Pictures post - 23 July

The Jack Abry II with the RNLI lifeboat Tom Sanderson in attendance.


The Queen passed through Stornoway today, to join her holiday yacht Hebridean Princess. 


Ferry passengers, awaiting the 12.40 departure to Ullapool, had a grandstand view of the Queen as she embarked the Hebridean Princess


Moon at midnight

A few notes

One of the murderer of Jamie Bulger, the man formerly known as Jon Venables, has been jailed for two years for possessing child ponography on his computer. His release will be determined by the Parole Board, unlike most prisoners who may become eligible for early release after serving half their sentence. Jamie Bulger, aged 2 years and 9 months, was lured out of a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993 by Venables (aged 10) and his pal Robert Thompson. Jamie's battered body was found some time later along a railway line nearby. The child's mother has said that justice has not been done, but the judge commented that he could not impose a longer sentence simply because of what Venables had done before.

Tropical storm Bonnie isn't a very bonny cyclone, as it traverses Florida at present. Maximum sustained winds are about galeforce or just above, and the rain is falling mainly to the west and north of the centre. If the system holds together (and that's not certain), it will pass through the Gulf of Mexico. Maximum winds will be 45 knots (that's top-end force 9 on the Beaufort scale).

Trawler troubles

The trawler Jack Abry II was seen off the Goat Island jetty this afternoon, with the RNLI lifeboat in attendance. I am not sure what happened, but it seems the trawler had some steering or engine trouble. It managed to get underway again, did a full about turn in the harbour waters, and docked safely alongside pier number 3. I'll post some pictures of today's maritime excitements in a bit.

Friday 23 July

Nice sunny morning here in the Western Isles, with a bit of a southerly breeze going. Last night got very still and very cold very quickly. The mercury shivered down to 5C / 41F at midnight. Fortunately, the sun got to work quickly after it rose at 5 am and we're now basking in 17C / 63F.

The big news item in Stornoway this morning is the fact that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is passing through the town on her way to board her holiday yacht, the MV Hebridean Princess. The image below showed the boat almost exactly 4 years ago, on 29 July 2006, when the HP took HM on her 80th anniversary cruise round the islands, to deposit her at Stornoway to be flown away from the airport. Her route now goes in reverse. This year, there's a slightly sour taste to proceedings. Apparently, the Hebridean Princess was chartered for a cruise, which was cancelled - requisitioning I call it. Is that what you call HP sauce? Meanwhile, I wish HM a pleasant holiday.

Hurricane update - 22 July

The National Hurricane Center is advising that a new tropical cyclone has formed in the southern Bahamas, and advisories will be initiated at 11 am EDT (1500 GMT). Tropical storm watches and warnings can be expected for the Bahamas and southern Florida. Please monitor progress through the NHC website.

Immigration - part 2

Many thanks to those who responded to my first post on this subject yesterday. It struck me that opinions diverged sharply. Connie and Frances, as American citizens, disagreed with my take, whereas Carol, Sybil and Yasmin (Europeans) did agree. In the UK, there is a natural barrier against illegal immigration, commonly referred to as the English Channel or the North Sea. Illegal immigration still takes place, but they need to go to a lot of bother to make the crossing. Those in the southeast of England are familiar with the sight of illegals jumping from the backs of trucks on the M2 and M20 motorways. In terms of numbers however, we're talking about a few hundred a day - not the thousands that flood across between Brownsville and San Diego.

I agree that those wishing to enter any country should do so legally. At worst, illegal aliens could be terrorist recruits, seeking to carry out an atrocity. However, the problem that is confronting the US at this time (and has been for the past couple of years) is here to stay. Building a barrier stretching the length of the US / Mexican border is not working. I cannot imagine that any decent person would condone shooting illegal aliens on sight. For the rest of this post, I'll focus on those that are present in the US at the moment.

What to do with the illegal immigrants currently already in the United States? Well, some say that illegals should not receive any state support, food, healthcare, housing etc. Really? Would you be prepared for the sight of the homeless multitudes thronging the sidewalks of your cities, starving, dying, left to rot? I don't think so either. An extreme option, but one worth flagging up.

Sending them back will present huge problems on account of the sheer numbers we're talking about. I remember an idea mooted by President Obama of an amnesty for all illegals, and start from scratch. It's what I call pragmatism, but probably politically not palatable. Those subject to the amnesty will be offered support, but on certain conditions - a programme of integration in American society could be considered. Those who do not adhere to the conditions will be expelled. Anyone found crossing the border illegally after the amnesty is ended will be sent straight back - irrespective of circumstances.

