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Skye Stories: Volume 1 The Linicro Years
By Raymond Moore



Cover of book and my very similar picture I took in 2003

Five years for an adult, passes in five minutes. Five years for a kid is a lifetime. An attempted bike stealing incident in Glasgow when Raymond Moore was 13 led to him living in Linicro on the Isle of Skye with his Great Granny and Great Aunt. His family stayed in the city whilst his life changed on the island. Skye Stories tells the adventures he had growing up: the girls he fancied, the sheep he worried and the music he loved. Although the book is about Skye and his love for the island, the account of his experiences and emotions will strike a chord with people who have never been near there. Skye changed the author's life forever and for the better. You could say the Isle of Skye saved his life. This book, Volume 1, tells the story of the first two years on Skye - the Linicro years.

Raymond Moore is a Registered Nurse, living and working in Saudi Arabia with his wife and three children. He also has a house and farm in Thailand. As well as being a writer, Raymond has been a record label owner, band manager and a singer with a band. Born and brought up in Glasgow, he left his parents and moved to the Isle of Skye as a youngster, and his life changed forever.

Can be purchased on Amazon

Volume 2  The Road to Uig is already written and is now available on Amazon.

I found the book to be very well written and reminded me of my two visits to Skye. The first was in 1966 and the next was in 2003 some 36 years later. It's actually the first book I've read in which I found much I could relate to in my own life. In fact some of the music he discussed mirrored my own tastes.  Good read and I highly recommend both to you.

Here is the Forewood from Volume 2...

Raymond has written a fascinating account of his years spent in the north of Skye. Over the centuries the diaspora of Skye have longed for their ancestral home. Raymond as a son of Skye was given that opportunity of leaving the West of Scotland to embrace as a young teenager all that Skye would throw at him. Urban Scotland and Skye can be described as worlds apart, experiences may be different but, in some respects, it is the same journey for a young person on their own rites of passage to adulthood. Making friendships, exploring boundaries, experiencing music would have been common themes for any young person whether on Skye or in Glasgow but it is the human aspect of the personalities on Skye that make this book, as well as the first volume, an enjoyable read.

Skye is shaped by many things, its landscape, the environment, its history, its language but above all it is shaped by its people. The island is full of characters and, in this book, Raymond details many of those who were in his orbit in Trotternish as well as at school in Portree. Whether you are from Skye and will know many of the people in this book, or from elsewhere you can relate to the people who make this island so special. Raymond may be a long way and a long time from the island, the blood and the memories remain strong nonetheless.

Ian Blackford
MP for Ross, Skye & Lochaber
15th February 2021

You can download the Introduction to Volume 2 here in pdf format

Two scenes of Uig from my trip in 2003

See pictures from my 3 day trip to Skye in 2003
See our Skye page where you can read some old books about Skye.


Return to our Isle of Skye Page


 


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