The Isles of Scilly Wildlife trust is seeking expert advice over the extent they can work with flower farmers on the Islands.

The wildlife trust (formerly the IOS Environmental Trust) is under licence from the land stewards, the Duchy of Cornwall and this obvious connection to farm leases is thought to be one drive behind the scheme.

Reports say that the organisation is looking at ways to attract funding and work more closely with flower growers on the Islands. Flower growing is still a major industry in Scilly, as the warm climate means that flowers can be cultivated earlier than on farms on the mainland. The industry itself is second only to Tourism within the Islands.

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“smalldetail”Inside the new Wildlife Trust information centre, based on the quay and opened by Bill Oddie earlier this year./span

The wildlife trust is responsible for the management of all the land that is leased to it by the Duchy of Cornwall on the inhabited islands, in addition to all the uninhabited islands, islets and rocks. The trusts’ primary commitments are the conservation of the terrestrial and marine wildlife and their habitats, the landscape of the Isles of Scilly and the archaeological and historical remains on the Islands. It is also concerned with the furtherance of public education about the Islands and it promotes and co-ordinates research and information about horticultural based industries within the Islands.

With the recent Ryanair announcement that the tour operator will be running scheduled flights from Stansted to Newquay, the journey times from London to Scilly could be reduced to under two and a half hours.

The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company’s aircraft operation, Skybus, has reacted to the announcement by Ryanair, by Introducing flights to and from Newquay, in order to coincide with connecting Ryanair flights, both leaving and arriving into the region.

This means that the total journey time between the Islands and London Stansted will be approximately two hours and twenty five minutes. Skybus flights leaving Newquay are scheduled to depart 45 minutes after the Ryanair flights arrive. Flights from St. Marys to Newquay are set to land 50 minutes before the Ryanair flight takes off for London.

This is a prime example of how low budget Flights into Cornwall will benefit the tourism industry in the south west. Currently, most visitors travel down by train to either Truro or Penzance in order to catch Skybus flights from Newquay or lands End, a helicopter flight from Penzance or the ‘Scillonian’ ferry from Penzance. The train journey can take up to seven hours from London.

This operation will particularly benefit business passengers as it will greatly reduce travelling times. It is also good news for those who have previously had to endure long car or train journeys into the Southwest. The current plans show that there will be one Ryanair flight per day initially, scheduled for the afternoon. The option has been left open for extra daily flights in the future, depending on the popularity of the London Newquay service.

Diver Barry Bennett caught a rare Slipper Lobster just before Christmas. The lobster, normally found in the Bay of Biscay and Mediterranean, was kept in the Habour Master?s Office on St Mary?s quay.

When Plymouth?s National Marine Aquarium heard the news, they were quick to confirm it?s identity, a Scyllarus Arctus, and offered it a home.

Divernet.com states that only 13 such lobsters have been found around the British Isles since 1758.

Official links:
a href=”http://www.divernet.com/news/items/lob230102.htm” target=”_blank”Divernet/a: “Rare Lobster Captured in Scilly”
a href=”http://www.nmfs.hawaii.edu/fmpi/fmep/lobster/lobsterimage.htm” target=”_blank”NOAA/a: “Slipper Lobster”

The Isles of Scilly have been ravaged by fierce northerly gales throughout the day. The heavy seas and strong winds have caused problems for boat services around the Islands.

The gales, which have been forecast to stay around for the next few days, began last night when heavy rain set in. Despite the rain relenting during the early hours, the high winds kicked in and spurred on the heavy seas. The skies above the Islands were clearing by morning, and there was blue sky and sunshine throughout the afternoon in spite of the unrelenting blustery weather.

Northerly gales are somewhat of a rarity this time of year, as gales usually prevail from the southwest. When the wind is in this direction, problems can be caused for boating services around the Islands, especially the usually safe mooring ground between Bryher and Tresco, and also the stretch of water in-between St. Mary’s and St Agnes. St. Agnes Quay can also be a difficult place to moor in a northerly gale, as the sea simply pushes boats downwind.

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“subinfo”The firethorn battles away from St. Agnes Quay after completing the tricky manoeuvre of steering in-between the calf and Gugh shore at low tide./span

The gales and sunny conditions did present an opportunity for amateur photographers to capture a glimpse of the Islands amongst their most obvious context, vulnerability against the sea.

