You are warmly invited to the launch of ‘Outlandish’, a new book by Daphne Loads and Coinneach Combe. In this lovely book, the proceeds of which will go to the Mamie Martin Fund, the authors explore what six Scottish Gaelic songs have meant to them. ‘Outlandish’ combines personal anecdote, literary appreciation and an exploration of language. It presents English and Gaelic side-by-side. The modern venue for the launch is within the University of Edinburgh and is fully accessible.
Seo cuireadh gu cuir aig bhog ar leabhar ùr: ‘Outlandish’:
Thèid prothaid às an leabhar gu cathrannas Mamie Martin Fund, a chumail taic ri foghlam nigheanan ann am Malabhaidh.
Le deagh dhùrachd, Coinneach agus Daphne
Daphne has been a supporter of the Mamie Martin Fund for some time – writing, running, tricycling. As with her earlier book, ‘Farfetched‘, all proceeds from the sale of ‘Outlandish‘ go to the Mamie Martin Fund to support girls’ education in Malawi.
We will have copies of ‘Outlandish’ for sale at the launch or you can buy them from our online shop.
Details of launch: Weds 26th March 2025; 6.30 – 7.30pm
The Screening Room, G.04, 50 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LH. In-person only.
How lovely it was to meet so many of our lovely Fife supporters in person again. More than 60 people, mostly local, came to support girls’ education in Malawi and to enjoy Isabel Stanners’ wonderful baking. The blueberry scones were a particular favourite!
These joyous events remind us all of the power of community – this Fife community supporting girls and their families in other communities far away. The weather was very wet and so we had the pleasure of welcoming a group of ‘Talking Tandems‘. These hardy cyclists decided that a nice coffee and cake was a lot more sensible than cycling in the rain. They cycle on tandems, with a sighted cyclist in front and a blind or partially sighted cyclist behind. We thank them for their support of our event.
We were delighted, too, to have a Fairtrade stall at the event, stocked with colourful and interesting Malawian products from the One World Shop. Winnie Wood runs a regular Fairtrade stall at this Church and added colour and interest with Kibébé products for this occasion.
Our event raised over £400.00 (net) – the goodwill and fun cannot be measured but joy and fun rose above the wind and rain to dominate the morning. Thanks to you all.
The written history of European missionaries in Africa, their lives and work has been silent on the women who were teachers, doctors, nurses, administrators and ‘just’ missionary wives. This cloak of invisibility is being lifted by this new book. Written by Isobel Reid and published by Mzuni Press, this book builds on Margaret Sinclair’s ‘Salt and Light‘ which was the story of Margaret’s parents, Mamie and Jack Martin, as they travelled from Loch Lomond to Malawi in 1921. They worked there as missionaries and Mamie Martin made a huge contribution to the cause of the education of girls to be equal to that of boys. Mamie’s grandson offers a family perspective on the book:
“When Isobel was writing her dissertation some years ago Margaret had aided and abetted her so the publication of Myth and Reality of the Missionary Family would have pleased Mum greatly. I think she would be delighted that what Isabel has done with Jack and Mamie Martin’s letters is to pass the massive amount of information in the letters through an objective academically rigorous filter and then follow where the evidence led, as Hercule Poirot would say. As a result we get to read a fascinating account of a sparsely documented part of the recent history of Malawi, Scotland and, dare I say it, the British Empire.
The First World War, ‘The Kaiser’s War’ as my Grandpa Jack called it, was a massive part of the lives of Jack and Mamie and everyone else of course, but the time line of this book starts long before 1914 and I found that just as interesting as reading about members of my family. Margaret’s deep interest in all things historical would have been piqued.
This is the first published use of the letters that isn’t driven by the family. At least as far as we know! And that was one of the things that motivated my mother: there’s information in there that would be useful, in the broadest sense, to someone, sometime, outwith the family. So, partly for posterity, she laboriously transcribed all the letters onto her Amstrad Word Processor. Margaret Sinclair, my mother, would be hugely relieved to know that the family wasn’t going to have to be responsible for shedding light on those letters.
