Mull to reflect on cancellation of 2010 Tour of Mull Rally

Tonight, from 7.30pm in Criagnure Village Hall, the Isle of Mull takes stock of the situation that has led to the 2300 Club’s cancellation for 2010 of the brightest star in the island’s social and economic year – the Tour of Mull Rally.

It will also consider the landscape it faces in the immediate future with the loss of the 2010 event.

Whatever the range of options it considers, there is one thing that is not optional. Mull must work as one and it must work hard on having and deploying a positive attitude.

It cannot afford the elements of division, negativity and  exploitation that have brought the island to a point so low that it has been the focus of a major feature in the Daily Mail, dismissing it as some sort of rustic pantomime. The Mail’s feature, headlined ‘Island at war after cows put brakes on car rally’ says, in its introduction, that: ‘..this year’s Tour of Mull has been scrapped after a bitter row – involving a herd of cattle’.

Of course this is nothing near the truth. While uncontrolled cattle created havoc and injuries in the 2009 Rally, the truth of the matter lay a lot deeper than the Mail even attempts to discover. It lay in too great a body of negative attitudes, in pettiness and in a lack of spiritual generosity.

These masked the wealth of goodwill, positivity and enterprise embedded in Mull.

The richness of the comments posted to our breaking story on the crisis, showed all of this spectrum from blinkered parochialism to the shock of the majority who knew little of what was going on until it was too late; and who would have acted to stem the tide of disaffection in 2300 Club, had they known.

These comments also showed the depth of love for this event and for the island among those who have been coming faithfully to it for very many years. Some contributors spoke of 15, 20, 25 year periods of personal engagement with the event, in its 40 year history.

Several spoke of children born because of it; of family celebrations that now focus on Mull; oof marriages planned to take place at the time of the 2010 Rally; of annually renewed friendships with island folk and with fellow fans; of the unpaid voluntary work of the 2300 Club in making this event happen for so long; and of the professionalism which marks the skills and experience the Club has brought to the operation.

Some provided figures demonstrating pretty unequivocally that some, if not all,  accommodation providers on the island exploit these visitors by racking up their prices for the rally period beyond even high season and Christmas. This is despite the fact that the Rally fans are not wealthy people and most have to travel long distances to get there. Never forget the allegory of the goose with the golden eggs.

Some contributors identified their personal spend on the island for the period of the rally – which is very significant – and noted that this was around the average pattern.

Some noted the generosity of Mull folk with whom they had developed long standing friendships and who throw their homes open annually to welcome them as guests of the non-paying variety.

As with any community, Mull is a Curate’s egg, good in parts. The trouble has been that the negatives got into the driving seat and no one was bothered abut having a navigator or pace notes. Now everyone can see where such driving has taken the island.

A significant body of islanders will propose tonight that Mull should either host a related event – like a rally school, led by the fleet of talented drivers the event has bred for the island; or should mount a DIY event.

Whatever it decides will need to be unequivocally backed by islanders in support and effort.

As we have pointed out in a comment of our own to the original story, the 2300 Club owns the name ‘Tour of Mull Rally’ and the strapline ‘the best rally in the world’ – and they have earned that branding the hard way over 40 years. It can’t be used without the Club’s permission and, if they give it, it will be a sign that their disaffection with the isaland is irreversible.

This would be a tragedy beyond the economic one.

Whatever else Mull does tonight, it has to decide to work as one and it has to reconstitute its relationship with a body of people who, over so many years have selflessly and annually made the island the gift of this unparalleled event.