Tuesday 16 March

Having spent most of the day on this computer, I have yet to post a blog entry. Well, it's 10.40pm, might as well do it now, before I retire for the night.

The day started well, with my camera back from repairs. It was back in working order, even though I had to adjust all the settings back to the way I want them. I could now finally also put the new strap on, which I had bought back in February, just before the thing broke.

I spent the day transcribing the roll of honour plaque in the Uig Community Centre at Erista, which (it being 500 names long) took me a while. My contact over there, meanwhile, appears to be drowning in the St Kilda Centre. It says enough that UNESCO is going to get involved. The St Kilda Centre (Ionad Hiort) is going to be built between the villages of Mangersta and Islivig, on a site from where the islands of St Kilda can be discerned on a clear day. Two other locations, Leverburgh in Harris and Cleitreabhal in North Uist, were also in contention, but were deemed (by consultants Jura) to be less suitable. The acrimony that this created at the end of 2009 has by no means subsided.

View of the Mangersta cliffs from near the proposed site of the St Kilda Centre

I was also pointed to a new resource on New Zealand casualties from the First World War. I have duly sent off for the records of one New Zealander, who (according to my information) has island roots. My files state that Angus Macdonald came from 1 Islivig. Nobody, not even the local historical society, has been able to give me much information, so I've decided to jump in at the deep end and request information all the way from Wellington, New Zealand. Am expecting this back in the course of April.



Islivig