On the Front Page this month:

• Colonsay takes a breath as the season ends,
• a briefing of island news, and
• New Local Development Officers are appointed.

After the Autumn Festival, Halloween marks a discernable shift in the pace of life on Colonsay. The hectic days of summer, festivals and an island packed with visitors now gone, the community refreshes itself with events to share with each other and a few hardier visitors who find the same pleasure in Colonsay’s quieter side. Attention also turns to the work of the important community bodies on Colonsay, notably the Colonsay Community Council (CCC) and the Colonsay Community Development Company (CCDC). Out of doors, though the weather is more challenging there are still striking still days when the sun, low to the horizon, gives majestic relief to the islands landscape.  This year the wet weather meant that silage making, a vital part of the farming cycle, could only take place in November, rather than the more usual September.

 

News Briefing

A few news lines:

• The CCDC announces new Local Development Officers
• The CCC issues a Newsletter with a round-up of current topics it is addressing

 

Colonsay Community Council – Winter 2017/2018 Newsletter

The Colonsay Community Council has issued a newsletter setting out the status of a number of important topics for the island.

The full newsletter can be found at http://www.colonsaycc.org.uk/index.htm and the following summary by the Editor is intended to be a helpful overview. Readers are reminded that only the full CCC text is authoritative.

Ferries & Transport Costs

The CCC continues discussions with the relevant authorities on the reliability of ferries, including in particular the Wednesday and Saturday ferries from Islay. The Summer 2018 timetable has helpfully been published earlier than its equivalent in previous years. Jane Howard has been appointed as a member of new advisory board to Calmac. As of yet, CCC’s continuing efforts to have Transport Scotland address Colonsay’s inequitable freight costs have not been successful.

Keeping Colonsay Clean

The CCC has evaluated the current 5-year project to collect litter on Colonsay, which ends in December 2017, and has decided to extend the program for another 5 years. (See December Corncrake for a full report on the Keeping Colonsay Clean program).

Colonsay Common Good Fund

The Colonsay Common Good Fund, established with an initial generous donation from Marine Harvest, has made its first round of grants. The successful Colonsay Community bodies were Ceol Cholasa; Colonsay & Oransay Heritage Trust, and the CCDC, to support a new community composting project. A further opportunity to apply for grants from the Common Good Fund is expected in early 2018.

More details of the Common Good Fund can be found at: http://www.colonsaycc.org.uk/CGF.htm

Broadband

Brendan O’Hara has taken up Colonsay’s case for the extremely poor and erratic broadband services and the CCC is keeping him briefed.

 

New Local Development Officers

Carrie Seymour and Roz Jewell have jointly taken up the post of Local Development Officer for the CCDC. In doing so they have taken over Caitlin McNeills’s old role and will be continuing her good work.

If there is anything that you would like to discuss with Carrie and Roz in regard to their new roles, please feel free to contact them either by email:

Roz Jewell: rjewellccdc.ldo@gmail.com

Carrie Seymour: cseymourccdc.ldo@gmail.com

or, by phone: 01951 200 244

or, drop into the Service Point. Their scheduled hours are:

Monday 1pm to 5:30pm, Tuesday 9am to 12:30pm, Wednesday 9am to 12:30pm and/or Thursday 1pm to 4pm.

 

Community Engagement Day

The CCDC and Colonsay’s new Local Development Officers Roz Jewell and Carrie Seymour held an open Engagement Day at the hall on Saturday 18^th November, when many residents stopped by to discuss issues and concerns facing the community. It is hoped we will carry a more detailed report in a later issue of the Corncrake.

 

Colonsay Events – November 2017

November brings a quieter pace of life to Colonsay, with events focusing on the local community. November starts with a Bonfire Night celebration, complete with fireworks, which this year fell on Saturday the 4^th. The Colonsay & Oransay Heritage Trust held a Cheese and Wine Evening at the new Heritage Centre on Saturday 25^th, and on Sunday 26^th there was a Christmas shopping event at the hotel. A wide range of local produce and local art was on sale – an ideal opportunity to buy Christmas presents. The Colonsay Hotel closes at the end of the October, but the Hotel Bar is customarily opened at weekends by a willing volunteer. This year Keir Johnston has stepped up to ensure that the winter, though cold and wet, will not be dry.

 

 

 

Corrigendum

 

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The full Corncrake for November will soon appear as a pdf on the website and in hard copy at the Post Office.