Forever for sale

I was once again travelling the island by Google Streetview this evening, when I decide to head down the Eishken Road. About 3 miles in, there is this ruin of a house, in a glorious location overlooking the head of Loch Seaforth. It has come down in price over the years, from about £25,000 in 2005 to £13,000 today, in 2010. No facilities on site at all. Why doesn't it shift? I mean, it would perfectly suit a hermit, a holiday home, or someone wanting to be away from it all. Well, there is the minor matter of a windfarm with 33 turbines, each 500 feet high which will be constructed on the hills on the other side of Loch Seaforth.


Leaving monstrosities like a windfarm to one side, there are other reasons why houses don't sell. The house shown in this picture, which stands in Ness, has also been for sale for at least the duration I've been here. It requires such an enormous amount of work, that demolition is probably the cheapest option. Sometimes houses are not put up for sale for years. The reason is quite often that the occupants have passed away, but there is a dispute of subsequent ownership. Or nobody knows who the owner is. I'll never forget the description of the interior of a house that was put up for sale some 14 years after the last occupant had died. Newspapers, dating back to the 1930s, were still present. The man's caps were neatly piled up, and everything was still the way it was the day he died, in 1991. More often than not, houses fall into rack and ruin.

Evening notes

It was still a bit light at 7.30pm this evening, so we're definitely heading towards spring. Although we had a gale today, it was not cold. Went into town this afternoon, but had to suffer a blasting from the grit that was blown up by the high winds. During the winter, tons of grit had been dumped on the streets of Stornoway and it had not been swept up since New Year.

Just before darkness fell, a flutter of large, whitish wings caught my attention in the backyard. It flew into the hedge, which is home to many small birds, flew out at high speed and back in again. In the end, the bird sat down outside the hedge and I could see what it was: a sparrowhawk. Small wonder the blackbird was panicking. I did not have my camera on me, and the light conditions were way too poor to be able to take pictures at any rate.

The below image shows a gull taking advantage of the force 8 conditions this morning. 

Although we have had fewer gales this winter than average, it is still a relief for boat owners that they can put their vessels on hard standing during the winter months. By 1 May, they will have to be back in the water.

Friday 19 March

The above map has been cropped from AIS Northern Scotland. The MV Wilson Dover has run into mechanical problems amidst a force 9 gale and an 8 metre (27 ft) swell. The MV Anglian Sovereign is a coastguard tug, which has come to the aid of the Wilson Dover out of Kirkwall, some 45 miles to the east, trying to tow the ship to safety in Orkney. Conditions are so horrendous that to even attempt to attach a towline is proving well-nigh impossible. STV alerted me to the rescue. The location is some 50 miles north of Cape Wrath, the farthest point northwest in mainland Britain; approximately 100 miles northeast of Stornoway.

Today has been a wild day, and the weather is taking its time in calming down. The day dawned with a force 8 gale here in Stornoway, and conditions so poor that the early morning sailing of our ferry was cancelled. The wind is slowly subsiding, currently at force 6 with winds of 25 mph, but not out at sea it would appear.

Thursday 18 March

Overcast, wet and windy. With a temperature of 9C, we're lagging behind the rest of the country. Can't say it bothers me very much; I prefer the cooler weather.

Here in the islands, a ferocious row is going on in the Isle of Barra, 120 miles south of Stornoway. The school in the main town, Castlebay, has been receiving less than favourable reports from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education, now for 3 years in a row. Parents are concerned and so are the pupils. A local internet blog highlighting the issue received 100 comments, whereas commonly the number of comments on its entries is around a dozen or so. More remarkable is that the Council blocked access to the blog from computers at the school in Castlebay. In spite of a visitation by a senior education official, parents’ and students’ fears are by no means allayed, and a move could be afoot to wrench control of the school from the council to the community. This would require the consent of the Scottish Government.

A report has been published in which the deathtoll of the bombing of the German city of Dresden in February 1945 has been put at 25,000. During three nights, British and American planes bombed the city in the east of Germany, raising a firestorm as a result. Neo-nazis have put the deathtoll as high as half a million, a claim disputed by the report's authors. They say that far fewer refugees from the east, who had been fleeing the advancing Red Army, had been in the city. Critics have claimed that the bombardment served no military purpose, but others have said that Dresden was an important logistical centre at the time.

Missing - bad outcome

Contents warning: may upset

A few days ago, I noticed a tweet from Sarah Brown, the wife of the UK prime minister Gordon Brown, that a 12-year old girl from Dordrecht, Holland, had been reported missing. A poster was linked to, provided by the Dutch national police.

Today, I received an email from my father, who is not on Twitter, saying that a girl of 12 was found murdered in Dordrecht. She had been taken across the street by a neighbour, killed and buried in the man's garden. He was a police officer. The Dutch national police fear a backlash against their officers, who are there to protect and serve.

