Wednesday 26 March

Good news for householders in the north of Scotland as energy giant SSE freezes prices. They've got to cut costs and are shelving three off-shore windfarms. Does this also mean the interconnector shelved as well??

Blazing sunshine this morning, with the mercury already at 12C at midday. Some clouds are bubbling up, but it should stay dry.

Nearly 5 miles round the Creed this afternoon. The rhodondendrons have been cut back, revealing some long lost huts near the mouth of the Creed RIver - which I've never seen in my 9 years in this island. Although the mercury stuck at 12C / 54F, it felt much warmer out of the wind and in the sun. The bumblebees were out, feeding on the nectar in the gorse blooms.

Tuesday 25 March

Overcast this morning, but not much wind and the sun is trying to peek through the clouds. Not bad at all.

Monday 24 March

Morning all from a fairly sunny and not so breezy Stornoway. There are some lens-shaped clouds about, which are never a good omen. However, better make the best of the good weather while it lasts. We're due some rain this evening.

Walked 9 km / 5½ miles this afternoon, round via Sandwick, Carse of Melbost, Steinish and Cockle Ebb into Sand Street and back through the town. Not much wind, some pale sunshine. And quite a few cats.

Sunday 23 March

It's sunny in between those snow showers. Well, it's more like snow flurries drifting down from a menacing sky. Temperature only 5C / 41F, nippy for late March.

Was thinking recommending ‪#‎OpenOffice‬ to someone, but it would appear OO was discontinued in 2012. Download sites remain, but either the downloads don't work OR are riddled with viruses. Avoid.

Saturday 22 March

Well, well, cloudscapes galore. It all looked so innocent earlier on, but the showerclouds are bubbling up big time. Wow.

Friday 21 March

Heavy wintry showers, interspersed with brilliant sunshine. Typical March weather, and only about 7C / 45F. Nonetheless, not too bad, really.

Thursday 20 March

After mother Nature threw a night-time tantrum, screaming winds and throwing rain around, we are now having a bright and fairly sunny morning. It is now colder than of late, 7C / 45F, which is below par for late March. However, I do not readily complain of the weather here. Always interesting! Happy spring everybody. I've seen wet snow, hail and rain today, but what do you expect in March. Lion is roaring loudly today.

Wednesday 19 March

Another day of force 7 winds, which are likely to reach a galeforce crescendo today. The wind direction will then change from southwest to northwest and it'll get a bit colder. At present, it's 10C / 50F - but in the south of England, it could get as high as 20C / 68F. Their temps will plummet to our values by the weekend, and we could see some wintry stuff. This temperature contrast also explains the strong winds. Apart from the wind, there is also some rain about. Gusts to 65 mph at Eoropie, sustained windspeeds about 30 mph. Good blow this afternoon. No ferries in or out of this island - it's been a very windy winter. A brief powercut around 9.30pm.

Was watching Putin yesterday, and did anybody else see the little trail of smoke issuing from the flames emanating from the man's coat tails? What am I on about? Liar, liar, your tail's on fire.

I have done a fair amount of work on casualties of the First World War, but even today, two more people were killed through ordnance from that conflict.

Tuesday 18 March

Weather seems to be stuck in a rut, this is about day #5 of hazy sunshine, blustery west wind - followed by rain. Gale tomorrow, beware if you're due to travel by Calmac. Many routes on amber alert.

A poll could be held to determine if the Scottish islands, the Northern and Western Isles, would want to become independent from Scotland or the UK. Thumbs down from me. I already don't believe in Scottish independence, and I have even less faith in the islands' councils. Sorry.

Monday 17 March

A man was reported missing this morning. Sadly, his remains were found in a gully off Sgaoth Aird, above Maraig in North Harris. Mr Edward Jackson, a holiday maker from Preston, was due to leave for home yesterday, but his hotel room was not vacated.

Overcast and once again windy, although not quite as windy as over the weekend. Remaining fairly mild, 10C / 50F this afternoon. The rhodondendrons continue to burn in the Castle Grounds, wonder if that isn't turning into a Forth Bridge job - never-ending.

A row is emerging about the future role of Lews Castle. Will it be a hotel, or a self-catering unit? Looks like both. Local self-catering providers fear competition from the 30 units in the Castle. A meeting will be held in 10 days' time to allay fears etcetera.

Went for a walk to the harbour, and the old Monaco is slowly being chopped to bits. The town is being cheered up with colourful blooms.

Sunday 16 March

Typical Hebridean day, with sunshine interspersed with fine drizzle, blown along on a strong westerly breeze, for the third day running. 11C / 52F? I'm not complaining.

Crimea voted to join Russia. Oh yeah, like we're all hugely surprised at this communist-era like vote of 95.5% in favour. Only those in favour seem to have come out to vote. Another milestone passed in this dangerous saga. Signal remaining firmly at amber.

Continuing to check the records for more Stornoway based casualties from WW1. Although a dozen have emerged, some appear to have been born away from the island, from island parents.

Saturday 15 March

Overcast and windy this morning, although the sun is just coming through the clouds! We continue with a westerly wind at force 7, 30 mph. It is not cold, although the 10C / 50F we're having at the moment is easily offset by the strong wind. Nonetheless, spring is in the air, with the blackbirds singing their heads off at dawn and dusk.

The missing Malaysian airliner remains missing, and could be anywhere from Kazakhstan to the Antarctic. I don't think anyone is left alive who left Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of last Saturday.

Greater Russia

Yesterday, I watched Russia's president Vladimir Putin deliver a major speech, live on TV. In it, he sought to justify the actions of the Russian government over the past few weeks, particularly with regards to the Crimea and Ukraine. Referring to past injustices, as so many dictators have done before him, Putin stated that Crimea's return to Russia was righting a past wrong. He said that Russian forces had been present in the Crimea in accordance with existing treaties, omitting to mention that the Russian forces could only be present within prescribed limits around Sevastopol. Some 16,000 troops are spread out all over the Crimea, in clear contravention of the relevant treaty. It is clear for all in the know that these troops are Russian; wearing Russian fatigues and carrying Russian weaponry. More worrying, he said that the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, anybody remember that?) was an injustice. The Russian leader, under loud and frequent applause, openly asserted his policy aim of reuniting the former Soviet republics under Russia's banner. In a previous post, I have stated that the removal of Yanukovych as Ukraine's president removed Putin's ally from Kiev, something he was not prepared to tolerate.

Adolf Hitler sought to reunify German speaking areas of Europe into the Vaterland, using that as justification for the annexation of the Rhineland in 1936, the Anschluss with Austria exactly 76 years ago this month and the invasion of Czecho-Slovakia in 1939 to join the Sudeten Germans to Hitler's Reich. Vladimir Putin uses the protection of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine and elsewhere as justification for violating international law.

However, this is not the 1930s, and Vladimir Putin cannot, and should not, be compared to Adolf Hitler. We can expect more of the same. This is the second occasion in about 6 years when an incursion or infiltration into a neighbouring state by the Russian Federation has not been matched by military action from the West. I'm not advocating the use of force (I never do), but particularly Barack Obama has done an awful lot of talking - but not a lot of acting. The Russian bear may change its face, but in essence, has not changed its character.

Friday 14 March

A windy morning, but the rain earlier has stopped. The sun is in fact trying to peek through the clouds. Not much change for later, or tomorrow. In the afternoon, the sun was shining, but there is this bullying west wind, making it feel cold out.

Not a shot has been fired in the Crimea / Ukraine/ Russia crisis, and no direct military confrontation has as yet taken place. However, the first casualty of the conflict has already been reported.

The truth.