Thursday 18 November

On the surface, quite a nice day. A bit of a breeze, no rain, decent amounts of brightness, if not overt sunshine. Why on earth, you might ask, have we not seen anything of the ferry since it left our shores yesterday morning at 7 am?

Well, there is this force 7 wind blowing out of the east, which will have churned up the waters of the Minch to such an extent that it is not safe for a ferry to sail. A few years ago, someone told me a story of a crossing in a force 9, which broke all the crockery in the pantry and smashed the wee bookshop. I have sailed the Minch in a force 7, which was accompanied by the sound of breaking crocks. And a fair amount of green smoke, wafting behind the ferry boat as it manfully tackled the swell. The image at the bottom of this post is from that day.

Tomorrow, we should see the good ole Isle of Lewis returning at around 7.45 am, and make a total of three return crossings during the day, to catch up with traffic. Other routes are similarly affected by the weather, although the alternative to Ullapool - Stornoway, the Uig - Tarbert crossing, is running as normal. More information on Hebrides News.

Wednesday 17 November

A windy day, which has seen our ferry cancelled after it sailed to Ullapool in the morning. We have a steady force 7 going from the southeast. The temperature, 10C, may sound decent for mid-November, but is not all that great in the strong wind.

I have spent the day building a new blog, called Pentland Road. It holds the collection of blogposts from the past 6 years, related to local (or regional) history. To quote the "About" section: The Pentland Road is a single-track road that runs between Stornoway and the villages of Breasclete and Carloway. It is a historical roadway, and I hope to make this blog a conduit for what I have found out about this island's history. 

The idea for this new site was inspired by the activities of blogger Direcleit, whose blog contains a wealth of information about the history of the Long Island (Lewis & Harris). My focus is a lot narrower - World War I and the Napier Commission Report.

On a totally different subject, I was amazed to learn that scientists had managed to create and maintain 38 antimatter hydrogen atoms for a few tenths of a second. When 'normal' matter and antimatter meet, they are both destroyed, releasing energy. That is what lies behind Einstein's famous E = mc² (E=energy, m=mass, c=speed of light). We are all bundles of energy... I probably lost the lot of you by now.

Tuesday 16 November

Although it is dry today, there is a strengthening southerly wind, and the ferry company Calmac has already warned us to expect disruptions on the ferries. Just as well I ain't going on one. Spent an enjoyable morning helping someone track down the location of two disused schools in Harris, and consequently prompting someone else on a trip down memory lane in the general vicinity of Maraig, some 6 miles north of Tarbert.

I have just completed looking up which U-boats sank which British ships during WW1. Some strange tales there, but mostly rather sad. The fact that Remembrance Sunday is over does not mean we should stop paying attention to what happened in those war years, nearly 100 years ago.

The big news of the day is that Prince William (eldest son of the Prince of Wales) has announced a date for his marriage to Kate Middleton, whom he has been seeing for a couple of years. As Prince Charles put it in his characteristically blunt fashion: they've been practicing enough. In other words, we're going to be bored out of our wits over the next couple of months. Yes, I know I'm cynical. I just hope it doesn't end in tears, like the previous royal weddings of 1981 and 1986.


Maraig, 6 September 2009

Donald Trump and his Golf Course

American multi-millionaire Donald Trump has worked over the past 5 years to get a "world class" golf course constructed just north of Aberdeen. It involves a £1bn investment, 900 homes, 500 chalets and a hotel. The location is the Menie Estate, 6 miles north of the city, which is the location of a protected wildlife habitat. And the location of the homes of several people, who have no desire to shift.

Mr Trump has, through means fair and foul, acquired planning permission. He gave out the line that anybody who would dare to oppose his development would be seen to be closing the door on big business in Aberdeenshire. So when the planning permission was denied on the casting vote of the commission chairman, he was vilified (mildly put) in the local press. The planning application was called in by the Scottish Government and approved.

The residents who do not want to sell up are under threat of a compulsory purchase order, but whether that will actually be exercised remains to be seen.

Mr Trump is a businessman with a capital B (which I refuse to use in this blogpost), who only, and exclusively, thinks of money. That is fair enough. He trumpets (sic) his Scottish heritage ad nauseam, but then does not realise that people in Scotland do not have this pre-occupation with dollars (or pounds) that he has. Which completely negates the morality behind his claim to be Scottish. Yes, his mother was Scottish, and came from a small village a few miles north of Stornoway. Donald Trump comprehensively fails to understand that land is sacred to the rural Scot. I have been boring readers on this blog over the past few weeks with accounts of the Clearances in the Highlands and Islands - and here we have another Clearance looming, in the year 2010. OK, I am overstating my case, I mean, what are half a dozen people, scattered across a croft, a farmhouse and a converted coastguard station? But it's the principle that's at stake.

The principle is that in Scotland, money is not the leading light. It is important, for sure. But people are more important, and there is legislation in place to protect people from overdue pressure by big money. Mr Trump is completely within his rights to express a desire to build something on the coast of Aberdeenshire, and I respect him for being a successful businessman. But I hold no respect for a man in his position who rides roughshod over the little man, in his own pursuit of even more money.

Monday 15 November

No post yesterday, as I was spending my time recovering from a streaming cold on Saturday. Back on form today, and it was a cold day. A band of rain passed over at lunchtime, after which the sun returned. It did not do much to lift temperatures: mid forties Fahrenheit (around 6C) is the best we managed.

Thirteen months after being captured off the Seychelles, Paul and Rachel Chandler were released from Somalia yesterday. They were not treated very well, and the couple looked gaunt and haggard, although happy, on television. The British government has denied that it contributed towards the ransome money, paid towards the pirates. To said pirates, the Chandlers were just a commodity, which would, given time, yield millions of dollars. Somalia has no effective government and has been torn apart by two decades of civil war.

Today, it is 6 years ago since I first arrived in Lewis. I link to the entry on my Northern Trip blog.