Some of you are deeply involved with the Amber Alerts that go out for missing children. This was an Amber Alert, which can now be stood down. Unfortunately, for the wrong reason.

Wednesday 17 March

Pretty wild day and pretty wet at times. Got myself out to the Post Office to send off the letter to New Zealand I blogged about last night. Expect it to take a week to reach NZ, two weeks for the query to be sorted and another week for the result to reach me. Popped into the supermarket for a few items, and you have an express checkout available if you have less than 10 items. Well, people think that the express check-out is there if you bring your shopping in a basket. Even if it has like twenty items in it. Rant over.

Australia's northeastern coast should get worried about tropical cyclone Ului, which has been making ominous noises near the Solomon Islands for the past couple of days. The storm will head towards Queensland, but is expected to weaken to category I (on the Saffir Simpson scale) before making landfall in a few days from now.

Seen on Streetview

Snapvine Voice Comments

In my sidebar is an option where you can leave comments by telephone. A few of you have done so early last year (thank you!), but the website (snapvine.com) that provides this service will be closing down at the end of March - and I'll be removing that feature from the sidebar by then.

Tuesday 16 March

Having spent most of the day on this computer, I have yet to post a blog entry. Well, it's 10.40pm, might as well do it now, before I retire for the night.

The day started well, with my camera back from repairs. It was back in working order, even though I had to adjust all the settings back to the way I want them. I could now finally also put the new strap on, which I had bought back in February, just before the thing broke.

I spent the day transcribing the roll of honour plaque in the Uig Community Centre at Erista, which (it being 500 names long) took me a while. My contact over there, meanwhile, appears to be drowning in the St Kilda Centre. It says enough that UNESCO is going to get involved. The St Kilda Centre (Ionad Hiort) is going to be built between the villages of Mangersta and Islivig, on a site from where the islands of St Kilda can be discerned on a clear day. Two other locations, Leverburgh in Harris and Cleitreabhal in North Uist, were also in contention, but were deemed (by consultants Jura) to be less suitable. The acrimony that this created at the end of 2009 has by no means subsided.

View of the Mangersta cliffs from near the proposed site of the St Kilda Centre

I was also pointed to a new resource on New Zealand casualties from the First World War. I have duly sent off for the records of one New Zealander, who (according to my information) has island roots. My files state that Angus Macdonald came from 1 Islivig. Nobody, not even the local historical society, has been able to give me much information, so I've decided to jump in at the deep end and request information all the way from Wellington, New Zealand. Am expecting this back in the course of April.



Islivig

Picture post

Stornoway from the ferry terminal this afternoon (Monday)


Did you know about this tragedy? Don't think you did.


Supermarket carpark on Sunday evening


The Trumpets of Spring


Fridge magnets


Last Thursday's showers

Monday 15 March

Bright and fairly sunny today, with the mercury at 9C. No complaints.

The General Election is due in the next two months, and political parties have been fielding candidates in the Western Isles. One of them went flying on a banana skin of her own peeling over the weekend. Upon being asked what the top priorities were for the Western Isles, the Conservative Party candidate displayed a disconcerting lack of local knowledge. Ms Norquay (sic) stated that the fisheries industry was very important, and that the construction of the harbour wall at Achmore was top priority. That in itself is an innocuous statement, except there are a few practical problems in the way.

The village of Achmore (marked on above map) is the only village in the Western Isles not in the immediate proximity of the sea. It is about 5 miles from the sea, and at an altitude of 350 feet above sealevel. The radio and television transmitter masts stand on the hill Eitsal, at 800 feet above the sea. The state of the pier at Achmore is a standing joke in Lewis, and it is unfortunate that a young (age 22) candidate came out with that clanger - without even being prompted for it. (story courtesy Hebrides News). The water you see in the above picture is a freshwater loch, situated along the main road through Achmore. 

Tropical cyclone Tomas is currently roaring through Fiji, with forecast winds of 115 knots (130 mph) around its centre. The storm will continue to batter the archipelago for the next 24 hours.

Hurricane update - 14 March

Tropical cyclone Tomas is bearing down on Fiji, and is expected to pack a severe punch with winds in the region of 130 mph near its centre. The current warnings are:

A HURRICANE warning remains in force for the eastern half of Vanua Levu, Cikobia, Tavenui, Rabi, Kioa, Yacata, Koro, Gau, Batiki, Nairai, Wakaya, Makogai and nearby smaller islands.

A STORM warning is in force the rest of Vanua Levu, Ovalau, Lakeba, Vanua Balavu, Moala, Matuku, Totoya, Cicia and nearby smaller islands.

