Tuesday 2 November

Fairly bright day with strong winds and very heavy showers. It did allow for some nice cloudscapes, but it would not have been nice to be caught out in the downpours, which were accompanied by strong squalls.

Here in the Western Isles, a committee of the local council has voted to close 11 out of the islands' 24 primary schools, and abolish the rural secondaries (where pupils are taught for the first two years before going to a large secondary in Stornoway or Lionacleit (Uist)). The full council will debate the plans on Thursday, but I do not have high hopes of any of the small schools being reprieved. There are just not enough children to justify keeping some of the schools open - Stoneybridge in South Uist has no pupils in it at all at present.

America has gone to the polls today, and it would appear that President Obama could well lose control of both houses of Congress. I am not very well acquainted with the Teaparty movement and neither do I want that to change. If Obama does lose control of the American parliament, it is simply due to the fact that people do not see the benefit of the policies he has implemented - some of which may take up to 2014 to show up.

And finally, a cargo ship, the Red Duchess, which was bound for Stornoway with a cargo of coal got into difficulty this morning when it suffered engine failure. This happened southwest of the Isle of Rum, 70 miles south of Stornoway. High winds were threatening to blow the vessel into Harris Bay on Rum, but the Mallaig lifeboat managed to keep her safe. The Coastguard helicopter went across to check if anyone needed airlifting, and the Coastguard tug Anglian Prince has also sailed to Rum to tow the Red Duchess to safety. The ship is a regular visitor to Stornoway - shown here on a picture from last November.