A film crew are set to make a series about the Isles of Scilly over the next year, covering all aspects of Island life, from the education process down to Scilly’s main industries and occupations.

The series, which is being made by ‘Point of View Productions’ for Carlton in the South West, will be filmed in and around the Islands over the next year and is due to air early next spring.

Mike and Emma Ford, the two behind the project, have visited the Islands on several occasions in order to observe Scilly in different seasons and interview people who are willing to talk about their experiences of Island life. They are also set to visit Scilly on a regular basis with their array of cameras and recording devices to capture a comprehensive account of what’s happening over the entire year.

When we spoke to Mike and Emma they told Scilly News that they were particularly looking forward to the world gig Championships and the Camel Rock Festival. They are also so glad to have been, so far, lucky with the weather as on their visits to date, the conditions have been good for outdoor filming.

This series differs from other filming concerning the Islands, as it will be shown over a number of programmes. Previous programmes on the Islands have been a ‘one off’ or simply a section in a bigger show. The Islands and their Islanders are no strangers to film crews though, last year ‘Pulling Power’ (ITV’s popular driving programme), ‘Blue Peter’, and ‘Countryfile’ all featured the Islands in one way or another. Five film crews also visited the Islands Museum over the year and next week BBC 2’s ‘The Flying Gardener’ is set to land in the Islands to talk about the unique heritage of Narcissus flowers in the Islands and the market which they have generated.

P.O.V productions hope to gain a unique perspective on Island life and Community spirit within the Islands. This week they have been talking to certain sections of the community, about both Scilly in the Past and also about contemporary life. They also intend to visit St. Agnes later in the week to look at the way young people grow up on the Islands.

Work has recently been completed on the St. Agnes lighthouse, which has included a much needed new coat of paint for the historic structure, as our before / after photograph demonstrates.

St. Agnes lighthouse has not been lit since the 1800’s when it was replaced by its modern counterpart; the more strategically positioned ‘Bishops Rock’ lighthouse amongst the Western Rocks. The St. Agnes light is one of the earliest lighthouses in Britain, warning primitive ships of the treacherous ‘Western Rocks’ off Scilly.

The work, which has been carried out over the weekend, was primarily based around painting the imposing structure, which dominates the St. Agnes skyline and is the subject of countless pictures, taken by visitors throughout the holiday season. The building is maintained by Trinity house, the body responsible for all lighthouses, and is today used as a day mark for giving ships their position on their approach to Scilly. Work was carried out earlier this year, which made the weather vane on top of the lighthouse turn again.

An accurate list has been compiled of objective one benefactors in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Despite many applications and pending decisions still to be made, there are only two projects within the Islands which have received conformation of funding availability.

Both projects which are to received help from the Objective one ( the European fund for lesser developed regions) are connected to the Isles of Scilly Council. The two projects which have benefited from a total of ?589,015 of European Money have been the Isles of Scilly Learning Centre (which received ?124,015) and a project to develop the Incinerator on St. Marys with additions, designed to reduce emissions (which has received ?465,000). The two projects received approximately 50% of their financial backing from objective one.

The Isles of Scilly Learning Centre’s main aims have been to help local people develop Information Technology skills with courses which can be provided via the internet and other advanced technologies. The development which is currently being undertaken on the incinerator, focuses on decreasing harmful emissions into the atmosphere, primarily by fitting a secondary Burn Chamber.

There have been many more applications which have not been processed yet ranging from areas such as transport to sports and recreation. The objective one status was billed as a massive benefit to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly but in reality, red tape has prevented fast processing of applications. One prominent islander has criticised the organisation of the fund, saying that the people who really need the money are being put off by the complicated structure which has been implemented.

The date of September 1st is day of great historical importance to the Islands. On this day in 1858, the Bishop Rock lighthouse first shone out as a warning beacon to sailors attempting to negotiate the Western rocks off Scilly.

Before this time, the only warning system had been the inadequate St. Agnes light, which was powered by oil. The first Bishop rock lighthouse was erected in 1850 and consisted of a metal frame supporting the tower, the idea being that the strong Atlantic swells would simple wash through the structure. This theory was proven flawed even before the light had been lit. One morning the engineers turned up after a particularly violent storm to find the metal supports had sheered off, leaving just the remnants of years of work clutching to the jagged rock.

