Lewis Lines 2005

Lewis Lines introduction

2005-12-31T23:59:00.002Z

Lewis Lines contains all the diary entries from the former AOL Northern Trip blog. This edition shows the entries for 2005. Northern Trip was discontinued on AOL in October 2008, and moved to this site on Blogger.

The diary is presented in reverse chronological order, but the first entry can be found here.

Saturday 31/12/05 - New Year's Eve

2005-12-31T23:58:00.000Z

A fairly late start after the equally late night before. After breakfast, which ended after midday, Kenny "There you go" MacLeod from Isles FM calls in to sell tickets for a raffle. They are expanding services to the other islands, as far as Barra, with coverage to Inverness and the west coast. Six transmitters are planned. They have so far this year raised £150k, but need £500k in total. Kenny sells us about £30 worth of tickets. Mrs B's son + girlfriend take me down to Grimshader for an hour or so. I already noticed at breakfast that steam was rising from the walls, and that is now condensing into fog patches. One drifts past Eitsal, another obscures Loch Leurbost - only to disappear at the blink of an eye. A stack of timber indicates the place where a house once stood. It blew apart in the hurricane last January. A nice garden path, the council bin, a phoneline, a toilet bowl and the barbecue - it's all still there, but no house. Return through Crosbost and Leurbost. A fog patch drifts across the road back to Stornoway. Everybody goes shopping on return to town. The sun sets on 2005 for the last time at 3.35 pm. Supper consists of sweet and sour chicken. After that, we're in eager anticipation of "the bells". We won nothing on the Isles FM raffle, or the National Lottery. At 11 pm, mainland Europe lets off its fireworks. One hour later, it's "charge your glasses" for the strikes of Big Ben at midnight.

2005 is history

Friday 30/12/05

2005-12-31T23:57:00.000Z

We awake to rain and wind. Two hundred motorists are stuck in snowdrifts on the A1079 York to Hull road, and the fireservice and local farmers are digging them out. Mrs B's son has a girlfriend, who is coming up on the plane from Glasgow, which is 3 hours late due to technical faults. The rain here stops at sunset, and a few clearances move in from the west. Temperature rises to about 8C. Although it's the 30th of December, there will be a New Year's Firework display at 8pm. The town and his wife are about, thronging Newton Street, as well as the South Beach carpark. The display sets off with a loud bang at 8.10, and lasts for about 10 minutes. An old boat is backlit by fire and smoke. Picture taking is difficult, wonder about the outcome. We walk up to An Lanntair for a drink; the pipeband is just finishing in the carpark opposite. It's quite busy in the bar, until the performance starts in the auditorium. We walk back to Newton in the rain, for a very late night ceilidh, which finishes at 2.30. Good practice for tomorrow, which is liable to overrun ever more - it'll be New Year's Eve. Found that someone pinched the feed from the webcam, but as it was to promote Stornoway, I didn't object. Countries that have been to have a look include: Belgium, Holland, UK, USA, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Romania, Turkey, Spain, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand...

Thursday 29/12/05

2005-12-30T16:37:00.001Z

It was an extremely cold night on the mainland. Aviemore reached down to minus 13C, and was only at -10C at 11 a.m.. The southcoast is also very frosty, Bournemouth was at -6C. Up here in Stornoway, it stays well above freezing, because of the strong winds. The webcam was offline last night because the server had broken down. Cloud gradually increases through the morning. The mainland mountains, visible at sunrise, slowly fade into the mist. The wind increases, topping force 7 by nightfall. Tiree has the worst of the winds, gusting there at 51 knots, force 10. Go out at 2.30 for a drive around Point. We go up the sideroads at Garrabost and Sulisiadar, which give nice views of Broadbay and the villages from Tong to Tolsta. Tolsta sits on the hills above Gress Bay. We head north to Portnaguran and its tiny harbour, beyond that to the road's end. We turn back to Port Mholair (Portvoller) and go to Tiumpan Head Lighthouse. It blows pretty hard out there, and it's perishingly cold. The lighthouse is on. The mountains on the mainland can be seen clearly, about 30 miles to the east. A man stands outside the old keeper's cottage, which is currently in use as a kennels cum cattery. He was due to pick up some dogs, but there is nobody about. We head down to Sheshader, to see the little house that Jerry had his eye on, back in November. Once we do find our way into the next village, Payble, the light begins to fail. Can just about snap a pic of the hill between Upper and Lower Payble. We go right through to the end of Eagleton, but then return to the A866. I go to the library to scan the pictures, which I mentioned in an earlier post. I have the cooker tonight, preparing carrots, potatoes, onions, mince meat balls. Goes down well, in spite of the very late hour of 9 pm. We were delayed watching a programme about Para Handy, Master Mariner, who was created 100 years ago by Neil Munro / Hugh Foulis. Snow falls between 9 and 10, which soon turns to rain.

Lewis

2005-12-30T00:37:00.000Z

I was amazed at the colours at sunset these past days. And at sunrise as well. Normally, I expect light to start to fail 25 minutes after sunset, but at this latitude this is extended to 40 minutes. I am not a native of the islands, but one of the reasons I have come here is the natural beauty. Whether it is in the images shown above, at a time of good weather - or in bad weather, as I showed in a much earlier posting about the November 11th hurricane.
Being caught up in a thunder, hail, snow, sleet (and kitchensink) shower back in January, whilst going down the Lochs Road at Leurbost, with the bus driver being forced to reduce speed to a crawl. No snow or ice at the next village, Keose.
The many rainbows in the spring.
The joy at seeing the first green shoots, in April.
Hearing the first bleating of lambs in a pasture at Breascleit late in March. Walking the island in the bitter winds of February, and seeing the sad remains of the sheep that did not make it through the winter. Or the sheep that was knocked down at the Marybank cattlegrid in April, and was slowly decomposing in peace in the ditch that it was dumped in over a period of 6 months.
Seeing the days lengthen to an incredible extent, sunset at 22.30, with the light lingering to the nadir of the night at 01.30, then returning fully at 03.30. But also shortening of the days, with the present daylight hours of 09.15 to 15.35.
The howling of the gales, 4 in one week in November. Clattering of hail and thumping of the wind against the window at night - waking up in the middle of the night because there is no noise.
Watching the breathtaking coastal scenery at Filiscleitir, or the stunning mountain scenery from Rapaire, Teileasbhal, Mullach an Langa. Or beautiful Glen Langadale, where I'm forever fording that river under frown of Stulabhal. The little mouse on the slopes of that mountain, the one that allowed me to stroke it. The yellow grasses on the moors of South Lochs, finding your way in amongst a myriad of lochs, streams and bogs. Loch nan Eilean, south of Garyvard.

Place seems to have gotten under my skin.

Wednesday 28/12/05

2005-12-29T11:59:00.000Z

Another bright and sunny morning, but windy. Can see Skye and Applecross at sunrise. Go for a bit of shopping late in the morning, but there is a very keen wind blowing. Metcheck is back to reporting weather, rather than being a pseudo chatroom. Aviemore reports -7C at 10 a.m.. After lunch I accompany mrs B's son to Gress cemetery, where he visits his auntie's grave. She passed away in August '04. Afterwards, we go down the road to Back, where we pay a visit to his niece and her husband and children. We spend a convivial few hours in chat. At 5.30, we return to SY to pick up my latest pictures. I find I've got a problem with the low winter light in many of them, but there are some spectacular ones about. I'll post them on here in the next day or so. Supper consists of an excellent roast dinner.

Tuesday 27/12/05

2005-12-29T11:57:00.001Z

Nice sunny morning, but with a little more cloud than yesterday. There is also more wind, which accentuates the low temperatures. 6 C is not bad, particularly in comparison to the -5 at Aviemore and the snow that blankets eastern England. Metcheck is awash with with people wanting to know to the nearest minute when their snow is going to start. And fill 75 posts with irrelevant chitchat. I therefore post a request to please stick to reporting, and discussion to be moved to the Forum. At 1.30pm, we go out in the car to Ness. Fortunately, nothing happens along the way, and we duly arrive in the area at 2.20. Drive to Port of Ness, then through Five Penny to Eoropie. Mrs B wants to have a look at the house of a friend, who used to live there. Then we walk to the beach. People are fishing. There is a magnificent swell, with rollers of about 7 ft high. It's cold though, the thin wind making it less pleasant. Next port of call is Port Skigersta, where I have not been before. As we are there, the sun sets in a blaze of orange. We head back to Stornoway along the Cross Skigersta Road. Speeddevils fly past us on the A857, people just don't learn, do they. In the supermarket, lots of stuff is marked down. Cranberries for 12p, instead of the usual £1.99. No papers left. A few strange stories from the general news. A group of youths went to the house of another youngster, to have a word. When his dad says he wasn't there, they set about trashing the family car. More humourously, a man had falled asleep at the Rangers Supporters Club, which contains a bar. He was not noticed by barstaff as they locked up, but he awoke at 5.25 a.m. He rang police to ask them to help out in his predicament, saying he was at the Sea Angling Club. The police got the manager of that place out of his bed, but nobody was found. The man was still locked inside the Rangers Club rang police again, sheepishly admitting that he was there, not at the SAC.

Monday 26/12/05 - Boxing Day

2005-12-27T16:57:00.001Z

Brilliantly sunny morning, with the sun rising in a blaze of orange at 9.15. The mainland hills and Skye are visible over Arnish. Breakfast taken late, at around 10.30. We decide to head out to Ness, and we duly head down the A857 at 12.30. We're packed up with hot water, teabags, Lucozade and pastries. There is some traffic on the Barvas road, but as we near the village, the way ahead is blocked. Fire engines and an ambulance are parked on both carriageways. A car is sitting in the moorland beside the road, and after a while, firemen drape a tarpaulin over it. This indicates a fatality. (The BBC later reports on this accident - click here). The car is turned back, and we head for Carloway via the Pentland Road. A shortcut is taken from Laxdale to Marybank. Once there, the level of traffic is up on normal. Word will have gone round about the blocked road. Fantastic views in between drivers who don't pay attention to traffic. One of them fails to pull into a passing place, which forces us to back up a long distance. Great views over to the hills of Harris and Uig. At Carloway, we turn right to go to Dalmore beach. A slightly chilly snack on a picnic bench. Some hardy souls are out windsurfing. When they leave the water, they say they're actually sweating. The door to the gents' toilet cannot be locked. I hold the door whilst completing business, but when another gent goes in, the inevitable happens. A lady pulls up with a bucket and cleaning things, and opens the door. Oh oh. We drive nextdoors to Dalbeg to enjoy the beach and the surf, which spectacularly crashes in. The sun sets in a blaze of colour, which is even better on the way back to Carloway. Someone smashed into the busshelter at Dalbeg, which is a concrete edifice, and knocked one of the four wings off. We call into Callanish at 3.50 pm to watch the dusk creeping in over the ancient monument. The visitor centre is closed. In the winter, it only opens on Wednesdays through to Saturdays. At the stones, someone is pontificating to a group of Russian visitors. We return to Stornoway in the gathering gloom. A few fools decide to drive right on our tail, keeping no distance worthy of the mention. Signs at Garynahine and Leurbost advise drivers that the Barvas Moor road is closed. Boxing Day dinner consists of pasta, boscaiola, olives, bread, sundried tomatoes, peppers and much more. Very filling. Had fizzy red win alongside. Manage to draw out supper until 11pm, with tales of people of our acquaintance. Close the evening with coffee and chocolate licqueurs. Bed at 1.30 a.m.. Again.

Sunday 25/12/05 - Christmas Day

2005-12-27T16:46:00.001Z

Breakfast and presents at 11 o'clock, accompanied by a mixture of Spanish champagne and orange juice. I receive a jumper, socks and a diary. By 1.30 pm, we head out to Arnish to walk to the lighthouse. Today is overcast but perfectly windless, temperature about 7C. The boats shimmer in their own reflections. Over at Arnish, we walk along a rough track, which skirts the perimeter fence of the Fabrication Yard. There are huge pipes lying about, segments for windturbines. Should the Lewis Windfarm ever be built, then the turbines are to be built here. At the moment, they are building towers for a windfarm off the Caithness coast. When the Arnish Yard was built in 1975, an existing cottage was torched, and the hill it stood on bulldozed out of existence. You can still see where the hill used to be. There was also once a huge slipway, used to launch an oil platform, but that was landscaped out. Some Lewis ponies roam the area, they are small and quite friendly. On arrival at the lighthouse, you need to manoeuver around the keeper's cottage, through a mire of horse dung and mud. A small memorial stands on the hillside, a little distance to the south. It was erected in memory of a fisherman who drowned there on December 19th, last year. It would appear that after leaving port, the crew of his boat were all down below, with the vessel going on autopilot. This went wrong, and the boat went on the rocks. Two crewmen escaped, the skipper drowned. The memorial had a bunch of flowers sitting next to it, left from the first anniversary commemoration. After returning from Arnish, we call in to mrs B's sister's house in the town for a flying visit. Visibility quite reasonable today, saw a hazy outline of Skye and the mainland. Eilean Mhuire, the easternmost of the Shiants, could just be discerned off Kebock Head. Dinner is magnificent, with turkey breast, cranberry sauce, potatoes, vegetables and wine. Lit up by candles, it fills us up very well. The sweet is an icecream pavlova. At 9.30, we head down the road to one of mrs B's other sons for a Christmas ceilidh. We end up watching familie films from the 1960s, which show quite a few people who are no longer alive, and it all gets a little emotional.

Saturday 24/12/05

2005-12-25T19:14:00.001Z

Start the day by going into Somerfields to buy the necessary for tonight's meal. It's total mayhem in that store, everybody making last-minute purchases. The weather today is not very warm but nice and sunny. A nice bunch of flowers, carnations and amaryllii, is delivered for me at midday. After lunch, prawn cocktail, we head by car to Latta's Mill at Willowglen. The wheel is turning, which means that the waterlevel in the milllake is about 25 cm / 10 inches down on normal. The mill is generating power, for the lights in the visitor centre. After dark, it will provide electricity for the lights all the way to Cuddy Point. We walk out along the millrace, and now the bridge across the burn is in place. Near the mill, the burn is 10 metres lower. After this, we call into the Coop for some additional shopping. I provide supper, consisting of leaks, spuds and meatballs. Sweet is cranberry sauce, freshly made out of cranberries, served with custard. As it's Christmas Eve, the thought turns to a church service. Enquiries reveal that there are two services on - one at St Columba's, in Lewis Street, one at the Town Hall. I decide on the first, and at 11 pm I set out with mrs B and her daughter-in-law. She leaves the family dog behind, a big black goofy labrador. Shortly after arriving at church, the service commences with a few carols. It's the usual culprits, which also applies to the readings from the Scriptures: Gospel according to St Luke, chapter 2. One lady sings a very creditable rendition of Ave Maria. As we sing another carol, the lights are switched off one by one, until we end up finishing the carol in darkness. The minister invites everybody to wish each other Happy Christmas, once the lights are back on. That applies not just to those sitting beside you, but also those behind and in front. Kisses and handshakes flying around. After the last carol, we file out which takes a bit of time because some of the ladies want to kiss the minister. We return to Newton on foot. At the corner of Island Road and Ferry Road, a car with boyracers comes screaming round the corner, barely missing a wall in the process. The dog is happy to be reunited with its owner, whose husband turns up a little later with the family cat in tow. This animal joins the dog on walks, all the way to Goat Island.

Friday 23/12/05

2005-12-25T19:09:00.000Z

Nice sunny morning with the odd shower passing in the distance. Isles FM has Joe the Fish on until 10 o'clock, after which they go on to automatic. Have all sorts of problems with internet which I won't bore you with. Nip into Somerfields to get the remainder of the week's papers. We take a drive out to Gress at 2.30 to look round that village. The district is overlooked by Beinn Barabhais, which I climbed in August. As the sun sinks over the village of Back, the sun sets the houses off against the white sky. After a drive through Gress, we cross the bridge and explore Back Lighthill, where all sorts of trails lead off into the moorland. We return to Stornoway after sunset at 4pm. Mrs B makes our supper tonight. The driver was her 2nd son.

Thursday 22/12/05

2005-12-23T10:40:00.000Z

Very dark morning, pouring with rain and strong winds. Lighthouse is on all day, visibility very poor. Help mrs B put up the Christmas lights in the porch. They are stars in the shape of ice crystals, i.e. they get very easily entangled. Two bad road accidents in the area, one on Tiree and the other on the A82 Ft William to Inverness road claim two lives. The Gazette is full of reports on the crisis in the NHS Western Isles, with the Chief Executive threatening apres moi le deluge, in other words, if I have to go, NHS WI will go down with me. Some idiot sent a letter in to the Gazette, stating that the Third Reich was a nest of pussycats in comparison to Western Isles Council. This was ostensibly with reference to the windfarm issue. I disagree with the Comhairle on that (and many other issues), but that comparison is not called for. The rain stops during the evening.

Wednesday 21/12/05 - Winter Solstice

2005-12-22T12:18:00.000Z

I am starting with this lovely image of the Skye Bridge, because its area features in the grounding of MV Blackfriars at Kyle of Lochalsh, a mile east of the bridge. More of that in a second. Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Sunrise at 9.15, sunset at 15.35. It's a nice sunny day, but colder than the 10C it was yesterday. At 9 a.m., SYY reports 6C. Rain- and hailshowers come clattering by at regular intervals, but they don't deter the birds from bathing in the resulting puddles. Starlings, finches, sparrows and thrushes all continue to spatter in the middle of all the hailstones. Mrs B goes out at 10.45 for a nativitiy play in the High Church. It is reported that the oil tanker MV Blackfriars ran aground at Kyle of Lochalsh at 9.20 pm last night. She was running in ballast, heading for Pembroke, South Wales. Conditions were said to be windy, southwesterly wind force 6 to 7.. This morning, the tanker manages to refloat under her own power at high tide, at 10 a.m.. She is presently tied up at Kyle for an inspection. The vessel, which measures 1,570 tons, is not thought to have spilt any of her 13 tons of fuel oil. Blackfriars hit rocks before, in 1999, in Wales. The map below shows the area around Kyle where the tanker went aground. I hope the seals on Eileanan Dubha didn't get too bad a fright. Last time I was there, in October 2004, the place was heaving with seals.

Found an image of the stranded tanker. And there is this ludicrous story of the cats' home in Dundee that was invaded by mice. Have a laugh on the BBC site, which includes a videoclip. The mice of course never went into the cats' cages. Went into town at 2pm, and bought an interesting book from 1960 about William Lever, later Lord Leverhulme, the owner of Lewis and Harris between 1918 and 1925. Also cashed in the Coop dividend voucher, all of £2. Last night, guests had been expected to arrive, but they went to the wrong B&B. They were up from Benbecula to visit relatives, but the list of B&Bs they had received from the hospital gave the wrong address with Mrs B's phonenumber. So they turned up at another B&B, which of course wasn't expecting them. To add insult to injury, although the other place did take them in, they were searched twice by police, because a mobile phone had been reported missing at that establishment, from the very room that family were in. When I walked back from town, I noticed a long line of vehicles waiting to board the ferry. This was at 2.45, and I thought they'd either missed the ferry or the boat was late. It was late, as it came round Holm Point just as I walked up Newton Street. One of the lorries contained a reindeer troup from Rossshire, who had taken part in a Xmas party at the Newton and Sandwick Community Centre last night. Showers continue on and off all afternoon. Have a nice and lazy evening.

