View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Friday 7 December 2012

Friday 7 December

Another nice day, apart from the temperature. We are in the middle of a nippy spell, with daytime temps of around 5C / 41F. The overnight lows on the mainland have been very low indeed, with Braemar at -13C on Thursday morning. The Netherlands have seen a good dump of snow, with up to 8 inches in places and all the attendant traffic problems that this brings. Our temps are due to rise over the weekend, possibly into double figures. Elsewhere, it will only go down.

A few days ago, the hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge received a prank phonecall from an Australian radio station. The presenters pretended to be the Queen, enquiring after her daughter in law. The nurse answering the call proceeded to divulge confidential information - to the Australian radio station. I understand that when a royal is in hospital, any phonecalls of this nature are answered by the police officer on duty at the hospital. However, even when ordinary mortals are in hospital, telephone enquiries about someone's health are not routinely answered. This evening, it was announced that the nurse answering the phone that night is thought to have taken her own life. However, investigations are on-going, so it is not in order to enter into speculation into who are at fault here are not in order.