Community celebrates taking over estate
Locals and tourists, young and old, converged on Helmsdale last Saturday to celebrate a community land buy-out.
The Garbh Allt Community Initiative (GACI) took over the 3000-acre West Helmsdale estate in June, and celebrations were held as part of Community Land Scotland Week.
The day of festivities got under way with a children’s flag-making workshop in Timespan Museum and Art Gallery.
Thirty-two children, from toddlers to teenagers, poured in and were given the challenge of designing a flag, inspired by GACI, depicting a local theme and using the colours of the countryside.
Lending a hand was Maree Todd, minister for children and young people as well as SNP MSP for the Highlands and Islands. The minister joined in the fun and made her own flag – a Saltire.
After the flag-making session, the day took a more reflective turn, with a procession from Timespan up to the Land League Cairn in Gartymore.
Those at the front carried flags representing the Highland diaspora – Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Caithness, the Saltire and the new GACI flag were all represented, while many of the children waved the flags they’d just made.
The marchers were piped in by local schoolboy, Findlay Adams, whose great-grandfather, Sandy Davidson, presided over the unveiling of the Land League cairn in 1981.
Some 50 people gathered for the unveiling of the GACI plaque, including many locals who had attended the 1981 event, a large number of children, and visitors who had joined in after inquiring what the celebrations were commemorating. Seven children from the GACI estate unveiled the plaque. GACI chairwoman, Anne Fraser, paid tribute to the area’s Land League past and told the crowd that GACI was the future with the really exciting work starting now.
The celebrations came to an end with a ceilidh, decorated with the diaspora flags and bunting made from GACI postcards depicting the map of the new estate.
The cake, also depicting the GACI map, was cut by two local crofters, Hamish MacDonald and Iain Jappy.
