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Welcome to the March issue, the final edition of volume 27. I’ve decided I’m going to stop mentioning the weather in my editorials as it’s always completely different by the time the magazine comes out! Suffice to say, the days are now longer and I’ve had my washing out for the first time in 2024. Things are looking up!

We were recently asked to give Peigi Uillaigean a call in Detroit, so the Chairperson and I made a date ahead of our last committee meeting to phone America. As we dialled the number, we both commented that it was our first time ever phoning someone across the pond. It was lovely to speak to Peigi—a stalwart supporter of the paper—and she had a special request, which we are honouring here. Below you will see the photo that appeared on the front cover of the June 2023 issue of LATN (volume 27, issue 3). This is a picture I took at the Metagama event held in the Back Free Church hall last year, when the ‘fab four’ from Detroit came to talk to the community. In the rush to get the issue to press, we didn’t properly explain the photo in the issue, and Peigi (and other readers at the time) have asked us to rectify this, which we are more than happy to do.

The photograph is of Peggy Morrison (Peigi Uillaigean), who is seated, with Mrs Catriona MacArthur (Catriona Dhool) of Stornoway, meeting again after many years at the Metagama event held by Comann Eachdraidh Sgire a’ Bhac on 25 April 2023. We hope this sets the record of this touching moment straight.

Also this month, we need your help. We need to source some past issues as a priority. Regular readers/supporters of LATN will know that since the beginning, back in 1997, every volume of the magazine has been bound in a hardback cover and copies of the hardback ‘books’ donated to both Tong and Back primary schools’ libraries, with a copy also being given to the Editor in charge of said volumes. We haven’t bound any new volumes since the pandemic, and we’re working on catching up now. Unfortunately, we’re missing a few and we are hoping that some good Samaritans in the community will come forward and donate us their copies. Otherwise we will have to get them reprinted at significant cost. The list of missing issues that we’re trying to get hold of is printed here.

Please get in touch with the Editor or your village correspondent ASAP if you have a copy you would like to donate to the cause as we would like to get this sorted and up to date as soon as possible.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Jayne