The sun has set about half an hour ago and it is getting dark now. The weather today has been very changeable, with frequent and at times heavy showers. We can look forward to some severe weather on Wednesday.
Out in the Indian Ocean, the first tropical cyclone of the southern hemisphere season means business. Anja is moving towards Mauritius at 5 mph and has blown up to a 105 knots hurricane (that's category III). It does not appear likely that Mauritius will be directly affected - at this stage. Neither is it impossible though. It promptly leads to a flurry of activity on my tropical cyclones blog. And it's only November.
Just finished watching an episode of Colombo - always interesting to see how the great, scruffy detective works out for himself how the murder was committed. For those unfamiliar with the series, an episode of Colombo starts showing a murder being carried out.
Today, it is 5 years ago since I arrived in the Isle of Lewis. Much has changed since then.
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Saturday, 14 November 2009
In retrospect
Hurricane update - 14 November
As the northern hemisphere hurricane season draws to a close, the southern hemisphere tropical cyclone is firing up. The first tropical cyclone was born this morning, and Anja is expected to reach hurricane strength. Fortunately, this storm is more than a thousand miles from land of any description, and Diego Garcia is watching it disappearing to the southwest. The customary November storms around the Indian sub-continent have put in an appearance; 04A made landfall south of Bombay earlier this week.
The southern hemisphere season always draws in a large number of visitors to my tropical cyclones blog: back in 2007, cyclone Gamede, a category III hurricane, was a cause for grave concern for Mauritius and La Reunion and raised the daily count to 2,300. A record - the daily average (according to Sitemeter) stands at about 115. Since July 2006, when I commenced the TC blog, I have clocked up some 68,000 visitors.
Through the northern hemisphere winter, I shall continue to refer to cyclones threatening land on Atlantic Lines.
The southern hemisphere season always draws in a large number of visitors to my tropical cyclones blog: back in 2007, cyclone Gamede, a category III hurricane, was a cause for grave concern for Mauritius and La Reunion and raised the daily count to 2,300. A record - the daily average (according to Sitemeter) stands at about 115. Since July 2006, when I commenced the TC blog, I have clocked up some 68,000 visitors.
Through the northern hemisphere winter, I shall continue to refer to cyclones threatening land on Atlantic Lines.
Title picture
I have once more changed the front picture, now taken in daylight. It shows the Blackhouse Village at Gearrannan near Carloway, some 20 miles west of Stornoway on the west coast of Lewis. I took the picture at around 4pm, just before sunset, last Wednesday. The Blackhouse Village is not home to permanent residents; the last ones left in 1974. In the early 1990s, someone took it upon himself to restore the homesteads and turn them into self-catering accommodation, a restaurant & shop as well as a youth hostel. Gearrannan (Garenin) itself lies a few hundred yards up the road, and is a normal village. Apart from homes and crofts, it also houses one of the three Harris Tweed mills in Lewis.
Saturday 14 November
Overcast and wet today, but nowhere near as bad as the weather in southwestern England at the moment. Plymouth, on the Devon coast, is reporting gusts of 69 mph, with gales widespread along the English Channel. The high tide combined with heavy rain is likely to cause coastal flooding. The stormy weather, according to the Met Office, is likely to continue into next week, with a storm headed for the northwest of Scotland by the middle of the week.
The attack at Fort Hood, Texas, is now known to have caused injuries to 43 people, including the assailant. He could be facing the death penalty. I am slightly disquietened by the backlash against Muslim people in certain sectors of American society. I understand that this is still a very fraught subject, 8 years after 9/11, but until it is known what prompted Maj Hassan to his actions, it is best to reserve judgment - and leave such judgment to the courts.
Channel Five is going to have its newsbulletins read by people with a facial disfigurement. One of them has scarring resulting from burns, sustained in a car crash; the other has a rare congenital disorder. More here.
The attack at Fort Hood, Texas, is now known to have caused injuries to 43 people, including the assailant. He could be facing the death penalty. I am slightly disquietened by the backlash against Muslim people in certain sectors of American society. I understand that this is still a very fraught subject, 8 years after 9/11, but until it is known what prompted Maj Hassan to his actions, it is best to reserve judgment - and leave such judgment to the courts.
