Three local shinty nostalgia groups share £2.5k handout

Three more shinty nostalgia groups are to benefit from over £2,500 in financial support to enable them to develop work being done in their communities.
By Craig Goldthorp
Published 29th Dec 2020, 10:31 GMT
Updated 29th Dec 2020, 10:32 GMT
A female Lewis shinty player pictured in the 1990sA female Lewis shinty player pictured in the 1990s
A female Lewis shinty player pictured in the 1990s

That money, from the Life Changes Trust’s Creating Better Lives in the Highlands small grants programme, is going to the Beauly, Badenoch and Caberfeidh Memories Groups.

Shinty Memories Scotland secured the funding to make the grants available from the trust to build on work already done in a number of shinty-playing areas and support new groups.

Beauly Shinty memories Group, working with other groups such as Caberfeidh and Lovat’s, has been awarded £1,000 to buy media equipment for showing archive photographs, videos and audio files to its members.

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A spokesman said: “This development will enable us to show digitised versions of photographs and means that we need not be in possession of hard copies of photographs, which are so often delicate and easily damaged.

“It also means that memories groups can use the same images at the same time.”

Badenoch Shinty Memories Group has also been awarded £1,000 to continue the production and printing of its regular newsletter and quiz, Camans and Goings, launched during the first Covid-19 lockdown.

Chairman John MacKenzie said: “The newsletter provides a sense of belonging to the group and is an ideal way to share news and memories of the sport.

“The digital publication travels far and wide through an email distribution list, but it is vitally important to have printed copies for people to receive in their own homes, care homes or sheltered housing.”

Caberfeidh Memories Group has been awarded £695 to buy media equipment to help it develop its activities locally, including a Friday afternoon club at Castle Leod.

The club’s David MacMaster, also chairman of Shinty Memories Scotland, said: “This weekly gathering is a great opportunity to convene in a welcoming, friendly setting and not only assist the club but also allow them to retain an active link with the club and encourage social gathering.”

He added: “We are very pleased to have been able to distribute this second tranche of the Life Changes Trust Creating Better Lives in the Highlands small grants programme.

“We do have a small amount of money still to be distributed and we will consider how to make that available in the coming weeks.”