Well, we believe you can find some great treasure on the ocean shore. So we decided that is what this column is - flotsam. We wanted a place to put things that didn't fit anywhere else and might be of interest.
Lets look at an island neighbour.
In Western tradition the romantic escape to a Utopian island society has a long pedigree. The pursuit of this dream has inspired classic works such as The Tempest, Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson . However, the fixation with Rockall is less easily explained. This week, in 1972, the outcrop was formally incorporated into Scotland having been annexed by Britain in 1955 when naval commandos landed by helicopter, claimed it for the Queen, hoisted the Union Jack and cemented a plaque to the summit. Since then, it has assumed strategic importance as a sea-mark in fishing disputes and oil exploration negotiations, and has attracted the adventurer, Tom McClean, to perch for a few days on its inhospitable ledges.