Ewen Bain's Angus Og cartoons to be digitised and conserved

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Angus OgImage source, Ewen Bain

A collection of Angus Og cartoons that appeared in newspapers from the 1960s to 1989 are to be digitised and conserved.

The Angus Og character was created by cartoonist Ewen Bain and his adventures were based on the fabled Isle of Drambeg in the Utter Hebrides.

The cartoons first appeared in the Bulletin and were later published by the Daily Record and Sunday Mail.

Bain was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, but his parents were from Skye.

He died in 1989.

The cartoonist's daughter Rhona Flin donated his collection of original strips - which cover more than 158 Angus Og adventures - to Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre in 2019.

High Life Highland's Highland Archive Service has received £40,000 from the Scottish government to digitise the collection.

Image source, Ewen Bain

Ms Flin said: "My father would have been delighted to know of this special investment in Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre which will enable much wider access to the Angus Og collection."

Archivist Catherine MacPhee added: "The survival of this collection is important not just for Skye but as part of Scotland's social history.

"As well as being nationally well known and loved, the cartoons relate to social-political issues still relevant today, including the loss of language, impacts of tourism and social imbalances."

Bain's father, John, was from Waternish and his mother, Flora, from Staffin.

They moved to Glasgow in 1912 but would take their children on summer holidays to Skye.

Gaelic was the family's first language and Bain included Gaelic and Scots in his cartoons.