New Year, new life
Not long after the turn of the year, something began to stir behind the shabby old green door of the Mission Hall.
In spite of the bitter cold, the real work of giving this old place a new lease of life has begun in earnest.
The incredible Tim, who is well used to braving challenging and inhospitable environments and great discomfort in his volunteer work with the local Mountain Rescue team, decided to press on with the work in the entrance foyer.
Ripping off the mildewy old plasterboard (which made one choke with every breath, when passing through the space) suddenly revealed a magnificent and substantial stone wall, of over 2 feet thick.
What a thrill it was to find this!
Torridonian sandstone, dressed and pointed with limestone mortar, although there are some later additions of a rough concrete render, in places, which can be carefully removed. I’ve even begun doing some of that myself, all togged up with goggles and my trusty skutch hammer.
I’m no stranger to this sort of wall, as I did much of the same thing in my studio 18 years ago. The goggles are new, super-safe, state-of-the-art ones this time, though. It’s a risky business, pointing stonework!
While I was working on re-pointing the sandstone gable end wall of my studio with lime mortar, in 2009, I’d somehow managed to get a tiny fleck of the mortar dust into my eye and had to be rushed to Raigmore hospital in Inverness for emergency treatment. It was scary, but my eye was saved, thankfully. It can happen so easily and I take no chances, these days.
But that’s a digression. I love working with stone and wonder if I might have missed my vocation, at times!
Revealing and retaining the stone wall, with all its natural textures and man-made interventions is not only about honouring and respecting the building’s history, but it’s a thing of real beauty!
The entrance foyer is now stripped back and insulated, re-floored, re-wired and re-plumbed, a new cloakroom ready to be installed, and In the next few weeks, we will have HEAT and LIGHT in the main hall - with the installation of the wood-burning stove and new, clear windows.
What a privilege it is to have such a project right now, not only as a labour of love, breathing new life into this sombre old building, but as a welcome distraction from the madness in the world, in this first month of 2026.
