Picture post - 6 February

Monday 6 February

A sunny and nearly cloudless day, which saw the mercury soaring to 9C/ 48F. It tempted me out for a walk of just over 4 miles to the Iolaire Memorial, outside Lower Sandwick. Recent heavy rainfalls have left the ground sodden, but otherwise it was fairly easy going. I'm uploading pictures as I type this entry, but will post a selection in a later entry.

It would appear that Syria's president has taken heart from the veto at the UN Security Council from Russia and China, against a motion of censure against his regime. His forces have been shelling civilian areas of several cities in his country. I really wonder what the difference is between Muammar Gadaffi and Hafez al-Assad. Why could Gadaffi be bombed out, and Assad cannot?

The disused water tower at Knockaird in Ness (here in Lewis) has been offered for sale for a bargain price of £19k. All services will have to be laid into the edifice, and it is an extremely exposed location, on the top of the hill above Port of Ness.

Sunday 5 February

The weather today was of variable clouds, and occasional showers, temperature the same as over the past few days. Replenished the birdfeeders with seeds and peanuts, which kept the sparrows, starlings and collared doves happy. Judging by the plethora of white splodges on the grass below the feeders, it all seems to go straight through them.

I have continued my researches into the WW1 casualties, a topic that has been on my agenda over the past five years this coming May. I try to gather up as much information as possible about each of the nearly 1300 casualties from this island and give each man his own page. This will then show a portrait photograph (I have more than 400 of those), any tributes from the local paper, a summary of his service record, specific medals and tributes - and a picture of his gravestone, if one exists in a local cemetery. The website I am putting it all on is a bit of a mess, so I'm keeping it private for the moment.

Saturday 4 February

The day started off with galeforce winds and heavy rain. The wind subsided, followed by extremely heavy rain, with hourly rainfall rates of 16 mm (3/4 ins) reported on the Stornoway and Aberdeen rainfall radars. By 2pm, the sun came out and it remained bright and sunny, and not too cold at all. What's all this fuss about winter, I wonder?

Well, there was this overnight low of -20C / -4F in eastern Holland. As I type this (7.30pm UK time), it has already gone down to -15C there. Reports of heavy snowfall all over England, with possible overnight lows of -12C. I'm glad it is not affecting our neck of the woods for a change. In fact, we're doing very well, thank you.

I enjoyed having a look round the Ancestry.co.uk site for innkeepers in Stornoway in the 19th century. I have summarised the findings on my local history blog Pentland Road. I also found out what a tidewaiter was. He was a customs official who would attend incoming shipping. The one I encountered on the 1851 census was also an innkeeper. Are the two jobs compatible? Well, at around that time, an official in the Lews estate, Donald Munro, managed to balance 32 different hats - few of them compatible with each other.

Friday 3 February

Another bright day, but cloud gradually increased through the day, leaving us with some rain by nightfall. As I type, the temperature in eastern Holland has crashed to -15C, not far above zero Fahrenheit. Here in the Western Isles, we have held on to +5C / 40F all day. It is quite windy today.

Earlier this week, representatives of Scottish Fuels, which supply fuel oils to the north of Scotland, were in town to meet with disgruntled islanders who are complaining bitterly about the price of fuel. At the moment, it's about £1.55 a litre, for my American friends, that's more than $9 a US gallon. No clear answers were forthcoming, and what I heard about it, it was more an exercise in passing the buck than answering questions. The fact that a local councillor is high up in the hierarchy of the company doesn't help proceedings.

Thursday 2 February

Another bright and fairly sunny day, but remaining cold. I should not complain, as the 5C on the thermometer is probably above average for the country. As I type, Altnaharra, on the north coast of mainland Scotland, is rapidly approaching -8C. However, eastern Europe would find that positively balmy, as their daily max is well below -10C. Reports from Serbia speak of 11,000 people cut off in their remote villages by snow. Our forecast, here in the islands, speak of the mercury going back up to 9C in a few days' time.


Thirty years ago, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. They were expelled after a brief but bitter war, which claimed several hundred lives on both sides. The Argentinians continue to claim sovereignty over the islands, a claim augmented by the presence of oil reserves under the South Atlantic seafloor. Prince William is currently on a tour of duty in the Falklands, something the Argentinians have taken quite badly. I don't think it serves any constructive purpose to be antagonistic from either side.

