Barra - Media

Media

The 1949 Ealing Studios comedy Whisky Galore! was filmed on Barra. The film is based on the novel Whisky Galore by Sir Compton Mackenzie, itself a fictionalised telling of the story of the SS Politician, which ran aground with a cargo of some 50,000 cases of whisky on board in 1941. Mackenzie, who lived near the airport and died in 1972, is buried in a grave marked by a simple cross at Cille Bharra cemetery, which is situated a little way up the hillside overlooking Eoligarry jetty. The sequel movie Rockets Galore! was also filmed in and around the island.

In the sitcom Dad's Army, Private Frazer claims to be from the Isle of Barra, which he often describes as "a wild and lonely place, y'unnerstand". Frazer is renowned for his "We're all doomed!" catchphrase. On one occasion, he relates how "a submarine was sunk in Castlebay and seven brave men were trapped. The water got higher and higher until it got to their necks. And then... terrible way to die!" The story meets with the disgust of his fellow platoon members.

Barra was also featured on the recent Channel 5 program "Extraordinary people: The Boy Who Lived Before", where a young boy named Cameron, who lived in Glasgow, had memories of a past life on the island. In early 2011 the island was one of those featured in the new series of An Island Parish.

Barra is also regularly featured in various television programmes on the new BBC Gaelic Channel BBC Alba, and it was the location for the fifth and sixth series of the BBC Two documentary An Island Parish.

In 2008 the Barra RNLI Life Boat, Edna Windsor was featured on a series of stamps. The first class stamp shows the 17 metres (56 ft) Severn class lifeboat in action in the Sound of Berneray 20 kilometres (12 mi) south west of Barra in 3.5 metres (11 ft) swell with 30 kilometres per hour (16 kn) of wind.