Monday 13 September

My day dawned to the dulcet tones of local radio station Isles FM telling me it was Monday 16th September - no folks, it's the 13th today. Followed by the usual Monday morning rundown of drunk and disorderly of the past weekend. If that's all that fills the news headlines, then all in the garden is fine.

Not so for the fellow islander who thought he'd take advantage of an offer from the Cats Protection League to have his cat neutered for £5 - only for the vet to find she was pregnant. Again. For the second time this year. I remember the pictures of the black kittens scampering about around his house this spring.

The Conference season is upon us again, and the Trades Union Congress is meeting in Manchester. Its boss delivered some pertinent one-liners, such as "not a coalition government but a demolition government", referring to the swingeing cuts that will be implemented in the government in London as of next month. Each government department has been charged with finding 20% cuts in their budgets. The prospects appear to be bleak - according to the TUC.

Well, I think I'll stick to the local news that the traffic flow around the council offices on Sandwick Road (about a quarter mile from my position) has been altered, and that increased construction traffic is to be expected on Sandwick Road (the main road from the airport into town) and Matheson Road (the shortcut bypassing the town centre). They're building a new campus for the Nicolson Institute.

The weather? Don't ask.