Thank you very, very much, Isobel, for getting that ball rolling and setting the letters off on their own journey. We Sinclair siblings, my sisters Mariot and Janet and I, wish you all the best for the future.”
Willie Sinclair
Note: all proceeds from the sale of this book in Scotland go to the Mamie Martin Fund to carry on the work of Mamie Martin. It can be purchased through our website.
We had a very enjoyable MMF Coffee Day at the end of May in Trinity Church hall, with a steady flow of customers for hot drinks, filled rolls and delicious home baking. We were happy to welcome regular customers from Trinity Church, passers-by who saw the banner and smelt the coffee and a heartwarming number of MMF friends who made a special journey to Falkirk to support the event. You know who you are and we were delighted to see you!
John Dallas’s accordion playing set our toes tapping. The Freedom of Mind Community Choir sang a selection of well-loved favourites and soon had us all singing along.In the kitchen, MMF Trustees and volunteers worked hard as they learned how to operate the kitchen equipment. In no time we were operating as a plausible catering team!
We raised over £400 in donations. We enjoyed telling the MMF story through our publicity material. The small prints of some of the Mamie and Jack historic photos from the 1920s generated a lot of interest.
We are grateful to Nina, business manager from the church, for all her help and encouragement. We hope to book the hall again in December for a Christmas Coffee Day. Watch this space.
Mariot writes about our upcoming coffee day in Falkirk:
“I very seldom drink coffee, I’m mostly rooibos and herbal teas. Coffee is for special occasions, when I’m out about and spending time with my friends and is often accompanied by cake or some other sweet treat.
Saturday 25 May is marked on my calendar already because there will be a Coffee Day in Falkirk, in Trinity Church Hall FK11JN, from 11.00 till14.30. It’s a fundraiser for the Mamie Martin Fund, a Scottish charity which helps girls in Malawi get their secondary education. It’s a great cause to support and when you come to the Coffee Day our photos and displays will tell you why. As you enjoy your refreshments and browse the displays, you can also enjoy some live music from the Freedom of Mind Community Choir and from John Dallas on the accordion.
Did I mention the soup? Freshly prepared soup and filled rolls are on the menu, along with a selection of sweet treats.
So, tea, coffee, and sweet treats; soup and filled rolls; live entertainment AND supporting girls in school in Malawi … what’s not to like? Save the date now!
Are you signed up for our online AGM yet? Our keynote speaker is Precious Mhone who works in Embangweni Secondary School for Deaf Children. She will tell us about her school, the community and her pupils. Her positivity shines through, even as she describes some of the barriers faced by these young people. Then Kevin Simpson of Malawi Fruits will speak to us about how that organisatoin is empowering women in the agricultural sector in Malawi.
Photo: Malawi FruitsMrs Precious Mhone
We’d be delighted to have your support at this AGM. You can register here (free) or watch the livestream on our Facebook page.
We are delighted to announce that Mrs Precious Mhone, Boarding Mistress at Embangweni Secondary School for Deaf Children, will be a keynote speaker at our forthcoming AGM. This will be held online so that we can include colleagues and friends from Malawi. The online format also allows many other supporters to join without having to travel.
Embagweni schoolEmbagweni girls
Precious will tell us about her school, the pupils and their lives. We are proud to support 15 girls at Embangweni in the coming school year. Seven of those are supported through the Thompson Fund, set up in the memory of Jack and Phyllis Thompson. Because of the strong fundraising to this Fund, we have increased the number of girls whom we can support. This year’s amazing fundraising is being done by Helen Nyul, who is undertaking The ROC England – a fearsome triathlon in the Lake District.
Our AGM will be held via Zoom on Sat Nov 4th at 13:00 UK time. We would be delighted if you could join us. The event is free and open to all. You can register here.
Saturday 27th May heralded our #Birthday30 celebration, held in Dalgety Parish Church in Fife. We hosted a coffee morning with some very special guests and the support of Isabel Stanners, a very special baker!
This was the final event for the UK visit of our Malawi Country Director, Mercy Sibande. We were joined by Alison Cameron who, after many years of being our Scottish Patron, is standing down. She told us of finding out about the Mamie Martin Fund 30 years ago and spoke very kindly of the work we do!
