Wednesday 5 September

Day started drizzly, but that turned into a veritable downpour around lunchtime. Fortunately, this did not last, and the sun came out again after 3pm. It is really noticeable now that autumn is fast approaching. When the sun went down (at 8 pm), it got cold quite quickly, and at time of typing (10.45pm) it is 6C / 43F. It is quite busy with tropical cyclones; the Atlantic season has just sprung into life, with Gordon coming ashore in the American state of Mississippi, and Florence growling her way towards Bermuda, now as a category 4 hurricane. I have spent a fair amount of time on the Open Streetmap project, marking out residences in and around Stornoway. This is useful for the many apps that use OSM, and as I know Stornoway quite well, I'm able to add a lot of extra information. Others also contribute; for instance, someone added the Gaelic for mosque (mosg) to the Island Mosque on James Street. My little sin, Open Geofiction, is reserved for spare minutes. Of which I do have one or two.

 Morning rain

 Afternoon sunshine

Evening sunset

Tuesday 4 September

Today started bright but cold, and there was decidedly a nip in the air at sunrise. It was mostly cloudy for the rest of the day, but the sun did put in an appearance every once in a while. The shop was heaving at lunchtime, but the girls at the checkout were pleasant and helpful as always. Obtained a replacement garden incinerator; they last for about six months, before they rust and fall to pieces. Very useful for burning cardboard and old papers, particularly when you only have a fortnightly bin collection. Ferry service in the Uig triangle (Uig - Tarbert and Uig - Lochmaddy) is up the spout, with the regular ferry MV Hebrides out of action because of an electrical fault. Anyone travelling from Tarbert has to come to Stornoway, 37 miles to the north, to catch a ferry to Ullapool - from where it is 160 miles back to Uig. The Lochmaddy to Uig service is operating, but with an amended schedule.

Stornoway at 7.15 this morning

Sunday 2 September

A quiet day, an inside day. It was quite windy, and it rained pretty much all through the morning and afternoon. So, time to put paperwork in order, jot down some things to do through the week, get the laundry done and all those little chores. Forgot to take the ready meal out of the freezer 12 hours before putting it in the microwave - so a change of menu was in order. Sausages, scrambled eggs and baked beans. The sun came out after 6pm, and the evening was quite bright. Did a little reading, continued my OGF project (one of my on-line sins). All in all, a pretty average Sunday.

Saturday 1st September

Summer's over. OK, the equinox is still three weeks away, but you know what I mean. Summer's been over here in the islands since it left us in July. That's usually the way of it. It's been a quiet Saturday, with not much happening. The hurricane updates keep me occupied for a quarter of an hour three times a day, and I supply what information I can to each of the Iolaire victims that is remembered by the Iolaire Working Group on Facebook each day. I found myself in Tesco on a busy afternoon, for the papers and a few bits and pieces that were required for the weekend. Dinner was a chicken kiev with runner beans and potato mash. Weather? Cloud and sunshine, with the odd drop of drizzle.



Shaking my head at a party grandee who has done his party the worst possible disservice - I'm of course referring to former SNP member, leader and first minister Alex Salmond. He has a talkshow on RT. Good gawd, Putin's mouthpiece. What an absolute gaffe from a foreign policy perspective; just as well the man never became leader of an independent Scotland.

Did I mention that Hamish Macbeth is airing again at the moment on True TV? 6pm on weekdays, you can find the channel on Freeview channel 68 (if in the UK).

Nearing midnight, the day is over. Good night. 

Maria

Hurricane Maria struck the US dependency of Puerto Rico in 2017. Until very recently, the deathtoll was put at a risible 64. Today, this was upped to 2975. The damage is now quoted at an eye-watering $139 billion. Without wishing to compare suffering, the response to the devastation wrought by Maria jars with that to Harvey's devastation in Texas and Louisiana, some weeks earlier. It took nearly a year for full power to be restored to Puerto Rico, to but name a sore point.