A GALE warning is in force for the rest of Fiji

Tropical cyclone Ului is now in the Coral Sea and moving west. The storm is equivalent to a category V hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale (winds of 155 mph near its centre), and I keep a beady eye on its northwestern flank, which could swipe the extreme southeastern islands of Papua New Guinea. Australia does not need to worry as yet. Ului is 900 miles to the east of Queensland, and is expected to veer to the south. Once it resumes a more southwesterly course is the point where we do start to worry. That lies just beyond the scope of the current forecast.

Sunday 14 March

A very late post for today, even though I've been at the keyboard for most of the afternoon. However that had more to do with finding out about those casualties from the First World War that I cannot trace on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. Although someone more expert in these matters is going to have a go on the hard cases, I do not foresee a huge flood of information.

I had to go into town just before 7pm this evening and lo and behold it was still light! We're near the equinox, so the evenings are now getting nice and long. Friends across the pond, you should have put your clocks forward by an hour.

For some reason unknown to me, comment notifications for my YouTube videos have not been reaching me. Got some today, and boy, did the air turn blue. Never seen such profanity on any of my sites before, and worse than that, it was all related to the start of the Sunday ferries back in July. A number of linguistically challenged people decided to let off steam over the poor folk in the video, who were chanting a psalm outside the ferry terminal before departure time on July 19th last year. Rather than let the cringeworthyness of the situation speak for itself, the genitals were all over the comments section. I've scrapped those comments.

Saturday 13 March

A bright and fairly sunny day, with the odd light shower. Rugby is once more dominating our television screens, although I have more than enough on my hands with two tropical cyclones in the Pacific.

Tomas is now bearing down on Fiji, which can anticipate a direct hit from this storm. Winds near the centre will be at 95 knots (110 mph), slightly less than previously forecast, when the system traverses the two main islands in 24 hours' time.

Ului is located between Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands and has exploded from a 65 knots category I hurricane to a 105 knots category III hurricane in 12 hours. This system will strengthen very rapidly, until it hits the ceiling at 150 knots in the course of tomorrow. The Solomon Islands will catch a whiff of this storm with galeforce winds. I am also keeping an eye on the Louisiade Islands, which string out to the southeast of Papua New Guinea, as they are within 250 miles of the forecast track of Ului. Yep, I too had to consult a map.

Friday 12 March

A sunny if slightly cool day in the Western Isles, so I lent someone a hand in painting some pieces of outside wood that needed painting. I'm not much use up a ladder, but managed to finish the job without mishap. Have continued to monitor the two tropical cyclones in the South Pacific; the people in Fiji are beginning to get concerned at what is going to wallop them late on Sunday their time. Up to the time of posting, just over 800 people have now visited my TC blog. The highest one-day total goes back to March 2007, when cyclone Gamede made ominous noises at Mauritius and La Reunion in the Indian Ocean, and 2,300 people called round to check for developments.

Here in the Western Isles, a war of words is raging between two writers on the subject of Sabbath observance. It is quite a personal strife, and the issue in general has polluted the letters column of local news site Hebrides News over the last few weeks. A campaign to get the Stornoway Sports Centre to open on Sunday lies at the root of all the unpleasantness.

A campaign to reinstate a ferry between Lochboisdale in South Uist and Mallaig on the mainland continues apace. At present, Lochboisdale is served by a ferry from Oban, which takes 7 hours to cross. The journey to Mallaig only takes 3½ hours, and since the A830 road from Mallaig to Fort William was reverted from single- to double-track, the shorter journey time across water easily offsets the added mileage by road. It is 90 miles from Oban to Glasgow, and 145 from Mallaig to Glasgow.

Hurricane update - 12 March

The South Pacific has come to life with two tropical cyclones in relative proximity to each other.

Tomas is brewing up to the east of American Samoa and will be carrying sustained winds of 110 knots (that's a trifling 125 mph) as it ploughs through the entire Fijian archipelago on Sunday GMT. Fiji is 12 hours ahead of GMT, hence my addition of the timezone. Since midnight, I have received nearly 600 visitors to my tropical cyclones blog half of whom came from Fiji. They have every reason to be concerned: Tomas will be equivalent to a category III hurricane on the Saffir Simpson scale. Those readers who are in Hurricane Alley in the States will know what damage that does.

Vanuatu is at the back end of tropical cyclone 20P, to be named Vania, which is moving west into the Coral Sea to the north of New Caledonia. The storm will intensify to the equivalent of a category IV hurricane - far away from land. As yet. Vanuatu lies about 1100 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia.

The tropical cyclone in the South Atlantic looks decidedly unhealthy on this morning's satellite imagery. It is lying 900 miles to the east of Montevideo in Uruguay and will disappear as a tropical cyclone fairly soon.

