Technical difficulties have yet again brought much frustration to the Editorial offices. In fact, on the 16th of November, when this issue was due to hit the streets, the paragraph you now read actually described, in almost euphoric terms, how the gremlins had been overcome and that the established tradition of fortnightly issues of The Corncrake could now be resumed. The technical difficulties are very much still with us however and it is currently not possible to say for certain when the next Issue will appear. Rest assured, dear Reader, that the entire Editorial team will be working flat out to hit the streets again in early December.
For those who plan their reading well in advance, please note that there will be only one issue during February 2005 due to prior commitments on the part of the Editor.
It was a chill wind that blew on an early November morning when the island awoke to the news that Angus and Jenni McFadyen, together with baby Ewan, were to leave Colonsay to take up residence on the mainland. No man is an island and the news spread as only bad news can, bringing heaviness of heart to the entire island community.
Residents did however have their sorrow tempered to a degree on hearing that Angus and Jenn had made the decision for the soundest of reasons and that both had secured employment, Jenn as school secretary at Kilninver Primary School and Angus as a care worker in Benderloch. Suitable accommodation had also been secured in the form of a cottage out the Soroba Road. The fact that Angus and Jenn do not intend selling their Uragaig house also brought comfort to islanders with the anticipation of being able to see them and Ewan back on the island on a fairly regular basis.
Having come to terms with the news, the community is united in their appreciation of Angus and Jenn's breadth and depth of contribution to island life over these last few years and the McFadyen family can be assured that a great many thoughts will be with them as they, Ewan included, take their first tentative steps in their new life together in Oban.
Angus and Jenn would also like, through The Corncrake, to say a big thank-you to everyone for the good wishes for the future that they have received since announcing their news.
The ebb and flow of island life was in evidence again a few days later when on Wednesday the 10th, Wendy Radford closed the door of No5 Glassard behind her for the last time. With a bulging car and an even more bulging MacLennans van, Wendy said her final farewells at the pier and then was gone, off to start a new life on the island of Luing. As she left, she said that she was already looking forward to coming back for visits.
M.V. ISLE OF MULL
The ferry that took one resident away (the MV Isle of Mull, see gratuitous photograph above), brought with it however two new residents for Colonsay in the shape of Duncan MacDougall's sister Mary and her husband David. Mary and Dave Rees have sold up in Dave's native South Wales to start a new chapter in their lives in Mary's native Colonsay. They are to build a new house which they hope will be complete (for a Colonsay definition of this term see Issue 103) next year and have in the meantime moved into the cottage at Seaview.
Helping Mary and Dave with their move to the island was their son, Gareth, whom Readers of more mature years may recall was actually born on Colonsay 31 years ago. At the time of Gareth's birth, Mary and Dave were living with Mary's (and of course Duncan's!) parents Flora and Hughie MacDougall. Gareth is therefore a son of The Dorran and one of the few who in these days can say that he was actually born on the island.
As well as Gareth, Mary and Dave also brought with them a huge furniture removal van, bringing their goods and chattels to be stored on Colonsay until such times as their house is built. Whilst passing Kilchattan Primary School however, the Welsh driver took the opportunity to demonstrate his natural inclination towards education :
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Anxious moments...
The furniture did however eventually get stored safely, perhaps in a lean-to somewhere on the island. Many thanks to Carol MacNeill for sharing with us the view from the school window.
Two days after Wendy's departure and Mary and David's arrival, comings and goings were unexpectedly suspended when the MV Isle of Mull (see photograph above) failed to dock at the pier. On a day of a fiercely gusting wind, the ferry arrived some 30 minutes late and began her customary stern-first approach to the pier. Just as she came alongside however, a squall blew up pushing her stern out and away from the pier. Moments later she began a forward movement which all assembled assumed was the first stage of a further attempt but in fact transpired to be the first stage of her journey straight back to Oban!
It does seem somewhat incongruous that the Captain, having got the ferry as far as Colonsay, and taking into account the disruption to the lives of passengers on board and those waiting to sail; never mind leaving an island community and its Store, Pantry and Hotel without fresh milk, bread and other essential
provisions, made no second attempt to dock, or to wait for the squall to die down.
