Editorial

Few would disagree that Coll has a magical quality: once bitten some of us find it hard to stay away and we keep on coming back.

Those that live here all the year round like to remind the fair weather visitor of the dark and stormy winter days. However. there are some who, perversely perhaps, like the howling winds and horizontal rain that feature so strongly in an island winter.

For a few of the summer swallows an idle daydream is to be able to come and live here. It is a big step to take but, with the recent spate of land and property sales, it has become possible for a lucky few to realize their dream of an island dwelling. We welcome them aid wish them well.

Soon, the new linkspan facility at the pier will be completed and commence operation. This will no doubt streamline Cal-Mac's services and in the long run the ferry will undoubtedly carry more traffic to Coll more visitors to catch the 'Coll bug' perhaps? Visitors to return year after year....

In this edition Mary Tunnell tells of her first family holiday forty years ago. It was certainly not such an easy journey then - contrast it with the (relative) ease with which a car driver brings his vehicle to Coll today. Yet the family were not put off, with members of the next generation retuming each year, as indeed their own children do.

This continuity is one of the facets of Coll life that we can capture in the magazine. The community of Coll is not merely those 140 souls who live and work here. There are many, many more who, be it through family ties, friendship or just love of Coll, return regularly to renew 'Auld acquaintance'.

Through the magazine we can reach this wider community and also reflect the way in which we and others see 'Coll, the island' and 'Coll, the community'. We are always happy to receive your contributions and hope that you find this, the 1992 edition, an enjoyable and enduring read.