Pladda no more
Six weeks ago the lighthouse keepers in Scotland were replaced by automation. All the lights in Scotland are now controlled by computer and thus lighthouse keeper is now a job that has totally disappeared.
The four men who manned the Pladda lighthouse are among those who have gone and we are sad to see them go. They had a camaraderie; they found ways to usefully pass the time, they were able to entertain themselves and, on that little island, they had made a golf course. Now, nowhere in Scotland will there be makeshift golf courses, no vegetable plots or flower gardens and above all, no human to make sure that there is light for those on the high seas.