This year's hurricane season, thus far, is quiet. However, the peak will occur on September 10th, and the season won't end until November 30th.

13 years ago today

The hurricane in focus on 29 August 2005 was of course Katrina, one of the most devastating tropical cyclones to affect the US mainland in modern times. Although it had weakened prior to landfall in New Orleans, its impact was devastating. This entry is dedicated to the memory of those lost in that disaster, in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast.


Gulfport

Broken down

Loch Seaforth adrift in the Minch

Since 2015, the MV Loch Seaforth, has been on the Stornoway - Ullapool ferry route, and proven to be a reliable vessel that can handle the sometimes rough conditions in the Minch admirably. However, last Wednesday, 8 August, things went very badly pearshaped. Upon leaving Loch Broom, heading northwest towards Stornoway, the vessel started to slow down and one engine was shut down. This was due to a failure in the cooling system. The second engine also shut down, closely followed by a complete power failure. Toilets were out of action, no steering, no propulsion - for more than an hour. The master requested assistance, and the lifeboats from Lochinver and Stornoway both raced to the scene to stand by. The Coastguard tug Ievoli Black was also contacted, but her services were not needed in the end, as the ship's engineers managed to get her underway again at 12 knots (as opposed to her customary 19). The lifeboats shadowed the ferry into Stornoway, where Loch Seaforth arrived three hours late, at 3.45pm.

What followed were repairs, seatrials in the early evening and a resumption of services at 10.15pm. Although the Loch Seaforth is quite capable of making up for lost time, making up six hours is a tall order. As I type this, on Saturday afternoon, she is still three hours behind. It is only the absence of a scheduled freight service tonight that will allow a resumption of normal service tomorrow. This has had a substantial impact on tourist traffic, freight traffic (which Loch Seaforth carries at night) and everybody's travel plans. Bus company Citylink has had to put on special coaches to carry people at the abnormal times. However, all will be back to usual on Sunday. Phew!

Open letter to Donald

Hey, Donald!

Yes, Mr President, it's you I'm addressing, from only a few miles outside your mother's ancestral home near Stornoway, Scotland. You're older than I, wiser and more experienced. But we can all learn from each other, and I hope you are prepared to at least listen. When someone gives you advice, don't just politely acknowledge that people make sounds. Act on it.

When the Queen of England expects you to keep a step behind her, follow that expectation. Don't just barge in ahead of her.

When the FBI says something, it is not a partizan statement. They KNOW.

Vladimir Putin is not America's friend. He is, at best, her competitor. At worst, her enemy. He was laughing all the way, last Monday.

When you make a statement, stick to it. Don't just gauge the reaction and then backpedal. You will be regarded as unpredictable and weak.

Don't shoot the messenger - the press. Don't brand something as "fake news", when it displeases you in the media. They are there to hold you, and other politicians, to account. Because in politics, it's not all about making a deal. It's about people's lives. The lives of all 7 billion of us. Including your own.

I'll wave at 5 Tong, the next time I come through the village. Take care.

Piper Alpha - 30 years on

When this post is published, it will be exactly thirty years since the first explosion ripped through Piper Alpha, which stood about 120 miles east of Aberdeen in the North Sea. A number of subsequent explosions destroyed the platform, leading to the death of 167 men. I refer to the Wikipedia article for a more detailed account.

This post is in memory and tribute to those lost on Piper Alpha.


Image courtesy Researchgate.net

The above image shows a buoy, marking the site of the wreckage of the Piper Alpha platform. The platform in the background is Piper Bravo.

Novichok

So the UK is all away with the fairies at the soccer World Cup. Where is that being held again? Russia. Hold that thought for a moment. By the way, the acronym for World Cup is - precisely.

