Note of the meeting of the North Tolsta Historical Society at the   Schoolhouse, North Tolsta , on 30 June 2005 , at 8.30pm .

Present: A. MacKenzie, A. Murray, D. Murray , R. Murray, S.MacIver, R.MacLeod M. Murray, D.J. MacRitchie, A. MacLeod, R. Moir, A. Campbell, J. A. MacIver.

Apologies   D. Lawson

Chair: Donald Murray

1.            Note of the Last Meeting The Note of the last meeting was approved.

2.            Matters arising

2.1         CED Plaque The plaque had been for the photoscan and web site project.

2.2         RMK Associates A.A.Smith had been to see them and insurance cover had been raised to £10k. Alex Angus would update the Committee in due course.

2.3         Hebridean Connections and Broadband

Donald had invited Donnie Morrison to give a presentation on the above. A provisional date and time of 26 July 2005 at 8pm was set which would be confirmed at a later date. This would be an open meeting in the community hall.

2.4         Local History  

Donald William Stewart, academic and historian, had also been invited to give a   talk of local historical interest, e.g., Ness-Tolsta connections to name but one subject, and it was anticipated that he would visit later in the year.   We could think about other related topics in the interim.

2.5         David Smith ( Montreal ) Mr Smith had been shown around Tolsta by A.A. Smith and he had enjoyed his visit.   

3.            Uist Visit

It was important to finalise numbers for the proposed visit asap. Currently booked provisionally for 20 people. John A would co-ordinate the visit, finalise bookings, etc.   The proposed itinerary, subject to sailings/weather, etc., was as follows:

15 July 2005

6.00 : Bus would depart from Tolsta.

8.30:   Leverburgh ferry departs.

9.30:   Arrival at Berneray.

Visit South Uist and Eriskay on the 15 th.

Lunch: Stepping Stones

Overnight stay at the Isle of Benbecula Hotel.

16 July 2005   

Morning and afternoon - tour of North Uist and Benbecula en route home.

18.30: Ferry departs Berneray.

19.30: Ferry arrives at Leverburgh.

21.30 (approximately): Arrive back in Lewis/Tolsta.  

The study visit would be part financed by the Young Historians project although there would be a small additional charge per participant for travel and accommodation.   It was hoped that the Berneray Historical Society would provide a guide and John A would finalise these arrangements.  

4.           Correspondence    

The following correspondence had been received:

4.1        Leesa Rumley (Windfall Films) intended to film a documentary series on "Science in the 50's" and was particularly interested in the plague bomb trials off the Traigh Mhòr in 1952/53.   Filming could begin on 25 July 2005 and they were looking for people with a knowledge of these events for a number of "on the water" interviews in the area where the trials were held.   D. Murray had a good recollection of the trials and he would liaise with the film makers and provide contacts/information as necessary.

5.            Other Business

• Scanning of photos - all the photos had been scanned and we now needed assistance with names. It was agreed to hold an evening meeting to do this and Rita, Sandra, Mairead, Anna and Rhoda would meet on Wednesday, 6 July 2005 .
• Transfer of information : from the old computer to the new one had not been done thus far but would be done at the first available opportunity by Donnie and Ruairidh
• E-mail correspondence was ongoing and was being dealt with by Rhoda.
• Update of the main NTHS web site : Donnie and Ruairidh would deal with this.
• Bàrdachd : the project was ongoing and Sandra, Angus and Donald were still going through the "Duncan Dodd" poetry/orain.   Rita also forwarded more bàrdachd.
• Taped Interviews - Rita, Alex and Ruairidh would continue to progress and we needed to identify more candidates for interviews.
• Seanchas - the next edition was just about ready for publication but it was important to keep forwarding information/features/articles of likely interest for inclusion in future editions.
• Tolsta Head - the sailing trip had not happened due to adverse weather, but hopefully we would get another opportunity soon.
• Walks - Susan Rabe (Western Isles Countryside Access Programme) would be in contact with us in due course to progress the project. Donald, Angus and Donald John would meet with her at the appropriate time.
• Press cuttings - Rhoda would continue to monitor items in the press relating to Tolsta that were of interest.     

11.         Date of Next meeting    No date was set for the next meeting.