Channel Five is going to have its newsbulletins read by people with a facial disfigurement. One of them has scarring resulting from burns, sustained in a car crash; the other has a rare congenital disorder. More here.
Friday, 13 November 2009
Accidents and errors
A man, working on a local crab fishing boat, lost a finger yesterday in an accident. Hebrides News reports:
The Stornoway coastguard rescue helicopter was altered and flew to the scene some five miles off the Butt of Lewis yesterday.
It's bad enough this man lost a finger. But having to alter the helicopter first, wow.
(Yes I know, it's a typo)
The Stornoway coastguard rescue helicopter was altered and flew to the scene some five miles off the Butt of Lewis yesterday.
It's bad enough this man lost a finger. But having to alter the helicopter first, wow.
(Yes I know, it's a typo)
Friday 13 November
Fairly bright morning, but with a lot of cloud about and windy. The south of the UK is braced for stormy weather, with high winds and gusts up to 75 mph. Sends me wondering what all the fuss is about - that's normal for the Western Isles, where I'm at.
Yesterday, a by-election was held in the constituency of Glasgow North East. The candidate for the Labour Party won, with the Scottish National Party coming second and the Conservatives third. Hard on their heels was the British National Party. There was a record low turn-out, for a Scottish by-election, of 33%. Glasgow NE is a poor and deprived area, with high unemployment and all the attendant problems. The BNP, in polling 5% achieved one of its best results in a Westminster election. I repeat my position that if parties like the BNP come to the fore, it means that there are problems in society which are not seen to be addressed by any of the mainstream political parties.
Yesterday, a by-election was held in the constituency of Glasgow North East. The candidate for the Labour Party won, with the Scottish National Party coming second and the Conservatives third. Hard on their heels was the British National Party. There was a record low turn-out, for a Scottish by-election, of 33%. Glasgow NE is a poor and deprived area, with high unemployment and all the attendant problems. The BNP, in polling 5% achieved one of its best results in a Westminster election. I repeat my position that if parties like the BNP come to the fore, it means that there are problems in society which are not seen to be addressed by any of the mainstream political parties.
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Thursday 12 November
Overcast, with some chinks of brightness and the occasional drop of rain. The barometer is slowly falling, and the rainfall radar shows a large band of heavy rain over Ireland. This appears to have our name on it. As does another band presently still out in the Atlantic.
Here in Lewis, there is a promise for 100 new jobs at Arnish (across the water from my position), if and when a fish processing factory is opened there. Bearing in mind the poor state the local economy is in, all new jobs are welcome. The Fabrication Yard has operated a revolving door policy (now it's open, now it's shut), and I'll never forget the wind turbines being taken across to Denmark for finishing, when one of its previous operators went bust in the middle of filling an order. Upon return from Kolding, one of the turbines fell overboard into the North Sea during a force 9 gale...
Here in Lewis, there is a promise for 100 new jobs at Arnish (across the water from my position), if and when a fish processing factory is opened there. Bearing in mind the poor state the local economy is in, all new jobs are welcome. The Fabrication Yard has operated a revolving door policy (now it's open, now it's shut), and I'll never forget the wind turbines being taken across to Denmark for finishing, when one of its previous operators went bust in the middle of filling an order. Upon return from Kolding, one of the turbines fell overboard into the North Sea during a force 9 gale...
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Wednesday afternoon
Spent an enjoyable afternoon out and about, after jumping on the 2.30 bus to Garenin on the west coast of Lewis. Most passengers had alighted by the time we approached Carloway, and there we sat for about 10 minutes. Just after half past three, a bevvy of primary school kids came on board, to be deposited outside their respective houses around Carloway. Garenin is nearly 2 miles west of that village. It looked wintery and deserted. Which it was. All the houses were locked up, and there was nobody in the office. Fortunately, ran into a couple who had been out walking and offered a lift back to Stornoway. Which saved a wait of half an hour in a cold wind, and another wait of 20 minutes at Carloway for the connecting bus service. The lift givers took the alternative route, along the Pentland Road - one of my favourite island roads. Returned to town by about 4.45pm, an hour ahead of schedule. Which meant I had an entire hour to play with this evening.
