By Bill Wilson BBC News Online business reporter

Russell and Caroline Town at their Post Office: Gigha's busiest couple?

Having many jobs is all part-and-parcel of life for the postmaster on the tiny Scottish island of Gigha.

Like a character from a quaint 1950s Ealing comedy, former electrician Russell Town has found himself jack-of-all-trades since settling into the close-knit community a year ago.

As well as being the island's sub-postmaster, he also finds himself running the island's stores, a guest house and a petrol station, doing electrical works, chauffeuring visitors around the island, and being Gigha's courier to the mainland.

Now he is just about to sign up for the island's fire brigade too.

My wife brought back a jam jar full of sand from Gigha, and told me 'that is where we are going to live' Russell Town In picture: Working life on Gigha

"I am an electrician by trade, my wife was a district nurse, and we both had been doing our jobs for more than 20 years," he says.

"We were both coming home and moaning about our jobs to one another, and realised it was time for a change.

"My wife went up to look at a guest house that was available on the Isle of Skye, and on the way back she saw an advertisement for the post office job on Gigha.

"She went across and brought back a jam jar full of sand from Gigha, and told me 'that is where we are going to live'."

'Run off our feet'

Gigha is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides, and because it is low lying and influenced by the North Atlantic drift, the climate is drier and warmer than most places on the west of Scotland.

"It is also a totally different way of life. As well as having the many jobs, we know everyone on the island, and if you need a favour or help you just have to shout," says Mr Town.

The Post Office-cum-stores-cum-guest house where the Towns live

"In the summer, when there were 100 tourists a day on the island, we were run off our feet, but it is an enjoyable sort of working life."

And there are other advantages to the change of jobs.

"It is great not having to get up at four in the morning to go to work, like we used to. We get up when the children go to school, and it takes a 30 second walk to take them there.

"The good thing is we are both fully qualified which means we can fall back on our trades should our circumstances change."

Friendly people

Mr Town says the couple has fitted in well since arriving from Lincolnshire in August 2003.

"The people on the island are friendly and we like to think we are too, so things are going well, said Mr Town who fell in love with Scotland during a former career with the RAF.

"We have the tenancy of a nice big house which belongs to the island, and is part post-office, part stores, and part guest-house.

Gigha facts Settled by Scots from Ireland Also by the Vikings Norse name Gudey, 'Good Isle' Gaels renamed it Gighae One of the warmest spots in Scotland Part of the Inner Hebrides No trees from 1700 until 1850 Formerly owned by the MacNeills of Colonsay Many owners since 1790 Now owned by Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust

"No one job is enough to make a living on the island, [so] having many jobs is quite common on Gigha. For example, the school dinner lady is also cleaner at our guest house, and also runs the meals-on-wheels service.

"I go over to the mainland at least once a week, delivering and collecting everything from women's catalogue shopping orders, to washing machines and bottles of gas.

"It might seem idyllic, but believe it or not we are under quite a bit of pressure," Mr Town says.

"We are short of staff. When we first arrived there was someone who helped us, but she has now gone to work for the local council on the mainland. Another problem is keeping the store stocked."

In summer Mr Town may have to make three or more visits a week to the mainland, first on the 20-minutes trip ferry journey to Tayinloan and then on to Glasgow or towns on the west coast.

"I get so many home-shopping returns to deal with. Often I have just delivered the goods and they are back almost immediately to me for returning.

'Limited accommodation'

Despite his many tasks, Mr Town tries to avoid working in his former trade as much as possible.

"I was offered a job rewiring a house on the island, and didn't want to get back into all that again.

"But if there is a small problem, such as on the island's dairy farm, then I do not mind doing a quick electrical fix."

Life on the island is more hectic than it looks

Caroline Town looks after the guest house, and the couple also runs two self-catering cottages.

"There is very limited accommodation on the island, so part of our main house makes up the guest house, and we move from bedroom to bedroom according to how many visitors we have."

For the first time in years, new houses are being built on Gigha by a housing association.

The island is experiencing a mini-growth spurt, with the population up from 100 to 115, and the number of children increasing over the year from seven to 12 and set to reach 20 by the end of 2004.

'Fantastic feeling'

Having contributed to the island's population growth, the Town family is happy with its role in Gigha's close-knit community.

"There is no point someone making a million if they are not happy in the work they are doing, " says Mr Town.