Viewpoint Lewis

The island on which I reside lies at the northern end of the Outer Hebrides, and is actually the largest island off the mainland of Great Britain. Lewis and Harris (one landmass) stretch for 80 miles between the Butt of Lewis in the north and Rodel in the south. On a clear day, visibility extends for 75 miles, as I discovered some time ago.



The two humps on the horizon are the Red Hills by Broadford in Skye, as I said, 75 miles to the south of Stornoway. This picture was taken on 10 February, when visibility was very good. You can see from Cape Wrath all the way down to Kyle of Lochalsh; Cape Wrath is visible at night particularly on account of the lighthouse, whose flashes can be discerned from just below the horizon as you stand near the Butt of Lewis. The mountains on the mainland stand out at this time of year, wreathed in snow.



From my own viewpoint in Stornoway, I can make out the hills around Applecross on a clear day (like this afternoon), a mere 60 miles to the southeast.

Sunday 21 February

Nice and bright after a very cold night. Before midnight, towels drying on an outside line had already turned into boards, and the mercury ended up at -5C. At the moment it is above freezing, and we're looking at cumulus clouds drifting overhead.

It is a quiet Sunday in Stornoway, and not much moves, apart from church traffic. This week, the first cask of legally distilled whisky for 166 years will leave this island to be sampled at a bar in Glasgow. The spirits are not strictly speaking whisky yet (it is not quite 3 years old), but will pack a hefty punch at 65% alcohol-by-volume. The whisky was produced at the Red River distillery in Uig, 40 miles west of Stornoway.

I was shocked to see the video footage of flooding and mudslides in Madeira, a Portuguese island southwest of the Iberian peninsula off Africa. The capital Funchal was overrun by mudstreams, and there have been more than two dozen fatalities as a result.

The BBC has obtained transcripts of discussions within the Scottish Government, which show that they could be planning an referendum on the independence of Scotland as early as 30 November 2010. I would like to refer to the article for details, but I am very concerned by this head-long rush into independence by the SNP administration.

Looking across the water

I'm rather concerned about developments in political Holland today. As I mentioned in an earlier blogpost, there will be early general elections in the country after the government collapsed over a disagreement regarding deployment of troops in Afghanistan. Coalition partners Labour and Christian Democrats fell out over the issue, and elections are now in the offing for late spring or early summer.

Since 2002, a new political force has sprung on the scene in Holland - the farther right. By that I mean parties who oppose immigration and/or advocate removal of migrants from the country. It should be borne in mind that the issue of migrants could not be discussed properly in Dutch society in the wake of the Second World War, a conflict that saw the mass murder of millions on account of their faith. When Pim Fortuyn emerged in 2002, he amassed a huge following for daring to place on the agenda the vexed issue of immigration. Elections held in the aftermath of his assassination in Hilversum in '02 brought his party to government, a government that fell after only a few months.

The 2010 elections are expected to bring the successor to Pim Fortuyn, Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party, a large number of seats in Parliament, and probably ministerial posts. Mr Wilders is known in the UK, as he was denied entry to Britain in February 2009 for his far-right political views. Upon appeal, he was allowed into the country to expound his views to a favourable audience at the Houses of Parliament in London. I dread to see Mr Wilders assume government responsibility - he could well end up tarnishing the Netherlands' reputation as a tolerant society, and a country that welcomes the genuine refugee.

Life in the Hebrides

A reprint from a few years ago

Dogger, Fisher German Bight
Once again, the weather's sh***
Howling wind, cold rain and hail
Calmac's boats will never sail
today

Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea
Looks about Force Ten to me
The bin's away; blown down the croft
It's ragged contents swirl aloft
Again

Rockall, Malin , Hebrides
I'm fed up with days like these
It's still dark at half past ten
When will we see the sun again?
Ever?

Fair Isle, Faeroes, South East Iceland
Sorry kids, the veg is still canned
I'm cooking tea by naked flame
Oh Lord don't send us more the same
Tomorrow

Saturday 20 February

Awoke to a good covering of snow, after an overnight low of -3C / 26F. Temperatures have now lifted to +2C / 36F, meaning a slow thaw. The birds are well tended, with seed on the ground and in feeders, in addition to bread. The seagulls like the bread too, but they are chased off as soon as they appear. The ferry just came in for its lunchtime call, and will depart at 2.30pm - it's Saturday.