Events such as these, frustrating though they are, are however an integral part of island living and as such are accepted with a degree of equanimity by those for whom Colonsay is home. They do however also serve to simultaneously bring Calmac the company into sharp focus at a time when its ultimate future lies precariously in the balance.
Following on from Ian Mitchell's thought-provoking article which was carried in the last issue of The Corncrake, the subject of ferry services has been a hot topic of debate (see also this Issue's Letters section) and undoubtedly will continue to be so leading up to next year's ferry tendering process. Last month, the Rural Community Gateway website (www.ruralgateway.org.uk ) conducted a poll of its' members, asking the question:
Should island communities be allowed to run their own ferry services?
When the poll closed, it was found that a staggering 86% of respondents thought so.
There is obviously food for thought here, and The Corncrake would be pleased to hear the views of Readers on this subject.
PUFFINS TELL TALES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
The following article appeared recently on the Rural Community Gateway website
and the Editor thought that readers of The Corncrake may find it of interest:
Cute and cuddly, puffins are often perceived as comical creatures. Speaking as part of the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) Wildlife Witness series earlier in the month, writer, broadcaster and researcher Kenny Taylor also revealed that puffins are making a serious contribution to studies into climate change.
The classic image of the puffin with a beak full of fish is something often associated with Scotland but, as Kenny warns, the fish that puffins catch are showing worrying signs of changes in the marine ecosystem with global warming the likely cause:
The classic Scottish puffin
"After decades of research, we now have a real understanding of the effect climate change is having on the ocean and those sea birds that depend on it. Puffins predominately feed on sand eels. The size of the fish and their catch is getting smaller and this could be linked to water temperature change in the North Sea. Summer 2004 was probably the worst breeding season for seabirds on Shetland and Orkney because of the lack of available and substantial food for the bird populations."
Similar studies on sea birds are being undertaken in Norway where experts are already sounding alarm bells: "Some sea birds are very sensitive to even the smallest change in surface temperate, with some experts suggesting that even one degree difference in sea temperature could have a catastrophic effect on populations of puffins and guillemots in Norway. This could very easily mean the same for Scotland."
November has seen one of the too-infrequent visits of that fine musician and equally fine stone craftsman, Pat Gillespie. New dry-stone dykes have appeared during the course of the month on both Colonsay and Oronsay, but perhaps one of Pat's most unusual commissions, a screen for a fuel tank, is now gracing the south-easterly aspect from the island Store:
"What diesel tank??"
A work of art and a thing of beauty it no doubt is, as is the case with all Pat's stonework.
There is a tendency on Colonsay however for things new to the island to quickly acquire an endearing and apposite nickname and Pat's new dyke is no exception. The current favourite, no doubt redolent of warm summer evenings, a glass or three of Beaujolais and a hot and sweaty over-subscribed ceilidh is, given the dyke's proximity to the Hall, "The Clochmerle".
The new dyke is of course even closer to the petrol pump and certainly a number of shop customers naturally assumed that Pedie had had it built for those awkward moments when one gets "caught short" during the filling-up process (pity about that CCTV camera though…).
But can any of our Readers improve on the current nickname and perhaps make your mark forever on the Colonsay topography?
Finally on this subject, a quiz question for all you trivia buffs out there:
What is the connection between Clochmerle and Colonsay(Kiloran)?
The answer will appear in the next issue of The Corncrake due on the 1st of December, but why not send the Editor your answer in the meantime?
"Young Writers" is a publishing group established in 1991, committed solely to the engendering and fostering of poetic and literary talent in children. This objective they pursue through the means of an annual UK-wide primary school based competition, the winners of which have the results of their writings captured for posterity on the printed page, "Young Writers" publishing a book showcasing the best entries each year.
The Corncrake has been fortunate to temporarily secure (ok, then, borrow…) a copy of the 2004 edition entitled "Once Upon a Rhyme - British Isles". The title is a piece of poetic licence in more ways than one, representing as it does the Isles of Britain - from the Isle of Man in the south, up through the western seaboard to the Shetland Isles in the north.
