Saturday 22 March

Well, well, cloudscapes galore. It all looked so innocent earlier on, but the showerclouds are bubbling up big time. Wow.

Friday 21 March

Heavy wintry showers, interspersed with brilliant sunshine. Typical March weather, and only about 7C / 45F. Nonetheless, not too bad, really.

Thursday 20 March

After mother Nature threw a night-time tantrum, screaming winds and throwing rain around, we are now having a bright and fairly sunny morning. It is now colder than of late, 7C / 45F, which is below par for late March. However, I do not readily complain of the weather here. Always interesting! Happy spring everybody. I've seen wet snow, hail and rain today, but what do you expect in March. Lion is roaring loudly today.

Wednesday 19 March

Another day of force 7 winds, which are likely to reach a galeforce crescendo today. The wind direction will then change from southwest to northwest and it'll get a bit colder. At present, it's 10C / 50F - but in the south of England, it could get as high as 20C / 68F. Their temps will plummet to our values by the weekend, and we could see some wintry stuff. This temperature contrast also explains the strong winds. Apart from the wind, there is also some rain about. Gusts to 65 mph at Eoropie, sustained windspeeds about 30 mph. Good blow this afternoon. No ferries in or out of this island - it's been a very windy winter. A brief powercut around 9.30pm.

Was watching Putin yesterday, and did anybody else see the little trail of smoke issuing from the flames emanating from the man's coat tails? What am I on about? Liar, liar, your tail's on fire.

I have done a fair amount of work on casualties of the First World War, but even today, two more people were killed through ordnance from that conflict.

Tuesday 18 March

Weather seems to be stuck in a rut, this is about day #5 of hazy sunshine, blustery west wind - followed by rain. Gale tomorrow, beware if you're due to travel by Calmac. Many routes on amber alert.

A poll could be held to determine if the Scottish islands, the Northern and Western Isles, would want to become independent from Scotland or the UK. Thumbs down from me. I already don't believe in Scottish independence, and I have even less faith in the islands' councils. Sorry.

Monday 17 March

A man was reported missing this morning. Sadly, his remains were found in a gully off Sgaoth Aird, above Maraig in North Harris. Mr Edward Jackson, a holiday maker from Preston, was due to leave for home yesterday, but his hotel room was not vacated.

Overcast and once again windy, although not quite as windy as over the weekend. Remaining fairly mild, 10C / 50F this afternoon. The rhodondendrons continue to burn in the Castle Grounds, wonder if that isn't turning into a Forth Bridge job - never-ending.

A row is emerging about the future role of Lews Castle. Will it be a hotel, or a self-catering unit? Looks like both. Local self-catering providers fear competition from the 30 units in the Castle. A meeting will be held in 10 days' time to allay fears etcetera.

Went for a walk to the harbour, and the old Monaco is slowly being chopped to bits. The town is being cheered up with colourful blooms.

Sunday 16 March

Typical Hebridean day, with sunshine interspersed with fine drizzle, blown along on a strong westerly breeze, for the third day running. 11C / 52F? I'm not complaining.

Crimea voted to join Russia. Oh yeah, like we're all hugely surprised at this communist-era like vote of 95.5% in favour. Only those in favour seem to have come out to vote. Another milestone passed in this dangerous saga. Signal remaining firmly at amber.

Continuing to check the records for more Stornoway based casualties from WW1. Although a dozen have emerged, some appear to have been born away from the island, from island parents.

Saturday 15 March

Overcast and windy this morning, although the sun is just coming through the clouds! We continue with a westerly wind at force 7, 30 mph. It is not cold, although the 10C / 50F we're having at the moment is easily offset by the strong wind. Nonetheless, spring is in the air, with the blackbirds singing their heads off at dawn and dusk.

The missing Malaysian airliner remains missing, and could be anywhere from Kazakhstan to the Antarctic. I don't think anyone is left alive who left Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of last Saturday.