Lochmaddy (July 1994)


Berneray (July 2009)


Leverburgh (July 2009)


Scaladale, North Harris (October 2007)


Balallan at dusk (January 2008)

November days

The month of November is full of anniversaries, most of them sad. This week I have already referred to the Reichskristallnacht on November 9th and Armistice Day on Thursday.

That day, November 11th, is also Martinmas, the nameday of St Martin, patron saint of travellers and children. He is credited with handing his cloak to a beggar, when the latter had nothing (see tag below). Up until recently, children in Holland, Flanders and Germany would go round the streets in the evening of 11th November, carrying paper lanterns.


Today, I am informed, Sinterklaas (St Nicholas) has made his formal entry in the Netherlands. His nameday is December 6th, but that in itself is not observed. It is rather the eve of his nameday, 5th December, which is sees a lot of festivities in Holland, Flanders and Germany.

St Nicholas was bishop of Myra (present-day Smyrna in Turkey). After his death, his bones were interred in Myra, but when the Muslims conquered Turkey, Nicholas's bones were spirited across the Mediterranean to Spain.

It is from there (the legend goes) that he sails north in November in a steamship with a possy of Black Peters as his helpers. Black Peter, a reference to the Moors [North Africans] that once ruled Spain, is a bogeyman figure, as children are threatened that he will take them back to Spain if they misbehave. And all their misdemeanours are entered in St Nicholas's big book. The saint rides the streets of Holland on his white charger, with the Black Peters throwing sweeties around. At night, he rides the rooftops and throws presents down the chimneys. At the bottom of said chimneys, the children will have put out a shoe with a carrot for the horse; which will be substituted by a present from St Nicholas in the morning.

By the age of 8, children are usually told the truth of St Nicholas, and the set-up changes. Lots are drawn in families for presents to be bought for one other family members. This is then wrapped in a surprise wrapper. Our family tradition of hiding the presents and leaving instructions to the hiding place was abandoned, as the giver of one present forgot where they had hidden their present - and it is still in that forgotten location, more than 35 years later...

I would like to point out that Sinterklaas or St Nicholas has been corrupted to Santa Klaus in the Anglo-Saxon world (of UK and USA). The notion of Father Christmas is held with derision in Holland, although he has been embraced by the commercially minded. I shudder to remember the unedifying spectacle of Father Christmas and Sinterklaas coming to blows in the centre of one Dutch city, some years ago.

Saturday 13 November

A slightly sniffly morning (where's me hankies), otherwise not too bad in terms of sunshine and clouds. I've just been going through my list of blogs I follow through Blogger, and had to remove about a third of them: because they had been deleted or been made private. I am now following 118 blogs. I don't normally use Blogger for checking on journals; I have a number of you on Feedblitz, which emails me every day on any updates; and the vast majority on Google Reader. Nonetheless, over the past two years, a lot of bloggers have quit blogging: and by that I primarily mean ex-AOL bloggers.

Some two hours ago, the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from another spell of house arrest, amidst rapturous acclaim by her supporters. Ms Suu Kyi will make another appearnace tomorrow at midday local time. She is aged 65, and has been under house arrest for 15 out of the past 20 years. The ruling military junta in Rangoon has kept a tight control over her, and used the merest of pretexts for imposing house arrest. The last episode, 18 months ago, was sparked by an American admirer swimming across the lake behind her house, not by Ms Suu Kyi's request.

Friday 12 November

A quiet Friday, with the odd shower and some spectacular rainbows. The sun set more than an hour ago, and although the moon is out, I'm not expected any "moonbows". Last night, there was allegedly some aurora borealis, but I did not see any of it. Neither did I feel like traipsing out to Mossend for a clear view of the northern horizon.

The storms that battered the north of England last night have claimed one life. A lady, who was a passenger in a car, died after the vehicle was struck by a falling tree. A limb pierced the windscreen and the woman was impaled on it. She succumbed to her injuries in hospital; the driver is seriously injured. Winds in north Wales reached in excess of 90 mph in gusts, and caused extensive travel disruption. The gales are abating, and the clear-up can commence.

I'm transcribing tributes from the Stornoway Gazette for WW1 victims, and the result of one of these is shown in my previous post.

Not remembered

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has put the details of Evander Macleod, who drowned in the torpedoing of HMS Otway in July 1917, neatly on its website. Following the heavy loss of Lewis sailors in that sinking, the Stornoway Gazette also made mention of their names. Evander has since slipped under the radar. The Roll of Honour, published in 1921, does not refer to his death; the Lewis War Memorial does not mention him, and neither does the Point War Memorial at Garrabost, only a few miles from his former home at 34 Lower Bayble.

The loss of life during WW1 was, proportionately, heavy in the Isle of Lewis, and it is only to be expected that a few unfortunates will be missed in transcription. I trust that in time for Remembrance Sunday, Evander will be given the proper place amongst the ranks of island men who made the supreme sacrifice during the Great War.

Thursday evening

Today was a typical November day, fairly cold, breezy and showery. On the weather front, the most noteable feature was the barometric pressure: we went down to 954 mbar at one stage, and Barra (120 miles south of here) to 948 mbar. This basically means that a deep depression crossed over the Outer Hebrides. It also meant that we had relatively calm conditions, much in contrast to west Wales, which is seeing sustained winds in excess of 60 mph, gusting to 76 mph. The north of England is reporting atrocious weather this evening - like we had on Sunday night. At the moment, it is quite calm with northwesterly winds of 9 mph.

The broadband went off for about 6 hours this evening, but I had set up an account with a dial-up company just in case. Well, 32 kbps is nothing in comparison to the 2 Mbps I get on broadband. Websites take many minutes to load, if at all, and I just cannot imagine how we ever managed on dial-up. However, websites have become very heavy features to load, and it's not until you are reduced to snail-pace connection speeds that you come to realise that. Fortunately, at around 9.30pm, service was returned to normal.

