Thursday 7 March

Weather is pretty static at the moment, with a persistent easterly breeze at force 6 and temperatures not much above 5C / 41F. That makes it feel bitterly cold, and is not much of an enticement for going out. I just nipped out for the newspapers. Thursday is the day the Stornoway Gazette is published, but it was not available. The reason being the cancellation of the freight ferry Muirneag, which is unable to safely dock in easterly winds. Easterly winds blow her away from her berth, and have been known to drive her into the Castle Grounds here in Stornoway.

I am reading a couple of books at the moment, one of them being Lewis in the Passing, by local historian Calum Ferguson. About 15 years ago, he spoke to a number of people who were born between 1895 and 1935, about their lives. One story in particulary, from a lady born in 1896, really shows the changes that have occurred in this island over the past century. Much has changed everywhere, but it has been even more noticeable in Lewis. Last year, I transcribed a report from 1912, by Sir John A Dewar. It vividly described conditions, from a doctor's perspective.