A calm day with changing cloudscapes all the time. Not much wind, and what wind we have comes from the east, barely force 2. The odd shower about, but even that doesn't amount to very much. Slightly milder than yesterday, 13C / 55F is not bad for mid October.
The Royal National Mod is starting over in Inverness. This is the prime venue for showcasing and competing in Gaelic culture. The focus is on music, but recitation and sports also feature. There is heavy involvement from children, from the age of 5 to adults; it has never ceased to amaze me when a youngster of 6 stands on a podium in front of 500 people to sing or recite their piece. Adults compete later in the week, focused more strongly on music. They perform individually, in groups and/or in choirs. The event starts in earnest next Monday, and will end on Saturday morning.
The Mod is held every year during the mid-term holiday for the children; next year it will be staged in Oban, and in 2016 it will return to Stornoway.
There is considerable uncertainty over the delivery of the new ferry, MV Loch Seaforth. It was reported that the German shipyard was in financial difficulties, but that a take-over bid was in progress. It finally transpires that the ship has been bought out by operators CMAL, in order that it does not become a pawn in the aftermath of any collapse of the shipyard. The Loch Seaforth will come to Scotland in the next few weeks - the pier at Stornoway is nowhere near ready.
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