Where I come from, there is a saying: "The best ship's captains stand ashore", meaning that it's very easy to pontificate from the sidelines. I'm in Europe, where the problem of illegal migrants is of a far lesser scale than what the Americans are facing. I hope the American administration is able to formulate a policy that mixes compassion with firmness, satisfactory to old and new residents alike.

Thursday 22 July

A nice sunny day, with a northerly breeze. That keeps the temperature down, but I'm not complaining.

Yesterday, British prime minister David Cameron dropped quite a clanger, when he referred to the United Kingdom as the junior partner in the early years of the Second World War - implying that the US was taking the lead. Far from it. The US did not get actively involved in WW2 until Germany and Japan declared war in December 1941.

A yachtsman and his family were rescued from their yacht near Rubha Reidh [pronounce: Roowa Ray] lighthouse on the Scottish mainland, near Gairloch. When their steering failed, the strong winds were threatening to send the yacht onto the rocks. The yacht let off distress flares and sent out a mayday call to Stornoway Coastguard. Their helicopter flew across the Minch and winched the occupants of the yacht to safety. Stornoway Coastguard praised the yachtsman for his prompt call for help and knowledge of correct procedures in case of an emergency.

The night before, Stornoway Coastguard could practically walk to a casualty yacht, which had grounded itself on rocks at the Sgeir Mhor - which lies behind the Coastguard Station. The RNLI lifeboat went out and helped the yacht back into deep water.

Wednesday 21 July

Not a very nice day today. Although it is dry, there is this grey cloud cover and strong wind and the mercury at a very mediocre 12C / 54F. It should get better on Thursday and Friday.

Last night at midnight, the analogue signals from the television transmitter at Achmore were switched off permanently. They were replaced by digital signals, which can only be viewed using a Freeview decoder. Modern tv's come with an in-built decoder, older sets need a separate box. At midnight, I switched on an old TV without decoder and watched BBC1, until the signal disappeared a few minutes later. Don't worry, I'm not deprived of TV. Not that I watch it that much; the 550 channels on Sky are mainly full of the brown stuff.


Achmore and the transmitters on the top of Eitsal; 27 May 2005.

Immigration

There is a lot of discussion going on these days about immigrants, legal or otherwise. I'd like to say a few words about the amount of hot air going up in the States on this subject. From the pages of the blogs I read, I pick up a deal of resentment about Mexicans sneaking across the border illegally, and subsequently given all the perks that many Americans lack: housing, healthcare, social security and so on. Without speaking a word of English.

Call me a bloody-minded European, but I'm allergic to this manner of talk. First of all, virtually nobody in the United States has any right to moan about immigration. Why? Each and everyone of you is descended of immigrant stock. Whether that's going back to the times of Christopher Columbus or to last week, that is the simple truth of the matter.

The only people in the US who have a genuine right to complain about illegal immigration are the native Americans, often referred to by that misnomer "Indians". They reached the American continent 30,000 years ago, across the Bering Sea landbridge, which linked Asia to America. The native Americans lived in their vast continent without hassle until about 1500 AD, when the Spaniards, Portuguese, English, French, Dutch and many others thought they had a god (sic) given right to invade, occupy, murder, slaughter, pillage and rape for all they could.

However, we should not live in the past, and I genuinely do not bear any ill will to the America of 2010. Even as recently as 1995, we could see what happens if you do hark back to events from centuries ago - the Balkan wars of 1991-1995 were justified by referring to a battle in 1389. I would suggest however that the USA should continue to welcome immigrants as it always has. I appreciate that the world continues to change, as it always has, and that there are groups of people about that you can do without.

If there are folk in the States who feel hard done by, because the illegals get things that they themselves are entitled to, but not getting, well - speak to your Congressman.

Hurricane update - 20 July

A tropical disturbance is moving over Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, leaving very large amounts of rainfall behind. The Virgin Islands and surrounding islands report rainfall totals of up to 8 inches (200 mm). The National Hurricane Center in Miami is warning that there is a high (60%) likelihood that this could turn into tropical storm Bonnie by Thursday. The projected path could take the system into Florida in a couple of days' time.

Just to reiterate: no tropical cyclone has formed and it is not certain that one will actually form. 

Please monitor the NHC's output for further updates.

Tuesday 20 July

Quite a nice day, with a lot of brightness and even sunshine about. The mercury once more topped 18C / 64F, which is an acceptable maximum for this part of the world. Here in Stornoway, the Hebridean Celtic Festival organisers are offering money back to those who purchased drinks tokens for the concert on Saturday, but were unable to buy drinks due to the 90 minute waiting time.

