Chapter 6Whenever I fill out an official form that has an optional section for nationality, I list myself as British/Scottish and in everyday life I just say I’m Scots. I was born and raised here and I’ve been all over the country, from Dumfries in the south to St Andrews in the east. I’ve been as far north as John O’ Groats and right up and down the west coast, but although I’ve seen most of the Western Isles, I’ve never been to the biggest one, Lewis. Don’t ask me why, it’s just the way it is.
There’s a lot of misconceptions about the Western Isles, some of which are based on historical fact and the rest are just plain old fashioned bigotry. Yes we have it here too.
The first thing you’ll notice is the language. Many people on Lewis and other islands are bilingual. They speak Gaelic an
