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Toi Staff
Tarik Cyril Amar
Sharona Margolin Halickman
Andrew Mitrovica
Penny S. Tee
Gideon Levy
John Nosta
Jennifer Gerlach Lcsw
Elle Duffy: Forget crass commercialism, my island is Scotland's most romantic place Love is in the air on Valentine's Day but, says Elle Duffy, romance on her Scottish island is something wilder and deeper. "It’s found not in grand gestures, not boxes of chocolates nor rose bouquets - it’s in the everyday. It’s in the way the waves return to the shore, the way the wind moves through the trees, the way we find each other, again and again, in the places we call home."
There are two stags wandering the beach in Kinloch. One is larger, and its antlers stretch back and point to the sky; he walks proudly ahead, checking behind him every few seconds to his friend. He follows, his antlers slightly shorter and his movements a touch more cautious.
I’ve learned their names are Abalone 19 and Coypu 19. They were both born six years ago, and they’ve explored the island together ever since. Since I moved to the Isle of Rum three months ago, I’ve seen them a handful of times; out my front window with their antlers locked in a playful embrace, wading through the burn next to the Bunkhouse, trying their luck at the polytunnel.
And there’s something romantic about that. Two best friends, wandering a beautiful island together, through the wind and sun and rain. And I can’t help but liken it to the life we seem to have stumbled upon ourselves - it is Valentine’s Day, after all.
Read more
I broke my Dry January on an island with no pub
You wouldn’t know that if you were here, though. There are no red balloons, no cringey cartoon cards, no sharing platters or milkshakes for two. The commercialism that........
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