Photo entry - 30 May, morning

3.27 a.m.


Scarista


Northton


Leverburgh


MV Loch Portain, heading for Berneray


Yacht and lighthouse at Leverburgh

Sunday 31 May

Oops, am falling into bad habits: no entry yesterday either. Those who follow me on Facebook and Twitter know that I spent most of the day in Harris. Went down on the 9.35 bus to Leverburgh (that's 55 miles away to the south), which took 2 hours. After looking round the pier had lunch in the Anchorage restaurant, which sits right next to the ferry slip. At 1.20pm, we took the wee bus up the Bays area of Harris. It was the usual hair-raising rollercoaster, and I don't recommend it if you are prone to suffer from travel sickness. A short break at Tarbert later got us on the bus back to Stornoway, where we reappeared at 5pm. It started out a bit cloudy, with low clouds, but the sun came out later in the day and it turned out quite warm, with the mercury up to 22C / 71F.

At the moment, low cloud is folling down the Arnish hills, across the harbour. It is otherwise sunny, but the mercury is struggling at 13C. Earlier in the morning, I watched two sailing ships leave port - both restored fishing vessels, like the one in on Monday.

I am currently uploading nearly 200 pictures, and will publish a selection on here later today.

Evening notes

Quite a strange day, in terms of weather. We started overcast and a bit wet, but after midday the sun came out and we got up to 20C / 68F! It was in other words very warm. Tomorrow should be even warmer. Went to see some interesting old fishing boats this evening - much like the one that was in on Monday, but not open to the public. Pictures to follow; I'm out for most of tomorrow (trip to Harris), so it may be a while.

Friday 29 May

No, I didn't do a posting yesterday. Was out to the west of the island and was cold and tired upon return. Went to Uig to see the local museum there, then crossed the few miles east to photograph 3 or 4 wargraves in the cemetery outside Valtos. Found myself waiting for a bus about half an hour at the Miavaig junction. Weather was misty, drizzly and cold with a very strong wind in exposed places. I already remarked on Facebook about the discrepancy in fares: when you go on the postbus, a return costs £5.45, but if you go on the Maclennan's bus (with onward connection from Garynahine) it is £6.00. The distance is 35 miles. May not sound much, but the postbus (which delivers mail along the way) takes 80 minutes, and there is a long section of roadworks, involving poor roadsurfaces etc. I'll make an entry with some pics later.

Wednesday 27 May

Day started out overcast and wet, but the cloud is presently breaking up, allowing the sun to come out. I spent the morning lugging sacks of coal and logs to a new home: an old pallet that someone was desperate to get rid of. When removing the sacks from their old position, the woodlice, centipedes and earthworms scurried away, looking for a new home that was dark, wet and warm. It was unpleasantly cold earlier on, with the thermometer just about cresting 10C / 50F. Now that the sun is back, we should warm up a little.

Spring evening

I am looking out at showerclouds, moving east rather quickly on a blustery westerly wind. They are dumping heavy but brief rainfall on the islands. Typical for the Hebrides in spring.

I am sad to report that a man in his twenties, missing in the Central Highlands since Sunday, has been found dead near Ben Alder. He got separated from his walking partner near the mountain and was reported missing later on Sunday. Police, mountain rescue and a helicopter carried out a search, and located a man's body at the foot of Ben Alder.

Locally, the war of words between the Sabbatarians and the ferry company continues. The row is centered on which piece of legal advice was issued by who and to who. Why equality legislation is being focused on is unclear to me. There is a host of reasons for starting a ferry service asap.

Tuesday 26 May

Quite a nice day out here, with sunshine and fluffy clouds. Although 12C isn't terribly warm, I think I prefer that to the severe thunderstorms that battered Holland overnight. They went up to 27C yesterday. The ferry appears to be sailing on time today, after yesterday's disruption. Away from Stornoway, the ferry from Harris to Uist was disrupted due to low tides and the Barra to Eriskay ferry was full up. It is very busy with visitors at the moment. Many people opt to holiday at home (in the UK), due to the economic recession and the unfavourable £ to € exchange rate. A year ago, 1 pound sterling was worth €1.25, today it is more like €1.10.

Boats galore - II

The ferry has finally left Stornoway, 9 (or 2) hours late. It had technical problems with its bowdoor. Whether these are now fixed I don't know. I can imagine there is a bunch of very fed-up passengers on board.


The cruiseliner Spirit of Adventure is still docked on the other side of the ferry pier. A number of its passengers were taken on tours of the island by coach, as is customary. Weather not too good; although the sun is out, there are some showers about and it feels cold. The other cruiseliner, Quest, is docked on the near side of pier number 1.


The Reaper has moved from the quay at Amity House to Lazy Corner, and was open for visitors today. The crew showed the interested (myself included) round. Tomorrow, they will continue on their round Scotland trip to Scrabster, 20 miles west of John o'Groats.


And I had the very minor inconvenience of an acute boot lace failure. Fortunately, Lewis Crofters had replacement laces, so that was easily sorted.

Missing walker found

The 60-year old walker who was missing around Glen Finnan, has been traced alive and well to Barrisdale in Knoydart, 20 miles away to the north. Automated messages were not being transmitted due to a fault in equipment. The man is continuing on his way to Cape Wrath.

Pointless in the 21st century

I found out last week or so that MSN Encarta is closing down. This morning, they have a list of 10 pointless things in the 21st century, and I can't say I agree with some of it.

Item 10: Ties serve a purpose; they started out as a lady's kerchief, that her champion knight would wear round his neck as he defended her honour. The 16th century ruff did have a purpose; they hid the scars, left on someone's skin if they were suffering from syphilis. That's a sexually transmitted disease with some very nasty symptoms.

Boats galore

Four big boats in port this morning, plus one smaller one - which is about four more than average. The MV Isle of Lewis, the ferry to the mainland, is tied up with bowdoor trouble. She had to sail with its bowdoor closed all week last week, meaning every vehicle had to come and go through the sterndoor; last night, I was going to see the FV Reaper (an old fishing boat), when I noticed the Isle of Lewis with its bowdoor open.

This morning, I was up at the unearthly hour of 7.45, and I saw a small cruiseliner in Glumag Harbour: the Quest. She has been in twice already this season, but was awaiting the arrival of the Spirit of Adventure, a much larger boat. This inched its way into a berth alongside number 3 pier, opposite the ferry. AIS tells me the Quest is docked now as well, by the look of it along number 2 pier. I cannot check it out from my position, as the Spirit of Adventure is blocking my view.

The Reaper is a herring drifter, built in 1902, which has seen service up and down the Scottish east coast. I may pop along later today.

Sunday 24 May

We had a bright spell this afternoon, but it is once more pouring with rain and blowing hard. Last year at this time, when I was not in Lewis, it was wall-to-wall sunshine for 6 weeks. Not this year; back to normal.

An elderly walker is missing around Glen Finnan, 15 miles west of Fort William. He is on the Cape Wrath trail, a long-distance walking trail to Cape Wrath, the farthest point northwest in the British mainland. After the man failed to contact a friend last night, the emergency services are currently searching this remote corner of Lochaber.

