During my run along the White Cart I was reminded of events
from my past. In 1992 I was working on a construction site building the M77
motorway at the point where it crosses the river.
Here I met Colin MacLeod. You could say we were on opposing sides. He was an anti-roads protestor. For the year it took to complete this section of the road he camped out in the woods engaged in a (mostly) one man protest. He came to prominence when he took to the trees and lived up there for nine days. He was dubbed "The Birdman of Pollok" by the press.
Here I met Colin MacLeod. You could say we were on opposing sides. He was an anti-roads protestor. For the year it took to complete this section of the road he camped out in the woods engaged in a (mostly) one man protest. He came to prominence when he took to the trees and lived up there for nine days. He was dubbed "The Birdman of Pollok" by the press.
In June he upped the ante. We arrived for work on Monday
morning to find Colin perched on top of the 150 foot jib of a crawler crane.
The police were called and the crane operator told the cops "I'll lower
the jib so you can arrest him". The cops replied that if he fell off and
was injured they'd arrest the operator.
So we waited…..for 6 days. Then Colin came down, was
promptly arrested then bailed out by his supporters. The road was completed
without much further interruption. I had to admire his dedication to his cause.
He died at a young age in 2005.
That is quite the obituary. It must be hard when someone is losing the old way of life and seeing the change brought about in the name of "progress".
ReplyDeleteImagine what the old clan chieftains would say about things today.
He was an interesting guy with huge determination and strong beliefs. I'm not sure in what sense he was a chieftain or a prophet.
DeleteHe was pretty good at carving totem poles though!