Globusz^® Publishing 

The summer months were with us and the school holidays were approaching. Throughout our time on the island Angus had been making trips to the mainland to collect building materials and other island and household needs. Often he would be called upon to take someone, more usually the wives, with him so that they could explore the ‘rest of the world’ — the expression came into use as part of the islands vocabulary. The available time was used to go to the shops and chat with acquaintances previously made. He often went with every imaginable request which included newspapers, books, replacement parts for all sorts of domestic gadgets, equipment, alcohol, craft materials and, almost always, there were orders for hardy garden plants. Many were taking great pride in the gardens surrounding their crofts, and there was even a sense of competition developing between them. Sometimes Angus would bring an interested visitor back with him for a day visit, but the most eagerly awaited visits were from members of the islander’s own families. We tried to accommodate these as often as possible, even though it had been difficult in the early stages of wintry weather but, as the better weather came, many relations were happy to put up with rather overcrowded conditions to be together again. Their excitement was captured on film and became part and became part of that week’s story.

The school was organising an end of term sports day, which included all the usual running races, parents versus children races and a marathon hill running event. The day culminated with a bonfire and barbecue on the beach.

Two other big events during the summer were the completion of the school and canteen buildings. Each building had been initiated with my being asked to lay the foundation stones and we now held opening ceremonies for each with a party and outdoor games for the children. It was decided that the school would not fully used for schoolwork until the beginning of the following term, but it was available for various day and evening classes and other events. Robert was equipping a computer room incorporated within the school with a number of workstations for evening as well as day use. He was also offering evening classes at different levels of expertise and there was quite a lot of interest. All, particularly the staff who had worked under cramped conditions without complaint for so long, had anxiously awaited the new canteen. The old army tents were not redundant however because we still had a need for storage space. Another idea was that we should convert one of them to provide a badminton court but further thought made us realise that the lighting may not be good enough.

A number of additional events were held for the children during the school holidays including boat trips to see seals and birds with Angus. Several tug of war events were very popular with the children, particularly when they challenged and pulled against some of the parents. School teams competed against each other for five a side football, and handball continued throughout the holidays.

Both the school orchestra and a brass band had just been formed and were in the early stages of honing their varied skills. People passing the school during practice times have varied in their comments from “My God, what a row,” in the early stages, to more recently “It’s coming on slowly but I still walk on the other side of the path.” The orchestral group was supplemented in the evenings with adults of widely varied musical skills which must have been very difficult to manage but Belinda seemed to take it all in her stride.

As a result of discussions at the recent committee meeting I had asked John to assess our current methods of waste disposal. It was all laboriously taken to our one and only landfill site at present. I had asked him investigate and give direction as to how we should deal with our waste products in the future. I had tried to instil a greater awareness of the need to be ecologically conscious of our island situation. Both our magazine and minutes of meetings had been distributed with advice on how to deal with rubbish explaining that we just had the one site that would become more and more under pressure as we increased our population. We should begin to separate our waste into those consisting of degradable materials from those that were not, and then deal with them in different but appropriate ways. It had not been possible to get our mechanical shovel digger to the site. As a result, John had recommended that we get ready to make some improvements to the track leading to the site so that it would allow easier access. And more regular attention could then be given to the appropriate distribution of the waste products.

The first person to get a visit from family at home was Kate, whose mother arrived unannounced. She made her own way, arranging a trip across to the island with Hamish, the same ferryman that I had used on my first visit. It was such a surprise, as it was intended to be, for Kate's birthday. She had been in regular contact with her daughter, but nevertheless had gathered a lot of new information the previous evening at her hotel and on the crossing about how life seemed to be getting along with the new community. She did not hear that there had been any resentment. On the contrary, the people she met were full of praise for how the new community were adapting to their new life. She was of course up to date with how Kate was getting along by means of regular letters and occasional telephone calls, but it was nice to hear these comments from others.

