HOW LATE IT WAS, HOW LATE

The technical difficulties which delayed the arrival of the last issue of The Corncrake are, unfortunately, still with us. However, once these have been overcome, it is anticipated that The Cornrake will revert to a regular fortnightly appearance.

MOTORING

A meeting of Colonsay Community Council in the island Hall on Monday 5th Sept provided a suitable forum for an open debate of the topic which has exercised many residents' minds of late: namely what measures, if any, can best be taken to reduce the number of road accidents which have been a worrying feature of life on the island during the course of this past summer.

The large turnout reflected the concern that this matter has generated, as did the attendance from Oban of the Community Constable for Colonsay, P.C. Jeremy Moore.

The thorny question of what could actually be done generated many diverse, and often contradictory, ideas, mostly restrictive in nature. Addressing the meeting however, P.C. Moore urged residents not to seek solutions in legislative change but to continue reliance upon island self-regulation which has served the island well in the past ; the alternatives were not appealing and would change island life for the worse, and possibly for ever.

Toward the end of the debate, a number of potentially preventative measures were discussed; these included the appointment of a second Special Constable and the production of driving guidelines for motorists to be distributed somehow to all visitors with vehicles. The Community Council agreed to pursue these two ideas.

HEBRIDEAN FERRIES SEMINAR

Caledonian MacBrayne Users Committee (CMUC) has organised a seminar about future services in the Hebrides, following the announcement that Calmac's Clyde and Hebridean services will be put out to tender next Spring. The CMUC wants to bring interested parties together to discuss their longer-term aspirations for future service provision on the Hebridean ferry network. Once it has identified a clear pattern of service aspirations, the CMUC will deliver that vision to the Scottish Executive and to industry stakeholders in the hope that it can be made a reality.

The seminar takes place in Oban at the Royal Hotel on Friday 1 October and Colonsay will be ably represented by Georgina Hobhouse, Angus Macphee and Chris Nisbet.

A full summary of the seminar will hopefully appear in the next issue of The Corncrake.

FERRY TIMETABLE CHANGE

As of Wednesday last, September 29th, the Calmac ferry service has reverted to that operational in early Spring. Although islanders no longer have the opportunity on a Wednesday to visit Oban for an hour or so, there is still a ferry from Oban (arrives 17.15 ) and a ferry to Oban (departs 20.00 ). This of course means that medical,dental appointments etc, together with shopping trips, will require at least an overnight stay on the mainland for islanders.

The timetable change does however give residents the opportunity to visit Islay (or indeed Jura - see following article ) on a Wednesday, the ferry leaving Scalasaig at 12.15 and arriving back at 19.45. The time available on Islay is a little over 6 hours.

The window of opportunity to visit Islay or Jura in this way is however small; the Calmac Winter timetable comes into effect on the 22nd of October. Details of the Winter timetable can be found at www.calmac.co.uk It should be noted that The Corncrake does not receive any remuneration from Calmac for the provision of this information.

JURA PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION

The island of Jura, long known as the island where George Orwell wrote his novel "1984" and currently known as Europe's last great wilderness, is to be the focus of an ambitious landscape photographic and digital imaging exhibition series beginning on the 1st of October 2004.

Although Jura is located only some 3 miles at its northern tip from the Scottish mainland, and Ireland lies nearby, it can only be reached via a ferry from the neighbouring island of Islay. Whilst George Orwell noted that "it's an extremely un-get-atable place", its modern remoteness and spectacular scenery belies its ancient heritage as a bridge to Ireland and the rest of western Britain. Many of the island's Gaelic place names refer to the mythical and semi-historical heroes figuring in the epic tales attributed to the legendary poet Ossian.

After an intensive 3 year ground campaign carried out by Dr. Gary McKay, which captured some 46,000 raw images in every season, a selection of images are to be exhibited at the Feolin Study Centre on Jura from the 1st of October until the 28th of October. The special focus of the campaign was to interpret the Gaelic place names within the landscape and to photograph them according to their implied translations. In addition to the digital photography captured using KODAK technology, there will also be satellite imagery from the NASA Space Shuttle Imaging RADAR program. There also will be LANDSAT 7 and ORBIMAGE satellite imagery along with never before seen sonar imagery of the waters surrounding the island. The opening night of the exhibition will feature guest speakers.

On the 29th of October a major exhibition of the images, Gaelic translations of the place names and commentaries will begin at the Columba Centre of Islay (Ionad Chaluim Chille), to carry on until the 27th of November. Opening night on the 29th of October will feature special guest speakers.