Wednesday 11 November
A brilliantly sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky. It was very cold in the night, with the mercury dipping well below zero, to minus 2C (28F). Current temps around +9C / 48F. Tomorrow and Friday will be wet and increasingly windy.
Today is Armistice Day, and it is 91 years ago since the cessation of hostilities in the First World War. Peace was not declared until June 1919. The German Hochseeflotte was interned in Scapa Flow, Orkney, and in order to prevent the fleet being seized by the British, the commander of the fleet ordered it to be scuttled. Unbeknown to any but the most senior officers, the ships went to the bottom on June 21st, 1919. Several German sailors died, through drowning or being shot on trying to escape. During my visit to Orkney last October, I found more than a dozen of their graves at Lyness and Kirkwall. Some of the ships were raised in following years, and their metal is in great demand. Any steel, manufactured after 1944, is contaminated with atmospheric radiation originating from nuclear explosions. It is therefore unusuable for extremely sensitive instruments, like those on board satellites in space, monitoring distant stars and galaxies. The steel from the German Hochseeflotte is uncontaminated, and is used for that purpose.
Turning to the British casualties, remembered today, I would like to plug the two books I mentioned yesterday. Click on the images of the covers for details.
Today is Armistice Day, and it is 91 years ago since the cessation of hostilities in the First World War. Peace was not declared until June 1919. The German Hochseeflotte was interned in Scapa Flow, Orkney, and in order to prevent the fleet being seized by the British, the commander of the fleet ordered it to be scuttled. Unbeknown to any but the most senior officers, the ships went to the bottom on June 21st, 1919. Several German sailors died, through drowning or being shot on trying to escape. During my visit to Orkney last October, I found more than a dozen of their graves at Lyness and Kirkwall. Some of the ships were raised in following years, and their metal is in great demand. Any steel, manufactured after 1944, is contaminated with atmospheric radiation originating from nuclear explosions. It is therefore unusuable for extremely sensitive instruments, like those on board satellites in space, monitoring distant stars and galaxies. The steel from the German Hochseeflotte is uncontaminated, and is used for that purpose.
Turning to the British casualties, remembered today, I would like to plug the two books I mentioned yesterday. Click on the images of the covers for details.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Follow up
My previous post, Ultimate Sacrifice, requires a bit of extra information. It would appear that The Sun newspaper had prompted Cpl Janes' mother to record her conversation with PM Gordon Brown. A callous ploy to get at the Prime Minister, who has recently lost the political support of The Sun. They have shifted their political stance, best typified by the ladies on page three. My political allegiances are nobody's business, but it is common knowledge that Gordon Brown lost a child at a young age himself, and to abuse a woman's grief and grievance is typical for The Sun newspaper.
Ultimate sacrifice
Today, the remains of six British servicemen, killed in Afghanistan, arrived at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire. The hearses carrying the soldiers threaded through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett, with the townspeople once more paying their respects. It was the 98th time they did so. Death is an occupational hazard of being a soldier, and those that join the armed forced voluntarily do so in the full knowledge that they may be required to lay down their life in the service of Queen and Country. Those that did so in past and present conflicts were remembered on Sunday, and will be remembered again tomorrow, on Armistice Day. And every day.
War is initiated by politicians and executed by soldiers. The politicians ensure that the military have the equipment to do their job, and be able to deal with the consequences. Today, we were treated to the ungainly sight and sound of one grieving mother, lashing out at Prime Minister Gordon Brown for sending her a letter of condolence allegedly riddled with spelling errors and deletions. The PM telephoned the lady in person, on receipt of her letter of complaint - and the mother proceeded to record the interview. Which was played on Sky TV this afternoon. Apart from the letter of complaint, the mother also states that her son died through lack of equipment - an assertion she repeated to Mr Brown (more on this story here). An accusation repeatedly leveled at the Government throughout both the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
To me, it was plain that the mother of the servicemen who died in Afghanistan has great difficulty coming to terms with her loss, and (understandably) tried to find someone to blame for his death. In this case, the Prime Minister. However, I would like to join Falklands veteran Simon Weston in saying that it is unfortunate that a handwritten letter contained spelling mistakes - but the fact that it was handwritten in the first place is much more important. Secondly, Mr Brown himself has lost a child, albeit at a much younger age.
