I do like to be beside the sea

It's been a while since I've blogged, in fact it's been a while since I've visited the site but with the lovely weather, friends visiting and business doing well there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.
Thanks Duncan for all your Broadband info - don't suppose you can find out when Iona will get it? The AIE guy told us in January that we would have it by the end of June but I haven't heard an update since then.
Island news - the 2 hotels held an election night theme night on May 5th which was really good with a very imaginative menu - gave us a good excuse to go out and not watch all the election stuff on TV.
The Friday night dances in the village hall have recommenced for the summer and as a result I fell asleep on the beach the following day while trying to recover and now have one bright red ankle and one red ear. Not a good look. Was hoping for some more sunshine today to try and balance up the suntan but sadly today was a bit dull and drizzly. Just as well we had our barbie last night.
Iona, like the other islands has a chronic housing shortage and on Tuesday the Iona Housing Partnership have a public meeting in the Library so it will be interesting to hear whether they are making progress with their project to build some affordable rented accommodation on the island.

My last blog disappeared altogether but not to worry - I think the theme was something to do with springtime and St Patricks Day celebrations.....
I agree with collblogdotcom our lives are dictated by the Calmac timetable so we all talk about summer and winter on Iona - the only reference to spring is lambs and daffodils, we don't have very many leaves to worry about either. Summer starts when the timetable changes and as a result the hotels, B&Bs, shops & pub open full time and the island gets swamped with visitors. Summer is definitely here and it's great to have the longer lighter evenings.

Having looked back at my previous blogs I've realised I have started each one with 'well' so this week it's different although I've not got much to say.
I was away on the mainland for a few days and witnessed some of the snow but escaped back home before it got really bad. I hate the snow, I like the look of it and am happy for it to snow if I don't have to travel anywhere but hate driving in snow, particularly on the single track road across Mull. The feeling of braking and skidding towards another car is not a good one.
We have been really lucky on the west coast this week with a big sunshine on the weather map every day while the rest of the country is dealing with wintry conditions.
I do like to live beside the seaside especially when the sun is shining!
I liked Ming's spring flower photo collection. I was tempted to get the camera out yesterday as there were wee lambs sunbathing in the field, v. cute! This week has felt very spring like on Iona at least.

Well the wedding day finally arrived. The day started calm but then there were fierce showers and a bitter wind just got stronger and stronger. At least the bride got to the Abbey dry and the bride and groom were piped down the road to the hall by the Mull & Iona Pipe Band (although the band members were struggling to control their kilts in the wind!). The groom opted not to be kilted - a wise choice given the weather conditions.
This was the first bilingual wedding I've been to. I have to admit to not being a great singer in English never mind in German!
The reception was an informal event in the village hall with a great spread of food and bi-lingual speeches followed by a ceilidh later on with yet more food and endless bottles of wine. Black Rose provided excellent music for the ceilidh and the DJ had dug deep and found an assortment of quality 80s tunes for the disco including '99 Red Balloons' by Nena in German!! A blast from the past.

MMmm not sure what is next on the social calender?

Well the stag night was pretty tame and no injuries.
3 of the local boys last night declared that had they been asked they would have stripped for the hen night! I'll remind them of this next time round!
The pub was open last night as it was Thursday night and it was mobbed. You could have been mistaken in thinking it was summer time but no infact it is just the wedding guests getting in party spirit. It's great to see the island so busy at this time of year - what a great time to have a wedding as everyone is really up for a party. It's also really nice to see a local wedding. There are quite a few weddings at the Abbey each year, sometimes it's people with a connection to the island and sometime it's strangers who have never even been here before. I think the ceilidh in the evening will be really busy for this one. It will be interesting to see what the German guests will make of Scottish country dancing!

Well it's Sunday and the sun is shining - long may it last.
The island is gradually coming to life again - the snowdrops are out at the Post Office and some daffodils are through in some of the more sheltered gardens.
The council were over during the week and have been fixing the road along the shore.
The pub has reopened, although just very limited hours and last night the Argyll Hotel opened it's doors for the season starting off with an Indian theme night that was well attended.
The Hen night went well, many ladies of all ages were in attendance at the Mac. There were no strippers but the entertainment for the night was a giant trampoline. This provided hours of entertainment until there was a dramatic collision between 2 of the girls with a tooth making contact with a head. The result was lots of blood which was mopped up by lots of tipsy first aiders. At least the bride-to-be escaped injury.
The wedding guests start to arrive on Wednesday so fingers crossed they get some nice weather as many of them have never been to Iona before (or even Scotand!)

Well it's been quite a calm week. The pier lights are fixed now so the ferry has resumed normal service. We've had over a week with no power cuts.
Quite a few islanders still have no phone line though which is frustrating especially for those addicted to email and the internet!
Although it's been calm the island still looks a mess, no sign of A&B council over to fix the roads but I suppose there is a long list of repair work to do.
Social highlight of the week was a Burns Supper hosted by the Iona Community, for £3 each it was great value and it's good when the Iona Community invite the island Community to come together.
Next weeks social highlight, for the ladies anyway, is a Hen Night!
The Pub might be reopening as well - the sign at the moment just reads 'closed January' which is a bit ambiguous but here's hoping.

Well hello this is my first time blogging. I have to confess to looking at the site quite a few times (particularly when the whale arrived in Coll) although I've never felt the urge to join in, though Mainland Islander has a point there hasn't been many contributions from the lovely island of Iona.
As with the rest of you Atlantic islands we've had a fair battering from the wind and rain recently. I'll try and upload one of my pics. Fortunately most of the damage was to the roads not houses. The Post Office is right on the beach so it got a soaking, one dinghy was lost from the top of the pier and miraculously reappeared sitting in the front garden of the Argyll Hotel, other dinghys were shifted just in time as the water was lapping around them. I love living by the sea but it's a bit alarming when the waves start lapping at your neighbours front door.
There's not much doing on Iona at the moment - so we just talk about the weather!