The book is however a standing testament to the benefits of an island primary school education - and stand up again please, the staff of Kilchattan Primary School, an sgoil bheag againn having more winning entries per capita by far ( 9 , yes, that is NINE poems published) - than any other island. And what about our winning poets themselves - stand up please (ages in brackets are when the Muse was upon them, and of course Jasmin has since moved on to Oban High) :
Jasmin Brown (11)
Morag Grant (10)
Emma Gillespie (9)
Lewis Nisbet (8)
Calum McNeill (7)
Glen Brown (7)
Holly Nisbet (6)
Lewis MacLeod (5)
Katy Gillespie (5)
The poems of all 12 pupils entered into the competition by the school have very kindly been provided by Carol MacNeill and are to be found in the Magazine section of this issue. However, don't let that stop you, Dear Reader, from rushing out to buy a copy of the book (ISBN I-84460-554-X). An ideal Christmas present!
Naturally the Editor eschews favouritism, but finds it somewhat difficult not to mention the hope that poetry readers can read between the lines and deduce what wee Katy Gillespie would really, really like for Christmas…
The pupils and staff of Kilchattan Primary School (ah, another seamless link…) had a very rare treat indeed recently when the Orkney-based but world-travelled magician, Malcolm Russell, paid a visit to Colonsay and gave a one man show at the school.
Malcolm staged a varied performance, combining his renowned close-up magic skills ("wow", "amazing", "the coin moved from Angus' right hand to his left without him noticing -strange"), with juggling skills, including balancing a chair on his chin ("magnificent", "cool") and juggling by spitting ping-pong balls in the air ("funny", "fantastic!").
When the show was over, the children all hoped that Malcolm would come back - and like the magician he is, he's back already. In fact, Malcolm is nearing the end of a very unusual venture indeed - visiting and performing on every inhabited island in Scotland, all 95 of them. Thus he was bitterly disappointed when he was here that unsuitable neap tides prevented him visiting Oronsay and entertaining Duncan and Margaret and Mike and Val. And so, quicker almost than you can say "abracadabra", he's back, and as The Corncrake goes to press, Malcolm should be crossing the Strand.
Incidentally, Malcolm will be performing on one uninhabited island as well, just for fun. So far the Orkney island of Swona with its' herd of feral cows is the front runner for the honour.
Do you believe in synchronicity or coincidence? Well read on and be your own judge…
Wishing to change his web browser, the Editor became aware of Mozilla Firefox, described in Forbes magazine as "better than Internet Explorer by leaps and bounds".
Better still, Firefox is downloadable for free, which, by coincidence, was just about the price the Editor was hoping to pay.
The program also offered free links to a host of well-known sites such as Google, ebay etc., and also offered one to an on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia. By happy coincidence the free of charge nature of this encyclopedia resonated with the Editor and it was duly downloaded.
Opening up same to judge the program's content, the Editor was stunned by the opening page which, by another coincidence, prominently displayed a link to a two page article on Donald Alex Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal. By coincidence, the Editor had opened this encyclopedia on the 7th of November, the day in 1885 when Alex Howard's great, great grandfather drove in the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the encyclopedia carried an extensive biography of the man who 19 years later would purchase Colonsay and Oronsay (the article in question can be found within the Magazine section of this Issue).
By coincidence, the photograph of this event in Craigellachie, British Columbia, was also available free of charge and is therefore now part of the archives in Corncrake Towers:
Driving in the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway
A magnifying glass inspection of the photograph reveals what looks like the forebears of a number of current Colonsay residents, but that surely couldn't be , could it??…Wouldn't that be just too much of a coincidence??
Incidently, it transpires that Donald Alex Smith actually drove in TWO last spikes - the first one bent and failed to go in. By coincidence, a spare spike was to hand…
A recent suggestion made to the Editor was for The Corncrake to carry in each issue a photograph of Colonsay or Oronsay in times long since gone. As has been said elsewhere, nostalgia just isn't what it used to be and the Editor therefore thought that this may very well wortha try. Whether this might become a regular feature or not, does of course depend on you, dear Reader, to provide a regular stream of photographs depicting former Colbhasachs, events or places showing how they once looked.
