Android Question Java runtime error - label should be initialized.

I'm sure this is embarrassingly obvious, but...

I have a label Tick1 defined in a layout (as a BitmapDrawable and .visible = False).

I don't initialize it in my code.

The code compiles fine, but when it runs there's a run-time error saying that it should have been initialised.
(The code line is "Tick1.visible = True"):



I thought I didn't have to initialize it if it came from a layout?

Thanks in advance...

--N.