Tuesday 20/12/05

2005-12-21T10:57:00.000Z

Bit of a wet morning to start with, but this clears up by sunrise. Muirneag was in on time this morning, as the lorries were rolling past at 8.45. There is a big row about same-sex marriages. Registrars in the Western Isles are not prepared to conduct the ceremonies - but they will register the marriages, which is a legal obligation. Gay rights movement up in arms, threatening with the European Court etc. As I said, there is no legal obligation for the registrars to conduct a ceremony. Very nasty comments on the VisitHebrides bulletin board. I feel that if two people want to get married, that's fine, even if they're of the same sex. Conversely, if the registrar has got misgivings about conducting a ceremony for people of the same gender, that should be respected. Talk of bigotry &c does not help and is inflammatory. Western Isles Council reports receiving abusive emails, phonecalls etcetera. Enough of that.

Hear a different slant on a piece of island history. Lord Leverhulme abandoned his plans for industries in Lewis in the 1920s because of opposition from local crofters. They were against BECAUSE the traders in Stornoway were opposed. Leverhulme represented a multinational company, which they perceived as a threat against their vested interests. The merchants told the crofters, who were dependant on them, that Leverhulme was going to oust them from their land. A very cunning approach, because only 35 years before there had been bitter struggles in the island and beyond (more specifically the Battle of the Braes, in Skye in 1885; the mass trespass in Eishken in 1887 and the uprising at Aignish in 1888) to gain more rights for crofting tenants. I have recorded this also in an entry on my Arnish Lighthouse blog. Mrs B goes out for dinner which is a roaring success as far as company is concerned and a roaring disaster foodwise. I had my usual microwaveable dish. The weather deteriorates through the evening, with the wind getting up to gale force and the rain lashing down. A lady on the VisitHebrides bulletin board says she'll be in Lewis for a week in January. Plenty to do for adults, but what is there for kids aged 2 and 4. Precious little, but I advise her that Eoropie beach is very nice, and it has a play area nearby. Indoors, there is the pool and play area at the Sports Centre.

Monday 19/12/05

2005-12-20T10:31:00.000Z

Bright morning following overnight rain, albeit cloudy. I told one person who was interested in the webcam to check it out after 9.10 GMT, and they're duly there, admiring the sunrise and the arrival of MV Muirneag into port. Rainshowers follow later in the afternoon. Go into town at 1 o'clock, when it's heaving with schoolkids. Christmas cards have virtually sold out, except for some horrible ones. Receive some feedback on my Geograph & History series on the BBC Blog. The trucker is repairing his vehicle, which gives rise to some strange images on his webcam. My webcam attracted several hundred viewers over the weekend, but the interest seems to be waning now that everybody is back at work. A bad powerdip switches off the computer at around midnight.

Sunday 18/12/05

2005-12-19T10:40:00.000Z

Today dawned windy and very wet. It keeps raining steadily until about 2pm. The wind is also very strong, gusting up to 45 knots (force 9) by 1pm. Have a lazy start to the day, breakfast at 9.30. Mrs B's granddaughter calls in to borrow a scarf for use in a nativity play in church. By 2pm, the rain moves away east, and the sun comes out. Incredible, bearing in mind the downpour we had earlier on. I'm following a US truck driver who has a webcam in his cab. One thing that strikes me about the landscape I see: it's flat and boring. He has to stop late in the morning (his time) because black ice turns the Interstate 40 in New Mexico into a skating rink. Temperature -4C there, +9 here. It's a very quiet day. My dinner is curly kale with spuds and a steak. Mrs B is having beans with a pork steak. She writes Christmas cards. I get complaints that the webcam doesn't show anything at night. Well, what DO you expect? Find one person who accesses my website through a Google search. This is a Swedish user, who is looking for something else, but "red light webcam" produces my cam in 2nd place. Because I describe how you can see the blinking red light of the beacon (have a look after 1600 GMT). I'm sure he wanted something else ...

Saturday 17/12/05

2005-12-18T12:48:00.000Z

Bright but cold morning, with a thin layer of snow on the walls. The webcam was not transmitting overnight, due to a software problem. A couple of snowshowers pass by which show up very nicely. The young lady from yesterday has now been joined by her boyfriend. They intend to stay in the hostel on Berneray (North Uist). They leave at 10.30. Muirneag comes in very late, at 10.50. Discover a list of ships that have been held in detention at various UK ports last months. Reasons were technical deficiencies (see previous entry). The showers cease around lunchtime. The sun sets in a blaze of colours at 3.34. We're nearly at the nadir of the year, as sunset is now at 9.10 a.m.. Go to Somerfields, which is awash with Christmas shoppers. Unfortunately, the amount of booze going out is as great as ever. Have a hoot of a time reading the very tongue-in-cheek entries on the Lewis Islandblog. More serious reactions to my account of the problems in NHS Western Isles. Spend the evening in amicable chat with mrs B.

Ships in detention

2005-12-17T10:57:00.000Z

The British Maritime and Coastguard Agency MCA publishes a monthly list of ships that were detained following inspections in UK ports. You get some horror stories there. November's list of 10 detentions is as below. For the full report, click on this link

FOREIGN MERCHANT SHIPS UNDER DETENTION IN UK PORTS

SHIPS DETAINED IN NOVEMBER 2005

Date & Place of detention: 03/11/2005, Falmouth
Vessel Name: GALINA (General Cargo) 257 GT
IMO No: 7630385
Flag: Georgia
Company: A. M. Yagur
Classification Society: INCLAMAR
Summary: Still under detention at the end of November. 7 recorded deficiencies (4 detainable). Detained for auxiliary engines and associated systems being in variously unsafe, defective and unreliable; other machinery and electrical devices and systems being similarly unreliable or unsafe; health, hygene and sanitary conditions a risk to crew; loose floor plates and other accident hazards on board.

Date & Place of detention: 10/11/05, Newport
Vessel Name: AGIOS NECTARIOS (Bulk Carrier) 14331 GT
IMO No: 8109929
Flag: Panama
Company: Pitousa Shipping
Classification Society: Germanischer Lloyd - GL
Summary: Detained for 5 days in total. 32 recorded deficiencies (6 detainable). Detained for substandard port & starboard lifeboat launching appliances, deficient lifejackets, substandard fire drill and three major ISM non-conformities.

Date & Place of detention: 14/11/05, Newport
Vessel Name: NEW WAVE (Bulk Carrier) 23207 GT
IMO No: 8307222
Flag: Panama
Company: Transmar Shipping Co.
Classification Society: American Bueau of Shipping - ABS
Summary: Detained for 4 days in total. 10 recorded deficiencies (1 detainable). Detained for ISM non-compliance (fire drill and abandon ship drill).

Date & Place of detention: 17/11/05, Grimsby
Vessel Name: VIDYAEVO (General Cargo) 671 GT
IMO No: 7427128
Flag: Russia
Company: Cfzarya
Classification Society: Russian Maritime Register of Shipping - RMRS
Summary: Detained for 2 days in total. 1 recorded deficiency (detainable). Detained for inoperative satellite EPIRB

Date & Place of detention: 22/11/05, Newport
Vessel Name: MV JUMBO (Other Cargo) 1998 GT
IMO No: 8518297
Flag: Bahamas
Company: Wilson Ship Management
Classification Society: Lloyds Register - LR
Summary: Detained for 4 days in total. 23 recorded deficiencies (7 detainable). Detained for emergency preparedness, resource & personnel, master & responsible authority and safety & environmental policy not being in accordance with the Safety Management System, fire drill showing lack of control, as well as the VHF and MF/HF radio installations not being as required.

Date & Place of detention: 30/11/2005 – Portsmouth
Vessel Name: BUZZARD BAY (Refrigerated Cargo) 10381 GT

IMO No: 9016662
Flag: Netherlands Antilles
Company: Seatrade Groningen BV
Classification Society: American Bueau of Shipping - ABS
Summary: Released on 01/12/2005. 25 recorded deficiencies, 1 detainable. Detained for ISM related deficiencies (maintenance of the ship and equipment).

DETENTIONS CARRIED OVER FROM PREVIOUS MONTHS

Date & Place of detention: 31/10/2005 - Ipswich
Vessel Name: GRENLAND (General Cargo) 1900 GT
IMO No: 7015286
Flag: Dominica
Company: SA Shipping Ltd. Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Classification Society: Polski Rejestr Statkow
Summary: Released on 03/11/05. 10 Recorded deficiencies (2 detainable). Reserve source of energy for GMDSS radio equipment deficient. Some charts not corrected and up to date.

Date & Place of detention: 08/08/2003 – Tyne
Vessel Name: GLORIA (General Cargo) 657 GT
IMO No: 6523107
Flag: Estonia
Company: Timant Ltd, Tallinn, Estonia
Classification Society: None
Summary: Still under detention at the end of October. 57 deficiencies recorded prior to inspection being suspended. Vessel unsafe due to condition of ship’s hull structure, deck transverse beams holed with corrosion, numerous side frames distorted due to operational damage, vessel fails to meet the stability requirements for a vessel loading bulk grain, evidence of insect infestation in cargo hold.

Date & Place of detention: 26/10/05, Aberdeen
Vessel Name: ROSITA (General Cargo) 2316 GT
IMO No: 7605873
Flag: Antigua & Barbuda
Company: Lubeca Marine GMBH
Classification Society: Germanischer Lloyd - GL
Summary: Detained for 9 days in total, released on 03/11/05. 9 recorded deficiencies (4 detainable). Detained for poorly maintained cargo lashing equipment (not as required in securing manual), no record of testing of lashing or lifting equipment, document of compliance for dangerous goods not available, fire doors tied open.

Date & Place of detention: 05/09/2000 – Lowestoft
Vessel Name: OLIVER FELIX (Tug) 144 GT
IMO No: 5281128
Flag: Honduras
Company: General Maritime Ltd, London
Classification Society: International Naval Surveys Bureau - INSB
Summary: Allowed to sail to Southampton for scrapping and re-detained on arrival, (27/02/03). 50 recorded deficiencies. Magnetic Compass deviation card missing, daylight signals missing, excess oil in engine room constituting a fire hazard, ship’s certificates expired. Ship still under detention but now sold on and undergoing refurbishment.

Friday 16/12/05

2005-12-17T10:53:00.000Z

A different start to the day - bright and sunny. It's bitterly cold, only 2C. Shetland and the east coast of Scotland are having heavy snowshowers. We get some flurries at 10.15. We have a guest in, a young lady who is in for business. She visited the McKenzie Harris Tweed Mill at Oliver's Brae yesterday, and will be joined by her boyfriend tonight. I filled her in on a few pieces of island history. Missed the brightest and highest full moon in 18 years last night because it was cloudy. Today it's very cold outside with a bitter wind. The odd sleet shower comes by. Continue to have a look at the webcam, which attracts a lot of interest. Several hundred people come to have a look, even after nightfall. You only see the streetlights and the lights in the Coastguard Station then. Get in touch with some acquaintances on Eigg, whom I update on state of affairs my end. Close the evening with a dram with mrs B.

Thursday 15/12/05

2005-12-16T16:35:00.000Z

Notice that a lot of people come to see my webcam, and therefore an increase in traffic to my webpages on AOL Hometown as well. Drizzle commences at lunchtime, and visibility gets very poor. It rains very heavily at 4 pm, but the rain subsides later that evening. The weekly papers demonstrate the concerns raised as a result of the fire in Hertfordshire. There are investigations afoot to relocate the depot to Arnish, not just the oiltanks at James Street, but also the gasholder near Seaforth Road, which apparently stymies further development in that area. The rows about the Western Isles Health Board continue apace in the columns of the Gazette and the Free Press. This weeks ding-dong concerns the retirement of one of psychiatrists as of December 6th. No replacement has been found for him as yet, although he announced his intended retirement and associated resignation as early as July. The Board defends its lack of action by stating that an intention to retire does not constitute a formal letter of resignation. Eh? The bullying and harassment claims continue as well, with one of the medical directors threatening that further such complaints could lead to the abolition of NHS Western Isles. If that isn't bullying, then I don't know what is. By midnight, I find that 25 people have visited my webpages, most of it a spin-off of the webcam.

Webcam

2005-12-15T23:36:00.001Z

The URL for my webcam is http://adb41.camstreams.com. I have a dedicated webpage for it, http://hometown.aol.co.uk/pharmolo/webcam.html which explains what can be seen. Our ferry can be seen at around 7.15, 13.15 and 13.45 and 20.00; all times GMT. Viewers in the USA will have to subtract 5 to 8 hours, depending on their timezone. Sorry; it's not terribly exciting.

Note (2008): The webcam is no longer operational

Wednesday 14/12/05

2005-12-15T18:34:00.000Z

After another dark start (what do you expect, it's mid December), I head into town for a few items of shopping. First of all, I go to Delansa for a webcam. It's a minute thing, 3 x 1 x 1 cm, with a clip for attaching to anything. Only £13. I have to go back for an extension cable, but it works fine. It's a grey and overcast day, but dry and quite mild. Work my way round Somerfields, also for a few items for mrs B. I spend the afternoon looking for a website to take the stream from the webcam and sorting out a few initial gremlins. Post on blogs about the oil depot at the corner of James Street and Shell Street (Island Blog and the Visit Hebrides discussion board). This in relation to the incident in Hertfordshire. Keep the webcam running through the hours of darkness. It shows the CG station, the beacon and Arnish Lighthouse. Not to mention the flow of traffic along the road. Discover other people's webcams, which gives a strange sensation. You're looking into people's rooms, see places where you never expect to go. In the UK, Germany, Mexico (ahem) and USA.

Tuesday 13/12/05

2005-12-15T14:41:00.000Z

Another dark and dreich morning, with drizzle sweeping across the town. Reports of crass lapses in safety in the oil depot on fire in Hemel Hampstead. Devastating images of the destruction in the adjacent industrial estate. One building was only taken into use 2 months ago. Three of the 20 tanks that were originally on fire remain ablaze, which are the toughest ones to tackle. The Coastguard tug and the SFPA boat come into port at 9 a.m.. The afternoon stays misty. Ferry leaves on time at 1.45. Calmac publishes the result of the inquiry into the voyage of MV Muirneag on 11 November, which took 16 hours, caused a lot of damage and gave the passengers the scare of their lives. Calmac says there is no case to answer. It was a commendation for the professionalism of master and crew that the boat managed to reach Stornoway in the first place. There was another meeting about the NHS reforms this evening, but it was a rerun of December 1st. Did not attend. Mrs B provides dinner tonight, pork chops with tatatouille and rice. At 5pm, the Border Heather comes in, so that's all the regular boats in and out today. Received the book I ordered, containing old pictures from the Isle of Eigg.

Monday 12/12/05

2005-12-15T14:36:00.000Z

The usual rundown of misdeeds greets us on Isles FM at the start of thee day. Reasonable weather today, albeit with a very dark start. Sunrise is not until well after 9, so no surprises there. Continuing coverage of the fire in Hertfordshire, where they are congregating all the necessary stuff for putting out those fires. They need to spray 32,000 litres (8,000 gallons) of water a minute, with foam added in. Mention is made of the incident with Spanish John II off the isle of Rum, which is resulting in an official inquiry. Another regular guest turns up at 5pm, but it'll be his last visit for the year. Mrs B finally locates the lights for the Christmas tree. 120 of them are wrapped around the tree.

Sunday 11/12/05

2005-12-15T14:34:00.000Z

Very dreich conditions this morning, with drizzle obscuring the Arnish hills. It's barely light at 10 a.m.. There is news of a very serious explosion at an oil depot in Hertfordshire. The sound of it could be heard 200 miles away in Holland and France. The plume of smoke stretches for miles across southern England. The explosion caused a lot of damage in the surrounding area. Stornoway on Sunday is as quiet as ever, with only the birds making noises. Two workmen are staying over the weekend, before heading into Uist on Monday. One of them originates from Barra. They put in floor insulation. Late at night I go out to watch the stars. At the moment 3 major planets are visible: Venus at dusk, Mars high in the early evening sky (constellation Aries) and Saturn later in the evening in Cancer.

Saturday 10/12/05

2005-12-12T12:07:00.000Z

Fairly bright and blustery day. Wind from the west, force 6 with the odd shower. Pretty mild. Fill up one of the birdfeeders, which had been emptied after it overturned under the weight of a starling. At one time, 8 sparrows, 8 starlings, a robin and a thrush are scurrying on and under the feeders. Secure the feeder to the tree with some garden twine, to prevent it tipping over again - unsuccessfully. Watch crows over the seawall, picking up a shell and dropping it down from a height. They eat the contents once the shell cracks. Mailvan goes round to the Coastguard station and Goat Island at 10.45. Weather deteriorates to drizzle as the afternoon progresses, but nothing too heavy. Heard that the west and north of the island were cut off for several hours following two accidents. The first involved a lorry going off the road on the A857 Stornoway to Barvas road. This closed the road, which meant that people had to drive an additional 40 miles through Callanish to reach Barvas. When another accident occurred, now at Carloway (6 miles north of Callanish), the north and west of Lewis were cut off completely. Dinner consists of microwave food, which I eat in the company of mrs B and her granddaughter.

Overzealous navy?

2005-12-10T22:37:00.000Z

I've taken the liberty of copying this news story from "Westword", the community newspaper for Mallaig and the Small Isles as it so completely absurd and ridiculous.

Spanish John in Battleship Drama
A local cargo vessel, the 18 metre landing craft Spanish John II was caught up in a frightening incident with a large battleship in the Minch recently. "I got the fright of my life" said the Spanish John skipper Greig Milligan. "I had no warning of a naval exercise taking place but when the shells were fired, just for a second or two the thought went through my head I hope they aren't firing at me. It was a bit scary".
Friday 28th October had started off quietly enough and although not the best of days weatherwise Greig decided to head for Canna. On board the Spanish John was 40 tonnes of rat poison for the New Zealand team of rodent experts who are ridding the island of rat infestation.
Although hearing some extra activity on the ships VHF Radio Greig left Mallaig Harbour and set course for Canna. Two hours out from Mallaig the silence in the wheelhouse of the Spanish John was broken by an American voice coming over the VHF and that's when Greig noticed the huge battleship in the distance. "Vessel approaching battleship, crossing my starboard side, please pull away now - you are entering my safety zone" was the message which was repeated and repeated with the R.O.'s voice getting more and more high pitched. Greig wasn't too bothered at this point as he was on the port side of the navy ship, none the less he altered course slightly just in case.
The Radio messages kept coming and as Greig could not see any other vessel in the vicinity he began to wonder if it was the Spanish John that the warship was trying to warn off. "Power vessel with black hull and white superstructure approaching on starboard side, please pull away now". This was repeated a further six times with increasing urgency.
Greig was beginning to get very concerned and tried unsuccessfully to contact the warship. The Spanish John has a dark blue hull and the drums of poison on board could explain the white superstructure. Again Greig altered course although still remaining on the port side of the warship.
"Vessel on starboard side, vessel on starboard side you are entering my safety zone - I'll have to defend myself". The Radio Operators tone became more and more agitated, Greig got more and more concerned. Then it came "I'll have to defend myself - I'm opening fire" "I'll have to defend myself - I'm opening fire". Then they came. "Four shells were fired. Two white, two red " said Greig. I did get a fright and being caught up in the increasing tension of the incident heightened the emotions. My brain was in overdrive I just wondered what the hell was going on".
That was the end of the incident, no more histrionics on the VHF by the battleship Radio Operator, no more contact with any other vessel and as the rats on Canna will have found out to their cost the Spanish John safely delivered its load to Canna!

Update (10/12/05)
Chance had it that an update on the story of the American warship firing on an innocent cargoboat was broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland early today. An official inquiry is to be held, as the American frigate involved was NOT authorised to use live rounds. It would appear that the skipper of Spanish John II reported the incident to the Coastguard, which launched the inquiry. It's an international incident, which could have some repercussions. I'll keep updating.

