Ardrishaig gets unexpected hose-down
‘I just wanted to get it done,’ explained the man who power-washed Ardrishaig war memorial, writes Colin Cameron.
Lochgilphead resident Donald Bowness took matters into his own hands after noticing Ardrishaig had become slightly grubby during pandemic.
He said: ‘Ardrishaig needs a good clean and tidy up, and with lockdown nothing’s happened.
‘The local street sweeper does a great job, but his hands are tied with what he can do.’
Last week Donald tackled the 99-year-old war memorial, hosing it down along with the surrounding area.
He later moved on to the pavement and wall outside the Chalmers Street row of shops in the village.
‘I’m working my way along towards Lochgilphead will do the Grey Gull [Reverend James Chalmers] monument and road signs along the way.
‘I’ve been asked to clean quite a few headstones for people. Any donations are welcome for the Beatson cancer care charity.’
He added: ‘I’ve done this off my own back. No one has asked and the community council only found out after it was done. I just wanted to get it done.’
It may have been a surprise, but Ardrishaig Community Council appear to have welcomed his actions.
After the war memorial was cleaned the community council posted on its Facebook page: ‘Wow! What a difference a bit of elbow grease makes. A local resident saw the restoration of other local memorials in Argyll and decided to give Ardrishaig’s a bit of a scrub.
Fantastic work, thank you so much.’
Argyll and Bute Council, however, took a more cautious stance.
A council spokesperson said: ‘We welcome working in partnership to preserve and care for our historic monuments.
‘Given their age and importance, they must be treated sensitively and appropriately and this often involves engaging specialist contractors.
‘We will be checking to see what, if any, work has been carried out at Ardrishaig war memorial.’