In his wisdom Gary Hardy, the Address Management Manager of Royal Mail, Sunderland, County Durham in the North of England, has written to numerous addressees in Morvern informing them that the Highland Council, the local Chamber of Commerce, but oddly enough not Morvern Community Council, has made a request to replace the locality of Morvern with Lochaline in all postal addresses.
The village of Lochaline is relatively modern and of little historical interest. No further explanation has been given other than a feeble excuse that it is less likely to cause confusion.
To whom? The council or Royal Mail which is already confused when the marine link from Oban to Craignure frequently fails necessitating the Lochaline postal staff having to drive to Oban to collect mail before starting their rounds? It’s certainly not the indigenous folk.
The placename ‘Morvern’ has been in use since before 1395 and on letters when mail deliveries began in the 1800s.
It is essential for our history and education these ancient topographical Gaelic names are retained and kept in use.
How dare Royal Mail seek to drop them under the guise of a sham consultation particularly at this busy time of the year when ballot papers are likely to be put aside or lost in transit amongst Christmas cards?
Shame on the Inverness-based Highland Council which is, of course, too distant to understand the concern this latest piece of bureaucratic tap-dancing is causing.
Let us hope our budding, would be, politicians step up to the plate come the next round of elections and rid the Highlands of the prevailing centralisation which is failing dismally.
Morvern and many other parish names in Argyll deserve to be kept. Imagine the furore there would be if Appin, Benderloch and some of the many historical villages around Loch Awe were to be tinkered with by Royal Mail?
Iain Thornber, Morvern, Argyll.