Friday 09/12/05

2005-12-10T16:06:00.000Z

Dark morning, lights had to be on until 10 o'clock. It's cloudy with a steady drizzle on a fair old breeze. Quite mild, temperature is reported at 11C. Muirneag is nice and late (9 a.m.). Mrs B's sister has had to go into hospital, which is bad news. Her family have not had very good experiences there. Explore the phenomenon of Google Earth, which is fascinating. Go out for a bit of shopping at 3 pm, by which time darkness is falling. Mrs B serves a pasta-bake, very good. Two of her grandchildren are in for the evening, so we play a game of roulette. Sky Television (the satellite TV provider) has a channel which shows 24/7 roulette. People are given 3 minutes to ring in with their bets, which amount to £1,100. Winnings are announced immediately afterwards, and mount up to just over £1,100.

Thursday 08/12/05

2005-12-10T16:03:00.000Z

Awoke 20 minutes late for breakfast this morning. It's a nice morning after overnight rain. The birds are still at the feeder. The weekly papers are full of last week's meetings about NHS Western Isles. They stated that the Health Board got a clobbering from public and staff. Another meeting is to be organised on Tuesday 13 December, to give everyone the chance to hear the presentation. BBC Island Blogging is going well, now that islanders from Orkney and Shetland are starting to contribute. The island of Unst, the farthest north in Shetland, is well represented by its schoolteachers, Fair Isle is there, as is Sanday in Orkney. The Western Isles blogs are, well, represented by yours truly, as well as by Back of Beyond. Argyll blogs focus on events in the island of Coll. Westword mentions that their local freight boat, Spanish John II, nearly got blown out of the water by an American warship. She stood in too close for the naval ship's comfort, so they opened fire with 4 live shells. They fortunately missed, so the rat extermination program on Canna can still go ahead.

Wednesday 07/12/05

2005-12-08T14:36:00.000Z

Another nice, sunny morning, with clouds increasing gradually. There is quite a strong easterly wind going. I hang up a few birdfeeders in the trees behind the house I'm staying in. Starlings, sparrows, blackbirds, finches, thrushes, robins - all flock in. They only take a minute or two to figure out how to get to the peanuts and seeds. Isles FM are on automatic all morning, because nobody has turned up to present the breakfast show Duisg (7.30 till 10) or its subsequent program until 11. Mrs B's grandchildren turn up for lunch, which fills the kitchen up. I complete typing up the first part of this weblog, which spans the dates August 11 to October 7, 2004. It is known as Northern Trip - The Start. By lunchtime, it has turned overcast. In the evening, I assist mrs B in getting the Xmas decorations down from the attic. In amongst the stuff of years lies a corroded old barometer, which is not working. A few bits and pieces are missing from its mechanism.

Tuesday 06/12/05

2005-12-08T14:30:00.000Z

Glorious sunrise at 8.57 this morning. Sunset this afternoon at 3.38 pm. A shuttlebus service is to be introduced this coming Saturday in Stornoway. It runs from the Council Offices in Sandwick Road round to Scotland Street, Cromwell Street, North- and South Beach Street to An Lanntair. Huge distances, aren't they. Everyone, you see, comes into town in their cars. There is insufficient parking space in the town. But people seem to be incapable of walking these days. Sun appears from behind the powerstation at 9.15. Cloud looks suspicious, and I hear that a shower passed over Back and Point at 11 o'clock. Mrs B's relatives come for coffee. After lunch, I head into town to buy a CD by Donnie Munro, a former Runrig bandmember. Not bad at all. It's pretty busy in the town, but I have nothing else to do there, apart from getting myself a meal. Which was not needed because a supper was prepared for me. It consisted of haddock in parsley sauce, with boiled potatoes. The evening concludes in a musical fashion.

Monday 05/12/05

2005-12-06T23:01:00.000Z

Nice sunny day with a lot of lenticularis clouds in the sky. Temperature a very acceptable 9C. Go into town just after 10 to put a film in for processing which will be ready at 2pm. Having thought about the problems with the NHS, I'm not so much concerned about the alleged bullying as about the proposed service cuts. Mr Manson's presentation, supplemented by Mr Sim, states that the same jobs will have to be done by fewer people. Those that lack the necessary skills will be trained for them. An example is operating theatres at night. Untrained staff are to open them out of hours, and then prepare for any op. Operations are apparently to be carried out with a surgeon, an anaesthesist and no qualified nursing staff present. If morale is low, communication between staff and management broken down and a general atmosphere of mistrust present, you're looking at a recipe for disaster. Went into town at 3pm to collect pictures, results acceptable. The BBC weblog attracts some attention, even get a comment from a lady in British Columbia, Canada. This in response to my summary of problems in the local NHS.

Sky at night

2005-12-06T11:22:00.000Z

It's winter now and the famous constellations of the winter sky are coming out in full glory. The picture above shows the outline of the constellation of Orion, my favourite in the night sky. As you may be aware, many of the constellations are related to Greek mythology, and Orion is no exception. There are various legends and myths around this figure, this link gives but one of them. Basically, you see Orion the Hunter, with a sword (containing the famous Orion nebula, M42 (Messier object 42)), a club raised above his head and a shield raised to his right. If you extend Orion's belt down to the left, you'll come across the Dog Star, Sirius, the brightest fixed star in the sky. Its magnitude is -1.4. Magnitude is an inverse logarithmic scale, i.e. the brighter the star, the lower the value. The planet Venus, currently visible in the early evening sky, has a magnitude of -4, the full moon is -14 and the sun is -28. The weakest stars visible to the naked eye have magnitude +5; the planet Pluto is +14 and can only be seen with a strong telescope.

Extending up to the left from Sirius you come across Procyon, the Little Dog Star and Castor and Pollux, the Gemini or Twin Stars.

To the right of Orion rears Taurus, the Bull, with Aldebaran as its bloodshot eye. This image is currently augmented by the presence of another bright red object, the planet Mars. A fuzzy cluster of stars between Orion and Taurus resolves with a pair of binoculars into a group of 7, which is known as the Pleiades.

The legend around Orion dictates that he will never be in the sky at the same time as his slayer, Scorpio. When he rises, Scorpio sets; and vice-versa.

Take a coat, but above all: enjoy.

Hurricanes

2005-12-05T14:30:00.000Z

This year has been very bad in terms of tropical hurricanes in the Atlantic. The American NHC National Hurricane Centre normally names storms sequentially with the alphabet. Leaving out names starting with awkward letters like Q and X, they have room for 21 storms, quite adequate. Not in 2005. After hurricanes like Katrina, Rita and Stan the Atlantic was still in spawning mood. The NHC had to resort to its backup system: the Greek alphabet. To date, we have progressed to hurricane Epsilon, which has been trundling around in mid-Atlantic, 2000 km southwest of the Azores, with sustained windspeeds of 120 kph. Although officially, the hurricane season is over, the Atlantic flatly ignores that and comes up with Epsilon on December 1st. Below image (copyright NHC/NOAA) shows its position at 4 a.m. EST (0900 GMT) on 5 December 2005. It's projected to shift southwest, and lose its intensity.

Sunday 04/12/05

2005-12-05T14:24:00.000Z

Brilliantly sunny morning, where some clouds slowly move across. A large cargoship passes along the horizon. Some traffic in the streets. Will admit to gross idleness through the afternoon, browsing through some on-line journals. Evening meal was a Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes with broccoli, peas, cauliflower and gravy. Ice cream closed proceedings. Very good.

Saturday 03/12/05

2005-12-04T18:15:00.000Z

Brilliantly sunny morning, hardly a cloud in the sky. Not cold either. Better than elsewhere in the UK, where strong winds rule. Found that the cargoship Celtic Spirit, that I mentioned yesterday, has been detained before. On 25th November 2003, she was stopped at Le Lègue Saint Brieuc (Brittany, France) for 3 deficiencies in machinery and safety in general. She measures 2,978 tonnes and is registered in the Bahamas. The boat is operated by the Willie Group, a Cardiff-based shipping company which specialises in transportation of timber, initially as pit-props (coalmines). On the company's website, Celtic Spirit is quoted as being delayed due to bad weather. Aye, that would fit. She was due in at Warren Point, Northern Ireland, on December 1st. After dark, at 5pm, I went into town to photograph the Christmas illuminations. Otherwise not a lot doing tonight. Mrs B's logs are very wet, but she's experienced in lighting fires (in her fireplace) so that poses few problems.

Friday 02/12/05

2005-12-02T23:07:00.000Z

Cloudy morning, with rain setting in at 1pm. The English Channel is suffering force 10 storms, with the barometer down to 965 mbar. Up here, 600 miles away it's 985 mbar. At the eastern end of the Channel, pressure is ALSO 985 mbar, but that's a distance of only 200 miles. Result: strong winds. The paper reports on last night's meeting regarding health service reform and says it was heated at times. It also refers to the showing of Rocket Post. The timberboat I mentioned a few days ago, the Celtic Spirit, was on its way from Estonia to Northern Ireland when her cargo shifted and she developed a 10° list. This was reported to the Coastguard, who ordered her to put into Stornoway to restow her cargo. This was still in progress last night, but this morning I found that the ship had left. Have commenced another weblog, this time on the Island Blogging site of BBC Scotland. I'm writing the Arnish Lighthouse Blog under the Western Isles, specifically Lewis. I am using the name "Arnish Lighthouse" because this lighthouse stands at the entrance to Stornoway Harbour and oversees everything that comes and goes into port. It also looks out over town and island. The Polish workers at the Arnish Yard are to be laid off this week, because the contract for the construction of wave generators for Portugal has been completed. No further contracts are on the book, but this one kept 110 people in a job since August. Forgot to mention that the Christmas lights were officially lit last night in a festive celebration. Stalls were set out in Francis Street. Heard that once more, the Scottish Executive doesn't know. It cannot tell us how many people are on methadone in Scotland, and how successful that is in weaning drug addicts off heroin. It's not the first time that I've heard "dunno" from them on a health-related issue. Cloud breaks in the evening.

Thursday 01/12/05

2005-12-02T13:20:00.000Z

Quiet morning with the well-boat coming off the Goat Island slipway. Muirneag came in in good time. It's the SFPA boat which is coming to visit. A man goes out into the basin at low tide to pick winkles. Head into town for a big wad of papers, which bring more tales of scandal for the local health service. Two things are taking place at the same time: the Xmas lights will be switched on at 7.30, and a meeting is convened by WIHB to explain their future policies. I get a lift to the Caberfeidh Hotel. Am redirected to the Mermaid Lounge, round the side, which is packed out. WIHB Chief Executive, Mr Dick Manson, gives a presentation for the future direction that the NHS in these islands will take. It boils down to the same workload to be done by fewer people, less qualified and away from the hospital. It sounded so nice and well thought through, until the jarring interludes came, provided courtesy of local councillors, representatives from the nursing staff and the Western Isles MP. The nurses alleged that the Health Board ran a rule of fear, Stalinism, corrupt and devoid of any decency. The MP queried the lack of morale and the excessive costs of locums. The councillors demanded to know why vacancies were left unfilled for a long time. I have to report that the Chief Executive, although well aware of the malcontent in his ranks, never spoke up on the subject. He did not even acknowledge that there was a problem, and left it to his lieutenants to answer all the nasty questions. My pen ran out after 70 minutes, but I managed to engrave notes into my notebook, oh dear. Left at 8pm to go to An Lanntair to see the film Rocket Post. This is a very pleasant filming of the failed efforts by German rocket scientist Gerhard Zucher to establish a viable postal link between Scarp and Harris by rocket. The rocket he used exploded

scattering all the mail over the beach. The story was well written, filmed with the fantastic backdrop of the North Harris mountains, well known to yours truly. Great!

Public meeting NHS Western Isles (2)

2005-12-02T12:27:00.000Z

Western Isles NHS Reform
Presentation by Western Isles NHS Board
Location: Caberfeidh Hotel, Stornoway
Date: 1 December 2005, 18:00 hours
Chair: Mr Dick Manson, Chief Executive WIHB
Attendance: 150

Notes taken by myself in a private capacity

Presentation is fronted by:
Dick Manson, Chief Executive
Dr John Smith, medical director
Prof Andrew Sim, professor of Rural and Remote Medicine UHI
Cathy Carnell, general manager hospital services
Michael Cook
director of nursing
(apologies: could not take down everybody's details)

Dick Manson started by giving a 30 minutes' presentation (promised as 15 mins), outlining first of all the challenges facing the NHS in the Western Isles
- ageing population
- an increase in chronic disease
- an increase in emergency admissions, a quarter of which are aged 65 or over
- EU working time directive
- shortage of clinical staff (generally in Scotland)
- advances in medical science, difficult to keep up with
- expectations from the public

The NHS is there to meet health needs.

The Western Isles has a unique demographic profile.
Total population: 26,500
The life expectancy for men is the 3rd worst in Scotland, 72 years of age.
The life expectancy for women is the 3rd best in Scotland, 80 years of age.
Avoidable illness is too prevalent
Population in the Western Isles consists of a high percentage of elderly people, higher than anywhere else. 1 out of 5 people is aged 65 or over
The number of young people is decreasing, although their rate of academic achievement is better than elsewhere in Scotland
Birth rates are falling; expecting to go down from 220 last year to 150 in 2010
Crimerate is lower than average
Incomes are 14% lower than average for Scotland
House prices are lower
Unemployment rates are higher
The rates of alcohol-related admissions is much higher
There are higher numbers of people suffering from heart conditions and depression

The NHS is very well used.
Every day, the hospitals have 150 inpatients
20 attend A&E
18 patients are admitted or discharged
320 people see their GP
1380 prescriptions a day are dispensed

Doctors:
16 consultants
11 doctors-in-training
35 general practitioners
3 GP registrars [in training]
This represents an unrivalled clinical resource
There are 229 hospital beds (spread out over the 3 sites Stornoway, Benbecula and Barra), 30% of which are unused

Service redesign
This has been imposed by government, and should be from bottom up
More than 100 people have been involved, NHS staff as well as patients
It should provide a sustainable model for the next 10 years

There were a number of redesign groups

1 Primary Care Out-of-hours
There will be a move from GP's on-call to emergency care teams. These consist of nurses, paramedics and a GP

2 Surgery
Four surgeons are to provide core-services for all types of surgery, including orthopaedics, general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology

3 General medicine
Will be moving to a multidisciplinary approach (doctors, nurses, allied health professions [physiotherapists, pharmacy &c]. There will be 4 consultant physicians, which should be enough to provide a 24/7 service

4 Maternity (Cathy Gillies)
This service is to be retained locally. It is to be midwife-led, with support by a consultant obstetrician and a surgeon. There will be a rota for a safe service. Training of midwives has already started, with telemedicine (for backup) and a consultant paediatrician

5 Paediatrics (Chris Langley)
Paediatric care to be provided by GPs, consultant physicians and a consultant paediatrics for support. Training to start next week

6 Public health (Lucy MacLeod)
Is to tighten its links with the local authority and other agency. Training has commenced for national accreditation

7 Psychiatry (Dr Caulcott)
Service to be retained here. The skills of existing professional is to be enhanced.
Care will be CPN [community psychiatric nurse] led; with GPs in the Uists

8 Medical trainees (Dr Dickie)
Western Isles Hospital will continue to be a training centre, and the aim is to maintain skills in this hospital’s environment.

9 Renal services (Phil Tilley)
A renal dialysis centre is to be established at WIH; a lead-nurse has been appointed

10 Radiology (Malcolm McNinch)
A radiologist is available 3 days out of every 7
The service will be radiographer (sic) led, i.e. by the people that take the images. They will be sent by telemedicine (electronically) to a consultant radiologist at a mainland centre. Training has commenced

Core services
General medicine
Surgery & orthopaedics
Anaesthetics
Maternity & paediatrics

There will be 8 permanent consultants, and 9 on long-term locum contracts. The aim is to minimise locums, because they are unfamiliar with local working practices.
Long term locums are paid a normal rate; short-term locums are paid an hourly rate, determined by an agency which can charge up to £70 an hour. If someone is working or on-call 24/7, then this works out as £11,800 per week, as reported in the media.

Visiting consultants in other specialities (ophthalmology, rheumatology &c) will offer support.

Key Themes
Break down barriers between primary and secondary care
Establish a multi-disciplinary approach
Develop [new] roles for nurses, allied health professionals (AHP) and doctors
Education and training
Remote and rural healthcare: models were developed for the big cities, not for an area like the Western Isles or generally the north of Scotland

Implementation groups will consist of clinical staff, nurses, AHP, support staff and members of the public. A timetable was giving for the implementation

Redesign groups: for Uist & Barra hospital (led by Mr Manson) to optimise utilisation of resources at the Benbecula hospital

The aim is to establish a safe, sustainable service, backed by (mainland) centres of expertise, leading the way in remote / rural healthcare. The care will be as local as possible, and as specialised as necessary.

This was the end of Mr Manson's presentation. The remainder of the meeting, between 6.40 and 8.00 pm, was taken up with a question and answer session. Some of the answers to questions have been worked into the words of Mr Manson, for the sake of clarity.

Cllr for Bayble (Point) asked questions about the redesign of the structure of the Health Board and the provision of psychiatric care, now that the two psychiatrists are retiring

Mr Cook replied that there would be wider training for staff. A meeting with CPNs and medical staff for short term solutions would be sought. Dr Caulcott is going on holidays for 6 months from December 5th, for which a locum would be required. An advertisement for a permanent position would be placed.

Mr Manson replied that the Health Board review would be carried out in the longer term, but current focus would be on frontline services, in cooperation with CnES.

The Cllr remarked that provisions should have been made for the vacancy, which should have been advertised a long time ago. The review appears to be a top-down exercise.

Mr Manson replied that the overheads for WIHB are the lowest in the 6 Health Boards in the north of Scotland (Orkney, Shetland, Highland, Grampian, Tayside and W. Isles).

One other councillor asked about travel expenses
Mr Manson replied that the vast majority of these are on actual health board business, to enhance services.

A service user for psychiatric care expressed concern about the continuity of care in community, and in-patient beds. The waiting time for specialist care was too long. Locums don't cut it, you need regular staff. Oh, Mr Manson, your bodylanguage is wrong. You're condescending (!)

Mr Manson apologised for the last impression.
Dr Michie noted that a number of beds might be retained for emergencies, but this depended on the outcome of the service review.
The user remarked that if care is dispersed to GPs, expertise might be lost
Dr Michie conceded that resources are problematic

One member of the audience read out a statement to Mr Manson, on behalf of a large majority of the nurses.

The nurses are fed up, demoralised and intimidated. A rule of Stalinism is alleged, a reign of fear. Complaints are not made because of fear. Proposed ward closures bring shame on the health board. It is a corrupt regime, devoid of any decency. If grievances are uttered, disciplinary action is taken against the relevant members of staff. Changes are always top down. The working groups consist of management level staff, who impose their own ideas after slapping down workers’ ideas.

Dr John Smith replied to this.
Changes are being implemented from the roots upwards, in order that it’s the workers’ project. There is a movement of care to the primary sector. WIHB is engaging with staff to implement changes.

Professor Sim expanded on some of the themes, touched upon by Mr Manson.

Care is to be offered primarily by trained staff, and skills are to be taken over by other health professionals, which is UK policy. The junior doctor, apart from looking after patients on a day-to-day basis, will focus on their training.

There is a change in surgical practice. The hospital stay after an operation is much shorter. After (e.g.) a gall-bladder operation, a patient can normally expect to go home after 2 days, was 2 weeks. Because of this, the surgical wards will change into one 7-day ward (including paediatrics) and one 5-day (a week) ward.

Medicine will focus on care at home rather than in the hospital because many of the beds on the medical wards lie unused. These unused beds are to be closed.

Obstetrics and orthopaedics: general surgeons will be trained to do work in these fields.

The aim is to provide a safe service, performed by professionals who are properly trained for everything they’re required to do. Transfers to mainland hospitals are to be reduced to the absolute minimum.

A renal and a stroke unit are to be established, using the beds no longer in use on the medical wards. The lead nurse for renal care has been appointed, but will not be in post until February 2006.

