The Potter’s Tale is a story of one man’s journey of discovery and self discovery on one of the most beautiful islands on the Hebrides – Colonsay. Dion Alexander was ‘the Colonsay Potter’ through the 1970s and his own story is interwoven with that of some of the legendary characters of the islands in that period, one of the last in which Gaelic came naturally to the community. It is also the story of beginning to think about how to keep a small remote community dominated by a landed estate alive and viable in the face of modern pressures. The Colonsay of the 1970s had no electricity or affordable housing and an erratic ferry service. The book is an autobiography, a reflection of a world still close in time but in some ways very distant interwoven with much of history, tradition and folklore, and a moving account of the trials, triumphs and tribulations of a small community. Above all it is woven with a deep love of the magical place that is Colonsay.

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Dedication Page
• Foreword by James Hunter
• 1 I Know Where I’m Going
• 2 Getting to Know You
• 3 Learning the Language
• 4 What’s in a Name?
• 5 Boys’ Ploys
• 6 Birds of Paradise
• 7 Let There Be Light
• 8 The Sense of Community
• 9 Making Serious Fun
• 10 Feu!
• 11 Home Is Where the Heart Is
• 12 The Potter’s Wheel
• 13 When the Boat Comes in
• 14 Family Matters
• 15 Lasting Impressions
• 16 Air sgath an Eilein ‘For the Island’s sake’
• References
• Illustrations