The traffic island was an example of how the Bus Shelter can become a victim of its own success. Apparently, some tour buses used to come up to Unst, go straight to the Bus Shelter, turn around and head back south again. Therefore they needed somewhere to turn. To be honest, I didn’t know about this and I still don’t totally believe it. There are 2 museums further north than the Bus Shelter as well as various other attractions. So I think possibly it may have been some money burning a hole in someone’s pocket (possibly the former chairman of the Unst Community Council). But anyway, the Bus Shelter needed to be moved back a bit, away from the original site of the first Bus Shelter, and put about 3 metres diagonally backwards and right. Once again, we at BSHQ were not consulted and had no say in this decision. But we do know how to turn a bad situation into an opportunity to grow. The kidney-shaped island provided a sort of barrier, shielding the Shelter and giving it a bit of a car/bus park. And the whole area was repaved, giving better wheelchair access to the site. So, all in all, I think it was more pro than con.

This was also the time that we heard the sad news of the death of John Peel. Two generations of BSHQ were big fans of Mr Peel for his love of life, music and the unusual. We could think of no tribute more fitting to the great man than to dedicate this new traffic island to him. We have (semi-legally) filled it with earth and are in the process of planting various flowers in it. There is to be a rockery and a plaque dedicating this vital part of the new Bus Shelter set up to Mr John Ravenscroft aka John Peel. I hope he would see this as a fitting tribute and I hope to in some way emulate John Peel’s dedication to the surreal through this route.

P.S. New photos of the JPMTI will be up showing it in all its horticultural glory when it gains some.