Wednesday 1 February

It was fairly bright today, with the chilly southeasterly wind continuing. It is associated with a very strong area of high pressure over Siberia, 1065 mbar. That's equivalent to a whopping 800 mm on the old mercury barometers. The all-time record stands at 1085 mbar, 814 mm. The result is a surge of extremely cold air into eastern Europe. The temperature in northwestern Russia went down to minus 36, and not much warmer elsewhere in eastern Europe. The frost will be halted by the North Sea, and I am in the mildest place in the United Kingdom, in matter of fact.

Today, I was contacted by the Hebridean Archives service with a question about the wargrave of a German submariner. He had washed up dead on a now-derelict island off North Uist, 70 miles south of here, and was buried by islanders back in 1918. Otto Schatt was 31 when his U-boat was sunk off Malin Head. His remains were carried 200 miles north to end up on Heiskeir. In death, all are equal, and I have no qualms about including Otto Schatt in my remembrance of the Great War.

31 January 1953

Yesterday, it was 59 years ago since the ship MV Clan Macquarrie ran aground at Borve. All its crew were saved from the vessel thanks to the breeches buoy.

The hurricane force winds that drove the Clan Macquarrie on the rocks at Borve also blew out the window and frame of a house in Barvas, and is rumoured to have demolished the water tank for that village.

The storm brought catastrophic flooding to southern parts of England and southwestern Holland, claiming 300 lives in England and 2000 in Holland. A further 133 lives were lost in the North Channel, when the MV Princess Victoria was sunk, en route from Stranraer to Larne. The total death toll stands at 2554.

My father remembers the night of the stormflood. He lived at Arnhem at the time, and was trying to cross the bridge across the river Rhine in the city. He had to hold on to the railings to make it safely across.

It was low tide at 6pm on Saturday 31st January 1953. The people on the southwestern coast of Holland found the water at the top of the dykes protecting their towns. Six hours later, the 17 foot storm surge slammed through the dykes in dozens of places and proceeded to inundate the islands of the southwest. Film footage from the time shows the nightmare that followed. I refer to this search result of Google for a selection of images. The word watersnoodramp means stormflood disaster, and is the name given to this catastrophe in Holland.

Tuesday 31 January

As January draws to a close, the knighthood was stripped off Fred Goodwin, erstwhile boss at the Royal Bank of Scotland. He is the fall guy, although by no means without guilt, held responsible for all that went wrong in the banking sector in the UK some 4 years ago. Fred the Shred had his knighthood shredded, I'd say. He is still pocketing £650k a year as a lifelong pension. Pity he (and other guilty bankers) couldn't be clapped in jail.

Here in Stornoway, a meeting was held this evening between disgruntled islanders and the boss of fuel wholesaler Scottish Fuels, Sam Chambers. I am awaiting reports of the meeting, but am not holding my breath on an imminent reduction in fuel prices by 15 to 20 pence. The problem is that a fuel tanker plies the waters of northern Scotland, delivering fuel oils to places like Inverness, Scrabster, Kirkwall, Stornoway and the Uists. Petrol prices in Inverness are some 15-20 pence lower than in Stornoway, in spite of the fact that the juice is delivered by the self-same boat. A previous meeting between Mr Chambers and the local council led to acrimonious scenes outside the council offices in Sandwick Road here.

Monday 30 January

A bright and fairly sunny day, but show your face outside and it is bitterly cold. A brisk southeasterly breeze whistles through the town, and even if the mercury stands at 6C / 43F, it feels more like well below freezing. Frost will be the order of the night in days to come, with hard frosts in mainland glens. Living within a few dozen feet of the sea, the mercury should keep close to zero at night. Frosts do occur regularly here, but tend to be less severe due to the proximity to the sea.

Two local policemen have become celebrities on the internet after they were pictured taking to the guitar and drums while on duty. They were on active duty at the time, but Northern Constabulary have not come down hard on the bobbies, saying the men were engaged in community policing – which is not always heavy going. To quote Gilbert & Sullivan: “A policeman’s lot is a happy one”.