There will be no redundancies, but temporary contracts will NOT be extended.
Focus will be on staff retraining and to enrich nursing skill mix. Nurses will be redeployed, to community care. Staff have had a similar presentation in the weeks leading up to today.

Uist & Barra Hospital (Balivanich, Benbecula) is only 4 years old, and has state-of-the-art equipment. Unfortunately, it does not have the facilities to provide the necessary aftercare.

Angus MacNeil, Western Isles MP expressed his concerns about staff morale and wanted an explanation about soaring locum costs.
It was explained that only 4 locums in the last year had been paid the massive £11,800 a week rate. When you’re on-call, you are not actually working – you’re available for work.

Public meeting NHS Western Isles

2005-12-01T17:12:00.000Z

Public meeting - 30th November 2005, 19.30 hours
Subject: NHS Western Isles, Service Reform
Location: Stornoway, Town Hall
Attending: 1,000
Purpose: To give the public and staff a voice regarding service reforms
Chair: Cllr Angus Graham (CnES, Gress)

These notes were taken by myself in a private capacity.
Similar points were made by several speakers, which have been grouped together for the purpose of legibility.
On December 1st, Western Isles Health Board are holding a meeting on this matter.
Any comments on matters mentioned welcome

There is an atmosphere of intimidation within Western Isles Health Board (WIHB), as a result of which people do not feel free to speak out. Staff was not permitted to speak out as they were threatened with disciplinary measures if they did. WIHB does not consult the public whom it serves, although public frustration at the lack of consultation is in evidence. The workings of the WIHB are not fully understood. The large turnout this evening demonstrates that WIHB has failed to convince the public of its reforms. WIHB is not accountable to the public, it's a quango (quasi non-governmental organisation), which does not answer to anyone. Local councillors sought a meeting with WIHB to clarify matters on October 25th, but a meeting could not be arranged until December 14th. Consultation was not offered, and questions were not properly answered, or intemperately so. WIHB gave a report of its reforms as an exclusive to local paper Stornoway Gazette only. Professor Sim, head of WIHB, has since written to local councillors to explain.

One of the reforms would be that at night, theatres would be covered by on-call nursing staff. These are not experienced in theatres. It is insufficient and impractical.

Another problem is that the WIHB Chief Executive, Mr Dick Manson, lives on the mainland but commutes to Lewis every weekend by plane, at the tax payers' expense. By virtue of this arrangement he does not contribute in a real sense to the island's economy. Tomorrow evening (December 1st), Mr Manson will explain his plans at the Caberfeidh Hotel in Stornoway at the same time that the ceremony takes place to switch on the Christmas lights. In other words, he shows no interest or commitment to the islands.

Questions that have been asked include:
- where is the recovery plan [there is a 1.5 million pound shortfall in WIHB accounts]
- administrative staff numbers have doubled in recent times, but why should frontline staff face cuts?
- where are the costings for the redesign?
- WIHB cannot vouch for quality of services
- why does WIHB not engage more openly with the public
- why does WIHB say that there are no problems, if 6 formal grievance procedures have been lodged against high-ranking officials within its organisation?

The Western Isles Hospital, and before it, the Lewis Hospital, was a community effort, operated by staff from the local community. Everyone was and still is proud of it.
These changes are affecting staff morale. A listening organisation works better, but no explanations have been forthcoming. Where does the deficit come from, for instance.
If staff is involved with changes, they will be able to offer solutions. Work with staff, with unions. If staff cannot speak to management, credibility will suffer. WIHB staff are talking to local councillors.
Why do student-nurses have to wait for 3 months to have their travel expenses reimbursed. Does the chief executive, Mr Manson, have to wait for 3 months?? Subsistence payments for Mr Manson are a tax dodge. A reduction in travel expenses would help.

Local councillors have found contact with WIHB very frustrating. Staff is urged to express their concerns freely.

It is very sad that this meeting has had to be called in the first place, that the WIHB could not be bothered to speak to its own staff. Why more administrative staff, why not more nurses? There is no formal representation from WIHB present (although Prof. Sim is here in a private capacity). WIHB officials have ridiculed Cllr Graham, saying âAch, itâs Angus Graham, making a fool of himself, againâ. Minutes from a private WIHB meeting have been passed to Cllr Graham. There is a representation on WIHB from CnES (one councillor). Council is underrepresented on WIHB. The way people are elected onto the Board is to be addressed.

The risk is that WIHB be abolished, as happened with Argyll & Clyde Health Board earlier this year. A public meeting was sought between CnES and WIHB, which has not yet been organised. If the outcome of consultation is unsatisfactory, CnES will take this matter to the Scottish Executive.

Councillors from West Harris, North Uist and North Lochs also spoke up to express concerns and delight at numbers present.

Western Isles Kidney Foundation
A renal unit has been discussed for 4 years, since February 2002. At present, dialysis patients are travelling back and forth to the mainland, staying there for a week and returning to the islands over the weekend.
The redesign structure for the NHS, as set up by the Scottish Executive, has proved to be a farce. It has been blanked out by Dick Manson. Minute taking has been blocked and people intimidated. Scottish Executive does not want to know.

Mental Health
Vulnerable people are going to be left in the lurch if there is no resident psychiatrist. WIHB is run by accountants and penpushers. Psychiatric care is at risk, because the current psychiatrist will be leaving shortly. The vacancy was not advertised for 5 months.

Contracts: short term contracts are not to be extended.

Royal College of Nursing: Union rep told staff theyâd be victimised if they spoke up.
Patients are discharged too soon, and the readmission rates are going up. RCN representative present states that people have been advised to be circumspect in their statements. Concerns, fear and apprehension have been expressed â nobody was consulted over proposed changes. There is a lack of accountability, and no minutes were taken of meetings. Collective responsibility means that you donât rock the boat and tow the line. Decisions are imposed from the top down.

Ward closures mean that relatives will need to go to the mainland to visit patients in hospital there. No heed is being paid to the consequences of the reductions. There are social consequences for people going to the mainland, as well as financial. Airfares paid out have doubled. How do families cope with the absence of a parent. The Western Isles has a service economy. Since one surgeon left, 500 extra operations have been carried out on the mainland.

One GP does not believe in preventative medicine â you just leave the elderly and infirm to die. No names given here.

A midwife says she is not intimidated. She is very concerned over the night time cover. No theatre staff will be present at night in the future, although the on-call staff have no theatre experience. Paediatrics has no cover at night or at weekends; GP's will cover.

If a locum consultant costs £800,000 per annum, this makes a pretty decent inroad into the deficit.

Wednesday 30/11/05

2005-12-01T12:40:00.000Z

Yesterday was cold, but it's a lot milder today. There was overnight rain, which clears away during the morning. The sun breaks through by late morning. A trailer load of logs is delivered to mrs B's backyard. Go out for papers at 3 pm, extending the walk to Amity House. There I find the Jotun Arctic tied up. Only the dogs are on baord. The windows of the boat were smashed in during an Atlantic storm. No sign of the crew, they may be entertained locally. This evening, there will be a public meeting at the Town Hall. The NHS Board is proposing reductions in services at the hospital, because they're Â£1.5 million in the red. The meeting was called because huge expenses bills are being paid to Health Board Executives who commute to and from the island every weekend by plane. Locum costs are also mushrooming - Â£11,000 per man per week. Mounts up, doesn't it. The Health Board stands accused of bullying and intimidation. Not very pretty picture. Darkness falls at 3.45. The meeting, attended by about 1,000 people (Stornoway's population is about 8,000) was chaired by a local councillor. It was intended to give a voice to people who were too scared to speak out internally. And it was a damning indictment of the Health Board management, I'm sorry to report.

Tuesday 29/11/05

2005-12-01T12:34:00.000Z

Quiet and peaceful this morning. Muirneag sailed last night with a fair few lorries, but returned empty. A Norwegian yacht was expected in, which had sailed through the North West Passage (around Northern Canada) over the last two years. Weather is cloudy but with some clearances. Still chilly, only +2C at 10 a.m.. See some nice webcam images of snow covered Skye. After lunch, I take mrs B for a walk from the Iolaire Monument back to Newton, 2Â¼ miles / 3.8 km. It's a high point with very nice views. The Clisham range peeps over the Arnish hills, all in white. Skye is not properly visible, due to showerclouds. A shower passes over the mainland hills, leaving them whiter than before. The ferry can be seen heading for Loch Broom, to the north of Ruadh Reidh. In the bay south of the Braighe, a cargoship is lying with quite a serious list. Didn't bring the binoculars with me, but can make out that the coastguard tug is in attendance. Mrs B has not previously visited the monument. As we make our way down, a yacht with a Norwegian flag sails past, heading into port. I learn that this is the Jotun Arctic, which I referred to earlier. The cargoship slowly manoeuvres around Holm Point, where it takes a pilot on board. We make our way through the bogs and briar to Stoneyfield Farm. A novel experience for mrs B, and at times a helping hand is required. She manages the gates, has qualms about the banks of seaweed and the gravel, but all is well once we reach the road at Lower Sandwick. She points out which people live in which house. She used to live in this village until 1972. We return to Newton at 4pm. The timberboat, still listing, has now manoeuvred alongside the ferrypier. In the evening, mrs B's sister calls in as she is leaving for Tyneside tomorrow.

Monday 28/11/05

2005-12-01T11:25:00.000Z

Today dawns cold with some snow showers passing through. They leave a thin layer of snow on the ground, which stays. Outside temperature does not feel desperately cold, although it can't be much above freezing. Sun peeps through the shower clouds. Things clear up as the morning progresses. By 11.30 we have a rain shower, as shown by the rainbow. MV Muirneag sails into port at that time, 4 hours later than normal. Empty by the look of her. Cannot see it very well against the low sun. As the afternoon progresses, the showers virtually disappear. Skye has had a good helping of snow, 3 inches. Night falls at 4 pm, after which not a lot else happens. Watch a heart rending report about the way cats are being treated in China. Their fur is used for making furcoats! Paul McCartney is all up in arms about it. I say: stop wearing fur!
Click here for BBC report

Sunday 27/11/05

2005-11-28T00:01:00.000Z

Awake to a bright but cloudy day. Breakfast at 10, during which I see a large flock of birds hovering over an area of the sea beyond the beacon. It's likely to be a whale. The odd shower pushes through, but it's only light and doesn't help to wash the salt off the windows. Recent high winds have left a nice layer of salt. And after all the bother of washing them 9 days ago! The ferry left this morning at 7.30, unusual on a Sunday. It had to make up for missing quite a few sailings earlier in the week. Spend the day in idle sloth, going through a few Sudoku puzzles and watching telly. Sunset at 3.45. I cook supper for mrs B and her sister, both recovered from their aquavitae experience last night. Bed just after I finished this entry

Saturday 26/11/05

2005-11-27T23:58:00.000Z

The heavy hailshowers continue through the night, with the wind decreasing gradually. At 6 a.m., it appears to increase again. The ferry sails at 10 a.m. on its only sailing of the day. The Small Isles ferry was delayed because the A830, Fort William to Mallaig road, was blocked at Arisaig. Everyone had to transfer to the train to reach Mallaig. Went out to buy a ticket for a film performance next Thursday, 1 December; it's a local production called Rocket Post. It's about the failed experiment in 1934 to transfer mail from Scarp to mainland Harris by rocket. The rocket exploded, scattering all the mail over the beach and burning some of it. Tickets for this evening's showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire were NOT available until at the door. In Somerfields there is not a lot of fresh fruits, and no vegetables. Fairly busy in there nonetheless. Buy a new book with 400 Sudoku puzzles by Carol Vorderman, which should keep me happy. The 500 travellers that were stranded on the A30 in Cornwall are beginning to make their way home. A train derailed on a landslip at Moy, south of Inverness. The carriage remained upright, and 9 passengers were injured, none seriously. After an early supper, I proceed to the Town Hall at 6.30 for Harry Potter. Film was better than I had expected, it kept close to the storyline or what they could show of it. Although boisterous at the start, the teenagers present were very subdued at the end, by 9.20. There were one or two young children present, accompanied by mum and/or dad, as this is a 12A rated movie. As I said, very good but pretty graphic. Return to Newton to find mrs B and her sister partaking in some uisge beatha whilst waiting for a Xmas cake to cook in the oven at 100C. Small wonder it takes about 4 hours.

Friday 25/11/05

2005-11-27T23:48:00.000Z

Very unpleasant weather today. We have a northerly gale, which is gusting in excess of 55 knots or force 11. Elsewhere the wind is even stronger, like at Malin Head, Kirkwall and Lerwick. The strongest gust, 69 knots, was observed at Kirkwall. Snow is a big problem throughout Scotland, although not here. Temperature is 5C, which is too high to allow snow to accumulate. We have a train of hail and snow showers which come barrelling through. Ferry is cancelled for today, and along much of the West Coast, services have been disrupted. The wind isn't that much of a problem, apart from causing a few powercuts in some parts of Scotland. I don't show my face out of doors, but keep abreast of events. Snow becomes a big issue elsewhere. It causes a traffic infarct in Holland, with tailbacks in excess of 900 km or 560 miles. Here in the UK, 500 motorists are stranded on Bodmin Moor when lorries on the A30 Penzance to Exeter road fail to negotiate a steep incline, blocking the path of following traffic. Here in Stornoway, people are panic-buying because there are no ferries.

Thursday 24/11/05 - Thanksgiving

2005-11-27T23:42:00.000Z

Dire, dire warnings about today's weather. We start off with a heavy hailshower, which is followed by a procession of snowshowers. MV Muirneag turned back to Ullapool after sailing from there at 3 a.m.. The Isle of Lewis did leave at 7.15. Because of the strong winds, powersupplies may be interrupted. Schools in the Southern Isles were closed due to the weather. Schools in Lewis & Harris are closed for Thanksgiving. Spindrift whirls over the Newton Basin. A fishing boat, heavily laden, leaves port, but turns back. We have a northwesterly wind today, and at 9 a.m. gusts reach 54 knots, force 10. Temperature has plummeted to +2C, as opposed to yesterday's 11C. The Metcheck website is running very slowly indeed. Go into town at 10.30, where many shops are shut for Thanksgiving. I want a roll of film, but the shop in Point Street is closed, as is KJ MacDonald's Pharmacy. Net result, I have to go to the Tourist Office. Wait for about 30 minutes for a haircut. Spend 90 minutes in the library re-scanning pictures. Got some interesting material from North Lochs Historical Society re. Project Timbertown. Mrs B is getting all the candles out in case of a powercut. It is bitterly cold, with a strong to galeforce northwesterly wind, gusting up to force 10. There are frequent hail- and snowshowers. The ferry situation is once again bad. Our ferry is due back at 3 pm, and is unlikely to sail until NEXT MONDAY!!! Notice strong winds right the way down the Irish Sea coast, as far down as Crosby, Liverpool. Gusts at 50-54 knots there, Lusa not far behind at 49 kts. Ferry comes in at 3, followed hard on its heels by a heavy snow shower. Received some nice info from the North Lochs Historical Society. Climbers were lost on Ben MacDui, Cairngorms, in today's blizzards, but were found safe and well if cold. Many schools are closed, Skye Bridge is shut for high-sided vehicles. Big problems with snow and ice, on one section of road vehicles could not gain traction. By 5pm, the freight from the ferry has been unloaded into the supermarket. After dark, snow showers intensify. Gusts up to 56 knots (64 mph) are reported. This is the only place in the UK where Thanksgiving is being held on the last Thursday in November. Heavy snow- and hailshowers leave a fair accumulation out the back. Very cold, barely above freezing. Met Office reports not coming through from Stornoway, so have to get info from XCWeather.co.uk. Spaghetti bolognese from mrs B, with wine.

Thursday 24/11/05 - Ferry disruptions

2005-11-24T14:35:00.000Z

The weather is bad, so Caledonian MacBrayne is cancelling the following services:

Ardrossan Brodick Service
Due to adverse weather conditions the 1350 sailing has been diverted to Gourock eta 1600. All remaining sailings today have been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Islay Service
Due to the adverse weather the sailings have been cancelled meantime

Sound of Harris (Berneray/Leverburgh)
1320 ex Berneray & 1440 ex Leverburgh cancelled due to weather conditions. No further sailings today

Fionnphort/Iona Service
Due to adverse weather conditions this service is cancelled for the remainder of the day. Sailings will resume as per timetable on Fri 25th November - weather permitting.

Oban - Castlebay & Lochboisdale
Due to adverse weather the 1530 hrs from Oban has been cancelled. Next sailing will be 0930 hrs on Friday weather permitting.

Mallaig - Armadale
Due to deteriorating weather conditions the 1600 ex Mallaig and the 1645 ex Armadale sailings are cancelled.

STORNOWAY - ULLAPOOL SERVICE
MV Isle of Lewis will attempt a crossing from Ullapool to Stornoway at approximately 1130. It is anticipated that the vessel will arrive in Stornoway between 1500 and 1600. The 1345 sailing (ex Stornoway) and the 1715 sailing (ex Ullapool) have been cancelled, due to forecasted severe adverse weather.

Due to the weather forecast for the next couple of days, the Master of the vessel has indicated that the following sailing may be affected from Stornoway and Ullapool; Thursday p.m - doubtful Friday a.m - extremely doubtful Friday p.m - extremely doubtful Saturday a.m - doubtful Because of the knock on effect of these disruptions we took the decision to close the affected sailings for reservations. This will be reviewed on a sailing by sailing basis, if the weather improves at any stage it may be possible to attempt a crossing WEATHER PERMITTING. Please contact local offices for further details.

Tarbert - Portavadie cancelled until further notice.

Mallaig/Small Isles
Rum and Canna calls cancelled due to weather MV Lochnevis returning to Mallaig

Mull Service
Due to adverse weather conditions the ferry between Oban and Craignure has been cancelled for the whole of today. The next scheduled sailing will be 0800 hrs on Friday 25th Novermber from Oban

Sound of Barra Service
Chargehand has advised that due to weather conditions he was cancelling the first return sailing on this service. ie 07:15hrs ex Ardmhor and the 08:20hrs ex Eriskay. He has now advised that due to weather conditions and forecast he was cancelling the remainder of the sailings on this service for today. Weather permitting timetable as normal for Friday 25/11

Wednesday 23/11/05

2005-11-24T14:25:00.000Z

MV Muirneag sails into port at 8.40, with all of TWO lorries on board. Apparently, nobody wants to travel on the poor old girl anymore, sniff. The SFPA boat [Scottish Fishery Protection Agency] leaves at the same time. The fire extinguisher chap is back with us this week, as are two gents from the insulation company. Today dawns dark and later on it turns drizzly. The lights have to stay on over breakfast. Late tomorrow the fun will start, as they're forecasting a snowstorm in the afternoon. It's so dark this morning, that I'm having the lights on at 9.30 to write this. Typical for late November. A drizzle sets in late in the morning. A heavy drizzle sets in at 10, which persists into the afternoon. Mrs B's sister calls in later that morning and her son is in for lunch. A lot of work is required for maintenance on the house. Discover the weblog of a family who moved to North Lochs in 2003 from the UK Mainland. The usual litany of problems. Our tanker, the Border Heather, leaves port at 3.30. Visibility is so poor that I can barely discern her going past Green Island. At dusk, I go to Somerfields for my shopping. Lottery ticket was a waste of good money, as they usually are. Nice supper from mrs B.