The Feolin Study Centre may be contacted on 01496 820 267 or through www.theisleofjura.co.uk

ROGER McINTYRE & FAMILY

The Corncrake has been contacted by a lady seeking information regarding the family of Roger McIntyre and his wife Mary McMillan, one time residents of Colonsay.

Roger and Mary, it is believed, had 5 children, namely Isabella, Anna, Margaret, Donald and Roger.

If you have any relevant information concerning the McIntyres, it would be appreciated if you would contact Christine Reid, who is the daughter-in-law of the aforesaid Isabella. Christine's contact details are as follows:

SHORT STORY COMPETITION

Highlands and Islands Short Story Association (HISSAC) is a newly formed group which aims to provide support for writers and to establish a network of writers in the Highlands and Islands who will critique and encourage each others' work. It is intended that the network will be entirely informal, a way of sharing information and building up individual confidence.

To launch the Association, a short story competition has been announced :

For more information on the work and aims of the Association, use the details as given above. If you become particularly successful, rich or famous through your writing, please do remember your old friends in The Corncrake editorial office.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CEILIDH BAND

As part of a short island tour, Cambridge University Ceilidh Band recently paid a visit to Colonsay. This multi-talented group of students played a ceilidh in the island Hall on the evening of Thursday 23rd September to the delight of a small but appreciative audience. The collective sound of the band in our relatively small hall was wonderful to behold (if ears can behold…) and the solo spots demonstrated just how gifted each of these youngsters is. A privilege indeed for a small island such as Colonsay to play host to such talent.

Being selected as a venue in their tour was however due in no small part to the fact that two of the members of the ceilidh band are indeed former pupils of Kilchattan Primary School, Sandy Abrahams and Ellie Cornford. Unfortunately Ellie's parents Dominic and Annie could not make the trip as originally planned, but Andrew and Esme were present and must have felt just a tad proud as Sandy and her fellow students entertained the crowd so royally.

Incidentally, another youngster with strong Colonsay connections will soon be eligible to join this elite band: Duncan McNicholl takes up his studies at Cambridge soon and it is to be hoped that the studies do not interfere unduly with his accordion playing.

The children of Colonsay did not miss out on this musical treat entirely; on the day following the ceilidh, six of the band gave of their time to visit the pupils of Kilchattan Primary School. With them they took an assortment of instruments including fiddle, flute, bodhran, guitar and recorder.

The students explained each of their instruments and described to the pupils just how each of them first picked up their instrument and embarked on their musical path. The pupils were also entertained with music and song and, to the immense credit of 3 of the schoolgirls, the students were then treated to music from the pupils: Caitlin McNeill, Morag Grant and Emma Gillespie played for the band members. Even more commendably, the tune that they selected to play, "Girls Rock", was of their own composition. Well done girls!!

CLAN MACFIE

A.C. (Sandy) McPhie, Commander of Clan Macfie, has been in touch to advise of a new internet address for the clan homepage:

COLONSAY'S FALLEN

During the research for his book "Colonsay's Fallen", Alan Davis felt it appropriate to also record the names of those other victims of war who lie buried in the graveyards at Kilchattan and on Oronsay. Through circumstances beyond their control, Colonsay and Oronsay became the final resting place of these souls and it is here that their graves are tended and their individual sacrifice remembered each year.

Whilst Alan was able to uncover some details about the vessels in which they served and the events that led up to the loss of so many lives, much further work requires to be done. Alan would therefore be grateful if any of our Readers could put him in touch with anyone related to these victims of war. Recently, for example, Jan Baldwin visited the grave of her grandfather, William Henry Boland, who died when HMS Viknor sank on 13 Jan 1915 - Alan has so far been unable to make further e.mail contact with her. Similarly, the family of Richard Prior was present on Colonsay when the headstone bearing his name and those of his brothers and cousins was dedicated in July 2002.

Any help with Alan's continuation of this project would be much appreciated, and Alan's contact details are:

COLONSAY DIARY

Although there have been a few glorious days, September on Colonsay has been characterised by unseasonal wind and rain: conditions were such that the ferry due in on the evening of Monday the 20th did not even leave Oban ; Ena Williams has made a welcome return home to Uragaig after fully 5 months of hospitalisation ; The engagement has been announced of Iain Harding and Christine McFadyen, and a recent visit by the pair allowed many personal congratulations to be proffered ; At long last the vacant nurse's position has been advertised in the Oban Times, although the advert carried less working hours than those agreed with the island G.P. and the Colonsay Action Group ; Shiny new mooring rings have appeared on the Slip, courtesy of Calmac's ongoing Health and Safety programme - it is also much harder now to shove Sid and Charlie off the edge of the pier (see photo below):

GUN CLUB SEPTEMBER SHOOT

Members of the Colonsay and Oronsay Gun Club gathered at Machrins on the afternoon of Saturday 26th September for the annual "holiday weekend" clay pigeon shoot. Although entry numbers were disappointingly low, a grand time was had by all on a day which stayed fine and dry.

