As I type this, the M5-motorway in Somerset has reopened to traffic in both directions. The motorway had been closed following a fatal collision on Friday night, involving 34 vehicles, claiming 7 lives and injuring 51 others. The police is investigating the cause for the crash, for which fog, smoke from a fireworks display or excessive speed have been variously blamed.
It has been overcast in Stornoway today, and the wind has blown at force 6 to 7 all day. Not particularly strong by our standards, but noticeable. Gusts are reaching galeforce. Nonetheless, our ferry has completed its customary Sunday crossing, so all appears to be well.
I was saddened to find out about the death of a family friend in southern England at the age of 79. We had known him (and his family) for 35 years, but ill health in both families meant we had been out of touch for about a decade. Nonetheless, without divulging details, I would like to pay tribute to him, as being one of those good people in the United Kingdom that welcomed us into their midst in the mid-1970s. It ultimately led me to move to Great Britain in 1997.
