News From Fred 65

Dredger at Port Ellen Pontoons

The grab dredger mv Shearwater from Moray Council moves closer to the village green. Yachts shall shortly be able to anchor far inside the bay. The old flat bottomed Lochiel could probably have got in too. The village grows more attractive, but the eyesores and ruined infrastructure remain to stagnate further with no signs of improvement or even a halting of the decline. A pity then the dredger couldn't grab the (decontaminated) derelict ruins of the old cafe and the Islay Hotel and dump them offshore too. A pity it couldn't reach out and rid us of the Argyll & Bute Council and its representatives who have to all intents and purposes abandoned Islay, and a pity it can't take us in tow to become part of Highland Region, leaving mainland Argyll to sink further into the mess of its own making. A pity too that Calmac choose to let the main entry point to the island (and the only one in their ownership) degenerate to such an unsafe and unattractive condition with their mustering area extending onto the public road almost into Charlotte Street that the Health & Safety Executive are forced to take action but turn a blind eye to much more, and a pity too that Calmac dump their oldest ferries which for safety reasons are only licensed to operate under reduced capacity restrictions - on the Islay run. There is therefore still room for more improvement.

posted by Fred 65 @ 1:08 PM