A Trick of the Light by Ali Carter (surface ebook reader txt) 📕

in the front next to Haggis, and Fergus revved the engine. With wet paintings clasped tightly in cold hands, the bus was put through its paces, down the track and off the moor.

I’ve hidden myself away in my room. The smuggled electric heater is set to full blast, I’ve had a bath, got my nightie on and am lying under the bed covers wishing I had a gin and tonic in my hand. The failure of this afternoon’s class, which was neither fun nor productive, is preying on my mind. I clench my teeth at the stupidity of not having thought about rain or midges. We’re in Scotland for heaven’s sake.

Refusing to let a tear creep out, I shut my eyes tight and think about what I’m going to do if there is worse weather to come. This week’s residency advertised landscape painting and as the tutor I’m here to fulfil it. Oh help me, please, come up with a solution.

I roll onto my side and stare into the open wardrobe. What am I going to wear tonight? This decision always cheers me up. My new black mini skirt? Yes, I think so. Definitely my red satin underwear, it could hardly be more appropriate for a burlesque show and as it’s cold I’ll wear the matching camisole too. Would a see-through shirt on top be okay? Yes, loosen up, Susie, take the opportunity to have some fun. Now jewellery, I don’t have much choice. Hoop earrings and some gold bangles should do. Bangles…Wasn’t Zoe odd when I’d found her alone in the library before tea, musing over something on the Victorian writing bureau and I’d chosen my moment to suggest her bracelet could have been taken by a raven to line its nest. The tone in her reply took me by complete surprise: ‘It was a raven,’ she’d snapped and I’d jumped on the spot. Then, just as I was about to change the subject, Giles had come trundling in and Zoe, without another word, lifted up the front of the desk, inserted a mini key into a mini keyhole, locked the bureau and left the room.

Birds always make me think of Dad; he’s a bit of a twitcher at heart and thanks to his spouting on the subject I’ve only ever associated ravens with the Tower of London. To this day there remains a small flock there, known as an ‘unkindness’, and the legend goes that if they leave, the Kingdom will fall. Highly unlikely considering their wings are clipped. When Dad first told me, the part I found most interesting was that breeding pairs must have their own territory, so cannot share the Tower’s enclosure. The Wildlife and Countryside Act – stick with me here – states that we should not resupply from birds in the wild. Therefore there’s an aviarist in the country, Alec Ronaldsay, with a dispensation for breeding captive ravens for the Tower of London. The sole purpose of this aviarist’s job is to repopulate and ensure the Tower’s precious flock thrives. How cool is that.

Lying here now, thinking about birds and that ridiculous discussion of wind farms this afternoon makes me want to prove Giles wrong. Surely Fergus, with his love for this place, can’t possibly have a wind farm application in progress? Google I’m sure will back me up…I typed muchton wind farm application into my browser and…dammit…I’m wrong. The very first search result proves that.

Application for new onshore wind farm plans

Planning application: 27/00126/EIA

The Proposal

Application for planning permission in conjunction with Anemoi Energy for a wind farm spread over 23 square miles of the Muchton Moor to include 140 turbines, associated infrastructure (site access roads) and ancillary development including turbine foundations, crane hardstandings, control building, grid connection and construction compound.

Giles is right, Fergus does have an application in progress. The proposal went on and on and on – Size; Speed; Megawatts; Location; Construction; Connection; Site Access; Decommissioning; Environment; Risk Assessment; Hazardous Sites; Impact on the Countryside; Noise & Shadow; etc., etc. – and the substantial document highlighted just how many different angles opposers can come from.

A hundred and forty turbines does seem an awful lot. However, I know nothing of such things, so, let’s see… Google: largest onshore wind farm uk.

215 turbines and a total capacity of 539 MW, with an average of 2.5 MW per turbine.

Next I searched: number of turbines in a wind farm uk.

Wind farms can have as few as 5 wind turbines or as many as 250.

Here it is in black and white, Fergus is trying hard to make big money from this. The company website of Anemoi Energy, one of the more pretentious names I’ve heard, gave a bit of blurb about the project.

Application

Pending A section of Muchton Moor, part of the Auchen Laggan Tosh Estate, is Anemoi Energy’s largest project to date, and is a joint venture between Anemoi Energy and Auchen Laggan Tosh Estate. The wind farm, located near the village of Muchton, Moray, will comprise 140 turbines – giving a total capacity of 322 MW of clean electricity, sufficient to power 200,000 homes.

The proposed site is 53 miles west of Inverness with striking views over the Torridon Hills to the north and the Beinn Eighe to the west. There is a plan for a network of wind farm tracks to be built which, when the turbines are in situ, will be open for the public to visit and use.

I very much doubt that final perk will stand up against the opposition. I wonder if I can find any objection letters…

The first link I clicked on threw up a whole spread from five months ago reporting on campaigners laying out their opposition to the Scottish government’s wind farm policy at an event organised by Communities Against Turbines Scotland (Cats). The key speaker was an MEP, the Chairman an MSP and the opening statement read: ‘The time has come for the government to think again about its wind farm policy.’ It was far too