She walked up the slipway to the first crofts and met Angus who had spotted the ferryman arriving. He was surprised to see a stranger disembark and was even more surprised to be recognised by the lady.

“I think you must be Angus”— she said.

“Aye, that’s right, but how did you guess?”

“Well, I’ve heard so much about you.”

“How’s that then”— he replied, still somewhat wondering how that was possible.

“I'm Mary, Kate’s mum”— she admitted. “She has told me so much about the island and the boat trips and her description of you was spot on.”

“Well I never. I’d better show you where she lives.”

They walked up to her croft and he left her at Kate’s door.

“This is where Kate lives. Have a good time she’ll be pleased to see you and perhaps we’ll meet again.”

“Thanks very much” — Mary said as they parted. “I hope we do meet again.”

Kate appeared at the door wearing a turbaned towel over her head, having just washed her hair. She was flabbergasted, having had no idea that her mother had harboured thoughts of a surprise of this nature. They locked into an embrace that seemed never to end.

“It’s lovely to see you Kate and you’re looking so fit and well.”

“I’m really enjoying it here Mum, so many new experiences. Everyone is very friendly, but how are you, you’re not looking so bad?”

“I’m quite well, Jack’s keen on country walking and that keeps me fit.”

“When are you going to make it legal, mum?”

“Oh, get away with you, you talk as if I’m in some sort of illicit relationship”— she laughed.

“He’s a good man Mum, it’ll be good for you both.”

“I told you, you sort yourself out and then I’ll consider it. I met your boyfriend on the way up here. What are you doing about that? I’ve a mind to put a good word in for you to speed things up.”

“Oh, don’t do that, good words from mothers are sure to put an end to any relationship.”

“He seems to hope we may meet again here, he said so. You are good friends aren’t you?”

“Yes, I help a bit on his boat and sometimes cook him a meal. I also help with the farmer’s accounts, and I am secretary on the island’s council committee. It’s a surprisingly busy life but I’m enjoying every minute. How long can you stay?” Kate said, changing the subject

“I thought two or three days. How long do visitors usually stay?”

“There is no set rule, and you are the first of the relations to visit anyway, but come with me to the canteen and we’ll get something to eat. You can meet some of my friends there, we often gather about this time. Tomorrow we’ll have a look round the island, it’s so beautiful.”

Kate introduced her mother, Mary, to the canteen staff and helpers and another half a dozen of those islanders who were present at the time. Her mother became very popular in a short time. A new face and a good humour made the time go very quickly. In the evening they called up to the lodge to meet me and talked over several cups of coffee until Kate suggested they returned to her croft for a good night’s sleep before showing her around the island the following day.

Mary stayed three nights and, during that time, had a boat trip with Angus and her daughter. They got along very well and I believe she went away convinced that she had been talking to her future son-in-law. Whether Angus saw things in the same way remained to be seen. He took her back to the mainland with Kate on the fourth morning and they all felt that it had been a wonderful reunion.

The visit of Belinda’s parents turned out to be much more of a private affair. There was a lot of catching up for them to do as her father had been away at sea for the few months before Belinda set off for the island. Her mother was quite tearful on the first day of their reunion but after attending an evening concert in which Belinda played a duet with Philip they all seemed much more relaxed and were able to integrate with the rest of the islanders. Her mother, having previously harboured fears that her daughter had abandoned a promising career in music, realised that Belinda was happy with her new life and her fears may have been unfounded.

“Cheer up Mum, I’m really enjoying my time here and remember how you used to encourage me to do things when I was a bit reluctant. I’m glad I listened to what you said.”

“I know, I’m just being a bit silly having not seen you for such a long time. Dad keeps saying that you’re doing what you wanted and that is what we both hoped for, but I wish we could see you more often.”

“There’s no reason why you couldn’t come more often in the future. We will have some extra accommodation soon and, if it’s available, there isn’t much to stop you.”