Church rules

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has decided tonight that the Presbytery of Aberdeen did nothing wrong in appointing a minister who is homosexual. They do retirate that standards of conduct for ministers remain unchanged. The minister, who officiates in a church in the city of Aberdeen, lives in a homosexual relationship with another man. A complaint was formally lodged with the General Assembly, which is the Court of the Church, but rejected.

Another legal move, an Overture from the Presbytery of Lochcarron-Skye, will be discussed this coming Monday. Adopting the Overture, a proposal for Church law, would mean that training and admitting ministers who are in active homosexual relationships is not allowed.

I am much obliged to Stuart for clarifying this (to me) obscure piece of church law, which is having major repercussions around Scotland and beyond.

Cruiseliner

MV Polar Star called in this morning, and the Hebrides fully answered the expectations of its passengers: it was chucking it down with rain most of the day. Only now is the sun beginning to come out. You need a fairly deep pocket to cruise on Polar Star - $3,500 to $7,000 for a 12 day trip. The vessel can usually be found in Arctic surroundings, and commonly calls into the Hebrides at the start and the end of the season.

Saturday 23 May

Wet and miserable today, not a good day for the runners in the Stornoway Half Marathon. I did not count their number, but it was probably around 100 of them, filing past between 10.10 and 10.25 am. They have a 13 mile course to run, which goes out to Sandwick, then back towards the Castle Grounds, with a finish at the Golf Club.


Image courtesy Stornoway Running and Athletics Club

No, I've never fancied taking part. When I ever did do any running, I would usually perspire after about a quarter of a mile - and that was when I was a teenager. I can walk long distances though (or used to be able to). My longest one-day hike was 21 miles, and not on paved roads or pavements either. On roads like this (Isle of Rum, October 2004).

Hurricane update - 23 May

A tropical disturbance is approaching the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and will make landfall in the state of Mississippi later today. There is a chance of more than 50% that this system will become a tropical depression. Six hours ago, it lay 150 miles south of Mobile AL. Heavy rains and gusty winds of up to 30 mph are occurring from the extreme west of the Florida Panhandle as far as New Orleans.

Please monitor NHC output for the latest information.

Correcting a correction

I am a user of shipspotting.com, where people can upload pictures of ships to the Internet. They also give news related to shipping, and it is in such a news item that automatic correction kicked in - where inappropriate. Spot the fault:

Mariners may need to brush up on their skills with the #OOPS#tant. A recent report from the GAO notes that while the Air Force is in the process of modernizing the Global Positioning System, "it is uncertain that [it] will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain current GPS service without interruption. If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be adversely affected."

What the heck is an #OOPS#tant?

Image courtesy brasscompass.com

Well, it's a sextant.

Friday 22 May

Quiet day, with a lot of cloud but also a lot of blue in between the clouds. Rain is due overnight, and will be continuing through tomorrow. Not much fun for the runners in the Stornoway half-marathon (in which I am NOT taking part).

Revelations continue in the parliamentary expenses scandal, and the stress is beginning to tell on the Honourable Members, who knew full well that they were milking the system. One reacted by saying it was all in envy of his big house - he could be suspended from the Conversative Party - and others warn of suicides. Excuse me. Can we drop the melodrama please?

The Sunday ferry row here in Lewis has brought out the Sabbatarians, as well as all the inaccurate rumours. A gas explosion in the 1970s was divine retribution, as the owner of the house that got destroyed had opened his hostelry on the Sabbath. This coming Sunday, the ferry will be repaired - it can only dock stern first due to a mechanical failure on the bowdoor. It was nearly an hour late coming in this afternoon.

The sky this week

The Naval Oceanography portal (managed by the US Department of Defense) has some useful information. Apart from tropical cyclone information (on which I rely heavily), it also has a feature: The Sky this Week. It can be accessed from the Astronomy section of said portal.

With regard to astronomy, I can about forget about watching stars in the coming weeks. It is not going to get fully dark up here until late July or August. I'll show that picture I took in June 2006, at 1 am.

Tombstoning

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency MCA have launched their tombstoning campaign. Tombstoning is a euphemistic description of a daredevil practice, where (mostly) young people jump from the top of a cliff into the water below. It is an extremely dangerous act to perform, particularly if you don't know what lies below the surface of the water.

Please relay.

Thursday 21 May

Slightly better day in terms of weather - although the showers are still plagueing us, they are not as heavy as yesterday. We are warned against thunder, but that is a rare occurrence in these islands. Thunderstorms usually happen in winter. I was caught up in a fierce one in the middle of an ice / snow / hailstorm in January 2005. The bus I was on was reduced to crawling along at 10 mph on the main road down to Tarbert that afternoon.
Just as I start a new paragraph, a hail shower starts. Right, that's me told.

Seaweed used to be an important part of the economy of the islands off the Scottish west coast. Until 1815, it was a major source of potash (potassium nitrate, used in the production of gunpowder). It has resurfaced once more, and a small firm is using seaweed to produce items for the pharmaceutical, food supplement and other industries. In days gone by, people went down to the shoreline to cut the kelp. Now, a machine has been brought across from America to harvest it from the water. Read more here.


Image courtesy Hebrides News

Midweek pictures

MV Isle of Lewis docking stern-first, because the bowdoors cannot be opened. Repairs will be carried out this weekend.





The weather today was very iffy, with beefy showers - which is great for cloudscapes. It is also good for generating rainbows, like what showed up at 9.30 tonight.

Sunday ferries

Up here in Stornoway, I continue to be dumbfounded by the ossified attitude of certain groups in the local community. I mean, planes fly on Sunday, ferries sail out of other Western Isles ports on Sunday, so why not out of Stornoway? Because it would degrade a way of life. A way of life that degrades family-life, by denying off-island workers the opportunity to spend a weekend at home? I don't think so. I am not in the business of gratuitously offending those with sincerely held religious beliefs, but there is a small group of people in Lewis who exercise power by "virtue" of those beliefs. Although I'm not Roman Catholic, and am severely critical of the Pope's policies, I do agree with him that using religion as a pretext is unacceptable. Whether this be a pretext for violence or denying people their basic liberties is immaterial.

Wednesday 20 May

Late entry for today, as I have spent the past 6 hours upgrading the software for my ADSL modem. What an absolute nightmare that was. Anyhoo, got it sorted and that's all that matters.

I was relieved to hear that the MPs' expenses system is to be overhauled. I have never understood why MPs could set their own salaries, expenses arrangements and what not. Without outside scrutiny, the abuses that have been exposed over the past two weeks were bound to occur. I totally agree with PM Gordon Brown that the House of Commons was being administered like an old boys club or something like that. Speaker Martin is paying the political price; his pension will be of regal proportions, don't worry about that. He is lucky he came away with his head; 7 of his predecessors in centuries gone by had to go without theirs after a stint in the chair.

Today is a day of heavy showers, and a severe weather warning is in force for Grampian (NE Scotland), on account of heavy rainfall.

Tuesday 19 May

Brightening up after a heavy shower, a theme likely to be repeated right through the day. The downpour has knocked back the temperature, which had risen to 14C at 10 am.

