Saturday 1 December

I awoke at 7 am, when it was still pitch dark, and noticed the planet Venus rising in the east.



The first day of the meteorological winter, and it definitely felt like that today. There was a steady progression of showers, and although I did not observe snow, there was a clear wintery feel about the weather today.



After lunch, I went out to the Iolaire Memorial, which stands some 2 miles south of Stornoway, at the entrance to the harbour. Just as I arrived at the location, I noticed a shower passing over the town.




These are the Beasts of Holm (not a whale, as someone on FB thought), also as seen from the Memorial




This is the coastline, runnign west from the Memorial to Holm Point.

Hurricane update - 1 December

Typhoon Bopha is headed for the Pacific island state of Palau, and is forecast to affect the southeastern Philippines beyond that. The typhoon carries maximum sustained winds of 125 knots (140 mph), with gusts to 150 knots (170 mph), and will intensify a bit more. This system originated from a disturbance that formed very close to the equator, and had some bother pulling itself together through lack of Coriolis force, which is greater, the further away you are from the equator.

Friday 30 November

The northern Atlantic hurricane season is drawing to a close today, but one pesky disturbance is keeping it alive. 91L, far out in the middle of the Atlantic, has a 40% chance of become a tropical cyclone. Here in Stornoway, it is getting colder and colder, and it was quite wet through the afternoon.



I just want to write a few lines on the subject of the Leveson Report, which was published yesterday. It has set out recommendations on press regulation in the UK, preferably underpinned by legislation. I am horrified to learn that the Conservative party has no intention of bringing that about, and the whole of the British press, broadsheets and all, are squarely behind that. The reason quoted is a loss of press freedom; News of the World style? Hope this brings down the government, as it is no longer representative of the people in this respect.