Tuesday 22/11/05

2005-11-23T12:14:00.000Z

Bright and sunny morning, with the sun rising behind the Coastguard Station at 8.30. Sunset will be at 15.55 this afternoon, which means that we're only 1h05 above the daylight quotum for the shortest day. Sunrise on December 21st will be at 9.15, sunset at 15.35. At lunchtime, Mrs B and myself are taken to the carpark halfway down the Braighe, the causeway to Point. From there, we'll walk back to Mealabost and pick up a bus to Newton. It's a breezy afternoon, and visibility is not as good as a few days ago. Can barely see Kebock Head, 12 miles away. The views northeast and northwest up Broad Bay are very good. Cellar Head is just about idscernable above Back. In Point, I can see Aignish, Garrabost and Sulishader. Plenty of birdlife along the shoreline, such as shags, cormorants, grebes and gulls.

It's a very pleasant 1 km stroll to Mealabost, where a small picnic area awaits the weary and hungry. A few head of highland cattle browse in an adjacent field. Four jegfighters come past before circling to land at the airport, just over the hill. The bus comes at 1.35 and returns us to Newton some 15 minutes later. When I go to Somerfields, I encounter Sally (from Balallan) who I have not seen for several months. Her daughter had to leave Lewis due to bullying, but will be returning to continue her education at a university. Cloud increases as the evening progresses, and it comes on to rain at 10pm.

Monday 21/11/05

2005-11-23T12:06:00.000Z

Cloudy but mild day today. The normal Monday morning rundown of crashes (5 hurt in car which went off the road at Balallan) and drunken misbehaviour (17-year old stopped for drunk driving in town centre) on Isles FM. MV Muirneag comes into port at 9 a.m. looking very empty and high out of the water. I reckon the lorrydrivers are not prepared to risk another crossing in that tub again. We've got 3 guests in at the moment. One was here last week, learning about fire-extinguishers. He's getting some practical work, on the Muirneag this afternoon. The other two work for a company in Glasgow, which puts insulation into homes. Jack Frost is a regular customer of Mrs B's hospitality. Later in the week, we can expect to turn from being the warmest place in the UK to the coldest, with an Arctic blast. Am looking forward to the snow, puts everything in a totally different light. Bed at midnight.

Pageviews

2005-11-21T13:02:00.000Z

I'm quite flattered to have reached 2000 pageviews!

Sunday 20/11/05

2005-11-21T13:01:00.000Z

Overcast day, which starts late at 9.45 with a prolongued chat over breakfast. It stays the same temperature, 10C, all day. Watch Landward, the Scottish counterpart of Countryfile. In the middle of the afternoon, I go for a stroll through a deserted town, up to the Town Hall. Then up Cromwell Street as far as Kenneth Street. Up the hill along Scotland Street to Matheson Road. Goathill Road takes me along the perimeter of the Nicolson Institute to Smith Avenue and back to Newton via Island Road. I encounter on average 1 person per street. The weather is the mildest in the country. Prepare supper for mrs B, which turns into a mushy mess. The spuds aren't what I'd expected of them. Television is a disappointment, with another series of "I'm a Celebrity, get me out of here". What a collection of fools.

Saturday 19/11/05

2005-11-21T12:39:00.000Z

Cloudy but bright morning. During the night, temperatures have risen steadily to about 10C. Go out later in the morning for some shopping. There is a farmers' market on outside the Town Hall, where nice looking spuds are being sold from Aignish - Kerrs Pink. Need some post-its from the Baltic Bookshop and a ream of printing paper from the Post Office, which is the cheapest in town. Lumbered with a flimsy bag full of heavy items, I also have to go into Somerfields.They are nearly, but not quite, out of carrots. Return to Newton where mrs B's sister calls in for a chat about her former job. After she leaves, mrs B herself returns after a good shopping spree. I had been wondering where my hankies had gone to, but I retrace them. Completely missed the ferry going in and out at lunchtime. The sun sets in a blaze of pink and red at 4pm. Am served a meal of scallops, pasta bake and sticky toffee pudding, followed by a bottle of white wine. No, not a lot on the telly. The lottery ticket was a complete waste of money.

Friday 18/11/05

2005-11-19T16:08:00.000Z

Sunny morning, with the mainland hills slowly fading. Forecast for low daytime temperatures, 2-5C in Scotland. The two other guests leave today, one is off home to Skye at 6 a.m., to catch the 7.30 ferry at Tarbert. After morning coffee, the windows are washed. Strange folks, those Scots. Wash the windows after weeks of rain. After lunch, I set off on a walk to the Iolaire Monument. Mrs B had wanted to come with me, but she could pick up her new glasses. These were about a week late in coming. Go down towards Lower Sandwick where thick-coated sheep are grazing contentedly. The rams are already in with the ewes. The views are phenomenal today. As I walk along to Stoneyfields Farm, I can see right down the east coast to Skye and the Shiants, with the procession of inlets along the east coast of Lewis: Loch Grimshader, Loch Erisort, Kebock Head. The second gate by Stoneyfields Farm is set in a mire after heavy rain. The works at Holm are still going on, months behind schedule. At the Iolaire MOnument, the wreath of poppies is still attached to the railings, and the two Remembrance crosses are embedded in the cairn. Look for a stone to place on the cairn, but have to extract one from the very ground. As others have had to as well. View reaches right down to Bla Bheinn and Beinn na Cailleach near Broadford, 75 miles away. The Storr, north of Portree is slightly closer at 50 miles. The Applecross Forest puts in regular appearances on the southeastern horizon. The mountains on Sutherland are invisible as obscured by Point. A boat is out by the Shiants. Leave the area at 3.15, to walk the 40 minutes back to Newton. A steady breeze blows in from the south, and high clouds creep in from the west. The sun sets on my return, and mrs B has gone out shopping. I catch up with her at Somerfields, new glasses and all. We have a nice meal, stir-in sauce Karai with rice and chicken. Quiet evening by the fire.

Thursday 17/11/05

2005-11-18T16:50:00.000Z

Very cold morning with temps around freezing. Eskdalemuir went down to -5C. Nice and sunny though. Go out to buy the weekly papers, which are full of last Friday's voyage from hell on board MV Muirneag. I send a letter to Calmac to help them by showing the Met Office was late in sending their galewarning on the day. Well, of course everybody knows that the boat should never have sailed in the first instance. The sliding door on mrs B's frontdoor requires a new rider, as the old one has rusted shut. Go out to the Arnish Road after lunch to walk back with mrs B via Gallows' Hill. The Creed River is in spate, still draining water from the moors. A sliver of mist is draped below Eitsal, 9 miles away. The island looks beautiful in the autumnal light. The mountains on the mainland are covered in snow, but they disappear from sight behind a shower in the Minch. The town below is bustling. Walk through the Castle Grounds towards Lews Castle. Mrs B is stunned by the devastatioin wrought by January's hurricane. Last week's storm did not cause a lot of new damage; only see a few freshly broken branches. Lews Castle College students are just leaving for home. Town is very busy as we return there at 4.10, sunset time. At 7 o'clock, mrs B's sister appears for supper. Very good, piece of lamb with vegs and mash. Have an extensive natter with the guest. There is a problem with a mouse at the lady's house, 2 doors down. I stuff up the holes through which the blasted rodent has entered with plastic bags. The mouse left its excreta around. A mousetrap is available in case.

Wednesday 16/11/05

2005-11-18T16:44:00.000Z

Bright but cold morning, 4C, with occasional hail showers. The guest goes to his fire extinguishers at 9 o'clock, mrs B goes to see a vampire and I sort out my stacks of paper. Over the weekend, 4 youths were discovered in a storage depot up the road, formerly a Harris Tweed mill. They vandalised a car by bashing all its windows in, and a caravan by spraying the windows with paint. They had rigged up a Xmas tree to a car battery. It's a quiet day, just for a change. A flotilla of ducks has taken up residency in the basin outside the front. Ferry is in later than scheduled at lunchtime. Generally the consensus is that we had an atrocious week, weatherwise last week; the weather is nobody's fault, but breakdowns are. As is a decision to sail in stormforce winds, which were forecast, although the formal warning came out a bit late. I sent an email to the Met Office expressing my concern over the absence of a galewarning for NW Scotland, until it was too late. It was issue at 10 a.m., but then the decision to set forth had been taken. After supper, mrs B's sister comes to call. She normally lives on Tyneside and came on the plane. She smokes like chimney stack. Bedtime around midnight. It's very cold; temperature around 0C, Eskdalemuir at -3C at that time.

Tuesday 15/11/05

2005-11-18T16:38:00.000Z

Nice morning with a shower passing over Arnish at breakfast time. It's cold, but afterwards nice and clear. A vast improvement on recent times. Chat to a new guest, who is starting a new job for which he is receiving in(tro)duction here in Stornoway. Another guest is due in tomorrow night; he is a regular, who comes to the town to check the IT equipment in the hospital. The man who is here now had to wait for 6 hours at Uig, Skye, for a ferry to turn up. Weather fairly OK with the odd shower every now and again. Papers are full of the crossing from hell on board MV Muirneag last Friday. I find the history of the boat on the Net, and she's been shunted from owner to owner over the 26 years of her lifetime. Mrs B attempts to obtain logs for the fireplace through the Stornoway Trust. Her fire also burns coal. Today is a cold day, with temperatures of barely 5C, a lot lower than of late. A remarkably low tide late at night. During a TV report from Yorkshire, I can see the moon and the planet Mars, both close together behind the reporter's head. We have a different ferry today, MV Clansman (image below, (c) Ships of Calmac.co.uk). The Isle of Lewis is undergoing repairs.

Monday 14/11/05

2005-11-15T15:04:00.000Z

Ferry never came back, it was due its refit 2 weeks ago. As per normal, the replacement ferry was unavailable. Weather quite unpleasant, heavy drizzle and strong winds with galeforce gusts. Loch Glascarnoch reports gusts of up to 44 knots, which is force 9. There will be an inquiry into the sailing of MV Muirneag on Friday. Someone was injured, and had to be airlifted off, 5 miles east of Tiumpan Head. The Coastguard is asking why the boat was at sea in such conditions in the first place. Lorries were damaged in the crossing. So, we've got NO ferries. The Small Isles ferry cannot call at Muck today. The story surrounding the Muirneag takes another twist, when the BBC breaks the news at midday that a crewman assaulted a passenger on board. This was later sorted amicably with a handshake. Muirneag sailed on Friday from Ullapool at 10 a.m., but could not enter Stornoway Harbour for 16 hours due to winds gusting at 65 knots. In other news, this weekend a digger burned out at Balallan. Went into town to drop off my pictures for processing. There is driving rain with force 9 gusts. Temperature today 13C, but set to decrease later in the week with wintry conditions. On Saturday, a large barge with 265 people on board was sent adrift in the North Sea. The occupants were taken off by helicopter. The lifeboat sailed yesterday to help a fisherman who was hurt after falling in his hold. More cancellations on the ferries: The Uig ferry is stormbound at Lochmaddy, the Armadale ferry is cancelled as are the ferries at Leverburgh and Eriskay. The strong winds abate at 4.30, when clouds break. The moon comes out later in the night, close to the planet Mars in the sky. Grampian TV showed a graphic report from Cuddy Point, interviewing passengers who had travelled on board MV Muirneag last Friday. Two men said they had written letters to their loved ones, as they were convinced the boat was going down. A vintage Rolls Royce was badly bashed in the crossing. CalMac claim they didn't know it was going to blow - well, they should have. A man arrives from Skye at 10.40pm, after the Uig ferry arrives at Tarbert. Methinks the excitement in the weather will now refocus on temperatures: looks like a cold night in the offing.

Sunday 13/11/05 - Remembrance Sunday

2005-11-14T11:28:00.000Z

It's a grey and drizzly day, with a thin wind blowing. Jerry left on the ferry, which finally departed for Ullapool at 7.45. Breakfast at 10 o'clock, after which we watch the Remembrance Day ceremonies in London's Whitehall. It's sunny down there, and the trees are still very much in leaf. Services are being held in 4 different churches in Stornoway, each allocated to one or more units of military or civil defence forces. I go out shortly after midday to attend a Service of Dedication up on the War Memorial. As I walk down Kenneth Street, the Free Church goes out, everybody hurrying to their cars to get home. I head down Bayhead Street to the Porter's Lodge, and along the Willowglen Burn to the Watermill. From there, I head up through the housing estate between the Lochs Road and Stewart Drive, to the Memorial. A lady is staggering up the Lochs Road, talking loudly to ... nobody. When I reach the top of Stewart Drive, two minibuses from the Army Cadets are parked. Walked up behind a group of fire officers. A fair crowd had gathered at the Memorial, about 100. A proportion of Army and Navy as well as veterans. Rev W. Black of the Church of Scotland started with a longish prayer, for which everybody took their hats off. Even though it was raining steadily. After that, we sang Psalm 46. Fortunately, someone passed round a crib-sheet with the words. After the psalm, which was not exactly sung with thunderous gusto, the wreaths were laid inside the Memorial. As the picture at the top of the entry shows, this is a tower, 26 metres high, perched on top of a high hill. It can be seen from far away. The tower is normally locked, but opened for this occasion. Proceedings were closed at 12.50, 15 minutes after it began. We sang two verses of the National Anthem, verses 1 and 3. For those who have just forgotten what the lines were, go to http://ingeb.org/songs/godsaveo.html. Everyone filed away, the Army cadets were marched down, the Airforce Cadets, complete with banner were bellowed on their way by their sergeant. The Army lot only went as far as the Stewart Drive gate, the RAF cadets went all the way to Memorial Avenue. I cut through the estate to the Lochs Road and went to the Watermill to take some pictures. Returned to town via the Golfcourse which looked very autumnal. Hardlyanybody about in the town. Returned to Newton at 1.30, where I joined mrs B for lunch. A large flock of gulls wheels over Sandwick Bay, behind the Coastguard Station. We await the return of the ferry, but end up waiting all day. Don't know if it came back. A Navy boat is hovering on the horizon for a while. The lifeboat goes out at 15.10. As darkness falls, visibility drops below 1 mile. Arnish Lighthouse is only visible by its light, on account of the heavy drizzle. With the evening progressing, the wind picks up. The moon is out at 8pm, and a strong wind blows. A severe gale warning is out for the tops of the hills. Later in the evening, I accompany mrs B to her sister's house, just down the road. She is due to return to Stornoway later this week, after an absence of 15 months. The house has lain empty for that time, except for a spell in the summer when a lady staid there for a while. I switched on the electrics and the central heating boiler. It's a nice wee place, but it's a bit pokey; windows are set deep in the 2 feet thick walls.

Saturday 12/11/05

2005-11-13T17:18:00.000Z

Jerry was due to go on the ferry (sorry, no pun intended) at 7.15, but CalMac cancelled the sailing. The wind has now veered into the northwest and is still at galeforce. By 10 a.m., we learn that the 13.45 will be going as timetabled. TWO lifeboats are seen leaving port at 10.15 - strange, we only have one on station normally.

Because of the poor weather, the wreath laying at the Ness War Memorial, at Cross, will now be taking place in the church. Most ferry services are going normally now, apart from the Small Isles sailing which was unable to call at Canna. The Eriskay to Barra ferry is off as well. The Isle of Lewis is NOT sailing after all; it has broken down. Again. On Thursday, it took 5 hours to reach Ullapool, a crossing that normally only takes 2 hours 45 minutes. CalMac put out a desperate appeal for parts, which served to patch it up. Now it's not going again. Another boat is due in tomorrow, and folk are being bussed down to Tarbert to go via Skye. Jerry cannot take up that offer, because his car is parked in Ullapool. Yesterday, schools were closed, a plane couldn't land at Stornoway Airport due to water on the runway. Another plane had to turn back from Kirkwall because the 55 knot winds were too strong. Debris is still flying around in Skye. Weather her starts cloudy with spells of rain, but later on the sun breaks through. Very cold wind. Muirneag did come in, but it still has lots of stuff on board. Lorries were damaged during the crossing yesterday. Isles FM reports that CalMac are putting on an extra sailing tomorrow, which is very unusual for a Sunday. There has not been a proper ferry service for 3 days now, and huge backlogs have built up for cars, vehicles and passengers on both sides of the Minch. After nightfall, the showers turn into hailshowers. Jerry and myself are served lasagna by mrs B. The former goes to An Lanntair for a jamming session with his bouzouki. A raging success, he doesn't return until 3.30 a.m..

Friday 11/11/05 - The Big Storm

2005-11-12T11:05:00.000Z

At 12.30 the sun puts in an unexpected appearance. Wind increases appreciably, now gusting to force 10. Barometer going down like a lead weight: 983 mbar at 12.00. Ferry is not sailing once it's back from Ullapool. The road across the Braighe is closed due to a high tide at 3 pm. Although the rain has now turned into showers, it's still very wild. During one squall, we lose sight of Arnish, and a wild frenzy of spray is blown over the causeway. This is force 11. Several more showers come barrelling through, with a similar effect. Malin Head reports 65 knots, which is force 12; Benbecula at 1pm is on 57, force 11. The ferry was expected in between 1.30 and 2.00, but there is sight nor sound of her. She is reported to be sheltering in Loch Erisort. An accident is reported on board Muirneag, also still out there in the Minch. Lorries have crashed into each other and she is now sheltering off Tolsta. I went out for some shopping at 3.15, which was a disconcerting experience. The force of the wind made walking difficult. After getting food, a paper and a roll of ilm, I went out again for some pictures. Don't know how they're going to come out. Took the camera to the coastguard station, and snapped away. I abandoned any idea of crossing over to Goat Island. The causeway is awash with massive seas going over, and the wind is so powerful that they blow the water clean out of puddles at the corner of the CG station. Back to town, where big seas are running into the seawall on South Beach Street. Water is flying over Newton Street, Shell Street, the busstation (buses are parked up against the shrimp factory, rather than in the bays). Walking very difficult, as I have to hold on to whatever comes to hand. Railings, bins, cars. A gale blows up Cromwell Street. All the fishing boats are tied up in the Inner Harbour. Return soaked, in spite of wearing waterproofs. Wonder where the ferry is - still up Loch Erisort. As darkness falls, winds continue to increase. Tiree and Benbecula now ratcheting up windspeeds of 75 and 73 knots, full hurricane force gusts. Sustained winds there of 55 knots, force 11. Gusts in Stornoway at 4pm reached 65 knots, also hurricane force, so that explains my problems in getting about. Sustained windspeeds up to 45 knots, force 9. The ferry finally comes in at 5.45, 4Â½ hours late. Suddenly, the winds decrease to sustained force 7, gusting to force 10. Still very strong. The really severe weather transfers east. The heaviest gusts occurat Loch Glascarnoch, between Ullapool and Garve, at 62 knots, nearly force 12. Tulloch Bridge and Skye are both going strong with gusts of 50 knots, force 10. Wick is now topping the bill at 65 knots at 9pm. Even Kirkwall and Lerwick are now affected, with 56 knots, force 11. In spite of all the strong winds, there do not appear to have been major problems. Electrical engineers were on standby at the substation in Dunvegan, Skye, which serves the Western Isles. Although we had a few dips in power, it never went off. Mrs B's son and his wife turn up to lash down their caravan, which is parked in the backyard. The wind is expected to veer northwest overnight, which puts it at risk of being blown away.

Armistice Day - 11/11/05

2005-11-11T12:11:00.000Z

Armistice Day today, with some quite appalling weather. Gales and rain. Many ferry services are off - I've copied the list of cancellations at midday into a separate entry. The Stornoway ferry is on its way across (rather them than me). Irish weatherstations on the west coast report gusts up to 60 knots (force 11). Stornoway is on 45 knots, force 9. A rare gull was blown across on the winds of Hurricane Wilma and is now attracting twitchers to Bragar. If they can get across at all.

Further updates in a separate entries.

