The Italian Chapel

It is 70 years ago today that the first Italian prisoners of war (POW) arrived on the Orkney island of Lamb Holm. They would spend the next two years reinforcing the Churchill Barriers, which protect the then naval base at Scapa Flow. In between, they also converted two old Nissen huts into a church. In addition to these picture slides on the BBC, I am posting some of my own pics, which I took during a visit in October 2008.

Thursday 23 February

After a slight mishap with my spectacles, I had to attend the optician's first thing this morning. Only to be told that repairs were not really possible. So, I'm going to have an eye test next week and hopefully a new pair of specs soon. I have made a temporary fix on the old ones, but it is a tad annoying.

Today's highest temperature in the UK has been 18.7C (65.7F) in Warwickshire, central England. Here in Stornoway, it has been slightly less warm at 13C / 55F. Still far above normal for the time of year. Everybody will revert back to normal by the weekend. The weather here has otherwise been rather damp and quite windy, with force 7 being the rule.

I have been asked about the condition of Prince Johan Friso of the Netherlands, who was severely injured in an avalanche in the Austrian Alps last Friday. He remains in coma, with apparently a body core temperature of around 34C / 93F, and no change in condition since the accident. Doctors will now not declare when they expect to make a prognosis. Johan Friso's mother, Queen Beatrix, and his wife Mabel are never far from his side; the Queen has even cancelled an engagement to accept papers of accreditation from new foreign ambassadors to The Hague.

Wednesday 22 February

Although the day started out wet, it did clear up and we had a decent amount of sunshine. It felt slightly colder than of late, but I'm still happy with 9C / 48F. Two hundred miles away in Aberdeenshire, they are expecting the mercury to hit 16C / 60F tomorrow.

Spent a couple of hours in the library, looking at the two historical reports I mentioned yesterday: the 1912 Dewar Report (evidence from Lewis and Harris) and the 1902 Crofters Commission for Lewis. I also took information from the Croft Histories of the villages of Sheshader and Bayble in Point, some 6 miles east of here. I need the latter info to double-check my WW1 tribute site.

The island is bemused tonight as the freight ferry Muirneag is not sailing tonight due to bad weather. However, the forecast is not for bad weather. At least, not until tomorrow night. Some wag on Twitter was wondering whether it would be carrying the Olympic Torch to Stornoway in June. The Torch will come here, and like the Muirneag, it never goes out.

Sunshine Colorado Notes

Our J-land community appears to have moved from blogging to Facebooking, but I somehow don't feel quite at home on Facebook. It seems to invite one-liners, just about as bad as Twitter. So, when I have something more to say than can be squeezed into the entry box on Facebook, I return to Blogger. Well, if you're a regular reader, you know I blog here every day.

This post is to highlight David Wheeler's blog Sunshine Colorado Notes. A few years ago, David very kindly sent me a copy of the book about the history of Sunshine, a small mining community, a few miles outside Boulder CO. It was probably typical of many a frontier town of that era (late 19th C) and area, with the go-ahead spirit that comes with that. It was almost as if I was there myself. And although I live quite a few thousand miles away, on the other side of the Atlantic, I felt as gutted as the village when I learned of the devastating wildfire of October 2010. It destroyed most of the houses. Apart from the loss of property, I guess it also ended, whether temporarily or permanently, a way of life for its residents. This was portrayed quite graphically when David had to let go of his faithful canine, Milo, who could not settle away from the village. I know property can be replaced, and the village can be rebuilt. But whether the people will return, and more importantly, its spirit remains to be seen. However, one day I may come across and look for myself. Better keep some of that homebrew ready, David.

Tuesday 21 February

Shrove Tuesday, and no, I haven't had a pancake today. I'm not a pancake eater, as I am full-up after just the one. Those that know me off-line are aware that I'm not averse to food, but pancakes are beyond me above a quantity of one.

Weather today was not very good, overcast and grey, with occasional drizzle. By 4.30pm a serious downpour passed over with rising wind. The forecast is for a gale tomorrow. The only redeeming feature of today's weather was the elevated temperature of 10C / 50C. The east of Scotland may see the mercury right up at 15C / 59F tomorrow. No such luck for the Hebrides, but I don't really mind.

I am sending off another five postcards for the postcrossing project, bringing my tally to 94 when they are all delivered. One is still in the mailsystem, bound for the USA. Over the year I've done this, two never arrived. One was headed for Taiwan, the other for Germany.

I have researched another handfull of men from this island who were lost in the First World War. I am making my way through the Stornoway, which will take me a wee while yet. Another project, equally large, is the transcription of the Napier Report from 1883.
In addition, I want to go and have a look at the findings of a successor commission, which went round the Highlands and Islands in 1902; as well as at the findings of the Dewar Commission of 1912, which led to the foundation of the medical service in this part of the world and contributed towards the setting up of the NHS 36 years later. Both reports (from 1902 and from 1912) are available in my local library, so it's only a 10 minute walk away.

