View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Monday 27 February 2012

Monday 27 February

A very mild day, with the mercury easily reaching 12C under cloudy skies. It was also quite breezy, but nothing dramatic.

Went to the optician's for an eye-test and the selection of a new pair of spectacles. Should be ready within one or two weeks. The prescription will have to be faxed to a place on the mainland, which will produce the lenses. The optician's will then insert the lenses into the frame, and get in touch with me to come and collect them. Like everybody else, I'm not getting any younger, so I'm joining the ranks of the varifocal brigade. A certain person, well-known to me, decided to wear their varifocals for the first time when going on a train journey. On alighting from the train, they misjudged the distance between carriage floor and station platform (2½ feet), so they ended up prostrate on the platform.

Our Post Office, on Francis Street, has had to shut unexpectedly due to security concerns. People with car tax applications have been panicking, because they faced a round trip of 50 miles to Ness or 75 miles to Tarbert to have their forms processed. Fortunately, Royal Mail have seen sense and deployed their staff to the sub-postoffice on Bayhead.