Tuesday 08/11/05

The wind has dropped by morning, although there is still a good breeze going. Nice bright morning but cloud is bubbling up. Twenty minute powercut at 11 a.m., when the roadworkers in Inaclete Road cut the cable. Mrs B's brother-in-law calls in with stories from the hill, which I cannot relate here. He knows Stulabhal better than I do. Ferry services were disrupted last night; the 5.15 out of Ullapool never sailed. Extensive powercuts in Northern Scotland. Two trimarans in trouble in the Atlantic, because they overturned. Another lost her mast. Helicopter and RAF Nimrod in attendance. A few wind gust readings from last night's storm:

Stornoway 68 kn (120 km/h)
Tiree 74 kn (135 km/h)
Malin Head 77 kn (138 km/h)
Lerwick 78 kn (140 km/h)
South Uist 86 kn (155 km/h)

At midday today, the wind is still sustained at 35 kn (force 8) with gusts up to 51 kn (force 10). Irrelevant information: finished another pen in 11 days. The ferry is an hour late leaving for Ullapool, with quite a few showerclouds around. About 6 in sight at 3.30 pm. We're having two guests in. One is an elderly gent who is very quickly out of breath. Mrs B spares him the ordeal of having to walk the 10 minutes into town for his meal and gives him a meal in his room. This chap, Geoff, lives in Benbecula but hails from the Home Counties of England. He is in Stornoway to attend hospital. The other is a jolly fellow from East Anglia, who is here on a house-hunting mission. A little while ago, the house by the pier at Garyvard, South Lochs, was advertised for sale. Jerry plays the bouzouki

which is what they call an 'octave mandolin'. Each string is actually double-strung, with the two strings tuned an octave apart. It sounds sharper than a guitar. We have a music session, comparing various types of music. Me on the keyboard and the Runrig and Salm CDs. Jerry plays a CD on which he and his partner perform. Very pleasant.