Starling Cafe #5 (Ullapool, Macphail Centre)

The Starling Café at the Macphail Centre is a relaxed place for ideas, reflection and conversation.

The café is open to everyone but places are limited, so we ask that you book in advance. 

This session our guest will be Alastair McIntosh, on the theme of Compassion for the Mouse, Compassion for the Cat: 

'The multiple crises of our times – climate change, war, poverty, loneliness, etc. – can leave us feeling powerless in our times but also mired in our complicity. What can we do? How can we reconstitute communities that, from the bottom up, help to create a world of resilience, sustainability and spiritual aliveness? Alastair will explore this theme in which, so often, we find that we’re both cat and mouse.'

Alastair McIntosh has been described by the BBC as “one of the world’s leading environmental campaigners.” A pioneer of modern land reform in Scotland, he helped bring the Isle of Eigg into community ownership. On the Isle of Harris he negotiated withdrawal of the world’s biggest cement company (Lafarge) from a devastating “superquarry” plan. His books include Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power (Aurum), Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service (Green Books), Poacher’s Pilgrimage: an Island Journey (Birlinn 2016, Cascade USA 2018) and Riders on the Storm (Birlinn 2020) which was long-listed for the Wainwright Prize in Global Conservation 2021. A Quaker with an interfaith outlook, focusing much of his work around spirituality, he lives in Glasgow with his wife, Véréne Nicolas. 

Running every few weeks through 2025, the Starling Cafe is an evening event which includes a speaker, tea and coffee, and room for informal and open-ended conversation. It is a place to explore ideas and get to know a few other people in our community. The topics explored in this series include community, hope, belonging, diversity, resilience and resistance. Our 2025 guests have been Matt Sillars, Mairi McFadyen, Doug Francisco and David Farrier.

There will be room for informal conversation to think about some of the ideas Alastair introduces, in a café style setting. No-flipcharts, no public feedback, no action points, no right answers: the aim is simply to have a safe and hospitable space to talk and explore.  We are grateful that this event is partially supported by the Scottish Book Trust.

PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE.  Free entry, though the Starling Cafe depends on donations, so contributions to help us cover our costs are warmly appreciated (see booking page for options).

If you don't want to use this online process to book, you can contact Joanna at joanna.wright@highlifehighland.com to book a place.

Donations of baking are also welcome (please contact Joanna as above).

Please access the Macphail Centre via the library.

We will look forward to seeing you!