I'm pleased that Sri Lanka's civil war appears to be over, although there is severe hardship for many thousands of people who were caught up in the final fighting. It can only be hoped that the grievances of the Tamil population will be addressed by the government in Colombo, and that any alleged discrimination by the majority Singhalese will be at an end. Otherwise, the Tamil Tigers are likely to return in a different guise. The Tamil Tigers can be credited with the invention of suicide bombing, for as much as that is something to be counted as a credit.

The Speaker of the House of Commons is to stand down, and this afternoon at 2.30 he will announce when. It was on his watch that disclosure of MP's expenses was delayed, and if he had not tried to stop that, he might well not be in the position he is in now. I maintain that he is at least partly a scapegoat, and I do hope that those who have done wrong will be called to account. At the ballotbox, by the Commons authorities or if necessary in a Court of Law.

Desiderata

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Sunset notes

Sun has just set in a blaze of red and gold - yes, I'm at latitude 58 north, hence the very late sunset hour. I'm always amused to watch the 10 o'clock news on the BBC and see London steeped in darkness. No, I'm obviously not watching the news tonight. I've seen enough of the row around MP's expenses and the attempts to use Mr Speaker as a scapegoat. It would appear he failed in his duty as leading figurehead, trying to stifle dissent and blocking attempts to disclose the scandal of expenses. However, a very large section of Honourable Members appear to be as guilty as hell themselves, and some of the crying wolf sounds incredibly hollow.

Monday 18 May

Sunny day, with some small cumulus clouds about. Apparently the best weather in the country, temperature at 12C / 54F. At least we have the sun.

Try to order something to be delivered to the Western Isles. Same item costs £12.23 in delivery charges from BT, and £0.00 from Amazon. Ongoing problem, in spite of petition to No 10 Downing Street.

A planning application is to be discussed for 3 windturbines, 400 feet tall, to be constructed in moorland off the Pentland Road, 5 miles west of Stornoway. Not enjoying that prospect, and air traffic control bodies have lodged objections. It is to be a community windfarm, for the people of Sandwick and Point (east of Stornoway), generating power and benefits of £17.5m over 25 years. Wish the things weren't so ridiculously tall.

Hurricane update - 17 May

Except there are no tropical systems around at all. I am detecting a lot of hype around an area of low pressure between Cuba and Hispaniola, which is not a tropical system, and unlikely to develop into one - the experts put the likelihood at 10% at best as it moves towards the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It is referred to as an extra-tropical depression - of the variety we get here in Scotland thirteen to a dozen. It will bring a soaking to Cuba, the Bahamas and Florida, but nothing much else.

Sunday 17 May

Bright and sunny today, with a thin easterly breeze. Not warm enough to sit outside, though.
More revelations about MP's inappropriate expense claims, calls for the Speaker of the House of Commons to be removed from office. Something will have to change and soon. Whether that should be because of prosecutions, the replacement of Mr Speaker or a General Election, I don't know. It is a shame that the genuinely held convictions of party members of whichever political party are mocked by the greed of Honourable Members. Including, allegedly, the MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles).

Blogging

Blogging seems to be falling by the wayside. At least that is the impression after going through journals this afternoon, and encountering one who is quitting and several who resumed posting after an absence of up to 3 months. It would appear that Facebook is a major distraction, but also the distractions of real life. Naturally, with the global economic situation being dire, that would be a contributing factor. Nonetheless, I do not suggest to quit Facebook or to live inside your computer (something I've been accused of doing), but to use the blog for things you cannot do on Facebook, as a complimentary element. Personally, I use Twitter, Facebook and this (and other) blog(s).

We used to have a nice community, and AOHell have a lot to answer for. But we know they didn't care. Keep in touch, won't ya?

Saturday 16 May

The East Pacific hurricane season commenced yesterday. This usually affects the coasts of Central America and western Mexico, with a remote chance of hurricanes or their remnants affecting the southwest of the USA. Hurricanes in the Pacific very rarely directly impact on California, as sea temperatures are too low to sustain such systems - the sea surface temperature should be at least 26C / 80F. At the moment, nothing threatens (to develop). The North Atlantic hurricane season will start on 1 June; NHC have an educational week on hurricanes starting next Saturday. Are you in hurricane alley? Are you prepared?

Today is dreich (grey and wet) in Stornoway. Glancing across the bay, I see a small cargo ship tied up at Arnish Pier, presumably to take away some of the products of the Fabrication Yard. AIS tell me the vessel is called Sesame. Also on AIS was a fleet oil supply vessel, the Kanawha. Its stated destionation is Over there. Right. She has now moved off the map, out of range of the AIS receiving stations ashore.

The Hubble Space Telescope is currently undergoing some refurbishment, and it is not going all that smoothly. One spacewalk took 8 hours, but the job got done. Read more here.

Closing notes

Within half an hour of midnight, and a cold, dreich day comes to a close. Disappointed to read that Barack Obama will resume the trials at Guantanamo Bay - although he never did rule out that such might be the case. A review of the legal framework is to be carried out, but to me, it's a climb-down from pre-election promises. Not good at all. My faith in politicians has taken a nosedive following the expenses scandal here in the UK, but Mr Obama is starting to do the Tomcat-in-March routine. What do I mean? Ach, yanno. In March, tomcats go around, caterwhauling their undying love and everlasting fielty to the females of the race, only to disappear without trace once the evil deed has been done.

Galson pictures

Friday 15 May

Dreich, grey and cold today. Yesterday, I went to the shop without a coat, with a temperature of 17C / 63F. Today, it's 9C / 48F. Nonetheless, I did jump on the bus for a quick foray out to Galson, 20 miles north of Stornoway. That village has a small cemetery with one wargrave, which I wanted to photograph. I'll post some pictures later. Chatted to a villager on the way through about local history. Otherwise, nothing moved, which is normal for that corner of the island. Stornoway would be described as a bustling metropolis in comparison.

Although I join in the chorus of condemnation over MPs' expenses, I want to air my grave concern over the current atmosphere that surrounds our elected representatives. Watching a trailer for BBC1's Question Time last night, a chorus of boos arose as a government minister spoke. A constituency office was apparently attacked last night, and I hope that someone takes the situation in hand as a matter of extreme urgency. This is an open road to anarchy, and an open invitation for extremist parties to make massive gains at elections, firstly those for the European Parliament early in June. Not all MPs or Peers of the Realm are out to fatten their bank balances at taxpayers' expense, and the fact that there are some rotten apples in amongst them all doesn't justify tarring all of them with the same brush.

Picture post - 14 May

11.50 pm last night, looking north. Yes, that's daylight on the horizon.


4.33 am this morning


Familiar boat: the Cuma back on the slipway, 3 years after spending 11 weeks on there

Sundown notes

The sun is setting here in the Western Isles - yep, it's nearly 10 pm and it's still broad daylight. Come midnight, the sun will still be leaving a streak of light on the northern horizon. It's that time of the year again when I'll be watching the 10 o'clock news on the BBC with news from London, where it is pitch black. And I'm still seeing the pink of the sunset reflected in the lighthouse tower across the water.

