People say that “the sun always shines on the righteous” and, on Saturday afternoon, it certainly did!

The old grain mill in Bunessan had been deteriorating since it ceased being a working mill in 1914 (when the miller's sons joined up to serve in WW1). RoMHC acquired the ruins of the mill along with Millbrae Cottage and its surrounds in 2001 and there was always debate about what to do with the mill. More recently, the Trustees became concerned that the building would become unsafe and so they embarked on a major project to undertake essential work (replacing key lintels, consolidating the stonework, removing vegetation, etc) preventing further deterioration and ensuring it was safe to enter for the public. Furthermore, the history of the mill and how it worked has been wonderfully illustrated using story boards displayed around the interior walls. An opening ceremony was held on Saturday 26th September and what a huge success it was! A local piper, Millie MacLennan, piped the gathered people from Bunessan centre and up the path to the mill, which was decorated with colourful bunting, fluttering in the breeze. After a brief welcome from Judy Gibson (Trustee) the event was opened with a speech from Rosie Burgess (daughter of RoMHC’s founder Jimmy Keand).

“Fàilte a h-uile duine! I‘m delighted to have been asked to open the old mill to the public once again on behalf of all the Trustees, volunteers and employees past and present. This project carries forward the Centre’s story, preserving the history of the Ross and making it accessible to all. With particular thanks to Judy Gibson and Steve Raw, the old mill now presents its own story with the new display inside, enhanced with the illustrations by Jonathan Bean. Not only has the structure of the building been consolidated but, so too, has our history and community. Thank you everyone – mòran taing!”

This was followed by a demonstration of waulking tweed by The Mull Waulking Group. The ladies sang beautifully whilst ‘beating’ the tweed along a table, explaining that originally the tweed would have been soaked with urine (male urine was best!). As well as the story boards within the mill, the crowd of approx. 60-70 people had lots of interesting things to look at and participate with including a quern stone (on loan from Mull Museum), a sheaf of oats (grown by local crofters Rob and Owen) and a taste of biscuits baked with the original bere barley flour. There was a display of ‘mystery metal objects’ found within the mill and people were asked to guess what they were. Children’s activities included ‘count the cats’ (there are cats within all of the story board illustrations) and painting/drawing on slates (from the old roof). With a background of guitar, banjo and drum music from (Tom Gibson, Dave Francis and Naomi), people also enjoyed a magnificent spread of home baking and refreshments.

All in all, RoMHC provided an entertaining, educational and delicious afternoon in the Bunessan sunshine.

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