It’s one of the first things that people ask me; is there a pub on the Isle of Rum? And then, the incredulous ‘what do you do without one?’. And there was a time where I might’ve wondered the same. Going out for a drink was a vessel to hang out with friends or family. A social staple. But here, on the isle of Rúm, things work a little differently.

Coinneach asked a neighbour one day; how does Rum do a date night? He was then given an ‘Isle of Rum’ mug full of dates. There’s no swanky cocktail bars here, no neon mini-golf courses; there’s nowhere I can spend £30 on a mediocre platter of cheese, or have wine from a glass fresh out of a steaming hot dishwasher. But what we do have is a community that knows how to make their own fun.

Friday nights have become an institutional part of the week. After dinner, we’ll don our layers, put on waterproofs if we have to, and take the ten-minute walk down to the shop, where the usual crowd gathers.

It’s not just any shop, mind you. It’s the island’s lifeline, selling everything from milk to masking tape, and the square outside it doubles as the island’s unofficial meeting spot. We’ll arrive in our dribs and drabs, squinting........

© Herald Scotland