As I said in last night's entry, seven years ago I arrived in Lewis from North Uist. And I'm still here. At the time, I had just left Lochmaddy and was making my way north through Berneray. I went on to stay at Kershader for 3 months, then relocated to Stornoway.
MPs have voiced their disapproval of a proposed increase in fuel prices, set to come into effect in two months' time. Certainly in the Scottish islands, fuel prices have gone through the roof. At present, we're paying between £1.44 and £1.53 a litre here in Stornoway (that is up to $9.30 a gallon for American readers), which is held to be crippling. Although we have a good public transport network, many people still rely on their own vehicles to get about. And in October, fares on the local buses were raised as a result of those high fuel prices. The Commons motion I mentioned is not binding on the Government, so the price hike looks set to proceed next January.
Today was a beautiful day in Stornoway, although not very warm. There was hardly any wind, and we had a beautiful sunset. At 4pm. Yes, it's mid-November.
