Something For The Weekend - The Oban Times

A quartet of hardy seafarers paid a visit to region recently to test the choppy West Coast waters ahead of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Rowing Challenge. In December the Atlantic Nomads will be leaving the safety of La Gomera in the Canary Islands in their 28ft ocean rowing boat 'Doris' and rowing unsupported 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to Antigua in the Caribbean. Known as 'The Worlds Toughest Row', the challenge will strip the team of all the comforts of modern life and test...

Fiona caught up with Barcaldine-based psychologist Marion Elkin-Greener to find out how the pandemic had affected our mental health and what can be done to help. Marion is best known for her Oban FM slot Mental Health Musings by Mer which began in December 2019. Following a break during lockdown Marion is back on our airwaves with a new day and some new ideas. As well as the radio show the mother of three talks about plans for podcasts, reaching out through social media, setting up her own...

The Something For The Weekend Team will soon be back recording their regular podcasts – its always busy here at the Oban times at this time of year and is difficult to get the team together for a recording session. As we approach the end of our Summer Specials we thought we would bring you something that was done earlier this year but we never managed to broadcast in full. Fiona caught up with Lorn Healthy Options fitness advisor Rob Graham to find out a wee bit more about the Oban-based...

- The something for the Weekend Team get even busier than usual during the summer – It not that there is nothing to podcast about far from it – but it’s its difficult to get the whole gang together even from their remote locations to record the weekly show. However we don’t stand idle and have managed to record a few podcasts in advance. This week – A new project is being launched by Oban Men's Shed to restore a little piece of maritime history. Kathie has been chatting to the project's John...

The something for the Weekend Team have decided to take a wee break over the summer to enjoy the rain/midges/sun/downpours please delete as appropriate – It not that there is nothing to podcast about far from it – but it’s a busy time with people off on holiday and its difficult to get the whole gang together even from their remote locations to record the weekly show. That’s not to say they havn’t been busy and recorded a few things in advance – This week's podcast takes you on a Calmac...

A Summer Special Here at the Something for the weekend studios we do like to have lots of different inserts bringing you audio of things that normally you would only get to read about. The something for the Weekend Team have decided to take a wee break over the summer – it’s a busy time with people off on holiday and its difficult to get the whole gang together but Kathie has been down to the Bridge over the Atlantic to catch up with Seil crofter DJ MacDougall who is picking up his pipes to...

The something for the Weekend Team have decided to take a wee break over the summer – It not that there is nothing to podcast about far from it – but it’s a busy time with people off on holiday and covering lots of different things and its difficult to get the whole gang together even from their remote locations to record the weekly show. That’s not to say the havn’t been busy and recorded a few things in advance – This week after months of being starved of entertainment and live music,...

This week the team totally blindside Ellis by sending him a fake running order which includes a nightmare of an intro full of made up Scottish words for him to fall over. Yes it's the Butcher boy's final podcast before he escapes to take up a new role in the Lake District and Steevie, Fiona and Kathie have been working away in the background to make it a memorable one. T here's contribution from some of Ellis's other colleagues, a guest appearance by the legendary Speedo Mick and a real...

Ellis is running late for this week's podcast while Oban 'Gym Guy' Innes Hughes is just running. South Yorkshire's Jim Morton is taking things at a slightly easier pace and takes a break from his round-the-coast odyssey to tell us all about it and songstress Dot Allison provides this week's music, taking inspiration from the wildlife around her Hebridean Cottage. Fiona, Kathie and Steevie are all present and correct and Lesley Duncan has another mind boggling Scottish Word of the Week.

With Kathie away to Yorkshire, it's up to Steevie, Fiona and Ellis to hold the fort at The Oban Times' Something For The Weekend podcast. Up first is David Glennie of the Scottish Slate Islands Heritage Trust about the reopening of the Tardis-like museum at Ellenabeich and why it needs both visitors and volunteers. Plus in this week's music segment, there's some relaxing tinkling of the ivories by talented local pianist Marek Kochmanski who usually does his stuff at the Bridge Cafe on every...

