An Islander has taken things into his own hands, and not ?ducked? the issue, placing signs up along Porthloo Lane in a bid to stop the feathered residents of the area being involved in
hit-and-run incidents.

“//duckpond01.jpg”

Over the years several ducks have been killed or injured along this stretch of road. Hopefully this kind of ?bill? posting will have the desired effect and local wildfowl will not be driven ?quackers?.

The MCA have taken an important move towards ensuring Scilly is safe from environmental damage inflicted on The Islands by large freight vessels such as container ships and oil tankers.

A new radar system is to be installed on trial period on the Coastguard tower at Telegraph, St. Mary?s. The Radar system will be able to help the authorities monitor the course of shipping in and around the Islands in order to rectify any potential hazards. The radar will be surveying shipping that comes within 25 miles of the Islands.

There is already an exclusion zone around the Islands due to their environmental importance. The CITA is a prominent example of why the Islands need to be protected. When the CITA ran aground on St. Mary?s in 1997, a major pollution contingency had to be acted upon at great expense to he taxpayer.

Shipping lanes run relatively close to the Islands, the closest being in between Lands End and Scilly. This shipping lane was made infamous when the Torrey Canyon, an oil super-tanker, struck Sevenstones reef in 1967 and had to be bombed in order to avert oil leaking in an environmental disaster.

After the thirty day trial period, the importance of such a radar will be re assessed and it will be decided whether further action will have to be implemented.

Radio Scilly is set to make an eagerly anticipated return over the Christmas period, subject to sufficient funding.

Radio Scilly has had two very successful trial periods, the first of which was during September 1999. Keri Jones, the man behind the mike, has subsequently continued this island enterprise by returning this year for a mid summer stint.

Radio Scilly was seen as a huge success in the Islands this summer, providing a wide variety of shows catering for all interests. Radio Scilly programmes range from travel and weather reports to jazz and popular music shows. There is also an information-based aspect to the Station.

“//radioscilly3.jpg”
“subinfo”Inside the tiny Radio Scilly studio./span

The Radio station is based in a garage in Porthloo and transmits across The Islands via a transmitter aerial at Star Castle. The radio station will also be available across the world via the internet.

The return of Radio Scilly is subject to sufficient number of sponsors being attained. It is thought that in order to make the project viable, there will need to be 35 sponsors paying about ?125 pounds each to have their advertisements on the Radio.

Crowds of people gathered on Holgates Green on Sunday night to watch the Aurora Borealis. The first sightings of the aurorae came at around 9 pm. At that time, the aurorae were quite faint. Vertical ?beams? of red could be seen between Ursa Major (part of which is known as the ?Plough? or ?Big Dipper?) and the northern horizon.

Sunday night?s show was caused by Friday?s solar activity.

At 10 pm, the show had moved eastward, and the aurorae were at their strongest. A huge greeny blue light could be seen on the northern horizon. The red beams became stronger, they were like ‘spotlights’ above the cloud. The scene was similar to the picture above, just not as distinct, but as spectacular.

After a time, the aurorae faded away, before returning for last show at
midnight.

bWhat Are Aurorae?/b

Aurorae are caused by charged particles from the Sun being trapped in Van Allen Belts around the Earth. These particles cascade downwards, producing aurorae. Aurorae occur at a height of 100 to 1000 km. Aurorae are best seen when the Sun is active in a certain time of the year: February, March, September or October. Major displays of aurorae, such as tonight?s display, are uncommon this far from the poles.

“I?ve never seen anything like it before in my life, and never will again,” commented one local.

Birders and late tourist have been enjoying somewhat of a mini Indian Summer this weekend as a prolonged spell of good weather has stuck with the Islands since Friday.

While the rest of the country have been experiencing thunderstorms and floods, the Islands have enjoyed almost constant sunshine and mild evenings. Some have even been tempted to go for an end of season swim.

The spell of good weather is great news for kids on the Islands with the half term week starting in time to coincide with this sunny spell. Even Cornwall, only a matter of thirty miles away, as not escaped an occasional spell of poor weather so it looks like the Scilly microclimate is in operation again, defying weather reports.

“//butterfly2.jpg”
“subinfo”A Peacock Butterfly makes an Autumnal appearance./span

The warm spell has also been good news for wildlife lovers, some have commented that it almost felt like spring with butterflies and all sorts of interesting creatures out, soaking up the rays no doubt!

To cap off a weekend of fine weather, the Northern Lights made an extraordinary appearance on Sunday evening. The Red glowing skies prompted many to stand outside gazing in awe at this natural phenomenon.

