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We are immensely proud of our Ardfern Runners who ran a half marathon (for the first time!) in Glasgow on Sunday 1st October to raise funds for 3 charities - two of which were founded and are run by locals. Over £1500 has been raised (so far! we're still counting) for Feedback Madagascar, DARE Foundation and MIND UK. Well done guys! 
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This Sunday, 14th May starting 11am in Craobh Village near end of causeway we will be doing our second beach clean of the year. Soup and sandwiches for hungry volunteers kindly provided by Lord of the Isles at around 1pm. All volunteers very welcome (bring a wheel barrow if you have one to help clear the causeway). Gloves available and bags provided. This great community effort helps raise funds for our primary school. Any queries to Elaine Purdy-hope to see you there! Photos from previous beach cleans in Craignish. The last photo was taken at Kintraw beach at the head of Loch Craignish on the 23rd May. The children are flying beachclean sarongs with the message SAY NO TO A PLASTIC SEA! an initiative by local artist and designer Hannah Tofts who is fighting against marine pollution: www.letsgotothebeach.org
In collaboration with Craignish Primary School, Craignish Village Hall we have submitted a project called Fuaimean Craignish (Sounds of Craignish) to an Argyll & Bute Particapatory budget scheme to promote Gaelic language and culture. Their idea is to kick off with a summer feis in Ardfern to support the rich Gaelic culture that is such a vital part of this place but is so threatened. They hope to set up a series of workshops about Gaelic story telling, language, history, music, drama, and more with regular coffee and craic sessions at the hall to keep the momentum going. They aim to be as inclusive as possible, with plenty for all, young and old, in Craignish and throughout mid-Argyll! To receive funding they need as many people as possible to vote for their project. You can do so via this link: www.abpb.co.uk. If you have any questions or would like any more info please get in touch. THANK YOU! Fuaimean Craignish
 The congregation at Craignish Parish Church on 9 April 2017 remembered that 100 years ago on that day the Battle of Arras began. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War with some 159,000 allied troops losing their lives and a daily casualty rate of more than 4,000. Among those killed were two local men, Peter MacGilp from Craignish who died on 16th May 1917 aged 21. He has no grave but is remembered on the Arras Memorial and on the family stone at Kilvaree. And Duncan Campbell from the Isle of Shuna, who died on 23rd April 1917 aged 20 and is buried at Duisans British Cemetery, Etrun. Both Peter and Duncan were serving with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. 44 of the 120 battalions on the British frontline were Scottish. Church of Scotland Moderator Russell Barr led the centenary commemoration service at the Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery in Arras. The prayer he used on this occasion was included in the prayers at Craignish Parish Church.
www.netherlornchurches.org.uk Arras 100 Prayer God of time and eternity speak to us in the silence of our remembrance of Your promise of a new heaven and a new earth. Weaving together past sorrow and future hope help us be mindful of the debt we owe others and of the opportunities which lie ahead As we recall the terrible cost of war in particular the price paid at Arras by those who served here let us also recall Your command to love our enemy and care for our neighbour. Renew our faith in Your unchanging purpose of love and embrace us and all for whom we pray in that peace which passes all understanding in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Our small but utterly amazing boat club has won Club of the Year at the Scottish Canoe Association´s Awards ceremony this weekend! And this is why: In 2010, Craignish Boat Club became homeless and it was unclear whether they would survive. After a lot of blood, sweat and tears, they managed to secure a new site which they moved to in 2014, after 3 years of uncertainty. Since securing the new site, the club has gone from strength to strength, and through forging links with local schools it is now seen as a pillar in the community. Every child in the local school from P3 upwards has attended at least one of the activities (sailing or paddling) for at least one season. They now have 60 kayaking members and with three Level 1 coaches and 7 assistants, they are building on their bank of coaches, providing ongoing training and support to help them progress. Achieving all of this in such a relatively short period of time is a fantastic achievement, which is why Craignish are recognised as Club of the Year 2016. Congratulations guys!  The calendar for this year´s Arts Festival is now available and its going to be another excellent year of art and culture. For updates keep checking: www.craignish.org.uk/cvh/craignish-festival-2016-30th-july-to-14th-august/  Ju and Bob were both away this month, so Jan did the count on her own. Although it was cloudy initially the temperature was 22ºC and by the end of the count it was sunny and 24 degrees! June tends to be a fairly quiet month on the bird front, but with virtually no wind and a very low tide it was fairly easy to identify those birds that were about.
One highlight was a great view of a pair of Sandpipers on the shore in front of the Village Hall. They came so close that Jan tried to photograph them, but they were so well camouflaged against the stones that they didn’t really show up in a photo! There is an unusual looking Oystercatcher which has been on the Loch Beag Shore for some time now – much whiter and more mottled than a ‘normal’ oystercatcher. It is very distinctive so worth keeping an eye out for. Birds seen were as follows: Oystercatcher – 25 Canada Geese – 72 Greylag Goose – 27 Red Breasted Merganser – 17 Common Sandpiper – 6 Grey Heron – 3 Mallard – 26 Shelduck – 3 Eider Duck – 3 We´re getting ready to don our wellies and waterproofs for our first community beach clean today. Every year the community bands together to collect hundreds of bags of rubbish from our shores. Its been a particularly stormy winter so we´re going to be busy!  Sunday 13th was a perfect day for a bird count – dry, mild, cloudy and no wind. Bob and Jan had a great couple of hours and saw large numbers of birds. There was one Slavonian Grebe in the bay just before Dumnhuillig but no sign of the second one that was seen last month. They were also intrigued by a diving duck which they have been unable to identify – a diving duck about the size of a Mallard. Black with a white chest and belly (not a white throat, but you could see some of the white above the water when the bird was swimming) and a ‘duck egg’ (pale bluey/green) bill. If anyone has any ideas please let Jan or Bob know!
Other birds seen were: 61 Oystercatchers, 16 Curlew, 41 Canada Geese, 10 Goldeneye, 17 Greylag Geese, 8 Heron, 23 Eider Duck, 2 Redshank, 9 Mallard, 22 Red Breasted Mergansers, 32 Wigeon, 8 Shelduck, 22 Teal, 1 Shag, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 1 Cormorant.
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