The Dutch government has fallen over a disagreement between coalition partners Labour and Christian Democrats over future deployment of Dutch troops in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will submit the resignation of his cabinet to Queen Beatrix today. Elections will follow in due course. The government had been heavily criticised in recent months over its role in the Iraq war in 2003.

Here in the Western Isles, a row is escalating between the Council and Stornoway Port Authority. SPA is apparently the only independent harbour authority in the UK, with other harbours being administered by local authorities. Stornoway's harbour is independent and SPA have said it has worked within the framework set out by it under Acts of Parliament. The Authority also says that following £14.5m worth of budget costs, the Council would probably make stringent cuts in the running of the harbour - which requires £1.3m annually.

Yesterday, golfer Tiger Woods apologised over his behaviour in recent months. Do I care? Do I want to know?
Yesterday, BBC TV soap Eastenders reveiled who had killed one of its characters. Do I care? Do I need to know? As I said on Twitter, I follow one soap - The Archers on BBC Radio 4 - and that's enough for me. As far as Mr Woods is concerned, he should always bear in mind that being the world's number 1 in a sport brings responsibilities.

Picture post

Lewis Street


Thursday sky


Starlings


Dawn

Hurricane update - 19 February

Tropical cyclone Gelane is currently approaching the small Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues, 350 miles east of Mauritius. This storm is equivalent in strength to a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, so packing quite a punch. By this time tomorrow, Rodrigues will feel the full force of Gelane, even if that system will then start to weaken slightly. The weather service for Mauritius (under whose jurisdiction Rodrigues falls) is issuing warnings (in French and Creole).

Friday 19 February

As I type, the ferry is coming into port for its customary lunchtime call. Quite a cold day, but still fairly bright with distant showers. Overnight tonight, temps in the Highlands could plummet to -15C, so winter's back. The weather charts shows some interesting developments early next week, but it's still quite far off.

Yesterday, there was a resumption of sabre rattling between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Twenty-eight years ago, the two countries fought a war over the territory. Although the UK won, Argentina maintains that it has sovereignty over the islands. The present exchanges centre on oil exploration on the continental shelf in the South Atlantic, which Argentina claims as its own. The government in Argentina insists shipping bound for the Falklands and calling at Argentinian ports get a permit before proceeding. A drilling rig is going to start exploration shortly, and the company will reroute its resupply lines through Brazil.
Islas Malvinas - when are the Argentinians going to take the hint?

Thursday 18 February

A cold day, which started in the morning with plenty of hail showers. The cloudscapes were spectacular, and although the showers ceased later on, the view remained enthralling. I have to say that to my mind, the cloudscapes are sometimes a lot better than the rubbish shown on television.

I'm just reading reports that a small plane has crashed into an building in Austin, Texas, which houses offices for the Inland Revenue Service IRS. The 199 employees inside appear to have been evacuated safely, although one person is reported to be missing. The pilot apparently flew the plane into the building on purpose, and left a suicide note on a webpage. It was a long-winded ramble against the IRS, that the 54-year old pilot had a grudge with - it can be accessed through the site of Mashable.com if you're interested.

Locally, the protests against the refurbishment of Stornoway Town Hall continue unabated, although the Council is expected to ratify the proposals tonight. I'm slowly getting the impression that the Council did a colossal booboo with this planning application, if all the claims by the opposition are true. It's a shame though that nobody objected against rather more visible demolitions of historic buildings in Stornoway in 2007 and 2009.

Wednesday 17 February

Occasional wintry showers and feeling quite cold today. Only 3C on the thermometer, so definitely down on recent times.

A lot rougher is the weather in the Indian Ocean. It is mid summer in Mauritius, which means that it is hurricane season down there. Tropical cyclone Gelane is moving south from a position of about 550 miles north of Mauritius, and will pass to the east of the island by about Sunday. Winds around the centre could peak at 110 mph, but probably will not impact Mauritius.

