The GAMA Award
The funding for the 2010 GAMA Award has been secured following its success in 2009, when the winner was Laura Helyer, a graduate of the University of St Andrews.
She has produced - Paper Cairns - an account, in prose and poetry, of the life and achievements of the late Angus 'Ease' Macleod, the social historian from the Lochs district of the Isle of Lewis. Paper Cairns will be launched on Friday 26 February 2010 at 7.30 pm at the Ravenspoint Centre, Kershader, South Lochs. If you are interested in attending, please contact us via the Mailform.
The Award commemorates the work of two men. One is Herbert Gatliff (1897 - 1977), a pioneering member of the Outdoor Movement, who was keen to see people, particularly the young, visit the Outer Hebrides. This enthusiasm led him to establish, in these Scottish islands, a network of hostels which continues to thrive.
The other is Angus Macleod (1916 - 2002), born in Calbost in the South Lochs area of the Isle of Lewis, who created a remarkable collection of material relating to many aspects of local life. This is now stored in the Angus Macleod Archive, housed at the Ravenspoint Centre, Kershader, close to his place of birth.
The legacy of the former, the four hostels, is managed by the Gatliff Hebridean Hostels Trust - www.gatliff.org.uk ; the interests of the latter are supported by the Archive - www.angusmacleodarchive.org.uk and The Islands Book Trust - www.theislandsbooktrust.com
These organisations wish to promote their work by offering funds to a student or researcher at a British college or university through the GAMA (Gatliff Angus Macleod Archive) Award for the Summer of 2010.
What is on offer is to be found on the next page - Award Details. However, because this year's award was made to someone interested in the life and times of one of the persons commemorated, please understand that the breadth of topics to be proposed is as wide as the Western Isles are long !
The view below is across the remote North Harris settlement of Rhenigidale, where the first Gatliff Hostel was established, towards the Shiants in the far distance.
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