Monday 20 February

After a windy night, the day started wet. However, the sun came out and the wind dropped after midday, leaving us with a mild afternoon. The mercury reached double figures, and it felt quite mild outside. Rather a contrast to yesterday morning's snow.

The thaw has spread across Europe, causing problems on the river Danube in Serbia. The ice has started to break up and move downstream, taking riverside accoutrements such as floating restaurants and ships with it. The cost cannot yet be estimated, but are reckoned to be substantial.

You may remember the case of the alleged murder of Liam Aitchison last November, which was the first murder in these islands in 43 years. Channel 5 presenter Matthew Wright and his team thought it was an appropriate subject for some off-the-cuff humour, but more than 2,200 people disagreed. They lodged an appeal with broadcasting regulator Ofcom, who have now ruled that the program was liable to cause offence. However, as apologies have been profuse and apparently sincere, Ofcom have now declared the matter resolved. No further action against Matthew Wright or Channel 5 will be taken. I will continue not to watch garbage like that.

It was pointed out in a letter to an on-line news website that it took our local council an awful long time (months) to join the campaign against high fuel prices, contrasting to the few weeks that it took them to join the campaign to retain reduced ferry fares for commercial vehicles. At least two councillors have vested interests in the fuel business in these islands. Anyone thinking of a word starting with C?

Sunday 19 February

A cold day, which started very white. Snow had fallen last night, and more fell through the night, leaving us with just a little under an inch on the ground. Most of it had melted by mid afternoon, in spite of a few more snow showers through the morning. The mercury is rising slowly, and is presently at 4C / 39F.

Cromwell Street after a hailshower, yesterday
I was bemused by the news of the two boxers who had a punch-up during a post-match press conference - and they had not even been in the ring together. One taunted the other and they had an off-the-ring bout. Everybody is crying shame, but they do it all the time inside the ring, so what's the fuss? Said he sarcastically.

A climber has died after falling more than 1,000 feet near the summit of Ben Nevis. The circumstances are as yet unclear, but police think it was probably just an unfortunate accident. Although the mountains in Harris are nowhere near as tall as Ben Nevis (the Clisham is shy of 2,700 feet), they are serious mountains. I remember people having to be guided off at dusk in December one year, after their undertaking to traverse the Clisham Horseshoe proved to be too lengthy for the 7 hours of daylight at that time of year.


Clisham Horseshoe, April 2005

Saturday 18 February

And all of a sudden, winter is back. Heavy hail showers pepper Stornoway all day, leaving the place looking decidedly white at times. The strong northwesterly wind makes it feel very cold outside. The sun does compensate, and it is gaining strength every day. It is also rising higher in the sky.

The Dutch prince who was injured in an avalanche yesterday remains in hospital in Innsbruck, Austria, in a stable but as yet life-threatening condition. He is kept in an induced coma. His mother, Queen Beatrix, and his wife, Mabel, have been to see him at his bedside. Doctors say that no prognosis can be made for a number of days, until they lift the coma.

Locally, the ferry Isle of Lewis has finally taken up her duties again, after returning to Stornoway during the night. She sailed for Ullapool at 2.30pm, leaving the Hebridean Isles to complete its last morning run to and from Ullapool.

Friday 17 February

An overcast day with rainy spells at time. Not cold, but that is going to change. Tomorrow, we're in for wintry showers, which will bring 6 inches of snow to the mainland. Galeforce winds are likely to bring blizzard conditions to Highland Scotland. Not a nice day for being out and about.

Snow has caused a skiing accident in Austria, involving the brother of the Dutch crown prince. Johan Friso (43) was skiing off-piste when he was buried under an avalance. It took 15 minutes for him to be extracted, and he is currently in an artificial coma in hospital, dangerously ill. Dutch news media are reporting on the incident continually. The royal family has flown to Austria to be beside the prince's bedside.

Broadband service has resumed more-or-less normality, although there was another brief outage around midday. It appears that all of Stornoway and adjacent areas were affected, with even shops and banks being cut off.

Thursday 16 February

After 42 hours, the broadband connection came back. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I suffered from withdrawal symptoms, of not being able to dash to the laptop to look this up and that up, continue my researches and go on Facebook and Twitter. Now, a lot of that is not exactly hyperimportant, but it does go to show how much the internet has taken over my life. Our lives.