Locally, the contentious proposals for upgrading the 80-year old Town Hall have come in front of the council. Unfortunately, as I type this, the link provided by local news site Heb News is not working. The Stornoway Gazette link does give more info, and says that the committee decision will be put in front of full council tomorrow. If approved, the Scottish Government will have to give its consent for the alterations to the listed building. Opponents to this scheme have vowed to take their fight to the Scottish Government.

The letters section of Heb News is filling up with cries of woe from expat Lewismen who hold fond memories of days of yore in the Town Hall. I wonder what they would have to say if the building fell to pieces on them.

Tuesday 16 February

A cold and overcast day, with a chilly easterly wind. Snow is making conditions difficult in the Highlands, but out in the west, we're not troubled with precipitation of any form.

Spent a few hours in Stornoway town centre this afternoon. Visited the local museum, which has a memorial plaque for Old Boys of the Nicolson Institute who died in the First World War. After a bowl or two of soup in the library cafe, I found a useful publication with more info about WW1 casualties. Accompanied a friend round shops brought the time round to 4 pm, and I was glad to get back indoors. It was very chilly indeed.

Locally, a planning application is to be submitted to install a tide bell at Bosta Beach in Great Bernera, 30 miles west of Stornoway. The bell is operated by tidal flows which move its clapper. Can't say the idea appeals to me terribly much, but then it won't disturb many people. Nobody lives at Bosta; there is a cemetery nearby, and I'm not certain that anybody visiting that will be taken with the notion. The tidebell won't make a very loud sound, I'm told.


Image courtesy Marcus Vergette

Ten years on-line

This month, it will be 10 years ago since I set my first steps on the World Wide Web. My Hotmail account records my first email on 1 February 2000. I still have that account, and it is active. No longer active is my pharmolo account with AOL; any email that comes into that inbox is automatically redirected to my adb422006 account with gmail. An email account with Yahoo is only used because of its link to my Flickr photo accounts. I set it up whilst staying in a place which blocked the AOL website.

I joined AOL for its dial-up ISP service in April 2004, and brought me the first experiences of social networking on-line. The News Debate Chat was a rough and ready affair, invaded at times by the less appetising elements in British society. Following my relocation to Scotland in the summer of 2004, this fell by the wayside for a while, as I changed to blogging.

AOL Journals allowed me to record my travels in the north of Scotland in the summer and autumn of 2004. A year later, the much maligned VIVI awards introduced me to the circle of journalers; the untimely death of Pam (his1desire) at Easter 2006 turned me into a full member of Jland.

Jland ceased to exist in October 2008, after AOL decided to scuttle its journals division. A fair few of us migrated to Blogger, but many others abandoned the community.

My ten years on-line has seen a marked change in my personal circumstances, much of which I have decided not to discuss on here. Reading back through the emails from 2000 to 2010, I can see that quite clearly. The biggest shock, which I did share, was the death of my mother, now nearly 2 years ago. I tend to operate on a "live by the day" basis, which means I do not make a forecast for the next 10 years.

The Internet has proved an invaluable source of information to me, and a way of meeting new people, new friends. The Internet has also caused me a fair bit of distress, both directly and indirectly. Not all my friends understand the concept of social networking involving people you have not met, and are unlikely to ever meet. The Internet has an extremely unpleasant dark side to it, the least manifestations of which are the spam emails. However, it is here, and here to stay. 

Monday 15 February

Cold and at times wet today, with wintry showers this afternoon. After a period of milder weather in the Hebrides, air from the Arctic is presently moving south across northern Scotland and will bring snow to the mainland. I'm typing this just after 5.30pm, but it's still light outside. Due to the poor light conditions though, the Arnish Lighthouse has been operating since 4pm.

(Image courtesy Reuters) Two commuter trains have collided head-on south of Brussels, near the town of Buizingen. Eighteen people are now known to have died, with nearly 60 injured. The local service from Quiévrain to Liège crashed into the service from Louvain to Braine-le-Comte. Initial speculation suggested that one of the trains had ignored a red light, but that has been branded as premature. Weather conditions at the time of the accident, 8.30 am local time, were poor with falling snow, but snow is a common occurrence in winter in Belgium and does not normally pose major problems on the rail network.