Although every family and islander, with the probable exception of Nick and Graham, had during their time on the island, been in constant correspondence their families either by telephone, post or e-mail, it transpired that it was their families first personal visits that was the most revealing about how we were viewed from ‘abroad’.

I think many relations had, in spite of being constantly reassured that life was quite civilised, had thoughts at the back of their minds that their ‘black sheep’ had in some way ‘gone native’. They wondered if they really would ‘stay the course’ and several, I imagined, expected them back home after the first year, and having ended their affair with nature, they would return to the fold and continue with their lives in a less unconventional way.

One exception to this view was Denise’s family, who perhaps a little surprisingly, in view of the fact that she had given up a very promising career, held the opinion that it was could only continue to be a great experience for her and they were of the belief that only good could come of it.

Denise’s mother and father, Patricia and Harold came with her brother Derek and stayed three nights. Her father was in publishing, her mother a freelance journalist and her brother worked for one of the aid agencies. I suppose inevitably, at the end of their stay, her mother asked if I would mind if she wrote and article about her daughter and her decision to come and live on Enniskerry.

The next visitors were my mother and father. Of course I had kept them totally up to date on each element of progress over the period and they had put in the odd suggestion from time to time on how they thought certain matters should be tackled. Their visit was effectively an extension to their regular annual holiday, which was normally spent at Braemar Scotland, a holiday retreat with a fantastic view of the Cairngorms that I knew well. They had invited Anne’s parents Tony and Doreen with whom they had kept up a fond relationship since Anne died, to join them in Braemar and then continue with a week on Enniskerry.

My father was a keen photographer, and it was not long before he passed a packet across to me, which contained some photographs of landscapes, and sea views that I flicked through. At first they did not mean anything to me. I raised my eyebrows questioning what they were.

“They’re pictures of where you’re living you daft so and so. Can’t you see it’s Enniskerry, although it’s some years ago now?”

“Yes, of course, I can see now, that’s the lodge clear enough and the jetty hasn’t changed at all.”

“There it is, a couple of photographs with the High Street as it was. You’ll be interested to see these photos” — he said, shuffling through to find them. “Yes here they are, what about that?”

“It’s wonderful! It is great to have them as a record. I think I’ll have them blown up larger and get them framed.”

“There you are then, a bit of history for you.”

“You didn’t mention that you had been here before.”

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t know until recently that I still had the pictures. I took them when I was sailing round the Hebrides before I married your mum.”

“I knew you were a bit of a sailor in your youth, but this is a surprise.”

“It was populated then, there’s a few of the occupants photographs included. Your Jock will probably know all of them.”

“Yes, I think that one actually is Jock. He will be fascinated to see them and that’s probably Morag beside him.”

“Well I’d like to be there when you show him, I probably met him that day but I can’t remember now.”

“Great we’ll arrange it, have you got any other surprises for me?

“ I haven’t, but mum has brought all sorts of your favourite foods, I know there are plum puddings, fruit cakes and all those other things I am not supposed to indulge in.”

“Thanks mum. Have you enjoyed your stay at the Coirelochan Estate?”

“Yes it hasn’t changed a bit since we were all there together, Tony and Doreen were so impressed they have booked themselves in again with us for next year.”

“I’m so glad you get on well with each other. So you liked it did you Doreen?”

“Oh yes, it was so relaxing and your mum and dad have been so supportive over the last year.”

“I hear that you have both been equally good for them too.”

“You know, we have talked a lot about you and Anne over recent times and I have to thank your parents for that. If they had not been so understanding I think I would have suffered the grief for years, but they believe that these feelings should be expressed and that by so doing the loss is shared and one can move forward, Tony and I owe a great depth of gratitude to your mum and dad, we feel now that they are friends for life.”

After these visits, relations and friends came in increasing numbers, limited only by the housing available to accommodate them. Progressively, as Edith, Lynda, James, Nick, Robert and Kate moved out of my lodge to their completed houses, I was then able sometimes, to help the visiting families by offering them the vacated rooms at the lodge.