Those who have been reading my blog output for a long time may remember that there was a fire at the mail distribution centre on Sandwick Road in November 2007. It gutted the place, and the ruin has been sitting there ever since. The mail is since being distributed from a site on nearby Rigs Road. A final solution could now be on the card, if a local company can organise a swap of sites with the Royal Mail.

The burned-out mail centre immediately after the fire in November 2007

In August last year, the Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny Macaskill, released the Lockerbie bomber Megrahi to "go home to die". At the time, Megrahi was thought to have a life expectancy of 3 months. We're now 11 months down the line, and Megrahi is still alive. The American government has never been happy with that decision, and US senators want to discuss the issue with the UK prime minister David Cameron. Kenny Macaskill has said that the issue was one for the British government. I think Mr Macaskill is trying to dodge his responsibility. It was (and I quote him): his decision alone. No pressure from the Foreign Secretary (then David Miliband), who was quite happy to leave it all to the Scottish Government.

Monday 19 July

After watching the ceremony at Fromelles, I went on the bus to Ness, in the north of Lewis to visit an acquaintance in the village of Eoropie, near the Butt of Lewis. It was a nice, sunny afternoon with a gentle breeze and quite acceptable temperatures of around 18C / 64F. I had wanted to go to Ness to see the machair flowers, for which the Outer Hebrides are famous in July. Unfortunately, the recent spell of high winds appears to have blown them all to bits, as there were only buttercups and bog cotton in evidence. On the way back, two llamas were spotted in the village of Skigersta.


Llamas


Road to the Butt of Lewis at Eoropie (pronounce: Yoropee)


Butt of Lewis lighthouse as seen from Eoropie


West of Eoropie on the coast: Cunndal


Village main street, Eoropie


5 July 2006 - machair flowers

Fromelles

Today, it is 94 years ago that a battle was fought during the First World War at the French village of Fromelles. A burial pit containing the remains of the dead was discovered in 2008, and the task of identifying them is still on-going. This morning, a service is conducted at Fromelles for the reburial of the remains of an unknown soldier. Watching the ceremony live on BBC News, most impressive. I link to the BBC News website for background information.

Sunday 18 July

More of the same weatherwise: rain in the morning, clearing to sunny spells and windy conditions. Temperature rather better than of late, with the mercury rising to 18C / 64F in the sun. The force 5 winds made it not attractive to sit outside.

With regards to yesterday's concert, the general tenure of reactions is that people were less than impressed for the same reasons that I quoted. It is a shame, because the band is one of my favourites, and the Heb Celt Fest is a great occasion. Today's two ferry sailings were packed with revellers returning to the Scottish mainland.

My position overlooks the Newton Basin in Stornoway, and the causeway which links Goat Island to the rest of the town. The causeway was built in the late 1940s, but was already being discussed in the 1880s, according to this evidence from Donald Smith, a 49-year old fish-curer who spoke at the hearings of the Napier Commission at Stornoway on 11 June 1883. The island he refers to is Goat Island; curing stations are the locations where the herring girls would gut and pack herring at the rate of 60 per minute.


I believe we would need [...] to remove the curing stations on the south beach, which should not be there, and [...] connect the island with the street that runs along the shore. If that was connected, the curing stations on the south beach could be removed there. If the Harbour Commissioners of Stornoway could get from £6000 to £10,000 at a cheap rate of interest, it would be a great boon to the town, and would give great facilities to boats in landing their fish. At present there are only a few boats that come to our wharves to land fish. They are obliged to come to anchor in the harbour, and employ small boats at a cost to the fishermen of £600 or £700. They have to pay £ 2 or £ 3 each boat per season for landing their fish, whereas if we had this additional breakwater, that would extend from the island to Newtown, all the fishermen could land their fish there, and save a good deal of money, as well as remove these from the south beach. We had no less than three serious accidents to children, who were run over during the last fortnight, from the want of accommodation for the traffic, and we do not see any way to get rid of it unless we can secure some place for the stations.

Saturday 17 July

Another rather autumnal day, weatherwise, with temperatures only at 13C / 55F, and frequent spells of rain or drizzle. The main event of the day was a concert by folk-rock band Runrig, which was the star attraction for the Hebridean Celtic Festival. There appear to have been 5,000 people in the big blue tent (this picture from 2007)

What was not very well organised was the provision of refreshments. Runrig last played in Stornoway in 2005, and at the time, the concert lasted until 1 am. Bearing that in mind, I purchased a token for a beverage  in advance, and joined the queue upon arriving at the tent. It took 90 minutes for me to reach the bar. I am kicking myself for the stupidity of waiting, because I missed half the concert as a result. However, it should not take all that time to serve drinks at a concert like this, and it was poorly organised. The band Runrig played only for two hours, running off an easy run of old ditties, and only three Gaelic songs (Stornoway is the centre of Gaelic culture). It left me very disappointed and disgruntled.

