A Question of Perspective

A man was attacked in Germany in 1996 by neo-nazis, which left him paralysed from the neck down. His wife died of cancer in 2000, and he is now contemplating assisted suicide at a clinic in Switzerland. That is all I will say about this story, which continues on this BBC webpage. Read it, and come back here to leave a comment.

Fat cats

With all this talk of fat cats and the credit crunch, I just wanted to feature this well-fed moggie that I found in Hoy last month.

Monday 17 November

Horrible day, strong winds, heavy rain, low temperatures. November at its worst.

I have resized the front picture, in order that it fully fits the screen when the blog loads. It has also been decreased in actual load size (by about 1/3), to suit those of you with slow connections.

Baby P, the 17-month old that was allegedly killed by his parents, continues to make headlines 15 months after his died. The focus remains on the social workers involved. Without making excuses for any mistakes made in this sad case, I have to say that when it comes to deciding whether a child can stay at home or not is an extremely hard call to make. I used to know someone who would take children away from their parents, under court order, and that would always happen in the presence of police. The most extreme case was a baby, taken from its mother the moment it was born. I need not remind you of the emotional repercussions of taking a child away from parents. However, if the health and safety of a child is at serious danger, then a decision will have to be made. Finally, I was not amused or impressed by the sight of two leading politicians shouting across the floor of the House of Commons last week over this, and they were rightly rebuked by Mr Speaker.

Front page

Yes, I have gone bananas with a picture of Dalbeg Beach to suit the title of my blog - Atlantic Lines. I realise it's a bit huge, so I'll be tweaking it over the next few days.

Looking back

Just copying a few entries from 16 November of previous years in Lewis.

In 2004, I had just arrived in the island, and had proceeded to the village of Kershader, some 22 miles south of Stornoway. I was to stay there for nearly 3 months, through winter in this building, the Ravenspoint Centre.



Here is the diary entry for the day

Tuesday 16 November 2004

Woke up to a guy shouting abuse in his sleep, and someone else shooshing him. The two American ladies collected their car at 8.30, declining my offer of being their guide. I set off downtown sunny Stornoway / Steornabhagh. First to the library for a full hour's worth of Internet use. Had about 40 emails waiting. Then to various bookshops, one of which stocked Soil and Soul, a landmark work by Alistair McIntosh. He is not well known outside this region, but is a staunch campaigner for community ownership. He supported the community buy-out of the Isle of Eigg in 1996/7, and managed to stop the development of the Lingerabay superquarry. This would have seen the demolition of an entire mountain for the sake of acquiring aggregates for the building of houses and roads in the UK and beyond. I also unearthed a compilation CD by Capercaillie, my favourite folk / fusion group from these parts. Went to a gig by them, as some know, back in January. Didn't walk back to my digs, no danced home. Just as well it was 11.30pm. It's no use having a CD without the means of listening to it, so I also acquired a portable CD-player. Then there was the matter of my 3 disposable cameras, all used up, which needed to be developed and printed. I would have preferred the images to be on CD-ROM, but that means you have to wait for 3-4 days, and I don't work that far in advance with regards to planning. One shop could develop & print in 2 hours, but not the CD-ROM. Sod it, I went for the prints. The most important one is attached to this journal entry [amendment 16/11/08: this was not the case]. Then I went on a walk down the harbourfront as far as the old powerstation. Sat down on the seawall and was duly joined by a nice tortoiseshell cat, a neutered tom. He rubbed against me as I sat nibbling my sandwiches, wanted to be scratched on the head and a general fuss. After that, he went down the steps to the shore, only to bolt back up them a minute later and disappear into the estate behind me. Strange animal. My bus left town at 2.20pm, heading down the road towards Tarbert. I got off at Balallan (Baile Ailean), to join the little bus into South Lochs. Recognized the driver from years ago. A ten minute journey brought me to Cearsiadar - just say KerSHAder. The hostel is part of a community building also encompassing a shop and a cafe. The volunteers in the shop also run the hostel, which is simple but comfortable. Oh, the only uncomfortable thing about the hostel is the chairs. Eugh. After a longish chat, I went inside. A run-down of things not to do:

- don't close the kitchendoor, the handle is broken

- don't switch off the light in the stairwell

- don't use the shower upstairs

- don't use the third bedroom

- don't leave the central heating on if you don't need it

Ah, it's all a laugh, really. There are only two people in the hostel now, a guy called Joe and myself. He is going round the island looking for a job and a place to live. Exchanged some stories over dinner. Joe cooked onions and potatoes with mince and shandy to drink. The television provided some entertainment, but that was about it for the night.

November evening

Whilst our American friends are beginning to eye up Thanksgiving, here in the UK, it is still more than a month to Christmas. Yes, I've mentioned the C-word. Personally, I do not contemplate Christmas until December 6th.

Here in Lewis, Thanksgiving is also observed on the last Thursday in November. It usually means a day off school for the children, as some may be required to attend communions in church. Shops tend to close after lunch (except for supermarkets and the like). Communions are held every three months.