Thursday 11 March

The day started very wet, but the sun is now managing to put in an intermittent appearance between the showers. These are not long or heavy, so can live with that.

In the South Pacific, the cyclone season is livening up again, although autumn is now on its way in down there. A new storm, which will be named Tomas, has formed east of American Samoa. It will slowly head southwest towards Fiji, and slam through that archipelago with winds well in excess of 100 knots (115 mph). At times like that, the name "Pacific" could not be more inappropriate for the world's largest ocean.

About 95% of the UK landmass can now be viewed on Google Streetview, and my Twitter contacts in the islands were joking this morning that productivity here had been cut by 90% whilst everybody gawped at their own residences courtesy Google. One self-employed person admitted losing the morning whilst "walking" across their island. Naturally, I've indulged myself as well.

Early Tuesday morning

Ice on the Basin (it was -5C overnight)


Ferry cancelled

Tuesday pictures

Eoropie Beach


Mainland hills


Looking south towards Dell


Geese afoot


Sheep in croft


Houses in Habost

Wednesday 10 March

Overcast but with some brightness about. It feels cold in the wind today, and I'm not tempted to do much outside. Still on matters meteorological, a tropical cyclone is forming in the South Atlantic. That is about the 7th system in recorded history to form there. The tropical depression is located some 200 miles off the coast of Brazil, east of Puerto Alegre and could become a tropical storm, before it gets absorbed by a frontal system by the weekend. In 2004, Catarina swept ashore in Brazil as a category II hurricane.

A debate will be held in the House of Commons at 4pm this afternoon on the future of the Lewis Chessmen. Our MP, Angus Macneil, is of the opinion that the 92 chessmen should be kept in the museum here in Stornoway, rather than in the British Museum in London. The Lewis Chessmen were found in the sands at Uig Bay, 35 miles west of here, in 1831. Repatriating artifacts is a sensitive point as far as the British Museum is concerned. The Elgin Marbles have been asked back by Greece, where they originate, many a time. And there are thousands of objects in the museum that could be argued have been looted from around the world by the British. Mr Macneil is also taking umbrage at the suggestion that the Lewis Chessmen originate in Norway. Research has suggested that they do come from there, although that is not a certainty. The alternative is that the Chessmen could have been made in this island. Anyone wishing to watch the debate in Parliament can view it on BBC Parliament, which is relayed on the BBC iPlayer, Freeview channel 81 and Sky channel 504.

Tuesday 9 March

Quite a varied day in many respects. Awoke at 8 this morning to the sight of part of the basin (inlet from the sea) opposite my window being frozen over. Overnight lows of -5C brought that about. The local news advised us that the ferry did not sail, and upon glancing out of the window I did indeed discern the familiar shape of the MV Isle of Lewis alongside the ferry pier.

It was a brilliantly sunny morning, and it looked like staying that way. Well, that sort of assumptions tends to get you wrongfooted in the Hebrides, and it promptly clouded over. Mind you, it did stay dry for the rest of the day, but we did not see the sun again after 1pm. I jumped on the bus to Ness, and that took ages to get out of Stornoway, dropping off and picking up passengers all along its route - more than customary. Arrived at the Ness Museum in Habost at 2pm and enlisted the help of the member of staff present in resolving some of my queries. The exhibition area of the museum was not heated, and I'm quietly wondering if an inside temperature of 7C is very good for the exhibits, many of which are quite old.

At half past two, I ambled down the road to the nearby cemetery and photographed 30 gravestones, marking the graves of or commemorating war casualties. This took me 45 minutes, which saw me just in time to catch the bus back to Stornoway. This was packed with schoolkids returning home from their day at the lessons. They are dropped off outside their doors.

I have not yet uploaded the pictures, so I shall put up a selection in a post tomorrow.

Monday 8 March

Bright and sunny after a very cold start. The mercury dipped to -3C overnight, but recovered nicely to 9C at lunchtime. Hardly a cloud in the sky, although visibility is not fantastically good. I cannot discern the mainland hills at all.

Listened to the local radio station Isles FM this morning, and was greeted by the customary Monday morning rundown of drunken loutishness that roams the streets of this town of a weekend night. The hangover for the culprits comes in the cold light of the Stornoway Court House on Monday.

I've spent Monday afternoon on a project to identify WW1 casualties who are not mentioned on the CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) website. The initial total stands at just over 240, although the real number is probably a lot lower. Many names cannot be linked to the CWGC database because they are so common, and there is too little (reliable) information to link them. If you look for Donald Macleod in Lewis, you've got a job on your hands. There is a project underway to get all who qualify on the CWGC register that are not already there.

Sunday 7 March

Fairly bright today, but with some cloud about and a persistent breeze. Not complaining though; could be so much worse. Managed to get the better of that cold that was bothering me since Thursday or Friday, just one of those things. As I type, the Sunday ferry is about to set sail on its now customary single sailing across to Ullapool.

