Fund to top £10,000 as cash pours in
By Margaret Carr
(Story dated Thursday, June 24, 2004)

The project to restore the Hall of Clestrain and establish a boat museum now has almost £10,000 in the bank and nearly 300 friends.

Hugh Halcro-Johnston, chairman of the board of the Orkney Boat Museum company, said Friends membership forms were coming in daily.

“It’s been a very, very good start to the campaign,” he said.

“I feel we’re in good shape now as we get closer to the broadcast date.”

A website for the project will be launched next week.

Radio Scotland’s Tom Morton is also getting behind the campaign and will visit on Saturday, July 3.

But Mr Halcro-Johnston said this support was not as much of a coup as it sounded.

“The three daytime programmes have been given a project each to support,” he said. “One is endorsing each of the Scottish Restoration projects.”

Tom Morton broadcasts from 2 to 4pm each week day.

Mr Halcro-Johnston said the board had already been planning what to do to keep the campaign running after the Restoration programme was broadcast, whether the Hall won the Scotland section or not. An open event would be held at the Hall on July 18, but details of that had still to be worked out, he said.