In Holland, where I am from, Thanksgiving is not a commonly observed religious festival. It is mentioned on the church calendar in September (much like the Harvest Festival in the Church of England, but without the display of harvested goodies). In the Roman Catholic parts of the country, south of the Great Rivers (Rhine, Waal and Maas), the festival of St Maarten / St Martin was held on November 11th.
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The above image shows St Maarten giving his cloak to a man without one.

The next festival on the Dutch calendar is Sinterklaas / St Nicholas, the eve of whose nameday is celebrated on December 5th. Yesterday, Sinterklaas arrived in Holland on a steamship, surrounded by a posse of helpers known as Black Peters. St Nicholas ostensibly arrives from Spain, and in the 8th century the Iberian peninsula was ruled by dark-skinned men from North Africa called the Moors. Officially, St Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra (modern-day Smyrna in Turkey) but his bones were spirited out of Turkey to Spain after his death.

Sinterklaas will bring a sack full of presents for all children in Holland (Belgium and Germany) on the steamboat, but will fill his sack with children who have been bad in the past year, to take back to Spain. Black Peter, a sort of bogeyman, will make sure it will be filled up to the brim. He will also assist Sinterklaas as he rides his white charger along the rooftops, to drop presents down the chimneys. Only children who leave a carrot for the horse in their shoe will wake up to find a present the next morning.
Sinterklaas, St Nicholas and Santa Claus are in fact one and the same. Sinterklaas will have disappeared on the morning of December 6th.

AOL journals

I have written a Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post regarding the recent demise of AOL Journals. I cannot publish its contents under the terms of service of the Post, but rest assured I have been politely scathing. If anyone else wants to summarise their feelings in 200 words (yep, that's the limit of a submission to the Post), feel free to contact letters@washpost.com.

Sunday 16 November

Quiet day with a bit of brightness about. The weather is set to take a turn for the worse, with a lot of rain and wind about as the new week commences, and a cold snap by the next weekend. I gather that the east of the USA has also had its first taste of winter, judging by the huge low pressure area headed east out of Labrador this afternoon. It will head north into Greenland, where it will be split in two; the eastern segment will bring us winter by the weekend.

Still on the subject of weather, I am watching a tropical cyclone (not more than a tropical storm at present) which has been drenching the Philippines over the past few days. It has turned into tropical storm 26W (meaning there have been 26 cyclones in the Western Pacific this year), and will cross the Mekong Delta, then the Malay Peninsula and could end up in the Bay of Bengal.

Pentalina B

This ship, which I stubbornly continue to call by its original name Iona, is currently covering the freight run between the Isle of Lewis and the Scottish mainland. Normally, MV Muirneag is doing this, but this ship is in dry-dock on the Tyne at present. My picture of the Iona (puh) on Flickr is attracting an unusual amount of attention. 91 views since last Sunday.

I know, it's a nice picture ;-)

Saturday 15 November

Today is the 4th anniversary of my arrival in Lewis. Back in 2004, I had arrived in Harris (which is on the same landmass as Lewis) from North Uist, and took the bus north to Stornoway. The next time I would leave Lewis would be in May 2007.

Today is a better day in terms of weather, with a fair amount of brightness. Rain appears to be threatening, and it is also a lot colder. Yesterday saw the mercury at 13C, this afternoon has it down to 7C, quite a jump by local standards. Colder weather in the winter period usually also brings brighter weather.

Still quiet on the tropical cyclones front, except for one minor tropical storm crossing into the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The worst people there can expect is 10 inches of rain; winds will not exceed force 9 on the Beaufort scale. Fishermen have been warned to stay on shore.

Request

If anyone reads a private blog on here called My Wee Bit of Life, can they pass on a message to thank them for linking to my Tropical Cyclones blog. I am not a reader, and cannot reach them.

Friday 14 November

Once more pouring with rain and breezy today. The best way to summarise is to call it dreich.

I have pulled my videos off AOL Video Uncut, as the UK version has now become defunct. I'll be uploading them onto YouTube in the next few days. You can watch all my (50 at present) videos on this channel.

It is reckoned that the hurricane season in the Atlantic is over for the year, as atmospheric conditions are no longer conducive to formation of tropical cyclones. The tropical waves, off which many hurricanes are born, have ceased running off the African continent. The southern hemisphere season commenced 2 weeks ago, but is yet to get into swing.

Evening notes

My remarks regarding Facebook relate to the consequences on my private life of being on there, rather than the experience itself. That was not unique to Facebook, it is something that has plagued me throughout my stint on AOL (since April 2004).

On the subject of child abuse, the Austrian man (Josef Pritzl) who made his own daughter pregnant 7 times over will stand trial. Part of the indictment is the allegation that he killed one of the babies fathered by him. Pritzl kept his daughter incarcerated in a cellar at home for 24 years.

