A new vicar has been appointed for the Isles of Scilly.

Church of England officials have announced the appointment of the Reverend Guy Scott, from the parishes of Mullion, Cury and Gullwalloe in Cornwall.

Born in Dublin and raised in Hertfordshire, Rev Scott, 45, was a farmer for ten years before disillusionment caused him to leave the industry.

He then worked in plastics before becoming verger at Canterbury Cathedral, where he was asked by the then Bishop to work as his private chauffeur. After driving around Canterbury for eight years, he finally began training for the priesthood in 1997 and was ordained in 2001.

Rev Scott, who was curate in a parish in Northampton before moving to Cornwall, has a wife and two young daughters.

The appointment is good news for the Islands, where concern was mounting that a replacement be found for Rev
Julian Ould, who moved to Devon at the beginning of this year.

Tresco’s Canon Donald Marr and wife Margaret will continue to look after the six Anglican congregations on the Islands until Rev Scott takes up his new post in January.

A schoolboy on holiday on the Islands got a surprise last week when building sandcastles on St Martin’s.

Nine-year-old Henry Moore dug up what is believed to have been a boat skeleton and cannon from a famed St Martin’s pilot cutter left to rot 150 years ago.

One theory is that the cannon was used aboard HMS Colossus, a 74-gun Royal Navy battleship wrecked in St Mary’s Roads in 1798, once part of a fleet commanded by Lord Nelson. It is thought the cannon was one of two used by the cutter as ballast.

But locals from St Martin’s, whose ancestors crewed the cutter (called Queen), say they knew where the boat was lying and wished to leave it undisturbed.

The find has since been covered on the advice of the Isles of Scilly Museum.

A St Mary?s resident will be taking the trip of a lifetime this winter when she treks through Thailand for charity.

Michelle Mapplethorpe (above, on the right), who runs a snackshop on St Mary?s, will spend up to six hours a day travelling through paddy fields, jungles, rainforests, cliffs, waterfalls and beaches during the trek to raise money for Breast Cancer Care.

?I felt it was time to put something back into life,? Michelle told ScillyNews. ?Life?s been very good to me and I wanted to put something back.?

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The week long trek is run jointly by Woman and Home magazine and Breast Cancer Care, the UK’s leading provider of information, practical assistance and emotional support for people affected by breast cancer.

Ellie Sleeman, Head of Events at Breast Cancer Care said: ?We are delighted that Michelle has chosen to support our work. Every contribution makes a difference and funds raised will go towards ensuring that Breast Cancer Care can continue to support men and woman with breast cancer, as well as families, partners and friends.”

The journey, in temperatures up to 35 degrees, will begin in Phuket in Southern Thailand, before heading inland to explore the rainforests, limestone cliffs and waterfalls of the Khao Sok National Park - ending at the tranquil beach resort of Khao Lak, where up to 55 weary participants will be able to relax and celebrate their achievement in one of Thailand?s most peaceful locations.

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Several events have been organised on the Islands to raise money for the trek, including a race night at the Scillonian Club, a trolley dash in the Co-op, an auction of promises and the sale of cream teas from Michelle?s bakery on the Strand.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and accounts for almost one in three of all cancer cases in women. Approximately 41,700 people are diagnosed each year in the UK, 245 of which are men. Although breast cancer in British women is increasing by more than 1% each year, survival rates beyond five years are on the rise.

Michelle has pledged that she will raise at least ?3,000 and is calling on local businesses and individuals to support her. Donations are much appreciated. Please see Michelle on the Strand or call 07787848954.

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The Bishop and Wolf pub is losing yet another landlord and landlady this week.

Popular Northerners Dave and Linzi Lee are leaving the Islands on Wednesday after just four months.

The move is another blow for the pub, which has struggled to find stability after a succession of landlords have come and gone.

One irritated local said: “To lose one landlord may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness; to lose ten is nothing short of insanity.”

ScillyNews spent a lazy afternoon this week enjoying some of the best scenery the Islands have to offer. And the good news continues - the sun is set to keep shining all the way through to the weekend.

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Five junior Royal Navy ratings have been marched through HughTown on St Mary?s to say sorry for their behaviour on Saturday night.

Sailors from the Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke enjoying a night out in the town were recalled back to the ship by Naval Police shortly before 11pm.

Police dealt with a number of incidents including drunken behaviour and fighting during the evening, BBC News reports, following up a story which appeared on ScillyNews on Saturday night.

And Islanders and visitors hoping to look around the Portsmouth-based Frigate were left disappointed when swell around the ship on Sunday meant tours were cancelled.

Tourism officer Steve Watt, who was among a select group from the Islands treated to a Saturday night cocktail party aboard the ship, said visits by Royal Navy vessels had always gone without problems in the past and this was unlikely to affect any future visits.

“These were relatively minor incidents, but I certainly wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of those junior ratings,” he told BBC News, adding that HMS Ocean and HMS Cornwall were due to visit the Islands soon and it was important not to blow things out of proportion.

Sgt Ian Stevens from St Mary’s Police confirmed that complaints had been received and some sailors were given ?80 fixed penalty fines.

“It was a lively old evening with some drunkenness and boisterous behaviour,? he said.

One crew-member, who was alleged to have tampered with a fishing boat at the quay, has apologised to the boat?s owner.

