Ellen Kerr Memorial Trophy --Tray of Baking: Ross Moodie

By the wonders of technology, we have news of Hughie and Jenny on holiday in Canada, where they are having a wonderful time and appreciating the welcome and hospitality of Stevie, Audrey and family. Our picture shows Audrey, Jenny, Calum & Meghan as they were about to board the "Maid Of The Mist" for a trip round Niagara Falls. The American Falls are in the background and you can just see Hughie in a barrel, in mid descent. The very small figure on the tightrope is Craigie…

THE STONE MEN. by Murray Herbert

A review by Caitlin G. McNeill

In some parts it was scary because of all the night in the story. The Picts intended to take over the land that used to be theirs. It was really interesting most of the book. I like the cover. It is a brilliant picture of Ardnamurchan which is where Kirsten, the main character, lives.

Some words I cannot understand. The thirteenth chapter (the trial) was the most exciting part, because I couldn't imagine being taken away by the Pict, Morlech, to the Mullach. Sometimes I got a little scared when Kirsten got scared.

Sometimes when I think about it, that there might be clans of people living underground, it makes me shudder. One thing about the stone men is that I couldn't pronounce their names. In the end, when Kirsten gets out, it makes me wonder if it may ever happen to somebody above ground.

On Wednesday 10 October, on a dry and sunny day, more than fifty people were present at Machrins to attend a brief Memorial Service and Thanksgiving for the life of Katie Brown. Those present had braved a strong west wind and the first part of the service took place in the sheltered ground beside the Lifting Stone. The service was taken by John Roberts of Easdale and everyone joined in tribute to the memory of a widely respected and well beloved friend who will be much missed.

The party then moved to the exposed ground beside the old Coastguard Lookout; nearly everybody managed it despite the bracing conditions, but John Roberts included the thoughts and prayers of those who could not attempt the climb. On the summit, family and friends were reminded that this was a special place for Katie, for it was here that her Donald had plighted his troth and the spot had always remained dear to them. Daughters May and Peggy were present, with their husbands Charlie and Angus, and the ashes were scattered by grandchildren Morag, Dugie, Donald and Gavin Clark. Morag's Mike was there too, with great-grandchildren Nicola and Paula Halligan, and also Donald's wife Lorraine and young Ryan.

On the same day, a memorial bench was also dedicated to the Katie's memory, the gift of her family to the island and firmly anchored in front of the Lookout Station. It will be wonderfully appropriate if other young lovers come to know and cherish this beautiful view.

Members of the family wish to express their sincere thanks to John Roberts, and to all friends and neighbours for their expressions of sympathy and support. Deanar do thoil.

 

Householders without central heating were urged to get dialling by George Lyon MSP and Campbell Cameron, Chair of Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Energy Agency, on the streets of Lochgilphead earlier this month.

They were publicising the new free phone Central Heating Grant Hotline for owner-occupiers or tenants of private landlords. Applications are welcome from anyone over 60 without a central heating system.

Campbell Cameron commented 'The Energy Agency wants as many people to benefit from this scheme as possible. It's a great chance for older people to get the comfort they deserve this winter.'

Since the scheme was announced by Henry McLeish, Argyll and Bute MSP George Lyon has been championing the rural areas of Scotland as regards Central Heating Grants. George commented 'I'm determined that Central Heating Systems will be fitted from Mull to Machrihanish - and everywhere in between. There is no means test to this scheme so everyone who is eligible will get a basic Central Heating System fitted.'

Householders can choose what type of fuel the system will use. Oil, gas, LPG electric and even solid fuel systems are all possible under the scheme. It will also cover households who have already have a central heating system, but only where it is completely broken and totally beyond repair. Upgrading existing systems is not covered.

By calling the free phone number 0800 316 1653, applicants will be checked for eligibility and advised of the process for getting a central heating system installed.

Geaspar Byrne spotted the following in the Herald, and thinks that the Magpie Shelter of issue # 39 might have a new denizen: the article was about people prepared to take serious steps to control magpies in order to protect songsters, and whether it bears results:

"Certainly John Bridges, Don of the Drumclog cell, is convinced.
They only caught a 100 or so this year because magpie numbers around Drumclog Moor are so far down. He says there is absolutely no doubt about it. Songbird numbers are up.

So confident is Bridges that he has rewarded Manfred, his long-serving call bird, with his freedom.
Manfred was a sort of bin Laden of Birdland. He came almost two years ago from the Aberdeenshire estate of Esslemont and tempted dozens of fellow magpies to their doom. His master took him at least five times to Colonsay on holiday and it was there, this summer, that he was granted his freedom.

The cage was left open. After a bit Manfred hopped out, ate a danny-long-legs and hopped back in again. Soon he re-emerged, hopped over the dike and flew off never to be see again.