The Eurostar service between London and Brussels has been suspended until further notice, although trains do run as far as Lille, in northern France. It will take a considerable period of time to clear the wreckage from the tracks. This accident is rated as one of the worst in the history of the Belgian railway NMBS; a crash in the Netherlands in 1962 claimed 92 lives.

Sunday 14 February

Happy Valentine's Day, if you celebrate. It's been a very quiet day here in Stornoway, as is customary on Sunday. Apart from those going to or coming from church, little has moved. Only the clouds and occasional light rain. The ferry is presently on its way in, back from its normal single Sunday sailing.

Although I'm not much of a rugby fan, I couldn't avoid watching some of the Six Nations action this weekend. Scotland managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, after losing 24-31. They had been ahead 24-14 only 10 minutes before the end. Their opponents were Wales. Ireland were giving a hammering by France, losing 10-33. England was the only home country to manage a win, beating Italy 17-12 in Rome. I find rugby a very physical game, but at least you don't get all the daft backchat you get in football. Players listen to the referee, and that's it.

Next week, I intend to revisit the local museum to take pictures of a memorial plaque there. I do have photographs of it, but cannot read the names on it. I went to the library yesterday, which was rearranged a few weeks ago. Where is the local history section? Well, that's been put in the middle of the place, and you have to walk around with your reference books to find a table to work on. Not a vast improvement.

Saturday 13 February

Overcast with some light rain here and there. An old-fashioned Atlantic depression near Greenland is slowly sinking south, and will pass across the UK after tomorrow. It will grind to a halt over England, leaving us with easterly winds and possible snow early in the new week.

Apart from the screen of the laptop, the printer is now also going on the blink. If I want to print pictures at any quality better than draft, the result is a third of the normal height - in other words a squashed picture that bears more resemblance to a television test card. Anything else feeling like collapsing??

My camera has gone in for repairs, and I hope to be reunited with it early in March. Meanwhile, I am using a friend's camera.

Winter Olympics

A shadow was cast over the start of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, after a luger from Georgia was killed in an accident. He crashed, following which he was catapulted over a wall and slammed into a pole. A decision is to be taken whether the luge competition will proceed as planned.

Hurricane update - 12 February

Tropical cyclone Rene is currently traversing American Samoa, east of the dateline. The storm will gain intensity and impact the southern islands of that archipelago as equivalent of a category I hurricane. NOAA Pago Pago is issuing warnings. I am keeping a very close eye on the forecast track for this storm, as it appears to be making a beeline for the North Island of New Zealand in 5 or 6 days' time.

Screen

Posted last night about my malfunctioning screen. This is what greets me at start-up:

Friday 12 February

Nice and bright today, with the odd light, short shower. The latter was not in the forecast, but it did not bother anybody much. Three herons were having it out in the corner of Stornoway Harbour that I overlook. There was also this continuing battle to outwit the seagulls, who will swoop in to gobble up any bread left outside. The trick is to place it under bushes or against a tree trunk. Gulls want to have space around them to spread their wings, and enclosed spaces make them nervous. A tree trunk constitutes an enclosed space, to their mind.

I was shocked to read the list of service cuts, proposed by our local council. It is one thing to keep the council tax at the same level, a policy imposed by the Scottish Government in Edinburgh, it does mean that less money is coming in each year - on account of inflation.

Sunset was once more stunning:

Screens

Over the past 6 months, the screen on my laptop has been showing increasingly interesting colour schemes, which bear little resemblance to what the computer part of it has been putting out to it. After doing a few DIY diagnostic tricks, it turns out to be a hardware fault. Screens on laptops are prone to break or fail, so I went onto Amazon and ordered a replacement LCD screen. This arrived in the mail this morning, so I sat down and took the screen part to bits and installed the new LCD. You can well imagine the sinking feeling when I switched the laptop on afterwards - only to be greeted by a mitigated version of the same bl**dy fault.

As regular readers are aware, I have been going on dozens of flights over the past 21 months (a journey to Amsterdam involves three flights) and I had my laptop in my case - which goes into the hold. Hold luggage is subjected to a frightful battering, and I suppose something has been damaged at some stage.

I'll have it fixed at some stage, but it's not a major problem. I fortunately have the use of an external screen - which allowed me to ascertain that it was the screen going wonky.