What has not affected me directly, but is another major gripe, is the lack of accommodation. The whole of the HCF, which ran from Wednesday until last night, has probably attracted 20,000 people. The problem of beds becomes apparent if I tell you that the total population of Greater Stornoway is 7,500, and that of the whole island of Lewis 20,000. A lot of people ended up camping, but, as my blogposts have intimated, the weather has been singularly inclement this week. Camping isn't really enjoyable - and in addition, the terrain around the big tent was quite muddy. One acquaintance of mine was injured in a fall, resulting from the bogginess.

I'm beginning to reach the conclusion that it is fantastic to have an event like HCF here in Lewis, but the number of people it attracts is too big for this island and this town to cope with.

Friday 16 July

Not a very good day weatherwise, feeling cold in the wind and there is occasional light rain. Went into town, which is quite busy. The Hebridean Celtic Festival is now in full swing, and the big blue tent is up. Last night, I could hear some of the music wafting across from the Castle Grounds, a mile away.


Sailing ship Oosterschelde alongside pier no 1


International flags along South Beach Street


Hebridean Celtic Festival signs by the ferry terminal

Thursday 15 July

Pouring with rain today, and a cold northerly wind. The forecast is for the rain to persist for the rest of the afternoon and possibly the evening. The adverse weather is exacerbating the disruption on ferry routes to Lochboisdale and Castlebay (in the south of this island chain). The usual boat, MV Clansman, is out for repairs and its replacements rather smaller. Apparently, people ran out of space, sickbags and everything else, alleging that cattle were treated better than they.

From Holland, a story of trees blown down, steeples lifted off churches and trees blown over railway tracks. After a heatwave, with temperatures into the mid 90s, a thundery breakdown moved over the east of the country, wreaking havoc.

Condescension

At the hearings of the Napier Commission in Stornoway, in June 1883, the following discussion developed between the witness, Donald Martin from the village of Back and the Commissioners. It illustrates graphically the attitude towards Gaelic speakers by English speakers - including their own clergymen.

16138. Sheriff Nicolson.
—Are there no Gaelic words for 'compensation' and ' improvements ' ?
—Well, I would endeavour to express it in Gaelic.

16139. Is there not a good Gaelic word for improvement ?
—Yes.

16140. Why did you not put it in Gaelic when you were writing the Gaelic paper? Why did you choose English ?
—Because I was not certain that the Gaelic phraseology would express the same thing.

16141. If you never heard the people speaking, or if you had never spoken yourself about compensation for improvements in Gaelic, what first put it into your head ? Was it English-speaking people ?
—I knew very well what the English phrase meant, but I was not sure that I could express it quite accurately in Gaelic—that my Gaelic expression would be a quite accurate rendering.

16142. I asked that question because Lowlanders and English people will be apt to think that Gaelic people have no idea of improvement, and that they have no word for it. You understand what I mean ?
—I knew myself the meaning of the phraseology quite well.

16143. Is it not a pity that strangers should think that Gaelic people have no idea of improvement and no word for expressing it ? Is it not likely to put it into their head that the ideas of the people were got from outside, and not out of their own heads ?
—Perhaps it is.

[---]

[Rev. Mr Cameron, Free Church, Back.
—I wish to explain that the delegate or witness is in the habit of reading the newspapers for himself, and it is there he saw the words 'compensation' and 'improvement.']

Wednesday 14 July

The French are celebrating their national holiday, Bastille Day today. In French, it is "Quatorze Juillet", which is the day in 1789 that the infamous Bastille prison was stormed in Paris, which sparked off the French Revolution.

Here in Stornoway, a warm wind is blowing today as the ferry comes in on the first of its three calls today. It will bring another load of festival goers. This week will see the Hebridean Celtic Festival, with an (eye-watering) 20,000 revellers expected to pack the streets of Stornoway - which is a town of barely 8,000. On the water, this week sees Sail Hebrides, with an action packed programme on water and ashore. I'm attending a concert by folkrock band Runrig, which has been going since the late 1970s. They last played in Stornoway in 2005, a concert that I went to as well.

Tuesday 13 July

A fairly bright day with a lot of high cloud, but also pleasant sunshine. The amount of flies around signifies that high summer is here. The mercury is at 17C / 63F, which is quite pleasant and average for this part of the world. Tomorrow will probably be broadly the same, as a frontal zone passes far to our east.

Spent the morning resolving the query that I reported in my previous query. By the way, anyone for some parsnip cake?