Here in the Isle of Lewis, the electricity company SSE has announced it is deferring a decision on building a subsea cable to the Scottish mainland. This is required to transport the electricity output from the island's proposed renewable energy projects (windfarms) to the mainland; the existing link does not have sufficient capacity. This means that more than a dozen windfarms are in the doldrums, and their construction has had to be put on hold. I have always been quite vociferous in my opposition to these projects, and will not be so hypocritical as to deplore SSE's decision. The local council is furious, saying it will deprive the local economy of £2.5m per annum. A tidy sum, but in the grand scheme of things - a tiny sum. Should the projects ever come on-line, then the revenue for the likes of SSE will be a factor 1000 bigger.

Thursday 11 November

Today is the 92nd anniversary of the Armistice of 1918, when the guns fell silent after four years, three months and seven days of carnage. November 11th has since been adopted as a national day of remembrance for the UK and many other countries, who were actively involved in the First World War. The dead of the Second World War and other conflicts since are similarly commemorated on that day. Remembrance Sunday, which will be observed next Sunday (14 November) is the formal occasion of Remembrance.

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my research into the war dead of the Isle of Lewis, who number 1300 for the First World War. This number, when viewed in the proper perspective, is quite appalling.

Total population of Lewis in 1911: about 30,000
Total male population: about 15,000
Total number who were in active service, including the Merchant Navy: about 6,000
Total number killed between August 1914 and November 1918: about 1100
Total number drowned in the sinking of HMY Iolaire on 1 January 1919: about 200

Cruel clearances in Caithness

This triple alliteration is not attempt at levity. The county of Caithness, the far northeastern corner of mainland Scotland, saw some of the worst abuses encountered by the Napier Commission. My transcriptions took me to the coastal town of Lybster. Historically, the Commission could have done with more than just one session in Caithness, as several written statements were handed in, without people being interrogated on their content.

James Waters, a representative for Dunnet, the northernmost point on the British mainland, recounts an instance of heartrending cruelty.

An aged couple, who had brought up four sons and seven daughters on the said farm, fell a little in arrears to the landlord. The factor having unlimited power, hypothecated his subjects, and as soon as law would allow it was sold by auction for ready money; I was an eye-witness to this. The mother of this large family had been an invalid for years. The factor was looking on when all was sold off but the blankets; they were ordered to be carried out—I know not whether they were taken off the sick woman's bed or not; the people felt so disgusted no one would offer a shilling for them; had any one done so they would have got them. The factor ordered them to be carried away as they were to somewhere about the south end of the Dunnet sands. It was seen next year the factor's reason for such cruelty to this man. There were five families; he was the centre one; they were all turned out next year, and their farms made an outrun to a large farm. There has not been a plough in since; it has now become a barren waste. Another case of cruelty, two aged persons—man and wife —who had brought up a family respectably, were turned out of their home and their furniture together. They had no way to go; these two aged Christians lay six weeks beside a dyke amongst bits of furniture. At last the aged man became delirious, and wandered off through the hills; the neighbours went in search, and found him wandering with his Bible under his arm, saying he was seeking his father, who had been dead nearly thirty years. He then was allowed to put up a house in the bottom of an old quarry, and I understand is still living there.

Landing on your four feet

The pastor had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.

That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke. The tree went 'boing!' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, 'Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,' and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, 'Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?' She replied, 'You won't believe this,' and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, 'Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it.' She told the pastor, 'I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.'

Wednesday 10 November

A bright and sunny start to the day, and the overnight frost left the water hose outside partially blocked. After a gale, you see, the windows at the back (facing away from the sea) are coated in salt, and need to be hosed clean. But with the dribble from the hose first thing I could barely reach the downstairs windows, let alone the upstairs ones. As the afternoon progressed, grey clouds moved up from the Atlantic and obscured the sun. We are on warning for high winds later in the night. The freight ferry is not sailing, a decision they took as early as 9.30 this morning.

At 2pm, I set off for a trip to the beach at Tolsta, which I had actually not visited for quite a while. The path from the carpark to the beach is now concreted over. It was cold, sunny and a tad breezy. Visibility was excellent, leaving the Sutherland hills (50 miles away) clearly outlined on the horizon.

Tuesday 9 November

A beautifully sunny but cold day, with the mercury barely on 8C. Fortunately, there was not much wind. After lunch, I went down to Sandwick Cemetery to (unsuccessfully) look for the grave of a Norwegian sailor who died after falling from the mast of a barque in 1917. Many of the older gravestones are covered in lichen, making them difficult to decipher. The shortest route to the cemetery takes me along the shores of Sandwick Bay, which are lined with shingle. Last Sunday's storm has washed tons of shingle and seaweed onto the shorepath, making it difficult to negotiate.


New moon at 5.23pm


Sunset colours



Walking to Sandwick


The bread shelves in Tesco, the day after the storms. Erm, the ferry did not sail, so no bread. Capiche?

Waterboarding

That is a euphemism for a torture technique, employed by American forces in Iraq, to extract information from prisoners regarding possible terrorist attacks. President George W. Bush, writing in his memoirs, feels that the use of this technique is fully justified, as it prevented more terrorist outrages in the aftermath of 9/11.

Torture, Mr Bush, is never acceptable. You, as the former leader of the Land of the Free, should be the very last to condone such barbarity. The fact that the likes of Al Qa'eda see fit to descend to the depths of depravity in their acts does not justify you doing the same. Torture, Mr Bush, also elicits the responses the torturer wants to hear, which is not necessarily the truth. And your use of torture just lends power to the arguments of your political and military adversaries who say you are a barbarian, and gives them the justification for their actions.

Mr Bush was so blinkered by the fact that his daddy did not finish off Saddam Hussein in 1991 that he had, come hell or high water, finish it for him. Saddam Hussein was a clever dictator, who, seeing he was militarily hamstrung, got rid of his weapons of mass destruction, which he did possess. But they turned into a Weapon of Mass Delusion for George W. Bush. Everybody else joined in, including former British prime minister Tony Blair. Yes, they got rid of a monster, but they got landed with a Medusa instead, in the shape of Al Qa'eda. Not necessarily in Iraq, where they got booted out. But elsewhere, they certainly got plenty of followers on account of George Bush and his boundless stupidity.

