The Pull of the Islands An Island Parish

It's the height of the summer season in the Outer Hebrides,

and all the islanders are making the most of the warm weather

and the school holidays.

One small island connected to the southern tip of Barra

by a causeway is Vatersay. It has a tiny population

and traditions are at the very heart of the community

as they have been since the first settlers arrived 100 years ago.

Today, up at the church,

the young Catholic priest, Father John Paul,

is overseeing an important festive occasion.

A day of great joy and great happiness

as two of our young girls here in the parish, here on Vatersay,

make their First Holy Communion.

95% of this community are Roman Catholic.

The Body of Christ.

Sister Marie, now look at those cameras.

Keeping a watchful eye on the young priest is Sister Marie,

who is well known and liked by all the islanders.

In fact, Sister Marie was the first person to welcome Father John Paul

on his arrival to the islands two years ago.

-Hi, Sister.

-We'd like to welcome you.

Thank you very much.

As well as helping Father John Paul,

Sister Marie is very involved with all the community, not just the young,

but also Barra's pensioners

like oldest islander, 94-year-old Seonaid Campbell,

who has 13 grandchildren.

-I've blown it up for you.

-Oh, yes.

What do you think? That's one of my favourite photographs of you,

did you know that?

-I think you were in the Wrens, is that right?

-That's right.

You were a very pretty girl. You still are though!

-Thank you very much, Sister Marie.

-You're more than welcome.

Sister Marie has been living on Barra for 13 years

and has been a nun for 50 years.

At an early age, she realised where her future lay.

I was 21, in case you were wondering how old I was.

It's very difficult to put into words,

but I just knew that...that was where I belonged, as a Sister,

serving the Lord as a Sister.

I think that was what it would be.

I've had tough times, of course I have.

I think, possibly, one of the toughest times

was when I went home for the first time,

and my cousin had a new born baby.

And I just realised, I won't be having any children of my own.

But, again, I was very blessed and fortunate

because I came back to the community,

and I chatted it out with an older Sister.

And I can't put it into words, but...

Yeah, it was hard, but...

..I knew this was the right thing for me.

Have you ever been in love?

Ah, surely everybody in their life at some time is in love.

Erm, but it's how you look at "in love".

I've loved lots of people and I hope lots of people have loved me too,

erm, but I don't think I've ever been to the extent

where I would ever, ever want to change my vowed life.

Because I made the commitment to Jesus really, basically.

To the Lord. I think that was my commitment.

For the last few weeks, Sister Marie's been waiting

for good weather so she can take Father John Paul

on a pilgrimage to an even smaller island than Vatersay,

further off the coast of Barra.

It's a trip Father John Paul has wanted to do

ever since he first arrived as its history is very special.

Over on the next-door parish of Eriskay, on South Uist,

preparations are well underway for what promises to be

the wedding of the year.

The whole island is expected to take part in the celebrations.

Mother of the bridegroom, Clare MacLeod,

is looking forward to seeing her family and relations

who are all returning specially to the island for the big occasion.

-How many children do you have?

-Five...five.

Well, there's one here,

erm, a couple in Glasgow,

and the boys are at sea.

Well, as the family grow up,

it becomes more difficult to get together as a family

and they're all in different parts of the world,

so it's very important that we come together for a happy occasion.

The cheeky wee chap in these photos is getting married soon.

How quickly time passes.

You just wonder where the time goes

and he and his twin brother, they're my babies.

Lachie, the bridegroom, is expected later today for rehearsals,

but the flights to the islands are scarce,

so Clare's hoping he'll make it back in time

and that the unpredictable Hebridean weather doesn't spoil the big day.

On the island of Barra, the bad weather is keeping folk inside.

For the last few months now,

one of Father John Paul's most loyal parishioners, Maggie Mackinnon,

better known to her friends as Scraggie Aggie,

has been preparing a special gift for him.

Now I'm getting on quite well, actually.

Better than I thought I would.

If there were less interruptions, I might get on quicker(!)

Have you got enough wool, because you were worried about his size?

I think maybe one... one more will do it.

-Why do you need more wool?

-Because he's getting a bit rounder(!)

Poor chap, all he does...

well, is saying Mass and standing on the altar.

But he really is, he's an exceptional priest,

I don't care what anybody says.

There's never been anyone like him before.

'Scraggie Aggie has been keeping the final designs under wraps.'

What are these green marks along the top here?

That is a surprise.

Nobody's to know what that is until it's finished...until it's complete.

I'm not telling anyone.

It's going to be a surprise.

She hopes to present Father John Paul

with the finished jumper any day,

as long as the island's supply of wool doesn't run out.

The summer sunshine had been slow to arrive.

In recent weeks, terrible weather had buffeted the islands

and for one of the biggest cattle-crofters around, Angus John,

it had been a big cause for concern.