Anyway, it was a nice sunny morning, until those showers put in an appearance after midday. Went for a wee walk to find a mansion along Goathill Road, but the name plaque had been removed from the house that was once called Gowancroft. Will have to ask around which one it was, I think no 3, as shown below

View Larger Map
I am interested, because I was asked about a former resident, who lived there 100 years ago and went away to serve in the Royal Army Medical Corps. For reference, the chap concerned did survive the war.

Wednesday 15 February

The day started overcast and at times drizzly, but the sun took over after 3pm. On time to see the Hebridean Isles off on its late departure for Ullapool.

I have not been around (much) on-line today,due to a protracted broadband outage. I am posting this using dial-up, which is about 50 times slower than my usual broadband speed. There is no firm indication when this problem will be resolved, but hope to be back tomorrow.

Tuesday 14 February

It's Valentine's Day today, so I hope all have had a nice romantic time of it today. Here in Stornoway, the shops have been full of the usual Valentine's paraphernalia, which will be gone by tomorrow. The next revenue spinner on the calendar will be Easter, this year on April 7th.

Today was a grey, overcast day, with a little rain during the afternoon. It was a bit breezy, but we've had far worse. The ferry Hebridean Isles is doing its best to cover the run to Ullapool, but it takes half an hour longer. The result is that it doesn't come back from its last call at Ullapool until 10.30pm, two hours behind schedule. Our usual boat is due back on service by the weekend.

Rangers FC has gone into administration, meaning it loses 10 points in the league table. I am not an expert in tax or bankruptcy law, but judging by the way things have been going of late, there appears to be a realistic prospect of the club being wound up. The ramifications of this would be far reaching.

Glencoe

It is 320 years ago today that the Massacre of Glen Coe occurred. Nearly 80 people were killed, either put to the sword or perishing of exposure in the open.

As a Dutchman, blogging in Scotland, I'm never too proud of the fact that King William was in fact William of Orange, who had come across from Holland to wed Queen Mary in 1688. His track record in England, Scotland and Ireland is poor; the Battle of the Boyne (in Ireland) continues to have ramifications in Northern Ireland. He was on a divine imperative to fight the Catholics, whom he duly defeated at the Boyne.

The demand for an oath of allegiance from the Scottish clans lay at the root of the massacre of Glencoe. The Macdonalds didn't manage to get the oath in on time, and the Campbells were brought in to stay with their arch rivals. The Macdonalds offered them hospitality - and were rewarded with death. Murder is bad enough, but murder under trust is (if possible) even worse. The following inquiry was a white-wash.

In spite of the 1692 atrocity, I do not believe there is any real ill feeling between the Campbells and the Macdonalds. Not on the scale of Northern Ireland, the other legacy of King Billy, at any rate.

Today, a dignified act of remembrance was conducted at the memorial at Glencoe.

From Wikipedia

You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels, the McDonalds of Glenco, and put all to the sword under seventy. You are to have a special care that the old Fox and his sons doe upon no account escape your hands, you are to secure all the avenues that no man escape. This you are to putt in execution at fyve of the clock precisely; and by that time, or very shortly after it, I'll strive to be att you with a stronger party: if I doe not come to you att fyve, you are not to tarry for me, but to fall on. This is by the Kings speciall command, for the good & safety of the Country, that these miscreants be cutt off root and branch. See that this be putt in execution without feud or favour, else you may expect to be dealt with as one not true to King nor Government, nor a man fitt to carry Commissione in the Kings service. Expecting you will not faill in the fulfilling hereof, as you love your selfe, I subscribe these with my hand att Balicholis Feb: 12, 1692
(signed) R. Duncanson
For their Majesties service
To Capt. Robert Campbell
of Glenlyon

Monday 13 February

Quite a nice day, which got increasingly bright. It did not feel cold, with the mercury at 8C / 46F. And we're rapidly gaining daylight hours; I'm typing this at 5.20pm and it's still light.

The local news is dominated by the problems on the ferry services across the Hebrides. Our ferry, the Isle of Lewis was coming out of drydock at Birkenhead when she hit the dockside and sustained damage. This meant that she had to go straight back in for repairs. Meanwhile, the Clansman, which had been covering for the IoL on the route to Ullapool, had to proceed to Aberdeen for her own annual refit. This meant that another vessel had to be dug out, the Hebridean Isles, which normally plies the route between mainland Scotland and Islay. They still have the Finlaggan, but the service there is a bit curtailed. Up here, we find that the Hebridean Isles is rather slower than the Isle of Lewis, giving rise to longer crossings. We're not expecting her back in port much before midnight.

