Am nar Beatha (A Time in Our Lives)
Thursday 13 October 2005, 6.45pm, BBC2 Scotland
Am na’r Beatha is the story of crofting - past and present - and the impact that crofters have had on the soil which has sustained them. At times their life was hard as they struggled against bad weather, poor soil, and bad landlords. But at other times they were so close to the land it felt like part of them, as if they had grown from it.
As John Morrison discovers many of these families have worked the same croft since before the 1886 Crofters’ Act which gave security of tenure. Ena MacNeill, a crofter on the West coast of North Uist, says, “There is a huge affinity between us and the land – I think it is perhaps because we were born here.” Ena has now passed her croft to her son Angus MacDonald who tells John, “It means a lot to me to be working this land here. The land is in my blood. But I have to say that as the years pass and the generations pass, it’s getting more difficult.”
On October 1st 1955, the new Crofters Commission was constituted under the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955. Agnes Rennie, a crofter from Galson, was the first woman on the Crofter Commission. Galson has its own place firmly marked in crofting history when resident crofters were displaced during the 19th century to make way for the establishment of a farm. The programme assesses the performance and contribution of both the Crofters’ Commission, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the Crofting Foundation. formerly the Crofters Union. that Angus MacLeod (Ease) from Calbost in Lewis and his colleagues launched in a blaze of publicity twenty years ago this year.
The leading Highland historian and the first Director of the Crofters Union, Dr. James Hunter, tells Am na’r Beatha why he has argued that the Crofters Commission should be abolished. A view he says, “ arose out of frustration that here is this organisation with all this resource and after fifty years is not able to have an awful lot to show for its own existence.” Dr Hunter describes how the Highlands and Islands were once thickly populated before the Clearances forced people of the land to make way for sheep. Hunter believes that successive governments and agencies have been under the misconception that crofting is purely an agricultural phenomenon. In support of the unique way of life embraced by many in the Highlands and Islands, he claims, ”the real value of crofting is that it’s provided families with a base and with a home in areas where otherwise these things could not exist”.
The Land Reform Act that is currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament is heavily criticised by some crofter’s leaders. Ena MacNeill, Chair of the Scottish Crofting Foundation, warns of the potential consequences, “There will be nothing on the crofts but houses. But the day may come where we require land and require food and there will be nothing. There will be no land available to plant anything.”
Also in the programme are crofter and previous Crofters Union President Iain MacIver from Laxay in Lewis, Donald MacDonald from Skye who has supplied hens to the Highlands and Islands for many years. Derek Smith from Ballantrushal in Lewis is developing new breeds of animals to Lewis, while Ann Fraser tells the programme the impact that young crofter of the year 2004, Iain Norman MacDonald, has had on the community. Roddy Murray, a former councillor with Western Isles Council, talks about his role as a Commissioner and the impact that the agency has had on crofting.
Am na’r Beatha is presented by John Morrison. It is produced by Magaidh MacKinnon of Lewis based Paracasmedia, directed by Raghnaid MacDonald and funded by Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gaidhlig.
The following week John Morrison presents Cunntas, from the National Mod in Stornoway. The programme will look at the issues raised in Am na’r Beatha and assess the future of crofting.
For further information:
Magaidh MacKinnon, Paracas Media
Tel: 01851 810 269
