POSITIONS VACANT
Relief Home Help worker required - see Post Office for details.
LACH ORASAIDH
Secret trials involving an amphibious vehicle have reputedly been undertaken locally under cover of RSPB operations. The new vehicle, codenamed "Oransay DUKW", looks just like a normal Land Rover, but has been endowed with special attributes. Its fearsome capability includes a self-burrowing feature, enabling it to conceal itself in deep sand; it can also lie underwater in total silence and, in trials, has managed to lie totally submerged throughout two tides.
At the successful conclusion of the trials, the test vehicle was removed for debriefing in Islay. It is understood that the driver had already been de-briefed in Oransay, where he also enjoyed a hot bath.
"Running silent, running deep…"
COMPUTERS FOR ALL
The new computers have now been installed in most households and seem to be the bees' knees. The actual training arrangements are still a bit foggy, so the "CobWeb" project mooted here (see magazine section) will be postponed until everybody has mastered the basics of the new equipment.
Novices are having a few teething problems, but seem generally unfazed. The software is very good, but one or two extras are needed to read certain attachments (e.g. UnZip, Adobe Acrobat, Excel etc.). It will probably take about a month until people are confident enough to try the "CobWeb" idea, but meantime it would be good to have an expression of any interest.
There seems to be some problem with internet access speeds. It is too soon to be able to give a reliable report, but in many cases downloading stalls or proceeds at treacle-speed (up to 3 minutes to download a page). The modem is said to be of pre-historic capacity (28 kps), but this is not confirmed. In any case, one begins to suspect that the real problem lies elsewhere. Even a 56 kps modem will default to 28 kps if there are poor landlines, and Hughie McNeill found that installing a rated 56kps modem made little difference. The fact that the problem is intermittent makes on wonder if the ISP (Freeserve) is involved.
One new user found that his machine would not print the "@" symbol and concluded that it would be best to dismantle the keyboard and see if something was wrong - fortunately he did not get around to doing it (yet). Meantime, if anybody else needs help with their computer, a list of volunteers is available in the shop. Feel free to ask for assistance, it is the best way to make progress. Correspondence about problems or solutions will be welcomed by "The Corncrake", just email the Editor - byrne@colonsay.org.uk
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Yes this really is the title of a book and we have ordered 6 for the Bookshop - one of which is for me (Georgina) and another for Angela. They should be here on Wednesday and are thoroughly recommended.
RRP £16.99 Colonsay Bookshop price £13.50
amazon.co.uk are offering the book at £13.59 - this is what their reviewer says about it…
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CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
On 26 September 2002, James Reynolds in the "Scotsman" had the headline: "RSPB abuzz over rare bee discovery on islands."
Breathlessly, he reported that "A rare type of bee which has been decimated in England and was in danger of disappearing altogether from the UK has been found on several Hebridean islands, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has found.
The discovery of the northern colletes, Colletes florialis, on the islands of Colonsay and Oronsay has delighted environmentalists, who had been alarmed by the decline in its numbers caused by major habitat loss and intensive agricultural practices."
One wonders if this is by chance related to the mining bee Colletes succinctus? Andrew Abrahams brought the latter one to the attention of John and Pamela Clarke many years ago, when they were studying food resources of the Chough. John and Pamela spent quite a lot of time following up the tip, and on 4 February 1994 submitted a paper to the British Trust for Ornithology; in a revised form it was accepted in November of that year and a Short Report appeared in Bird Study 1995, pp. 253-254.
As has been said elsewhere ( Eccl. 1, v.9) "chan eil ni sam bith nuadh fon ghrein."
DEVELOPMENT COMPANY GENERAL MEETING
There was a modest attendance at the meeting on 23 September. The Chairman's Report was read on his behalf by Andrew Macgregor. The Financial Report was somewhat enigmatic, but Diane Clark gave a brief exposition of the actual progress to date which was very impressive.
A number of projects are still being progressed and new ideas are being examined. Improvements at the harbour and visitors' moorings would fit neatly with a fuelling facility (at present, no diesel is available for boats within 30 miles of Scalasaig). A DIY tool-hire or exchange is also under consideration. Georgina Hobhouse has mooted an environmental scheme for Scalasaig (landscaping, better paths, play area, less sheep-sh*te) which is to be worked up for adoption. Bracken eradication is being considered. Other suggestions will be welcomed.