I am quietly amazed tonight at the negative reactions to the announcement that we are going to have a Sunday ferry at long last. For the period that I've been here, I've been arguing in favour. And now that it will definitely happen, people start to cast around for who to blame. What are people like.

For the first time in a fortnight, I've gone round some of the blogs. Didn't get round to it when I was in Holland. Many thanks to Sugar for keeping the light on over at Call for Support.

Thursday 14 May

We have some big news in the island this afternoon: Lewis and Harris are going to get a ferry on Sunday! Question is now when this will be introduced.

Calmac have declared that under human rights legislation, it would be unlawful not to give the islands a Sunday ferry. Local consultation will start very soon, following which timetables for the Sunday ferry will be published. Not earlier.

The Lord's Day Observance Society, which is fiercely opposed to the Sunday ferry service, have promised to fight Calmac for placing the law of money over the law of God.

Neurological disorder

I would like to use my blog postings to raise awareness of two progressive neurological disorders called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, and CBD, or Cortico Basal Degeneration. I was pointed to a support group, the PSP Association, which does valuable work here in the UK to support both patients, carers and health professionals to deal with those conditions. There is no treatment or cure for either.

With thanks to John of Silversprite.com for raising awareness.

Sunk

The fishing boat Kalahari sank this afternoon, just as the Coastguard helicopter was in the process of putting a pump on board to stop the ingress of water. Stornoway Coastguard was contacted at 4.39pm this afternoon with the message that the other boat was sinking near the Sound of Harris, and deployed the helicopter. Just as the winchman had been lowered down onto the deck of the Kalahari, the boat went down and both winchman and fisherman ended up in the water. They were both safely taken out by the helicopter and returned to Stornoway for medical checks.

Source: MCGA

Vaccines, cancer and teenagers

Promised you a post on those subjects, so here goes.
Last week, an on-line acquaintance published a blogpost (to which I am not going to link) with links to some very extreme if not positively extremist views on the issue of vaccination and consent. I'm not going to specifically reply to the content behind the links, but instead will make some broader points.

An American boy of 16 was diagnosed with leukaemia (blood cancer), and was prescribed chemotherapy. That is never pleasant, and the young man was predictably quite sick as a result. When the time came for a second course, his parents refused to give consent for the treatment, saying they would take their child to a herbal therapist instead. The doctors involved in his care took his parents to court and obtained an injunction, forcing them to submit their child for treatment. They have been accused of medical terrorism by some.

A child of 16 is close to adulthood, in my view, and under British law, a child aged 12 or over will normally be consulted on treatment. I agree with the doctors that withholding treatment from a cancer sufferer will severely jeopardise that patient's life. Whether a court order is the way forward I very much doubt. As far as I am aware, forced treatment is possible in cases of mental illness, in cases where danger exists for patient and / or the public at large.

The second point concerns the vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus HPV, which is currently being introduced for young teenage girls. HPV is implicated in the development of cervical cancer, and is sexually transmitted. Quite a few parents baulk at the prospect of their 13-year old being vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease, fearing it would suggest to their daughter that she is at liberty to have sex without having to fear for the consequences. Although I don't have kids of my own, I feel that it is up to the parents (and schools) to give proper sex education to their children, including the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases and what to do to prevent contracting these. They should also advise their daughters how to view the HPV vaccinations.

Tuesday 13 May

Bright and sunny, as I watch the ferry coming in on its customary lunchtime call. Visibility is excellent, with the hills of the Applecross Forest (not a tree there, incidentally) loom up from 60 miles away across the water.

There is a possibility that the ferry might start sailing on a Sunday, which (at the moment) it does not do. Lewis has a strong tradition of Sabbath observance, and there is a groundswell of opinion against sailings on a Sunday. However, in recent years, voices have become louder to sail 7 days a week, if only to alleviate capacity problems on the ferry and for social reasons. On Thursday, executives from the ferry company are here to discuss this matter with involved bodies like the local council and the Lord's Day Observance Society.

Take off

I shot these 3 minutes off video footage as my plane took off from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, yesterday. Hope you enjoy.

Tuesday 12 May

Finally arrived into Stornoway at 7pm last night, and shared a taxi with two pleasant ladies who wouldn't hear of me paying my share of the fare. Thank you both, hope the local hotel was to your satisfaction. I'd been on the road for 14 hours, so pretty shattered - an early night was called for.

Awoke this morning to bright blue skies and brilliant sunshine. Visibility very good, I can just about make out the Applecross Forest, which lies 60 miles away to the southeast. When flying north last night, I could make out some snow on the higher mountain tops near the Rannoch Moor; the tops near the coast (like Slioch, east of Gairloch) were snow free.

I'm going to spend today recovering from yesterday's journey. I enjoyed it very much, but a 5.30 start needs catching up on. When I have sorted out the pictures and videos I took yesterday, I'll put them on a next entry.

En route

Left home at 6.15 am this morning, and joined the train to the airport at 6.45. This took me there on time (for a change), and that has (so far) been the theme. On leaving Amsterdam at 10, we flew right down the westcoast as far south as Walcheren, then veered west towards Gatwick. Once there, it was a speedy transit to the Glasgow plane, and that showed me it's a beautiful sunny day right across the UK. As I said on Twitter, it was fun flying up the M1 motorway at 550 mph with impunity. The Lake District was laid out in all its glory, and updrafts from the mountains juggled the plane a wee bit. In Glasgow as I type this, and awaiting my onward connection to Stornoway, which is due at 6pm, in four and a half hours' time.

Remind me

To write about vaccinations, cancer treatment and teenagers when I'm back in Stornoway next week.

Hurricane update 4 May

Typhoon Kujira has left the Philippines, leaving behind the usual trail of floods and destruction. It is currently roaring its way through the Pacific, far south of Japan. The storm is carrying winds of a trifling 115 knots (that's in excess of 130 mph), with gusts of 140 knots (160 mph) near the centre. The Japanese outposts of Iwo To (formerly Iwo Jima) and Chichi Jima will see a slightly weaker incarnation of the storm on Wednesday.

The Philippines weather agency should look over its shoulder. Rather than wave good-bye to Dante (the Philippines' name of Kujira), they want to monitor tropical storm Chan-hom. This system is gathering strength in the South China Sea, east of Vietnam, and could batter the Philippino island of Luzon later in the week, possibly as a typhoon. A typhoon is the same as a hurricane by the way. As I indicated above, it is lethal floods that present the greatest problem with tropical systems in the Philippines, and I am looking forward to see a bulletin from PAGASA by morning.

Normal blogging is currently on the Shell Gallery, as I'm in Holland.

Serious incident in Holland

Please switch to the Shell Gallery.

Paper Moon

The yacht I referred to in a previous entry has been located in the island of Bonaire, and its owner is flying home to his family.

Emergency message

Copied from stormcarib.com - please relay

For all you sailors out there, we have an emergency message for the Sailing Yacht "Paper Moon".
The man that bought Paper Moon is not answering emails, cell phone or satellite phone. His family has a major emergency and he is desperate to find him. The lone owner/crew is Juan C., and is believed to be somewhere between Culebra and Colombia.

