IMMIGRANTS

In recent years Coll has had a fair influx of people coming to settle - not because of any family connection or even work, but just because they have chosen to do so. They are often asked, 'Why?' Here are one or two answers:

"Every time I'm asked that question a different answer comes to mind. One main reason is that I seem to thrive on challenge and living on the island is challenging.

One has to be fairly adaptable and definitely ready, willing and able to cope with a variety of problems. It is essential also to have a routine, especially if living alone, otherwise it could become all too easy to put off till tomorrow jobs which should be done today. Gardening is one of my chief hobbies and fortunately I never tire of my own company. The conversations I have with myself, and also my dear old faithful collie dog 'Holly', are really quite something - hardly a cross word passes between us.

Another question my 'mainland friends' often ask is, 'What on earth do you do all day long?' to which I reply, 'there are just not enough hours in the day to do all the hundred and one things needing to be done.'

Then there are the many different 'moods' of the island and I love them all. A 'Coll Winter' is not terribly cold, there is very little snow and that which does fall, soon melts, but the rain, well, suffice it to say that water is one commodity which is seldom in short supply and the gales are as plentiful as the rain. A really bad one sweeps and roars across the island with complete disregard for whatever is unfortunate enough to be in its path. On these occasions you're as well to stay in the house with doors and windows tightly closed and a good fire burning in the stove, nice and cosy till it passes. However, winter soon slips by and almost before you realise it, signs of spring appear. First the snowdrops closely followed by the crocuses and then the wonderful display of daffodils which grow so happily here, both in gardens and also in the fields.

So Easter arrives and the first of the many visitors who come to Coll every year. A steady flow continues through the spring and summer months and into autumn, but when the steamer goes into winter service at the end of September, that is almost the end of the visitors for another year. The crossing can be pretty rough during the winter and I for one would only travel if it were really necessary, but then I am never very anxious to leave Coll at any time.

Occasionally I enjoy a visit to the mainland to meet friends and do some shopping but I soon long to return to the peace and tranquillity of the beautiful island I have come to love so much. I miss the lovely sandy shores and watching the many sea birds and the seals and the fun of collecting driftwood for the fire and never knowing what other treasures might have been washed up by the tide and there for the taking. I miss the long walks across the heather-clad hills and over the sand dunes and to be on the shore on a really rough day to see the big Atlantic rollers breaking on the rocks, sending huge white mountains of spray way up in the air, is a breathtaking sight indeed. For me it is quite impossible ever to be bored or lonely with all this unspoiled beauty.

Last but by no means least, my fellow islanders are truly wonderful people, so friendly and kind and always more than willing to give a helping hand. So you see there really isn't a simple answer as to 'Why Coll'? I could go on and on. I only know that I love my island home beyond words and would never willingly choose to live anywhere else."

E.E.V. Crotty