Putting his age on

Many a youngster would tell a white lie when trying to enlist in the armed forces, early in the 20th century. It is referred to as "putting your age on", in other words, saying you're older than you are.

I found a good example in a Lewis soldier, James Macleod, who was born in Callanish as an illegitimate child. In February 1912, he enlisted with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, and told the recruiting officer he was 17 years and 2 months. As James was born on 24 January 1897, he was in fact not much older than 15 years and 2 weeks. His height was 5 feet 3½ inches and only weighed 120 lbs, 54 kg.

Six years after joining the Argylls, James was killed in action near Ypres on 8 May 1918. His body was never recovered, but his name is inscribed on the Tyne Cot memorial at Zonnebeke, 6 miles northeast of Ypres. A few days ago, I saw aerial footage from 1919 of the battlefields around Ypres, and of the village of Passchendaele, which was all but obliterated. After the Germans were pushed back from Ypres in 1917, they tried to regain their lost territory in 1918, but finally failed in September of that year.

This week, the Ancestry.co.uk website is offering free access to British army service records, which is how I managed to fill the gaps for James Macleod. His mother, Isabella, had moved to Stornoway by the time of the death of her son. When she gave birth, her occupation was marked as Domestic Servant. A few months after James had fallen, she wrote to the (Army) Records Office in Perth. I reproduce the text of the letter. Part of it is illegible due to a hole in the paper, as shown in the scan.

"Mrs Bella McLeod
8 Mackenzie Street
Stornoway
16/8/1918

To Records Officer, Office Perth

Dear Sir,

Would you [...] me (his mother) of the late (killed in action (L/Cpl James Mcleod) 2 Bn Arg + Suth Hghns [Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders] Regt No S/43023 has any of his belongings come to hand. As far as I know, he had a wrist watch, Signet Ring, Pocket Folding mirror, Pocket Book or Wallet containing photos etc also a pocket knive [sic]. It would greatly oblige me if you could let me know at the earliest & how to  claim same.

I remain

Yours V. Truly
Mrs B. Mcleod"

The records do not relate whether the items, if any, were returned to Bella. She received a claims form, which was sent back to Perth, but that is were the records for James Macleod end.

9 November

9 November 1938 - an organised mob of Nazi forces and sympathisers go on the rampage in towns and cities across Germany, smashing and destroying Jewish-owned property and businesses. It was to be a marker, to what was to come during World War II - the extermination of anyone deemed sub-human by the warped mind of Adolf Hitler and his henchmen. Jews topped their league of the unfit, closely followed by gypsies, the mentally ill and many many others. The Reichskristallnacht was a night of infamy, and not just to Germany.

For Hitler was allowed to get away with literally murder for several years beforehand. In 1936, he occupied the Rhineland which had been ceded to France at the end of the First World War. The League of Nations, a toothless talkingshop, cried wolf but had no bite. In March 1938, Nazi forces marched into Austria to join that country to Germany, an event referred to as the Anschluss. Neville Chamberlain flew to Munich to meet with Adolf Hitler on 30 September 1938, returning with the infamous phrase: "Peace for our time". Six weeks later, the Reichskristallnacht took place, a sign of ill omen. Only a few months later, Germany invaded the Sudetenland area of Czecho-Slovakia, and again, nobody moved a finger to stop. In September 1939, Hitler thought he could get away with the invasion of Poland. But instead, it prompted the outbreak of the Second World War.

The lights have gone out in Europe, it was said at the time. The lights in Europe were extinguished in 1914, and had not been relit, not even at the end of the First World War. The Versailles Peace Treaty of June 1919 contained all the ingredients for another war, which duly materialised.

Autumn bareness

Just as well I went into the Castle Grounds for a walk on Friday. The tree behind the house here still had leaves on it on Sunday morning. Twenty-four hours later, all the remaining leaves had gone. In six months' time, they'll be back again.


2 November

Monday 8 November

Last night's storm was bad, by all accounts. Sustained winds peaked at 60 mph, gusting up to 80 mph at the Butt of Lewis. Other than major disruption on the regional ferry network, the storm did not have any significant impact. Watching from an upstairs window, I could just about see the curtains of seaspray blowing in on the winds, which rattled doors and shook windows. By daybreak, the winds had subsided to force 6 or 7, still very breezy, and have dropped to force 5 only in the last hour. Another storm looks on the cards for Thursday.

I went to the library this afternoon to look for more WW1 tributes from the Stornoway Gazette from 1917, which yielded about a dozen articles.

Regionally, the collapse of major building firm Rok, based at Inverness, has had extensive repercussions in Lewis. A four-year contract to revamp the Arnish Fabrication Yard in Stornoway and contracts to build new homes in the town are all up in the air now that the company has gone into administration. Highlands and Islands Enterprise had sunk £32m into the company, in spite of its cashflow problems.

Sunday evening

The wind has picked up and is now blowing at 46 mph, force 9, gusting to 60 mph. Up at Eoropie, the windiest place in the country, the wind is gusting to 80 mph. Extensive cancellations across the ferry network in western Scotland, as no ferry will venture out in winds above force 8. The forecast, as I relayed earlier, is for a violent storm, force 11.

The Work and Pensions Secretary in the UK government has suggested that people who have been out of work for a long time could be made to do unpaid community work (like convicted delinquents) to get them used to the concept of regular work again. Mr Duncan-Smith, that is an insult.

A week or so ago, a pod of 35 whales were milling around in Loch Carnan, South Uist, but successfully made their way out again. It is reported from the north of the Irish Republic (not Northern Ireland) that the same inviduals have now beached and died. A very sad outcome to what appeared to be a story of hope.

Gamekeeper's son - WW1

Duncan Macdonald was 19 when he was killed to the east of Arras, in April 1917. It took a while for his death to be confirmed; it was not until British forces captured the territory where he was lost that they found his remains. Taking his personal effects with them, the British buried him near Fampoux.

