Trafika Europe 1 - Northern Idyll

A story and a yarn

Ian Stephen

Ian Stephen was born in the Isle of Lewis, Scotland where he lives today. A former coastguard officer, he won the Robert Louis Stevenson award in 1995, and represented Scotland in Canada as part of the Scottish Poetry

Library’s Commonwealth Poets united series in 2014.

Of the following tale, he says, "I heard this from Chrisella Ross, in an Lanntair , Stornoway, November 2013. My retelling is based on memory and some handwritten notes. She ascribed the original source as one Lachlan Mor (mac Dhomhnaill ‘ ic Mhuirich) one of the dynasty of MacVurichs, bards to Clanranald. "The role of Clanranald features strongly in the learned, illustrated travelogue of Professor Murdo Macdonald; this resource is a generous sharing of the author ’ s personal recollections. These are brimful with cultural references ranging from the culture of seafaring to a summary of the marks that artist-makers have left in the landscape of the Highlands and islands, over centuries."

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