It became clear that building a lighthouse to survive such ferocious winter storms would be one of the most spectacular architectural undertakings of the time. Trinity House, the body behind lighthouses in England and Wales, were undeterred by their setback and set about building a second structure out of Cornish granite.

The building of Bishop Rock lighthouse was prompted by the fantastical number of ships that were being wrecked in this area stretching from pre-historic times to the day it was built. The Islands have always received notoriety for their jagged reefs. Many have asked why the Islands should be named The Isles of Scilly; the truth is that the word ‘Scilly’ comes from the Greek word ‘Scylla’ which means dangerous rocks or reef, referring to the Western Rocks. This proves that ships were being wrecked even in these classical times amongst the Islands.

Ships were still wrecked after the lighthouse was installed but countless more lives were saved. One of the less fortunate wrecks after the building of the lighthouse was that of the Schiller, wrecked on Rettarier ledges in 1875 just half a mile from the Lighthouse. Lighthouse keepers reported seeing terrible sights of bodies floating past Bishop Rock in the dead of a foggy night.

The granite structure was added to in 1883 in order to strengthen it and then remained relatively unchanged until 1973 when the paraffin lamp was replaced by electric and a heli-pad was added to the top of the structure. In 1992 the Bishop Rock lighthouse became a fully automated structure and stands, tall testament to an age of engineering.

Trinity house spent ?111,949 on the lighthouse up to 1883, which is a gauge of how the light was viewed in importance. The strength of waves were once measured out at Bishop Rock and recorded as the biggest forces ever attained in Britain and one of the highest recorded anywhere, ever.

The new joint Head Teacher for the Isles of Scilly Schools, Paul Mulligan, has been talking to the Western Morning News, prior to his arrival in the Islands.

In the article published in the Western Morning News newspaper (4/2/02), Mr. Mulligan cites the Federated system which will be implemented, as ‘part of the job’s appeal’, he also labels it “a real challenge”. This will be the fourth Headship for Paul Mulligan, who is also qualified as an Ofsted inspector, and he recognises that one of the primary benefits of a federated system will be a smoother transition from Primary to Secondary, especially for Off-Islands students. He also says that the continuity will help them track the pupils progress and enable teachers to “foster them as individuals”.

Computer aided learning is thought to play an important role in the new system as it will allow the schools, based on five different sites, to learn from each other and share resources. He also says that a federated system, unique in England, would provide greater flexibility. The federated Schools could lead to similar projects in mainland Britain if successful, so all eyes in the teaching profession will be on the Islands in a sense.

Scilly News has been unable to secure an independent interview with Mr. Mulligan. He moves to the Islands from his previous school in Bristol next week and is due to take up his new post after the half term break. This is by far the biggest challenge ever faced by the Islands system. In effect, the project will be the Guinea Pig for similar developments on the mainland. For many years now, children on the Islands have been laboured with this cruellest of Animal association; hopefully this time will be the final chapter in what has been a troubled existence for the system.

Questions have been raised over the viability of introducing competition to the Post Office service, in remote areas such as the Islands.

The proposals have been condemned by the Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, two of the remotest areas in Britain and have been labelled ‘Unviable’. Such a change would create problems within the Isles of Scilly as rivals to Royal Mail would have to set up contracts with either the Helicopter or Steamship Company in order to carry the mail over to Scilly.

The postal service, at the moment, sets very high standards throughout the Islands. Mail is Delivered by helicopter in the morning (having been sorted on the mainland) and then distributed throughout the Islands by local Post workers. As a rule Islanders usually receive their mail before midday, even on the off Islands. They are then given plenty of time to respond to any correspondence, the post then leaving the Islands by helicopter during the afternoon. The ‘next day’ promise is usually kept.

Initial competition is to be introduced for businesses within the next couple of years, but the proposals say that full competition will be introduced by 2006. It is unlikely that any competition to Royal Mail would be keen to operate within the Islands as the operating and implementation costs would be so high for factors such as charter of transport to the Islands and then distribution to the off Islands twice daily.