I don't know what we're going to do if the bad weather continues.

You're not going to get the same crop as you had last year.

I'm not going to get that anyway, because of the weather.

I'm going to be down, and a way down, and all.

It's a hell of a situation to be in, to be honest.

But just a few weeks later

and at last Angus John's got a reason to smile.

The sun is out and he hopes it's here to stay

for the sake his fledgling new business venture,

a caravan and camping park.

How does it feel, being part of the tourist industry?

It's new to me, yes.

But when I look around and see other folk,

I think there's a bit of money in it too.

There are quite a few farmers, crofters and all,

who diversify to get a bit more money in.

For crofting alone doesn't... you couldn't live on it.

Maybe you'll be able to keep the wolf away from the door with crofting,

but that's all.

With the campsite business looking up, he's now hoping

the warmer weather will get to work ripening the silage

to feed his precious cattle.

On the nearby island of Eriskay,

the all-important bridegroom Lachie has made it in the nick of time

to what is expected to be the mother of all weddings.

Right.

Are you feeling a bit nervous about the big moment?

Um, a wee bit, but not too bad. Yeah.

What's going through your mind at the moment?

Er, ach, just trying to get everything done and, er...

Yeah, just getting everything sorted for tomorrow and get over here

and have a good night, I hope.

Lachie's father-in-law to be

has also brought some very precious cargo.

-Wow. So this is for the wedding?

-This is for the wedding.

One of our friends was out fishing.

The last week he's been out.

A very, very generous friend.

He's going to the wedding himself so he'll be expecting a share.

Only the best for your daughter's wedding then?

Well, of course, I mean, these are only the smaller ones.

The bigger ones are coming later.

Cousins, aunts, uncles and countless friends

from all over the mainland and adjoining islands

will be coming back for the wedding

and for the bride-to-be, Mairi Rodgers, it can't come soon enough.

It's brilliant, actually.

I'm so pleased we decided to get married in Eriskay.

Because everybody's around and everybody's involved,

and it's making it really good fun and it's making it easy as well,

and it's such a big day for everybody.

It's big for us, but it's also... It's been something

we've been talking about and looking forward to, all of us, for months.

And on the islands, you're not brought up by your family,

you're brought up more by the community,

so it's good to involve everybody as well.

Not just the immediate family, but the whole community.

At the heart of this small community is the parish priest Father Callum,

who will be conducting the service.

And it's up to him to get the wedding couple relaxed

before tomorrow's big ceremony.

In a place like this, where everyone knows everyone so well,

then the whole island takes part.

Some of us are very closely related.

-Are you related to the bride, Mairi?

-Yes.

-You are?

-I am, yes.

-How?

-Because, er, her grandfather was my first cousin.

And apart from that, we have the same birthday.

A few years apart that is.

-It really is a very close-knit world, here.

-It is, very. Yes.

Sister Mari's trip with Father John Paul

to a remote island 12 miles south of Barra

is a two-hour boat ride not without a few welcome surprises.

-Look at that!

-Wowee!

-Oh, my goodness!

Look at that!

You just wish they would hang around so I could get a good photo of them

but I can't get their face on the picture.

They must be a bit camera shy.

This part of the Outer Hebrides is home to a huge variety of sea life

who come to feed off the plentiful supply of plankton.

For Father John Paul, it's proving to be a heavenly trip.

I mean, there's no words.

I've got a camera and the photos aren't doing any justice.

I'm just glad I'm able to see this.

It's just beautiful. You can't...

I don't think there's any camera that could pick this up, it's just lovely.

Absolutely gorgeous.

It's magnificent, absolutely.

And to top it all, they get a glimpse of a giant of the sea.

There he is. There he is.

Basking sharks are often found around the waters of Barra.

These harmless creatures spend the summer months here

before travelling thousands of kilometres to warmer waters

as winter approaches.

The island Sister Marie has brought Father John Paul to see

is called Mingulay.

Once a thriving community, it hit upon very hard times.

The island's history dates back thousands of years.

At the beginning of the 20th century, it was home

to a small God-fearing community.

Now, the last time I came, the chapel still had its roof on.

But it was beginning to slide off.

The chapel house was below and the church was up on the second floor.

You could actually go upstairs.

So when you were here last, there was a wall there.

Yes, there was. Yes, there was.

Interesting they went up the stairs for the church.

Maybe it'd be easier if the church was on the bottom level

-and the priest...

-Up on the top.

-Lived up on the top.

-Yeah, yeah.

He'd have a penthouse,

looking out over the views of the lovely beach, but...

-Maybe they went on top because they felt closer to God.

-Maybe.

This island's eventual demise happened in 1912

when, after 2,000 years, it was abandoned.

Life on this remote island was very harsh.