The results of the afternoon's endeavours were as follows:

ARANDORA STAR

An audience of around 30 gathered in the island Hall on the evening of Tuesday 28th September in response to Kevin and Christa's open invitation to hear at first hand events surrounding their recent visit to Italy in connection with the Arandora Star. In addition, copies of two Arandora Star related films recently shown on Italian television had been given to Kevin and Christa and were to be shown.

As the crowd gathered however, it became apparent that the Hall video player was in need of some TLC (Technical Loving Care).

Netta however, came to the rescue, and a replacement video player was soon carried forth from Creagoran (does she have a secret store of these in the back room? If so, what else is in there??).

The evening saved, everyone then enjoyed Kevin's description of events and the chance to view the 2 films. One of these was a specially commissioned film about the Arandora Star whilst the first one shown was a documentary devoted to Colonsay itself. This proved particularly fascinating, seeing our own Donald Gibbie, Flora, John Clark and many others on screen, their voices drowned out by the breathless Italian-staccato translation.

Indeed, many in the audience waited and waited for the female presenter of the first film to actually draw breath between words, but sadly we all went home still waiting…

Unintentional comedy aside, it was a very useful meeting indeed, showing as it did the strength of feeling and respect the Italians have for Colonsay, not only for the humanity so innately displayed at the time of the tragedy, but also for the fact that Colonsay has continued to pay respects to all those whose lives were taken in times of war.

For the benefit of those unable to be in the island Hall on the28th, Kevin has very kindly prepared a detailed summary of the events and places he and Christa attended during their time in Italy. This can be found at the end of this issue of The Corncrake, immediately following "What's on in Colonsay".

CAPTION COMPETITION

At this juncture, the Editor would like to introduce a new regular feature for The Corncrake - the opportunity for Readers to exhibit their wit and perspicacity by providing an appropriate caption for a photograph. A different photograph will be used each issue - hopefully also provided by Readers.

We begin on this exciting new feature with the photograph below, kindly submitted in this instance by Eleanor McNeill, and featuring her grandson Daniel:

As well as asking Readers for appropriate photographs and for captions, the Editor would chance his arm further and ask Readers for ideas as to what they might consider to be a suitable prize for the person submitting the winning caption. Please note that expenditure of any kind is frowned upon in the editorial office…

Caption submission details:
E.mail - editorcorncrake@yahoo.co.uk
Phone - 01951 200 336
Write - The Corncrake, Isle of Colonsay, Argyll PA61 7YW

WHAT'S ON IN COLONSAY

Please note that there is also a Notice Board on the Homepage; anyone wishing to publicise any event or attraction is invited to send details to the Editor.

Badminton on every Tuesday and Thursday

Lobster and Crab: Freshly caught, telephone Bill Lawson 01951 200315

Village Hall for rent: Ceilidhean, dances etc. £50; private parties £75; weddings £100

The Pantry Restaurant:
Sunday 2.30 - 8pm
Monday - Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 6pm

The Village Stores

Please note new opening times from August 30th:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9am - 12.45pm; 2pm - 5.30pm
Tuesday and Saturday 9am - 1pm
Sunday - Housebuilding!

CHURCH SERVICES: Weekly Services are held each Sunday at 11.30 a.m. The Church of Scotland and the Baptist Church work closely together and frequently hold joint services - please see notice at Shop for details of venue. All are welcome and our visitors are cordially invited to join the island congregation. Immediate schedule is:
3rd October - Church of Scotland
10th October - Baptist Church
17th October - Church of Scotland
24th October - Baptist Church
31st October - T.b.a. Church of Scotland?

