Archive for April, 2015

Home2015April

Scottish Government Response to Colonsay Community Council

Posted by:

Scottish Government Response to Colonsay Community Council

Colonsay Community Council is very concerned about the extraordinary discrepancy concerning freight fares to Colonsay compared with other destinations.  It puts all Colonsay enterprise at an insuperable disadvantage and, innocently enough, CCC thought it might have arisen by mistake.  Perhaps the Scottish Government had not really intended to single out Colonsay to be especially targeted? Either CCC was wrong or the Government needs to sharpen up on its staff selection procedure as regards spokespersons:

Our ref: 2015/008906
18 March 2015
Thank ...

Continue Reading →
0

Community Development, Community News

Colonsay In The Long Grass – Again

Posted by:

Colonsay In The Long Grass – Again

 

On behalf of the Scottish Government, on 25th March Cabinet Secretary Keith Brown proudly announced that 4G Mobile Phone has been installed in Coll, the favourite island (which also enjoyed RET for four years in the “pilot” programme for most-favoured islands) .  This new development sits nicely with Coll’s heavily subsidised freight service and no doubt we can shortly expect to see that their income tax has been abolished too.  It will be remembered that Colonsay only receives a mobile ...

Continue Reading →
0

Community News

Visit Scotland – More Dead than Alive?

Posted by:

Visit Scotland – More Dead than Alive?

Our readers will be fully aware of the saga of The Dress, (if not, see it in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress_%28viral_phenomenon%29  ) whereby the recent wedding of Keir and Grace attracted worldwide attention.  Everyone will know that Keir and Grace were guests on the Ellen Show, and that together with other wedding guests they were flown to Los Angeles, that they were gifted a luxury second honeymoon to be taken in Granada plus a pot of spending money; that Caitlin ...

Continue Reading →
0

Community News

Springtime in Colonsay

Posted by:

Springtime in Colonsay

Luckily enough, Colonsay is not relying on public agencies and can be proud of the almost incredible programme of events provided through the energy and enterprise of local people.

At Easter there will be a magnificent ceilidh on the Saturday night, hosted and arranged by Liam McNeill as part of his work as a music student of Benbecula College, University of the Highlands; on Easter Sunday itself, everyone is invited to the 11.30 Family Service at the Baptist Church; this is ...

Continue Reading →
0

Community News, Events

Satellite Broadband

Posted by:

Satellite Broadband

Details of the GigaPlus Argyll scheme to provide guaranteed Broadband speeds of a minimum 15Mbps were circulated recently; hopefully this system will be in operation for Colonsay within two years.  In the meantime, Homefield has a speed which is frequently less than 1kps and which recently was reduced to zero for over a month; and the Service Point had no front-office Broadband from September until February.

So, as an experiment, a one-year contract with Satellite Internet was arranged for Homefield; the ...

Continue Reading →
0

Uncategorized

Colonsay & Oronsay Heritage Trust

Posted by:

Colonsay & Oronsay Heritage Trust

Writing the History of Colonsay
John de Vere Loder’s book Colonsay and Oronsay in the Isles of Argyll was published in 1935, eighty years ago. It remains an indispensable source of historical and archaeological information. The Trust is holding a workshop on Saturday 27 June to discuss the significance of Loder’s work, and to consider how later work has modified and extended his understanding of the island’s history.
We invite friends of the island, and those who are interested in ...

Continue Reading →
0

History

SS Arandora Star

Posted by:

SS Arandora Star

This year we mark the 75th anniversary of the sinking of MV Arandora Star and the loss of over 800 persons. There will be a commemorative service at the memorial plaque, details to be announced.  In the meantime, military historian Alan Davis (author of Colonsay’s Fallen) will be in Colonsay at Easter and intending to mount a small exhibition at COHT to remind us of this tragedy.  Incidentally, Alan has provided an extraordinary resource online, including details of all who ...

Continue Reading →
0

History

Murdoch McNeill

Posted by:

Murdoch McNeill

In connection with the Loder event, it would be good to give credit also to Murdoch McNeill. If you know anything about him, where he lived, how his career went, anything he published besides his Colonsay book, or if you have a photograph or indeed any tiny detail about him, please advise byrne@colonsay.org.uk

Continue Reading →
0

Ancestry

Isle of Colonsay Golf Club

Posted by:

Isle of Colonsay Golf Club

Subscriptions are now due for the coming season , a bargain at £25 please make cheques payable to Colonsay Golf Club and send to Trevor Patrick Treasurer.
At the same time why not buy a Colonsay Golf Club Polo Shirt or Fleece great value and could improve your round !!!
May Whit competition planned for the holiday Saturday.
Happy golfing
Davie (Secretary)

Continue Reading →
0

Sport

The Church Windows Appeal

Posted by:

The Church Windows Appeal

There is plenty happening on that front, but your support is needed.  The appeal for funds is struggling and not much over halfway mark as yet – over £4000 is still needed and the work is scheduled to start at the end of May.  Please go to the JustGiving website and search for Colonsay – you can then contribute in any currency and from any location.  If you do not know what the problem is about, please visit Continue Reading →

0

Church

Arts & Crafts Exhibition 2016

Posted by:

Arts & Crafts Exhibition 2016

An exhibition of handicrafts will be mounted in the Parish Church to run from mid-March until the end of SpringFest 2016; all items will have been donated by their creators and will be offered for sale in aid of the Fabric Fund. Everything will have a fixed price, anything sold will be available for delivery after the exhibition has ended and any item not sold will be returned to the artist or craftsperson in question.
It is hoped that gifted ...

Continue Reading →
0

Church, Events

The Colonsay App

Posted by:

The Colonsay App

Unfortunately, progress has been delayed.  Most of the topographical information is complete but information concerning businesses, beauty spots and the calendar of events is still to be collated and uploaded.  The Colonsay Tourism Marketing Group is amazingly busy working on the Festival of Sprinf, Connect with Colonsay and a raft of other initiatives but the App is a priority and will shortly see the light of day.

Continue Reading →
0

Community Development

On The Grapevine

Posted by:

On The Grapevine

Kilchattan Primary School has arrangements in hand for the next expedition and will be holding a ceilidh to raise funds; please make a note of Monday May 4th for a delightful day of MacPhee Bagging;  Maghnus bought a 60ft launch in Fremantle and has been moving it closer to its new home in Hong Kong, crossed the equator on 25th and reached Sandakan on 28th March; work on the Baptist Manse has taken much longer than expected; ditto work on ...

Continue Reading →
0

On The Grapevine

Magazine

Posted by:

Magazine

Letters etc.
No letters received.

In Conclusion
The Corncrake is published to keep all our friends in touch with life on the island and invites contributions.  Brief genealogical and related queries are also welcome from Colbhasachs overseas, as are obituaries and family traditions relating to Colonsay emigrants.  The current edition was  produced Kevin Byrne, as a temporary editor, and any comments will be welcomed if addressed to byrne@colonsay.org.uk  As usual, it is not intended to be completely anodyne, but any errors ...

Continue Reading →
0

Magazine