The Green Isle of the Great Deep

An article by George Monbiot this week points out the cruelty and barbarity which we seem to be capable of. I was reminded of the discussion at the beginning of The Green Isle of the Great Deep published, I think, in 1944 by Neil M Gunn. Such horrors were very close then and this was Gunn's response to them. A pdf by his nephew sets this in some context and can be downloaded from www.scotiareview.org/files/downloads/DairmidGunn.pdf.

I read this book as a result of a strange encounter, in the 1970's, in the middle of Sandwood Bay with a man, who claimed to be Sandy McRory and carried a large quantity of home brew in a dried milk tin. We were staying in the bothy, Sandwood Cottage, which had a roof then. The bay provided lots of driftwood and Sandy became a fixture at our evening fires in the bothy and he generously accepted our hospitality, fags and whisky. However, I am grateful to him for the introduction and went on to read and enjoy The Silver Darlings by Gunn.

I hope that humane and active protest against such evils continues. We must not let these beggars get away with it.