Sunday 4 September

Quite a nice, sunny day, ended by a spectacular sunset just after 8pm. Sigh, we've lost 2½ hours of daylight (on the sunset side), and the equinox is only just over a fortnight away. Had an easy Sunday, reading more of the Count of Monte Cristo, a book you really need to focus on in order to keep track of all the intrigue and machinations. Quote of the day: "Disgust is even more repugnant than hatred", and that coming from a man that is all about revenge.

A campaign is underway to map the blackspots in mobile phone coverage in the islands. Said he, barely suppressing a snort of derision. When I came to Lewis, I devised this rhyme No Eitsal no signal, as the mobile phone transmitters stand on the top of Eitsal, a hill backing onto the village of Achmore.
When I was in Switzerland, I always had mobile phone coverage. Whether on top of mountains, in valleys or even in the middle of a 22 mile tunnel. The cell information even changed as the train passed underneath different villages in the mountains above. Switzerland thrives on tourism. The Western Isles are heavily dependent on tourism, yet mobile phone coverage is poor. Yes, you can get a signal in town - don't try it at the junction of Kenneth Street and Bayhead. I realise that the number of residents and tourists in the islands are nowhere near the numbers that the Swiss Alps see. But there is no excuse for this appalling state of affairs.