After the Sunday ferry, we now have a big discussion about Sunday sports. The Sports Centre here in Stornoway is closed on the Sabbath, in order not to offend those that feel that the Sabbath should be a day of rest. The unfortunate anomaly is that elsewhere within the Western Isles sports centres (like at Lionacleit in Benbecula) are open on Sundays. A girl of 10, with the backing of her parents, tried to get legal aid to force the issue, but an application for that was turned down. The campaign is still on-going, now by people with deep pockets. There is another argument: why can people get a drink in the pubs on Sunday, but not engage in sports? The latter is a lot healthier than the former.

Francis Street, Stornoway, Sunday 13 April 2008

Trip to Tolsta

Tolsta is a township some 13 miles north of Stornoway on the east coast of Lewis. It is famous for two lovely beaches and the alleged practice of putting the cockerel under a basket on the Sabbath. Not sure that that is still being done. I went to the beach at Garry, 2 miles north of Tolsta, but one of my companions came away with a scare: sank into quicksand and did a strange injury to a finger as a result. The top joint of the injured finger now persistently stands at a 45 degree angle to the rest of the finger, never mind what you do. Got an improvised mallet splint until a GP can be seen on Monday - one saving grace, it's not painful.

Here's some pictures

Those who follow my blipfoto output are familiar with this image - an old pussycat warming herself by a fire

Saturday 6 March

Just been up to the shop to buy the Sunday meal - having lasagna this evening. Thought it wasn't cold, and I just spotted the midday weather report: 11C / 52F. Not seen that for a while. It is feeling quite springlike with lots of bright sunshine and buds swelling on the dogrose bushes down the street. My cold is a little better this morning (thank you), so that'll continue going away in the same way it came: on its own.

Be careful what pictures you put on Facebook. It could cost you your life. 
I know people who won't touch the social networking side of the Internet with a barge pole, slating teenagers for spending more time on the Net than meeting friends face to face. Worse than that, being 'groomed' by people they don't know. Facebook has a genuine purpose for people far apart to stay in touch, using text and photographs. That capacity can also be used for malicious purposes, and is in fact being used as such. It is commonly known that it is not a good idea to slag off your employer on the Net, unless you do it on a closed site to which your employer and colleagues have no access. However, there is never an excuse for murder.

Friday 5 March

Overcast with the odd light shower today, although the day ended with a colourful sunset. I spent the day going through box after box of tissues (should be better tomorrow, thanks) and processing the information on the walk I marked out on Wednesday. This will shortly be available on the walkingworld.com website, where it can be downloaded for a small fee. I hope it will attract many people; the only fly in the ointment is the prospect of the shore-side of the walk turned into a construction zone in the next few years. A tidal power generator will be constructed across Shader bay, which will probably block access there for a number of months if not years.

Half past ten, digging well into my third box of tissues. Time for bed, more tomorrow.

Thursday 4 March

Today started very wet, but after that shower at 11 o'clock, things dried up. It did not get properly sunny, but at least it was dry and not very windy. I jumped on the postbus at midday, not having read the timetable, so I had to organise a lift for the return trip. You now have to ring up the night before to get a bus out of Timsgarry at 5pm. Didn't use to be like that, so I was caught on the hop.

I spent the afternoon in the Uig Community Centre, listening to a talk by two academics from Edinburgh who insist that the famous Lewis Chessmen were not found at Ardroil, but 6 miles up the road in Mealista. Local people vigorously contested the reasoning behind the claim. I also met up with a few people I had not met before. I was offered a lift back to town, which I gratefully accepted. Had a good yarn with the driver and another passenger on the way back.

Picture post - 3 March

Ballantrushal Stone and view from the Stone


Shore at Shader


At Shader


Steinecleit and Loch an Duin

Jamie Bulger

Seventeen years ago, the UK was shocked by the abduction and brutal murder of toddler James Bulger. His murderers were two boys, aged 10. Jon Venables and Robert Thompson had befriended the little boy in a shopping centre in Bootle near Liverpool and led him away - an image caught on CCTV, and etched on the memory of anyone who followed that story in the 90s. The two were found guilty and sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure. They were released on life licence in 2001, with new identities. Jon Venables, now aged 27, was recalled to prison after being found in breach of the terms of his licence. Details of the breach have not yet been released.

Wednesday 3 March

A bright and sunny day, although it remains cool. Out of the wind and in the sun, it felt quite warm this afternoon. I was out and about, marking a walk from Shader to Ballantrushal, taking in two ancient monuments. There is an old homestead at Steinecleit, close to Shader; and Ballantrushal plays host to a 20 ft high monolith. My attempts to find a moorland loch behind Steinecleit foundered in the bogs. I was quite surprised to notice quite a bit of snow in shaded parts of gardens in Laxdale and copious amounts on the Barvas Moor, 350 feet above sealevel.

