Plockton's chosen star

Gaelic poet Sorley Maclean was Head Teacher at Plockton High School between 1956 and 1972. To commemorate this, Plockton High School students chose a star 49 light years from earth, Alderamin, and sent to it this message with a sample of their lives:

From Plockton to Alderamin

We give you
the kiss of sun on a summer’s morning
the feel of sand between toes
a wisp of white cloud on a bright horizon

We give you
stars twinkling through the darkness
the slow trickle of a sun-kissed stream
a slice of happiness
the smell of bacon as it crackles in the pan

We give you
a flash of white lightning
black cows in the dark
the whinny of a horse at the break of dawn

We give you
the sound of lawn mowers in the morning
sheep mehehing
the Rector’s footsteps down the hall

We give you
the itch of a midge bite
the feel of a punch in the face
fresh blood dripping down an arm
a pointless gasp of breath at the depths of the ocean

We will send our sensations
from Earth to Alderamin
in a parcel shaped like a butterfly wing
- a dream enclosed in a silver lining -
with Mercury, messenger of the Gods.


By 3A Plockton High School, June 2007