Islay's
Summer Tour

1. Last post at Burray

On Monday Irene Sutherland will be out of a job. Between them, the Royal Mail and the Government have robbed her of her livelihood. The remote community of Burray in Orkney will be changed forever and the people who live there – young and old alike – will suffer. The reason? Yet another Post Office closure.

Irene's putting a brave face on it. Yet living next to the Post Office and adjoining shop (they're closing together) makes it impossible to escape. A warm, friendly woman, she's been postmistress here for 13 years. She tells me that Monday will be a working day like any other – but also a very emotional and sad one, particularly when the key makes its final click in the lock.

Like so many doomed rural post offices, Burray PO is more than just a place to buy a stamp or collect a pension. It's a community asset, a focal point, a meeting place. And it's situated in an area of major housing development. So what do the locals in this village think about the closure?

Margaret Wallis

John Laird

John Tulloch

Colin and Fiona MacKenzie

Margaret Wallis lives just ouside the village. Suffering from ME, she tells me she is lucky she can still drive. She describes Irene as 'someone who puts herself out for people. You aren't just a face – she knows everybody'. Margaret can't put into words how angry she is about the closure. Her letter of complaint to Orkney Islands Council produced little response and the villagers have been kept in the dark. She would love to demonstrate to let the councillors know what they're doing to the community.
     At nearby Pole Farm, John Laird tells me it is essential for elderly residents to have a post office in their local area. He often uses Burray PO himself and says its closure will be a big problem for non-drivers. The nearest alternative is in St Margaret's Hope, three and a half miles down the road. The public transport in the area is atrocious – the bus doesn't wait long enough in St Margaret's Hope to allow anyone to go shopping.
     John Tulloch uses the Post Office every week to pick up his pension. If he had to travel to Holm or St Margaret's Hope it wouldn't be as handy or as easily accessible.
     Brother and sister Colin and Fiona MacKenzie are currently on benefits. Every Tuesday morning, Colin assists an elderly, partially-sighted neighbour to the Post Office to pick up her pension and pay her rent. He doesn't have to – but this is a genuine, inter-dependent community. Fiona adds: 'They don't want country folk out there in St Margaret's Hope.'

The closure on Monday will affect everyone, particularly the elderly and less mobile. No-one I have spoken to is happy about it. Most villages have a trio of places for communication – the church, the post office and the pub. The church closed two years ago. Now the post office is going. How long will the pub last?
     Profit seems to be more important than community values now. Limiting choice and secluding us from our own neighbours is not progress. We have to address local matters locally before the spirit is sucked out of small villages and communities.
     In Irene's own words: 'Closing the Post Office is not the death of a community but it's shutting down a vital part of it'.