As I type this, the light fades as the sun dips well below the horizon. Sunset time is 4.40pm, which is more than an hour later than at the solstice, in late December. Even at sunrise, we have gained 40 minutes, with sunrise now by 8.35 am. We’re slowly climbing out of the deep valley of winter.

Sunday 29 January

A bright and at times sunny day, but feeling very cold in the southeasterly breeze. Visibility is very good, as I can clearly see the Applecross Forest (no trees, but hills of more than 2,000 feet), 60 miles away. Glancing at the forecast for eastern Holland, they're going down to -14C as an overnight low by the middle of this week. Fortunately, us in the Western Isles will keep the mercury between zero and +4C through the week. Went on a Sunday morning stroll through Stornoway, which is dominated by empty streets, full of parked cars (of people in church).


James Street


An Lanntair and South Beach


Francis Street


Cromwell Street


Stornoway Town Hall, inside from outside

Saturday 28 January

One of those days, which start off wet and only gradually improve. Not worth writing much about. Even the pictures I took today are of raindrops. I did some research into this island's WW1 casualties, and dug out some information on two of them that was not immediately apparent when I made the listings back in 2007. Apart from the Roll of Honour, I also obtained information by visitings local war memorials and cemeteries. Local historical societies were also quite helpful. I am using the Ancestry.co.uk site at the moment, after a lot of help from Berneray based researcher Direcleit.

A week in pictures

Saturday 21st


Sunday 22nd


Monday 23rd


Tuesday 24th


Wednesday 25th


Thursday 26th


Friday 27th

Friday 27 January

A bright and sunny day, with some nice cloudscapes. We started off with a -2C overnight low, and as the sun rose, there was still a slight hoar frost. Spent the day on a new tribute site, which will involve copying all the information on WW1 casualties into one site. The site is not public, and the 1300 names will take quite a bit of work.

An asteroid has passed the earth at a distance of about 37,000 miles, a quarter of the distance to the moon. The object, measuring only 37 feet across, shot by us at 4pm local time. Now that darkness has fallen, the moon, Jupiter and Venus are gracing the southwestern sky.

Homes in Orkney have been scanned for the presence of radon gas. Radon is radio-active and is produced by naturally occurring uranium in rocks like granite. Upon formation, the gas seeps out of the rocks and can accumulate in homes built on top. One home in Stromness is reported to have 3000 times the accepted maximum concentration inside. Adequate ventilation is usually sufficient to prevent problems. Radon can contribute towards lung cancer.

Auschwitz Memorial Day

Today it is 67 years ago since the infamous Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp was liberated by Soviet forces. More than a million people, mainly Jews, were killed there during the Second World War. The process was conducted as an industrial process. To date, some of the goods left behind by the victims of the Holocaust remain on display. These include suitcases with name tags, spectacle frames, hair and shoes. I have never visited Auschwitz and am not likely to. January 27th is Holocaust Memorial Day, remembering all the victims of the Nazi's policy of extermination of all those they considered to be sub-human. We must never forget. 

Thursday 26 January

A day of mixed fortunes, but the dominant theme was wet and cold. There was some brightness, particularly later in the afternoon when the heavy showers moved away east. The ferry service was restored to normality, after yesterday's strong winds prevented the Clansman from docking at Stornoway. The vessel is not usually on this route.

The young man that was found dead in Inverness on Sunday apparently succumbed to hypothermia. His funeral is to be held at the Habost Cemetery in Ness, North Lewis, tomorrow afternoon. A funeral service is to be held at the Cross Church of Scotland, followed by burial at the new cemetery. There have been a few deaths too many of young people in recent weeks and months.

This year will see the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War. Between 2nd April and 14th June that year, Argentina and the United Kingdom fought over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. The Argentinians lost 649 troops, the UK 255 and the Falklanders themselves 3. The vexed issue of sovereignty has not been resolved - not satisfactorily in the eyes of the Argentinians at any rate.

Wednesday 25 January

A very wild day in Stornoway, with plenty of wind and plenty of rain. The Clansman (currently our ferry) took 7 hours to cross from Ullapool to Stornoway, quartering off the coast of Lochs in a force 8 gale for several hours. I don't want to even think about that.

