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I’ve just been to Oban. How sad can one get when that is seen as a good thing. Apart from dropping various broken things off at Atam, and the opticians, and getting a new tyre (there is no way we can have done enough miles on Coll since the MOT to wear out a tyre without alien vandalism) I also delivered the Coll mag to the printers. All one hundred pages and the full colour cover, on three (multiple copies, just in case) shiny CDs. I can’t believe all that work fits on to a shiny bit of plastic. Anyway, it might be printed and back for Easter.

Filled the van with hen feed and fence rails and went to watch the second half of the Rangers game, and I only saw two people I knew in the pub. There is a peculiar sort of islander Russian roulette, where you go out to eat or shop or whatever, and wait to see how many other Collachs you meet. I managed Tescos without meeting anyone at all. An all-time first!

Wednesday was a great day. I have just discovered HILFN (Highlands and Islands Local Food Network) and they were doing a one day session on ‘Growing Local’. We did the usual discussion/brainstorming on various problems and solutions that sound naff, but actually work for real, and some enough real-life examples that solved ordinary problems, and lots of time to ‘network’. So I networked with anyone who would talk polytunnel, and also saw some great slides of tunnels on slopes and one with huge timber bracing bars inside so now I am all enthusiastic about putting mine back up. It is the throwaway remarks that make the difference. The Skye grower casually mentioned the 5000 brassica transplants she got someone else to start off, and then she planted them all out. That is my problem, I don’t think that big. Yet they are only worth 80p - £1.20 retail at the end of the summer. It is still only part-time income (I know they won’t all grow, or all that grow won’t sell). But I went the WHOLE day and didn’t think of the Coll magazine until 8-30!!

Today I potted up my tomato seedlings, I’m re-invented as a grower again.

So what happened to Spring. OK, I know it was a bit snowy, but there was lots of sun shining on the pretty buds and the daffs, and I was stuck inside and now the mag is done and I’ve got time to play the weather has come back. Lots of it with the volume turned right up. I may be only five years old in the snow, but when it comes to jumping in puddles I’ve reached adulthood; been there, done that.

Here are some of the important dates for the summer.
Tobermory yacht race May 20 weather permitting
Coll half marathon June 24
Big Noise Gig July 15
Fishing competition July 24
Fishing Dance July 28
Show and Dance Aug 4
Another Dance Aug 11

Only two and a half weeks to the summer timetable, and a ferry everyday!!

Euphoria over the mag was shortlived. I got a phone call to say they couldn’t read the font I used, so all the layout was haywire. So could I save it as a PDF.
I have heard of pdf, in fact some of the ads came as pdfs, but they wouldn’t go in, so I’m not fluent in pdf. I got some advice. Why does computer advice always come in two parts; the bit you understand, and is really simple, and the next half sentence which is gobbledey-gook. What happens to the three paragraphs that join the two bits up and let you understand it?
Anyway, the mag is now a pdf. I’ve changed fonts that don’t do pdf, fiddled with a picture that wouldn’t resize, changed Glof to Golf in the contents and want everyone to know I am solely responsible for the great weather we’ve had this week. Sorry to everyone who hasn’t had it, but here it has been lovely. The best bit about the England – Ireland rugby was seeing how dark it was at Twickenham when we are getting about 45 more minutes light in the evenings now (which I am spending inside learning pdf!). Tonight we are having a proof reading party (so I can spread the blame for any more Glof-like mistakes) and then I’ll send the disc to Oban, and get back to the digging!

Back in the real world, Tarka is back in the bay, looking very smart in her new black paint. Next week we are having a talk on recycling and down at the airport site there is a large metal container and a fence is going up! MacLennans are bringing in pallet-loads of building blocks and the hotel garden is being landscaped, the current project is a large area of decking.

Any one with half a brain can analyse the budget and blog at the same time. Although most of my attention went on the blog. Since we don’t do the kid thing the budget passed us by. Last year pensioners, this year kids, when will they bring in the 26 hour day so I can get more work done to pay for it all?
At least the car smells better now. After at least three months we got the paperwork back that lets us put old chip oil in the fuel tank. The admin looks very tedious, and will take longer than filtering the oil, but at least we can be very smug next time the excise boys are here. I’ll be desperately hoping to get stopped on the mainland too. At least we don’t have a tractor. If we put oil in that we would have to pay the full rate of duty and then claim most of it back!
I’m now looking for something that runs on eggs. The surplus is building up.

We had The Clansman back yesterday. She arrived early, but by the time the passenger ramp was unloaded she was back on the timetable. However she came back from Tiree early again. At least we won‘t have to worry about being wait-listed for a couple of weeks.
In the hotel a very successful darts competition was organised, the organiser won it, finishing on double eleven, of all numbers!
The pool ladder also finished with fourteen players fighting to get their name on the trophy. It was the last night with cigarettes in the bar. The No Smoking signs are ready to go up and we are open to suggestions on how to recycle the glass ashtrays. They won’t fit through the holes in the bottle bank! As a life-long non-smoker I have mixed feelings about the ban. I’m not keen on stinking of smoke, but it doesn’t really bother me. I’ll still have to sweep the floor, even if it isn’t covered in fag ends. I don’t feel I get paid enough to police the ban, and with smoking still allowed in England and Wales it will be a struggle all summer. Ultimately I believe in people making their own choices, not having them forced on them by men-in-suits. So it should be an interesting summer.