Grief is something to be conducted in private. Trying to find someone to blame is natural, but at the end of the day, as I said a few paragraphs ago, death is an occupational hazard of being a soldier.
RIP Jamie Janes.
War is initiated by politicians and executed by soldiers. The politicians ensure that the military have the equipment to do their job, and be able to deal with the consequences. Today, we were treated to the ungainly sight and sound of one grieving mother, lashing out at Prime Minister Gordon Brown for sending her a letter of condolence allegedly riddled with spelling errors and deletions. The PM telephoned the lady in person, on receipt of her letter of complaint - and the mother proceeded to record the interview. Which was played on Sky TV this afternoon. Apart from the letter of complaint, the mother also states that her son died through lack of equipment - an assertion she repeated to Mr Brown (more on this story here). An accusation repeatedly leveled at the Government throughout both the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
To me, it was plain that the mother of the servicemen who died in Afghanistan has great difficulty coming to terms with her loss, and (understandably) tried to find someone to blame for his death. In this case, the Prime Minister. However, I would like to join Falklands veteran Simon Weston in saying that it is unfortunate that a handwritten letter contained spelling mistakes - but the fact that it was handwritten in the first place is much more important. Secondly, Mr Brown himself has lost a child, albeit at a much younger age.
Grief is something to be conducted in private. Trying to find someone to blame is natural, but at the end of the day, as I said a few paragraphs ago, death is an occupational hazard of being a soldier.
RIP Jamie Janes.
Tuesday 10 November
Bright and sunny day after a very wet and windy night. Feeling cool but that's mid November for you.
Tropical storm Ida made landfall south of Mobile, Alabama, about an hour and a half ago. The rain (up to 8 inches) is going to be the worst problem associated with this system.
Tomorrow is Armistice Day. On that occasion, I have published two volumes, listing the casualties originating from the Isle of Lewis. The books can only be bought from Lulu.com, i.e. through the Internet. They are NOT available in bookshops. The on-line tributes will of course remain, and contain links to the relevant pages on Lulu.com:
Faces from the Lewis War Memorial (First World War)
World War II casualties from Lewis
Privately, I have also prepared a similar book for Harris and the Uists.
Tropical storm Ida made landfall south of Mobile, Alabama, about an hour and a half ago. The rain (up to 8 inches) is going to be the worst problem associated with this system.
Tomorrow is Armistice Day. On that occasion, I have published two volumes, listing the casualties originating from the Isle of Lewis. The books can only be bought from Lulu.com, i.e. through the Internet. They are NOT available in bookshops. The on-line tributes will of course remain, and contain links to the relevant pages on Lulu.com:
Faces from the Lewis War Memorial (First World War)
World War II casualties from Lewis
Privately, I have also prepared a similar book for Harris and the Uists.
Monday, 9 November 2009
Internet surveillance
The Home Office in the UK is going to ask communication service providers to retain records of who is in touch with who on the Internet. This applies mainly to social networking sites, e.g. Facebook and Twitter. Powers of intercept already exist for telephone communcations, and according to the government need to be extended to the Internet. This would be primarily in the fields of combating crime and safeguarding national security. The content of the actual conversation would not be divulged to the police or security services.
I believe that there is a distinct difference between phone tapping and monitoring internet traffic. Phone tapping is directed against one specific telephone connection; the above described proposals can be compared to the retention of DNA samples from anyone arrested, even if they were not subsequently charged or, following a trial, acquitted. This proposed policy goes one step further, in that any contact on the internet can be monitored without limitation - whether an offence has been committed or not, and whether national security is seen to be at stake or not.
I realise that there is a genuine case for monitoring internet traffic in combating crime and safeguarding national security. But this is an intrusion into people's privacy, and we all want to be able to be in touch with whoever we wish, without the state peeping over our shoulders. I hope that proper safeguards will be in place to ensure our privacy.
I believe that there is a distinct difference between phone tapping and monitoring internet traffic. Phone tapping is directed against one specific telephone connection; the above described proposals can be compared to the retention of DNA samples from anyone arrested, even if they were not subsequently charged or, following a trial, acquitted. This proposed policy goes one step further, in that any contact on the internet can be monitored without limitation - whether an offence has been committed or not, and whether national security is seen to be at stake or not.