The Ministry of Defence are considering internal disciplinary action.

Sailors from HMS Iron Duke enjoying a night out on St Mary’s on Saturday were recalled to the ship after causing mayhem in the island?s pubs.

High-spirited crew from the Royal Navy Frigate were summoned by Naval Police shortly before 11pm ? and won’t be allowed on shore again on Sunday.

Half the 180-strong crew were chatting up the Island?s women as if they hadn?t been ashore for years - but one Officer told ScillyNews it was more like five days.

World Cup fever gripped the Islands today as hundreds of fans cheered England to a 1-0 victory over Paraguay.

Supporters watched the match live on big screens set up in pubs around St Mary’s especially for the occasion.

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But some Islanders were immune to football fever. The Atlantic Inn has declared itself a World Cup-free zone. One employee told ScillyNews: “It’s not really practical to have a TV in the pub here, plus several other pubs on the Islands have big screens, so we throught we’d cater for the parts of the population who aren’t big fans of football.”

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One local propping up the bar said: “I can’t really be bothered to watch football because I can’t stand the game and I can’t stand the people who watch the game. Watching 22 overpaid men kicking a bag of wind around has to be the most boring thing I’ve ever come across in my life.”

But for others it’s the start of a thrilling month’s sporting action.

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Scilly?s plague of flies was the topic of discussion on BBC Radio Cornwall on Thursday, when listeners were invited to call in with advice on how to get rid of them.

Among callers? suggestions to presenter Laurence Reed were hairspray and burning lavendar oil. One man said: ?Fill a large glass to about a third with white spirit, then just go along and plonk it underneath the flies (when they?ve settled on beams) and they just plop into it and die.?

The flies are thought to have been attracted to piles of rotting rubbish left by the incinerator, which started working again recently after four months out of action due to a refit to comply with EU specifications.

But Council Officers deny that the dump is reponsible, blaming seaweed on the Islands? beaches.

?We have thousands and thousands of flies and now they are all over the Islands,? one caller told Reed. “They?re starting to go to Bryher. You can?t open your windows, you can?t open your doors, the island shops have run out of flyspray because they can?t keep up with the demand.?

And a local man, who lives near the dump, said: ?It?s getting depressing. You either spend all your time killing them or sit down covered in them. If you?re eating, you?re constantly swiping them off your food. There?s flypaper in the kitchen with about two thousand on and they seem to be immune to fly spray, if you can get it.?

?I think the council have got a lot to answer for,? one irate resident told ScillyNews. ?They don?t clean the beaches anymore because of the sandhopper population, they don?t clean the dump. The dump?s a mess. Get it sorted out, council!?

Adult flies usually live 15 to 30 days. It has been stated that a pair of flies beginning operations in April may be progenitors, if all were to live, of 191,010,000,000,000,000,000 flies by August.

A housefly’s whole body is covered by millions of bacteria which are often transmitted to food and can cause illnesses such as typhus, dysentery, tuberculosis and poliomyelitis. Breeding sites are commonly dung heaps, exposed human faecea, droppings, rotting garbage and carrion.

But there is some good news - the flies are thought to be on the retreat.

The topic is among many being hotly discussed on Scillyonline?s forum at http://scillyonline.co.uk/new_forum/viewtopic.php?t=659&sid=3cefff83410cca9e25809d75a705ffe6.

Scilly’s Council has denied that a plague of flies is due to the incinerator, instead blaming seaweed on the Islands’ beaches.

The flies are thought to have been attracted to piles of rotting rubbish left by the incinerator, which started working again last month after four months out of action due to a refit to comply with EU specifications.

But Chief Technical Officer Neville Gardner told BBC Radio Cornwall: ?It?s probably a combination of factors: The tides, the amount of weed that?s around, the weather. We?ve had some foggy damp days with some heat and the climate?s been otherwise warm, which has probably helped the life cycle of these creatures.”

In response to islander?s accusations about the dump, he said: ?To use the words of Christine Keeler, ?they would say that, wouldn?t they???

And whilst he admitted that the flies were attracted to rotting vegetation and that such material existed at the dump, he pointed out that it was covered and regularly sprayed.

?We?ve taken advice on the most effective material to spray to keep these creatures at bay and we?re spraying a couple of times a week,” he told presenter Laurence Reed.

“Equally they?re going to be attracted to other forms of rotting vegetation around and there?s quite a build-up of seaweed on the beaches, so naturally you can expect there to be a problem associated with that.?

He added that flies were a problem in other parts of the country, as well as on other islands apart from St Mary’s. “In truth, all the islands have got them, it’s asking a great deal to say they start in St Mary?s and go to all corners of the various islands.?

But Councillor Gordon Billsborough was not convinced. “If you believe that most of the flies come from the seaweed, you?ll believe anything,” he said.

“Just try telling that to people who live near the tip. I?ve had a look around there and there are a large number of flies on the rotting rubbish because it is not totally covered up. Spraying every five days isn?t enough. It can?t be coincidence that the incinerator was out of action for four months and then we have a swarm of flies when the hot weather starts.”

He was concerned that tourists were being put off and feared the situation could get worse.

?If we are incapable of spraying the rubbish and keeping down the flies, then we should call outside help. It would cost money, but it?s costing the tourist trade money. It is vital that we find a long term solution.?