One of the two major footclubs in Scotland, Rangers FC, has signalled its intention to appoint administrators as it is facing a tax bill running into 7 or 8 figures which it cannot pay. A formal decision to go into administration is to be taken within the next 10 days. It would lead to an automatic deduction of 10 points in the league, leaving Rangers 14 points behind their arch rivals Celtic. The supporters of the latter are laughing, with Twitter hashtags like #simplythebust. From a sporting point of view, being a very lukewarm football follower, I would be sorry to see one of Scotland's top clubs disappear.
However, the Rangers and Celtic rivalry stands for an ugly aspect of Scottish society: bigotry. Rangers are said to represent the protestants and Celtic the catholics. It is a reflection of Northern Ireland, and its troubles. Even this afternoon, this aspect reared its head in some of the internet postings on the issue.

Sunday 12 February

An overcast day with some chinks of sunshine in the morning.
The ferry service to Ullapool is now being carried out by the MV Hebridean Isles, as the Clansman is due to go for refit in Aberdeen tomorrow. I thought something was different when I saw the ferry sailing by at 2.30pm this afternoon. The Isle of Lewis is still in dry-dock in Birkenhead, near Liverpool.

I spent the afternoon following someone's ancestry, which spreads from Stornoway to Stonehaven; the latter town is about 10 miles south of Aberdeen. His great-great-grandmother was the wife of the local chief constable, who held the position for more than 20 years, having worked up his way through the ranks. I also dug out a picture of his great-uncle; Am awaiting reply.

Whitney Houston has died. That is sad, and a loss to the world of popular music and showbiz. But does it merit top-spot on the news? I'd think that the Greek crisis is rather more important. By Wednesday, Greece could be out of the Euro and the EU in crisis!

Saturday 11 February

With nearly 2,000 hits from Mauritius, the people there appear to be flocking to my Tropical Cyclones blog as TC Giovanna is grumbling away, 250 miles to the north of that island. The storm is at present a category III hurricane with winds of 120 mph near the centre. It will gradually strengthen as it moves away west towards Madagascar and Mozambique.

Today was a pleasant day, although the sun remained shrouded behind cloud. It felt relatively mild, certainly when compared to the overnight lows of -15C in southern England. We're having spring tides at the moment, leaving us with very low ebbtides. Went out to the Newton Basin and collected 3 oysters and 2 scallops. As I type this, that area is now under 16 feet of water.

I am disgusted with the petulance of grossly overpaid footballers who do not know the meaning of the word sportsmanship. Manchester United played Liverpool (winning 2-1), but beforehand two players from both teams refused to shake hands as they had an on-going feud. My suggestion is to sack both players on the spot for gross professional misconduct. That'll teach them.


The RNLI lifeboat passing the lighthouse


Scallops and oysters


Low tide

Friday 10 February

An uninspiring and grey day, with rising winds and occasional drizzle. The clouds lie low over the hills, sometimes dipping down to 200 feet. Nonetheless, I prefer this to the freezing rain that has affected parts of England, turning streets and pavements into ice rinks. It will be our turn next week to get wintry showers, as a strong northerly airflow comes blasting down all the way from north of Iceland.

Two hurricanes about in the southern hemisphere. Jasmine is running out of puff to the southwest of Fiji, but Giovanna has wound itself up to hurricane strength within 24 hours of actually forming as a tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean. The warnings on that system are only issued every 12 hours, so the interval could well have been shorted. The people in Mauritius and La Reunion are turning to my wee tropical cyclones blog for information; 500 so far today already. Giovanna will bypass them far to the north as it barrels towards Madagascar on Sunday or Monday. Having traversed that island, the storm will regenerate in the Mozambique Channel.

Thursday 9 February

A quiet day, with not much wind and feeling mild with the mercury at 8C. The overnight low in the North York Moors was minus 8C overnight, so that's quite a contrast. The cold air over England is set to be pushed away over the next few days.


This crow has managed to prise a shell from the seabed, after the sea receded with low tide. It drew my attention after I heard the shell clattering noisily to the road. I went down to the bottom of the Newton basin to look for scallops, but the one I found did not look healthy so I threw it away.



I noticed this clutch of whelk eggs at the edge of the water. As I type this, there will be 16 feet of water over it. It's called high tide.

Wednesday 8 February

Grey, overcast and very windy today, with galeforce winds for most of the day. With the temperature at 6C, this made it feel unpleasantly cold. I went into town this afternoon, and hardly anything stirred. The ferry only made its afternoon crossing, the morning one having been cancelled. As I type this, at 9.15pm, it is due in at 10 o'clock, 2 hours late. Other ferry services along the west coast have also been disrupted by the weather.

Looking 600 miles to the southeast, keen disappointment is being felt across Holland after a major 125 mile ice skating race was called off. The Eleven Cities Race through the province of Friesland is a rare event, run over frozen canals and waterways. The ice thickness required, 6 inches, was not universally achieved, some places only managing 2½ inches. As a thaw is expected to set in this weekend, the organisers have decided to pull the plug on the event for now. Last time round, in 1997, some 16,600 people took part. The Netherlands has seen its share of continental cold over the last week or so, with the mercury plunging to -20C / -4F last weekend.