Thursday 10/11/05

2005-11-11T11:33:00.000Z

Fairly bright morning, but with short, sharp showers. Another gale is in the offing for tomorrow, which will be followed by a drop in temperature. Ferry is cancelled, because it broke down at Ullapool.. Calmac advise travellers to go to Uig in Skye. Nice one, that is a trip of about 200 miles via Inverness and Kyle. Jerry is sorting out the purchase of his cottage in Sheshader. When I go out to get the Thursday papers, they have not come in. Apparently, the lorry missed the Muirneag, which itself was an hour late coming into port this morning. Weatherforecast for tomorrow pretty awful. The evening is quiet, and we enjoy a logfire. Jerry takes his bouzouki to O'Neills and plays there till 1.30 a.m..

Wednesday 09/11/05

2005-11-11T11:29:00.000Z

Brilliantly sunny morning, not a cloud in the sky. Colossal hangover. Own fault. Have a nice chat with Geoff and Jerry (try not to think "Tom and Jerry"). Jerry will be viewing houses today. The weather gets interesting as the day wears on. It clouds over at lunchtime, and the temperature drops. At 3 pm, a Norwegian submarine pulls into port. It leaves not long after, first going round behind the lighthouse, then going east. She had a flashing light on the conning tower. Submarines do not rise high above the waves, so they are easily overlooked. Crew stood to attention on deck as she came in. As evening falls, the wind picks up, until there is a full gale going with gusts up to force 10, 50 knots. Very strange, at 9.45 the wind drops back to force 5 and the rain stops. Jerry tells stories of the three properties he has viewed. At Garyvard, the house had been unoccupied for 14 years, with the personal effects of the deceased occupier still untouched. Newspapers, going back 70 years, hats, caps, it was all exactly as the man had left them the day he died. The house needed a lot of work, due to the effects of worms and damp. In Hacklete, Bernera, the house had proved difficult to find. The property had been unoccupied for 3 years, after the French couple that owned it had left. Apparently, the lady had died and the husband had never returned. Again, things had been left as if the owners would come back any day. But damp and rot had taken their toll here as well. The third property, in Sheshader, Point, was an incomplete conversion. Just walls, with windows and a cement floor. No interior walls or facilities connected. Jerry will be putting in a bid for this property. He currently lives on a boat, which costs about £100-150 in monthly harbour dues.

Just found this graphic, liked it

2005-11-11T01:06:00.000Z

Tuesday 08/11/05

2005-11-09T18:16:00.000Z

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.

Monday 07/11/05

2005-11-09T12:27:00.000Z

Bright morning with showers. Isles FM gives the customary post-weekend rundown of drunken loutishness around town. There was a crash two streets up Island Road, outside the Lewis Crofters store, where one of the cars ended up on its side. Dire warnings in the forecast for tonight's storm, gusts in excess of 100 mph over Shetland and here. Otherwise not a lot happening. Go into town to do some shopping, like getting new pens from Woolworths. The lady behind the counter is suffering with laryngitis and can only whisper. Went into the library to double check some facts about project Timbertown. There was a reunion in the Caledonian Hotel in 1959, but it is not mentioned in the pages of the Gazette for that year. Await the arrival of the gale with bated breath, and it duly arrives after 10pm. Gusts of 77 mph at Malin Head, Ireland; 74 mph in Tiree. Tales from Northern Ireland about people being blown off roads. Lights start to flicker, but we keep the power. Gusts in Stornoway of 55 mph. I hear that South Uist had 97 mph. Go out for a walk at 1 a.m. to record the sound of the wind. The wind is howling, the rain lashing and the waves crashing. Get soaked by a wave that crashes over the seawall by the CG station.

Sunday 06/11/05

2005-11-09T11:58:00.000Z

Reasonable day weatherwise. Check out the Vivi Awards (see earlier entry), which were given out between 2 and 4 a.m.. Sent messages to all the winners, but I wasn't one of them. Although it's sunny, it is very windy. This gale was not forecast. What was forecast (by Metcheck) fortunately did not happen; a daytime temperature of minus 174C. Rogue data apparently. We're having a southwesterly gale. Watch the gulls juggle the air currents around the seawall in Newton Street. Also the white riders on the basin. Very rough. Wind slowly abates as the day wears on. Once again supper courtesy of mrs B; pepper goulash. Like last night, it left me well filled-up. Forecast for Monday mentions a force 10 wind.

Saturday 05/11/05 - Bonfire Night

2005-11-09T11:55:00.000Z

Today starts sunny, but it clouds over very rapidly, and the wind picks up just as quickly. Rain starts at 10.40. It doesn't last very long, and recedes into showers around lunchtime. Head into town after 4.45 to get a paper and a lottery ticket. There was a long queue at the lottery counter in Somerfields. Someone bought £45 worth of tickets. Guy Fawkes night in Stornoway was a damp squib; hardly anything went off. Weather not fantastic, but I heard that plenty of fireworks had been sold. Very nice supper with mrs B, who is spoiling me rotten. Lottery yielded nothing, but mrs B won £10.

Friday 04/11/05

2005-11-06T22:56:00.000Z

So, I went to Barvas on the 10.30 Ness bus. At the Loch Street junction, I changed ino another bus, which took me right to the end of the street. This bus was packed full of people from the West Side who were coming into town for shopping. Got off at the end of the street, and found my address staring in my face. After knocking on the wrong door, I was let in by Margaret Joan MacLeod (who I'll refer to as MJ after this, for brevity's sake). I had been advised that she would have more information and names for project Timbertown. MJ used to be a teacher, but had to give it up to look after her mother. She is very elderly and frail following a major operation. Although not a lot of info is forthcoming, MJ goes out of her way to ring around the area to try to find folk whose ancestors were in the internment camp. The internees are now all deceased, and their descendants elderly themselves. It's beginning to sound like the experiences from HMS Timbertown (click here to go to website) have been taken into the grave by those that were there. MJ got her neighbour in, Donald Morrison, and tries another relative, who unfortunately is off to town for the day. I'm plied with tea and cakes. House is warm, but quite modest. A peatfire is lit for me. It appears MJ has gone out on walks with the Barvas & Brue Historical Society, to the Barvas Hills, 6 miles to the south. Next year they want to walk to Muirneag, a fair old distance. She also tells the story of a circular walk from Maraig to Reinigeadal and Urgha, return by Lacasdal Lochs. The ascent from Loch Trollamaraig is brutal, and none the better in pouring rain. I take my leave at 2.15, when the bus comes up Loch Street. At the junction with the main road through the village, I change into a bus, bound for Stornoway. I was back in town some 20 minutes later, at 2.40 pm. After a late lunch I ensconsed myself in the library for 2 hours, trawling through the Roll of Honour 1914-1919. I found at least 105 names of people that were interned at Groningen during the Great War. Some of them had been awarded the 1914 Star or Mons Star medal, although officially all that had fought at Antwerp should have been awarded this decoration.

When I leave the library at 5.45, it's dark - small wonder, the sun sets at 4.30 pm. Mrs B is making mashedturnip and separately mashed potatoes with onion rings. Mind you, the turnip was fully organically grown, fertilised with seaweed. And mince balls, which I'm in charge of. I made them a bit too big.

Thursday 03/11/05

2005-11-06T17:31:00.000Z

Cloudy morning, but a lot better than the gales and rain they're having down in England. Decide to visit Barvas tomorrow, in order to put a limit on the duration of my visit. The lady in question will only be in during the morning. Not an awful lot doing today. Go out to get all the Thursday papers, which don't have a lot to report. Apart from that horrendous story of the OAP who killed a cat, only two streets away. Why? He had been visiting a friend, who complained that the animal had given her a rash. He promised that he'd "sort" the cat. By kicking it and putting it in a pillow case to whack it against a wall a few times. The poor dumb animal didn't survive this. The police were called by neighbours who were woken by the disturbance at 5 a.m.. They found the body of the cat and tell-tale signs of what had happened. The man, aged 66, was arrested and is now serving a 4 months' jail sentence. He has also been banned for 10 years from keeping animals. Very unpleasant.
After updating the website, I heard of a rescue going on 200 miles west of Benbecula. A man had been crushed by a 2 tonne door. The coastguard yanked a local GP off a scheduled flight and took him on the helicopter. This had to refuel at Benbecula before setting off into the Atlantic. Bought a microwave meal for mrs B and myself, which went down a treat.

VIVI Awards 2005

2005-11-06T10:52:00.000Z

No, I didn't make it, but I'm very pleased that this came along. It's given me a fantastic opportunity to read other people's journals. Congratulations to all the winners, listed below. Have a look at what goes in AOL J-land.

POSTSCRIPT: Many of the journals listed here have been discontinued, were transferred to AOL UK or Blogger, following the introduction of advertisements on AOL USA. (26-10-2006)

JOURNAL OF THE YEAR 2005:
Just One Girls Head Noise - his1desire
Transferred to AOL UK

LORD OF THE BLOG:
The StupidSheet Guy - stupidsheetguy
Went private

LADY OF THE BLOG:
Judith Heartsong - judithheartsong
Transferred to Blogger

DUKE OF THE BLOG:
Dave Cryer, Cave Dryer - davobarbus

DUCHESS OF THE BLOG:
Adventures of a desperately fat housewife - tillysweetchops
Went private

MARQUIS/MARQUISSE OF THE BLOG:
Aurora Walking Vacation - plittle

BEST INTERNATIONAL BLOG:
My Journey to Life - grassriver
Not written in 2006

BEST USE OF GRAPHICS:
Judith Heartsong - judithheartsong
Transferred to Blogger

BEST USE OF ANIMATION:
This and that, and hockey - nightmaremom

BEST USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY:
WonderGirl - cneinhorn
Went private

MOST HUMOROUS JOURNAL:
Adventures of a desperately fat housewife - tillysweetchops
Went private

MOST EMOTIONAL JOURNAL:
Watching My Sister...Disappear - mlrhjeh

MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING JOURNAL:
Just One Girl's Head Noise - his1desire
Transferred to AOL UK - writer now deceased

MOST EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL:
Inane thoughts and insane ramblings - swibirun
Transferred to Blogger

MOST INSPIRATIONAL JOURNAL:
A Pennies Worth - blondepennierae

BEST POLITICAL JOURNAL:
the wizard of ahs - anarchitek

BEST SPORTS JOURNAL:
High Above Courtside - monponsett

BEST TRAVEL JOURNAL:
Alphawoman's Blog - alphawoman1
Discontinued blog in October 2006

BEST ENTERTAINMENT JOURNAL:
Albert's World of Artsy Fun - lamove04
Went private

BEST FAMILY JOURNAL:
DUST BUNNY CLUB OF NORTH AMERICA - dornbrau

BEST PETS JOURNAL:
Random Ramblings - xzasporated1
Started different blog

MOST OUTSPOKEN JOURNAL (TIE!):
Mrs. Linklater's Guide to the Universe - jevanslink

Screamin' Remo - screaminremo303
Went private

BEST USE OF ATTITUDE (TIE!):
Freely Floralilia,the official journal of pointless posting - floralilia

Mortimer's Café - luvmort
Went private

MOST WELL-WRITTEN JOURNAL:
In The Shadow Of The Iris - justaname4me2

BEST FICTION/POETRY JOURNAL (TIE!):
Musings from Mâvarin - mavarin

TO GROW IS TO BE ANXIOUS - deabvt
Went private

BEST ENTRY OR SERIES OF ENTRIES:
"The Wedding From Hell"
Adventures of a desperately fat housewife - tillysweetchops
Went private

BEST THEME-BASED JOURNAL:
Stories From My Ambulance - sekirley
Deleted journal

BEST YOUNG-PERSON'S JOURNAL:
I Have a Life, This is It - animaquarius2500
Went private

BEST TEEN JOURNAL:
Holding On & Letting Go - rickysbunnie

BEST COLLEGIATE JOURNAL:
Life Or Something Like It ~ LIVE from the U! - luckyaugustgirl
Went to AOL UK

BEST NEW JOURNAL:
Fresh Cup...Move Down - schnozbeary
Journal deleted

BEST AIM JOURNAL (TIE!):
The Daily Snooze II - hewasolddog299
Went to Blogger

The Light's On...But No One's Home - krspkrmmom

BEST-KEPT SECRET JOURNAL (TIE!):
From Here to There - firestormkids04

Lotus Martinis - txguinan
Went to Blogger

MOST-MISSED JOURNAL:
Life With Linny - lindainspokane

MOST CREATIVE/ORIGINAL JOURNAL:
Adventures of the 2-Faced Baseball - upseted
Discontinued blog

The Iolaire Disaster

2005-11-05T15:50:00.000Z

(Article from the Scotsman, 18 January 1919)

The Iolaire disaster, where 200 men died yards from shore

DIANE MACLEAN

31 December 1918

THE ISLE of Lewis had a hard war. Some 6,200 men joined up and nearly 1,000 had died. Every family on the island had lost fathers, sons, brothers or uncles. So, the night of 31 December 1918 was tense with expectation. The war was finally over, the world was at peace and after four long years the men who had served king and country were on their way home.

The Kyle of Lochalsh was alive. Hundreds of laughing, boisterous servicemen were crowded onto the quay. The regular steam-ferry, the SS Sheila, was soon packed so the Royal Navy ordered the Iolaire across the Minch from her berth in Stornoway to carry the extra men left behind.

The Iolaire had been a luxury yacht before the war, sailing under the name of the Amalthaea. She was used by the navy in anti-submarine and patrol work when she was renamed the Iolaire – Gaelic for "Sea Eagle".

When she arrived in Kyle there was some discussion between the Master, Commander Mason and Commander Walsh, in charge at Kyle. Commander Mason was worried about the paucity of life-saving equipment onboard. She was kitted out with only two lifeboats and lifejackets for 80. Even more worrying she had never sailed into Stornoway harbour at night, a tricky manoeuvre in daylight.

Discussions were brought up short when two more trains arrived at the quay spilling out more demobbed men. The master ordered the 284 servicemen, predominately navy reserves, up the gangplank and onto the ship.

She left at 9:30pm, sailing out of the darkness of the new year. But 12 miles out of Stornoway Harbour the weather turned. As a gale took hold the crew of a local fishing boat watched in confusion as the Iolaire failed to change course to make harbour. Instead she carried on full steam ahead into the pitch-black night.

Biastan Thuilm - the Beasts of Holm - is a rocky outcrop just short of the harbour entrance. A small light attached to the rock warns mariners of the approaching danger. When the Iolaire failed to turn, the flickering light was useless. The momentum of the ship kept pushing her forward.

Visibility was poor. Sleet was falling and the seas were wild. When the ship collided with the "Beasts" she went over almost immediately. Nobody on board knew where they were. The boat was lying only about 20 feet from land, but between the ship and the rocks was a boiling, raging sea. Fifty men jumped into the water and made for shore. They all drowned in the freezing water. The two lifeboats were launched, but were swamped immediately as too many men battled for too few seats.

At three o’clock in the morning the ship’s back broke and she went under.

As the men onboard slowly drowned one man, John Macleod, swam for his life hauling a rope behind him. When he reached shore he set up another stronger rope, and 25 men escaped along this safety line. John Macleod was awarded the highest peacetime aware for heroism for his incredible courage and strength.

Donald Morrison climbed the mast as the ship went down and clung on as she submerged. He was picked up alive the next morning at 10 o’clock, having spent eight hours in the water.

His brother was not so lucky. He drowned alongside 205 men who had seen off enemy fire only to die within shouting distance of their own homes.

The Lewis Roll of Honour records the poignant loss of Kenneth Macphail whose death epitomises the tragedy: "He was the sole survivor of a ship torpedoed in the Mediterranean in October 1917. He had a terrible experience before he was rescued having been nearly 36 hours in the sea until washed ashore in Algeria. Pathetic in the extreme it is to think that this powerful seaman after so miraculous an escape in the Mediterranean, perished within a few feet of his native soil."

Aerial photograph of Stornoway

As New Year’s Day broke across the islands, families waiting for the arrival of their loved ones heard rumours of a terrible disaster. Men walked miles from villages to Stornoway searching for news. What they found was devastating. The Scotsman of 6 January reported the tragedy, soberly noting: "The villages of Lewis are like places of the dead. The homes of the island are full of lamentation – grief that cannot be comforted. Scarcely a family has escaped the loss of a near blood relative. Many have had sorrow heaped upon sorrow."

Days went by and still all the men were not recovered. Boats left the harbour in search of bodies to return as night fell to a silent crowd waiting at the harbour. In 1959 Donald Macphail, speaking on Gaelic radio, recalled the moment his friend found the body of his son.

‘The man’s son was there, and I remember he was so handsome that I could have said he was not dead at all. His father went on his knees beside him and began to take letters from his son’s pockets. And the tears were splashing on the body of his son. And I think it is the most heart-rending sight I have ever seen.’

Two investigations were ordered. With the crew dead no conclusion was reached, other than to rule out drink as being the cause. A public enquiry held later found that the deciding factor in the tragedy was the lack of lifebelts and life craft in the vessel.

How traumatically the Iolaire disaster affected the islands is unknown. Roddy Murray director of An Lanntair museum in Stornoway thinks that it cannot be underestimated. "We can speculate on its contribution to the mass emigrations of the twenties, its effect on the Lewis character, the rebirth of an inherent fatalism. Its effect was like the Passover of the Old Testament."

Snaking through the whole story, like a spectral ribbon are tales of supernatural occurrences. John Macleod later told his son that he saw his mother standing before him as he jumped into the sea. Deer, portents of death, were seen in a number of villages that night.

Strangest of all was the story of a man from Breascleit who was tormented with visions of a body floating in the sea. He walked to Stornoway and directed the recovery boats to the area he had seen in his dream. Sure enough a body was recovered in exactly the place he had described. It was no surprise to anyone when the body turned out to be the old man’s son.

Monday 31/10/05

2005-11-03T23:48:00.000Z

Bright blustery morning. Isles FM gives us the usual rundown of misdemeanours. The worst of these is the counterfeit ring that was uncovered. People were arrested, including children. Apart from that, only the drunken loutishness. The presenter drops his weather on the floor. Like you do. This coming Saturday, 5th, there will be a guided walk around Seaforth Head. I'll probably go if the weather is half decent. The brightness is replaced with some pretty threatening looking clouds as the afternoon wears on. By 2pm, the rain starts, and it only gets worse. The clouds break a little by 4pm, and the sun shines very brightly through a gap in the clouds to the southwest. Sunset at 4.40, which becomes noticeable when I go out for shopping at 5.15. It's raining heavily, and when I'm in Somerfields, there is only blackness outside the windows. On return, I notice lit-up Santa's in the windows at Edmundsons. Noooooo!

Wednesday 02/11/05

2005-11-03T12:19:00.000Z

Wednesday 02/11/05

Brilliantly sunny morning after an overnight low of 4C. Awoke to the sound of migrating geese passing overhead. Rain elsewhere in the UK, but not here. Around 10 a.m., they announce that David Blunkett has had to resign from the UK government again. It's a long story, but it boils down to poor judgment. At 12.30, I set off with mrs B and her nephew to the Castle Grounds. After calling into the Bayhead P.O., we carry on to the Woodlands Centre where we enjoy lunch. I have a baguette BLT (bacon, lettuce & tomato), while my companions enjoy a smoked salmon with a colossal salad each. That was a filler all-round, so a walk was in order. After a brief run round to the northern edge of the Castle Groudns, we went to see the new watermill. This is a reconstruction of the old mill which burned down in 1890. It's very cleverly done. A run off from the Willowglen burn goes to a millpond, which supplies the water that goes over the big wheel. When this turns, electricity is generated to power lighting along the walkway to Cuddy Point. The mill was officially opened on October 21st (see picture)

The wheel is not operating right now as fencing still needs to be erected for safety's sake. Return to town at 3pm. Cloud has increased gradually, and it's feeling cold. Feel very full after the lunch, so contend with a bowl of soup. Watch some TV during the evening, such as All Creatures Great and Small.

