Calum's Road

To the Traverse Theatre last night to see Calum's Road, a play based on the book of the same name by Roger Hutchinson, which is the story of one man's twenty year road building effort. It's a brilliant  piece of theatre. Heartbreakingly beautiful. Is that a permissible word? If not you know what I mean.

Calum Macleod lived on the Isle of Raasay, between Skye and the Scottish mainland, also famous as the birthplace of Sorley Maclean, great Gaelic poet, whom I had the pleasure of meeting one time many tears ago. Calum lived on the north of the Island and along with his neighbours fought with the local authority to build them a road, but to no avail. Calum decided that he could no longer wait for a road to be built by the authorities and in the 1960s begun to build the road himself, all on his own. I say the 1960s as the exact year is in doubt as Calum gave three different start dates, ranging from 1963 to 1969.

When he began to build the road there were one hundred people living on the north of the Island; by the time he finished twenty years later there were two, Calum and his wife Lexie. These are the basic details as I remember them from the play and reading the book some years ago. But of course the play is so much more. It's about land, clearances, love, survival against the odds, leaving and returning, determination, bravery, defiance, hard work, beautiful scenery, art, music and all that's best about man. An absolute delight, one of the best plays I've seen for some time. Go see it if it comes near you.

It was maybe not the best of times for me to see it. There was some bits of Gaelic songs and lots of great music. The whole cast at one stage sang a Gaelic psalm and it was just heartstopping. I don't know if you have ever had the pleasure of hearing Gaelic psalm singing? I was moved to tears. Very embarrassing but I think I got away with it. I just sat there and was back in Tong Free Church listening to Angus Bhragair and my mother and the rest of them belting out whatever psalm it was. I was so caught up and moved by it that I forgot to remember which one it was.

Probably more tearful because I'd had another phone call from Douglas Speake, now calling himself Doug, and telling me things are more complicated than they first thought and the whole process is going to be longer and the operation more difficult and no promises or prognosis until after the operation. More on this in later post.