Professor Mackinnon wrote an entertaining account of a visit to the lighthouse keepers on Dubh Heartaich soon after it was built. That lighthouse was made famous through the apprenticeship of R.L.Stevenson and his subsequent "Kidnapped", and of course Rubha a' Mhail is another prominent landmark to remind us of that enterprising family of engineers. A lens from Rubha a' Mhail was used by Davy Sutherland as the focus of an outstanding feature within Colonsay House walled garden.

Colonsay boasts its own Stevenson light, a rather modest structure rejoicing in the name of An Cruisgean, "The Cruse". A cruse is a clay container which could be transformed into a lamp by being filled with oil and equipped with a simple wick - a rag would suffice, but a rush was more efficient and minimised the smoke. Perhaps the name was a wry comment on the power of the light, since it is deliberately of very limited range.

The original Stevenson lighthouse has been preserved by the Commissioners for Northern Lights and can be seen beside its modern but less romantic replacement. It would be interesting to know when it was installed - can any reader help? The structure is a tribute to the boiler-maker's art, with neat ventilation pieces around the base and near the top. The original brass hinges survive, although the doorhandle has evidently been renewed. The writer does not know what mechanism, if any, survives within.

It is understood that a Colonsay artist will be exhibiting in the Old Waiting room at Scalasaig pier from Saturday June 29th to Friday July 12th, open daily. Entitled "Colonsay, The way I see it .... sometimes", the exhibition will feature the work of Wendy Radford and will include paintings of Colonsay in both oils and watercolours.

Colonsay is fortunate in that we have a number of creative residents working in both arts and crafts, carrying on in a remarkable tradition which has also been strong in literature, music and drama. There is also of course a proud tradition of Colonsay-related work by artists working elsewhere (Steele, Whistler, McPhee, Cunningham, Don MacCullen, to name but a few), and in recent years such work has become deservedly more prolific. It is good to see the two strands of inspiration developing in this way, and to have the opportunity to share such a wide spectrum of interpretation.

Wendy's exhibition follows one or two others which have already been held this season. There will be a series of exhibitions throughout the summer and these will be advertised locally.

CEILIDH on SATURDAY 22 JUNE - Music by Hector MacFadyen... this will be a great night!

PAINTINGS BY WENDY RADFORD: June 29 - July 12 (daily) in Old Waiting Room

BEAUTICEAN, AROMATHERAPY Etc. - see notice in shop etc., Mandy MacConnell is fully qualified in a range of treatments and will be in Colonsay all summer.

Boat Trips: daily except Wednesday aboard "Lady Jayne" - see brochures and webpage

The Hotel bar and restaurant opening times are as follows:

BAR - OPEN DAILY -11am till 1am- serving alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, tea & coffee, confectionary and tobacco.
OFF SALES - available from 11am till 1am
BREAKFAST- for non residents from 8.30am till 9.30am (Booking Essential)
PACKED LUNCHES- from 10am till 2pm
MORNING COFFEE - from 11am till 12 noon
LUNCHES AND LIGHT BITES- 12 noon till 2.30pm
AFTERNOON TEA- 3pm till 5pm
EVENING MEALS - served from 6pm till 9.30pm
Food is served all day Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

May's Pantry is open daily from 9am, licensed to sell wines, beers and spirits. Meals and snacks are served all day, with homemade bread baked to order. Please book in advance for evening meals, to be sure of a reservation. Telephone the Pantry on 01951 200325 or call May MacKinnon at home 0n 01951 200341

Tides Seafood Take Away - 12.00 - 5.00 pm, Tel 01951 200200364

Colonsay House Gardens are open (see sign for details) and light lunches are served in the Loggia on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Quiz in the Hotel every Wednesday at 9.30 pm.

Church Service
Please note that services in both the Baptist Church and the Church of Scotland are at the new time of 11.30hrs. Services are held weekly throughout the summer - see notices in the shop and hotel for details.


Other activities to be advertised in shop etc. Keep looking out for notice of a meeting about that very elusive ferry tender specification, which may have to be held at short notice. We have word that publication will be in JUNE 2002 (and we also hear rumours that CalMac are guaranteed to win...)