PAPER MOON is a Morgan Out Island 36 foot sloop,
Name on stern is Paper Moon, N. Miami Beach.
White with blue canvas.
On stern solar panels,
wind generator,
dinghy on davits a West Marine with 18 hp Toshiba.

Please send emails to boaters throughout the Caribbean.

Email DearMissMermaid [at] aol [dot] com, if you have any sightings or info, I have additional info for the owner/crew of Paper Moon.

Flat on your face

Lori is telling us the story how she landed flat on her face yesterday. No real damage done, I should hastily add.

In the winter of '78/'79, I was trying to go to school on my bicycle in deep snow, with a half-inch layer of ice on top. Decided not to proceed further when I saw that big hill I had to go down to reach the school. However, when I reached the driveway at home, it all went wrong on me. Bike went first, then I went on my knees, then my hands, then my face hit the deck. Fortunately, it happened very slowly.

In 2001, I was visiting the Italian city of Naples, when I wanted to catch a tram to return to my lodgings. I ran for it, but tripped over the cobbled pavement and went for a flyer. Fortunately, my shoulderbag was hanging in front of me so I landed on that. Without said bag, I would have ended up with some damage, I'd imagine .

Monday 27 April

I'm going to start with a couple of one liners.

• The day started out grey, overcast and wet, but the sun just came out.
• Anyone else having fun putting in their new Sky viewing card? Ain't working this end.
• Swine flu is on the top of everybody's agenda - let's hope it can be contained.
• If you're on Twitter, bear in mind that the number of tweets can overwhelm you if you follow hundreds if not thousands of people. And please refrain from repeating yourself 4 times over with the same message on that forum.
  

Not directed at any of my usual readers, just throwing a barb at something that is irritating me: just the fact that someone is at the forefront of an Internet development doesn't mean that the rest of us who are quietly tagging along in the mainstream, barely aware of this brave new world, are all numpties.

Tomorrow, I am not going to be around on-line as I'm travelling to Holland. Friday is the first anniversary of my mother's death - as of Wednesday, you can find me on The Shell Gallery. Because my Twitter activity tends to be heavily focused on matters local, here in the Isle of Lewis, I shall most likely not be there after today. I will see if I can get Facebook to work for me again; I'm finding it hopelessly cluttered, with all sorts of apps chirping for attention - sorry folks.
Normal service will resume in 2 weeks from now, on May 12th, when I am back in the islands and back to posting on Atlantic Lines and as @adb44 on Twitter.

Local History file

The three previous entries are a mission statement on my work on areas of local history for the island of Lewis. The First World War had a large influence on the island, one that cannot be overstated. The loss of nearly 1,300 men, constituting one out of every twelve alive at the time dealt a savage blow to this small community of barely 30,000 in 1914 (nowadays it is about 20,000). The impact of the Iolaire Disaster cannot be overstated either. In placing my and others' findings on the Internet I hope to make this material available to anyone across the world with an interest in them. I also aim to keep alive the memory of the 1,300 who died in the First War and the 400 lost in the Second. Their sacrifice helped shape the world we know today, and ensured your and my liberty.

Local History file - Faces from the Lewis War Memorial

The victims of the Iolaire Disaster constitute a sizeable proportion of all those from the island who died in the First World War. It was a small step to extend the work for the Iolaire to the whole of the First World War. I started off by photographing the panels on the Lewis War Memorial, which stands just north of Stornoway. They show the names of all who fell in WW1 and WW2. However, those listings are incomplete.

Loyal Lewis Roll of Honour 1914-1918 adds quite a few more names, as well as 400 portrait photographs, which I scanned in. This publication does not supply a large amount of information on the men concerned, but that is easily amended by cross referencing with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. It is most fortunate that accurate address references are given for many of the casualties, greatly increasing the accuracy of any matches. Many islanders had emigrated to Canada and Australia, and the National Archives of both those nations yielded a lot of background information. Another source are local war memorials, of which there are about 16 outside Stornoway.

Hebridean Connections, a website that is being expanded to include information from all corners of the Western Isles, currently provides information for the districts of Uig, Kinloch, Pairc and Great Bernera, allowing for another layer of cross-referencing and additional information. Finally, the islands graveyards once more added further information, yielding approximately 350 gravestones. At time of writing, there are 1286 names on the list for the First World War.

Faces from the Lewis War Memorial
Scottish War Memorial Project
Scottish War Graves Project

Local History file - The Iolaire Disaster

The former private yacht Amalthea, rechristened HMY Iolaire [Eagle], was sent to Kyle of Lochalsh on 31 December 1918 to assist in the returning home of servicemen from Lewis and Harris. This was done because the normal ferry, SS Sheila, could not accommodate the hundreds that were amassed on the quayside at Kyle. Iolaire left port at 7.30 pm, and was approaching Stornoway some 6 hours later in poor weather conditions when she struck rocks on the Beasts of Holm, 2 miles south of the town. More than 200 drowned, the bodies of whom washed up on shores up to 5 miles away. Some 60 were never recovered. The exact cause and circumstances of this sinking are still not entirely clear, and Admiralty files on the incident are closed.

The Stornoway Historical Society were very helpful in supplying me with the names of those involved in the tragedy. In turn, I placed the list of names on the Internet, adding as much information as I could find in local and Internet sources. I also established a simple website, outlining the circumstances of the disaster and a link to the aforementioned list. This has since been augmented by portrait photographs of the men concerned, as scanned from Loyal Lewis Roll of Honour 1914-1918. Because the Iolaire went down a few hours after midnight on 1 January 1919, the First World War is held to have ended in 1919 in the island, rather than 1918 as is the case elsewhere in the UK. I have visited the island’s graveyards to photograph gravestones to the victims of the Iolaire Disaster, and those pictures have been included on the extended listings site.

http://www.adb422006.com/iolaire.html
http://iolaire1919.blogspot.com/
http://www.adb422006.com/Iolairelist.htm

Local History file - HMS Timbertown

In January 2005, I obtained a copy of the book “Lewis: A History of the Island” by Donald Macdonald. It mentions the fact that during the First World War, a number of people from the island were interned at Groningen, a city in the northeast of Holland. Being from that country myself, I was intrigued at this unexpected link between Lewis and the Netherlands. I was to find out later that an even more surprising connection exists, going back to the 17th century.
After publishing a letter in the Stornoway Gazette, I received a handful of reactions from local people, whose ancestors had been interned at Groningen. With the help of several of the island’s historical societies, I managed to compile a list of more than one hundred names, as well as the story of HMS Timbertown (as the internment camp was known amongst its inmates). Groningen historian Menno Wielinga, from his side of the North Sea, added to that in no small measure.

In October 1914, the British Expeditionary Force, sent to Belgium to hold the tide of advancing German forces, found itself at Antwerp. The onslaught from the Germans could not be stopped, so the British withdrew west. Trains were supposed to take them to the Channel ports at Zeebrugge and Ostend, but our group missed their train. The officer in charge commanded them to head north, into the Zeeuws Vlaanderen area of southwestern Holland. On crossing the border, they handed themselves in. They ended up in Groningen for the duration of the war, more than four years. Their story is told on the English Camp website.