Duncan was on my list, but only knowing that he was with the Seaforth Highlanders did not help matters much; nor the fact that his entry on the War Graves register only gives an initial "D", rather than his full name. The soldier was the son of a gamekeeper, and the article in the Stornoway Gazette that pointed me in his direction mentions the fact that his parents lived at Scaliscro, the shooting lodge some 25 miles west of Stornoway. Duncan's birth, which occurred on 5 March 1896, took place at Ath Linne, a hamlet on the Lewis Harris border some 20 miles south of Stornoway. The entry on the War Graves register refers to his parents living at Gress Lodge, 9 miles north of the town.

The chaplain wrote the message to Murdo and Helen Macdonald that their son Duncan had been lost:

[...] He must have been killed on 11th April. The ground where he fell has recently been won from the enemy. His body has been found and buried. We do not yet know which troops have found and buried our dead, nor do we know exactly where their graves are, but it must be somewhere just to the front of Fampoux, to the east of Arras.

Sunday 7 November

A bright and cold start to the day, with the mercury right down to -2C at sunrise. There was a frost on the grass, obviously. As I type this, at 11 am, the wind is beginning to pick up ahead of a violent storm which will hit us later today. I copy the inshore wind forecast for the Minch, which I overlook:

Southerly, backing southeasterly later, 5 to 7, increasing gale 8 to storm 10, perhaps violent storm 11 for a time, decreasing 6 to gale 8 later.

 This has already led to cancellations of ferry services later today, and some are on warning for disruption tomorrow as well. Never a dull moment up here.

I shall have another update later today, when it will probably look like this:


30 November 2006

Saturday 6 November

The calm before the storm today. It was not warm, only 6 degrees C once more. Went for a few errands around town before lunchtime, then spent the afternoon on more transcriptions of the Napier Report, as shown in previous entry. Tomorrow afternoon, we shall see rising winds as the first proper autumn storm strikes the United Kingdom. Winds could reach 55 mph during the evening and night.

Yesterday, a freak accident saw a cement-mixer running off a bridge in southern England and land on top of a moving train. Several people on the train were injured, as was the driver. Investigations are continuing into the cause of this strange accident.

And in football, the high scoring continues. Celtic beat Aberdeen 9-0, which led to much shedding of tears in the Granite City, whilst Celtic fans were complaining that their side could have scored 22 goals. Some people are never pleased. Did I say it was a slow news day my end? Maybe I should leave you with a link to this video of a nest of kittens playfighting. Better than that awful vid of the poor kittens that kept collapsing due to "fainting goat syndrome".

Clearances: Assynt

I copy part of the evidence given to the Napier Commission at Lochinver, on the west coast of northern Scotland, in July 1883. Assynt, the area surrounding Lochinver, was owned by the Duke of Sutherland, and his name continues to be cursed by many. I am not in a position to give a balanced view of the issue - but the actions perpetrated in his name do not do the Duchy of Sutherland any favours whatsoever.

John Mackenzie, Clashmore, was accused of being a ring-leader in a case of preventing what was regarded as an encroachment of the rights of the neighbourhood by Mr David Humphrey, and in face of every evidence to his innocence, he was sentenced to lose his croft, and he is now a pauper invalid and a burden to his neighbours. Donald Macleod, Clashmore, came in for the vengeance of the same power in connection remotely with the resistance offered to Mr Humphrey, when cutting off part of the Baffin pasture, when some boys went to obstruct the work. On this, Mr M'Iver ran to catch two boys assumed to have been obstructing the work, reaching a house, the boys got out of Mr M'Iver's sight, and he rushed into the house, supposing they had entered. There was a very sick woman who had been taken out of bed and placed on a shake-down at the fireside, Mr M' Iver went on, however, searching for the boys, and tossing things about, and so frightened the woman that her death shortly afterwards took place. The boys not being there, were not found, and Mr M'Iver, as soon as he came out, dashed at two small boys at play. The boys who were about nine years of age, and knowing of no offence, did not think of running from the factor, remained to be caught. Mr M'Iver, seized one of them by the throat, and kneeling down held his captive to the ground, insisting that he should tell the names of the persons engaged in the obstruction. Hugh Macleod, the boy's brother, seeing this, remonstrated with the factor, who now persisted, demanding the father's name. Hugh took hold of the factor's hand and told him to let go, but as Mr M'Iver held on, and the boy being in great danger, Hugh now took hold of the hand that was throttling the boy. On this, the factor's two sons and Mackay came. The factor said Hugh had struck him, but so little evidence was there for this, that an attempt was made to get Hugh to criminate himself. After this one of them came with a paper for Hugh to sign, which paper proved to be a declaration that he was guilty of striking the factor. He was told if he would sign this declaration, the factor would be his friend, and he would get anything he wanted ever after. But Hugh refused, saying he would have the factor prosecuted. The result was, that the father Donald had to emigrate with all his family, excepting Hugh, who had a little shop in which he carried on some business. The avenger did not rest satisfied with what he had done to the father. Hugh was about as offensive to him as Mordecai was to Haman. Taking advantage of Hugh's absence, his shop and his groceries, which he left carefully in boxes, were attacked by order of the factor, and when he returned he found the house broken into, and the boxes of goods smashed and damaged to a ruinous degree, and the house, which was built at the family's expense, except the roofing, was levelled to the ground shortly afterwards, and the timber handed to another man. John Mackenzie, son of Donald, an old, respectable man of 70, equally without foundation accused of the same offence, and deprived of his croft, which had come down to him from his forefathers. He went all the way to Lairg, then to Dunrobin, and not finding the Duke there, he went to Tarbert; but after travelling in all 160 miles, his efforts were in vain. The belief was, that the persistent hostility on the part of some of the officials was at the root of this. Humphrey said to John one day
—"You are bending to the grave,"
—"Yes," said John, "but see you are not bending with the weight of the evil you are doing to the widow and orphan."

Friday 5 November

Beautiful Friday sunshine - with a few treacherous little showers that annoy more than make you wet. Went for an 80-minute amble in the Castle Grounds to look for autumn colours. There is a severe gale in the forecast for Sunday and Monday, so I thought better to make the most of it. Plenty of colours around, and the low sun made for some very autumnal pictures.

