View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Monday 16 March 2009

Spring is here?

Sunny afternoon in the Outer Hebrides, even though it is not very warm. Mercury is firmly stuck on 9C / 48F once again, although the sun does help to take the edge off it. Took an amble earlier on to Sandwick Cemetery, a 20 minute walk from here, to take photographs of some World War II gravestones. A WWI stone that I had pictured before was now untraceable. Looked up and down both the Old and New cemeteries, without result. Anyway, as I said, it was a nice afternoon so I didn't really mind.


Sandwick Bay


Lower Sandwick

Monday 16 March 2009

Overcast today, but not much wind and mainly dry. The South Pacific is eyeballing a developing tropical cyclone, which the agency in Honolulu suspects will develop soon; their colleagues in Fiji say it won't have much chance. Just goes to show that forecasting for these phenomena is still fraught with much uncertainty.

Josef Fritzl, who incarcerated his own daughter for 24 years, raped her and fathered 7 children with her (one of whom was allegedly murdered by him) has pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him. The judge presiding over the trial at St Pölten in Austria closed proceedings to the public due to the sensitivity of the evidence about to be submitted in court.

The family of Simon Macmillan, whose remains were recovered from Loch Bee in South Uist yesterday, is returning to the island. A post-mortem will be carried out in due course and, as per procedure in Scotland, a report submitted to the Procurator Fiscal into the circumstances of the man's death.