In excess of 40 cars have been arriving and departing on recent ferries and the island road is becoming quite busy; rumour has it that the new Council Offices are not on the bin-lorry itinerary - staff are thought to be using parcel post to transport waste to Kilmory for disposal; although Derek Wilson has the contract to bring beer to the island, it seems MacLennan's has to remove the empties; work is under way for a new entrance to Colonsay House from the bay road; Garvard House is now "on-stream" for holiday lets; houseoflochar.com got off to a flying start and the secure-server facility seems to be boosting credit-card sales; Rhona Grant has been appointed to assist Diane Clark in personning the new Council offices; "Tides" seafood shop has been very busy and has become quite a feature with many visitors; the Archaeological Society of Mid-Argyll had a fruitful visit to Colonsay and expresses particular thanks to Walter Williams for transporting members to Oronsay on his trailer; Ted and Adeline Clark gave a most interesting talk on the antiquities of Kilmartin Glen; the new Columba Centre is still to be opened in Islay on Friday 16th August - despite the recent misfortune, when two craftsmen bound for the job unfortunately got off at Colonsay by mistake… after the ship had left, they were discovered waiting for a lift to Bowmore!; work is advancing fast on the new conservatory at the hotel; Georgina's new pool is up and running and looking great ...

I must admit to having found the piece about the Rural Affairs Committee visit rather disappointing and negative in tone.

My own impression was that the Reporters, that is what they were - not the full committee - were prepared to listen to views put to them. I had no experience of being interrupted by third parties butting in.

The fact that they came on a Wednesday afternoon when few Islanders could take the time to see them was, they admitted, a mistake but was forced on them by the instruction from their bosses that they could only spare the time for a one day visit and that they had to come by public transport.

My own feelings are that they left with a very good idea of what we on Colonsay see as our major problems and will report these back to the full committee in due course. Whether this results in any positive action by the Scottish Executive or if things go on as usual remains to be seen. And there I am a lot more pessimistic.

At least somebody came and tried to listen to us.
Andrew MacGregor - Isle of Colonsay

Note: It is good to have a differing view, but it is only fair to point out that the "public transport" angle was mere spin. There is of course no public transport connecting with the ferry terminal at Kennacraig which would permit one to travel to or from Colonsay on a Wednesday. From the comfort of their limos, it is unlikely that the delegates will have noticed this fact - Editor

Dear Kevin

I was quite (saddened) to read of your disappointment over the Scottish Parliament Committee's visit. I directed (a contact), now working at the Parliament, to "The Corncrake." He agreed with many of your misgivings and hopes the final report will be a document worth the wait.

John Sheets

Parma, lì 31 maggio 2002

Dear Mr Byrne,

We have only recently become aware, through an article published in the Italian magazine Il Diario, that the bodies of some Italians who perished in the sinking of the Arandora Star on 2 July 1940 were washed ashore on Colonsay.

As photographs taken at the time show, crosses and flowers were put on the spots where the remains where buried.

We also learn that a new cross will soon be placed on the spot where one of the bodies came ashore on nearby Eilan nan Ron.

The people of Colonsay have shown extraordinary care and respect for the remains of these Italians. We are grateful and profoundly moved by this.

On behalf of the inhabitants of the Province of Parma specially of Borgotaro, a town from where one the victims originated, we wish to express our thanks and our deepest gratitude.

Yours sincerely

Il Presidente
Andrea Borri

Note: this letter has been displayed at the shop, and a reply was sent by post - Editor

Hello Colonsay,

My mother and father visited Colonsay every year for many years until my father's health deteriorated, and he has since died. My mother (Audrey Burrows) wanted to visit Colonsay just one more time to say hello and last week, while she and I were staying near Oban for the week, we caught the Sunday ferry to Scalasaig. We had about 10 minutes ashore to talk to Walter and Keith (neither of whom had changed!).

I attach a snap that I took quickly before we boarded again of my mother (who will be 80 next year) with Walter and Keith. We would also like to say hello to anyone else that remembers her - Eleanor will I'm sure. Many thanks,
Ann Huckin. Ann.Huckin@care4free.net

JUST RECEIVED:

Kilarrow and Kilmeny Community Council have issued "A Discussion Paper of ferry services", June 2002; it is thoughtful, relevant and will provide useful background information for their colleagues here in Colonsay. The long-awaited draft Ferry Tendering document is almost at hand and there will be twelve short weeks to consider its implications and to produce a response - we will wish to work closely with Islay, Jura, Mull and other communities and it is very helpful to be informed about their special concerns.

Also received, latest copy of "Glynns", the publication of Glens of Antrim Historical Society. They go from strength to strength and this issue is quite outstanding - there is a fascinating article upon a "new" line of descent from Colla Ciotach MacDonald of Colonsay, and much of general genealogical interest. McNeills will find material of interest, and even those of us with a special concern for McCurdy and other Rathlin families will not be disappointed.

The Magazine Section

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