Tuesday 01/11/05

2005-11-03T12:02:00.000Z

Found this very interesting link on the customs surrounding Hallowe'en, All Hallows and All Souls. Hallowe'en being All Hallows' eve, and on 31st October. All Hallows, when all the saints are commemorated is on 1st November; All Souls, when all the departed are remembered, is on November 2nd. This has a strong Roman Catholic background!
http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/customstimeafterpentecost12aa.html

November started with a bang at 4 in the morning, on account of two flashes of lightning and two claps of thunder. Heavy rain accompanied this shower. More follow through the morning. Three workmen are staying with mrs B, but their gear has not arrived on the good old Muirneag. Have a good old yarn with mrs B about the church and all the splits that continually occur in the Free Church here in Lewis. The weather turns pretty changeable, with heavy showers alternating sunny intervals. The ferry is about 15 minutes late getting in at lunchtime. I'm writing descriptions for hidden places in Lewis, such as Steimreway, 4 miles west of Lemreway. Others include the Iolaire Monument outside Sandwick and the sheilings at Cuidhsiadar and Filiscleitir in Ness. Also discover a very interesting article on the net from Views of Scotland about sheilings and the proposed windfarm. A bulletin board on VisitHebrides.com features Angus Nicolson, a local councillor, who has some vociferous exchanges with a German photographer and frequent visitor. By nightfall, at 5pm, the showers fade away.

Halloween 2005

2005-11-03T11:44:00.000Z

Hallowe'en 2005

Sunday 30/10/05

2005-11-03T11:29:00.000Z

Clocks went back last night so the sun shone at 8 in the morning. Nice bright morning but hazy. Banks of cloud move up from the south, looking threatening, but dissipating all the while. Met Office has issued a severe weather warning with severe gales in the offing. After midday, the rain starts and it gets quite gloomy. Find a report on the Coastguard website that a Spanish fisherman was lost overboard 145 miles NW of the Butt of Lewis. Stornoway Coastguard were alerted by Falmouth CG, who in turn had been alerted by an Irish coastguard at Malin Head. He spoke Spanish, and happened to be monitoring traffic on 2182 kHz. Communications were going via Madrid because "none of the fishermen spoke Spanish". What? Stornoway Coastguard is very concerned, because the man washed overboard in full oiskins in southeasterly gales, with no lifejacket. Search is called off after 6 hours. Sun is back after 2pm, but the wind picks up through the afternoon. Learn that the planet Mars can be seen above the eastern horizon in the evening. At sunset, now at 4.45, a small yacht can be seen sailing into the harbour. Its progress is only slow, and it vanishes into the darkness once past Arnish. Sheets of water slam over the causeway. At 5.30, it's fully dark. Dinner tonight is sweet and sour chiecken with rice, a glass of wine and sticky-toffee-pudding from a tin. The latter is OK, but not like the real article. Finally manage to put the Mod music on the net, and it's available on http://modmusic.bravehost.com.

Summer Time - Winter Time 2005

2005-10-30T22:57:00.000Z

Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time, or BST in the UK) came to an end last night. Don't forget to put your clocks back, if you haven't already done so.

Saturday 29/10/05

2005-10-30T22:48:00.000Z

Reasonable day to start with. Watched someone clean up after his dog - by throwing the poo over the seawall. Have compiled a Mod scrapbook, but need duplicate copies of the relevant papers to be able to use all the pictures; images are printed on both sides of some pages. Go to Lewis Crofters to start with, to buy 2 new pairs of socks, an insulated cup. It's raining when I leave that treasure trove. Into town for a new pair of shoes from Murdo MacLean's. That shop is full of helpful ladies. I find one pair of shoes that appears to fit, erm - the right shoe does. The left one has gone walkabout. The assistant hunts high and low, engages the help of everybody else, only to find the missing shoe in its original box! Return to Newton after finishing purchases and carry on updating the on-line journal. Manage to squeeze in quite a few piccies about the last few days. Night falls at 5.45 pm - tomorrow that will be at 4.45. Clocks go back tonight. Mrs B (Barbara for insiders) provides me with a very nice meal:

- Parma ham with melon and grapes
- Lasagna
- Chocolate and custard
- Glass of wine

As we both got lottery tickets, we watch Eamonn Holmes' program Jet Set to see the draw. No winnings at all. Yesterday, I made my 200th entry on Metcheck (www.metcheck.com). The count runs up quickly when the weather is bad or unusual. Last night, the wind dropped rapidly after 9 o'clock. The Met Office website gives nice graphs.
Just after 11, a shower comes past clattering against the window.

Friday 28/10/05

2005-10-29T18:06:00.000+01:00

Bright morning, but with a full southerly gale. The lifeboat goes out at 8.50, powering into some hefty waves beyond Arnish Light. Read that a fishing boat went on fire last Friday between Eigg and Rum.

The crew let off an emergency flare, and a member of the public dialled 999, saying a fishing boat was ablaze. When the ferry Ossian of Staffa (right), on relief duty for normal ferry Lochnevis, arrived, they found the crew in liferafts near the vessel.

The Kalibarri was towed away to Mallaig, after it was ascertained that the fire was out. Here in Stornoway, the Isle of Lewis left port at the unusual time of 9.15, but she keeps heading southeast, instead of going east after rounding Arnish Light. We assume that she is away for refit, and await her replacement with bated breath. It's very rough out there. By midday, the fun gets even better with sharp rainshowers. The ferry's normal sailings have been cancelled due to adverse weather. The Sound of Harris ferry is out as well. Strangley enough, the Isle of Lewis returns at 4.30. When I was at Somerfields, the notice said that fresh produce would be avilable after 5pm. God knows where the ferry had gone to get food - my guess is Skye. Hear that someone was seriously injured early on Monday. The ferry was shifting berths, when a hawser snapped. It lashed out and hit a man. He has now been transferred to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. After supper, I take mrs B to a concert in An Lanntair, where Lewis Women are performing. This is a group of 6 pretty accomplished singers. It's very good, one of them is Anna Murray. They alternate between solo and group singing, with some fantastic images projected on the screen behind the ladies. I sit beside a lady who has done as much walking in her day as I have, so we can swap yarns. Although there is an interval, hardly anyone goes out to the bar. They all prefer to sit and talk. Performance finishes at 10.15. Fortunately it's dry outside and the stars are shining brightly.

Thursday 27/10/05

2005-10-29T17:19:00.000+01:00

Very nice morning, but very blustery. We're warned against strong gusts of wind at high levels, up to 70-80 mph. Temperatures could sore to 21C / 70F. Kenny "There you go" MacLeod on Isles FM has a bad cold and complains that there is no milk in the studio to put in his coffee. Well, Stornoway rises to the appeal and he very soon asks people to stop bringing milk! On the subject of windfarms, an advisor states that councils are being brainwashed into building windfarms by the manufacturers. The Scottish Executive has as yet failed to produce guidelines. It could leave the Highlands an industrial wasteland. Does this sound familiar? Like heck it does. Caithness, the far northeast, could end up mirroring sites in Spain and California which sport hundreds of the things. The profits made by companies like Amec and scandalous. Quoting from Radio Scotland, this is very interesting news. Going through pens like a dose of salts; the last pen just ran out again. New lot out of Woolworths later today. At 1.40, mrs B and I go on the bus to Stewart Drive, near the hospital, to go to the War Memorial.

I have visited this conspicuous landmark, above the hospital, twice before; on July 4th and December 31st. Stewart Drive is a steep street, which requires mrs B to take a break or two. At the top, we come out amongst fields, where sheep are grazing quietly. They are very white with beautiful black faces. Next month, the rams will be put amongst them to ensure more lambs next year. At the top, we enjoy the view s around. Stornoway lies at our feet. The time at just after 2pm, the ferry is blasting away. It normally doesn't do that before departure. Broad Bay is fairly clear, although Point is very hazy. The Arnish hills are laid out in shades of grey, and the hill with Prince Charlie's monument on top stands out. Eitsal and the Barvas Hills are clear. A navy ship (possibly HMS Shoreham) is anchored in Broad Bay.

A helicopter is preparing to land at the airport. The Laxdale estuary is full, so no pedestrian crossing there today. Water is flowing out of the tower of the War Memorial. Built 81 years ago, it has suffered problems with water ingress for decades. Twenty-three plaques commemorate the 1,151 men of the five parishes of Lewis killed in action in WW1 and 2. The majority appear to have fallen in the First War, with the RNR [Royal Naval Reserve] featuring heavily. About 1 out of every 3 RNR men came from Lewis. On Remembrance Sunday, November 13, people will be thronging the walkway up to the tower. The ground beside the paths is sodden, an indication of the recent heavy rainfall. We go downhill to the Lochs Road, then turn right into Willowglen Road opposite the Caberfeidh Hotel. Last week, a watermill was inaugurated further upstream. This mill generates electricity to power the streetlamps along the walkway to Cuddy Point. Once back in town, our ways temporarily divide for shopping. It's warm, 18C.

Wednesday 26/10/05

2005-10-29T14:59:00.000+01:00

Cloudy day today. Ferries are back to normal. Went out at 10.30 to buy tickets at An Lanntair for a performance on Friday by Lewis Women. This is a group of folk singers from Lewis. We found out on the net last night that only a handful of seats were left, so I was in there like a shot. Picked up some leaflets at An Lanntair for the Hebridean Celtic Festival 2006 http://www.hebceltfest.com

as well as for the Mod 2007 (yep; next year's Mod is in Dunoon) which will take place in Lochaber. Not much info on that yet ( (http://www.lochabermod2007.co.uk), but the Dunoon mod is slightly better organised (have a look at http://www.mod2006.co.uk/)

Bought papers at the Baltic bookshop and food at Somerfields. Met Mrs B's sister and husband at the supermarket. Got a lottery ticket, which was not the lucky one. Continue to peruse the journals on AOL nominated for the Vivi awards, which are given to the best blog in a certain category. (http://hometown.aol.com/pattboy92/viviawards). I try to get my head round an FTP client program, but get lost in no time at all. Mrs B's nice suite of seats are suffering problems in the shape of collapsed springs. Sunrise at the moment 8.25, sunset 17.53. We have lost 9 hours of daylight since June. Watch All Creatures Great and Small again. There is one program, called Takeshi's Castle, on Challenge.Typical Japanese game-show, people get very wet, dirty and sometimes hurt. Very funny at times.

Tuesday 25/10/05

2005-10-29T14:41:00.000+01:00

Very nice day today. Ann and Gordon went to have a look at the Western Isles Museum in Francis Street, to leave for the airport at 1pm. The ferry reappeared, late, at lunchtime. The Muirneag also came in in the morning, although it wasn't until 10 o'clock - she normally docks at 7.30 am. Apart from all the excitement with the ferries, not an awful lot has happened. Have gathered up all last week's papers, have bought a scrapbook and some glue. Cut out every snipped about the Mod and stuck that in the scrapbook. A very nice memento of a most enjoyable week. The only negative side to my attendance was the language barrier. Mrs B is very happy with the new computer that her son has given her. New is not strictly correct - it is only a few years old, and is second hand, but still in perfectly good order.

Monday 24/10/05

2005-10-29T14:28:00.000+01:00

Today's events are centred on our two ferries:
MV Muirneag
MV Isle of Lewis
Yesterday was sunny, but today it's cloudy and cold. Easterly wind continues, and it causes problems. Good old Muirneag turns up at 9 o'clock, but she goes straight out again. Apparently after hitting no 1 pier. Normally, she'd go at anchor in the Glumag, off Arnish, but she puts right out to sea again. The wind is force 6 to 7, and as the Muirneag has no bow thrusters, she is easily blown away. At midday, we see her sailing NORTH along the eastern horizon, although she did turn east upon leaving at 9. A Navy vessel can be seen pitching and heaving at times listing at an angle of 40° in the choppy seas. The Isle of Lewis ferry is very late getting in and even later leaving for Ullapool at 3.15 - 90 minutes after the advertised time. Because the freight didn't come off the Muirneag, the supermarket shelves are very bare. No rolls for instance. It's a right nuisance for people, particularly because it's a Monday. During the evening, rain adds to the fun, but whatever happens, the Isle of Lewis never showed up again. According to local rumour, the ferry was all set up to go, cars on board and lashed down, when the decision was taken not to sail. So people were left stranded in Ullapool; they couldn't drive anywhere because the cars were lashed down. People were forced to spend the night on board the vessel, which has no overnight facilities. Very awkward for those with young children. No information was given out, as per normal on the Ullapool - Stornoway run. Not even on the website. If you ring the Calmac office here in SY, you get a recorded message to contact Gourock during office hours. Fat lot of use that. Ann and Gordon, the Canadian choristers, returned from South Uist at 6 pm, having left there at 11 am. Went for a walk at 11 pm and found Muirneag tied up, but no Isle of Lewis. Wind dropped away, and it was quite pleasant out there.

Sunday 23/10/05

2005-10-29T14:15:00.000+01:00

Oh. The Mod is over. Life is back to normal, I suppose...

We get up late, 10 a.m.. In the afternoon, mrs B and I go out for an amble to Lower Sandwick. Past the Coastguard Station, up to the Battery, down Millar Road and along the foreshore to Sandwick Cemetery. It is a sunny but chilly afternoon, with a strong easterly wind. Visibility is good, you can see Kebock Head, the Shiants and Skye looming up to the south, 40 miles away. Mrs B goes into the cemetery to look at the graves of some people she used to know. Her husband's grave is there; he died in May 1993 of a heart attack. Her mother lies buried at Dalmore, she died in July 1993 at the age of 90. After mrs B has located the grave of an ancestor who died in 1889, aged 56, we leave the graveyard and head up Lower Sandwick to Sandwick proper. Then it's down the road, along the northern perimeter of the cemetery. The sun is sinking lower, with the time at 4.20pm. As we go down Oliver's Brae, we have nice views of Eitsal, the Barvas Hills, Muirneag and the east coast from Kebock Head to Tolsta. Back down Island Road, where mrs B continues her melancholy trip down memory lane. One of the derilict buildings used to be the office of the Harris Tweed mill operated by her husband. She points out all the now-delapidated premises which used to be good mills. Over and out.
Eat my usual microwave meal, after being served food last night.

Saturday 22/10/05 - Royal National Mod (Day 7)

2005-10-28T17:14:00.000+01:00

The Mod comes to an end today. The choirs will sing for a final time, all together, in Perceval Square, at 10.30. At the breakfast table, the post-mortem was continuing as to the reasons why the Canadian choir had not succeeded. The Gaelic tutor was staying with us, and she felt particularly down. You can only feel sorry. Once in Perceval Square I had to wait for quite a bit because the pipebands were once again late. They marched the choristers down Cromwell Street and into Perceval Square.
The above image (taken in July) shows the junction of Cromwell Street and Percival Square (to the left). The image below (April 2005) shows the view in the opposite direction, from Percival Square into Cromwell Street.

A Lewis Crofters lorry has been set up with a set of speakers and conductors take turns conducting the massed choirs. At 1.15, I go down to the ferry terminal. Droves of people going on the ferry. They're seen off by the pipeband. The usual melee ensues, but everybody does manage to squeeze on board. With twice 3 hoots on the ship's whistle, the Isle of Lewis sails for Ullapool at 2.15 with a piper playing from the top of the wheelhouse. I walk back with a neighbour from Newton Street. It's a cold afternoon, but dry after an initial light shower at 10.45. Ann and Gordon have left for Kilbride in South Uist, which is where Ann is from. Carmel and John went on the plane to Edinburgh at midday. They read up on the island in the morning, as they knew very little about the history of the place. And history is so important, because it's the very history that has given rise to Gaelic music as we know it. The sun sets at 6pm, which brings Mod 2005 to a close!

Friday 21/10/05 - Royal National Mod (Day 6)

2005-10-28T16:42:00.000+01:00

Today is the big day for the choristers staying with us. Victoria Gaelic Choir is participating in 3 events. The first is at 9 o'clock at the Sports Centre. The four, Ann, Gordon, Carmel and John, get up at 6.30 a.m. and have breakfast at 7.30. An hour later, they walk up to the venue, with mrs B and myself following 15 minutes later. The two pieces are sung straight after one another: Mor a'cheannaich and Mura bitha Domhnall. Victoria are on 3rd, after Ceolraidh and Aberdeen. And, I'm sorry to report that it's not good, not half as good as those going before. A bit stunned, mrs B and I walk across to the Nicolson Assembly Hall, for the second event which runs concurrently - a third competition started at nine in the Town Hall. We sit through the first few choirs, but Victoria is 12th on the list, so we return to the Sports Centre for a coffee. Then we have another look at the Gaelic Showcase. Victoria's rendition of Maraiche nan Tonn and their own choice (unknown to me) was once more not impressive. Their marks were lowest for both Gaelic and music. We're just too late at the Sports Centre for the adjucation of their early morning performance. On a lighter note, at the Nicolson, the winning choir was called Atomaig Piseag. This means: Atomic Kitten. Excited choristers spread over the area, but the Victoria choir members are glum. Return to Newton for lunch, then walk back in the middle of a second outbreak of rain this week. At the Nic Assembly hall, the final competition takes place with Victoria. They have to compete against choirs from Largs, Nairn and Aberdeen. Prescribed piece is Miann Cridhe. Victoria do well by my ears, but end up last. Only 10 points (out of 355) behind winners Aberdeen. Chi mi 'n Gearraidh is always a winner. This all finishes at 3 pm, so I wend my way down to the Sports Centre for the last competition. Ten choirs perform, but I only hear the last five. Memorable performance by (I think) Cumbernauld choir, who sing about a train journey from Inverness to Achnasheen, with all the right noises for a steamtrain. The MC for the event cracks a joke about the choir's conductor, who he calls the traindriver. The other man retorts that he prefers to be a conductor (sic). Inverness end up winners, which closes competitions for Mod 2005. Go back to Newton, where mrs B is cooking, when Isles FM announce that five pipebands will be playing in the town at 6 o'clock. We rush out to Cromwell Street, but are kept waiting for 50 minutes. It's packed out in the town centre, but good-humoured. Everybody is nattering to everybody else, which actually comes through very well on my recordings. The pipeband comes down Cromwell Street, but stops at the trafficlights - and not because they're at red. A camera crew appears with a bright light and the presenter of the late night Mod programme on BBC2. This lady is known as Giggles, even though she is 46. She marches out in front of the pipeband. They head down North Beach Street, round the corner into Castle Street and into South Beach Street. Mrs B and I cut across through the pedestrianized part of Cromwell Street and await the passage of the pipeband. Rain starts to fall, but that doesn't faze the crowd. When the pipeband turns into James Street to carry on to the Sports Centre, we go straight ahead into Shell Street and Newton Street. We finish supper there. An empty feeling pervades me - the Mod is over and done with. Although there is plenty of events on in the town, I can't be bothered with any of it. Hear later that the Vatersay Boys were too drunk to play at the County Hotel. The Canadians walk out of the room when the Mod program commences at 11.35. They did attend the final concert at the Sports Centre at 7.30, where it probably sank it that they really were not up to standard, sorry as I am to have to report this. Yesterday, a number of them sat in amongst the crowd in the Nicolson Assembly Hall.

Victoria Gaelic Choir (Guth nan Eilean) at the Tall Ships event on June 25th 2005. Picture taken from their website http://members.shaw.ca/ceol/

The below link is a recording of the songs they sang at the first competition, but not as performed on October 21st; this was recorded on February 22nd, 2005.
Much better. http://markreid.org/gaelic/moracheannaich.mp3

Picture below is taken just before the 2nd performance, in the Nicolson Assembly Hall.

