The Calmac ferry you see moored alongside the ferry pier is the MV Isle of Arran, which is poised to take over from the MV Isle of Lewis. Our usual ferry has had to undergo repairs, which are allocated for this afternoon and into Wednesday. The Isle of Arran, a stand-by vessel, is much slower, and as I type this post (10.30pm), it is running 1½ hours behind even its adjusted schedule. I'm expecting people off it, so it's going to be a late evening. But that's nothing new.
The demolition of the old Nicolson Institute is progressing apace, and now the canteen has been taken down. Its kitchen apparatus lies crushed on the site. It appears that they are recycling some of the materials, released by the demolition.
Finally, fuel prices seem to be creeping up again. I could not resist snapping this image of the price board on the petrol station a quarter of a mile down the road from me. For my American readers, these prices equate to (roughly) $9 a gallon (US). Further south, prices are as high as £1.55 a litre. If you go to Dingwall, 20 miles north of Inverness, petrol is £1.30 a litre, and it is shipped there in exactly the same tanker that delivers our fuel. Don't ask.
