EASTER ISLAND (PART TWO)

Although the events (or at least some of them) of Easter weekend were related within the pages of Issue 112, the Easter "break" did not begin properly for the children of the island until a week later, the 1st of April, the date of Issue 112 and the date that they started their two week Easter holiday. The reason for this apparent discrepancy is that schools throughout the land had decided that the traditional Easter holiday should in future be on a fixed date annually, and not follow the actual date of Easter, which is of course a moveable feast.

Using a complex method to calculate the date of Easter which was fixed at the Synod of Whitby in 664 AD, Easter can fall anytime during a six to seven week period. Not an ideal platform upon which to prepare pupils for upcoming important exams, it is not too surprising that schools have broken with tradition. Maybe what we need is another wee meeting at Whitby (or Scalasaig for that matter - why not move it around the country every 1300 years or so?), in order to review the situation.

And so the first two weeks of April have found the island children at play, and for our secondary school pupils, the delights of actually being at home, free from their enforced Winter exile in Oban. Not that it is all fun and frolics; Hamish Grant, for example, has adopted his preferred role as Piermaster-in-Waiting, whilst sister Morag and Carol MacLeod, surely two wee lambs themselves, have impressed all with their shepherding (and traffic control) skills :

 

Another reason why the story of Easter on the island is in two parts is, I'm afraid, down to your Editor. Too busy boiling, painting and ultimately rolling eggs, he completely forgot that Easter does in fact have a Christian element or two to it, and failed to go to the special Easter service. He is therefore indebted to Eleanor for covering his error ( or perhaps more correctly his "sin of omission"?), by providing the following details of the service for our Readers :

"For almost two years now the Church of Scotland and the Baptist Church on the Island have been working closely together and having joint services.
On Easter Sunday a congregation of around sixty gathered in the Baptist Church for a special Easter Service. The service was conducted by a regular visitor to the Island, Rev Alex Rodger, and the Island children - or those that could come - members of the children's club which meets every Thursday after school during term time from October to Easter, also took part in the service.

Despite the fact that only seven of the twelve children who normally attend the club were able to attend, the children performed very well. With Caitlin on guitar, Morag at the organ, and Liam on the bodhran, they sang a song written for the occasion entitled 'On that first Easter Day' to a well known tune. The younger children joined in with gusto each time they came to the chorus 'I'm H A P P Y'. Such a performance demanded that they repeat it, this time with the congregation joining in, making it a very joyful occasion. Following this the children were then presented with books for their attendance at the club throughout the winter.

Throughout the service the local children were augmented by visiting children - including two toddlers who obviously wished to join them on the platform! Following the service a good number of Islanders and visitors alike commented on the lovely relaxed atmosphere during this 'family service'.

At the end of the service Alex presented all the children with a creme egg."

Móran taing dhut, Eleanor. Pass me that Bible...

DEPLETION OF OUR AURAL HERITAGE

Life can often get lonely, between scoops, up in Corncrake Towers. It is then that The Corncrake policy of fuel conservation takes a back seat and your Editor jumps into the front seat of one of the trusty Corncrake fleet ( no poncing about with chauffeurs here) for a wee tour of the island, looking for some delicacy for his Readers to digest.

Such was the day of Friday 8th April, and once he had located the starting handle of the newest of the fleet, your Editor hit the road, a gut feeling pulling him in a clockwise direction around the island. This editorial intuition proved startlingly accurate yet again, for, as he approached the cattle grid at Port Mór, he spotted a temporary road sign, always a harbinger of a good story :

As he alighted from his vehicle however, all was quiet, save for the sound of the Atlantic running out of ocean. Nor was there any sign of workmen busily leaning on shovels. Undaunted, he strode masterfully onwards toward the cattle grid, but he was unprepared, both physically and emotionally, for the sight that then met his eyes :

Jings, crivvens and help ma boab!! The cattle grid, which had kept the cattle and sheep of Machrins and Kilchattan apart since installed by the Vikings (or so Archie told me...), was lying forlornly in a heap at the side of the road. Worse still, a new grid had not been installed, instead the cavity was no more, having been filled in and tarred.

Was it really true? Was there to be a "reverse" Clearance, the sheep (and cattle) making way for more people? This has been a "theory" (or should that be a "rumour"?) on the island for some time, due no doubt to the ongoing spate of house-building (see article below).

The editorial head was spinning (no, the Hotel is still closed) when who should arrive on the scene but a Council spokesman who explained the situation, but wished his identity not to be revealed. "Archie", I said, "what is going on?" The anonymous Council spokesman then poo-pooed the "Clearances" notion by stating that the grid had been becoming increasingly dangerous for some time, and with no funds being made available for a replacement, there had been no option but to fill it in on safety grounds.

The Community Council were quick to react to this grievous situation and contacted the Roads Dept on the mainland, eliciting an urgent ("in two weeks or so"...) Roads Dept inspection of the cattle grid to determine whether it could be repaired or would require replacement. The Roads Dept further assured worried islanders that a repaired or replaced grid would be in place before the end of May. Further still, they confirmed their responsibility to maintain a grid at Port Mór under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, immediately scotching the rumour (there's that word again...) that their previous stance had been "if the farmers want a cattle grid, they can blooming well go and buy their own".

Should however the Roads Dept's actions not match their words, The Community Council has already laid down contingency plans, MPs and MSPs having been alerted to the island's plight as has the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department (SERAD), as currently our farmers cannot comply with the regulations governing the movement of livestock. Worse still perhaps is the plight of visitors staying in the Port Mór cottages who cannot get to sleep at night for the silence.

And finally on this sad story, The Corncrake, while at the scene of the "crime", managed a gratuitous photograph of a passing motorist :

TIDE TURNING FOR HARBOUR DEVELOPMENT?

At a meeting of the Colonsay Harbour Development Group last year, Ian Binnie was asked to put some of his thoughts on paper for future discussion purposes.

Ian and wife Uta went one step further, and prepared an extensive and comprehensive document outlining a variety of possibilities for development, giving all interested parties the opportunity to consider ideas possibly never aired previously.

Ian was on Colonsay early in April, and the opportunity was therefore taken to convene a public meeting to discuss Ian and Uta's report. A good turnout of 14 individuals met in the pier shed, and the meeting was chaired by our Development Officer, Chris Nisbet. Chris has provided The Corncrake with the following summary of the meeting, and interested individuals can also find a full copy of Ian and Uta's report in the Magazine section of this very Issue :

Conclusions from the meeting on Saturday 2nd April 2005.

Present:
Keith Johnston, Andrew Abrahams, Bill Lawson, Christa Byrne, Dave Rees, Kevin Byrne, Ian Binnie, Andrew MacGregor, Alistair Scoullar, Angela Skrimshire, Jim McLoughlin, Ken Chadwick, John Clark, Chris Nisbet.

The report prepared by Ian Binnie was circulated. Ian gave an overview of the report and then a general discussion took place.

It was agreed that the following points should be explored through a feasibility study (in no particular order):

1. The positioning of moorings at Scalasaig harbour and at Queen's bay.
2. The possibility of concrete steps in the bay area in front of the shop to allow yachters ready access to the Shop.
3. The provision of water and diesel.
4. The possibility of incorporating a shower unit and a washing machine at the pier shed area.
5. Excavation of the inner harbour to provide additional moorings and berthing opportunities.
6. Improving access to boats berthed at the harbour wall through the provision of new access ladders.
7. Improving safety in the harbour area.
8. Contacting a civil engineer to carry out an appraisal of the proposed works.
9. Exploring the opportunity to create new breakwater(s) outside the inner harbour.

Lorna Elliot from Leader+ then met with interested parties after the ferry from Islay on Wednesday 13th April, to discuss the possibilities and the financing of a feasibility study.

ISLAND EXCHANGE VISIT

The European Small Islands Network was established in 2001 to address the specific issues of insularity facing small island communities throughout Europe. It aims to promote sustainable social, cultural and economic development of small islands - enabling them to maintain permanent resident populations.

Present members of the European Small Islands Network are:
- Scottish Islands Network
- Comhdháil Óileain na hÉirann (Irish Islands Federation)
- Skärgårdarnes Riksforbund (Swedish National Islands Association)
- Association Les îles du Ponant (French Ponant Islands Association)
- Sammenslutningen af Danske Småøer (Danish Small Islands Association)
- Pro Åbolands Utskär (Finnish Turku Islands Association)

The Corncrake has been asked by the Scottish Islands Network (SIN - a rather unfortunate acronym!) to highlight a forthcoming island exchange visit to Gullholmen, a small island situated on the Swedish west coast, which has been organised by the European Small Islands Network.

As part of its 3-year Inter-Island Exchange Project, the Network is looking for representatives from community groups or organisations and politicians and officials working with island communities, to participate in the visit based on the theme of Housing. Participants will find out about specific housing issues facing the Swedish islands where on some, as many as 95% of houses are holiday homes.

The exchange visit will also offer the opportunity for delegates from the participating countries to discuss their own national island housing situations and present practical initiatives and innovative solutions that have been introduced in their countries - with specific emphasis on examples of good practice.

Some of the issues discussed in a Swedish context will be the competition between permanent residents and second home owners and resulting depopulation, taxation, shore zone protection, nature conservation and planning issues and the introduction of different types of housing in highly desirable areas.
There will also be presentations about a successful Swedish partnership approach to housing solutions involving voluntary island associations and the public and private sectors and on the Norwegian 'duty to live' initiative which reduces taxes for permanent island residents. Supply and demand of rented accommodation will also be looked at with examples given from the Stockholm archipelago.

The exchange visit takes place from the 2-4 May and a limited number of subsidised places are available. For more information and an application form contact the Scottish Islands Network Project Officer, Lisa Stephen, on 01478 611285 or email lisa@scottishislands.org.uk.

The closing date for applications is theoretically Friday 15th April 2005, so if you are interested in participating, get your skates on!
Please note however that this visit is quite different to the Small Islands for Survival and Understanding (SISU) Swedish visit in June which will specifically include a delegation from Colonsay.

Oh, and if you do go, please note that The Corncrake is particularly interested in the bit about tax reductions for permanent island residents. What a cracking idea!!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Editorship, like Life itself, can be a strange mistress. One minute you're stuck for ideas, the next minute, one comes gift-wrapped to your door. And, in case you're thick enough to have missed it, the doorbell goes again to ensure that the gifted idea lodges in your brain.

And so it was in Corncrake Towers in early April, when one communication thudded onto the front-door mat, soon to be followed by another one, this time from the other side of the world.

Firstly, there was a letter from one of the pupils featured in the 1949 Kilchattan Primary School photograph which appeared in a recent Issue. John McIntyre, now a Psychiatrist in Australia, wrote ( see Topical Letters section for the complete letter) : "It would be fascinating to hear from others in the 1949 group and to learn of the directions that their lives have taken. Perhaps we should think of founding the "Old Kilchattanians" - it would certainly be an elite group, much rarer than "Old Etonians"!

Before the Editorial brain could lose sight of a potential new feature for The Corncrake, a second communication was received, this time from John and Pamela Clarke, who of course lived on the island for the best part of ten years. They wrote : "...we also remember people who like us have left and often wonder what happened to them. I wondered if it would be of interest to other ex- inhabitants and indeed to the real islanders to hear news of former 'incomers' - a sort of 'Where are they Now?' section. Pamela thought that a better title might be 'Good God! I thought he was dead!' section!"

So, former Colbhasachs, do we have the material out there for an occasional, or indeed a regular, column dedicated to bringing us all up-to-date with how life has treated you since leaving these fair shores? There is a blank canvas here in Corncrake Towers and only you can fill it. Go on, satisfy the curiosity (not at any time to be confused with nosiness, of course) of your fellow Readers. The in-tray of Corncrake Towers awaits!!

ROUND THE HOUSES

For the benefit of those Readers who have not had the opportunity to visit Colonsay of late, The Corncrake has provided below a series of photographs to illustrate the ongoing house-building boom on the island :

Our first photograph shows seven houses at Glassard where there used only to be four, the three in the middle all appearing within the last few months.

Immediately past the red-painted gable of No.4, home of Mary Ann, are the two houses being built for re-sale by the Brolly brothers, this development already having been christened "Brollywood" by the locals. Beyond Brollywood we have the home built by David and Alison Johnston which, as can be seen from the photograph, blends in so well that you could be forgiven for assuming that it is one of the original houses. When complete, "Brollywood" promises to have the same effect.

Moving on, the photograph on the left below is also at Glassard :

 

The kit seen under partial construction belongs to Miss Rennie, and is sited before No.1, as you travel to Glassard from Scalasaig. This house, not yet quite complete, has also earned an early nickname from the locals, viz. " No.0, Glassard. This of course highlights the question of future numbering of the Glassard houses, No.1 through to No. 7 not quite going to be adequate now that there are 11 houses there - and there is at least a further house on which construction has not yet started (I hope that this isn't letting anything slip, Nigel...).

We now move in an anti-clockwise direction round the island to Upper Kilchattan, where Dave and Mary (McDougall) Rees are building close to the school. No nickname yet on this one, but Dave and Mary are going to call the house "The Whins", which is what the area the house sits on was called when Mary was a pupil at Kilchattan Primary School, a year or two back.

Continuing in an anti-clockwise direction, but only for 150 yards or so, we come to the house built by John Olivant (on the left below) :

 

As can be seen from the photograph, the house just looks like a house, but this is in fact a major relief for locals, as it had been "rumoured" that John was actually building a multi-storey car park for all his vehicles. John has already moved into the house, although work, including painting and decoration, carries on round about him. It must be said though that he's looking "in the pink"...

Moving down the hill to Lower Kilchattan, our photograph shows three recently built houses, now all occupied, but none of which could yet be described as "complete".

On the left is the house built by Jim and Ann Johnstone, that in the middle (but actually 250 yards or so further away from the camera) is Chris and Sheena Nisbet's pride and joy. Chris and Sheena, with kids Lewis and Holly, have moved in and are adding such luxuries as toilet doors as they tick-off their long "still-to-do" list. Finally, on the right is the new home of Ken and Janet Chadwick, who moved to the island last year.

Now we come to the last photograph in this series :

What we see here, as we look towards Port Mór cottages and, in the distance, the ancient Dùn Gallain, is the soon-to-be new home of Pedie and Carol MacNeill. Every hour they can manage away from the Shop and the School, Pedie and Carol are to be seen hard at work, pausing occasionally to look at the stunning view out to the Du Hirteach lighthouse, 20 miles distant and the last land mass for nearly 3000 miles.

This completes this wee tour of the island, and a forthcoming Corncrake will illustrate the ongoing nature of this house-building phenomenon and the factors which are fuelling same.

This article is sponsored by Nigel Grant Construction plc.

COLONSAY PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE

Under the aegis of The Corncrake, a plan is now underway to electronically store and categorize as many photographs of Colonsay and her people as can be gathered. This is obviously a long term project, the objective being that the repository of scanned photographs, fully numbered, labelled and indexed, will be available to current and future generations.

Each photograph will be cross-indexed so that in the future anyone interested in, for example, MacPhees, will be able to view all MacPhee photographs, each with dates, names, locations etc. The same will apply to buildings, family homes, crofts, dùns and other geographical features - indeed any category that crops up during the scanning and indexing process. It is to be hoped that this information can at some time in the future be stored on the Web, and thus be instantly accessible to all, at any point in time, and irrespective of geographical location.

The support of Cobhlasachs past and present, indeed anyone who may have relevant photographs, is obviously crucial to the success of this enterprise and your Editor would humbly ask that anyone who can contribute in any way to get in touch. Contact details are as follows :

editorcorncrake@yahoo.co.uk ; By telephone : 01951 200336 ; Or by post to : The Corncrake, Scalasaig, Isle of Colonsay, Argyll, PA61 7YW, Scotland.

Photographs of course may be scanned electronically and forwarded by e.mail, but should this not be possible or your scanner is of too low a resolution, any actual photographs physically received will be returned in pristine condition within a few days of their receipt.

Readers' co-operation in the project will undoubtedly be appreciated by countless generations to come.

The Editor would also appreciate advice and or information from anyone with previous experience of such a project, particularly in the creation of the appropriate database / filing system.
Also, Mrs Hall-Gardiner is very kindly making available her late husband's collection of Colonsay VCR recordings, so that appropriate sections can be rescued and preserved, perhaps on DVD. If there is any Reader with skills in VCR enhancement and editing who may be interested, please get in touch.

BLOWING IN THE WIND

The first Colonsay Gun Club clay-pigeon shoot of the year took place on Saturday 2nd April in bright and sunny conditions. There was however a strong Easterly breeze blowing which ensured that there would be no record-breaking scores on the day - in fact wily participants twigged it was best to wait for the clays to return in their direction, boomerang-like, before taking aim. Certainly the strength and direction of the breeze did allow one record to be set on the day - the number of unshot clays collected - a significant number from the foreshore of Tràigh an Tobar Fhuar!

Prizewinners on the day were as follows :

Angus & Ella McFadyen Memorial Trophy
1 David Binnie
2 Angus McFadyen
3 Donald MacAllister snr
4 Don MacLeod.

David Clark Cup
1 Donald MacAllister snr
2 Nigel Grant
3 Angus McFadyen
4 David Binnie.

Morag Paris Basket
1 Angus McFadyen
2 Nigel Grant
3 Donald MacAllister snr
4 Chris Nisbet.

Clark Cup
1 Donald MacAllister snr
2 Angus McFadyen
3 Nigel Grant
4 Chris Nisbet.

Championship Cup
1 Les Robinson
2 Donald MacAllister snr
3 Chris Nisbet
4 Keith Johnston.

Double Rise
1 Donald MacAllister jnr
2 Don MacLeod
3 Chris Nisbet
4 Donald MacAllister snr.

Alasdair McNeill Memorial Trophy (for the Aggregate)
1 Donald MacAllister snr
2 Angus McFadyen
3 Chris Nisbet
4 Nigel Grant.

Children's Competition
1 EQ Lewis Nisbet and Carol MacLeod
2 EQ Morag Grant, Liam McNeill, Caitlin McNeill, Jack and Chris.

Ladies Competition
1 Rhona Grant
2 EQ Kirsty MacAllister, Liz McNicholl and Sheena Nisbet.

Handing over the prizes on the day was Sheena Nisbet, ably assisted by Morag Grant, who kindly took time off from her lambing duties to assist in the proceedings. Here we see the first prize winner of the day, a shy and retiring gentleman in a woolly hat, heading off to unselfishly share the liquid part of his prize with his very-recently-acquired many friends and wellwishers :

Subsequent prizewinners too experienced new-found adulation and, it is believed, a merry time was had by all, although your Editor, there on official Corncrake business, unfortunately has little recollection of this stage in the day's proceedings...

POETRY CORNER

Well, the sudden craze for limericks, whilst fruitful, proved mercifully short, like that of hula-hoops, Rubik-cubes and, it must be admitted, mini-skirts.

The Corncrake is nought however without a verse or two penned whilst under the poetic Muse and your Editor leafed in vain through "The Golden Treasury" and other poetic tomes for that elusive, Colonsay-related, masterpiece with which to satisfy the undoubted literary desires of our esteemed Readership. Yet there it lay, right under his nose, although we do have to revert to the year of 1978, when Di Alexander released upon an unsuspecting world his own poetic composition as his Speech at the Young Farmers' Show Dinner :

Our extremely grateful thanks to Di for allowing The Corncrake to reproduce his opus, which, although over 25 years old, is still representative of the spirit and humour of Colonsay today. Gu Robh Maith Aige!

CLAN GATHERING UPDATE

Arrangements for the Macfie Clan Gathering and Parliament later this year have been all but finalised by the Scottish Gathering Co-ordinators, lain and Fiona McFie.
All Inverness activities will be centred on the Thistle Hotel, Millburn Road. Registration and Attendance Forms are available now from the co-ordinators at email: Iain@mcfie.org.uk or by post: Coulintyre, Kincraig, Kingussie, PH2l. l.LX or telephone: 01540 65139l.

Accommodation: Members are reminded that they are individually responsible for arranging their own accommodation in Inverness and on Colonsay. The special rates and preferential booking arrangements at the Thistle Hotel for those attending extend only until 31st July - after that date bookings will be accepted on an availability basis at normal rates. Contact the Thistle Hotel on email: reservations.inverness@thistle.co.uk , for attention Shona Fraser, Reservations Manager or telephone her on 01463 252502. Please do not try to make Clan preferential bookings through Thistle Hotels Central Booking Office.

On Colonsay, it is still not clear if the Hotel will have reopened by September or not. Ample other accommodation is however available on the island - see http://www.colonsay.org.uk for details.

Special Guests at the Clan Dinner on Friday, 9th September, will be lain and Bunty Gunn of Lybster, Caithness, Scotland. lain is the Clan Commander of Clan Gunn, the first such appointment made in this modern era. During Clan Parliament, there will be guest speakers, Rod McDuff of Perth, Australia and John and Marty Rosser of North Carolina, USA to speak on the DNA project and fundraising respectively.

Check the Gathering website at www.mcfie.org.uk for latest information or contact lain and Fiona as above.

LOOK BACK IN ALBUM

Our "Look Back" photograph from Issue 112, provided by Ivor Jones, caused little problem to our Readers :

Yes indeed, that is a young Kate "Garvard" Bowman about to step onto the school bus at Balerominmór road-end. With her is her mother, "Pony" MacNeill, in what must have been very trendy gear at the time.
And what about the lady welcoming Kate onto the bus? Again this posed no problem for our Readers, it being the school-teacher Mrs Jones, mother of Ivor who supplied the photograph.

Moving on then, with some degree of trepidation, to the photograph provided by Fran Patrick, and which we carried forward from Issue 111 to allow much needed further cogitation and reflection :

This photograph, probably because of its relative age and the sheer number of people involved, has caused more differences of opinion than any other in our "Look Back" series. As an example, we have in this Issue two letters relating to the identities of those pictured, one from Frank and one from Mary Ann, and whilst there is agreement on most identities, there are significant differences of opinion - and these are only two of many people who have contributed.

In light of this, and because her list was compiled largely by her sister-in law Hessie in the USA, who was actually there and therefore in the photograph, The Corncrake is prepared to publish the list received from Mary Ann as being "correct". So, if you disagree with any of the names put forward, or if you can fill in any of the blanks, please get in touch. Oh, and by the way, it is believed that the occasion was the 21st birthday party of Susie MacAllister.

Mary Ann/ Hessie's list is as follows :

Back Row : Callum Clark. Percy MacNeill, Jimmy Reid, Hugh Brown, Granpa Robertson, ? , John Jenkinson, Flora Campbell, Percy's wife(?) Morag Titterton, Bella MacAllister.

Next Row : Susie MacAllister, Pat Robertson., Morag Robertson, Effie Clark, Dr Cursiter, Sandy MacAllister, Dr Cursiter's sister(?) John MacAllister, Chirsty MacAllister.

Next Row : Peter MacAllister, Murdoch MacAllister, Ian Clark, Katie Brown, Effie MacAllister, Granny MacAllister, Granny Robertson, Hessie MacAllister, Ena MacAllister, Sylvia Jenkinson, Mary Beaton, Peter MacAllister.

Next Row : Donald MacIntyre, Freddie Titterton, Margaret Robertson, Effie MacAllister, Betty (Percy's daughter), Kenneth MacAllister, Hessie MacAllister, Ivor Brown on her knee, Isabel MacDonald, Mairi Gray, Michael ( Percy's son), Colin Titterton, Michael Todd( Sylvia's son), in front.

Finally, we can now move on to our new old photograph and again it is one provided to The Corncrake by Ivor Jones :

So, who can name all the young seekers of knowledge in the classroom of Kilchattan Primary School? And just look at the concentration on the face of the wee lassie front left! And behind her, obviously someone who feels free to "jouk" about when the teacher's back is turned. Or, perish the thought, is he actually looking at the answers on the slate of a fellow pupil? Surely not! Can any Reader out there tell us the truth? (anonymity can of course be provided for a small consideration...).

SNIPPETS

Many islanders recall with affection Ulf Hagman, Macfie Clan Commissioner for Sweden for more than 20 years. It is therefore with deep regret that The Corncrake must record the untimely death of Alexander, Ulf and Nanna's grandson.

Alexander, 23, lost his life in the Boxing Day tsunami in South East Asia. Holidaying in Thailand with his parents Lars-Ola and Margareta, Alexander was swept away in the disaster. It is believed that Alexander's body, like that of countless others, has never been recovered.

The island, through The Corncrake, sends its condolences to Ulf and Nanna.

Election fever may be about to swamp the UK, but Colonsay is already sated with the business of electioneering, postal ballot papers to elect the Colonsay Community Council having popped through island letterboxes last month.

Since then, men and women have been seen in every corner of the island, standing on soapboxes, ranting and gesticulating wildly at the assembled gathering, usually consisting of a few sheep, even some of which appeared to be more interested in their next free munch.

At the end of the day however, votes were cast and counted, resulting in a huge vote of confidence for our encumbent councillors, Alan Robertson being unable to oust any of them from the council chamber. It is to be hoped that it was not the sheep that actually did the voting...

Readers with any remnant of memory retention ( see Pedie's forthcoming book and album " I'm Younger Than That Now" ), may recall the story in Issue 112 of our long-malfunctioning petrol pump. Indeed, it was suggested that Issue 113 would provide an update on the situation.

Well, the update is that...er... there isn't one. But one is imminent!!(We hope).
By this time next week, our pump should be restored to its original purpose - ie pumping fuel. The engineering company concerned are booked on next Wednesday's ferry, and the engineer(s) intend staying until the job is "complete" (sorry, guys, not the term to use over here...). And, apparently, they are bringing every conceivable spare part with them, endeavouring to ensure an immediate fix.

Our next Issue will carry exclusive details of the outcome...

Finally, we come to the most frequently aired topic on the island of late - exactly when is the Hotel going to open its doors? The Corncrake can exclusively reveal that there is no further news on this topic since the last Corncrake. Even the rumour (again!) that at least one man was camping out in the doorway turned out to be no more than the indiscreet divulgence of a plan in the offing...

Rumour aside, a Notice has appeared in the Shop, advertising for casual Hotel staff and an opening in time for Whit weekend ( "whit weekend is that?" ), is now widely anticipated. Undoubtedly, your next Corncrake will reveal all. Take out a subscription now!!

CAPTION COMPETITION

Some photographs just lend themselves to a caption competition, and the one from Issue 112 was certainly one of those, attracting a record-equalling number of entries.

Unfortunately our regular arbiter in these matters, A.N. Other, was, at time of going to press, suffering from mental fatigue ( nothing, surely, to do with judging our wee competition?), and therefore who better to ask to fulfil the onerous duty than the culinary maestro himself, Dave Binnie?

Reluctant at first to accede to The Corncrake's request to adjudicate (fame can, after all, be a double-edged sword), Dr Binnie then accorded honorable mentions to Frank Nicholson, Mark Hemmings and Anon of Norwich (well at least Norwich was the postmark on the envelope...), before selecting a caption from Sheena Nisbet, a first-time entrant, to be the winner on this occasion :

So, a big well done to Sheena and a big thank-you to David.
The "prize" for winning our celebrated caption competition, despite distillers queuing up to offer more material ( but, confusingly, also spiritual) baubles, still remains the honour of providing the photograph for the ensuing competition. This, Sheena was able to do, but not in the conventional manner, a "suitable" photograph of Sheena already existing within The Corncrake archives :

Just what are Sheena and Donald up to, to be causing such hilarity? We feel certain that Corncrake Readers will be able to produce a number of appropriate suggestions. But can your suggestion win? (and be printable?).

Entries as usual to : editorcorncrake@yahoo.co.uk ; by telephone : 01951 200336 ; or by post to : A.N.Other, The Corncrake Caption Competition (Issue 113), c/o The Editorial Suite, The Corncrake, Corncrake Towers, Scalasaig, Isle of Colonsay, Argyll, PA61 7YW, Scotland. Calls will of course be charged at premium rates.

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.

TOPICAL LETTERS