Vital Spark
Encyclopedia
Clyde puffer
The Clyde puffer is essentially a type of small steamboat which provided a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides islands of Scotland, stumpy little cargo ships that have achieved almost mythical status thanks largely to the short stories Neil Munro wrote about the Vital Spark and her...
, created by Scottish writer Neil Munro. As its captain, the redoubtable Para Handy
Para Handy
Para Handy, the anglicized Gaelic nickname of the fictional character Peter Macfarlane, is a character created by the journalist and writer Neil Munro in a series of stories published in the Glasgow Evening News under the pen name of Hugh Foulis....
, often says: "the smertest boat in the coastin' tred".
Puffers seem to have been regarded fondly even before Munro began publishing his short stories in the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
Evening News in 1905. This may not be surprising, for these small steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
s were then providing a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
islands of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The charming rascality of the stories went well beyond the reality of a commercial shipping business, but they brought widespread fame. They appeared in the newspaper over 20 years, were collected in book form by 1931, inspired the 1953 film The Maggie
The Maggie
The Maggie is a 1954 British comedy film. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.It was produced by Ealing Studios, at a time when rural Scotland was seen as a...
, and came out as three popular television series, dating from 1959 to 1995.
The original BBC Series Para Handy - Master Mariner, which ran from 1959-60, starred Duncan MacRae (Para Handy), Roddy McMillan
Roddy McMillan
Roddy McMillan was a Scottish actor and playwright, possibly most famous for his comedy role as Para Handy for BBC Scotland television. He also played the lead role in Edward Boyd's private eye series, The View from Daniel Pike.The Glasgow-born McMillan's earliest theatre work began in the...
(The Mate), and John Grieve
John Grieve (actor)
John Grieve was a Scottish actor, best known as the engineer Macphail in the 1970s BBC adaptation of Neil Munro's Para Handy stories, The Vital Spark....
(Dan MacPhail, the engineer). Six episodes were filmed, none of which survive.
In 1963 Macrae, McMillan and Grieve, accompanied by Alex Mackenzie
Alex Mackenzie
Alex Mapoopzie was a Scottish character actor who was born and died in Glasgow. He was a schoolteacher in Clydebank until he was 61, before taking up a new profession.-Filmography:*The Maggie *Geordie...
and guitarist George Hill, recorded an album of songs, Highland Voyage. A short film was made to accompany the recording, filmed on board a puffer as it cruised around the Firth of Clyde. Macrae and McMillan appear as The Captain and The Mate, while Mackenzie appears as The Engineer, causing Grieve to move to play The Cook. Although very obviously based on Munro's characters, the names of Para Handy, the Vital Spark, etc. are never mentioned, probably due to copyright issues.
In the second version, The Vital Spark, McMillan took the role of Para Handy, and Grieve reprised his role as McPhail; Walter Carr
Walter Carr
Walter Carr was a British actor.Possibly his best known role was as the mate Dougie in the TV series The Vital Spark.He played Shooey in Lex MacLean's TV series....
(Dougie the Mate) and Alex McAvoy
Alex McAvoy
Alex McAvoy was a Scottish actor, known for his role as Sunny Jim in the BBC Scotland adaptation of Neil Munro's Para Handy stories, The Vital Spark....
(Sunny Jim) completed the crew, and the series ran for three series between 1965 and 1974. The third series, filmed several years after the first two, was in colour and consisted of remakes of selected earlier episodes. The series also featured guest appearances from the cream of British comedy acting such as Fulton Mackay
Fulton Mackay
Fulton Mackay OBE was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr. Mackay in the 1970s sitcom Porridge.-Early life:...
, Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
, Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, Richard Wilson and Peter Stachura
Peter Stachura
Peter D. Stachura is Professor of Modern European History at the University of Stirling and Director of its externally funded Centre for Research in Polish History established in May 2000...
.
In 1994 BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
produced "The Tales Of Para Handy" which starred Gregor Fisher
Gregor Fisher
Gregor Fisher is a Scottish comedian and actor.-Early life:Fisher was born in Glasgow and following the death of his parents was brought up in Edinburgh, Langholm and Neilston and attended Barrhead High School...
in the lead role alongside Sean Scanlan as Dougie, Andrew Fairlie
Andrew Fairlie
Andrew Fairlie is a Scottish actor who is most famous for playing the role of Gash Nesbitt in the BBC sitcom Rab C. Nesbitt. He also starred as Sunny Jim in the 1994 BBC Scotland series The Tales of Para Handy....
as Sunny Jim and Rikki Fulton
Rikki Fulton
Robert Kerr Fulton, OBE , more commonly known as Rikki Fulton, was a Scottish comedian and actor best remembered for writing and performing in the long-running BBC Scotland sketch show, Scotch and Wry. He was also known for his appearances as one half of the double act, Francie and Josie, alongside...
as Dan McPhail. The series also featured a young David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
in one of his first acting roles.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Others scoff at her as a coal gaabbert, reflecting the origins of the puffers, but an indignant Para Handy is always ready to defend his boat, proudly comparing her 6 knots (11.8 km/h) speed and her looks with the glamorous Clyde steamer
Clyde steamer
The era of the Clyde steamer in Scotland began in August 1812 with the very first successful commercial steamboat service in Europe, when Henry Bell's began a passenger service on the River Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock...
s.
Inveraray
Inveraray is a royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll.-Coat of arms:...
Maritime Museum to visit the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
River Festival in 2005, she proudly bore the name Vital Spark in testimony to her continuing popularity.
Now in 2006 she proudly is the Vital Spark of Glasgow having been successfully re-registered.
The Argyll
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...
brewer
Brewer
Brewer may refer to:*Brewer, someone who makes beer by brewing*Brewer , a disambiguation page that lists people with the surname Brewer*Brewer, Maine, a city in southern Penobscot County, Maine, United States, near the city of Bangor...
Fyne Ales, situated close to Inveraray, where the current boat rests and Neil Munro was born, produces a beer called Vital Sparkhttp://www.fyneales.com/ourbeer.htm in tribute to the series.
In December 2007, the Vital Spark Clyde puffer returned to the Forth and Clyde Canal
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River...
- the place of her 'birth', as reported on STV news'http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?vxSiteId=60fdd544-9c52-4e17-be7e-57a2a2d76992&vxChannel=News%20Features&vxClipId=1380_SMG1536 Reporting Scotland.
External links
- Neil Munro
- BBC Scotland - the wireless to the web
- The Vital Spark (TV)
- The Light in the Glens
- The Vital Spark at Inveraray Maritime Museum
- The New Tales of Para Handy Three new adventures for the crew of the Vital Spark, staged and filmed in front of a live audience at The Warehouse Theatre, Lossiemouth, Scotland (available on DVD)