Not the best time to Re-launch !!!

Last week I decided it was about time to pull my finger out and resurrect the Creagorry blog. Sadly for me this posting coincides with the sad news that the White Tailed Eagles at Loch Frisa have failed in their nesting attempt for 2010.
I am privileged to be involved with the Mull Eagle Watch, joining with other like minded people in keeping a watchful eye over the nest of Frisa and Skye. The main objective being that they successfully hatch their eggs and hopefully deter the actions of those that seek otherwise. Sadly for all those involved this year it wasn't the reckless and irresponsible actions of man that the eggs/chicks have succumbed but to the unforeseen moods of Mother Nature.
Unfortunately the end of this years incubation period has coincided with a spell of awful weather on Mull. The little chicks first introduction to the big wide world was hail,snow and gale force winds, even the most experienced devoted parents couldn't possibly protect their tiny vulnerable chicks from that onslaught could they ?. Rather than dwell on the previous thoughts I prefer to keep the image of the little coal tit, who on a sunny Easter Sunday afternoon seemed to be oblivious to the fact that it's discarded pine seeds were dropping directly onto the head of Frisa who was sitting only a half a metre below incubating her eggs. I would like to think that little coal tit will soon be raising it's own little family and maybe next year it's offspring will get the chance to play a game of hit the Sea Eagle chick with falling pine seeds.

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Mull Highland Games 2008

Thursday 24 July was the date for one of Mull's major annual events the Mull Highland Games which is held on the Tobermory Golf Course. The event starts with a march from the Main Street where the Hereditary Chieftain Sir Lachlan MacLean of Duart and Morven leads members of the MacLean Clan accompanied by the Mull and Iona Pipe Band up to the Games Ground.
The Games ground in Tobermory is recognised as one of the most beautiful in Scotland with views down the the Sound of Mull and the hill which provides visitors with a natural grandstand. The Mull Highland Games consists of a complete range of events from Traditional Highland Dancing, Bagpiping and the Light Events which are mainly athletic based events including the 100 yards up to One Mile, Long Jump, High Jump and Triple Jump. Then there are the Heavy Events which include Tossing the caber, Shot Put, Hammer and throwing a weight over a bar.
This years games took place on a lovely hot sunny afternoon which fortunately was made bearable be the easterly breeze blowing across the games ground. In the light events the notable performance of the day came from Cambletown athlete Matthew Turner who won the majority of the track events.

Royal Visit to Tobermory 3rd July 2008

Today saw the visit of HRH Princess Royal to Tobermory. The purpose of her visit was to officially open the new Harbour building Taigh Solais and the Pontoon system which have been constructed for the Tobermory Harbour Association. The Princess Royal arrived by helicopter at 12.30 p.m touching down at the Tobermory Golf Club adjacent to Creagorry. Monica was all ready to receive her Royal Highness for tea and scones but obviously the invitation must have been mislaid in the post.
Neil MacCallum from Fionnphort was on hand to pipe a welcome to the Princess Royal before she was given a guided tour of Harbour Building and Pontoon System and a chance to meet all the key people who were involved in the project. The Princess Royal then unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening and then the junior Gaelic choir Coisir og Thobar-Mhoire sang for her a song in Gaelic. The Princess Royal was presented with a bottle of finest Tobermory malt whisky to mark the occasion before she made her way back to the helicopter.
The departure of HRH Princess Royal was then signal for the start of a day of events. Firstly the visitors and residents of Tobermory were treated to a RNLI Sea King Helicopter rescue exercise involving the Tobermory lifeboat which all took place in the Harbour. There was no shortage of local food on offer including delicious Inverlussa mussels and chocolate and guinness buns, I know it sounds like a strange combination but they were very nice - honest. The Lediag car park was also host to a mixture of community stalls including Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust.
The next event to take place was a raft race organised by the RLNI. The race consisted of mixture of homemade rafts of all shapes and sizes, including a floating bed. Some of the rafts were far more sea worthy than others but fortunately the RNLI Sea King Helicopter was not required to make a rescue although most of the participants were throughly soaked on completing the course.

The evening saw a continuation of the celebrations with a open air live concert, first up were the Isle of Mull Gaelic Choir to sing a selection of Gaelic songs. Next on stage after a very heavy downpour was Sam Sedgewick who was followed by Mull's own singing shepherd Iain Thompson. Whilst the artists were performing on stage the Harbour Building remained open for visitors to take a look around. A large proportion of the ground floor is the new home for the Sealife Surveys Visitors Centre.

This is a modern architect designed interior containing a huge marine viewing tank. which is home to a host of native marine species. The centre also has plenty of educational and informative displays about the rich marine and land wildlife in and around the Isle of Mull. There are also plenty of wildlife and eco based products on offer for visitors to purchase as a reminder of their visit to Mull. This of course is also the place to book your boat trips to see the dophins and whales that are abundant in the waters around Mull.

Meanwhile back on the stage the next performers were two local bands the first called The Sorren Maclean Band followed by The Ross Baird Band who both got an excellent reception from the people of Mull. The headline act for the evening were the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. The Chilli Pipers were winners of the Prime Time BBC One show 'When Will I Be Famous' with a blistering set Rock Bagpipes that astounded the viewers and critics!. I'm pretty certain Mull has never seen our heard anything quite like the incredible piping and astounding drumming to a mixture of traditional and popular rock and pop tunes, they defenitely put on a great show and were a fitting finale to a great day.