EFFORTS to kindle community joy after the long shadow cast by the coronavirus crisis led to a colourful, heart-warming response in and around Aultbea in Wester Ross.

A number of residents formed a new group, Aultbea Area Together, via Zoom to show a spirit united in care for the place they call home and the people they share it with.

‘Glad rags’, colourful lines of bunting made by recycling unwanted fabrics, sprang up all across the area, the first being made and tied by schoolchildren from Bualnaluib Primary along the path leading from the school to the village.

As word spread, so did the colour, culminating in multiple lines of bunting outside homes, businesses and organisations.

Last month, sticking to guidelines, the communities symbolically united the bunting from across the area into a 120m line at MacLennan Park. The first collection of 'glad rags' for this line was made – to the sound of a lone piper – at Isle View Nursing Home, where the staff and residents had worked together to create a four metre stretch. The day culminated in members of the community taking part in an area-wide litter pick and beach clean, collectively gathering 209kg of discarded materials.

A spokesperson for the event said: ‘Our area has been hit particularly hard by recent events.

“Even before the pandemic struck, we suffered from a severe lack of community meeting spaces – the loss of use of our community hall was a massive blow to us all, as was the closure of the Aultbea Hotel.

“Our aim now is to encourage and communicate to everyone that we need to work together to make the best use of the spaces and opportunities we have, and build on that.

“Our whole community, and particularly our growing population of young people deserve places to meet, grow and thrive in, and we intend to work towards this goal.”

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