Sunset notes

The sun set a quarter of an hour ago, but not in the blaze of glory we had yesterday evening. A light shower passed by just at that moment.

The US are all preoccupied with their snow storms, so much so that a hurricane-related blog is talking about nothing else. Bit of a disappointment, if they miss that steady procession of hurricanes in the South Pacific: Oli, Pat and now Rene. The Pacific is certainly not living up to its peaceful name.

In Scotland, the Deputy First Minister (Nicola Sturgeon) is under political fire after she wrote a letter to a court on behalf of a constituent who has been found guilty of fraud. Again. Having been imprisoned in the 1990s for stealing benefit cheques whilst a postmaster, the suspect has now been claiming £80,000 in benefits he was not entitled to. As a member of parliament, Ms Sturgeon can expect to be called upon to write letters on behalf of constituents in circumstances as described above. Whether it is wise to do whilst holding a senior position in the government of the day is questionable. Ms Sturgeon will explain herself to the Scottish Parliament on February 24th.

Thursday 11 February

Nice day with increasing amounts of sunshine. Temperature +7C, which is quite decent for this time of year. If you have snow, please take care.

I'll make a longer post later, but want to display this expression of team support on a website displaying information on tropical weather. At the top, it says: NOTE: AMSR-E data back in sync, WHO DAT!!!!

Wednesday 10 February

A bright and sunny day, even feeling warm. The mercury made it to +8C, the warmest in the country. Went for a walk to the Iolaire Memorial, which is 45 minutes' walk away by Holm Point, about 2 miles south of my position. The route takes me through the village of Lower Sandwick, past Stoneyfield Farm and through an area of incredibly thorny gorse. A gravel path leads to the memorial itself. Visibility was absolutely stunning: I could make out the hills near Broadford in Skye, 75 miles to the south. The sun set in a blaze of colours around 5.10pm.


Sunset

Hurricane update - 9 February

The South Pacific is seeing one tropical cyclone after the other this season. After Oli, there is now Pat. This system, a strong category I hurricane, will pass through the South Cook Islands, along the 159th degree longitude west. Northwest of American Samoa, another tropical disturbance is brewing up and I wouldn't be surprised to see yet another cyclone on the maps by this time tomorrow.

The South Pacific is home to a scattering of small islands, but in the three or four years that I've been monitoring hurricanes, there have never been this many systems passing through. The reason is the current El Nino situation, which brings elevated seawater temperatures in the western and central Pacific Ocean. El Nino is now abating - which is not good news for the Atlantic hurricane season. The strange coincidence is that El Nino tends to suppress the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic, so 2010 might see a more lively season than 2009.

Picture post

Sunset 9 February




Piece of cake, anyone?


Gloves drying on the line

Tuesday 9 February

Today is the fifth anniversary of my stint here in Stornoway. It is a bright day, but we already had a shower on one side of the house. Our regular ferryboat, the MV Isle of Lewis has returned from its refit. The relief boat Clansman is on its way across from Ullapool. Will see whether it will also do the afternoon / evening run; probably will.

Two years ago, a British Airways Boeing 777 crash landed at Heathrow Airport due to the formation of ice crystals in its fuel systems. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt. The pilot, who no longer flies, tells of his experience. It was indeed miraculous that there were no casualties.

Having had pretty extensive flying experience in the past 21 months, albeit on small planes and short routes, I am of course aware of the inherent risk of flying. As I was waiting for my first flight last Tuesday, the television screen at Amsterdam Airport showed footage of plane crashes. I think I left a comment on Twitter, saying that is not something I prefer to watch while waiting for a flight. However, back in 1987, the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry sank at Zeebrugge. A few months later, I was due to cross the North Sea on another ferry service, and people asked me if I wasn't scared to sail. No. If anything happens, it will, and it is safer to take a ferry, or take a plane, than it is to cross the road or drive a car.

More later.

Crunch

The Isle of Arran ferry collided with the pier at Kennacraig, on the Kintyre peninsula, at 9.30 am last Saturday. The 14 passengers were disembarked safely, and nobody was injured. Damage was said not to be severe, and the ship was able to make its own way to the Clyde for repairs. Flickr user md93 took pictures. Not severe??

Automatic door

Is this truly an automatic door? I'm being pernickety here, but in my mind, an automatic door opens when you approach it...