This afternoon, I called in to see a gentleman in the town to give me more information about one of his ancestors, who was killed in the First World War. The story was, as can be expected, a sad one. His uncle and his intended had planned to marry out in Canada, where he was employed with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. However, some idiot fired a shot into an archduke at Sarajevo, which meant that thousands had to line up to face near-certain death on the field of battle or out at sea. John Macaulay joined the Royal Naval Reserve in his native Britain, and got married at Stornoway in January 1917. Fourteen months later, he was lost when his ship, the SS Kenmare, got torpedoed off Anglesey. His wife Catherine never spoke about this again - she died in 1961. Whether she commissioned the adornments to John's grave at Balrothery, Ireland is not known. The adornments included such as railings and the additional inscription "Not dead but sleepeth until the day break and the shadows flee away". A tribute website can be seen here.
On 2 March, I shall remember him on the 94th anniversary of his death. Alongside his nearly 1300 comrades who also never returned.

Tuesday 7 February

A bright day, but with increasing amounts of cloud and rising wind. As I type this, just after 10pm, it is blowing a good force 7 and the rain has started. The mercury has hovered around 7C today, but the strong winds made it feel unpleasantly cold. We are on warning for severe gales overnight.

Over the next few days, we are going to see some extreme tides. The difference between high and low tide will exceed 16 feet, meaning that the Sound of Harris ferry cannot sail at low tide. Its schedule has been revised to accommodate the tidal conditions. Conversely, the plane that lands at Barra Airport can only land at low tide. So, at high tide the plane can't fly and at low tide the ferry can't sail. Long live the Hebrides!

A lady, only days away from her 111th birthday, has died in Norfolk. She was the last person alive who had been actively involved with the First World War. Florence Green was a mess-steward in RAF bases; the predecessor of the RAF was established during the Great War.

Although it is mid-winter, the southern hemisphere is at the height of summer. This means that tropical cyclones are haunting southern latitudes. A storm, equivalent to a category III hurricane, is on its way between the islands of New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The southernmost islands of Vanuatu are on a yellow alert for possible winds to 110 mph; the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia are on an orange alert for cyclonic weather. However, the peak winds, of 130 mph, will stay well away from land. Another tropical storm, Cyril, brought windy weather to Tonga some 24 hours ago, but is now falling apart in the South Pacific.

Picture post - 6 February

Monday 6 February

A sunny and nearly cloudless day, which saw the mercury soaring to 9C/ 48F. It tempted me out for a walk of just over 4 miles to the Iolaire Memorial, outside Lower Sandwick. Recent heavy rainfalls have left the ground sodden, but otherwise it was fairly easy going. I'm uploading pictures as I type this entry, but will post a selection in a later entry.

It would appear that Syria's president has taken heart from the veto at the UN Security Council from Russia and China, against a motion of censure against his regime. His forces have been shelling civilian areas of several cities in his country. I really wonder what the difference is between Muammar Gadaffi and Hafez al-Assad. Why could Gadaffi be bombed out, and Assad cannot?

The disused water tower at Knockaird in Ness (here in Lewis) has been offered for sale for a bargain price of £19k. All services will have to be laid into the edifice, and it is an extremely exposed location, on the top of the hill above Port of Ness.

Sunday 5 February

The weather today was of variable clouds, and occasional showers, temperature the same as over the past few days. Replenished the birdfeeders with seeds and peanuts, which kept the sparrows, starlings and collared doves happy. Judging by the plethora of white splodges on the grass below the feeders, it all seems to go straight through them.

I have continued my researches into the WW1 casualties, a topic that has been on my agenda over the past five years this coming May. I try to gather up as much information as possible about each of the nearly 1300 casualties from this island and give each man his own page. This will then show a portrait photograph (I have more than 400 of those), any tributes from the local paper, a summary of his service record, specific medals and tributes - and a picture of his gravestone, if one exists in a local cemetery. The website I am putting it all on is a bit of a mess, so I'm keeping it private for the moment.

Saturday 4 February

The day started off with galeforce winds and heavy rain. The wind subsided, followed by extremely heavy rain, with hourly rainfall rates of 16 mm (3/4 ins) reported on the Stornoway and Aberdeen rainfall radars. By 2pm, the sun came out and it remained bright and sunny, and not too cold at all. What's all this fuss about winter, I wonder?

Well, there was this overnight low of -20C / -4F in eastern Holland. As I type this (7.30pm UK time), it has already gone down to -15C there. Reports of heavy snowfall all over England, with possible overnight lows of -12C. I'm glad it is not affecting our neck of the woods for a change. In fact, we're doing very well, thank you.