I'll put up pictures later this evening.

On the way back, the bus driver had his radio tuned to BBC Radio 1, the pop radio station, and they set out to prove that teachers are "wild". One female teacher, her voice disguised, stated she was wild. She professed to being in class hung-over following a heavy drinking session the night before and unleashing a particularly malodorous fart by the blackboard. Right. So that's wild, is it? I call it unprofessional.

Tuesday 2 March

The day started bright and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky, but high clouds are beginning to drift in from the southwest. The sun has raised the temperature to a respectable 8C / 46F after an overnight low of -3C. The weatherman says it'll be downhill from tomorrow onwards, as Atlantic weather systems try to muscle in. Not with much success, if the week's weathercharts are anything to go by.

Anyone using a Weatherpixie on their site will notice that it is no longer there. The guys at the Weatherpixie site tell me that their server has crashed, so no weatherpixies, unfortunately.

The chef who allegedly absconded from a hotel in Tarbert with £7000 from the hotel safe has declared that he was beaten up and threatened at his house to come up with the money or else. He also said he was dismissed the day before, and had not fled or taken any money. The hotel's owners replied by saying the man is a fantasist and a liar. Now, my source is the Daily Record newspaper, a Scottish tabloid, so I'm glad I'm living right next to the sea which leaves me with plenty of pinches of salt.

Missing

Missing from the Hotel Hebrides in Tarbert, Harris:
- one chef, James Stocks, thought to be headed for Glasgow
- more than £6000 from the hotel safe

Chef vanished from Harris before the weekend, is thought to have caught a flight, as the roads on the mainland were blocked by snow.

James Stocks is a celebrity chef, aged 26, who has a less than enviable track record. A quick search on Google shows a trail of opened and closed restaurants and alleged embezzlement. Until police have found and interviewed Mr Stocks, no formal link can and should be made between the two missing items from the Hotel Hebrides.

The Hotel Hebrides, situated a few yards from the ferry terminal at Tarbert, was previously operating as the Macleod Motel. It was recently reopened after a major refurbishment. The image below shows the premises in October 2007, when it was still the Macleod Motel.

Monday 1 March

Well, it may now be March, but I woke up to a snow shower this morning. We should have a few more before the day is done. I'm glad I'm not on the mainland though, as the overnight low tonight will be -12C.

Yesterday, Western Europe got battered by hurricane force winds over the weekend, causing death and destruction in a wide swathe from Portugal to Germany. The UK just missed it by a whisker. German meteorologists referred to this storm as Xynthia, which originated in the eastern Caribbean Sea. As the vigour of depressions at our latitude is governed by temperature differences, Xynthia's encounter with cold air over the UK had the effect of strengthening it to the most violent storm this year. It says enough that the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris experienced winds of 175 km/h, that's nearly 110 mph. France has declared a national disaster.

Radovan Karadzic, the former leader of the Bosnian Serbs, has spelled out why his movement acted the way it did in Bosnia in the early 1990s: with extreme brutality. He claims the Bosnian Serb cause was "holy" and that they acted in self-defence. Karadzic is making a two-day opening statement at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, where he is standing trial on an indictment of war crimes and genocide. 

Spammed laughter

I normally just chuck spam in the bin and don't even read it, but there was this message that Hotmail once more failed to recognise as spam. So I had to see it. Well, apart from the usual cacophony of errors in grammar and spelling there was also this colossal turn-off. Someone passing themselves off as a 19-year old woman, saying that age doesn't matter in a real relationship, so she is comfortable with my age.

Yes dear, next please.

Sunday 28 February

Last day of the month and last day of the meteorological winter. And it's been a long, hard, cold, snowy and icy winter this year. Officially, winter does not end until March 21st, I know. Today is bright and clear, with visibility approaching 20 or 30 miles. Went down to the Braighe, the isthmus linking the Eye peninsula (Point) to mainland Lewis, and the northeasterly wind made it feel icily cold. Very bracing. The tide was right out - we're having the equinoctial springtides, bringing a difference between high and low tide of 18 feet, 5.4 metres, here. Spare a thought for the people along the Severn estuary in southwest England, where the tidal difference is 14 metres, nearly 50 feet. The Severn bore, a 7 ft tidal surge, will be putting in an appearance at 9 am tomorrow morning.

The tsunami has done its worst and is currently fading in the Pacific. It seems to have wrought destruction in Chile, where an 8 foot surge wrecked boats and harbour facilities. The last major impact was seen in Japan, nearly a full day after the initial quake, with a 90 cm surge. In Chile meanwhile, ungainly sights of looting mar the efforts to save people who remain trapped in ruined buildings.