I realise that there is a genuine case for monitoring internet traffic in combating crime and safeguarding national security. But this is an intrusion into people's privacy, and we all want to be able to be in touch with whoever we wish, without the state peeping over our shoulders. I hope that proper safeguards will be in place to ensure our privacy.
Monday 9 November
Overcast today with a line of rain moving in from the Atlantic. It'll be here before nightfall. Hurricane Ida is weakening as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico; current thinking from the National Hurricane Center places landfall between Pascagoula (MS) and Indian Pass (FL) overnight local time. The storm will just about be at hurricane strength. Beware of tornadoes and the rainfall totals, which could top 8 inches from the Gulf Coast to the Appalachians and the Tennessee Valley.
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.
9 November 1989 - a premature announcement about the opening of the East German borders leads to a spontaneous breaking of the border control points in Berlin. Nobody interferes, and the night is one of delirious happiness. The oppressive regime of Erich Honecker is at an end, something that the Soviet leaders had been anticipating and allowing to happen. It was the preamble to the collapse of another regime of oppression in Europe, that of communism.
9 November is referred to in Germany as the Night of Fate. Many key events in the country's history appear to take place on this date. I am very happy that the Wall came down in 1989, and hope that the Berliners have a great day of it today. I sincerely hope they do not forget that the Fall of the Wall ended what the Night of Broken Glass commenced.
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.9 November 1989 - a premature announcement about the opening of the East German borders leads to a spontaneous breaking of the border control points in Berlin. Nobody interferes, and the night is one of delirious happiness. The oppressive regime of Erich Honecker is at an end, something that the Soviet leaders had been anticipating and allowing to happen. It was the preamble to the collapse of another regime of oppression in Europe, that of communism.
9 November is referred to in Germany as the Night of Fate. Many key events in the country's history appear to take place on this date. I am very happy that the Wall came down in 1989, and hope that the Berliners have a great day of it today. I sincerely hope they do not forget that the Fall of the Wall ended what the Night of Broken Glass commenced.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Sunday notes
It was a beautifully sunny day in Stornoway with hardly a cloud in the sky. The temperature reached 11C, but is close to freezing at the moment. It is November and the nights are getting cold. Had a quiet day, watching television and mostly being on the Net only to post the updates on Hurricane Ida.
If you are worried about Hurricane Ida, please keep a very close eye on the forecasts. The storm will approach the northern Gulf Coast last Monday / early Tuesday, but will be in the process of turning into a non-tropical area of low pressure. The forecasters are having one heck of a job with the predictions. Rainfall will probably the worst problem, as up to 8 inches could fall in the eastern Tennessee Valley and the southern Appalachian Mountains.
Remembrance Sunday today - Armistice Day will be on Wednesday. It will be 91 years since the guns fell silent at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 1918. As you may remember, I keep a website, listing the Fallen from the Isle of Lewis. I am preparing a publication of that information in book form, which I hope to go live with on Wednesday. Part of the proceeds of any sales will go to the Royal British Legion in Stornoway.
If you are worried about Hurricane Ida, please keep a very close eye on the forecasts. The storm will approach the northern Gulf Coast last Monday / early Tuesday, but will be in the process of turning into a non-tropical area of low pressure. The forecasters are having one heck of a job with the predictions. Rainfall will probably the worst problem, as up to 8 inches could fall in the eastern Tennessee Valley and the southern Appalachian Mountains.
Remembrance Sunday today - Armistice Day will be on Wednesday. It will be 91 years since the guns fell silent at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 1918. As you may remember, I keep a website, listing the Fallen from the Isle of Lewis. I am preparing a publication of that information in book form, which I hope to go live with on Wednesday. Part of the proceeds of any sales will go to the Royal British Legion in Stornoway.
Hurricane update - 8 November
Hurricane Ida is currently approaching Cancun in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, with winds near its core of 90 to 110 mph. The storm will strengthen a little more, but by tomorrow, atmospheric conditions will deteriorate. Ida is expected to head north towards New Orleans, but be barely at hurricane strength upon nearing that city on Tuesday. This system is not expected to make landfall on the mainland of the United States, but instead turn into a non-tropical depression, but still with stormforce winds (force 10 to 11 on the Beaufort scale).