It is Burns Night tonight, but I'm afraid there is no haggis, tatties nor neeps on my dinner plate. It is a chicken korma with rice, heated courtesy the microwave oven and rice boiled in plain tap water. What Robert Burns would have made of the current furore over the independence referendum we shall never know. I salute Robert in spirit, not necessarily with spirits (although I'm known to take a dram on occasion). I reproduce the poem A Man's a Man for a' that

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that;
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that.
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an' a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man's a Man for a' that:
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, an' a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that:
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's abon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that;
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

Tuesday 24 January

An overcast day, which led on to rain and later wind. Tomorrow should see another gale, with gusts to 60 mph. Our freight ferry is once again not doing its overnight run on account of the poor forecast.

Tonight, Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, has delivered a speech on his plans for Scottish independence. I have previously made clear my opposition to Scottish independence, for political as well as economic reasons. I should add that I take particular exception to Mr Salmond's policy of creating divisions between the Scots and the English, playing on past (perceived) injustices, inflicted on the Scots by the English.

His continual references to the battles of Culloden (1746) and Bannockburn (1314) remind me of comparable references being made in Ireland to the battle of the Boyne (1689), and in the former Yugoslavia with regards the battle of Kosovo (1389). We all know what happened as a result of such references in the aforementioned regions. Rather than harping on about the past, Mr Salmond should look to the future.

As far as that is concerned, he reminds me of your average American foreign intervention. The US went into Iraq in 2003 without giving prior consideration to what was to be done once Saddam Hussein was ousted. That was the easy bit, it took less than a month. Establishing a stable successor state took about 8 years, well, the Americans withdrew last year, but Iraq is by no means stable. Alex Salmond has not given proper thought to what it takes to run a country either - other than referring to Scotland's oil. Does he want to join the Euro? Bad idea at the current state of affairs. Does he want to retain the pound sterling? What is the point of becoming independent then, I'd wonder.

For pragmatic reasons, I maintain that Scotland becoming independent is a bad idea. The way the idea is being pursued by Mr Salmond makes it an even worse proposition. My opinion.

Oh, on a final note, before I close this rambling diatribe. Someone suggested that Orkney and Shetland might want to stay in the UK. Well, I think they'd rather join with Norway in that case. And perhaps the Western Isles might want to follow suit.

Monday 23 January

Last night, the Northern Lights put up a nice display over Lewis, but further north in Shetland, the display was positively dazzling. I could even see the aurora from my position on the southern edge of Stornoway, i.e. through all the light pollution. Tonight, at 10pm, no aurora is in evidence. I am told that tomorrow and Wednesday night (given clear skies), more aurorae are possible.

More bodies have been recovered from the Costa Classica cruiseliner, which sank off Italy 11 days ago. I remember a visit by the Costa Classica to Stornoway in May 2006, which was timetabled for a Sunday afternoon. That was a poor bit of planning, because anyone in the tourism industry knows that nothing moves in Stornoway on Sunday - shops are closed, visitor centres at attractions around the island are shut as well.

Today's weather in Stornoway was cold but pleasant, with broad sunshine interspersed by occasional showers. These were accompanied by bright rainbows. I'll post images in a later post. 

Sunday 22 January

A bright and sunny day, but with a cold northwesterly wind. The morning started with a steady procession of showers, but they dissipated after lunchtime. I went for an amble to Goat Island (across the bay from my position), but found the wind quite nippy. The mercury is at 5C / 41F at the moment.

The ferry came back from being stormbound in Ullapool, and returned to the mainland 10 minutes early. After completing the evening run from Ullapool, the MV Isle of Lewis will sail to Birkenhead for its annual refit. The MV Clansman will take over for the next couple of weeks. The latter vessel is slower, so the timetable will be stretched a bit.

A man of 68 did not return to his B&B in Stornoway as planned and has been posted missing by police. A lad of 16 was posted missing in Inverness yesterday, but after a search in the city this morning, his body was found. It strikes a jarring chord in this island after the death through murder of a 16-year old two months ago. Liam Aitchison was buried at Daliburgh at the end of December. The cause of death of Scott Campbell in Inverness is being held as unexplained by police.