Sunday 05/06/05

Pleasantly sunny day, although there was some cloud first thing. Went out for a walk at 3.40 pm. Head out east along Inaclete Road, to Seaforth Road. It's windy and not at all warm. Cross Sandwick Road and continue to Steinish. Go down to the shore to overlook the tidal mudflats of Tong; it's not possible to cross over there, as the water is too deep and the sand is treacherous. I throw stones for an old dog, who likes to retreive them. Walk down Steinish towards the gate leading into the airport. It's actually a bit hilarious, because the gate is 8 feet high, but the adjoining barbed-wire fencing is rickety and barely 3 feet high. I watch a small red plane take off from runway 07, followed by the service plane from the adjacent main runway at 4.30 pm. Go up the road towards Sandwick, then return to Newton along the cemetery and the shore. Pass through Viewfield Terrace, where the accident took place last night. Bike and bicycle had only just been removed, and a roadsweeper was cleaning the road. Position of everything had been marked out in yellow paint. The road is closed to traffic, and nobody was allowed to move their cars. It appears that the crash took place outside no 14, but the debris came to rest outside no 22, four doors down. The 17-year old bicyclist was flown to hospital in Glasgow, and is very seriously ill.