I enjoyed having a look round the Ancestry.co.uk site for innkeepers in Stornoway in the 19th century. I have summarised the findings on my local history blog Pentland Road. I also found out what a tidewaiter was. He was a customs official who would attend incoming shipping. The one I encountered on the 1851 census was also an innkeeper. Are the two jobs compatible? Well, at around that time, an official in the Lews estate, Donald Munro, managed to balance 32 different hats - few of them compatible with each other.

Friday 3 February

Another bright day, but cloud gradually increased through the day, leaving us with some rain by nightfall. As I type, the temperature in eastern Holland has crashed to -15C, not far above zero Fahrenheit. Here in the Western Isles, we have held on to +5C / 40F all day. It is quite windy today.

Earlier this week, representatives of Scottish Fuels, which supply fuel oils to the north of Scotland, were in town to meet with disgruntled islanders who are complaining bitterly about the price of fuel. At the moment, it's about £1.55 a litre, for my American friends, that's more than $9 a US gallon. No clear answers were forthcoming, and what I heard about it, it was more an exercise in passing the buck than answering questions. The fact that a local councillor is high up in the hierarchy of the company doesn't help proceedings.

Thursday 2 February

Another bright and fairly sunny day, but remaining cold. I should not complain, as the 5C on the thermometer is probably above average for the country. As I type, Altnaharra, on the north coast of mainland Scotland, is rapidly approaching -8C. However, eastern Europe would find that positively balmy, as their daily max is well below -10C. Reports from Serbia speak of 11,000 people cut off in their remote villages by snow. Our forecast, here in the islands, speak of the mercury going back up to 9C in a few days' time.


Thirty years ago, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. They were expelled after a brief but bitter war, which claimed several hundred lives on both sides. The Argentinians continue to claim sovereignty over the islands, a claim augmented by the presence of oil reserves under the South Atlantic seafloor. Prince William is currently on a tour of duty in the Falklands, something the Argentinians have taken quite badly. I don't think it serves any constructive purpose to be antagonistic from either side.

Wednesday 1 February

It was fairly bright today, with the chilly southeasterly wind continuing. It is associated with a very strong area of high pressure over Siberia, 1065 mbar. That's equivalent to a whopping 800 mm on the old mercury barometers. The all-time record stands at 1085 mbar, 814 mm. The result is a surge of extremely cold air into eastern Europe. The temperature in northwestern Russia went down to minus 36, and not much warmer elsewhere in eastern Europe. The frost will be halted by the North Sea, and I am in the mildest place in the United Kingdom, in matter of fact.

Today, I was contacted by the Hebridean Archives service with a question about the wargrave of a German submariner. He had washed up dead on a now-derelict island off North Uist, 70 miles south of here, and was buried by islanders back in 1918. Otto Schatt was 31 when his U-boat was sunk off Malin Head. His remains were carried 200 miles north to end up on Heiskeir. In death, all are equal, and I have no qualms about including Otto Schatt in my remembrance of the Great War.

31 January 1953

Yesterday, it was 59 years ago since the ship MV Clan Macquarrie ran aground at Borve. All its crew were saved from the vessel thanks to the breeches buoy.

The hurricane force winds that drove the Clan Macquarrie on the rocks at Borve also blew out the window and frame of a house in Barvas, and is rumoured to have demolished the water tank for that village.

The storm brought catastrophic flooding to southern parts of England and southwestern Holland, claiming 300 lives in England and 2000 in Holland. A further 133 lives were lost in the North Channel, when the MV Princess Victoria was sunk, en route from Stranraer to Larne. The total death toll stands at 2554.

My father remembers the night of the stormflood. He lived at Arnhem at the time, and was trying to cross the bridge across the river Rhine in the city. He had to hold on to the railings to make it safely across.

It was low tide at 6pm on Saturday 31st January 1953. The people on the southwestern coast of Holland found the water at the top of the dykes protecting their towns. Six hours later, the 17 foot storm surge slammed through the dykes in dozens of places and proceeded to inundate the islands of the southwest. Film footage from the time shows the nightmare that followed. I refer to this search result of Google for a selection of images. The word watersnoodramp means stormflood disaster, and is the name given to this catastrophe in Holland.

Tuesday 31 January

As January draws to a close, the knighthood was stripped off Fred Goodwin, erstwhile boss at the Royal Bank of Scotland. He is the fall guy, although by no means without guilt, held responsible for all that went wrong in the banking sector in the UK some 4 years ago. Fred the Shred had his knighthood shredded, I'd say. He is still pocketing £650k a year as a lifelong pension. Pity he (and other guilty bankers) couldn't be clapped in jail.