Stornoway Library

Monday 8 February

A bright but cloudy day (the two can occur at the same time!) here in the Western Isles. It is cold this morning, but not a lot of wind. Whatever wind there is comes from the east, and it will blow in more cold this week.

This morning, I listened to our local radio station Isles FM to hear the local news. There was no local news. So, I looked up my local news website Hebrides News, which did list some news. However, I suppose it is no great deal that the secondary school here is narrowing the choice of courses for its senior pupils.

The South Pacific is spawning one tropical cyclone after another: today, Pat is brewing up east of American Samoa and will be threatening the Cooks Islands as well as French Polynesia. Pat will reach category I on the Saffir Simpson scale.

More later.

Sunday 7 February

A bright and at times sunny day, but feeling cold in the wind. Went for a walk in the Castle Grounds (see previous post), where things were still very much on a wintry footing. The snow has only been gone for a few days, so very little to see in terms of crocuses or snowdrops. Afterwards, a lunch at a local restaurant. By 3pm, it was homeward bound. The streets were Sunday-deserted - although it was past ferry departure time. In the hour or so before 2.30pm, people who are travelling to the mainland will have passed through the town. It appears we had the best weather in the country; there will be snow in the east this week.

Castle Grounds, 7 February

Stornoway Sunday

The week in pictures

Wednesday 3 February

Thursday 4 February

Friday 5 February

Saturday 6 February

Nice sunny morning with gentle easterly breezes and a reasonable 7C on the thermometer. That's a lot better than the east coast of the US, which is warned of a snowfall of 2½ feet and more in Washington DC. If you're there, please take care.

The BBC is pulling the plug on its active involvement with the Island Blogging site, to which I contributed myself under a nom de plume - which I tend not to refer to. We were warned in December 2008 that this was going to happen, and as of Friday 12 February, no more postings or comments will be able to be left on the site. Virtually all the bloggers have gone over to their own blogs or to a new Island Blogging site. It is a pity that the Beeb could not be bothered to furnish us with an improved blogging service, but such are the vagaries of the licence fee recipients; it's more important to stuff fat cats like Terry Wogan than to serve Johnny Public.

Friday 5 February

Not seen +8C for a while, but that's the current temperature at Stornoway Airport just now. We're having a mild interlude, and even the sun is putting in an appearance - if a rather milky one. After the weekend, the weather will turn colder from the east, which does mean that we in the west are more sheltered from the worst of its effects.

In recent times, a fierce discussion has raged in these parts on the location for a history centre for St Kilda. Hiort, as the archipelago is known in Gaelic, was evacuated in 1930 and now stands derilict some 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides. Three locations in the Western Isles vied for the honour of hosting the centre, which was finally allocated to Mangersta, in Uig, western Lewis. The village of Leverburgh in Harris and a hilltop site in North Uist (Cleitreabhal) lost out. Accusations of foul play and shifted goalposts marred the process, and neither losing contender has taken their defeat lying down. Cleitreabhal may yet be the site of a rival centre.

A resident of South Uist has written to local news website Hebrides News, stating that the heritage of the St Kildans is used as a football between various agencies for the sake of money. Read for yourself.

Thursday 4 February

Overcast today, but not as cold as of late. The mercury is now at 6C / 43F, and any remaining ice and snow is melting fast. The difference, some 5 degrees above yesterday's high, is quite noticeable and welcome.

Locally, plans to fill in part of the Inner Harbour here in Stornoway have been rejected by the Pier and Harbour Commission. The upper part of the Inner Harbour would have been put to other use, but the P&HC have declared that the scheme would alter wave patterns, jeopardise the safety of adjacent quays and increase the likelihood of flooding. The northern part of the Inner Harbour does not look very appealing at low tide (mud).

In Cambridgeshire, a man who called for the out-of-hours service of his GP surgery was unlawfully killed by the locum doctor that turned up. The patient was administered ten times the recommended dose diamorphine for kidney stone pain and died as a result. Dr Ubani, who works at a cosmetic surgery clinic in Germany, appeared hesitant when confronted with the choice of painkillers available to him. Diamorphine (abused as heroin) is not commonly used in Germany. The inquest into Mr Gray found he had been unlawfully killed by Dr Ubani, who has since returned home. It was his first ever call-out as a locum in the UK, and he is ruled to have been incompetent. One of Mr Gray's sons, a medical doctor himself, said that checks on overseas doctors coming to work in the UK should be tightened. More details here.