So the UK government is all away with the fairies at Chequers, tearing each other's hair and eyes out over that inexecrable piece of dog's breakfast otherwise known as Brexit. Referendum held 742 days (that's a little over two years) ago on whether the UK should stay in or leave the European Union. No thought was given to what leaving the EU would actually mean, that would all come out in the wash. Well, it is, it's worse than a poorly dyed t-shirt in amongst your white undies. Prime Minister Theresa May in charge of a government which relies on the nation's prize bigots, a political party from Ulster, to achieve its parliamentary majorities. In charge of a government whose members are actively undermining her, and thereby the nation's, authority. Don't worry, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition are equally divided, led by a man who will ever only be effective as leader of the opposition.

Move 80 miles from Westminster, and you'll find yourself in the quaint Wiltshire town of Salisbury. Move 9 miles from Salisbury, and you'll find yourself in the sleepy village of Amesbury. Walk a mile or two from Amesbury, and (after paying a king's ransom) you'll stand amidst the ancient standing stones of Stonehenge. Stonehenge is innocent. The 21st century neo-druids come there twice a year to celebrate a solstice, winter or summer, and the tourists are fleeced there on a daily basis, but nothing untoward has happened there. Salisbury and Amesbury have been sites of a state-sponsored terrorist attack.

It is bad enough that, by all appearances, the Russian state has attempted to kill its former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury using the nerve agent novichok in March 2018. Nasty stuff by all accounts. Look at the on-going clean-up in the town, one I know and used to love. Its dreaming spire - now in the shadow of novichok. However, it gets a whole degree of magnitude worse when novichok turns up on the hands of two innocent residents of Amesbury, who are now in hospital, likely to stay there for weeks or months, with no certainty of a cure or any residual effects. Where the novichok came from is, at time of writing, anyone's guess. Left behind, accidentally or deliberately?

Who says that this is not the insidious start of a campaign, sponsored by the Russian state, to destabilise the United Kingdom? The UK made a creditable start on it, all by itself, by voting to leave the EU and not having a clue about what that would entail. But I would not be surprised to find more novichok turning up in the months and years ahead, slowly and gradually instilling an eventually paralysing fear into the population, slowly increasing frequency and severity of attacks, eventually overwhelming the health services, fomenting public unrest and panic? Do not forget that Mr Putin, now basking in the limelight of the soccer WC, is a former KGB agent. Do not forget that he has a proven track record of fomenting unrest and instability in whichever country, former USSR or not, that he sees fit to target.

Siting the aforementioned two attacks near Porton Down is also a clever ploy. Novichok is being held at Porton Down, so it is easy to suggest that it was released from there in order to cast blame on the Russian state.

Maybe I am wrong, I sincerely hope I am. But if anything, I agree with those that say that the eye is hopelessly off the ball, and too much on the balls being kicked around for the soccer WC. Too much, even on the dog's brexit.

An t-Iuchar

July has come, and we have temporarily lost the sun that saw out June. Yesterday, temperatures reached 19C / 66F, and it did not start to cool down properly until nearly midnight. A coldfront has now moved across, bringing us rain and declining temperatures. Being able to sit out until nearly 8pm (which was when the sun sank behind the trees) made it an extra special end to June.

July is the prime month for tourism in the islands, although it has been busy since my return here, early in May. Motorhomes, campervans (whatever you want to call them) throng the island's roads, and particularly the hotspots like Harris are full of them. Stornoway is also full of them, some parked across three or four parking bays in the supermarket carparks overnight. Anybody is welcome to visit, in whichever mode of transport they see fit. It is up to the local authorities, in conjunction with tourism bodies and local groups, to supply the amenities needed for things like motorhomes. It is an old discussion; I remember that a VisitScotland discussion board was closed down in 2007 after Berneray residents filled it with abuse against campervans.

Water, water everywhere

Scottish Water have requested that the residents of Stornoway and surrounding villages use water wisely. We have had three weeks with no measurable amounts of precipitation, and the reservoir that supplies the area is running low. They are topping it up from another loch, a few miles to the north, but still: short showers, no baths, clean your car with a bucket not a hose etcetera.