Thursday 20/10/05 - Royal National Mod (Day 5)

2005-10-28T15:31:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was the last day of children's competitions. From now on, it's purely adults. Three major competitions are decided at the Sports Centre: the Gold Medal, the Traditional Final and the Silver Pendant. I am NOT attending those events, as it transpires that you have to pay up separately for each of those. Entry fees are £6 for a whole day's access to competitions, but not to the the evening concert. When I get into the Town Hall, I find out that I only have to pay £3 today. I'm not there on the stroke of 9 a.m., but things are, as per usual, overrunning by about an hour. I catch the last two of the self-accompanied solo singers. Iain Blair, from Renfrewshire, is just about to start his second song. Judging by remarks from the adjudicators, his first song was a stop-start affair. Only 3 competitors out of the 6 listed turned up. Iain A Gordon, Nairn, gave a very nice rendition of Chi mi bheanna mor [I see big mountains], which was performed at the funeral of president Kennedy in 1961, which won him the trophy. Trophies are pretty grandiose affairs: silver cups, shields, batons, quaichs etc. Next up: folk groups. First is Mac Talla, an American formation. A breakdown in communication causes their downfall, and the fiddle doesn't seem to help proceedings either. Pity. Picture below from the Mac Talla website.

Second song is better, but the voice aren't the strongest part of the group. Next group up is Gleusda + 1. Officially, Gleusda has 4 performers, but a 5th has joined them for the occasion. Very good performance with 2 pieces again. First song is accompanied by a tenor recorder flute, a clarsach and a guitar. I don't know the name of the songs unfortunately. Ceol Chluaidh (Clyde Music) gives a good performance as well, with Iain Blair amongst the group members. Last band but certainly not least was a late entry, Rapad. They gave a Capercaillie-style (and level) puirt-a-beul, for which they were awarded very high marks indeed. I did not stay on for the quartets, as my backside was hurting from sitting in uncomfortable chairs. As it's Thursday, I go to the Baltic for the Thursday papers: Stornoway Gazette, Press and Journal, West Highland Free Press, Hebridean. The weather this week has been very good, sunny and dry, although cool. After lunch, I'm about to set off for the Nicolson when it starts to rain. It doesn't amount to very much. It's very busy in the town this week,more people about than usually. Stornoway is festooned with fairy lights and there are little signs to show where all the venues are. Banners enliven the railings around the town. It's suddenly a nice lively place. Head off down Island Road in a light drizzle, which stops by the time I reach the Nicolson. Two coaches are parked up along Smith Avenue, both from the same company. One carries the Glasgow Islay choir, the other the Govan choir. The afternoon session in the Nicolson Assembly hall deals with the Rural choirs. Others sing at the Town Hall. Here, we have 6 choirs, from: Harris, Lochs, Strathaird (Skye), Melvich (Sutherland), Tong and Back. They all sing Eilean an Fhraoich, in praise of the isle of Lewis. In addition, they sing a song of their own choice. After each song, they patiently wait for the adjudicators to make up their mind. It does drag proceedings out, but: it's a competition. Apart from the prize for the best choir, there are separate prizes for best marks in Gaelic, music and best conductor. In the end, Back choir wins. To give its full title: Coisir Ghaidhlig Sgire a'Bhac. Get your tongue round that! Forgot to mention in Monday's entry (October 17th) that there was a very nice exhibition in the Crush Hall in the Nic. It showcased history in Lochs, Ness and Carloway; CDs, T-shirts were on sale. Mrs B gave me a T-shirt for a present. There were also good learning books for Gaelic, published for Gaelic medium education by Storlann. Keep a quiet evening in - it's been a busy day. And my backside hurts. Just as well mrs B has those comfy chairs.

Wednesday 19/10/05 - Royal National Mod (Day 4)

2005-10-28T14:40:00.000+01:00

Very early start today (7.50), as I am determined to attend a competition at the Royal British Legion Club at 9 a.m.. Five ladies will each sing a song from Songs of the Hebrides, collected round the turn of the 19th/20th century by Marjorie Kennedy-Fraser and Rev Kenneth MacLeod.

These songs first introduced me to Scots Gaelic. The actual scores contain both Gaelic and English. Although I've since learned that the translations can be a bit shaky, they've stuck. At 9 o'clock sharp, we commence. The ladies are accompanied on the piano, and all is well with no 1, Eilidh Davies, who went on to win. Jackie Cotter, from Edinburgh, was next up and had a breakdown of communication with the accompanist. Result: two stoppages and a ruffled singer. Ann Marie McLean and Pauline McCamley went through their pieces without mishap. Jillain Faith Thomson was absolutely consumed with nerves. A lump in the throat doesn't help either, with the result that Tha mi sgith didn't go to well. What a shame. On that note, it was across to the Town Hall for the lady solo singers.

They all had to sing Ghraidh an tig thu. The usual muddle was taking place, with people not appearing in the order they were billed. Several had withdrawn from competition. Fiona MacKenzie from Dingwall won. A little after 11, the competition was declared closed, and the adjudicators came to a conclusion. Next item on the morning's agenda: precenting.
If you want to hear what that sounds like, follow this link: http://www.bealheights.org/auto_images/1123797915Psalmcast016.mp3 which I took from www.podcast.com. It contains an introduction and is 15 minutes long. It also comprises other recordings of precenting from elsewhere within the Christian church.
There were 3 competitors. The first isn't too bad, but has difficulty going over the congregation. A lot of old folk have come in specially to take part in this. The precentors have to line 2 verses of a psalm of their choice. Number 2, Torquil MacLeod, an islander, does very well. Donald Angus Matheson unfortunately had a spot of bother. Torquil MacLeod wins hands down. Next on the agenda: a jaunt to the sports centre where they are singing in duets. Confusion reigns supreme, as there are several people who have not reported to the organisers. I sit in on proceedings until I get bored waiting. Return to Newton, but get picked up by mrs B's eldest son in Island Road. Yep, such a long way to go from there (not). He leaves for Glasgow today, through Tarbert and Skye at 2 pm. At 2.30 I head back into town to jump on the Mod Shuttlebus which is supposed to take me to the Primary School. Well, the lady in the bus station was very unhelpful and just told me to accost any Mod official; it's a Mod bus, nothing to do with the council. No sign of any bus, so I leg it all the way to Jamieson Avenue. Twenty minutes later, I slink into the Assembly Hall to listen to a batch of young girls, all singing whilst playing the clarsach, the Gaelic harp.

Little Josie Duncan from Laxdale carries off the main prize. A woman stands on the stage, like at all events, but she SHOUTS out the announcements for the competitions. We're overrunning by about an hour. Standards are quite high. One competition gets shifted to another room, so we get on with a competition in which only one person has entered. Esme Boone has travelled all the way from Northern Ontario in Canada. Unfortunately, her voice outdid the harp, and her performance did not merit awarding the trophy to her. Ouch. The final session was dedicated to groups of 3 clarsachan or more. The first group, Na h-Uiruisgean [Waterspouts] made a valiant effort, but why the heck they included a fiddle is beyond me. Not a strong performance, but they're yet young. Second was a very creditable performance by the City of Edinburgh Music School, who had 4 harpists out. Finally a group of 14 (yes, fourteen) harpists basically rearranged the hall to be able to fit in. Quite good, an an unusual combination. They won the competition. Return to Newton at 5.15. to help mrs B serve dinner to our 4 Canadians after they return from rehearsal at the Golf Club. This time round they do not stay behind after supper, and I can join mrs B for an evening meal not long afterwards.

Tuesday 18/10/05 - Royal National Mod (Day 3)

2005-10-28T12:59:00.000+01:00

Day 2 of the Mod, and mrs B's Canadian guests arrive today. Two couples from the Victoria Gaelic Choir on Vancouver Island will be with us until Saturday. Before they arrive, I head down to the Sports Centre to listen to young precentors. Precenting is a practice in the Free (Presbyterian) Church, where a precentors sings out a psalm a line at a time, and the congregation pitches in. It gives a very peculiar sound. The children have a group of their classmates as 'congregation', whilst the precentor does his or her job. Return to Newton for lunch, and meet Carmel and John, as well as Ann and Gordon. They have choir practice at 5pm and 10am each day. This evening and tomorrow night they will be having dinner at mrs B's. Just before 2, I head into town, to listen to various school choirs in An Lanntair.

The first competition sees choirs from Glasgow, Tarbert [Harris], Back, Lionel and Shawbost competing by singing Bat' an Taillear and Cailleach a'Ghobhainn. The organisational nightmares become apparent whe we're kept waiting for a choir to turn up that has had to sing at a different venue elsewhere in the town. One person sits behind a keyboard on a table, for the sole purpose of giving the starting note. Two adjudicators are seated in front of the stage. One of them judges the Gaelic, the other the music. The adjudicators have got the relevant pieces of musical score in front of them. The choisters are all dressed uniformly. The first competition is won by the Sir E Scott School of Tarbert. The musical adjudicator give us a little speech, telling the audience and participants what he was expecting. The Gaelic adjudicator does likewise. She speaks in Gaelic, but gives the marks out in English at popular request. Maletta MacPhail is known to me after project Timbertown. I should point out that the Mod is all about Gaelic culture. As I neither speak nor understand the language, I have to select those competitions where a knowledge of Gaelic is not top of the list of priorities. I.e. I am focusing on music. I still have considerable problems, but just manage to keep abreast of proceedings. In this competition, North Lanark Choir had to withdraw. Well after the official starting time of 3 pm, the second choral competition of the afternoon commences. Participants here are from schools in Back, Tarbert, Lionel and Barvas. They sing Null do dh'Uibhist and 'S cian bho dh'fhag mi Leodhas. Choirs from Glasgow and North Lanark withdrew. At the adjudication, marks out of a 100 are awarded for Gaelic and for music. The aggregate total determines who wins, and for this competition (C73), it's Lionel. Barbara MacKenzie, one of mrs B's nieces, is delighted. The conductor of the Barvas choir pulled a face as he left the stage, but he was 3rd out of 4. In front of me, a boy of 10 is fidgeting and fiddling with the seats. People move back and forth along the rows between performances. At 4.30, proceedings draw to a close and I return to Newton. Mrs B is getting in a flap to get supper ready for the Canadians, but still manages to pull it all off at 7pm. I act as waiter, serving everything onto and off the table. Although I had my supper at a normal hour, the guests remained at their table until 9.30, and mrs B could not eat until 10.20. A fire is lit in the sitting room, and I entertain our foursome with some Gaelic songs on the keyboard. At times, I feel like a pied piper. Mrs B's granddaughter is drawn to my playing, as is her cousin. The Canadians like it. Ann and Gordon retire for the night fairly early, as they have had a long journey. I'm chatting to John and Carmel for quite some time. Bed at midnight.

Monday 17/10/05 - Royal National Mod (Day 2)

2005-10-28T12:24:00.000+01:00

Today sees the start of the main children's competitions. Mrs B's granddaughter is off bright and early to take part in two competitions: singing, at An Lanntair, at 9 a.m.. Mrs B and myself join her at 10.30 in the Old Gym at the Nicolson Institue for a recitation. I know the poem almost as well as the lass. It's about a dog who carries a big bone. When he comes to a river, he looks in and sees another big dog with a bone. he drops his bone and jumps at the other dog. Splash! Afterwards, we wend our way towards the Sports Centre across the road. The Old Gym was a bit delapidated, but the Sports Centre is nice and new.

The big games hall has been filled with hundreds of seats, staging, banners for the Mod and its sponsorts. As well as 4 BBC TV cameras. Before we go in, we meet up with one of mrs B's nephews. Two of his daughters are singing in a duet. We sit beside the windows screening the swimming pool. Then we head into the hall to listen to the duets. I record two of them on my MP3-player. Having done that, we all head back to Newton for lunch. The lassie is disappointed she did not win anything. She had won in the local Glasgow Mod earlier in the year. As compensation, she is allowed to go and stay with her cousins in the family caravan at Reef, Uig. After dinner, I take mrs B up to hear the prize winners' concert in the Sports Centre. As we go out the strains of the pipe band waft on the evening wind, but we can't place it. Turns out they're right outside the sports centre. We go into the packed hall to listen to some remarkable performances by youngsters as young as 5. One little boy goes wildly off key as he has to reach an upper G four times. Some very creditable instrumentalists, such as accordion, melodeon, piano and piper. A 16-year old lad, a cousin of mrs B's, pipes the concert open. He sweeps the board every time he takes part in a competition. One girl of 5 can barely be heard as she goes through her song, but everybody keeps completely quiet. Concert finishes at 9.15. As we head back down Island Road, I have to catch mrs B as she stumbles over an unevenness in the road. No damage done.

Saturday 16/10/05

2005-10-27T18:16:00.000+01:00

Another bright, sunny morning. At the breakfast table, we can see a submarine leaving the port. Tell Elaine which churches she can attend. Also advise her that it's possible to walk round to Arnish Lighthouse, a 5 mile walk one-way. Alternatively, it's the Castle Grounds or the Iolaire Monument at Holm. The family with children set off to Uig to join others staying there in a caravan. It's absolutely fabulous weather for the beach and kids. Mrs B and me toddle off for a walk through the Castle Grounds. As she has a degree of visual impairment (only has 50% of the field of vision in each eye, namely the right hand side), she prefers to have someone to her right hand side to aid with balance. Off we go at 2pm, at 2 mph instead of the usual 4 mph. Through a virtually deserted town centre. Have a look at the window displays in the shops, which are full of Mod-related stuff. Carry on over the Bayhead Bridge and left into the Castle Grounds. Cars whizz along the lane, a nuisance. Nice views of the town - you basically walk around it on the far side of the harbour. Have a break at Cuddy Point, until an undesired couple come up. A lot of wildlife in the water; grebes, cormorants, seals. Blackberries are ripe and present in good numbers. We stop at the viewpoint just before the Creed River, to admire the views. Then return the way we came. Take the odd break or two on the way, as you do with an older person. As we pass Somerfields, a woman sags onto the pavement like a sack of potatoes. She is blind drunk, and it's only 4.40pm. Her partner is not much better, but at least he can (sort of) keep to his feet. Elaine also had a nice time round the shore at the coastguard station. Mrs B's son returns at 7.30. His youngest is out for the count and does not reawaken until the next morning. The girl is practising her song and the poem she has to recite in the morning. In the end we all know about The old man whose cows ran off to the glen but do I care? They're not mine. And about the dog who jumped into the water to catch the other dog he saw there with his bone! A very late night ensues.

Saturday 15/10/05 - Royal National Mod (Day 1)

2005-10-27T18:08:00.000+01:00

The image at the top of the entry is the logo of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Western Isles Council, the local authority here. Competitions today are instrumental, and I'm not attending these.

Fairly bright day today. Elaine goes off to Callanish at lunchtime. Mrs B's eldest son comes to stay with two of his youngest children, aged 2 and 7. The oldest will be taking part in the children's competitions on Monday. The younger child is a bright spark, very clever for his age. Neither of them are any bother. Go out for a paper in the afternoon, and read it in the grass of Green Island, just off Goat Island. Three boats come down the channel from town, with music playing on board. It's bright, sunny and warm. Not had weather like this for weeks. Have supper with the family present. In the evening I twice venture out to the British Legion club to see Scheihallion. First time round, at 9.15, there was no band. An hour later, the band is present and playing, so I shell out £3. Place fills up with regulars, aged 50-60, who reckon they're that much part of the furniture that they don't have to pay. Don't stay for very long at all. Not impressed with the folk out on the streets. But that's all part of being in a Highland town I suppose. Moon shining brightly.

Friday 14/10/05

2005-10-25T17:48:00.000+01:00

Bright and extremely clear weather this morning. The mainland mountains at Applecross stood out as clear as anything, and the summit of the Storr near Portree popped out over the hill west of Arnish Light. Visibilityup to 60 miles. It decreases as the morning wears on; the lenticularis clouds break and by 4pm, Applecross has disappeared. Mrs B is clearing out her house, including a batch of computers that belonged to a failed business of one of her sons. Continue improving my webpages. Later in the evening, an Australian lady arrives for the weekend. At mrs B's request, I take her into town to attend the opening ceremony of the Mod in An Lanntair, the new art gallery that was opened only a fortnight ago. It now has a light installation, prepared by local school children. On arrival at the gallery we can just about squeeze in. A pair of wireless headphones is handed to us, to receive a simultaneous translation of the Gaelic into English. As the Mod is a celebration of the Gaelic culture, it's all in Gaelic. Which I do not understand. Two speeches, one from a Calmac official who says that he's from the company that makes you seasick. The other from Inverness MSP John Farquhar Munro, who tells his audience to take the opportunity to help Gaelic forward - or lose it altogether. Some music in between. Take Elaine for a walk around town, but the presence of the local yobs doesn't exactly boost Stornoway's first impression. There were to be fireworks from the Castle Grounds, but no such thing. Apparently, it was from Goat Island, but I saw nor heard anything at all. Return to mrs B's at 10.30 pm for a drink and a chat. Elaine is in the UK on a work exchange visit for disability work in Glasgow. She does have roots in the UK, in Blackburn, Lancashire, to be precise. Dad was German; mum had 11 siblings and emigrated to Australia in the 1960s under a scheme that promised a £10 passage (those that took it up were known as £10 pommies in Aus). On arrival over there, the people were told to cough up the balance of the actual fare. They were split up and housed in poor temporary accommodation. Bed at midnight.

Royal National Mod 2005

2005-10-24T15:20:00.000+01:00

Royal National Mod 2005

I'm a bit behind with my entries as I have been extremely busy (by my current standards) with the Royal National Mod 2005, which took place in Stornoway between October 14th and 22nd. I'm going to try to insert weblinks in the journal to give readers the opportunity to hear the recordings I made at the competition. Sound quality is relatively poor, as I used an MP3-player with recording capability. But it gives a nice soundpicture. I am spending this afternoon (October 24th) updating the diary which I have not been keeping up-to-date for a week, after which I'll update this journal as well.

VIVI Awards

2005-10-24T15:13:00.000+01:00

Thanks to everybody for the congratulations, and congrats to all the other nominees.

Thursday 13/10/05

2005-10-14T18:17:00.000+01:00

Bright sunshine at breakfast time, with some scattered cumuli on the horizon. The Torridon mountains are just visible in the distance. Showers are not impossible, and they duly materialise at midday. Could see the upper part of the cumulonimbus looming up about 15 minutes before it let rip. Another one, not as severe, pops along at two o'clock. Just as I go out to buy papers. Somerfields gave me a voucher for a free Bounty bar, so I obtain it from there, thankyou. A bulk carrier is moored alongside the ferry pier, discharging sand. A fleet of lorries goes back and forth to take it away. The carrier arrived at 9 in the morning. Sunset at 6.30, bright but not as spectacular as two days ago. Am still busy with webpages. Hear a horrendous story about someone with suspected appendicitis. Doctor pushes in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen, person screams, but does not send her to hospital. I advise her strongly to do so. A waxing moon rises over the bay, just like one and two months ago. Very quiet evening during which nothing stirs. Everybody is gripped by the Sudoku craze. "I've got a 2, a 5 and an 8, where can they go?". Mrs B is trying out her new sewing machine. I am trying out the auto-accompaniments on the keyboard.

Wednesday 12/10/05

2005-10-14T18:11:00.001+01:00

Cloudy morning with some rain in mid morning. Gorgeous sunset last night though. Learned that Skye and Northern Ireland had a similar sunset last night.Visibility up to 45 miles. Iffy weather continues through the day, with visibility worsening gradually. Go into town at midday to buy stamps and new pens. I also post five letters. As all those letters are handwritten, I've gone through the gelpens like a dose of salts. Two pens have lasted me a mere 19 days. Fortunately, Woolworths sell them at 69p per 2, which is 4 times cheaper than the Baltic, which go at £1.35 a piece. Mrs B serves me lunch and supper today, both very nice. Continue to upgrade the website and its adjacent pages [website now deleted following the closure of AOL Hometown in October 2008]. The extent of the devastation wreaked by last weekend's earthquake in Pakistan is slowly becoming clear. Sunset at 6.35, so the evenings are becoming long and dark.