The families depended on fishing and crofting to make ends meet.

It was a hand-to-mouth existence.

There was a community here on Mingulay for many, many years.

And then towards the turn of the last century,

life became unsustainable, really.

The women-folk were left behind, actually, to cope,

and the young boys would dart round the cliff edges,

picking up birds' eggs, and fishing.

But, really, life became just beyond good living.

So a number of fearless Mingulay men set out to escape poverty

and seek a more prosperous way of life

on the uninhabited island of Vatersay,

which was closer to the mainland

and there was plenty of fertile land for crofting.

But their plans to start new lives for their families were thwarted.

Lady Gordon Cathcart, who owned the island just for sheep -

it was all the island was used for, Vatersay -

she objected and the men were actually arrested

-and put in prison in Edinburgh.

-OK.

And then I think what happened then

was that the story hit the newspapers.

And everybody down in London, they caused a big outcry about it,

and they went through the court case

with the backing of a lot of publicity.

And they won the right to stay on Vatersay, and the crofting rights.

So that's how Vatersay came to be inhabited by these,

first of all, the Vatersay - as we call them - Raiders

and then their families came over from here,

and I think the last family came from Mingulay, I think in 1912.

That was the last person to leave.

-Yes.

-When they had to leave. It must have been really...

so heart-wrenching, mustn't it?

-Definitely.

-I know how I feel about Barra.

It fills you with sadness that you see these buildings people lived in.

You see it all collapsed and you realise

people have had to move on and leave this beautiful island.

and making a huge, huge sacrifice of leaving a church, a school,

the buildings. They had a lovely community.

Everyone's hoping and praying that this is something in the past now,

that all the other islands will just stay where we are,

keep growing, keep trying to keep our communities together.

Let's hope and pray that we don't have to go through this again

on any of the islands again.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

These islands and their communities' survival

have long depended on fishing.

Over the years, it has just about managed to keep its head above water

but today its very existence is under threat

and a tradition handed down from father to son for centuries

could be wiped out. The Scottish Government is considering

creating a conservation area

close to Barra's southern coastline which the island fishermen say

is completely unnecessary and will severely restrict their catches.

They fear it could dramatically affect their whole way of life.

Fisherman Angus MacLeod is chairman of the local campaigning group

and he's frustrated by the lack of any outcome

despite long-running negotiations.

We've been on at this for three years,

and you feel a bit demoralised here, kind of fighting a losing battle

because the government and researchers are continuing to proceed

with what we believe is totally unwanted and unnecessary.

If the government's proposals go ahead,

everyone on the islands is aware of the effect it could have

on families like Alasdair MacNeil's

If they get their way,

I'm out of a job. I've got to find something else.

Because in one of the areas they're thinking of shutting down,

it's mainly where we fish in the Sound Of Barra there.

And there's quite a lot of boats, maybe ten boats or more

that are working in that area alone, just in that small area.

So that would be ten families that would have to find employment ashore,

and there just isn't the work ashore.

The whole community are praying that when the decision is made,

any day now, it won't threaten their livelihoods.

Over on the north side of Barra,

crofter Angus John is inspecting his silage crop,

which has been blessed with the recent spell of warm weather

This has come on enormously. It's fantastic.

I'm really pleased with it.

As you can see yourself, it's great seed on that.

So I've no complaints now.

You look like a very relieved man.

Yeah, but see how it is just now, it's just ideal.

See this field here - I've been looking at it, checking it.

I reckon I'll be up on it this year.

If I get everything the way it looks,

I'll be able to sell about 30, 40 bales.

So instead of looking at a loss,

I'm looking at few pounds in the pocket now.

-You're a happy man, Angus.

-Oh, aye.

-You're a happy man.

No bother. So I'm really happy with this, it's turned out fantastic.

I can't complain about the man up top

because he's been good with the crops.

But Angus John knows that this window of dry weather

could be short lived

and he's anxious to harvest his silage as soon as possible.

A few miles to the north on the island of Eriskay,

final preparations for the wedding are nearly complete,

but it's all hands to the pump.

The wedding couple are expecting

over 200 relations and close friends,

and they are taking no chances when it comes to the catering,

using locally-caught fresh lobster.

He looks extremely heavy.

He is very, very heavy. Very heavy.

Look at the size of him, look at that claw.

SHE CHUCKLES

I would say he's quite an old boy - 40, 50, maybe even older.

-50 years old?!

-Yes, yes.

I mean look at the size of his... He's really old.

I had no idea lobsters lived that long.

Yeah, they do, they can live quite long.

-CRASHING Whoops!

-Whoops! This one's trying to get away.

-He's lively.

-Oh, he's trying to get away.

He is trying to get away, very hard. It's very important, you'll know,

that they have to be cooked when they're alive.

