Marian Pallister Livres

The remarkable success story of how a local community adapted to survive in the face of potential annihilation and a fascinating portrait of one of Scotland's most ambitious civil engineering projects.

A fascinating exploration of a unique and little-known aspect of Argyll's past.

Cathy McCormack's family came from Glasgow's Gorbals. They later moved to one of Europe's largest public housing schemes. The Wee Yellow Butterfly is Cathy McCormack's inspiring story of how, from unpromising beginnings, she has spent her life committed to seeking justice and finding fulfillment. For those 'trapped in a toxic mixture of economic circumstance and bad politics'*, life can be hard. Yet, as Cathy McCormack's story shows, a strong spirit and a refusal to accept what is given can release energy and creativity for individuals and their communities. * World Health Organisation report 2008

In Lost Argyll, Marian Pallister looks not only at the lost architectural heritage of Argyll but also at its lost industries, ferries, roads, bridges and archaeological monuments. Poltalloch House, for example, built in the 1840s as a monument to commerce and investment, lies ruinous, its owners having stripped it of its roof to avoid paying crippling rates; Campbeltown once bristled with distilleries until a cocktail of economic factors left it with only two whilst others have been subsumed into the modern townscape; little remains of even the jetties at Loch Awe and West Loch Tarbert, two of the busiest waterways in times past.This largely rural county has seen its fair share of forts, castles and mansions rise and fall. Some were destroyed in battle; others simply lost the financial battle to remain standing in the face of increasing taxation. Vernacular architecture has also disappeared: the houses of the fishermen and those in agricultural settlements crumbled in the wake of depredations, clearances, afforestation and government demands on landlords to house tenants in fitting conditions.In this fascinating yet poignant study, Marian Pallister introduces the many varied aspects of lost Argyll, showing how ancient and even relatively modern landscapes have changed inexorably, often with little thought for conservation or preservation.

A unique insight into the eclectic collection of the `curious' archaeology, geography, geology and genealogy of Argyll

Known as 'Britain's most beautiful shortcut', the Crinal Canal runs from Ardrishaig on Loch Fyne nine miles across the Kintyre peninsula to the west coast of Scotland. In the book Marian Pallister tells the story of the canal from its origins to the present day, discussing how it changed life in the surrounding areas, and how it has been used.