Follow the NHC output for 3 hourly updates.
Follow the NHC output for 3 hourly updates.
Sunday 8 November
Remembrance Sunday. As I type, a service of Remembrance is underway up at the Lewis War Memorial. The 1,300 men lost in the First World War and more than 400 in the Second World War will be remembered. All the war dead of the United Kingdom are remembered today, up and down the land. It was said on TV this morning that the line of those, fallen in war service, would stretch from Edinburgh to London, a good 400 miles.
More later.
More later.
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Saturday 7 November
Bright and sunny this morning, with the odd light shower. A procession of anvil clouds along the southwestern horizon made me fear the worst, but so far, not much rain. Overnight, the mercury went down to freezing point. A bit unusual for this neck of the woods.
Tomorrow is Remembrance Sunday, the 91st anniversary of the Armistice that brought the First World War to a close. Here in Lewis, nearly 2,000 dead from both world wars will be remembered at a ceremony at the War Memorial. Anyone who has ever come into Stornoway from elsewhere in the island will be familiar with this prominent landmark. The below image shows its aspect from the main road coming up from the south.
Apart from this memorial, another 15 memorials are dotted all over Lewis. They will be the local focus points in tomorrow morning's commemorations.
Tomorrow is Remembrance Sunday, the 91st anniversary of the Armistice that brought the First World War to a close. Here in Lewis, nearly 2,000 dead from both world wars will be remembered at a ceremony at the War Memorial. Anyone who has ever come into Stornoway from elsewhere in the island will be familiar with this prominent landmark. The below image shows its aspect from the main road coming up from the south.
Apart from this memorial, another 15 memorials are dotted all over Lewis. They will be the local focus points in tomorrow morning's commemorations.
Friday, 6 November 2009
Towards the end of the year
Yes, you read that correctly. It is November 6th, and to me, the year is slowly heading towards its conclusion. Long gone are the light nights and bright days of summer. Only yesterday did I look out to the southwest at twenty past four in the afternoon, and did I see the sun? No, it had set a couple of minutes before. The tourists have all headed home, with the exception of the odd customary winter visitor, here to experience the ferocity of the Atlantic winter storms. It has been dark for nearly four hours by the time the ferry comes in, at 8.20pm. If I see it coming in, as the curtains are drawn after nightfall. In summer, it comes in at 12.45 am, and it isn't even fully dark. Not now. When it leaves at 7 am, it is still dark. I walked past the slaughterhouse earlier this week, and caught the smell of beasts, newly discharged into its interior - to emerge onto our dinnerplates at some stage. The lambs that were gambolling on the machairlands in April and May, perhaps? Not a thought worth entertaining for too long. The verdant green, to use that dreadful duplication, has been taken off the moorlands and replaced by the dull browns, yellows and black of winter. Autumn, now firmly in charge, has been thoroughly wet, and any thought of venturing into the moors have to be dispelled. Snow, although not in the forecast, is a growing possibility. As is hail. During my first winter here, five years ago, I grew accustomed to the sound of the wind buffeting the house and hail (or rain) clattering against the windows. So much so, that in fact I could not sleep if there was no wind or hail. But I had a very restful winter in 2004/5. My abiding image of my first winter is that of a flock of sheep, crossing a snow-covered road late at night, seen in the yellow glow of the streetlights - when I was staying in an outlying area. Another memory is that of the hurricane in January 2005 which battered these islands with winds of up to 134 mph, taking five lives with it.
It is now November 2009, and in just over a week's time, on the 16th, I will be at the 5th anniversary of my stay in Lewis. Much has changed for me in that time, some of it for better, some of it for worse. In 8 weeks time, the first decade of this century will be over, as we head into 2010. The pace of change in these islands is slower than elsewhere, but change does happen.
It is now November 2009, and in just over a week's time, on the 16th, I will be at the 5th anniversary of my stay in Lewis. Much has changed for me in that time, some of it for better, some of it for worse. In 8 weeks time, the first decade of this century will be over, as we head into 2010. The pace of change in these islands is slower than elsewhere, but change does happen.
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