Something for the weekend brings you the full complement of Kathie, Fiona, Steevie and Ellis back from his holidays. Kathie has been chatting with Mull's RSPB officer Dave Sexton about a tourist's out of the ordinary holiday snaps of a whitetailed eagle and otter unusually chilling out together on a rock. Fiona brings us music from Ian Wilson with Sunrise - the last track on his brand new album Holding on Til Sunrise. . And of course we have Scottish word of the week, thanks to guest...

In readiness for weekend madness and mayhem, Something For The Weekend invites you to take a mindful moment. Kathie has been chatting to Taynuilt therapist so get ready to sit back, relax and share a bit of calm as we take a trip to the beach in this week's podcast. Fiona has had a blether with Skerryvore’s Martin Gillespie and brings us the supergroup's latest summer sound containing more pop and bubbles than a shaken bottle of fizz - you'll love it! Last but not least of course, we have a...

Fiona is back from her jollies but where on earth is Ellis? Despite his absence he has left us with a spine-chilling tale. Perhaps he had a pressing engagement to go to? Kathie gets her dancing shoes out following her chat with Taynuilt musician and BBC Radio Scotland presenter Gary Innes and there's music from Leonard Brown and his All-Star Band. There is also a Scottish word of the week from our new contributor Lesley Duncan, can you guess what it means? All this and the usual banter from...

With Fiona Scott still on her holibobs it's up to Steevie, Kathie and Ellis to hold the Something For The Weekend fort. In this week's podcast, intrepid reporter Kathie transports us back to her 'oarsome' nine-mile row up the coast from Seil. We meet her fellow rowers and discover the special treats she had in her lunchbox. Ellis also gets an eyeful as he interviews Speedo Mick, the inspirational Evertonian fan who has become a charity fundraiser, which saw him mobbed by admirers on his...

Soft-spoken presenter Steevie is in the presenter's chair this week for this week's Something For The Weekend podcast to get you fired up on Fridays. Intrepid reporter Kathie regales us with another of her watery adventures as she steels her to take part in an eight-mile local leg of a row around Scotland. Our obscure wordsmith Ellis digs up another baffling Scottish word of the week that he can't pronounce and the team has never heard of, but have you? And that's not all. We find out who's...

In this week's episode of Something For The Weekend Ellis goes to a street festival, Kathie visits a new garden taking root at Oban's Rockfield Centre to eventually provide natural dyes for creative workshops there and Steevie stormtroops in about a certain Empire that has come to town to film a Star Wars spin-off Disney channel series - or has it? Fiona also treats us to music from indie-roots artist Hector Shaw who gently brings us back down to planet earth with a track from his new album...

This week Kathie catches up in Oban with endurance cyclist Harry Lidgley who is on a 7,000km mission to wheel his way round all the UK mainland lifeboat stations raising funds for the RNLI. Celebrity Robson Green's been in town making a new TV show and a new friend after meeting Ellis and we have some wonderful music from Patsy Reid who will be leading the team of expert tutors at Mull Fiddle Week this summer. And for those wordies out there, we have a weather-related Scottish word of the...

It's a jam-packed edition of Something For The Weekend this Friday as Kathie returns full of hugs and holiday cheer. She brings us an interview with Laura Mandleberg who tells of Mull's first ever fiddle week due in August. Continuing the music theme Fiona has music from Glaswegian Indie-roots artist Hector Shaw and engineered by a whole host of local musicians. Meanwhile Ellis needs a sit down after speaking to Oban's James Armour who is planning to swim, run and cycle and the Outer...

Elections are a hot topic In this week's edition and Fiona bumps into Joy Cameron at the Benderloch Palladium Polling Station where the pair reminisce over the many uses of the once bustling Victory Hall and look forward to an entertaining and safe reopening. There’s also music from the multi genre musical duo The Romanas featuring Oban friends Rhianna McMahon and Rory O’B. Ellis has Fiona and Steevie flummoxed over Scottish Word of the week and there's some talk of a Brave new world at Oban...

There's much drama in the SFTW studio this week with dark and mysterious happenings in Fort William among the talking points, but what famous Doctor does Steevie really want to play? Ellis is a bit too interested in the Jilted Lovers Helpline despite all his talk about winching while Fiona takes us back to the 70's with a smurfing good tune.