And don't worry. Manfred is in no danger from local magpies which would normally attack a released bird. There are no other magpies on Colonsay. So there is no danger that John has reintroduced magpies. There isn't one with which Manfred can pass the time of day with let alone start a colony on Colonsay."

Richard Prior Memorial Appeal - this appeal will be closing shortly and those who wish to be associated with the memorial are invited to contact Kevin Byrne as soon as possible.

"Spencer" commemorative voyage to Prince Edward Island in 2006 - about fifteen "local" names are now on the list. The Herald, the Scotsman and the BBC have all given coverage to the project and we can feel confident that the idea will not be pre-empted. As soon as the planning meeting has taken place, an update will appear here.

The new Boat Hire and Passenger Service for 2002 attracted a lot of attention. About a dozen readers obtained draft copies of the proposed brochure and invaluable comments and suggestions were received and will be incorporated in the final publication. Some further consultation is planned for November, when tourism interests will be approached.

The Toad - as yet remains unidentified, but has escaped and is now living rough in the Scalasaig area.

Shaggy Inkcaps at Machrins
(Nice examples - these are so often squashed by children well qualified in rolling and jumping)

Significant new information has been obtained, almost all of which is alarming. Islanders' fears have not been eased by the barrage of publicity in which the new multi-million pound development of Port Askaig port facilities has been heralded as a lifeline for Colonsay. Local residents are somewhat bemused - even our own elected Councillor seems to have jumped on this band-wagon, but nobody in Colonsay is quite sure why the re-development of Port Askaig should have any particular significance for persons travelling between Colonsay and Oban. Unless, of course, everybody else knows something that we don't know.

Meantime, three important documents have been obtained, in addition to the secret "consultation" questionnaire which was exposed in our last issue. Firstly, we have obtained a copy of NUMAST's representation to the Scottish Executive and this is now in circulation locally; it embodies and articulates very valid concerns, and may be valuable as a reference tool.

Secondly, we have the "Reporters' Paper". The Scottish Executive has a Transport Committee which is keeping a watching brief on this whole affair, and that Committee appointed two of its members as Reporters (Des McNulty and Maureen MacMillan), to deal with the nuts-and-bolts. In late September, their "Reporters' Paper" was submitted to the Committee, and a copy of that Paper is now in circulation locally. Certain things leap off the page - for example, Vesco and Opsco are no longer just likely, they seem to be an accepted fact. This means that all the vessels and infrastructure currently owned by Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd. will be hived off into a holding company (Vesco) which will be administered by a small and very comfortable group of executives, and available at a fixed price to whoever runs the service. One knows the sort of thing - rather like RailTrack (although, fortunately, the shares will not be available to widows and orphans).

Opsco will actually run the show, and presumably will be the company that happens to win the bidding. It does not take Einstein to see where the fat cats will be in all of this, and that all other existing company employees and all of the customers are on the wrong track for this particular Gravy Train. Now that it has become clear that Vesco is a reality, rather than an option, quite a lot of obscure activity in recent months becomes more explicable.

Envy is not an issue here - there will always be fat cats and highly polished backsides in leather seats, and no reason why not. But what about the customers? And what about the staff? As long as their interests are protected, then of course there is everything to be said for an open, efficient, transparent bidding system and the operation of modern and reliable ferry services in a manner which causes the least drain upon the public purse.

Unfortunately, it is clear from the Reporters' Paper that neither the customers nor the staff are to be protected. This correspondent cannot afford to be sued, so will content him/herself with the examination of quotations from the Reporters' own Paper, as submitted by them to the Transport and Environment Committee of the Scottish Parliament on 26th September.

"During the summer recess Reporters have travelled to the Highlands and Islands and Argyll and Bute, and engaged in discussions with local communities regarding the current proposals." "The provision of [ferry services to remote and island communities] should be considered in the context of an overall economic development strategy for these areas and it should be recognised that remote and island areas may have differing transport needs to other areas of Scotland. The specific transport needs of these areas should be taken into account when formulating economic development policies to support the needs of local communities." In other words, they give lip-service to the needs of remote communities, yet avoided "discussions with local communities" in the most remote island of all.

"The Executive has previously consulted on draft proposals for tendering these services in the document "Delivering Lifeline Ferry Services". It is clear that a key component of the process will be the development of the service specification for these services. The Minister has stated that she intends to conduct a wide-ranging consultation before this is finalised, with the objective of achieving innovation and improving service delivery." Starting the "wide-ranging" consultation precisely when? A service based on Port Askaig would be innovative, right enough.

"Reporters urge [the Executive] to consult as widely as possible. In particular, the Executive is urged to consult with … as many users of the service as possible, in order to facilitate the development of a service specification that will best serve the needs of remote and peripheral communities." Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, after their own inadequate "discussions with local communities" in the darkest reaches of Argyll, the Reporters are goosing the Executive!

