Tea break: Kenny MacLeod

In our fortnightly feature, we join a local for a tea break and find out how they spend their time - and their time off. This week, we welcome local councillor Kenny MacLeod, a passionate advocate for his island home.

Please introduce yourself…

I am one of the two ward councillors for Harris. I run my own company, Eilean Glas Rib Tours and I am session clerk at Tarbert Church of Scotland. I am on the board of Hebrides People, Comunn Eachdraidh Scalpaigh and, as a Councillor, I sit on a number of other community groups. I also volunteer for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) as a Water Safety Officer.

What’s your story so far?

I was born and brought up in Scalpay, where I went to primary school. I spent two years in Sir E Scott, Tarbert, then four years in the Nicolson Institute before going to study in Aberdeen. I have lived and worked in Stornoway, Renfrewshire, Glasgow and Paisley. Since 2012 I have been living back in Scalpay, and I took early retirement from my job as a Customs Officer in 2019.

What does a councillor do?

The job involves anything and everything that could impact on people living here in Harris. A lot of time is spent attending meetings, both within Harris, such as Community Councils and Parent Councils, as well as the regular rounds of many Comhairle Committees.

Whilst the more regular issues I deal with are roads, transportation, gritting and housing, I also get asked to help with personal difficulties. Many times, it is a case of finding out who to speak to, asking some questions and helping keep people updated on what is happening. We cannot solve every issue, but we do our best to help.

What are you most proud of about our community?

One of the most important strengths of our community is the continual willingness to help others, and the folk that give so much of their time to help with groups and organisations set up to provide for improvements in our community. Only this week I had the pleasure of attending the presentation of the Kings Award for Voluntary Service to Leverhulme Community Hub – one of only 25 groups throughout Scotland that won this award in 2026. It is great to see the hard work and dedication of volunteers being recognised at the highest levels in our country.

What is your favourite Harris place?

There is only one answer to that, and it is of course Scalpay, closely followed by the Shiant Islands and Mollinginish. Every day I look around and praise God for where he has placed me. There is nowhere better than my own wee corner down in Aird Aghanais. I can look west and see the Clisham in all its splendour (when not covered in cloud!) or east and see Skye and the mainland hills. I walk to the bottom of my croft and see seals there. Above all, I appreciate the peace and quiet as I sit on a hillside and gaze out to sea.

I love going to the Shiants, the geology is just so different to anything in any other part of Harris and when the birds are there in the summer months, it is a truly amazing sight. The peace and tranquillity of Mollinginish are hard to beat as well – preferably going by boat!

What will your upcoming Hebrides People talk be about?

There will be lots of stories about things that happened during my 30 years as a Customs Officer, some of which will surprise people. They were not your average jobs, but were all rewarding in different ways.

What do you do with your free time?

What is that? Whenever I can I like to visit relatives and friends on Scalpay. It is so good to just be able to pop in for a yarn and a strupag. If I can, I like to watch rugby. Since taking it up as a student in the Nicolson it has been my favourite sport. At the weekend it’s a chance for us to just chill and relax in the house, as well as attending church on Sundays.

Tea break time: what are you having?

It has to be coffee, as strong as possible with a splash of cold milk. I have a sweet tooth, so the likes of a Tunnocks Caramel Wafer is a big favourite, but any home baking is hard to resist.

- Kenny’s Hebrides People talk is at 7pm on Sat, June 20th