End of day

As the tsunami, generated 16 hours ago, continues to make its way across the Pacific, the death toll in Chile rises - more than 200. The surge reached Hawaii some two hours ago and in places was nearly 1 metre above normal tidal level. In New Zealand, harbours reported that the water was like a washing machine and tidal flows running at 12 knots, a lot faster than normal. Apart from 5 fatalities on Juan Fernandez, off Chile, no casualties have so far been reported from the Pacific basin, resulting from the tsunami. It is also affecting the west coast of the US, with a surge of 5 feet above normal tidal levels reported in southern California. The wave should decline as it passes north towards Canada - the tsunami passed the US/Canadian border a few minutes ago.

The tsunami is expected to continue for another 15 hours or so, reaching the island of Taiwan and the Bering Strait by around 1500 GMT tomorrow.

If you're in an area under threat: please follow all advice and directions by local authorities. A tsunami is not a single wave and a threat will persist for several hours after the first wave has passed through.

Saturday afternoon

Today is a vast contrast to what the rest of the week was like. There is bright sunshine and hardly any wind. The ferry operator Calmac is busy catching up on two days of missed sailings due to the gale and swell. This morning at 6.15, the MV Muirneag left port to slowly amble across the Minch to Ullapool, followed 45 minutes later by the passenger ferry Isle of Lewis. The Muirneag took about 4 hours to cross the Minch, and returned at 4pm with some lorries. Quite a few of those would have been stuck on the A9 between the central belt and Inverness on account of the heavy snow of this week. The Isle of Lewis is due to return tonight at 9pm on her scheduled run.

I have spent the day closely monitoring the tsunami which is fanning out across the Pacific. The wave is currently traversing French Polynesia and will reach New Zealand in two hours' time. The Californian coast will see the first of this wave in just over 2 hours' time at 1202 PST, reaching the Canadian border 3 hours later. By that time, the tsunami is expected to have reached Australia, between Sydney and Brisbane. Hawaii is also due to see the wave, in 3 hours' time at 11.05 HST. At the moment, wave reports suggest that the tsunami is down to a matter of inches on passing the Mexican coastline.

Devastation in Chile is said to be great, with around 120 fatalities. Television reports show dramatic scenes of collapsed buildings and highway overpasses.

Saturday 27 February

A fairly bright day but with a lot of high cloud about, making it a hazy afternoon.

As is being extensively reported, a powerful earthquake, measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale, has occurred off the coast of Chile. The quake caused extensive damage in Chile and the deathtoll currently stands at 78. Because the tremor was centred below the sea, a tsunami was generated, which came ashore in Chile some 19 minutes after the initial shock. It was 2.34 metres, 7.7 feet, in height. This tsunami is now rolling across the Pacific, and the entire Pacific coastline is under warning for a tsunami.

Warnings are issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center for the entire Pacific basin, minus the Pacific coastline of the USA and Canada. These are covered by the West Coast and Alaska Warning Center. Finally, sections of the Australian coastline are under warning from their Bureau of Meteorology. It will take a full 24 hours from the time of the quake (0634 GMT) for the tsunami to make its way across the Pacific, in spite of its horizontal speed of 500 mph. All warning centers carry advice and information on what to do if you are in a warning area.

Friday 26 February

The sun is out in amongst the wintry showers and strong northeasterly winds. Heavy snow and drifting is continuing to wreak havoc in the Highlands, with dozens of roads closed, rail services disrupted and schools off. Due to a heavy northeasterly swell, our ferry link with Ullapool remains disrupted for another day. Supplies are diverted through Tarbert in Harris, 40 miles south of Stornoway. The TravelScotland website is practically inaccessible this afternoon, as thousands of people try to find out whether their intended route is passable. That is better than shouting their heads off at the poor souls at Radio Scotland who only relay the news about bad road conditions - as one presenter put it at 8 am this morning, they are not causing it.

At 12.30 pm, the following routes were closed:
A939 Tomintoul - Cockbridge
A93 Braemar - Spittal of Glenshee
A889 Dalwhinnie - Newtonmore
A9 Dalnacardoch - Blair Atholl
A835 Aultguish - Braemore Junction

A cruiseliner has crashed into a dock at Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt, killing three sailors. The Costa Europa encountered severe weather as it approached the dock in the early hours of this morning. Its complement of passengers have been accommodated in hotels in the town.

Horrors beyond description

Alistair Urquhart is a sprightly and vivacious 90-year old Scotsman. He was in the news today because of the publication of his book The Forgotten Highlander: One Man's Incredible Story Of Survival During The War In The Far East. It is a story of his suffering whilst a prisoner of war of Japan during the Second World War. As my post title states, his experiences are beyond description and beyond comprehension. There are explanations for the extreme brutality, meeted out by the Imperial Japanese Forces between 1941 and 1945 to the POWs that they captured. However, that does not exhonorate them. Mr Urquhart continues to harbour a deep-seated hatred of the Japanese, undimmed by the passage of 65 years.