So if you have any suitable photographic memories that you would not mind sharing with c.1600 other Colonsay-minded Readers worldwide, please get in touch. E.mail address is :editorcorncrake@yahoo.co.uk ; Telephone is : 01951 200 336 whilst by post the address is : The Corncrake, Isle of Colonsay Argyll PA61 7YW.
To kick-start the process, The Corncrake is indebted to Charlie McKinnon for providing the photograph below (Editorial apologies for the poor scan quality) :
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It is believed that the photograph was taken around 1963 and of the 8 characters in the foreground, 6 have been positively identified to date. Left to right it is thought to be : Paul Hobhouse ; Andrew Kelly ; Peter Kelly ; Hugh Brown ; Unknown ; Jasper Brown ; Unknown ; Angus Clark. Can any Reader complete the identification process?
The 14th of the month was Remembrance Sunday and a large number of residents and stranded visitors assembled in the pier-shed for this year's Service of Remembrance.
Proceedings were led by Kate Bowman and readings given by Kevin Byrne and Margaret Walker. The hymns sung, "For those in peril on the sea" and "The Lord's my shepherd" were ably accompanied by Eleanor McNeill on the organ. The congregation then made their way to the war memorial where Davy Sutherland laid the wreath of poppies prior to the 2 minutes' silence. The service was brought to a fitting end with a Gaelic benediction from Kate Bowman.
"Remembrance Sunday"
Always a service of sadness and emotion, this year's proceedings had an added poignancy for many of those assembled, who, through Alan Davis' fine book "Colonsay's Fallen", have had the opportunity to read of the lives behind the names immortalised on the memorial.
The singing of "For those in peril on the sea" also seemed particularly apt, a relief ferry on its' way at that very moment and in weather conditions perhaps worse, but certainly no better, than on the Friday when she failed to dock. All ended happily however, and a number of extended visits came to an end. Jean MacAllister for one certainly looked pleased to be home at last.
The supply of Winter coal has at last arrived on the island, everyone hoping that the bags this year don't disintegrate just as you pick them up ; the ferry on Monday last saw the return of Keith Rutherford after two weeks visiting his mother. Moments later he was spotted in the Post Office, resplendent with new haircut, dispensing sage advice as ever and, on this occasion, his car keys to a rather bebraggled-looking stranded motorist (your Editor) ; Will and Jodi, in need of more room now with the arrival of baby Seamus, are busy re-decorating Hall Cottage and hope to move in this side of Christmas ; Wendy's house has been bought by George Brolly and is to be used in the immediate short term by his brothers Tam and Graham and other workers involved in the building of the 2 new Brolly houses in Glassard ; and finally, breaking news - the island Store could be looking for a new Managing Partner in 2005, a source close to the Editor (ok then, Pedie himself) indicating that next year might be the time to move on. This could be the opportunity you've always dreamed about, and if so , contact Mr MacNeill without delay!
The popularity of The Corncrake's new caption competition would appear to be growing, with even more entries this time around. A number of entries did however again arrive too late for inclusion and the Editor would therefore make a point of advising Readers that the competition actually closes 48 hours or so before publication of the following Issue, allowing the privileged winner time to find and forward a suitable photograph for the next Issue.
With a large number of seriously funny entries, finding an eventual winner proved difficult and honorary mentions must go to Angela S, Netta T, and Mark Hemmings. The winning entry this Issue however belongs to Alastair Scoullar :
"Any idea wher your stopcock is, Nigel?"
Alastair has duly forwarded a photograph, taken in Glassard he tells us, for use as the subject for this Issue's competition. Many people often wonder what actually goes on in deepest Glassard, but it is difficult to know what these strange people in the photograph are actually doing. Ach well, it should at least make for some interesting entries this time round :
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Outdoor activities on Colonsay
Entries as usual to editorcorncrake@yahoo.co.uk, by telephone to 01951 200336 or by Keith Rutherford to : The Corncrake, Isle of Colonsay, PA61 7YW.
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.
STOP PRESS - THERE IS TO BE A BOOK FAIR IN THE HALL ON THE 4TH OF DECEMBER. DETAILS WILL FOLLOW.
THE ISLE OF COLONSAY HOTEL -The Hotel and the Restaurant will be closed between Friday 29th Oct and Monday 13th Dec.
