View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Monday 20 February 2012

Monday 20 February

After a windy night, the day started wet. However, the sun came out and the wind dropped after midday, leaving us with a mild afternoon. The mercury reached double figures, and it felt quite mild outside. Rather a contrast to yesterday morning's snow.

The thaw has spread across Europe, causing problems on the river Danube in Serbia. The ice has started to break up and move downstream, taking riverside accoutrements such as floating restaurants and ships with it. The cost cannot yet be estimated, but are reckoned to be substantial.

You may remember the case of the alleged murder of Liam Aitchison last November, which was the first murder in these islands in 43 years. Channel 5 presenter Matthew Wright and his team thought it was an appropriate subject for some off-the-cuff humour, but more than 2,200 people disagreed. They lodged an appeal with broadcasting regulator Ofcom, who have now ruled that the program was liable to cause offence. However, as apologies have been profuse and apparently sincere, Ofcom have now declared the matter resolved. No further action against Matthew Wright or Channel 5 will be taken. I will continue not to watch garbage like that.

It was pointed out in a letter to an on-line news website that it took our local council an awful long time (months) to join the campaign against high fuel prices, contrasting to the few weeks that it took them to join the campaign to retain reduced ferry fares for commercial vehicles. At least two councillors have vested interests in the fuel business in these islands. Anyone thinking of a word starting with C?