QUIZ NIGHT every Thursday 9.30pm in the Hotel. !st Prize - £20 Runners-up -£5

KEVIN AND CHRISTA'S VISIT TO ITALY

Readers of "The Corncrake" will be familiar with the story of the "Arandora Star", sunk by a torpedo in July 1940; more than 800 persons lost their lives, mainly Italian civilian internees. Some weeks later, the remains of twelve of the victims were recovered from the sea here in Colonsay, of whom four were positively identified. The tragedy made a deep impression on an island community and the remains were treated with great respect and humanity; in subsequent years the "Arandora Star" was never forgotten and those who were lost are remembered on 11 November along with everybody else. The story was, of course, included in Alan Davis' "Colonsay's Fallen" and as recently as 2002 the late Finlay McFadyen made a new memorial cross for the grave on Eilean nan Ron.

In recent years, Dr. Maria Serena Balestracci published a book upon the subject ("The Forgotten Tragedy") and has worked with various authorities to ensure that the story can be remembered with dignity and honour to the memory of all those who perished. In pursuit of this aim, an Italian TV team visited Colonsay in early 2004 to interview Donald "Gibbie" MacNeill, who was responsible for the discovery and recovery of the remains of Giuseppe Delgrosso, from Borgo Val di Taro. Kevin and Christa Byrne gave some assistance to the team, and were both amazed and honoured to receive an invitation from Il Presidente del Provincia di Lucca to attend the first screening of the documentary film.

Things grew from there; they received extraordinary hospitality and were involved in a number of official visits which were described to a community meeting on their return (see article above). The official showing of the film was before a very distinguished audience including a survivor and many close relatives of the deceased. On the previous night, Italian television had broadcast a programme about Colonsay and its inhabitants, and after the film was shown Kevin was asked to say a few words on behalf of the island - he had an interpreter for most of his remarks but thanks to Caroline Howard was able to top and tail his contribution in elegant if ill-pronounced Italian.

Meanwhile, they had received an invitation to visit Borgotaro ("the town on the valley of river Taro"), as guests of the Mayor and Council. Again, there was incredible hospitality and a very sincere reception. The Community wished to recognise the humanitarian gesture of Donald Gibbie and his father in recovering the remains of their townsman, Sr. Delgrosso, and to express their warm recognition of the fact that the inhabitants of Colonsay have always remembered the story of the "Arandora Star". Kevin and Christa were introduced to the whole Council and then had the opportunity to pay their respects at the Memorial to all from Borgotaro who lost their lives during WWII. Later, at a very well-attended public meeting, Honorary Citizenship of Borgo Val di Taro was conferred upon all current inhabitants of Colonsay. This is almost unique in the annals of the town, and was accompanied by a very moving and dignified degree of ceremonial. It was also announced that a street is to be named for Colonsay, and the education authorities have indicated a wish to progress our links in any way possible. If the Primary School can make a visit, they can be certain of a very warm reception; meantime there are links by email to be explored. In addition, any student studying modern languages from Colonsay (and/or, almost certainly, any student from Oban High) could rely upon every assistance in an exchange programme or study trip.

On the following day, there was a visit to the mountain fortified town of Bardi, where the Mayor greeted the Colonsay visitors and brought them to visit the Memorial Chapel dedicated to all who were lost in the tragedy. Once again, Kevin and Christa were able to place flowers as a token of respect - just below the small cross and poppy which had already been placed there on behalf of David Sutherland and the British Legion. Kevin and Christa presented copies of "Colonsay's Fallen" as well as Brian Hindmarch's book about the island, also distributed Colonsay leaflets quite widely.

By happy coincidence, plans already existed to erect a very modest memorial in connection with this tragedy. Final details have yet to be agreed, but the proposed text reads "Sacred / to the memory of / Giuseppe Delgrosso / and more than 800 others who perished with / "Arandora Star" July 2nd 1940 / fo sgàil do sgiathan falaich mi / Psalm 17, v. 8 "

Anybody wishing to contribute towards the cost of this is invited to contact Kevin Byrne c/o The Editor.

TOPICAL LETTERS

Instructions are supplied, but two hints may help:
1. When using phrases, enclose them in quotation marks. For example, [lifting stone] will get you every instance of [lifting] or [stone] but ["lifting stone"] will get you what you want.
2. When you see the results, they may seem unlikely. This is because many documents (e.g. each issue of The Corncrake) are in reality just one single "page", covering many unrelated topics. No problem! Open the page, then go to the "Find (on this page)" option at the top of your screen, on a drop-down menu presented by the second button from the left. Type in the word you seek and hey-presto, it is highlighted for you. Note that you must give the page time to load (an issue of The Corncrake takes up to a minute), also that there may be more than one example on the page, so use the "Find (on this page)" function again to check that you have not missed anything.

Regulars