Here in Stornoway, a meeting was held this evening between disgruntled islanders and the boss of fuel wholesaler Scottish Fuels, Sam Chambers. I am awaiting reports of the meeting, but am not holding my breath on an imminent reduction in fuel prices by 15 to 20 pence. The problem is that a fuel tanker plies the waters of northern Scotland, delivering fuel oils to places like Inverness, Scrabster, Kirkwall, Stornoway and the Uists. Petrol prices in Inverness are some 15-20 pence lower than in Stornoway, in spite of the fact that the juice is delivered by the self-same boat. A previous meeting between Mr Chambers and the local council led to acrimonious scenes outside the council offices in Sandwick Road here.

Monday 30 January

A bright and fairly sunny day, but show your face outside and it is bitterly cold. A brisk southeasterly breeze whistles through the town, and even if the mercury stands at 6C / 43F, it feels more like well below freezing. Frost will be the order of the night in days to come, with hard frosts in mainland glens. Living within a few dozen feet of the sea, the mercury should keep close to zero at night. Frosts do occur regularly here, but tend to be less severe due to the proximity to the sea.

Two local policemen have become celebrities on the internet after they were pictured taking to the guitar and drums while on duty. They were on active duty at the time, but Northern Constabulary have not come down hard on the bobbies, saying the men were engaged in community policing – which is not always heavy going. To quote Gilbert & Sullivan: “A policeman’s lot is a happy one”.

As I type this, the light fades as the sun dips well below the horizon. Sunset time is 4.40pm, which is more than an hour later than at the solstice, in late December. Even at sunrise, we have gained 40 minutes, with sunrise now by 8.35 am. We’re slowly climbing out of the deep valley of winter.

Sunday 29 January

A bright and at times sunny day, but feeling very cold in the southeasterly breeze. Visibility is very good, as I can clearly see the Applecross Forest (no trees, but hills of more than 2,000 feet), 60 miles away. Glancing at the forecast for eastern Holland, they're going down to -14C as an overnight low by the middle of this week. Fortunately, us in the Western Isles will keep the mercury between zero and +4C through the week. Went on a Sunday morning stroll through Stornoway, which is dominated by empty streets, full of parked cars (of people in church).


James Street


An Lanntair and South Beach


Francis Street


Cromwell Street


Stornoway Town Hall, inside from outside

Saturday 28 January

One of those days, which start off wet and only gradually improve. Not worth writing much about. Even the pictures I took today are of raindrops. I did some research into this island's WW1 casualties, and dug out some information on two of them that was not immediately apparent when I made the listings back in 2007. Apart from the Roll of Honour, I also obtained information by visitings local war memorials and cemeteries. Local historical societies were also quite helpful. I am using the Ancestry.co.uk site at the moment, after a lot of help from Berneray based researcher Direcleit.

A week in pictures

Saturday 21st


Sunday 22nd


Monday 23rd


Tuesday 24th


Wednesday 25th


Thursday 26th


Friday 27th

Friday 27 January

A bright and sunny day, with some nice cloudscapes. We started off with a -2C overnight low, and as the sun rose, there was still a slight hoar frost. Spent the day on a new tribute site, which will involve copying all the information on WW1 casualties into one site. The site is not public, and the 1300 names will take quite a bit of work.

An asteroid has passed the earth at a distance of about 37,000 miles, a quarter of the distance to the moon. The object, measuring only 37 feet across, shot by us at 4pm local time. Now that darkness has fallen, the moon, Jupiter and Venus are gracing the southwestern sky.

Homes in Orkney have been scanned for the presence of radon gas. Radon is radio-active and is produced by naturally occurring uranium in rocks like granite. Upon formation, the gas seeps out of the rocks and can accumulate in homes built on top. One home in Stromness is reported to have 3000 times the accepted maximum concentration inside. Adequate ventilation is usually sufficient to prevent problems. Radon can contribute towards lung cancer.

Auschwitz Memorial Day

Today it is 67 years ago since the infamous Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp was liberated by Soviet forces. More than a million people, mainly Jews, were killed there during the Second World War. The process was conducted as an industrial process. To date, some of the goods left behind by the victims of the Holocaust remain on display. These include suitcases with name tags, spectacle frames, hair and shoes. I have never visited Auschwitz and am not likely to. January 27th is Holocaust Memorial Day, remembering all the victims of the Nazi's policy of extermination of all those they considered to be sub-human. We must never forget. 

Thursday 26 January

A day of mixed fortunes, but the dominant theme was wet and cold. There was some brightness, particularly later in the afternoon when the heavy showers moved away east. The ferry service was restored to normality, after yesterday's strong winds prevented the Clansman from docking at Stornoway. The vessel is not usually on this route.