Hurricane Tomas is lashing Haiti with rain, another disaster that that nation can do without. After the quake, the disease there is now flooding. Do not be surprised to hear similar tales of woe from India, which is bracing itself for the arrival of Jal, which will be at a similar strength as Tomas is at present when it makes landfall near Chennai on Sunday.

Journalists at the BBC are on strike, depriving us of Radio Scotland for two days. I am not bothering with the output from 5Live which is put on in its stead. Neither am I too enamoured with the output from Sky News, which has this tendency to be a tad sensationalist. Talking of news, I am sick to the back teeth of the saga that has been doing the rounds in Scotland over the past 3 weeks. Former Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan had sued the News of the World newspaper for defamation, after the rag alleged that he had visited a sex-club in Manchester. After being awarded damages, Mr Sheridan is now on trial for alleged perjury at the defamation trial. Well, we have been subjected to lengthy explanations who has been having sex with who, heads being popped round doors before going upstairs, into secluded rooms and what not. Please, just give us the outcome and spare us the details.

Hurricane update - 5 November

INDIA
Tropical cyclone Jal is approaching from the Bay of Bengal and will intensify to hurricane strength, with winds near 90 mph. I copy the advice from the India Met Department.

Winds
Squally winds speed reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph would commence along and off North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coast from morning of 6th November 2010. It may increase upto 120-130 kmph gusting to 140 kmph at the time of landfall. Sea conditions will be very rough to high, along and off these coasts becoming phenomenal at the time of landfall.

Damage expected:
Extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts. Minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large avenue trees. Flooding of escape routes.

Action suggested:
Total suspension of fishing operations. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea. Coastal hutment dwellers to be moved to safer places. People in affected areas to remain indoors.

CARIBBEAN
Hurricane Tomas is passing between Haiti and Cuba, bringing heavy rainfall to both nations. Predicted totals are 5 to 10 inches, locally up to 15 inches, with the danger of mudslides and flashfloods. Beyond that, the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands will also see hurricane-force winds and torrential rain.  

Donald Maciver, another WW1 casualty not listed as such

Private DONALD MACIVER
Last address in Lewis: 17 Knock, Point
Son of Murdo and Mary Mciver, of 17 Knock, Point
Service unit: 179th Canadian Infantry
Service number: 859994
Date of death: 24 May 1920 at the age of 28
Was gassed; quoted as severely wounded
Interred: Winnipeg (Brookside) Military Cemetery, grave Mil. 246

He does not feature on the local war memorial in Garrabost, and is not listed as deceased in the Roll of Honour, presumably because he died 18 months after the end of the First World War. However, Donald still qualifies for inclusion as he passed away before 1922 (the CWGC cut-off point) and he was born in Lewis.

Hurricane update - 4 November

Tropical storm Tomas is approaching Haiti, and although its attendant winds are not particularly high (equivalent to force 9 or 10 on the Beaufort scale), the rainfall from this system could prove devastating. Maximum amounts range from 5 to 10 inches, up to 15 inches in mountainous terrain.

Tropical cyclone 05B has formed in the Bay of Bengal and is headed west towards the coasts of the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in India. The storm will be at hurricane force by the time it makes landfall late on Sunday.

Daniel Mciver, Coll

Daniel was a sergeant-major in the 5th battalion Canadian Infantry (Saskatchewan Regiment), the Fighting Fifth, when he was killed in action on 28 April 1917, aged 41. His link to the Isle of Lewis did not become clear to me until I was going through tributes in the Stornoway Gazette for 1917. The article, which sourced its information from a Canadian newspaper, the Yorkton Enterprise (Saskatchewan), gave quite a bit of information, but there was no reference to him from local files.

Let me quote the article first.

From the "Yorkton Enterpise" (Sask, Canada) to hand we cull the following:-
"Word was received by Mr Maciver, Saltcoats, on 19th May, that his son, Sergt Major Dan Maciver, D.C.M. ofo the Fighting Fifth battalion, had been killed in action. Dan, who was well known and a prime favourite throughout the district, was born at Coll, Lewis, Scotland, and came to Canada with his parents in 1889, settling in the Lothian Colony. Whilst still in his teens, Dan, along with Malcolm Docherty (now Major Docherty, DSO) journeyed to Winnipeg and joined the Canadian Dragoons. When the South African War broke out, he was one of the first to volunteer for active service, taking part in no less than twenty-three campaigns. At the outbreak of the present conflict Dan again showed his military spirit by enlisting and went overseas with the first contingent. After reaching France, he gave a splendid account of himself, and was promoted on the field to the rank of Sergt.-Major, being also frequently mentioned in despatches for bravery and coolness in action. Some time he was offered the chance to return to Canada for promotion, but preferred to stay with the game. His death is the fourth that has occurred in the family within the last five years, and he is survived by his parents and two brothers and two sisters out of a family of twelve."

A year last Christmas, Sergt.-Major Maciver paid a visit to the haunts of his youth at Coll, and needless to say had a very cordial welcome.

An on-line study group into the Canadian Expeditionary Force was most helpful in eliciting the information I was after, and another on-line contact here in Scotland will hopefully ascertain the claim to the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM).

I have access to birth, death and marriage records in Scotland, but Daniel does not feature on them. This can easily be explained by a fire in Stornoway Town Hall in March 1918, which destroyed some of the island's civic records. However, the other documentation clearly states that he was born in Coll, Isle of Lewis, although the year of birth on his WW1 attestation paper is clearly wrong: if he was born in 1888, he would not have been aged 41 in 1917. It is more likely that Daniel was born in the late 1870s.

His parents emigrated to Canada in 1889, as the article says, and he joined up for the Boer War of 1899-1901. He gained the Queen's Medal with four clasps (Paardeberg, Driefontein, Cape Colony and Transvaal) before being discharged on Christmas Day 1900.

