Blessings and mystery coins at public art project

By Gerard Burke

Published: 11 May, 2007

Rev Douglas Clyne is joined by some of the workers responsible for laying the new slabs at a ceremony to mark the opening of the Church Lane phase. Northern Exposures

THE first completed section of Inverness' long-awaited street improvements was unveiled yesterday with a short religious ceremony and the discovery of a "lucky coin" stuck to the city centre's newest public art project.

The £6.5 million project to remodel the streets of the Old Town grew from an original plan to pedestrianise most of the city centre, which was opposed by local shopkeepers, and work finally began earlier this year.

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Yesterday, Church Lane was officially reopened with its black tarmac replaced by Caithness flagstones and pink granite shipped in from China and laid by a team of specialist Portugese paving contractors.

Set among the paving are two carved flagstones bearing Biblical quotations about the importance of water, a reference to the River Ness just a few metres away.

It was to one of these the unexpected pound coin was stuck fast and contractors revealed this was not the first time money had myseriously appeared at the spot between the Old High Church and Free Church on Church Street.

"Last week they found two 50 pences stuck to the same spot," said Marie Mackintosh of Inverness City Partnership. "Then this one arrived after they were removed. If there is a new one every day maybe it is the city paying for the new streets."

The unveiling provides the first indication of what can be expected from the rest of the streetscaping, a project seen as key to attracting shoppers and enabling Old Town businesses to compete with the Eastgate Centre and out of town stores.

The paving was laid by GU Contracts of Dochgarroch, run by Vitor Agosto who has lived near Inverness for the past decade. The firm has won similar contracts throughout Britain and was able to provide a team of skilled Portugese stone layers.

"In Portugal this is a tradition that still exists and now our Portugese craftsmen are asked to help at Westminster, Leeds, Darlington and now Inverness," Mr Agosto said.

The carved flagstones were commissioned from DUFI — a collaboration of photographer Fin Macrae and graphic artist Al MacInnes from Tain.

"The theme of the public art for Inverness is bringing the countryside into the city and one aspect of this is water and the River Ness," Mr MacInnes explained.

"Days like this are perfect for the flagstones because people walk along with their heads down in the rain."

Reverend Douglas Clyne, acting minister of the Old High/St Stephen's Church beside the lane, performed the short opening ceremony which included asking Mr MacInnes to sprinkle water from the River Jordan in the Middle East over one of the lane's two Biblical quotations.

School Lane on the other side of Church Street is the next area due to be revamped and work has begun to lay the new paving at the bottom end of Church Street.

g.burke@inverness-courier.co.uk

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