing dolphins and The Rose was pulled off the air. So, here again is the Divine Bette without the scenes.
The Rose
Written by Amanda McBroom
Performed by Bette Midler
No comments:
Post a Comment