Listen to the This Is Islay podcast

Islay News

Some new media from Islay to write about. Back in August the This is Islay podcast was launched. Its goal is to bring you voices from Islay, news and events with interviews from the community. It is intended for both locals and listeners further afield to give an insight into what is happening on Islay and how the community experienced events. The intention is to complement other news sources (e.g. The Ileach), not to compete with them.

As of writing this two episodes have been published, Welcome to This Is Islay Fàilte a chàirdean and Islay Resilience and A Trip To India. The below embedded player should list and allow you to play the most recent episodes (as of writing this the two mentioned ones):

Pickups For Peace – Beth Newman – This Is Islay

At the end of November 2025, Beth Newman returned from her second visit to Lviv, Ukraine in support of Pickups For Peace, a charity initially organised by Scottish farmers to support Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion. Beth, Islay's local vet whose practice is based in Bowmore, tells Glen and Jolyon about her experience driving from Islay to western Ukraine in a used pickup (trip 1) and a used van (trip 2), each packed with vital supplies and heading to provide urgently-needed support to the front lines in eastern Ukraine. She also explains how we can each support this charity.For more information, visit https://pickupsforpeace.co.ukOr contact the Islay Vet Surgery by email at vet.islay@gmail.comAcknowledgementsGuest: Beth NewmanMany thanks to Beth for sharing her thoughts about her trips to Ukraine with the Pickups 4 Peace network and the support she received from Islay and Jura residents.Hosts: Glen Roberts and Jolyon ThurgoodMusic :  Carol of the Bells – This version is from White_Records on Pixabay 171731 This song is derived from a traditional folk song celebrating New Year, which kids used to sing while walking around the village from one house to another collecting presents and lollies. The original name of the song is "Shchedryk" – generosity in the Ukraine language. Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OUJLYLtqSs for a traditional version of this song.Production: Jean MacLellan, Greig Barker, Gordon Bermingham and Jolyon Thurgood
  1. Pickups For Peace – Beth Newman
  2. Port Ellen Primary School: Neurodiversity
  3. Catriona Bell – Life on Islay 2
  4. Housing on Islay – Part 3 – Wakey-wakey Islay !?
  5. Housing on Islay – Part 2 – A Builder's Perspective

I hope you’ll enjoy the podcasts as much as I did and will subscribe to them (I’m using Google Podcasts, which works really well for me, but various other services including Spotify are available). With the latest developments around Covid-19 I found the information about the Islay Resilience Group very interesting and how it will help with possible future developments. But of course there are plenty of other interesting topics as well.

Author: Armin Grewe

I blog about Islay.

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