#Filmpoem: Lochmill in Two Weathers by Kyra Clegg & Kathleen Jamie

Described as a ‘hidden gem’ and an SSSI,  Lochmill is a small loch and ancient woodland near the Fife town of Newburgh. Owned by Scottish Water, but no longer required as the town reservoir, Lochmill was recently offered for sale.

Last month, the Newburgh Community Trust organised a ballot on whether to take the loch into community ownership under the Community Right to Buy scheme.   55% of the Newburgh folk voted. Of those,  96% said ‘yes’.  The matter now goes for approval to Scottish ministers.  This will be one of the first community buy-outs in the East of Scotland, and at 60 acres, one of the smallest.

To celebrate, Newburgh residents Kyra Clegg and Kathleen Jamie made this film-poem: Lochmill in Two Weathers.

Comments (15)

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  1. robgbg says:

    With luck and work, this will be the first of many. What are the community proposing to do with it?

  2. Iain Arnott says:

    Inspiring story – uplifting. Beautifully put thoughts on the notion of ownership………..Thanks – brightened a dreich Sunday morning.

  3. Reblogged this on Max Stafford's Kennel and commented:
    It’s good to see that small, local land ownership initiatives like this are starting to take place in Scotland. A welcome development.

  4. maxi kerr says:

    Its the way to go,keep control of your own water supplies, as any fracking wil destroy any fresh water sources. Imagine the cost of fresh water if left in private hands.

    1. Charlie Clark says:

      Scottish Water is still in public hands and will remain so until the SNP are voted out of power in Scotland.

  5. Darien says:

    The people should not have to buy land we already own. ‘Trusts’ are an Anglo-Saxon invention – a vehicle considered to be a little less corrupt than the burgh councils of old which were absolutely rotten. A French economist once observed that ‘English’ trusts tend to act in the interests of trustees, the latter intercepting more of the rents than they ought to. There is plenty of evidence for this. A simpler public/common ownership model may be better, perhaps a new-style of administration fit for our changing times. ‘Trusts’ are not it.

  6. Kenny Kailyard says:

    This is a beautiful offering.

    The lyric recalls the poems I encountered in my youth, of Kenneth White and Gary Snyder in its meditative listing of nature observed, seeking to let it speak for itself.

    The poem goes beyond that listing with the questions it asks. It merges nature, culture and politics in a connective harmony of thought and language.

    This is a poem of unusual quality.

    1. bellacaledonia says:

      It is a beautiful poem of unusual quality. Unless you’re familiar with Kathleen’s other works. Then the quality does not seem so unusual. 🙂

      KW

    2. will says:

      I like Snyder but havent read White. I’m going to get a notebook out before I do though. Thanks for your comment it has made my sleepy brain crackle awake.

  7. Kenny Kailyard says:

    Thanks KW. I am a bit uncertain of what you think. You say it is a ”beautiful poem of unusual quality”, yet you then say it ”does not seem so unusual”.

    I think, like Mr Empson, that you rest in ambiguity.

    Can you tell me please, as I told, why you find the poem to be of unusual quality, though not unusual?

    If you liked this poem, do tell us why?

  8. Brian Fleming says:

    Kenny, KW’s post was clearly in response to yours, to say yes the quality’s great, but so is her other work. hence it’s not so unusual.

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