They have to be like that in order to make sure they're totally fresh

and that you don't poison anybody.

Yeah, I don't know what we're going to do with this baby, right enough

-You've not got a pot big enough.

-Er...

Eriskay folk can be very superstitious

and bride-to-be Mairi's relying on an ancient island tradition

to improve the chances of sunshine on her big day.

What are you doing there, Mairi?

I've just put a statue out.

It's actually called the Infant Of Prague.

And people believe in Eriskay that it should bring good weather.

-So you're hoping this will give you good weather for the wedding?

-Yes.

The forecast says a bit of rain and a bit of cloud,

but we're hoping just to brighten up.

Even for the photos outside church at half past three.

That would be all we would need.

Traditions are a huge part of the occasion.

The happy couple will have to perform in front of hundreds

of their relations and friends, so practice makes perfect.

There's so much of a buzz - everybody's around

and everybody's involved doing things, helping out.

-It's really exciting.

-No nerves, not even a tiny bit?

Not yet. I was a wee bit emotional.

I keep saying I'm going to have to do my crying today

so I'm not crying on the altar.

Because, yeah, I can be a bit emotional at weddings.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Back on the island of Barra, the sun is out

and the dry weather is perfect for cutting hay.

Cattle crofter Angus John just can't keep the smile off his face.

It must be one of the most beautiful places to have a croft.

Oh, aye, well, yes, on a good day!

On a good day, it is. But on a bad day, I wouldn't say that.

It can be very wild down here. Oh, yes.

But you don't think about that on a day like today?

No, you forget all about it. That's how life is, you see.

You forget all about it.

You forget all about your problems,

everything's going great.

You see, I love crofting,

it's in my blood, and this is why.

When you've been brought up with crofting...

you know, it's very hard to explain.

You just, you don't want anything else.

Angus John's son Ian has come home from work early

just to help with the harvest.

I've noticed your son seems to be going a bit faster than you.

I prefer to go at a steady pace

but I suppose him being younger

that they always want to be that wee bit faster.

Do you think Dad's relying on you taking over the croft one day?

Och, yes, I don't know if I'll be...

meet up to his standards, right enough,

but I'm sure I'll do my best.

If he wasn't here, I'd be pretty well stuck.

Saving me a bit of money and all.

I'd have to have somebody with me, so he saves me a bit of money.

But I look after him well.

-Is that true, Ian?

-Yes!

-Well, so-so.

I'm sure he would manage some way or another.

It's good to be home doing it. I enjoy doing it so...

It's good to be home as well to do it and give him a hand doing it.

The next day, the ferry arrives to collect a special cargo of guests

all heading out to the island of Eriskay for the big wedding.

Family relations and friends have all travelled from far and wide

to get back for the celebrations.

For Clare MacLeod, the bridegroom's mum,

it's a huge relief everyone's made it for the special day.

How are you feeling about today then?

Very excited. A bit nervous but very excited.

-You must be proud.

-Yes, yes, very.

-A few tears later on.

-A few tears.

A big welcome to all of you who come from wherever you come from

and, of course, all those of you who've also come from Barra...

LAUGHTER

..for this very special occasion.

Although many islanders move away to the mainland, on important occasions

the deep sense of tradition and belonging always brings them home.

This instinct for people to return to this island when they've travelled away,

-it's still incredibly strong.

-Absolutely.

I was abroad in the Army, I did six years studying in Italy

and all that sort of thing.

After a few weeks, I just got homesick for the islands.

You just feel... There's a peace, a contentment,

a fulfilment of some description.

It's emotional, traditional.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

In spite of the fact that so many people now leave the island

and live in other communities,

there is still this realisation that getting married,

it's a social convention, it's still here.

People want to get the blessing of the church

and the blessing of their parents and friends and so on.

That is something which comes from the faith that they have.

With this ring I wed you, in the name of the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit.

-Amen.

-Amen.

LAUGHTER

I count myself exceptionally lucky to see young people coming back

and getting married.

Each generation seems to have its own charm and grace about it.

As tradition dictates,

the end of the service is celebrated with the firing of a shotgun.

But, unfortunately, the Infant Of Prague statue

that bride Marie was relying on for a bit of sunshine

is clearly having the day off.

CHEERING BAGPIPES PLAY

All the rehearsals have paid off

as the traditional wedding reel goes without a hitch.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And even the weather decides to behave itself

just in time for the all-important photos.

In the days to come, the islanders get a chance to voice concerns

about government proposals which could affect all their livelihoods.

What you are doing is destroying

the future opportunities for our children.

We are listening to what you're saying.

We've told you a whole lot of reasons why we don't want it,

you haven't told us any reason why we should.

And after weeks of waiting,

Scraggie Aggie finally reveals

the jumper she's knitted for Father John Paul.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd