OPENING BLETHERS

Well, here we are, Issue 133 of The Corncrake. And after our bumper '6 week' Issue last time around, we are consigned once more to the relatively meagre fare that a fortnight's living on this remote Hebridean rock with only c.120 souls can yield...

So, what's been happening, we hear you ask. Well, not a lot it must be admitted; there have been no parties, no ceilidhs and your Editor has even been singularly missing (Alzheimer's-induced) from the riot that our Wednesday evening country dancing shindigs have become.

On the comings and goings front, a gap has been created by the departure of Andrew Howard and his team of Poles and a Slovak, their refurbishing work at 'The Colonsay' (the Hotel to you and me) now complete. Keeping the island population up however, we have seen the welcome return of 'The Colonsay' staff of Jo, Lucky, Annabel and Jason, preparing both mentally and physically for the rigours of another Colonsay 'season'.

And on the weather front (get it?), we waxed perhaps a little too lyrically about the kindness of recent weather in our March 1st issue. Not that the weather ceased to be kind; but on March 3rd, the island awoke to find itself draped in a rare mantle indeed :

 

With their schooling preventing the children of the island from taking full advantage of this heaven-sent playground, Lucy and Barbara grabbed their opportunity, and were soon seen building a snowman at Dun Oran. Alas however, by the time our Photodesk got their act into gear, the snowman had begun to melt and thus the opportunity to share a Colonsay snowman with our Readers was lost. We do, however, hope to provide such a scene for our Readers sometime during the next decade, the kindness of the weather permitting, of course. We just ask you for your patience...

And on the question of patience, we beg some more of yours, dear Reader; a short enforced absence from the island at the end of this month means, unfortunately, that your Editor will be unable to publish our April 1st Issue on that day. It should however follow on very soon thereafter. See you then!

IT'S A CONSPIRACY!

And now we move on to the topic of...weather! (It's not that we are OBSESSED with it, it's just that we do tend to get rather a lot of it...) Truth be told, this piece is not about the weather per se; it does however provide the backdrop.

We move, chronologically, from the 3rd of the month, to the 13th, which, if memory serves us well (not always a 'given' these days), was a Monday. With a thick blanket of snow covering much of Scotland and even neighbouring Jura, Colonsay was as usual totally bereft of the white stuff. We were however not bereft of the accompanying wind.

With the wind threatening to move off the Beaufort and on to the Richter Scale, islanders were stunned to hear that the ferry had actually left Oban, particlarly as the wind was from the South-East which makes docking at Scalasaig into something of a lottery. On innumerable occasions, intending passengers have heard of cancelled ferries or watched as the ferry attempted to dock only to turn around and head off back to Oban, and these occasions being when the wind was much less fierce as it was on that Monday (yes, we've checked, it was a Monday).

And the ferry, the Isle of Mull, eventually appeared at Scalasaig but even then, there was not a gambler amongst us willing to bet on an actual docking, the swell off the pier crashing violently against the nearby rocks. But, and a huge 'well-done' to Captain Sneedon, dock she did, against all the odds.

This feat of course engendered great speculation amongst the populace; why did the ferry actually come when it often fails to even leave Oban in much more favourable conditions? The favourite conspiracy theories (at time of writing...) remain as follows :

1. Our Piermaster was leaving the island that day and his CalMac colleagues think so highly of him that they risked life and limb to ensure his safe passage;

2. The ferry was loaded with many council dignitaries coming for meetings, and CalMac think so highly of them etc etc;

3. The first batch of men and materials for the island's new airstrip were travelling, and CalMac think etc etc;

4. Our new Shopkeeper, desperately short of al-fresco toilet requisites (see Corncrake 132), yields much more influence than previously thought, and CalMac etc etc.

However, irrespective of which theory you give credence to (and there are a few more than those listed...), the fact remains that islanders now believe that cancelled ferries are a thing of the past.

Aye, we'll see...

AIR LINGUISTS

And yes, if you were paying attention to that last piece, you will be aware that work on the new island airstrip has, after months of interminable delay, actually begun. Yes, just in time for the beginning of the tourist season!

Other passengers on that ferry included councillors, council officials and representatives of the contractors, and all gathered in the Hall on the Tuesday evening together with a large crowd of residents to discuss the airstrip project. Topics covered the whole gamut of the six month project, including the timing of boats arriving with aggregate and other materials; the number of lorries (two) involved in running back and forth to the airstrip and their daylight hours of operation; the repair of inevitable damage to the island road; and a host of other concerns of the resident population.

One aspect which surprised most of those present was the fact that with work commencing, the golf course was now effectively closed to the public and will not re-open until a revised course has been devised with Health and Safety officials. No date could be given for this.

Ever keen to bring you, dear Reader, the latest and most up-to-the-minute news, the entire Corncrake team were to be found up at the airstrip on the Tuesday morning to actually see work commence. Alas, we were only in time to see the project hit its first delay - the lorry delivering the porta-kabins getting stuck in its own generated mud :

And on the return journey we could not but notice that the airstrip/golf course road, after only an hour or so into the six month project, had already, and forever, lost its natural and unspoilt charm :

FIRE GUARDS

Following on from our exclusive coverage of the arrival on the island of a shiny new fire engine, we must admit to failing to mention that volunteer firefighters are desperately needed to swell the ranks of our local team. So, do you think that you have what it takes? :

Are you over 18 years of age?

Are you physically fit and in good health?

Do you have good unaided vision and colour perception?

Are you available to respond to emergency call-outs at anytime of day or night, from home and place of work?

Are you seriously interested in helping to provide an important emergency service for your local community?

Are you of good character?


Aye, they always keep the tricky question to the last, don't they? Oh, and another small point, you must be resident on the island.

Seriously though, if you can answer 'yes' to the above questions and are at all interested in becoming a part of this worthwhile and rewarding service, have a quiet word with Donald MacAllister. Alternatively, call Mary Swan on 01389 385124 before May 11th.

Your island needs you!

WHALE MEAT AGAIN

Back in the mists of time, or Issue 126 to be more precise, we featured, courtesy of high-flier Malcolm Spaven, an aerial photograph of the outline of the whale laid out in stones on the raised beaches just west of the Balnahard road, above Port Sgibinis :

The stone whale, the brainchild of conceptual artist Julian Meredith, was completed, in outline, some 4 years ago, close to the site of a beached whale burial ground of approx a century ago. The idea, we believe, is that people passing (so that limits numbers!) would add stones within the outlined body of the whale, and, as can be seen from the photograph, this certainly happens, just as climbers would add a stone to a cairn.

At the time we published Malcolm's photograph, we promised more information on this artistic whale, and its inspiration, in a later Issue. Alas, Julian, its creator, is a busy man and constantly on the move. We can however now report that we have finally caught up with Julian, and that he has very kindly provided us with some further background to his artistic creation :

"I had been to Colonsay once before I started the Whale on the raised beach at Balnahard, as a guest of Alex and Jane Howard.

The tide line of the raised beach and the mounding of the stones resembled a beached whale, so I worked on this idea - in fact the curve of the work is dictated by this line. I didn't learn about the original beached whale until I unearthed the skull of a whale, and was told about its history by Mr. Hobhouse (David, I think).

I returned to Colonsay in September, 2002, with ten fellow artists, students and friends, and we took two weeks to construct the original outline and to partially fill in the area with stones which is now being gradually added to. The edge of the whale is made from small boulders and large stones so that the cattle and sheep can't kick them and lose the outline. The whole area is stones underneath.

The shape of the whale was plotted by positioning stones painted with limewash and then viewing them from the top of the two hills nearby, (300' & 400').

We started working with wheelbarrows, and then we were lent a tractor and trailer. We had brilliant weather and we all really enjoyed our stay.

We arrived and started the project at the new moon, and as we sailed away from Colonsay, the moon was full."

Our grateful thanks to Julian for that, and of course for his whale art.

ANOTHER FLORA McNEILL!!

Back in the mists of time (again, also known as Issue 126), we carried the story of a remarkable lady, Mary Mackay, who has been solely responsible for turning Rusk's Cemetery in Bruce County, Ontario, from a scene of neglect and decay into a trim and well cared for last resting place for those departed this life :

Rusk's cemetery, regular Readers will recall, is unique insofar as all of the 351 people buried there either came from Colonsay, married someone who came from Colonsay or was a Baptist. And to help fund her 5 year renovation project, Mary researched the lives of those buried there and published six books about their lives, each story starting in Colonsay and chronicling the experiences of these Colbhasachs starting life in a new country.

Well, we can report that despite Mary's project now being complete, she has been hard at work again - and on OUR behalf! For Mary has condensed one of the books, on the life of Flora McNeill (1796-1891), in order that it would fit into one issue of The Corncrake. And that issue is this very one, and Flora McNeill's story is to be found in the Magazine section.

We are led to believe that most of the McNeills still resident on Colonsay are direct descendants of one or other of Flora's brothers who did not emigrate to PEI.

MY COLONSAY PHOTOGRAPH

Colonsay and Oransay are very photogenic islands (hence this regular feature!), not only for their unspoiled natural beauty, but for a host of other reasons, including of course the sheer diversity of photographic opportunities that the islands reveal to the naked eye even on the shortest of adventures on their terrain.

This diversity produced one of the more unusual photographs that this feature has produced when Anne Bosma of Bovenkarspel in Holland submitted a snap she had taken last Summer on a one week holiday, her first visit to Colonsay :

Anne advises us that she took the photograph on Rubh' Aird Alanais (or Pebble Beach as it is so lazily and unimaginatively referred to so often these days). She also tells us that she and her two friends had a glorious week's holiday cycling and walking all over the island, so much so that they are coming back this year - for TWO weeks!

So thank-you for sharing that with us Anna, and we look forward to seeing you and your friends again in June!

NATURE NOTES

Your Editor's painful lack of nature knowledge being cruelly exposed yet again in our last Issue, we are delighted to be able to turn once more to one of our more faithful contributors, Julia Page, to paper over the cracks appearing in 'Nature Notes'. And doesn't Julia yield a delightful brush :

"When I read in Corncrake 125 about some people tipping into ditches while others lie prostrate under tables, it gave me the perfect excuse to expand on my very favourite Colonsay topic of the 'diagonal'. It's not only some islanders who have a tendency to slant ( or should that be slàinte?), trees and rocks do it too. Even the island itself has the inclination as seen on any map.

Murdoch McNeill in his book 'Colonsay - one of the Hebrides' tells us the fascinating history of tree planting on the island but there are some lone windswept specimens not described but guaranteed to fire one's imagination. The exact species of the tipsy conifer at Riasg Buidhe..

..isn't known to me ( I'm sure someone will put me straight), but I'd love to think that it's a Cluster or Maritime Fir famed for it's turpentine and rosin - just the thing for the clachan's boat repairs and ceilidhs. Murdoch McNeill described this species as "having a tendency to fall over at an early age" - Aye, that's the spirit! In reality, I suspect that this tree probably grew up long after the last villagers were gone.

Zephyrus breezes whistling round the Uragaig headland into Kiloran Bay have persuaded scattered hawthorns to adopt the sprawling supine posture so frequently seen in Chinese art and windwayward oaks near Queen's Bay also provide artistic inspiration and sheer fascination in equal measure :

 

The geological tilting phenomenon looking north east at Dun Gallain from Coite Creige is unmissable. One is very aware of an angle, roughly 20° from the horizontal. You see it all over Colonsay, in the shoreline rocks on the eastern side of Carnan Eoin, in the delightful slanting rocks of Turnigil ( so popular as a children's "We're higher than you!" type slope)..

..and even on the road down to the pier ( or preferably - up to the bar!). From Oransay to the pinnacles of Port Sgibinis, indeed beyond to Scarba and the Garvellachs, distant headlands look a little like one-sided butterfly cakes. It's hard to imagine the forces of nature which caused these listing rock stratas to dip in such a fashion. The complexity and composition of the various layers are described in detail by Murdoch McNeill but was it volcanic activity, the Ice Age, continental drift or just good old Father Time which induced such a grand topographical slump? How much time does it take for these various elements of landscape to tilt? Thousands of years for rocks perhaps and decades for trees to acquire their oblique stance. For one or two of the human population it would seem that just one night down 'The Colonsay' bar is sufficient!"

 

Our grateful thanks, as ever, to Julia for this different 'slant' on Colonsay!

So come on Readers, can you make a contribution to 'Nature Notes'?

POETRY CORNER

Back in Issue 128, we featured a poem by that multi-talented son-of-the-manse, Alastair Reid, entitled "Play The Tune Again".

A number of Readers have been in touch since to say that they enjoyed the poem greatly, but had previously been unfamiliar with Alastair's work. Saddened somewhat by this unfamiliarity, we were simultaneously encouraged to include a further example of Alastair's poetic output in some future issue.

Well, that time, and that issue, has arrived. It would perhaps be normal procedure to preface or introduce the poem with a few words. We prefer however to let the poem speak for itself :

MY COLONSAY PAINTING

And now we see the return of this occasional Corncrake feature where those blessed with the artistic Muse have the opportunity to share the products of their talents with us less talented souls. So, if you are of an artistic bent, and have captured the beauty of Colonsay or Oransay on your canvas, why not provide a little pleasure for your fellow Reader?

Those Readers paying attention may recall that this occasional column sprang to life from virually nowhere in Issue 129. And our very first featured artist was regular visitor Mary Frame who kindly shared with us a quite stunning pastel of the Strand from the Oransay side. Well, the good news is that Mary has forwarded a further example of her work for us to enjoy. On this occasion, it is a watercolour painted at Balerominmor looking out towards Jura and Islay :

Quite, quite stunning isn't it?

Our grateful thanks go once again to Mary for sharing the products of her talent with us.

NOW WHERE COULD THAT BE?

Our 'Where?' photograph from Issue 132 featured one of Colonsay's ubiquitous communal bathing spots, but it must be said, not one of its most popular. Must be the nettles...

So, did YOU know where it was? Probably, for to date, no one has failed to correctly identify the the old bath at Scalasaig farm. In fact, there were claims, particularly from Margaret Darroch's young grandson, Donald-Ross MacDonald, that our poser was "too easy!". Mm, well Donald-Ross, we will just have to make them a bit harder for you in the future...

And why not start making them harder in this very Issue? And to assist us in this quest to stump Donald-Ross, we turn again to the lens of Alastair Morton, whose photography has graced a few Corncrakes of late.

Alastair has sent us this snap of a pool which he describes as "entirely 'rock girt' with no direct access to the sea, the perfect home for a Hebridean sea nymph!" :

So, just where on Colonsay or Oransay would you see the above?

Entries as usual to : editorcorncrake@yahoo.co.uk ; by telephone : 01951 200336 ; or by post to : The Editorial Suite, The Corncrake, Corncrake Towers, Scalasaig, Isle of Colonsay, Argyll, PA61 7YW, Scotland. Entrants are encouraged to obtain all their essentials, including al-fresco bathing requisites, from Colonsay Stores.

LOOK BACK IN ALBUM

Our 'Who's Who?' photograph in Issue 132 was selected to coincide with all the news in that Issue concerning our local Fire and Rescue Service front (Oops! That was a bit of a clue!). No matter. If you didn't succeed with the photograph before now, we would respectfully suggest that it is a bit late in the day, given that the solution to our photographic poser is only seconds away...

Many thanks to all who correctly identified those pictured, but our most thorough answer to all the questions posed came from that King of the Quiz, one Ross Moodie. Firstly, Ross correctly identified, back row : John Clark and Peter (Para Mòr) MacAllister. Front row : Angus Clark, ADO Adam McCracken, Charlie McKinnon and finally, Alastair (Machrins) McNeill.

Ross then went on to correctly state that the photograph was taken at a Fire Service 'do', at which Angus, Charlie and Alastair were being presented with 20 year service medals, while John, Para and Alastair received plaques to mark their retirement (age 55 retirement then being introduced).

Ross was in full flow by this time (his recall can often be STUNNING!), and he tells us that the presentations were made in the games room (later to become Virago's, Poirots, and, as we write, about to become the new laundry for both the Hotel and the Estate). And the year? Well, John Clark (who kindly supplied the photograph in the first instance), went one better and confirmed not only that it was 1987, but that it was November of that year. So there we have it! And many thanks to all for making our 'Look Back' column another very enjoyable one.


And so we duly arrive at the appointed time for yet another nostalgic look back at yesteryear. Our selected snap this time around was actually taken, for the first time in this particular column, by the then young hand of your Editor. The setting is a bar somewhere in the world, and being under-age, your Editor was only allowed entrance on the strict condition that it would only be a photograph that was taken (ignore the unfinished Guinness on the bar, our airbrush tool has broken down).

So, your quest this time around, dear Reader, is to identify the three people in the picture, guess the year and finally, if you can, identify the location in question. It might not be just as easy as you think :

SNIPPETS

The high winds of Monday 13th referred to in an earlier story began to blow early the previous evening. Inevitably, but still alarmingly, the electricity went off all over the island. Mercifully, the outage was a short one and for most of us power was resumed within a minute.

Alas, this was not the case for those hardy souls living on Oransay and down at Poll Gorm. For them, the evening turned to night, the night turned to day and day turned again to evening and night - and still mains power was not restored. Then at around lunchtime on the Tuesday, your Editor, fortuitously lying amongst long reeds near the Strand, was able to snap the arrival of 'Hydro' staff, their mission to restore power, and by this time almost life itself, to Margaret, Duncan, Val, Mike, Esme and Andrew :

And restore it they did and the cauld kail (yes, and cauld kail-lite for slimmers...) was once again removed from the menu. For a wee while at least...

And now breaking news on the nature front.

As this Issue goes to press, we hear that researchers at Glasgow University have secured funding for a three year programme to protect that rare species, the red-billed chough, apparently now only found in Scotland on Colonsay and neighbouring Islay.

The university scientists will work on the project with those involved in legislation, conservation and land management over the next three years. It is not yet known how the choughs of Colonsay will be involved in this programme, but undoubtedly their feathered friend the Corncrake will keep you posted as more information comes to hand.

Scottish heritage enthusiasts and those interested in Scottish history will gather in Laurinburg, North Carolina, USA on March 17-19 for the annual Charles Bascombe Shaw Memorial Scottish Heritage Symposium sponsored by St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

Originally founded in 1989 as a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the coming of the first group of Highland Scots to North Carolina, the symposium provides speakers and networking opportunities for persons interested in Scottish and Scottish-American history.

So, we hear you ask, what has this to do with The Corncrake? Well, there was a wee clue earlier in this Issue when it was mentioned that our Piermaster was departing on the ferry on Monday 13th March. Bingo, you got it in one! (and nice to know you're still paying attention...). Yes, one of the guest speakers at the event is none other than our very own Kevin Byrne!

On Friday 17th March, Kevin will deliver the speech which he has been working on over the Winter. It will be entitled, we believe, "18th Century Colonsay: Themes of Migration and Change in the Inner Hebrides following the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688". Perhaps an extract of same will appear in a future Corncrake? We must remember to ask Kevin upon his return. And to ask him if he mentioned to them that he isn't exactly Scottish, and, despite being a Session Clerk in the Church of Scotland, that he isn't exactly Presbyterian either...

In our last Issue we mentioned the re-opening of the bar in 'The Colonsay', following its refurbishment. Well, we can now report that the complete refurbishment of the Hotel kitchens is also nearing completion. In fact, food will be served again in 'The Colonsay' for the first time on the evening of the publication of this Issue, Friday March 17th. Given that this particular date is St Patrick's Day, the Hotel staff have planned a 'Guinness and Irish Stew' extravaganza. Somewhat ironic then that the island will be without its only two resident Irishmen, Kevin Byrne and Mike 'The Shop' McNicholl. Mike, who has not set foot off the island since taking over the reins of the shop last year, will find himself in Vienna of all places, celebrating a wedding anniversary.

Och well, we're sure we Scots can do St Paddy proud - he was after all born in Scotland himself!

You know what it's like. A hot and reletlessly Summer's day, and you've been entertaining the kids on the beach ALL day. You're hot, tired and sticky. Your throat is parched and your tongue feels like sandpaper. You desperately need to slake that thirst. But with what? What is going to reach the parts that need reached and help you to feel human again?

Well, this is a scenario that has been exercising the minds of Jo and Lucky at 'The Colonsay' of late. And, we can exclusively reveal, they have come up the perfect solution. One that will cure the worst case of the 'Kiloran Killer' throat and restore all bodily functions.

So, what is it, we hear you ask. Well, it is a long, chilled glass of Lemon Squash, one made to order with freshly squashed lemons. Yes, fresh lemons. And yes, freshly squashed. And Jo and Lucky don't even have to do the lemon squashing. No, this is a service provided to them by the carriers to the island, MacLennan's. We even have a photograph for our Readers of MacLennan's latest delivery :

And apparently MacLennan's don't even charge extra for this lemon-squeezing service!

Web-surfers the world over are now beginning to realise that when Google isn't up to the task, there is always The Corncrake...

For, yet again, we set our Readership a little mystery to solve in Issue 132, and our Readers did not let us down! On this occasion, we carried an impassioned plea from Kevin Byrne for information relating to a fiddle which was, from recollection, made for a McNeill of Colonsay. And guess what happens next. Up pops a violin-maker from darkest Hertfordshire (that'll be Berkhamsted then...), namely Colin Garrett, who at one time was the owner of the fiddle in question. Colin was able to tell us (see Letters section) that the instrument was made in Edinburgh in 1801 for a Captain D. McNeill, not of Colonsay, but from our tidal-twin, Oransay.

This was enough to stimulate Kevin's grey cells and he then recalled actually writing a piece about the man in question for The Corncrake back in Issue 66. Colonel Donald McNeill (for it was for he that the fiddle was made) was a younger brother of "The Old Laird", John McNeill, and was the fourth son of Alexander McNeill of Oransay by his wife Mary, daughter of Alexander McDougall of McDougall, Chief of the Clan (and to think that as we write, McDougalls still make up 50% of the population of Oransay...).

All in all, it is a fascinating story, but rather than reproduce it here, we would refer interested Readers to our wonderfully efficient Archives in which, as well as Issue 66, one can marvel at every word uttered by The Corncrake since it first drew breath.

NEW COLONSAY VEHICLES - PART 5.

Well, this occasional tongue-in-cheek feature appears to just run and run! Hopefully by now visitors to our shores this year will be able to identify friends old and new simply by spotting their vehicles as they (the visitors, that is) take their first re-acquainting run round the island.

And identify this Issue's featured vehicle and its owner they certainly will. Perhaps it would go totally unnoticed on the streets say, of Edinburgh, but we feel that it might just stand out a wee bit on Colonsay :

Yes, Lucy Johnstone (who else!) has gone and bought herself a taxi to be her main form of transport on the island. And no, don't stand with your arm waving in the air, it's NOT for hire!

And just in case the vehicle is not totally unique on the island roads, Lucy plans to run the vehicle on vegetable oil. Yes, you read correctly, vegetable oil! Ah, but titter ye not lest we remind you that Rudolf Diesel's first engines were built to run, for the developing world which had no petrochemicals industry, on peanut oil. Running your modern diesel car or van on veg is therefore just going back to what the designer intended.

And vegetable oil is renewable; it's not a fossil fuel, so it doesn't contribute to global warming. It's not just green, though either. Veg oil is also cheaper than regular diesel and even better, veg oil has cleaner emissions and is kinder to your engine. So there! Well done, Lucy!


Oh, and meanwhile, we hear that yet another islander has found that engine oil is in fact a very beneficial commodity. Especially when applied to a car engine...

CAPTION COMPETITION

Our caption photograph from Issue 132 featured what many independent thinkers might term the "cream" of Colonsay's manhood gathered together in a Kilchattan garden. But for what?

Well, the captions entered made quite a few innovative suggestions, some of them unfortunately unprintable in the august organ that is The Corncrake. Well, a winner had to be selected, and we are proud (so we have been told) to announce that the winner of Issue 132's competition is Shirley Johnston of Maggie Thomson's Cottage (no, let's not go there...).

And Shirley's winning caption? Well, here it is :

Personally, we think it a tad sexist, but who are we to argue?

So, moving swiftly on, we are grateful to Shirley for providing the photograph for this Issue's competition. Do what you will with this :

Entries as usual to : editorcorncrake@yahoo.co.uk ; by telephone : 01951 200336 ; or by post to : A.N.Other, The Corncrake Caption Competition (Issue 133), c/o The Editorial Suite, The Corncrake, Corncrake Towers, Scalasaig, Isle of Colonsay, Argyll, PA61 7YW, Scotland. Calls may be monitored for quality control purposes.

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

For the convenience of our Readers, letters addressed to The Corncrake appear in two sections. Anything to do with current events appears here, and any letters concerned with historical research etc. appear under "Genealogical Letters" at the start of the REGULARS section of The Corncrake.

---

Dear Editor (and Kevin Byrne),

I have just read Kevin's letter in the last Corncrake and I am wondering whether I am the "regular visitor" who talked to him about 15 yrs ago about my fiddle.

At that time I owned a fiddle made by Matthew Hardie in Edinburgh in 1801. He was sometimes known as "the Scottish Stradivari". His work was sometimes very good and this fiddle was exceptional. It appears in "The British Violin" - an excellent volume published by the British Violin Making Association. I don't think that it had to be re-built although, like most instruments of that time, it had been fitted with a new neck.

The piece of paper inside is the traditional label and it says: "Matthew Hardie fecit Edinburgh 1801 For Capt. D McNeill of the ?? Regt.". I can no longer remember the regiment and I can't look it up as I have sold the fiddle! While I had it, the fiddle made several appearances at Colonsay ceilidhs and in the village hall while waiting for the boat.

I bought this fiddle from W E Hill and Sons, the London dealers. Some years later I tried to find a bit more about its history. Hills were very secretive and would tell me nothing. They would not even pass on a letter to the previous owner. I wrote to the regimental archivist in Stirling who sent me a photocopy of the archives of the time. D McNeill was said to be a gallant soldier. He was also said to come from Oronsay! Which is probably why I asked Kevin whether he knew anything about him.

When I sold the violin I passed on the rather meagre results of my own research. I suspect that it will re-appear in a book soon to be published called "Violin Making in Scotland 1750-1950". For details see bvma.org.uk

Our daughter Marion will be making her 22nd annual visit to Colonsay this Summer. Two years ago she organised a party of 19 of us who used to meet each Summer. It was so successful that we came back last year and will do so again this year. I am sure it is still a magic place - even without Charlie!

Best wishes,

Colin Garrett
Violin Maker
17 North Road
Berkhamsted
Herts HP4 3DX

---

Yo Ed,

Tis 3 long years since I left yon shores, from friends I met llke Wee Dave, my love Margaret, Sid and wife, the related MacAllisters and MacPhee who's blue rope was by decree.

I love you all and miss your crack.

Your pal the chippy from Islay's shores,

Hope to see ya soon,

Luv,

Big Wull.

---

Dear Editor,

Having spent several New Years in Colonsay, we brought friends with us to Port Mhor to share the experience with us.

Andrew and John decided on a gey dreich day to brave the elements and make the crossing over to Oransay - unfortunately John had omitted to pack his wellies. However nothing daunted, and being a fairly resourceful character, he donned the ubiquitous binliners - modelled here - and managed a fairly dry crossing over the Strand!!

Andrew and I are somewhat surprised that this experience, unlike his walk around the graveyard at Kilchattan, has not as yet inspired John to pen one of his poems.

We both really look forward to the fortnightly Corncrake to relieve the tedium of mainland life!!

Regards,

Andrew and Janie Sim
Dunfermline

(Seeing the above photograph, it is difficult to equate it with the man who penned the poem which apppeared in Issue 131! - Ed.).

---

Dear Editor,

Your 'Where?' picture is so easy, and I know where it is.

Even **** could probably get this one (name withheld for legal reasons - Ed.).

It is the bath tub beside the sheep pen in Scalasaig farm.

TOO EASY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Donald-Ross Macdonald
Oban.

(Ah well, Donald-Ross, we'll see if you're still so cocky after this Issue's photograph! - Ed.).

---

Dear Editor,

Just read the latest edition of the Corncrake and am very excited to come to the letter from Greg Munn with photos of his ancestors who also happen to be my gr. gr. gr. grandparents. I had no idea a photo existed.

Would it be possible for you to forward this to Greg so we can connect by email?

Thank you so much.

Mae Saunders
Halifax
Nova Scotia

(Duly forwarded, Mae. Best of luck! - Ed.).

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