But we all stood firm together and won through she said

But we all stood firm together and won through," she said.Ms Fyffe added that this was a significant victory for those pushing for land reform in Scotland. "We have shown what is possible and we could not have done it without fantastic public support. People from all walks of life have shown with their donations that they backed us from the start," she said."We now have security of tenure and can get down to controlling our own destinies. Together with the council and the wildlife trust we can now plan a sustainable future for this island and its ecology."This is a victory for land reform in Scotland and we are going to have biggest and best party ever here," she said.Michael Foxley, the chairman of the Highland Council's land and environment committee, said the deal was a victory for "people power" which set a precedent for local people to be involved in buying land and estates."Most importantly this will give the islanders security of tenure and the ability to attract loans and grants to upgrade their homes and businesses," he said.Colin Strang Steel, a partner in the Edinburgh office of Knight Frank - the firm of estate agents which has been dealing with the sale of the island - said he was delighted the battle for Eigg was finally over.Happy ending to a 700-year taleYesterday's victory for the islanders of Eigg, the "Garden of the Hebrides", marked the end of private ownership which has dominated the island for the past 700 years. Since 1308, owners have ranged from a former Times journalist to the former Olympic bobsleigh racer, Keith Schellenberg, who bought Eigg for pounds 270,000 in 1974.The latest, eight-month, sales round has been a tense time for the islanders and was their third attempt to buy.

In December last year their first bid of pounds 1.2m was rejected as too low. Two schemes, one for a singing school run by the opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, the other for a holiday complex, both came to nought and now the peace of the island is assured.. Elton John would be unwise to sing his seventies chart topper "Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting" at his birthday party tomorrow night Fifty is a difficult age for rock stars. And there's nothing the cynics like more than the incongruity of rebel rousing lyrics and paunches and balding pates.

A perception of absurdity persists in the notion of fifty-pluses singing rock n roll. It is a joke never made about jazz or blues artists where it is considered de rigeur for the creative juices to continue flowing after the age of fifty Indeed sometimes they do not even begin until the age of 50. A Sonny Rollins tour receives none of the vitriol or arthritis jokes that accompany the Rolling Stones or Bee Gees. In other musical genres longevity is a sign of virility. And sex is often a force in jazz and blues lyrics just as in rock music. Blues guitarist John Mayall has just released his latest album at 54. But this is child's play compared to John Lee Hooker whose latest entitled Don't Look Back will mark his 80th birthday this year. He has no intention of retiring, and is worshiped rather than mocked.Mat Snow, editor of the rock music magazine Mojo, says: "With blues and jazz wisdom and experience become part of the music One doesn't listen to rock for wisdom and experience.

Nevertheless, there is much more acceptance now of older rock stars. Forty was the difficult age psychologically for audiences, the media and the artists. Fifty isn't turning out to be such a problem."This summer the rock 'n' roll fiftysomethings are returning with a vengeance. Far from just doing the predictable greatest hits revival tours in moneyspinning stadia, they are headlining the open air festivals where the audiences are in their teens and twenties.David Bowie will top the bill at the Phoenix Festival at Stratford upon Avon. At the Fleadh, one of London's trendiest and most boisterous gatherings, Bob Dylan will top the bill, followed by his fellow fiftysomething Van Morrison.One of the Fleadh organisers, Caffy St Luce, said: "The music is timeless, and we've found no reaction among our young audiences at all against seeing these people.