Island on the Edge: A Life on Soay by Anne Cholawo - first published in the UK by Birlinn in 2016
I read this book geographically out of sequence because hadn't been published when I started this blog and I only became aware of it through a chance conversation with someone while out on a walk.
In 1989, on the last day of her first visit to the Hebrides, Anne Pacey from Bedfordshire saw an advertisement for a house for sale on the island of Soay, which is located off the south coast of Skye. A few weeks later she returned to look at Glenfield House and fell in love with Soay's peace and beauty. She bought the house without really thinking through the practicalities of living on a small island with no shop or regular ferry service. She moved to Soay in May 1990. At this time the population of the island was 17.
Glenfield House was damp and had no electricity. The other islanders were a great practical help to Anne in her first few weeks and months on Soay and with their help she managed to overcome lots of practical obstacles, which might have prevented her from staying on the island.
Gavin Maxwell bought Soay in 1946 and set up a short lived (until 1948) basking shark fishing business on the island. One of his assistants, Tex Geddes, was still living on Soay with his wife Jeanne when Anne arrived and they became friends and helped each other out in various ways.
Anne lived very frugally and made a living by selling paintings and winkle pickings. She grew her own vegetables and collected driftwood to burn in her Rayburn. She bought a small dinghy and later she had the use of another islander's motorboat. In 1998 she bought her own boat, Sally B.
A month after her arrival on Soay Anne met Robert Cholawo, who was working for the Royal Marines who visited Soay for training exercises. The became friends and years later they married. One by one over the years the inhabitants of Soay moved off the island for various reasons or died. A few people moved in to replace them but by 2004 the population was just three, including Anne and her husband Robert.
Most of the book is about Anne's life on Soay from 1990-2002. This book demonstrates that you need stamina, adaptability and resourcefulness to live on a small island.
Islands covered: Soay and Skye
Very exciting to see this. I met Anne briefly in 2004 as I was attempting to become the first magician in history to perform magic on every inhabited island in Scotland (105 at the time). I only had a few minutes on Soay with her but what a wonderful afternoon it was!
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