"In undertaking visits to the Western Isles over the summer recess, reporters became aware that the introduction of competition on the Ullapool-Stornoway route had revealed an unmet demand for further sailings. Reporters believe that similar unmet demand could exist on other routes … it may be that alterations in capacity of vessels or timings of services might stimulate increased demand for services." Now that they are back from their summer expedition to the Utter Hebrides, they may well think that a smaller boat going to Colonsay in the middle of the night could free up a bigger boat in social hours. Who knows, an additional sailing to and from Mull at the Cocktail Hour might prove a bit of a winner; or perhaps they could nip round to Ayr for the races?

"Reporters … urge the Executive to ensure that maximum advantage can be taken of any reductions in operating costs based on vessel deployment, in order to allow services to operate in the most efficient manner and maximise revenue.". "Reporters would wish to see an OpCo set up in a manner that will allow it to be responsive and flexible both in providing commercial services, and in responding to the needs of communities. Achieving this objective may require an OpCo to be granted a higher degree of commercial freedom than CalMac currently possesses." This alone spells disaster for Colonsay - taken with Islay and Jura "responding to the needs of communities" is not going to give Colonsay much of a shout. Throw in some efficiency and maximise the revenue, and then see why everybody is trumpeting Port Askaig's significance to Colonsay.

On a plus point: "The lack of a … regulatory body to regulate issues such as fares, service standards and consultation with users has been criticised…" "Reporters would encourage the Executive to fully examine the question of whether an independent regulator is needed…" Of course, if he does for us what he has done for the railways it is hard to see the point.

And here's a cracker: "Reporters wish to express concern regarding the accountability of the OpCo to communities. Reporters consider that any OpCo must be accountable to the communities that it serves, and responsive to their needs and concerns". Pass the claret. "The Executive is urged to consider ways of making an OpCo more responsive to its users by, for example, appointing community representatives as members of any Board of Directors. Any such proposals should have the aim of increasing community involvement in the development of strategies for service delivery." Pull the other one! How come representation is so important when the Reporters themselves could not be bothered to visit Colonsay during their own "discussions with local communities"?

"Many of the current employees of CalMac live in the communities affected by the tendering exercise and have strong ties with them." "Groups giving evidence to the Committee were keen to … ascertain the extent to which the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations will apply to any transfer of CalMac employees to a new operator." The Minister has refused to give a straight answer so: "To avoid increasing the level of uncertainty being experienced by CalMac crews, Reporters would urge the Minister to provide clarity … it is understood that TUPE does not apply to the issue of pension rights." "It is clear that the draft service specification will have a large bearing on the rights of employees…"

It is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that the needs of customers and staff are to enjoy nothing but nodding recognition. The minutes of the Committee discussion on the above Reporters' Paper have also been obtained and are in circulation locally, the third document to which reference was made. It is clear that the Committee is wildly misinformed as to the level of consultation, which means that its very real recognition of the major problems is no more than an academic nicety. Members of the Committee accepted the Reporters' references to "discussions with local communities" without challenge.

Colonsay Community Council is doing its best to address this situation, but is at something of a loss. There has been a very poor attendance at meetings to discuss the subject and, to be honest, it has been very difficult for any members of this community to keep up to speed. These deliberations are going on over our head and it is quite clear from the Committee discussion that the Parliament itself has been led to believe that widespread consultation is an ongoing process. On behalf of the customers, Colonsay Community Council has written to the SMP and to the Minister protesting about the total lack of consultation.

It is clear that local staff have no guarantee of ongoing employment if CalMac fails to win the tender process, and that OpCo may not even be bound by TUPE. This is no fault of the present employers, but in such a situation CalMac as we know it may no longer exist. Since the Executive is not prepared to act, staff in Colonsay and elsewhere are now obliged to consider obtaining Trade Union representation.

"Matt Low"

P.S. In the light of the above, it is perhaps worth outlining the "conspiracy" scenario which hovers in the background. It envisages Colonsay having a twice daily link with Port Askaig, thus giving residents access to the Secondary School, swimming pool and air service in Islay. It also gives Colonsay 17 ferry links weekly with the mainland, rather than the existing three, not counting the short-crossing on-demand service envisaged with the proposed "Overland Route" Lagg/Keills. The scenario enhances inter-island connections and reduces social exclusion, and vastly increases access opportunities for service providers to Colonsay (social work, physiotherapy, child psychologists and officialdom in all its guises). The economic and "efficiency" arguments are almost overwhelming, in the light of the criteria for service provision being peddled by the "consultants". Although Mr. Low does not spell it out, many people have begun to suspect that something along these lines is in the wind - possibly Colonsay would still enjoy one or more direct connections with the mainland as a "request" stop between Port Askaig and Oban in the summer months. In the absence of either evidence or information, each proponent of the "theory" adds bells and whistles to suit their mood or inclination - The Editor.