Fourteen years later, the spectre of war once more descended over Europe and Daniel immediately responded. He enlisted at the Valcartier barracks in Quebec on 17 September 1914, 6 weeks after the outbreak of war. On his attestation paper he was quoted as a Real-Estate Agent, with his father Kenneth Mcivor (sic) living in Saltcoats, SK, although elsewhere Mciver senior is listed at Barvas. This hamlet is located a dozen miles north of Saltcoats. On enlistment, Daniel is described as 5 ft 10 (1.77 m) tall, of fair complexion with brown eyes and brown hair. A mole was seen at the centre of his back. He professes to be of the Presbyterian faith.

During the First World War, Daniel is mentioned in despatches twice; being mentioned in despatches is a distinction in itself. However, Daniel was sadly lost in the aftermath of the battle for Vimy Ridge in April 1917 and is only mentioned on the Vimy Memorial; the location of his grave is unknown.

I have entered Daniel's details on Faces from the Lewis War Memorial under the heading of Coll.

Thursday 4 November

Not a terribly inspiring day, overcast, wet and cold. Only 5 or 6 degrees above freezing. Would you believe that 550 miles away at Heathrow Airport, the mercury reached 18.3C this afternoon?? Fortunately, there is justice in this world, and they will come crashing down to 9C by the time the weekend is over.

Once more, I have traced a soldier from the First World War who is not mentioned in any of my files, although he is recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. As soon as I have completed the research, I'll post the results on here.

The saga of the grounded sub, HMS Astute, took another twist when it became known that the craft collided with the tug that was pulling it off its shinglebank. This prang damaged a starboard foreplane on the submarine, but it was able to proceed back to base without problems. The investigation into this incident is continuing, whilst the Western Isles MP, Angus Macneil, has now called for a parliamentary debate on the emergency tugs.

Wednesday 3 November

A very cold day, with the mercury at only 6C / 43F. Heathrow Airport, west of London, recorded 16C / 61F this afternoon, highlighting the large temperature differential across the country. Went into town to buy some storage 'solutions' (read: folders, box-file &c), then paid a visit to Sandwick Cemetery. It was there that I noticed how cold it got, and even more so later in the afternoon.



After 4pm, the Red Duchess hove into view, towed by the Anglian Prince. The Duchess had suffered engine failure yesterday, and it had taken 24 hours for the Prince to tow her the 100 miles from the Isle of Rum, where the breakdown had occurred. I was a bit annoyed that nightfall overtook me when the boats came in, meaning I could only see a few lights as they headed for what I took to be pier no 1. Once the Duchess's engine is fixed, her cargo of coal will be discharged.

Tuesday 2 November

Fairly bright day with strong winds and very heavy showers. It did allow for some nice cloudscapes, but it would not have been nice to be caught out in the downpours, which were accompanied by strong squalls.

Here in the Western Isles, a committee of the local council has voted to close 11 out of the islands' 24 primary schools, and abolish the rural secondaries (where pupils are taught for the first two years before going to a large secondary in Stornoway or Lionacleit (Uist)). The full council will debate the plans on Thursday, but I do not have high hopes of any of the small schools being reprieved. There are just not enough children to justify keeping some of the schools open - Stoneybridge in South Uist has no pupils in it at all at present.

America has gone to the polls today, and it would appear that President Obama could well lose control of both houses of Congress. I am not very well acquainted with the Teaparty movement and neither do I want that to change. If Obama does lose control of the American parliament, it is simply due to the fact that people do not see the benefit of the policies he has implemented - some of which may take up to 2014 to show up.

And finally, a cargo ship, the Red Duchess, which was bound for Stornoway with a cargo of coal got into difficulty this morning when it suffered engine failure. This happened southwest of the Isle of Rum, 70 miles south of Stornoway. High winds were threatening to blow the vessel into Harris Bay on Rum, but the Mallaig lifeboat managed to keep her safe. The Coastguard helicopter went across to check if anyone needed airlifting, and the Coastguard tug Anglian Prince has also sailed to Rum to tow the Red Duchess to safety. The ship is a regular visitor to Stornoway - shown here on a picture from last November.

Picture post - 1 November

Baking cookies


Dusk, 1 November


The last leaves clinging to the branches...


High winds


Sunset

Monday 1 November

November has kicked off true to form with a (severe) gale as of lunchtime today. The forecast suggests the wind will not die down until at least Wednesday. Looking at the live weather reports from Eoropie (about a mile from the Butt of Lewis), the wind is blowing at 60 mph, with gusts to 73 mph, nearly hurricane force. The ferry is off; the 5.30 sailing from Ullapool is under review, but likely to be cancelled. The crossing between Leverburgh (Harris) and Berneray (for North Uist) has been taken off as well due to the conditions.

An autistic pupil at the Nicolson Institute here in Stornoway has had a dedicated play area constructed for him. It looked like this (image courtesy BBC)

After protests from his parents and charities involved with the care of people suffering from autism, the 'cage' has now been removed. Bit disappointed at the ignorant attitudes in certain quarters.

I'll have another post later today.

Sunday 31 October

The clocks went back an hour overnight, and we now have sunrise just after half past seven, and the sun setting around a quarter to five. Yep, winter is not far away now. Hallowe'en today, but as I indicated last night, I'm not feeling like it. I would like to wish everybody else a happy Hallowe'en though.



Today was a bright and sunny day, with not much wind. The ferry did its customary single crossing back-and-forth this afternoon and evening, returning on schedule at 9pm. November looks like making a similar start, but then is going to give us a nice present in the shape of a late afternoon gale. However, if it doesn't get worse than a force 8, I won't be complaining. It's that time of the year after all.

Later this week, on Friday 5 November, we'll have Guy Fawkes night. Fawkes was intent on blowing up the Houses of Parliament in 1605, but his plot failed and he was hung, drawn and quartered for all his bother on 31 January 1606. Four hundred and five years later, they are still burning effigies of Fawkes and letting off fireworks on 5 November. As is customary, the media are full of gruesome pictures of burned and torn limbs belonging to people who didn't observe the normal precautions in letting off fireworks.