Image courtesy Hebrides News

Tuesday 29 May

It's been many months since I last posted in Atlantic Lines. For most of that time I was in Holland, but I have now returned to Stornoway. As I type this, the full moon is rising, as another sunsplashed day draws to a close. It's been warm the last few days, 18C / 64F. Last Sunday, I was able to tag along on a drive to Harris, to show a visitor the beaches on the West Side of that island. Luskentyre was admired from Seilebost; it was impossible to park near the beach. On Sunday, everything is closed in Tarbert, the main village in Harris, except for hotels and restaurants. It's been nearly a year since I last crossed the Clisham, and it was nice to be back.

Developments

Although away from the island, I do keep an eye on what goes on there. Two things jumped out at me in recent weeks.

First, a visitor centre related to the Iolaire Disaster is to be built in Stornoway. I have frequently highlighted this tragedy over the years I've been in the island. Next New Year, 2019, it will be exactly a century ago the sinking of the HMY Iolaire off Holm Point. The 205 souls lost are currently commemorated in graveyards across Lewis, as well as in the memorial on Holm Point. It is good that more prominence is being give to this key event in the island's history. I completely understand why people were previously reluctant to discuss this; grief is a private matter. However, with the passage of time, it is perhaps appropriate to share it with the world, thereby lessening its poignancy. I hope so.

Secondly, the arts centre An Lanntair opened last Sunday, 28th January, to screen a film. This gave rise to vocal protests by Sabbaterians, who feel that this is a violation of the Sabbath. I can never help but note that pubs are also open on a Sunday in Stornoway.

January 2018

I left Stornoway on November 16th, 2017 for family reasons. There are also personal reasons for this protracted absence from the island, and from this blog. Currently in Holland, I would normally refer to the Shell Gallery blog as per previous years, but I am not blogging there either. Facebook is my primary medium at present. My heart remains in the Hebrides, even if I'm not there.

9 November - Reichskristallnacht

9 November 1938 has gone down in history as the Night of Broken Glass [Kristallnacht]. That night, an organised mob of Nazi forces and sympathisers went on the rampage in towns and cities across Germany, smashing and destroying Jewish-owned property and businesses. It was a foretaste of 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.

Hitler had already been allowed to get away with murder for several years beforehand. In 1936, he occupied the Rhineland which had been ceded to France at the end of the First World War. The League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations, cried wolf but had no bite. On 12 March 1938, Nazi forces marched into Austria to join that country to Germany, an event referred to as the Anschluss. Neville Chamberlain flew to Munich to meet with Adolf Hitler on 30 September 1938, returning with the infamous phrase: "Peace for our time". Six weeks later, the Reichskristallnacht took place. Only a few months later, Germany invaded the Sudetenland area of Czecho-Slovakia, and again, nobody moved a finger to stop. In September 1939, Hitler thought he could get away with the invasion of Poland. But this time, it prompted a declaration of war, signalling the outbreak of the Second World War.

The lights have gone out in Europe, it was said at the time. The lights in Europe had already been extinguished in 1914, and had not been relit, not even at the end of the First World War. The Versailles Peace Treaty of June 1919 contained all the ingredients for another war, which duly materialised.

After the unspeakable atrocities of the Second World War, Germany was divided into four by the victorious allies. The British, French and American sectors became West Germany, whilst the Soviet sector was turned into East Germany, a communist state. Berlin was similarly divided. Until 1961, people from the East fled to the West in droves. A barrier was erected across Berlin in August 1961, later replaced by a high, concrete wall. Similar barriers were put up along the borders between East and West Germany. Anyone trying to flee from East to West was shot on sight, no questions asked. The advent of Mikhail Gorbatchov as leader of the USSR in the 1980s heralded a start of change. And when this wind of change blew across eastern Europe, it blew away all the communist regimes within the space of a few months in 1989.

The Berlin Wall was torn down on 9 November 1989, and you can see the dilemma. Do we remember the Kristallnacht, and not celebrate the reunification of Germany? Do we celebrate the reunification, and ignore the Night of Broken Glass? Maybe the two can be reconciled.