The inter Island Supply boat, the Lyonesse Lady, and the Penzance based cargo boat the Gry Maritha will both be dry docked this Month for vital repair works and renovations.

The two boats, both owned by the Steamship Company, will be dry docked in Penzance where they are thought to stay for the next few weeks. The Lyonesse will be away for ten days, starting on the 20th of October, and following that, the Gry will be away for twenty days. These renovations come just a year after the Scillonian III had a major re-fit in Plymouth.

“//freight.jpg”
“subinfo”Cargo on Penzance Quay destined for the Islands./span

The Scillonian will have to take all the freight to the Islands from Penzance for the next few weeks while a smaller boat will deliver it to the off islands. This smaller, replacement boat does not have a crane so all cargo will have to be shifted by hand.

If you ask a regular visitor what they would most readily associate with Scilly, more often than not, you would be greeted with the reply of the flowing golden fields of Narcissus flowers coupled with their sweet scent which can drift for what seems like miles. Traditionally, Narcissus flowers from the Islands have always flowered earlier than their counterparts on the mainland; this year is no exception.

Flower farming has remained a relatively dominant industry in Scilly for the past 100 years, ever since, in fact, transport links became sufficient to transport the flowers to market on the Mainland. Because of the Island status, the climate is slightly warmer than on the mainland which means that flowers are ready for wholesale sooner than the ones on the mainland.

Growers this week have started the first substantial sending of the year as the Narcissus flowers, ranging from the traditional Paper White to the more extravagant Innisidgen have started to bloom.

There are flower farms on all the Islands, in the past, a helicopter has been used to lift flowers from the off Islands but the Lyonesse Lady, the inter Island cargo boat, is now used. You can expect to see ‘Isles of Scilly Flowers’ for sale in various mainland markets for the next few months as well as around the country from mail order specialists on the Islands.

The Isles of Scilly and West Cornwall MP has recently had to cut his holiday short in order to attend the re-call of Parliament in London.

Andrew George was called away from his annual family holiday in Scilly whilst his family stayed to complete their trip. Andrew and his family are regular visitors to the Islands and he combined this holiday with several surgeries set up on the different Islands so that he could gain an Island perspective. The local MP is highly supported by the Islanders and he often takes part in cricket matches whilst on the Islands.

Andrew George is thought to be supporting the Liberal Democrat party line on the current ‘war on terrorism’ which is ‘caution before action.’

Two Metropolitan Police officers are due to go on trial on misconduct charges following an incident while on a Cricket tournament in Scilly.

Two off-duty officers are alleged to have urinated in the ‘Mermaid’ public house on St. Mary’s on a Sunday evening in June 1999. The two officers were part of a cricket team on tour in the Islands at the time. The Police, who were staying on St. Mary’s, had just returned from playing St. Agnes that afternoon.

Eye witnesses are reported to have commented on how rowdy they had become following a day of drinking. The matter was then brought to Devon and Cornwall Police who are playing a key role in the current proceeding. Witnesses from The Islands have been summoned to attend the Hearing which is due to take place at the start of the new year.

Channel 4?s iTime Team/i visited the Islands to make an ?observational documentary? on the Colossus ship wreck which was recently rediscovered and the work carried out by the Archaeological Diving Unit of St Andrew?s University.

A team came down to the Islands between 8-16 September. Tony Robinson, presenter of Time Team and of Blackadder fame, along with Phil Harding and Katie Hirst, visited the Islands for the last three days of the dive.

“Most of the work was recording what was down there,” says George Pagliero, a member of the Time Team. “[It was] mostly timbers, some small finds (pulleys, rope, pistol butts and triggers, shot etc), a row of cannons and a fantastic carved figure.”

Mr Pagliero goes on to say: “The film is actually from the 2003 documentary budget and so is unlikely to run next year. There is room for a follow up next summer if the ADU decide to return. Channel 4 might decide to run the programme early but it won?t be ready until the autumn at the earliest.

“Viewers will learn the history of the ship, Battle of the Nile, Lord Nelson, Lord Hamilton & Emma, the Second Collection of Greek Vases, the fateful journey home… There will also likely be some mention of the work done in the 70s by local diver Roland Morris. The modern story is of the ADU but with input from local divers and salvors. They will learn some of the techniques (and difficulties) of underwater archaeology.

He adds: “The site was then covered and sandbagged to protect it from winter storms.”

“//scavenger.jpg”
“subinfo”The diving boat ?Scavenger? of Bryher was intrumental in excavations./span