Obair La
Sunday 8 May 2005, 6.00pm, STV and Grampian
Anne Martin – A Worldwide Musical Ambassador
Born and raised in Kilmuir, Skye, the popular Gaelic singer Anne Martin has thrilled audiences all over the world with her superb evocative voice and ambassadorial zeal for promoting the language, culture and music of her childhood. In the final programme in the series Obair La, the busy musician, businesswoman and mother invites us to join her as she successfully juggles her working life with family commitments at home in Linicro on the northern promontory of Skye.
Like many islanders of her generation, she vividly remembers being brought up in the relative comfort of a close-knit Gaelic speaking community. Equally, she recalls the first croft and house in her village being sold off, providing a welcome boost to the local population but also, unfortunately, heralding the gradual erosion of language and culture within the Gaelic speaking rural communities of Skye.
Anna proved to be an accomplished child singer during her junior school years,
and during her upbringing in Skye she tried to absorb as much as she could
of the Gaelic singing tradition from family members and older neighbours who
had grown up with the customs and traditions of song and storytelling within
the home.
Following a short spell working in Edinburgh, she returned home to Skye where
she gained employment in community education while working towards a diploma
in Youth and Community Studies. This subsequently led to an opportunity to
work in Kenya for two years with Voluntary Services Overseas, and then went
on to spend some time employed as a researcher in Sri Lanka. After returning
home to Scotland, and on meeting her husband John, they decided to settle
on Skye where Anna returned to work in community education. The couple took
advantage of John’s interest in kayaking, turning it into a business
opportunity by establishing Whitewave Activities in 1990, initially offering
supervised kayaking trips around the nearby coast. Starting off with just
eight kayaks working from the shore, the business venture gradually expanded
as they introduced other activities like windsurfing and archery and built
up a solid team of skilled outdoor pursuits trainers and supervisors.
The purchase and renovation of an old crofthouse in Linicro in 1995 offered the business a solid base from which to operate from and provide accommodation for its increasing clientele. Whitewave’s location in northern Skye is also ideally placed for those who enjoy hill walking and climbing. Keen to adopt and promote alternative energy initiatives, John and Anna have recently installed a 10-metre high wind turbine behind the Whitewave accommodation that generates electricity for the business, with surplus power being sold on to the National Grid.
As part of the Scottish Executive’s recent initiative to provide a year's free music tuition for every primary school pupil in Scotland, Anna was contracted by Feisean nan Gaidheal to teach Gaelic song. Her job takes her to many of the beautiful, small, inhabited islands that decorate the west coast, such as the two pupil school on picturesque Canna and the SNH owned Isle of Rum, where the children of the agency’s employees attend the island’s tiny school. As well as being a successful singer with a number of recordings to her credit, Anna has worked in drama for many years, starting off with Portnalong Players and graduating to film and television work: her most recent role being in the MacTV drama ‘Balaich Ronaidh’. Superbly capturing the stunning natural beauty of Skye and the small isles, the programme also features Anna’s Gaelic singing in her own inimitable and enchanting style.
Produced and directed by Magaidh MacKinnon, Paracas Media, edited at Studio Alba in Stornoway and funded by Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gàidhlig, the concluding Obair Là programme of the series will be broadcast on STV and Grampian on Sunday 8 May 2005 at 6.00pm.
For further information:
Magaidh MacKinnon, Paracas Media
Tel: 01851 810 269
