This week saw the opening of Walking The Bridge: The Shape of the Space Where We Live. This was an exhibition for 2009 year of Homecoming about emigration from Scotland to Australia. It included black and white prints, digital projections and sound; all by Judy Parrott. There was additional film of Rothesay residents with family in Australia by Brain Barr and Laura Mullholland.

This exhibition, staged by the Step-Up Project and the Discover Bute Landscape Partnership Scheme and made possible by additional funding from Homecoming kicks off our summer programme. This culminates over the September weekend with the arrival of the Giant. Big Man Walking.

Over the summer there will be workshops for local people to make lanterns. The lanterns will be used for the lantern parade to call the Giant to Bute on the evening of Friday September 25th.

Workshops will also be held to create the banners and falgs to be waved when ther Giant departs on Monday September 26th. He will leave by Cal Mac ferry. We want hoards of people to come and wave him off,just as people waved off their loved ones when they left Glasgow and Greenock by ship, passing Bute, on their way to a new life. Canada Hill is the venue for waving off the Giant. The name was for many centuries Covin Hill until changed by this new use to Canada Hill and don't let any Jeremiah's tell you otherwise.

Many of the bannaers will be created in local schools from artwork sent from schools in Canada. BUT, we hope many people will be traditional and bring their bedsheets to wave.

there will also be workshops for music and drama.

On Saturday September 26th the Giant will be in Guildofrd Square and on Sunday 27th he will be on the Tramway and at Etrrick Bay.

Watch this site and local and national press for details.

Wednesday 20th saw over 40 teenagers from schools across Argyll come to Bute to learn about aspects of the landscape which they might not have previously considered, wildlife crime and  the finding of suspicious objects on the beach. They also did a beach clean, learned aboiut willow weaving and heritage wood carving.

This was delivered by the DBLPS in partnership with the Island Countryside Ranger, Strathclyde Police and Beachwatch Bute.

We also had our third audit from the Heritage Lottery Fund which went very well, despite my having mislaid one or two pieces of paper! Ooops!