The Bar moves to Winter hours from Sunday 31st October :
MONDAY 12 - 2.30 , 7pm - Late
TUESDAY CLOSED
WEDNESDAY 12 - 2.30 , 7pm - Late
THURSDAY 12 - 2.30 , 7pm - Late
FRIDAY 12 - 2.30 , 7pm - Late
SATURDAY 12 - 2.30 , 7pm - Late
SUNDAY 12 - 2.30 , CLOSED
QUIZ NIGHT every Thursday 9.30pm in the Hotel. 1st Prize - £20 Runners-up -£5.
BADMINTON on every Tuesday and Thursday c.5pm in the Village Hall.
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: The following times apply with immediate effect:
Monday,Wednesday and Friday - 10am to 2.30pm
Saturdays only - 10am to 3.30pm
Friday night is carry-out night - 5pm to 6pm
And for a limited trial period, May is also opening on Tuesdays and Thursdays - 10am to 2.30pm.
THE ISLAND STORES:
Altered opening hours from Nov 1st:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9am - 12.45pm; 2pm - 5.30pm
Thursday and Saturday 9am - 1pm
Sunday - Housebuilding!
CHURCH SERVICES: The Church of Scotland and the Baptist Church on the island work closely together and frequently hold joint services - please see notice at Shop for details of venue and times. All are welcome and our visitors are cordially invited to join the island congregation. Services during the Winter will be held monthly with the service for November being on the 21st in the Church of Scotland.
For convenience of readers, letters appear in two sections. Anything to do with current events appears here, and letters to do with historical research etc. will appear at the end of the following section.
Dear Editor
Thanks for taking over the Corncrake and following so successfully in Kevin's footsteps. For those of us living far away, but who love visiting the island for holidays, it is good to be kept in touch, and especially in such a lively and entertaining manner.
The article about ferries by Ian Mitchell in your November edition was most thought-provoking. £1 million a year in subsidy to provide the Colonsay ferry service! And yet despite this massive cost, the service is still inconvenient - islanders can't make day trips to the mainland, mainlanders with business on the island (e.g. councillors and other public service employees) can't make day trips to Colonsay, and the poor secondary school children and their families are kept apart at weekends throughout the winter. There just has to be a better solution than this.
What is ideally needed, of course, is simple: two daily return ferry services, morning and evening, between Colonsay and Oban. But with so many journeys already running almost empty, no-one could justify the even greater subsidy required for that utopian solution.
So maybe the answer lies in a completely fresh approach, with two distinct elements:
1. Restoring much stronger transport and other links with Islay. Islay has a hospital, a secondary school (though without a hostel for boarding students), and a range of shops and services of its own. It doesn't have the facilities of Oban, of course - but then it only takes half the time to get there. Bowmore is a 20 minute bus ride from Port Askaig. Port Askaig has daily ferry connections with the mainland
2. Accepting that not every journey between Oban and Colonsay, or Islay and Colonsay, needs to be on a boat the size of LOTI. A reduction in the number of weekly ro-ro services could release money to fund much more frequent services with a smaller boat. This might be a much smaller ro-ro vessel, or even a boat carrying foot passengers and light freight only (a 70ft vessel, say, designed to cope with all but the most severe conditions). This smaller vessel might be based in Colonsay and would provide reliable daily services to Oban and Islay, co-ordinated with the continuing 'big ferry' services to provide much greater opportunities for foot passenger day trips in both directions, and enabling school children to spend the weekend at home all year round.
This creates a whole range of possibilities - it might even open up the possibility of day trips from Colonsay to Glasgow via Islay Airport - as long as someone else is paying, of course!
Just a thought - I'm no transport expert, and no doubt there are many very good reasons why what I suggest is impractical - but as Ian Mitchell points out, there is certainly room for improvement in the current arrangements.
Best wishes
David Hoult
Dear Editor,
I must say that I think it is ludicrous that the children attending secondary school will be away for five months. If you could re-allocate the £1m, it would pay for a few private tutors on the island so they wouldn't have to leave at all.
Best wishes
Mark Hemmings
The Magazine Section