One poignant detail concerns the return of the internees to Lewis after the Armistice of November 1918, and particularly in the aftermath of the Iolaire Disaster, of which more in the next paragraph. Upon learning of the hardships suffered by survivors of the trenches and the Atlantic crossings, not to mention the deaths of so many fellow islanders (relatives, friends and acquaintances), the former internees felt ashamed. They had had a (relatively) easy time in a camp, whilst others had died, suffered injury or been witness to unspeakable horrors in combat. So, many lived out their lives and took their stories into the grave.

Website English Camp

Looking back

Was surfing the web just now and as I was listening to recordings by Winifred Atwell, I was reminded of a presenter on the BBC Worldservice, Gordon Clyde. In the 1980s, I frequently submitted requests to his classical music request programme "The Pleasure's Yours", which I used to listen to on Sunday mornings. Living in Holland at the time, I could hear it in relative clarity on medium wave 648 kHz, rather than be subjected to the vagaries of shortwave radio. It taught me a lot about classical music. Gordon presented the programme from 1973 until 1990.

I was sad to read an obituary in The Times, stating that he had died on 26 January 2008 at the age of 75. His wife Anne died in 1990; they had one son. Gordon, thanks for many hours of great music - the pleasure was certainly mine, and many people's around the world. RIP.

Hurricane season

Once more, I'm plugging hurricane awareness as the 2009 North Atlantic hurricane season is now less than a month away. If you are in the path of hurricanes, start preparations now. A good place to review is on the National Hurricane Center's webpages. When a storm forms, I tend to reflect it on my own Tropical Cyclones blog, but you must always refer to the NHC for the latest up-to-date advice.

Stay safe.

Sunday Ghost Story

I have recently started reading a blog from New Zealand, called Whitemeadow's Wanderings. It contains what I could term a ghost story - pop along and have a read. Bear in mind, when reading the rest of the blog, that they are currently going into autumn.

Sunday 26 April

Quite a nice morning, although with a chilly breeze. Sun is coming out as I type and it can only get better.

The outbreak of human swine flu in Mexico has claimed 81 lives so far. The virus, which causes the illness, is of the H1N1 strain which is known to cause seasonal flu outbreaks. It has changed to incorporate genetic material from flu viruses that affect birds and pigs, hence its name of swine flu. Confirmed cases are also reported from the USA and elsewhere. The WHO is warning that a global outbreak is possible, a pandemic.


The ship pictured above is the MV Hebridean Princess, the former Caledonian MacBrayne's ferry MV Columba. She has plied Hebridean waters for 40 years, latterly as a luxury cruiseliner. The company that deployed her has hit on financial troubles. Both ship and company have been taken over by a new owner, ensuring that this icon of the Hebrides continues to sail.
The Hebridean Princess, which can carry up to 49 passengers and charges up to £7,000 for a cruise, was selected by the Queen in 2006 to carry her on her 80th birthday cruise round Scotland's western islands. The picture above shows her coming into Stornoway at the end of that journey.

Saturday 25 April

Overcast but calm day. The spring tide is at a low ebb, leaving a lot more exposed than you'd normally see at low tide. Just watched the first cruiseliner of the summer season leave port heading for the Shiants. That's a group of 3 islands about 20 miles south of Stornoway off the coast of Lochs. Nobody lives there permanently, but are quite scenic.

Midnight post

Quarter to midnight, and time to close the session for today. Weather has gradually improved, and the sun came out in the hour before sunset. Tomorrow, 25 April, will be ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand. Those two nations will remember the dead of two world wars and other conflicts since. The date marks the start of the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign in the First World War. On 25 April 1915, the first attacks were launched against Turkish strongholds southwest of Istanbul. The idea was to take the fortresses and open the way for Allied troops to march on the Turkish capital, which (at time) was Istanbul. A series of blunders, both in planning and execution, saw Gallipoli out as an abysmal failure. It also left thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers dead.

As I have remarked earlier this week, Australia is currently in the grips of a fierce debate on immigration and racism. Whilst remembering the Fallen, I hope everybody remembers what they fell defending. And that doesn't just apply to the Antipodeans.

Good night.

Friday 24 April

Day started out grey and wet, but the sun is making valiant efforts to break through the low clouds. No change in temperatures, we're always very steady up here in the far northwest. I'd be very unwell living in places where one day you're at 90F and the next day down to 60F. Not much happening in this neck of the woods, apart from party political bluster over this week's Budget.


Last Wednesday's sky

Thursday 23 April

After a very windy night, the winds had subsided a little. But we're back to force 6 again. Overcast but not too cold (12C / 54F). Temperatures in southern England are expected to peak at 21C / 70F today, so a bit of a contrast across 600 miles. Not much doing out here - local council aims to switch off streetlights to fill potholes. Lateral thinking will resolve that the money saved on lights can be used to purchase potholl filling machine. Another project is to sure up a seawall in the town which is crumbling under the effects of "pounding waves". Well, actually, the area of harbour it fronts is quite sheltered, but the wall in question is past its best.

I am not inclined to comment too much on yesterday's Budget (bore, yawn); the politicians concerned have laid an egg over the past decade and it has hatched into a bit of a firebreathing dragon. General election due in 2010, which makes all the predictions seem like the start of the election campaign. Putting a few names to it, Labour have been in power since 1997 and are running out of steam. Much like the Conservatives had run out of steam after 18 years in power by 1997. British politics always shows a pendulum motion from Labour to Conservatives. Neither of them are any good in my perspective.

View by Google Earth

This is a view of a remote part of Lewis - Loch Hamnaway. It is located on the west coast, some 8 miles south of Carnish (in a direct line) and 3 miles southeast of Brenish in Uig. The distance from Stornoway is about 40 miles to the southwest. If you want to get there, you face an 8 mile trek along a very rough track (shown in the image above), or possibly a cross-country foray for the same distance from Morsgail. By sea, it is a "simple" 4 mile sail from Huisinish in Harris.

This indented coastline, with its long sealochs, account for the fact that if you want to drive from Huisinish in Harris to Brenish in Uig you are facing a 78 mile journey; by water, it is only 9 miles.

Oh, as it said in the title, this is the view as generated through Google Earth. I've not (yet) been here myself. Maybe one day...

Petition

A nurse working in a hospital who exposed poor standards of care by using a secret camera, was struck off the nursing register for professional misconduct. It was deemed a breach of patient confidentiality. This in itself was the case, and cannot be condoned. However, the standards of care in the hospital fell so far short of what could be expected that the nurse was felt to be acting in the public interest. The Royal College of Nursing, the union involved, is featuring a link to a petition on its website to lodge an appeal against the Nursing and Midwifery Council's decision to delete the nurse's registration. Although she did do wrong, her sanction was too harsh.

