Picture post - 3 March

Ballantrushal Stone and view from the Stone


Shore at Shader


At Shader


Steinecleit and Loch an Duin

Jamie Bulger

Seventeen years ago, the UK was shocked by the abduction and brutal murder of toddler James Bulger. His murderers were two boys, aged 10. Jon Venables and Robert Thompson had befriended the little boy in a shopping centre in Bootle near Liverpool and led him away - an image caught on CCTV, and etched on the memory of anyone who followed that story in the 90s. The two were found guilty and sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure. They were released on life licence in 2001, with new identities. Jon Venables, now aged 27, was recalled to prison after being found in breach of the terms of his licence. Details of the breach have not yet been released.

Wednesday 3 March

A bright and sunny day, although it remains cool. Out of the wind and in the sun, it felt quite warm this afternoon. I was out and about, marking a walk from Shader to Ballantrushal, taking in two ancient monuments. There is an old homestead at Steinecleit, close to Shader; and Ballantrushal plays host to a 20 ft high monolith. My attempts to find a moorland loch behind Steinecleit foundered in the bogs. I was quite surprised to notice quite a bit of snow in shaded parts of gardens in Laxdale and copious amounts on the Barvas Moor, 350 feet above sealevel.

I'll put up pictures later this evening.

On the way back, the bus driver had his radio tuned to BBC Radio 1, the pop radio station, and they set out to prove that teachers are "wild". One female teacher, her voice disguised, stated she was wild. She professed to being in class hung-over following a heavy drinking session the night before and unleashing a particularly malodorous fart by the blackboard. Right. So that's wild, is it? I call it unprofessional.