Saturday 17 March

Happy St Patrick's Day to all. It has been a sunny day in the Western Isles, with only one shower to speak off. Across the water, the freight ship Scots Isles is loading up more items for the renewable energy industry that have been produced at the fabrication yard at Arnish. Earlier this week, a plan for wave energy was put on display here in the town, as wave energy is being thought of as the way forward in this part of the world. At least you won't see much of it when it's in operation, in contrast to wind turbines.


Australia has taken a hit from tropical cyclone Lua, which came ashore at the Pardoo Roadhouse northeast of Port Hedland. Winds were at 95 knots at the time of landfall, but as the cyclone moved inland it is quickly weakening. The storm will blow itself out over the Gibson Desert, but not before having dumped vast amounts of rain there.

As their cyclone season moves towards a close, our spring is just around the corner.