I would like to encourage anyone in the UK who reads this to sign. The NHS has this unfortunate tendency not to address problems put to its managers. It is the whistleblowers that usually get punished, not those in charge who fail to take action. A good example was seen here in the Western Isles a few years ago, where it took several years before the failing management of the local NHS was removed. Another example was the late gynaecologist Rodney Ledward, who was allowed to butcher (which he passed off as operating on) women for 11 years before he was removed.

Wednesday 22 April

Increasingly overcast as the wind slowly picks up to the anticipated high winds for tonight. Current forecast is for force 6, so not too bad. Temperature 12C, which will not change over the next few days. Just watched a Norwegian fish carrier, the Roy Kristian, coming into port. Stornoway is not a busy port, so any vessel coming in attracts my attention. Yesterday's prize was a navy vessel called the Seeker. It duly did not show up on my ship tracker, AIS.

For those in the UK: if you use Bonjela, you are strongly advised against using it in children under the age of 16. It contains the same chemical compound that is found in aspirin, which should not be used in children either. Aspirin can cause Reye's Syndrome in children with viral illnesses. Reye's is a potentially fatal but fortunately rare condition, which includes effects on liver and brain.

Going back 32 years

Anyone familiar with Peter Straker's Ragtime Piano Joe from 1977?

Les lacs du Connemara

Remember this one by Michel Sardou? Long live YouTube!
Good one for practising your French. By way of a song about Ireland.

Karelia Suite - Sibelius

That piece of 20th century classical music is one of my favourites. Below recording (audio only) from YouTube of the Alla Marcia [March] from Sibelius' Opus 11.

Tuesday 21 April

Seems our week of spring has gone, to be replaced by wet weather. No strong winds; the low pressure system bringing the change is too far away to cause gales on land. Today is the 83rd birthday of HM Queen Elizabeth II, so here's 3 cheers. The official birthday celebrations will be held in mid June, with Trooping the Colour in Horseguard's Parade in London. Another royal birthday bash happens in Holland in 9 days from now, when Queen Beatrix celebrates her 71st birthday, which actually happened on 31 January. Her son, crown prince Willem Alexander, has his 42nd on 27 April.

Locally, the council appears set to approve a large windfarm development in the district of South Lochs, 12 miles (as the crow flies, but 25 miles by road) south of Stornoway. It would see 26 turbines, each 450 feet tall, rising above the low hills and lochs of the district. Jobs would be created, in an area that is economically deprived. However, there is said to be a considerable environmental impact of the scheme. Final planning permission will be decided by the Scottish Government, but thousands of objections have already been lodged.

Closing notes

Been busy today, cleaning up my database of World War I casualties from Lewis. I detected 15 duplicates (resulting from men being mentioned at their parents' home as well as their own married addresses), one duplicate resulting from an error on the database of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and one duplicate resulting from a look-up error on my part. The last two did not lead to a deletion. Total number of names is now 1,285.

Iran's president Ahmedinajad continues to have my grudging respect. He acknowledged that the American / Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi should get a fair appeal hearing, after being convicted of espionage. That went down well with the West.
Today he grabbed the headlines by referring to Israel as a 'totally racist' country. That statement went down like a lead balloon. The substance of Mr Ahmedinajad's speech was nowhere near diplomatic. But then, he has never hidden his extreme hatred of the state of Israel and has vowed its destruction. Dozens of diplomats, attending the United Nations convention in Geneva, walked out in protest. My respect for the Iranian president stems from the fact that he is a clever political player - and that's where it ends. I could not disagree more with his politics.

Once more, I don't have time this evening to go round journals, will do my best tomorrow.

Monday 20 April

The weather has turned, and I'm looking at an overcast sky with a few chinks of brightness in between. Overnight, we had a little rain which disappeared to bother the mainland by mid morning. Temperatures remain moderate, at 12C / 54F. Although it is very nice to have 21C / 70F, as is forecast for southern England, I prefer the 12C for mid- to late April.

A British soldier was shot in Afghanistan - but the bullet just passed through his helmet, missing his head by 2 mm. Although shaken up, the man resumed his duties within the hour. He is hailed as the luckiest soldier alive.

Closing notes

Well, that's it for today. Gone 11pm and time for bed. I've got a stack of blogs to go through, but I'll peruse those tomorrow. We are due a change in the weather overnight; rain in the small hours, although the sun should put in an appearance come morning. Nice colours when the sun set this evening; usually does not augur well.

Lewis in pictures

Today is the 4th anniversary of me taking photos in the isle of Lewis. It's not something you'd ordinarily remember, but as you all know, my photography hobby has gotten badly out of hand. And I'm not apologising for that. The shutter has clicked the grand total of about 21,000 times, leaving me with about 18,500 pictures of Lewis and Harris (including a few hundred of places on the mainland and elsewhere in Scotland). My first pictures took me to the highest point I have reached in Harris, Tealasbhal, 690 metres above sealevel.

Don't get me wrong, I've been taking pictures for nearly 30 years. The advent of a digital camera just unleashed the beast.

Blogger Community Photo Challenge - The Great Outdoors

Blogger Community Photo Challenge

You can't get much more outdoors than the summit of Mullach an Langa in the Harris hills, 2,011 feet above sealevel. The body of water is called Loch Langabhat, Norse for Long Water.

Guest Editor's post

Les Ellingham, who manages blogs for the Island Blogging community over on Wordpress, wrote this excellent post on his blog View from the Helm. He was happy for me to copy it on Atlantic Lines, and I'm putting it up as a Guest Editor's post.

You still have us

Blogging is a two-way business. By committing our words to a blog we open ourselves up for others to agree or disagree as they see fit. Comments are an important part of a blog for without them our thoughts may just as well be written on paper and filed in a drawer. What do you do though when comments turn nasty? Do you give up or do you just shrug and move on? I guess it depends on how sensitive you are or how vulnerable you feel.

One of the blogs I follow is by David duChemin, an American photographer and about a year ago he wrote a post on why you should or shouldn’t blog. One of the reasons he gave not to blog related to adverse comments where he said

You can’t handle the trolls. If you can’t handle the odd jerk showing up uninvited, then blogging may be less appealing to you. Once in a while someone logs on and starts a fight. It’s a little like someone arriving at your home, walking in, and lighting the sofa on fire. You can either ban them, delete them, put up with it, or stop blogging. I don’t think this is a good reason not to blog - but it’s a reality. Fortunately photographers tend to be a civil lot and if you fill your blog with big words, the jerks tend to stay away.

One of the keys to dealing with the morons is that mention of ‘big words’. Someone wrote to me recently and said that The Croft had the best way of dealing with bad comments and that was to simply publish them and then destroy them with a superior intellect. That really is the answer but not everyone has that ability. We do all, however, have the ability to publish comments and let our friends draw their own conclusions. It does require a certain amount of courage but you should know that your enemies will never prosper in the company of your friends. In the bad times simply turn to your friends, even those you have never met. Above all, don’t give up.

Don’t Give Up

David duChemin’s posts on blogging, although aimed at photographers are well worth reading

You Definitely Should(n’t) Blog

The Photographer and the Blog, Part 3

Yesterday's pictures

View from Ardroil Cemetery


Replica Lewis Chessman near Ardroil


Farmhouse at Ardroil


House near Baile na Cille, Timsgarry


Church at Timsgarry; not in use, subject of a dispute between the Church of Scotland and the local community. Community want to buy it off church, but church wants to make more money off it. Building is now structurally unsafe.