The Rev. William Tembo, General Secretary of the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia, who was in Scotland at that time for the Church of Scotland General Assembly, also joined us! Two of our newest Trustees made special journeys from England to be with us!
Everyone agreed that the morning was a great success. Lots of local people came in for coffee and cake, including two of our local councillors, Sarah Neale and David Barratt, and they all enjoyed hearing about our work. Isobel had made a beautiful birthday cake for us and Mercy managed to speak to everyone. The buzz in the room was exhilarating!
Our thanks to Rev Christine Sime, Dalgety Parish Church Minister, for her support, to the catering team and to all those who came to help us celebrate! Also, for the very generous donations we received, amounting to almost £500!
Alison cutting the cakeGreat baking by IsabelCllrs Neale (L) and Barratt (R) with MercyWe were glad to have a guest from Malawi
Mercy Sibande, MMF’s Malawi Country Director, is on a mini-tour of supporters in the UK. Last weekend she was in Lancashire where a group of churches supports six MMF girls in Karonga, in the far north of Malawi.
The Lancashire West Methodist ‘Circuit’ of 10 churches held an event at Up Holland on Sunday 21st May. It was open to visitors and turned into a fantastic gathering of MMF supporters. Long-standing MMF supporter, Emyln Evans, travelled 97 miles each way to attend with his wife, Anne. Emyln is pictured pouring over a map of Malawi with Mercy. Our Manchester Marathon runners, Phil and Hannah, came 75 miles to meet Mercy. The event made them want to move back to Malawi, where they lived for many years.
Mercy with Jenny AshcroftMercy with Rev Alex Laing
We were hosted by the Up Holland members, led by Linda Jones. We were the first people to use their new garden and the lovely weather was just right for it. The formal part of the event was led by the Rev Alex Laing. Newly-elected Cllr Sam Riches from Lancaster attended and became our photographer. Thanks Sam! The event was filmed by Derek Ashcroft for sharing with those supporters who were unable to attend. We were honoured to be joined by Michael Tindsley, the Circuit Superintendent.
This MMF-Lancashire West partnership is greatly valued by us and by St Mary’s Secondary School, Karonga. This is one of the best schools in Malawi and the pastoral care of the girls is second-to-none. We were glad to be able to share photos and videos of each of the six girls. Mercy told their stories and answered questions. Her presence in this warm and generous community was much appreciated, as evidenced by this feedback comment,
“How well she speaks and I felt how well she understands the girls. You must feel so pleased and thankful that all the girls are in such great hands. She is an absolute asset to the work of MMF.” [Lancashire West supporter]
Moira & Mercy reportingMercy explaining the needsDiscussing MalawiLovely foodGreat weather and companyA well-earned sit-down for Jenny
On Sunday 30th April, 3,500 people walked in the Glasgow Kitwalk 2023. Among them were Kathleen and Nick, who walked the full 23 miles from Glasgow to Balloch. Captain Violet and her group walked 14.5 miles from Clydebank to Balloch. Toffee, the dog, is too old and stiff for this year’s walk but Simone and her children, Yara (11) and Sa’Ad (13), walked with (Aunty/Captain) Violet and Sud.
In true West of Scotland style, it rained most of the day. Spirits were not dampened, though. There is only so wet you can get. Moira supported the team on her bike, meeting up at pitstops with food, moral support and encouragement. Yara has just come back from her school outdoor-bound week and had sore ankles. These were strapped up by St Andrews First Aid at each pitstop – lots of TLC was administered too and she continued very bravely.
The atmosphere on the Kiltwalks is always great. The fun on the Glasgow one is hard to beat, regardless of the weather. People supported each other, laughed and fooled around and they just ignored the rain. It did clear up just as the MMF team was finishing. That was nice for the photos.
Thanks to those intrepid walkers, to all their supporters and to those who have donated to their fundraising page – there is still time to support them with a wee donation. They have raised enough for a Malawian girl’s fees for three (almost four) years. Wow!
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