Thursday 19 May

A morning post, just for a change.
The route that the Olympic Torch will take across the UK next year was announced yesterday. The Isle of Lewis will see it on July 11th, but the relevant page on the London 2012 website only highlights sights-to-see in the town of Stornoway, and omitting the Callanish Stones - although a picture of them does feature on the page.

Osama bin Laden has spoken from beyond the grave. Well, Al-Qa'eda have released a video of him recorded before he was killed on May 2nd. An analyst has pointed out that Al-Qa'eda and the USA both wanted to get rid of the tyrannical regimes of Egypt and Tunisia - but the outcome desired by the protagonists is vastly different. The USA is hoping for western-style democracies (see that happening in a hurry??), Al-Qa'eda wants strict Islamic laws introduced (see that happening in a hurry??).

The Select Committee on Transport is currently sitting in Stornoway, to hear evidence about the proposed changes to the Coastguard service. Only for the UK Transport Secretary to announce that the proposals have been ditched, and something else will be thought out. Goes to show what pester power can do - an long-running campaign has been fought against the reduction in CG services.