Say after me...

Sunday 19 April

Brilliantly sunny day with the mercury already at 13C. It'll probably creep a few degrees higher before the day is out. Whilst sitting on the bus from Uig last night, I was listening to BBC Radio 2, spelling out all the traffic jams in southeastern England. Hardly met a car on the A859, the spinal road from Tarbert to Stornoway.

A head-on collision on the M1 motorway near Luton has claimed the lives of 5 people in two cars. One of the vehicles was travelling in the wrong direction, the reason for which is unclear. The wreckage was barely recognisable as having been cars. In Holland and Germany, people who drive up motorways in the wrong direction are referred to as ghost-drivers, and are regarded as a major emergency. Radio programmes are interrupted to announce their presence. The M1 crash happened in the early hours of this morning. My thoughts are with those that died, and their relatives, some of whom are yet to be informed.

The files on the Hillsborough Disaster, in which 96 people died in 1989, are to be published 10 years early. A new inquiry into the tragedy at Sheffield could well be launched on the strength of the evidence contained in said files.


With thanks to Sugar for tag, will place in sidebar later

Saturday 18 April

Brilliantly sunny day, although there was some cloudiness in the afternoon around the hills. Went out on the bus at 3pm to the district of Uig, 35 miles west of Stornoway. The object of my visit was to photograph (19) wargraves and the local war memorial. It took the wee bus an hour to get there, not helped by longstanding roadworks along the way. They are taking longer to complete than anticipated because someone misdesigned a bridge. Didn't fit when it got there. Uig (which means 'bay') is one of the most scenic areas of Lewis, but with only very few people in it. Doesn't mean that there is no community spirit. Anyway, after my business at the graveyard, I walked across Uig Sands to Timsgarry where the war memorial is located. Upon arrival at the community shop, I found out that there was an event at the community hall - pity I did not have the time to go there.

I took a total of 64 pictures today (no records, I have been known to take in excess of 200 on a few occasions). Take away 20 for the wargraves, and 5 for the war memorial, and you'll have my scenic total of about 40. Pretty good for 2 hours' worth. Returned to Stornoway at 7.15pm. Those who follow me on Twitter know about the fact that I went to Uig - this is filling in some of the details. My pictures are uploading as I type; I shall place a selection on here tomorrow.

Post 500

Who would have thought that? Less than 7 months after opening this blog, I've now reached my 500th post. Yes, 6 months and 17 days is the time since we were told to get lost by AOL.

What I wanted to write about was my experiences in historical research. This evening, I was processing the pictures of wargraves that I took at Barvas this afternoon. I came across one, for Donald McDonald Paterson, who died on 30 November 1944. He served with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps, and was 48 years of age.

Trying to get more information about this man is proving a challenge. Veteran Affairs Canada is my first port of call for any Canadian casualty. All Canadian personnel that signed up for the First World War have their attestation papers (signing up papers) shown on the web. Not so for the Second World War - I presume for reasons of privacy. You have to travel to Ottawa to see those. Well, I do intend to visit Canada one day, but not at the moment. So, I am now looking closer to home. The Isle of Lewis has a dozen historical societies (Comunn Eachdraidh in Gaelic), and I have just emailed the one that covers Barvas, to see if they can shed further light on Private Paterson.

Visit to Barvas

Went to Barvas this afternoon, once again to visit a graveyard. Collected 29 images of wargraves, or war casualties remembered on family gravestones. It was breezy, but the sun helped to keep it agreeable. The cemetery at Barvas is draped over sanddunes, and offers nice views southwest along the coast.


Loch Mor Barabhais with Brue on the skyline


Stream in the machair


Along the shoreline


Former church in Upper Barvas, now a home (for sale, again)


Road north out of Barvas

More pictures here - still being uploaded at time of posting

Nor'easter - Friday 17 April

It is spring and we're having the usual weather. A cold northeasterly wind and bright and clear weather. Temperature 9C / 48F at the moment, which I prefer to the muggy, thundery weather of lower latitudes in this country. I am told that for 6 weeks in May and June 2008 there was NO rain at all in Lewis.

I am disappointed to note that Barack Obama will not prosecute those implicated in the use of torture as an interrogation 'technique'. Wonder what lies behind that, I do not.

Women with excessive hairgrowth (hirsutism) are advised to check with their doctors as it may be due to a hormonal imbalance with various underlying causes. Read the article for more info.

Syrophenikon

Petar Vodogaz used to write in Jland, until he closed down his blog to leave AOL. He now writes on LiveJournal in a blog called Responsorium. Petar, an Australian blogger that I have known for a few years through this medium, is perturbed by a rise in apparent racism in his country. His latest post, accessible after clicking through a contents warning (nothing untoward, but it is a horrible story), warrants wider airing - I think this is a worldwide problem.

Responsorium

Hurricane update - 16 April

Tropical cyclone Bijli is currently swinging northeast, later east through the northern part of the Bay of Bengal, east of India. It is at tropical storm strength, with maximum sustained winds of 50 knots (55 mph), which will increase to 60 knots (70 mph) in the next 24 hours. The storm will make landfall on the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar [Burma] early on Saturday. As per usual with tropical cyclones, the greatest hazard is rainfall.

Tropical cyclones (hurricanes) are common in the Bay of Bengal at this time of year, ahead of the monsoon, which will start to move north later in the spring. Last year, tropical cyclone Nargis wreaked devastation near Myanmar's capital Rangoon - vehemently denied by the country's military junta. They also tried to thwart the much-needed supply of emergency aid.

Thursday 16 April

Another bright and sunny day, but with quite a cold northeasterly wind. Am currently processing the pictures I took at the cemetery in Bragar yesterday, and came across a little piece of interesting history.

One of men buried there, Duncan Macleod, died in 1943 whilst held in a POW camp in Burma. He himself is interred near the camp on the infamous Burma railway, where so many Allied POWs perished. His name is mentioned on one of the private gravestones at Bragar, and as I had him on record for the World War II memorial for Lewis, I looked into it further. I had little information on him, save that he came from Lochcroistean, a schoolhouse in the Uig district of Lewis.

His father was one of the school's headmasters, Norman Macleod, who held sway there until 1923. He died 20 January 1938 at the age of 75. He was married to Bell Ann Mackay, who died 8 December 1944 at the age of 69.

The website for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission interestingly state that they came from Tighnabruaich in Argyll. They had four children, two of whom (Iain and Chirsty Mary) died in infancy. Jessie died in May 1980 at the age of 73; their son Duncan died on 19 September 1943 at the age of 42.

Lochcroistean is located in a remote part of the island, but was itself a central school (of sorts). It acted as a hub for several side-schools, in places like Morsgail, Luachar and Ardbeag. The latter two places no longer exist. Luachar lies by the head of Loch Reasort, some 10 miles from Lochcroistean to the south; Ardbeag is even further away, by my estimation at least 15 miles to the southwest.