Due to refurbishment, The Hotel will be closed for meals and accommodation from 30 September until further notice. The Bar will be open as follows:
Monday - Saturday 12.00 - 14.30 and 19.00 - Late
Sunday 12.00 - 14.30 (closed at night).

The Pantry will be open for meals etc. throughout the winter. The winter opening hours are as follows:
Monday, Wednesday & Friday 10.00 - 14.00 hrs.
Saturdays 10.00 - 15.00 hrs.
Evening meals and take-away meals can be catered for by arrangement. To make such arrangements, telephone the Pantry on 01951 200325 or call May MacKinnon at home 0n 01951 200341

Quiz in the Hotel every Wednesday at 9.30 pm.

Church services every Sunday, alternating between the churches: 11 am at the Church of Scotland, Scalasaig, and 12 noon at the Baptist Church, Kilchattan. See shop notice to check venue.

Podes on Parade! The Podiatrist will be here on 25th October

The dentist will be here from 29 October … make appointments through the Surgery.

New York Fire Department - tributes to NYFD personnel may be left at the Post Office and will be forwarded by our own Fire Brigade

Hector MacFadyen Ceilidh Band will be playing live Monday 29 October at Belk Student Center, St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Laurinburg NC - Tickets at the door

There are lots of raptors on the island - hen harriers, peregrine falcon, sparrow hawk, buzzard etc. - but James Howe says they are just passing through; a flood of two or more applicants for the post of Part-time Assistant Registrar means that dreaded interviews will be held; final snagging is thought to be complete at the Village Hall and New Manse; there are genuine signs that work on the four new Housing Association houses will commence at Scalasaig in the coming spring; the ravens, not content with stealing the hens' eggs, have actually started to attack the misfortunate fowls; a smart big yellow JCB has arrived in the island; Marie leaves for Africa on her "year-out" this week; and our picture shows Hessie Sveinsson (nee McAllister) here on a recent visit from Seattle, with Eleanor McNeill on a shopping spree in downtown Scalasaig.

Just north of A' Choille Mhor is a gully running up from the sea at Slochd nan Sgarbh (Cormorant's Pool) to An Corra Dhunan (The Steep Homestead). A burn runs up the middle, and is carefully edged with leacan or flagstones, set on edge as a boundary (like a miniature Caithness wall). It is a warm and sheltered place of deep tranquility, an island of fertility in a largely barren part of Balavetchy. If you spend some time there, you can begin to distinguish the pattern of cultivation and the outline of two or three dwellings.

Although we have no knowledge of the old inhabitants, it is likely that they were removed when Balavetchy was taken into the demesne land more than two centuries ago. There are about half a dozen such homesteads on the east coast, but this is perhaps the most beautiful and atmospheric - the picture does not do it justice, it really deserves a visit.

The Magazine Section

LATE NEWS:

16 October, 1801, the following "christianings" took place in Colonsay:
Niel, to Donald McNeill and Flory McMillan
Niel, to Finlay McEachern and Annie McLean
Sophia, to Malcolm McMillan and Grisael McNeill
Lucy, to Niel Brown and Christian Graham
Flory to Niel Smith and Flory Currie
Archibald, to Alexander Campbell and Marion McIlepheder
Mary, to Duncan Shaw and Flory McNeill
Malcolm, to Angus Shaw and Mary Bell
John, to Angus McMillan and Pegy Galbreath

18 October, 1801, the following marriages took place in Colonsay - possibly at Sguid Bhride?
Alexander McNeill and Marrion McFarlan
John McDuffie and Bely McNeill
Alexander Campbell and Marrion McIlepheder
Angus Bell and Pegy McFaden.

Note: Malcolm McMillan and Grisael McNeill (with Sophia and 7 other children) were amongst the emigrants on the "Spencer" in 1806 and more than 2,000 of their descendants have been identified.

Niel McEachern was on the "Spencer" at age 7, with his grandfather and uncle.

John McDuffie's is the earliest recorded McDuffie marriage in the Old Parish Register and he could easily be a direct descendant of the last clan chieftain. His probable grandfather will be mentioned in issue No. 44, December 1st.

Notes on any or all of the above will be welcome - the next extract from the OPR is not due until February, so there is time to develop the above listing if readers are interested to do so - Editor

A' Chrannaig at Machrins ("The Pulpit")

Continuing the contribuition by distinguished highland historian and broadcaster Domhnall Uilleam Stiubhart
It is possible that some terms or issues will require clarification… if so, readers are invited to contact the Editor and some attempt will be made to reply in the next issue. For convenience, overseas readers might like to think of "The Western Gàidhealtachd" as comprising the Gaelic-speaking "West Highlands and Islands".

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