View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Thursday 26 July 2012

Thursday 26 July

A fairly bright day, but not much sunshine. There was a little rain, but Scottish Water continues to remind its customers in these islands to use their mains water wisely. A device is available from the offices of the water company that can be placed in toilet cisterns to reduce the amount of water used when the loo is flushed. The total amount of rainfall in July, even after last Sunday's downpour, only stands at 34 mm, an inch and a third.

Shortages are also on the cards for the local fishermen. After 50 large fishingboats plundered the fishing grounds of prawns, meaning that the fishing could be closed as of September. This would not only leave the fishermen out of a job, but also the people in the processing plants. A couple of those stand across the water from my position, and each day I see its workforce going back and forth.

Less than 24 hours to go until the start of the London Olympics, and I'll have a job avoiding coverage. I shall be watching the opening ceremony tomorrow evening though. However, as I was discussing with one of my Facebook contacts earlier, the Olympics seems to be hugely important to many people. Are we seeing a global expression of tribalism, almost ersatz-war? Where I am from, the expression goes that football is war. Anyway, leaving my pot-psychology to one side, I hope it all goes well and may the best ones win.