ANN AM BROINN AN EISG...
Yes, the work is now complete, and this time it is the whale that has been cast up upon the shore. It is reliably reported that it has been spotted from a height of 35,000 ft and (less reliably) that it has been tabled for discussion at the U.N. Seemingly the 625ft. long "Super-Sperm" is pointed directly at Baghdad and was enough to trigger an immediate climb-down by Saddam.
The project attracted quite a lot of interest locally at first but there has been very little subsequent comment. It is probably fair to say that most people are in favour, although a handful have expressed doubts. Everybody seems to be agreed that familiarity will overcome all doubts through time, and that the work will become an accepted and rather special feature of the landscape.
NOOKS and CRANNIES: Dealbh na Leisg
Dealbh na Leisg is normally translated as "Image of Sloth", although the name scarcely seems appropriate. It is an 8th century carving which was once sited close to the chapel ruins of Riasg Buidhe and is apparently made of local stone. It really is a most remarkable piece of work and although it has appeared here before loses nothing by a second airing.
Note that the figure has a beard and can be seen to have a reasonable head of hair, except where it has been tonsured in the old-fashioned way, across the forehead. Note also the concentric rings on the sleeves - reminiscent of both Celtic and Bronze-age art forms. The photograph unfortunately does not clearly show the pisces form in which the pleats of the cloak are gathered - viewed in situ, the association with that early symbol makes one think of the Roman catacombs.
WHAT'S ON IN COLONSAY
Saturday 5th October - Colonsay Young Farmer's Annual Root and Grain Show. Show Forms for all entries will shortly be available from the Shop or Post Office.
Saturday 5th October - Colonsay Young Farmers' Dinner & Dance - for tickets, contact Rhona on 01951 200303 or Angus on 200229. Music, songs, dancing etc. will be provided, and local musicians will be performing. The event will be the inaugural celebration in the new Hotel function room.
Monday 7 October - Community Council meeting in Village Hall at 8pm. Agenda includes discussion of Planning proposals for the new air service.
26th October … Mary Machrin's birthday party
29 - 31 October inclusive - visit by mobile Dental Surgery.
Boat Trips: daily still until late October aboard "Lady Jayne" - see brochures and webpage. A minimum of four passengers are usually required, so please call 01951 200320 to register your interest.
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
Colonsay House Gardens are open (see sign for details)on Wednesdays.
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 regularly - see notices in the shop and hotel for details.
Advance notice:
The 14th International Gathering of Clan Macfie is to be held May 14-18, 2003 in Gatlinburg, TN, hosted by the Macfie Clan Society of America. For more information see http://www.macfiesocietyofamerica.com or contact:
Jim McAfee, Macfie Clan Society of America
420 Ash Dr.; Baxter, TN 38544 USA
jgmcafee@tnaccess.com
SNIPPETS
Correction: the big barn at Kiloran is not being demolished - it's being re-roofed! Meanwhile, Angus Howard was 8 yrs old on 29 September; Diane Clark is in Vienna; Mairi MacDougall is a fresher at Caledonia University, Glasgow; the new Function Room at the Hotel will be inaugurated by the Young Farmers' Dinner this Saturday; planning applications have been lodged for terminal buildings, hangar and runway at the airstrip, also a house at Mulldubh and at Glassard; Andrew MacGregor is away to collect his 28ft motor-sailer; one-sixth of the school playground is being re-developed as a carpark; and grateful thanks are due to Donald Gibbie McNeill for helming "Lady Jayne" on the Primary School circumnavigation of Colonsay and Oransay - picture shows them leaving Port Mor
TOPICAL LETTERS
For convenience of readers, letters now appear in two sections. Anything to do with current events appears here, and letters to do with the Magazine section or historical research etc. will appear at the end of the Magazine section.
From: Angela Skrimshire
[re. "CobWeb" Project, see Issue # 62 and Magazine section, below]
(re.) the Mormons, forgive my ignorance, but I thought their whole idea was to construct a vast data-base of everyone's ancestors so they could be saved willy-nilly for their own good retrospectively as it were. I don't much care either way, but my intensely RC parents would have been a bit bothered, I think! So I'll keep their names out of it, if you don't mind (though from what you say in the Corncrake it seems I've got it wrong as usual)!