My personal opinion is one of shock, that the checks currently in place are so woefully inadequate. As you all know, I am a Dutch national who has worked in the UK for a number of years. When I applied for my last job, a good command of the English language was one of the main conditions for me getting the job; after professional competence. It would appear that locum doctors are not checked on those criteria. I hope the coroner's recommendations are acted upon by the relevant authorities as a matter of urgency.

Wednesday 3 February

Awoke to a cold and icy morning, but for a while, the sun was out. This has now disappeared behind a thickening veil of cloud which is moving up from the southwest. As I was waiting in a shop, I caught sight of a TV screen where a weather forecaster was warning of more of the white stuff. The pavements here are icerinks a lot of the time, and there is no improvement imminent.

Locally, the council have announced they intend to close 18 primary schools over a 7-year period, ending in 1918. No, I'm not joking. The last line in the article on Hebrides News states that "... schools to close in 1918".

Tuesday 2 February

My journey to Stornoway was uneventful, if I'm honest. I managed to catch an earlier train than planned, as the taxi turned up early. The 5.46 am service brought me to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in good time for the flight at 9.20 am. I make a point of being there two hours before departure, as you never know how busy it might get. It wasn't busy. The check-in area for my flight was deserted. I proceeded to gate D16 and settled down with a cup of coffee. The plane took off on the dot at 9.20 sharp.

On the way to London Gatwick, I couldn't see a thing, as we cruised through cloud all the way. Landed 15 minutes early, and disembarked at gate 55. Worked my way to the front of the terminal, then back in again through security and that rigmarole. Had to wait until about 11.40 before my onward connection to Edinburgh was posted as departing from (you guessed it): gate 55, door C. Waiting is a major part of airtravel, even when everything runs according to schedule. The plane took off at half past twelve, more or less on time, and this time we ascended to 34,000 feet, above the cloud. There were some chinks in the cloud above England, but I could not see anything until we approached Edinburgh, where the cloud cover disappeared. In a large curve, we swung round to land in a southwesterly direction at Turnhouse Airport.

As I disembarked from the plane, I caught sight of the departures board. This stated that my onward connection to Stornoway would leave from gate 23, which (oddly and erroneously) was marked as closed. Not bothered by that, I proceeded to check in for this flight and had some lunch. After that, I joined the 20 minute queue for security which, like Gatwick, you need to pass through before reaching the gates. At 5.15pm, we were taken outside in the dimming light of dusk and bussed to the aircraft. This was de-iced after passengers boarded, and then it took off. It was a turboprop plane and it flew us northwest at a good rate. Light faded from the sky as we approached Stornoway, and we bumped our way through a few rogue showers. For 20 minutes, we circled around the airport whilst another aircraft landed. Then we were smacked onto the tarmac and hurray, we were there.

Upon leaving the plane, passengers were warned to be careful as there was sheet ice around it. Made the terminal in one piece, then found an empty taxi which took me to Stornoway for £5.60. The fare to the station in Arnhem, which is a similar distance from my father's house, was the equivalent of £15.

Hurricane update - 1 February

Tropical cyclone 12P has formed in the South Pacific and is threatening the Northern Cook Islands as well as French Polynesia including Tahiti. This could become quite a nasty system; the current forecast is for winds up to 95 knots (115 mph) near the centre by Wednesday.

For reference: normal blogging will resume on Atlantic Lines on Wednesday 3 February.

Hurricane update - 28 January

The southwestern Pacific is currently the scene for tropical cyclone Nisha, which is headed for the Southern Cook Islands, east of the dateline. Galeforce winds and higher will be moving in through the early hours of the 29th (it is 12 hours later than GMT there). Those resident there should monitor the output from RSMC Nadi (Fiji).

The lost parcel - a map

Click on any of the blue markers to see the name of the place they point to. These are:

- North Uist
- South Uist
- Uig, Isle of Skye
- Isle of Unst (Haroldswick), Shetland Isles