At the end of the BBC article, he summarises his continuing dislike of the Japanese. The Germans have atoned for their misdeeds between 1933 and 1945, and their youth is being taught about the abomination that national socialism was. The Japanese are being taught nothing of the sort.

I can understand and do not seek to negate the suffering of Mr Urquhart. I once knew someone who was married to a man who had been held in a Japanese prisoner-camp. The experience left indelible psychological scars and caused the break-up of the marriage. At one point, Emperor Hirohito, who died 20 years ago, was intending to visit the Netherlands, a visit quickly aborted after a public outcry - the Japanese occupied the Dutch East Indies from 1942 until 1945, incarcerating many colonial Dutch people in the process.

I will say that the Japan of 2010 is a completely different society to the Imperial Japan of the years before the end of World War II. How a nation deals with its collective guilt is a very difficult issue. From my point of view, a lot of the present day ills of the world can be traced back to appalling policy decisions by successive British governments - the Middle East being a prime example. Other colonial powers, the Dutch included, also have blood and guilt on their hands. However, you only have to look at Northern Ireland or the Balkans to see the consequences of holding grudges. Ulster's "troubles" are going back to the Battle of the Boyne in 1688, and the July parades in Belfast are a reminder of that. The war in the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s go back to a battle in 1389 - and the former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic frequently referred to that event.

We should never forget the atrocities committed during the Second World War. We must learn the lessons, pay homage to those that lay down their lives in those years, but also continue to look to the future.

Politicians

The political world in Westminster is all awhirl because Labour politician Harriet Harman ostensibly sent a tweet to Conservative politician Alan Duncan. Except she did not. A direct message (DM) came to Mr Duncan from Ms Harman's Twitter account, which had been hacked into. She must have received a DM herself, reading something along the lines of "LOL that you?" followed by a dodgy link. Having followed the dodgy link, she will have put her username and password into the boxes and hey presto, her account was hacked.

Rather than making a whole song and dance about it (as the BBC did), prominent Twitter users like Harriet Harman and Alan Duncan should keep abreast of developments on the Internet in order not to fall for hackers like described above.

Thursday 25 February

Blowing a full gale this morning and the windspeeds are gradually increasing. Gusts reach 55 mph, and it is therefore not a surprise that our ferry service has been cancelled for today. Plane services to and from Stornoway are also disrupted, but I have this sneaking suspicion that this is more due to snow problems at mainland airports than our force 8. The mercury is stuck at +2C, making it feel especially cold with a windchill of -7C.

As I said, the mainland is coping with two feet of snow in places. This has led to major problems on the roads and the railways. Dozens of drivers were trapped in their vehicles overnight, and hundreds of schools are closed in the north of Scotland. This contrasts with southern England, with temperatures of +10C. Beware of hurricane winds on Saturday or Sunday down there.

More later.

Evening notes

Strong easterly winds continue to blow, and there is some light rain about tonight.

An avalanche in the western Highlands has killed two climbers on Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe, this afternoon. The avalanche struck just before 5 pm. A major search operation was mounted, which resulted in the recovery of two bodies this evening. Police advise intending climbers to check for avalanche risks before setting out for the hills.

Bad weather is headed our way, meaning that ferry services are likely to be disrupted. It is starting tonight, with our freight ferry (MV Muirneag, shown below) not crossing to Ullapool due to heavy swell. The Muirneag is not a terribly good seaboat.

Wednesday 24 February

Overcast and cold today, although the thermometer is at +4C / 39F this afternoon. The snowballs I had put out as ammo for chasing seagulls away from bread put out for birds have melted on me. Snow is causing extensive disruption across the eastern Highlands, with dozens of schools closed by lunchtime and major delays on arterial routes. Here in Stornoway, there is only an easterly breeze.

Over the weekend, an Atlantic storm will power up and pass Spain en-route for the UK with potentially hurricane force winds. At the moment, the arrival of the low pressure system off the English Channel is timed at the end of the 5-day forecast period, so no specifics at present.

The deputy First Minister of Scotland has apologised to the Scottish Parliament in the matter of a badly written letter. Ms Nicola Sturgeon had written to a court on behalf of a constituent, who had been convicted as a second time fraudster. This caused a political storm at Holyrood two weeks ago, and the minister made a statement to Parliament on the matter this afternoon. She admitted that the wording and composition of the letter was more reminiscent of her previous profession as a lawyer than of her present occupation as MSP. There have been calls for her resignation, but I don't think it will come to that.