The Berliners remember the Kristallnacht in a very low-key but poignant manner. Every year, in the evening of November 9th, candles are left on the doorsteps of houses that were ransacked that night.


The flame, burning at the top of this post, is my candle of remembrance for Kristallnacht.

Friday 3 November

The clocks went back on Sunday, and the sun is now setting at 4.30pm. At solstice time, in 6 weeks from now, sunset will occur at 3.35pm. We are now into the short days leading up to Christmas; Hallowe'en has been and gone, and Guy Fawkes (an English phenomenon) will be celebrated this weekend. On 5 November 1605, Guy Fawkes had planned to blow up Parliament in London; but it all went horribly wrong and he met his end on 31 January 1606. A fireworks display commemorates this event. Looking across the North Sea, St Nicholas will put in an appearance around November 18th, with a reigniting of the debate whether Black Peter should be black, and (more to the point) whether St Nicholas European style should be superceded by St Nicholas American style (Father Christmas).

Friday 27 October

In these islands we rely on ferries for all our supplies, both of goods and of people. During the winter months, these ships all have to undergo their annual overhaul in a drydock. This means that other vessels have to cover a run whilst the regular ship is away. Here in Stornoway, this means that we now have our old ferry Isle of Lewis. Things have not been going smoothly this week; the boat has been an hour late coming in on its evening call. Ferry company Caledonian Macbrayne have this SMS (text message) service which advises those who wish to be informed of disruptions. They do get it wrong.

Yesterday, the message read that MV Isle of Lewis had arrived in Ullapool at 1734 (5.34pm) and departed Stornoway at 1818 (6.18pm). Now that's a fast turn-around. Discharging and loading the vessel, sailing the 50 miles to Stornoway, then discharging and loading again and sailing once more, all in the space of 43 minutes? Wow!

Wednesday 25 October

A few weeks ago, I attended the funeral of a local friend. The lady in question was only 55, and although I was aware of long-standing health problems, her death came as a shock. What came as an even bigger shock was the funeral. The attendance was close to 1,000 which did not fit into the building of the Free Church Continuing in Sandwick. The deceased had been a pillar of the local community, being active in all sorts of roles. She was a well-liked and respected figure, so the fleeting, single reference to her name was took my breath away. That was the only time she was referred directly. In certain parts of presbyterian Scotland, when you have died, the remains have to be put in earth - the soul has departed. Until recently, graves were hardly if ever revisited. I don't want to appear disrespectful - it is one of my cast-iron principles to live and let live - but it rather jarred with the personality of the deceased.

I am aware I have now published two posts on the subject of death, so I'll try to change the topic.

Tuesday 24 October

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity for a lift to the district of Uig, 35 miles west of Stornoway. It was a cold, windy afternoon, and the village of Erista (where I was dropped off) lies at an exposed altitude of 60 metres (200 feet) above sealevel. It felt positively cold when I ambled down the road past the old church (now being converted into other uses) and down to the former manse, Baile na Cille. That's Gaelic for Church Town. It features a small but ancient burial ground on a promontory above the Uig Sands. Visibility was not that great, and I've been there before in brighter conditions. My lift-givers were visiting an ageing relative whose memories of recent past were dim, but very clear on the distant past. It resonated with me that the very old among us are lonely at the top, looking down and back at their past. In the case of the person I'm talking about, they looked down on the village of their youth. From a "great" height. A height that will soon become insurmountable. Personal circumstances also echoed, as I have relatives in similar circumstances. My gloomy mood was not improved by the realisation that this was one of the last sights seen in his life by Torsten Kulke, the German man who went missing on cliffs at nearby Aird Uig in July. His remains washed up round the corner on Cliff Beach.

Road to Aird Uig (right)
Former Uig church at Timsgarry
Uig Sands, with Baile na Cille bottom right
Baile na Cille cemetery
Bay at Baile na Cille