Lismore played its part in Oban’s first Festival of the Sea which for ten days celebrated the area’s marine environment with more than 50 events running in a range of venues.
Award winning play
Lismore Primary School children performed Ali Cunningham’s award winning sea-themed play What the Owl and the Pussy Cat Saw in the opening event in the Corran Halls having earlier won two awards at the North Lorn Drama Festival.
On Sunday Iain MacKinnon, driving the community bus, met the ten ferry at Point and took a group of visitors to Port Ramsay where Duncan Black with Bob Hay talked about the life and works of the many seafarers who plied the lime trade in smacks, pointing out many interesting salient features, the most notable being the rudder post of The Lady Margaret one of the two last smacks that traded out of Port Ramsay.
Before visiting the lime kiln, we were shown a gravestone visible at low tide which had been dropped over the side because the purchaser did not pay. A great curse was put on anyone daring to lift it which is why it is still visible today. We also saw a mooring ring in the cliff and an old boat building site where Duncan told us the term top dog came from as he stood above the gully where the workers worked.
After refreshments at the cafe (in brilliant sunshine) the visitors were driven to Sailean and Kilicheran where Bob provided an enlightening commentary and they were invited to explore the lime kilns, the jetty and the now deserted dwellings.