Editor's reply: I am grateful for this comment, because it does give one a chance to respond. Although one may make use of the LDS software or other research facilities, they do NOT have access to anything that you choose to do with it on your own computer, any more than Messrs. Quink or Bic can read the content of your letters.
Furthermore, as it happens, the Mormons would not need access to your files if they wanted to know about your ancestors - they already have the information. Over a period of many years, they have undertaken the micro-filming and conservation of many millions of records on behalf of civil authorities worldwide; in exchange for this, they have presented copies of their work to the authorities concerned. Thus the microfilms that I have here in Colonsay, which include (for example) all Colonsay and Jura entries in the Old Parish Register, were supplied by the Scottish Record Office but are in fact copies of the work carried out by LDS.
Although it would be fun to pursue the theology, possibly it is enough just to bear in mind the pre-christian and pan-sectarian nature of Baptism (by whatever name). The Church of Latter Day Saints genuinely a fully reputable body and, like so many other religious institutions, is making an enormous contribution to our civilisation - Editor
Kevin: What did you put in Colin Montgomerie's food? He played like he was the best player in the world, which he was the last couple of days. Congratulations. Don Beck Jr
[Very true, they owe it all to him. But here in Colonsay the big event was the shooting match, where all the fans were whooping it up for Angus and Hector MacFadyen plus Donald MacAllister - Ed.]
An article written by Andrew Eames was about the islands off the west coast of Scotland running out of islanders. He was reporting on efforts to reverse the flow.
Colonsay mentioned twice
Firstly to state that the populationhad dropped from 166 to 100 in the past 40 years.
Secondly, the following.
On Colonsay , where a debilitating 40 per cent of the 100 odd properties are holiday homes, the depopulation is being tackled by the building of new homes for rental only.The houses are being funded by the local housing association with a government sponsored scheme called Initiative at the Edge, which was set up to rescue depopulating areas from the brink.Buliding work has just started ,and there is a short list of 12 would be tenants for the four.
Will send you article,
Damian Samuels
COLONSAY WAR MEMORIAL RESEARCH - UPDATE.
First of all thank you to all those people who have contacted me as a result of my request for information either through having read notices posted around the island or on 'Corncrake'. To date I have gathered a considerable amount of information as well as interesting photographs, newspaper articles and documents about those islanders and others with 'Colonsay connections' who served and sadly gave their lives in two World Wars. Eventually I have a publication in mind but firstly am considering some sort of display or exhibition of my findings in order that their contributions are not forgotten.
Currently I am still seeking information about four men named on the memorial and would appreciate any help in tracing family connections through readers of 'Corncrake'.
Pte. John Brown - a gunner with the Royal Field artillery who died on 13 April 1917 aged 41 and is buried in the churchyard at Kilchattan. He is not named in the 1901 census however he was the husband of Annie Brown of Kiloran.
Seaman Angus McPhee - Royal Navy Reserves. He was born on 11 April 1894, the son of Donald and Ephemia McPhee of Machrins and is listed in the 1901 census aged 7 years. He served on a number of ships of which I have details and died on 9 Feb 1920. I have no information about where he is buried or commemorated and his name does not appear on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Roll of Honour - I have asked for this to be investigated.
Pte. John McLellan - 7th Bn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. According to the baptismal register he was born on 5 Sept 1882, son of Dugald and Flora McLellan. He is not listed in the 1901 census as apparently the family moved to Glenfrien. He enlisted at Kilmartin and died of wounds on 21 July 1918 during heavy fighting on the Marne front in France - he is buried nearby in the churchyard at St. Imoges.
Pte. Angus Brown - 1st Bn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Son of Edward and Annie Brown, he died aged 19 on 8 Oct 1944 during an attack on Monte Cavallara in Italy. He is buried in the cemetery at nearby Faenza.
I can be contacted via E -mail ajdavis17@hotmail.com or if you prefer to write :-
Alan Davis, 17, Gosforth Terrace, South Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 1RT.
[Editor's note - in error, this was added late to this edition, but I will repeat it in #63; please do provide any assistance you can to Alan Davis as we hope his eventual publication can be as complete as possible.]
The Magazine Section
