Duncan MacInnes

Duncan MacInnes

 

Duncan has lived on the Isle of Skye since 1966 and in his interview, he speaks of the amazing community spirit of the island and the challenges and triumphs that lockdown afforded both him personally and his local community. His story offers a unique insight into the local life of an island so inundated with tourists and preconceived notions.  After retiring in 2019, Duncan dedicated his time to arranging events in the local community which have been unavoidably affected by lockdown restrictions.  During lockdown, Duncan’s son who can be seen in the photograph returned home from Inverness due to a collapse in his autism support. Lockdown also encouraged Duncan’s other children to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and move up to the Highlands which was a huge bonus for the whole family. Duncan about also talks about the strong community resilience and effort of the community trust and volunteers on Skye – the social aspect of community seems to have been strengthened in the small day to day tasks like queuing for the small shop which only allowed one person at a time and having a blather with your neighbours. Another way the community spirit has been kept alive is through a weekly choral singing group over zoom which many have enjoyed.  He also touches on the difficulties faced by some of the older members of the community due to the uncertainty still surrounding Covid19.  Overall, he has seen lockdown as a year of the community reassessing what they do and how they do it – he wants people to remember the lessons we have learned in lockdown and make use of it.