In succession to her late husband Dr Kerr C Yule, Mrs Ann Yule has been appointed Convenor of the Neil Gunn Memorial Trust.

Trust Secretary Robert Davidson says, ‘This is a very positive development in sad circumstances.  With Kerr, Ann has been immersed in the Trust’s activities from the start.  She has been a prime mover not only in the creation and care of the Viewpoint but also with the Writing Competition, the stone at Makars Court in Edinburgh, and the new Neil Gunn Lecture at the coming Edinburgh International Book Festival.  This appointment allows for the best possible continuity we could hope for.’

Entry forms for the Neil Gunn Writing Competition have now been sent to all Highland Schools and Libraries.  Entry Forms for the prestigious Open Competition are available from the Libraries and from the Council’s Arts Development Officer in Caithness, Tom Bryan.

The video of the Opening Day Ceremony on October 30th 1986, now a historical document featuring the late Sorley MacLean, Jessie Kesson, James Caird, District Council Convenor Dod Finlayson, and many Ross-shire characters of the time, is to rest with Am Baile and extracts are to feature on their web site.  Visit www.ambaile.org.uk

The Neil Gunn Lecture at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival will be titled ‘Discovering Gunn’ and will be given by the distinguished poet and essayist Alastair Reid on the weekend of 27th-28th August.  Visit www.edbookfest.co.uk

A plaque is to be fixed to the Viewpoint bench in memory of the late Dr Kerr Yule.