Friday 11 January

Another fairly bright and coolish day out here in the Western Isles. The Beast from the East is threatening snow to the east coast, but out here in the west we won't be as severely affected. In the Castle Grounds, they are doing a lot of maintenance, and burning off the debris. Quite visible from my position.



Apart from the five lost in the hurricane of 2005, the turn of the year also marks the death of a young merchant navy cadet in 2008, who disappeared following a Boxing Day dance at Daliburgh. He was let off a minibus, but ended up dead in nearby Loch Bi - only a few miles from where the family of five perished in '05. In December, it was the 8th anniversary of the grounding of a fishing boat at Arnish Point. Its autopilot had gone wrong, steering it straight into the cliffs below the lighthouse - but nobody had been on watch. The skipper died after helping his crew to escape the sinking boat.