View by Google Earth

This is a view of a remote part of Lewis - Loch Hamnaway. It is located on the west coast, some 8 miles south of Carnish (in a direct line) and 3 miles southeast of Brenish in Uig. The distance from Stornoway is about 40 miles to the southwest. If you want to get there, you face an 8 mile trek along a very rough track (shown in the image above), or possibly a cross-country foray for the same distance from Morsgail. By sea, it is a "simple" 4 mile sail from Huisinish in Harris.

This indented coastline, with its long sealochs, account for the fact that if you want to drive from Huisinish in Harris to Brenish in Uig you are facing a 78 mile journey; by water, it is only 9 miles.

Oh, as it said in the title, this is the view as generated through Google Earth. I've not (yet) been here myself. Maybe one day...

Petition

A nurse working in a hospital who exposed poor standards of care by using a secret camera, was struck off the nursing register for professional misconduct. It was deemed a breach of patient confidentiality. This in itself was the case, and cannot be condoned. However, the standards of care in the hospital fell so far short of what could be expected that the nurse was felt to be acting in the public interest. The Royal College of Nursing, the union involved, is featuring a link to a petition on its website to lodge an appeal against the Nursing and Midwifery Council's decision to delete the nurse's registration. Although she did do wrong, her sanction was too harsh.

I would like to encourage anyone in the UK who reads this to sign. The NHS has this unfortunate tendency not to address problems put to its managers. It is the whistleblowers that usually get punished, not those in charge who fail to take action. A good example was seen here in the Western Isles a few years ago, where it took several years before the failing management of the local NHS was removed. Another example was the late gynaecologist Rodney Ledward, who was allowed to butcher (which he passed off as operating on) women for 11 years before he was removed.

Wednesday 22 April

Increasingly overcast as the wind slowly picks up to the anticipated high winds for tonight. Current forecast is for force 6, so not too bad. Temperature 12C, which will not change over the next few days. Just watched a Norwegian fish carrier, the Roy Kristian, coming into port. Stornoway is not a busy port, so any vessel coming in attracts my attention. Yesterday's prize was a navy vessel called the Seeker. It duly did not show up on my ship tracker, AIS.

For those in the UK: if you use Bonjela, you are strongly advised against using it in children under the age of 16. It contains the same chemical compound that is found in aspirin, which should not be used in children either. Aspirin can cause Reye's Syndrome in children with viral illnesses. Reye's is a potentially fatal but fortunately rare condition, which includes effects on liver and brain.