Hurricane update - 31 October

Hurricane Tomas is moving west into the Caribbean, having wreaked destruction in the Windward and Leeward Islands. The storm, currently a category 2 hurricane, will strengthen a bit more before settling at around 95 knots whilst making headway across the Caribbean towards Jamaica.

Tropical cyclone Anggrek is located south of Indonesia, a few hundred miles north of the Cocos Islands near 9S 95E. The storm has an Indonesian name as it first formed north of latitude 10S. The system will move south to pass close to Cocos Island with winds up to 75 knots near the centre. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology are issuing warnings for the islands.

Hallowe'en 2010

Hallowe'en is not a tradition I grew up with, and I've only grown more familiar with it since I came to the UK, 13 years ago this month. It is a relatively inoccuous event, although I resent, like the gentleman in the pic above, the abuse of black cats just because they have black fur.


I'll just stick to the black cat as depicted in this graphic. My family had a black tomcat for 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s, and he was the friendliest creature you could care to find. Other cats, around at the time, would agree or disagree with that vehemently; other toms would get a sound thrashing out of him, whilst the females of the species got all they ever wanted out of him and more.


Donna provided me with this graphic 3 years ago, and I'm glad to see she's slowly getting back in the habit. She was also behind this graphic
which had us trick-or-treating through J-land, meaning this image is at least 3 years old. I had two Hallowe'ens in J-land (2006 and 2007); J-land was closed on Hallowe'en 2008. I was sitting in an airport lounge at Aberdeen when news came through that our blogs had gone. I've never understood why they had to be deleted, rather than being kept in an archived status. It caused a lot of upset, and I've not forgiven AOL for it.

Hallowe'en has a serious side to it. Its full name is All Hallows' Eve, the day before All Hallows, when we remember those that have passed away. 1 November will be the day, 2½ years ago, that my mother passed away, and I'll bear that in mind on Monday. Others who have recently lost loved ones or friends will be kept in mind on that day. November is also the month that I post the links to journals whose bloggers have gone before, and I'm closing this admittedly sombre post with that.

In remembering those that went before us, we will gain strength from their memory and the fortitude they showed in adversity.

Lahoma's Laments - Lahoma, RIP 25 December 2007
The Diatom Project - Walt, RIP 27 April 2007
My Reason for Reasoning - Barbara, RIP 20 November 2007
Dribble by Chuck Ferris - Chuck, RIP 1 July 2008
There are no Sundays - Jim, RIP April 2007
I shaved my legs for this??? - Kim, RIP 26 December 2007
One Girl's Head Noise (UK) - Pam, RIP 16 April 2006
Pennie's Pieces of Ohio - Penny, RIP 1 October 2007

Summer time / Winter time

Summer left us long months ago, but tonight at 2 am, the clocks will be turned back one hour to revert the UK back to Greenwich Mean Time. There is once more talk of bringing the country into line with the rest of Europe, meaning that British Summer Time would become British Standard Time.

Image courtesy inquisitr.com
Here in northern Scotland we are not in favour of that. Daylight hours are at a premium in winter, with sunrise at 9.15 am on 21 December and sunset at 3.35 pm. It doesn't require a mathematical genius to work out that this leaves us with a paltry 6 hours and 20 minutes of potential solar visibility. So, if the clocks go forward 1 hour and stay like that all year, we'll have sunrise at 10.15, leaving the kids to go to school in total darkness, and sunset at 4.35pm. A trial of 'double summertime' was conducted in 1968, but was abandoned. I just see it as sheer laziness from people who, when dealing with continental Europe, cannot be bothered to add an hour to calculate the time at their European counterpart's office.

Saturday 30 October

Another windy day with occasional showers. The ferry is sailing, but the captain is reported as advising passengers to secure personal belongings as well as themselves. I am looking forward to seeing the boat coming in, wreathed in a green cloud.


For what it's worth, my blogposts indicate that last night's broadband outage has been resolved. Apparently, a fault in a telephone exchange in Edinburgh caused the failure, which affected large parts of the United Kingdom. My emergency dial-up service had ceased to operate, meaning I was reduced to mobile phone messages to Facebook and Twitter. Oh, what would we do without the Internet?

Well, it gave me the opportunity to make good progress with this year's Armistice Tribute. It will be a significantly pared down version of Faces from the Lewis War Memorial.

Hurricane update - 30 October

Tropical storm Tomas is headed for the Windward and southern Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean, strengthening rapidly. The system will pick up more strength as it ploughs through the Caribbean, approaching Jamaica after the weekend with winds of 100 knots (125 mph) if not higher.It is worth monitoring this storm closely, particularly after the weekend, when its future track (which is expected to be towards Cuba) becomes clearer.

A tropical disturbance has formed in the southern hemisphere, which is making ominous noises towards the Cocos or Keeling Islands. 92L is expected to develop into tropical cyclone Tasha, with winds of 85 knots by the time it reaches the Cocos Islands. This is equivalent to a category II hurricane in the Atlantic.

Friday 29 October

Friday ended with a broadband outage across Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, which affected me as well, hence this post on Saturday morning.

Friday began with galeforce winds, which prompted the cancellation of the first sailing of the ferry to Ullapool. The 1.50pm sailing did go ahead, but I cannot imagine that it would have been a pleasurable experience. Although the wind abated, the weather remained cold and grey.

The parents of Lewis aid worker Linda Norgrove, who was killed in Afghanistan 3 weeks ago, have spoken on TV about their experiences with regards to the kidnap and death of their daughter. Although they tried to dissuade her from going back to Afghanistan, Mr and Mrs Norgrove acknowledged that it was not right to deter her from persuing what she wanted to do. A charitable fund has been set up in Linda's name, which aims continue her work in Afghanistan.

When I went out to the shop, I came across a flock of waxwings, small berry-eating birds, which were feasting on the contoneaster bushes outside Tesco. They flew off to nearby TV aerials and rooftops, but there were about a hundred of the birds there. I could not get a good photograph of them, as the light conditions were poor.