On the Largs ‘News’ Facebook site this week, we caught up with Largs student Rosie Dahlstrom who was interviewed for Channel 4 about the fire at the Glasgow School of Art.

There is a link to an interview which was shown on 20th June and included footage shot on the day of her graduation.

The footage is currently on Channel 4’s website as part of a longer piece - Rosie was awarded a first class degree and is waiting to hear what plans will be made for the students’ futures using the bursary to plan for a full degree show next year. While Rosie’s artwork was saved following the blaze, it did suffer some smoke damage.

You can see the clip at http://www.channel4.com/news/glasgow-school-of-art-graduation-day-fire-mackintosh On the broadcast, Rosie said: “The art school helped us clean and package our works. We were in with our gloves and dust masks trying to get all this dirt, and we had smoke sponges trying to get the filth off it as everything was so filthy. It was totally random where the fire got into - you had someone’s works completely destroyed while people across the room was completely intact.

“I can’t imagine how people who have lost all their work can feel as the whole point of fourth year is to have a body of work so you can then move on to become a professional artist. Everyone feels a sense of loss, whether it is for the Mackintosh building, for everyone’s work, and for the degree show that never happened.” As an alternative, each student has submitted a photograph for an end of year exhibition.

Rosie added: “It is quite tough as nobody is ever going to see my work as it should have been seen in the flesh, it is a very fair solution to have a showpiece for totally unprecedented chaotic circumstances. What a year, such hard work, emotionally draining, and now building it up again.” Also on Facebook, a bid to return the fish stocks to the Clyde has also been launched online at http://www.revivetheclyde.org/ The Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust believes that inshore fisheries should be managed for productivity and not for decline.

The website goes on to say: “Decades of decline of inshore fish populations and fishery jobs must and can be reversed by adopting genuinely sustainable management policies for inshore fisheries.” The Clyde Charter states: “We believe the Firth of Clyde fishery should be managed to: 1) Revive the Firth of Clyde marine environment. 2) Support a diverse fishery, boosting jobs and the local economy.

3) Promote fisheries management based on local input and scientific advice.” There are also a number of downloadable documents including 100 years of the Firth of Clyde fisheries. There are now less fish stocks than ever on the Clyde, with 99% of the catch being shellfish, and has resulted in 70% loss of jobs on the Clyde.

You can sign the charter via the website http://www.revivetheclyde.org/support-us/ which also has a link on the Largs News Facebook page.

There is also a busy shot of the Keppel Pier taken during last Thursday’s Waverley cruise to the Kyles of Bute, taken by Largs woman Diane Agnew, while Kenny Sutherland took a spectacular shot of the summer solstice from the top of Cumbrae looking back to Largs.

For breaking news and updates, go to Largs site at www.facebook.com/largsandmillportnews which has nearly 6000 followers.