Yesterday, news emerged that the Jersey prosecuting authorities have decided that there is no case to answer regarding the children's home Haute de la Garenne. Earlier this year, this former home made world headlines after bones were found in sealed off sections of its cellars. It has been decided that those finds do not constitute murder. Investigations into alleged abuse are on-going.

Thursday 13 November

Pouring with rain out here, not very nice at all.

I was horrified to hear of the death of a baby of 17 months in north London. Once again, social services appear to have failed dismally in their duty of care, not picking up on danger signs. Whether it is a system failure of social services generally, or the fact that the odd failure is of such a horrific nature is not a conclusion for me to draw. Over the past few years, I have encountered several people who were reluctant to tell me that their job was with social services.

I am contemplating my continued membership of Facebook. Although I joined in December 2007, I only became more active on it following the demise of AOL Journals. I cannot say it was a wholly positive experience, so do not be surprised if any of you who are on my friends list on there are notified of my departure.

Kristallnacht

I make a point of observing the anniversary of the Night of Broken Glass, or Kristallnacht in German. During the night of November 9th/10th in 1938, groups of Nazi thugs went on the rampage in German towns and cities, smashing Jewish-owned businesses and shops, looting and setting fire to them. Only because they were owned by people who had marked their religion down as Jewish. In the aftermath, many streets were littered with broken glass, which led to the German euphemism of Kristallnacht (Crystal Night).

With the anniversary of the 1914/1919 Armistice just a day ago, it is good to also remember the atrocities of the Second World War. Lest we forget.


Postscript: I specifically refer to the First World War as running until 1919, as the Peace was not declared until that year. Here in Lewis in particular, with the Iolaire Disaster of 1 January 1919, the Great War certainly didn't end until 1919.

Wednesday 12 November

Overcast today, but the sun is trying to poke through the high cloud layer. Large parhelion at one stage. It's quiet today, which makes a change from the recent wild and windy weather. However, it's November, this is the Western Isles, so what do you expect. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong. Fantastic cloudscapes, beautiful sunsets - and they are now happening in front of my window, which has a view southeast to southwest.


This picture dates back to last Wednesday, as I was returning to Stornoway. More of that sort on this link. I should also tell you that there is a large number of pictures there of the Coastguard helicopter exercising off the ferry as it sails across the Minch. This video, full of helicopter noise, shows the winchman going up and down, carrying a stretcher. The time was 7.30pm, so it was dark. Give it a minute to process on YouTube.

231,000,000%

When I head my posts with crazy percentages, you know I'm going to write about Zimbabwe again. The above number represents that country's inflation percentage. Its president, freedom fighter, liberation hero, responsible for economic disaster and famine - in other words, Robert Mugabe, is now having 2.1 to 5 million of his population fed by the UN. That organisation is short on resources, so is currently cutting down on rations. Politically, Zimbabwe is mired down in shinanigans on the part of Mugabe, with the opposition MDC party and Mugabe's ZANU-PF unable to form a sensible government.

Talk about self-destruct sequence initiated. Oh, just wanted to feature this video as well. Better have a sickbag ready (PS: give it a while to get processed, only just uploaded it to YouTube).

Message

Cathy [chatzeekay] is sending a message that she is sorry to have lost touch with most of us in J-land. She has returned from her vacation, and is gearing up to confront some serious issues. Cathy is currently not blogging (she finds it extremely difficult to learn a new blogging system), but would like to keep in touch - at present through myself. If you have her email address (not giving it out on here), please write an encouraging note. Although this could be classified as Call for Support stuff, I am writing it here, as she may pick it up on my journal.

For Armistice Day

Tuesday 11 November

Armistice Day, and the 90th anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War. The war to end all wars, what a fallacy that turned out to be. Watched the ceremony in Whitehall this morning, when the three remaining surviving veterans of the Great War laid their wreaths at the Cenotaph. The eldest, Henry Allingham, aged 112, laid the wreath with his own hands. Very moving.

My thoughts today are with all who fell in that conflict. And with those who tragically drowned outside Stornoway Harbour on 1 January 1919, on their way home. Their transport, a troopship called the Iolaire [Eagle], ran aground on a reef and sank after an hour and a half. 75 survived, but 205 went to the bottom with her. They had survived up to 4 years of war - only to drown within sight of their home town. Inquiries in 1919 and 1972 did not properly account for the events of that dreadful night.

The village of Shawbost, 18 miles from Stornoway, buried 9 of its sons a few days later. North Tolsta, 13 miles north of the town, had lost the largest number of their young men. Of those drowned, 64 were never found. The remaining 140 were found scattered on the shores around Stornoway; one turned up in Loch Grimshader 5 months later.

I'll close this post with a tribute to one of the victims:
Leading Deckhand John MacAskill

Last address in Lewis: 12 Lower Sandwick
Son of Kenneth and Mary MacAskill, was married
Service: Royal Naval Reserve, HMT Thomas Booth
Service number: 9635/DA
Date of death: 1 January 1919 at the age of 24
John drowned, and lies buried at Sandwick