The young man that was found dead in Inverness on Sunday apparently succumbed to hypothermia. His funeral is to be held at the Habost Cemetery in Ness, North Lewis, tomorrow afternoon. A funeral service is to be held at the Cross Church of Scotland, followed by burial at the new cemetery. There have been a few deaths too many of young people in recent weeks and months.

This year will see the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War. Between 2nd April and 14th June that year, Argentina and the United Kingdom fought over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. The Argentinians lost 649 troops, the UK 255 and the Falklanders themselves 3. The vexed issue of sovereignty has not been resolved - not satisfactorily in the eyes of the Argentinians at any rate.

Wednesday 25 January

A very wild day in Stornoway, with plenty of wind and plenty of rain. The Clansman (currently our ferry) took 7 hours to cross from Ullapool to Stornoway, quartering off the coast of Lochs in a force 8 gale for several hours. I don't want to even think about that.

It is Burns Night tonight, but I'm afraid there is no haggis, tatties nor neeps on my dinner plate. It is a chicken korma with rice, heated courtesy the microwave oven and rice boiled in plain tap water. What Robert Burns would have made of the current furore over the independence referendum we shall never know. I salute Robert in spirit, not necessarily with spirits (although I'm known to take a dram on occasion). I reproduce the poem A Man's a Man for a' that

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that;
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that.
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an' a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man's a Man for a' that:
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, an' a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that:
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's abon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that;
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

Tuesday 24 January

An overcast day, which led on to rain and later wind. Tomorrow should see another gale, with gusts to 60 mph. Our freight ferry is once again not doing its overnight run on account of the poor forecast.

Tonight, Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, has delivered a speech on his plans for Scottish independence. I have previously made clear my opposition to Scottish independence, for political as well as economic reasons. I should add that I take particular exception to Mr Salmond's policy of creating divisions between the Scots and the English, playing on past (perceived) injustices, inflicted on the Scots by the English.

His continual references to the battles of Culloden (1746) and Bannockburn (1314) remind me of comparable references being made in Ireland to the battle of the Boyne (1689), and in the former Yugoslavia with regards the battle of Kosovo (1389). We all know what happened as a result of such references in the aforementioned regions. Rather than harping on about the past, Mr Salmond should look to the future.

As far as that is concerned, he reminds me of your average American foreign intervention. The US went into Iraq in 2003 without giving prior consideration to what was to be done once Saddam Hussein was ousted. That was the easy bit, it took less than a month. Establishing a stable successor state took about 8 years, well, the Americans withdrew last year, but Iraq is by no means stable. Alex Salmond has not given proper thought to what it takes to run a country either - other than referring to Scotland's oil. Does he want to join the Euro? Bad idea at the current state of affairs. Does he want to retain the pound sterling? What is the point of becoming independent then, I'd wonder.

For pragmatic reasons, I maintain that Scotland becoming independent is a bad idea. The way the idea is being pursued by Mr Salmond makes it an even worse proposition. My opinion.

Oh, on a final note, before I close this rambling diatribe. Someone suggested that Orkney and Shetland might want to stay in the UK. Well, I think they'd rather join with Norway in that case. And perhaps the Western Isles might want to follow suit.

Monday 23 January

Last night, the Northern Lights put up a nice display over Lewis, but further north in Shetland, the display was positively dazzling. I could even see the aurora from my position on the southern edge of Stornoway, i.e. through all the light pollution. Tonight, at 10pm, no aurora is in evidence. I am told that tomorrow and Wednesday night (given clear skies), more aurorae are possible.

More bodies have been recovered from the Costa Classica cruiseliner, which sank off Italy 11 days ago. I remember a visit by the Costa Classica to Stornoway in May 2006, which was timetabled for a Sunday afternoon. That was a poor bit of planning, because anyone in the tourism industry knows that nothing moves in Stornoway on Sunday - shops are closed, visitor centres at attractions around the island are shut as well.

Today's weather in Stornoway was cold but pleasant, with broad sunshine interspersed by occasional showers. These were accompanied by bright rainbows. I'll post images in a later post. 

Sunday 22 January

A bright and sunny day, but with a cold northwesterly wind. The morning started with a steady procession of showers, but they dissipated after lunchtime. I went for an amble to Goat Island (across the bay from my position), but found the wind quite nippy. The mercury is at 5C / 41F at the moment.

The ferry came back from being stormbound in Ullapool, and returned to the mainland 10 minutes early. After completing the evening run from Ullapool, the MV Isle of Lewis will sail to Birkenhead for its annual refit. The MV Clansman will take over for the next couple of weeks. The latter vessel is slower, so the timetable will be stretched a bit.

A man of 68 did not return to his B&B in Stornoway as planned and has been posted missing by police. A lad of 16 was posted missing in Inverness yesterday, but after a search in the city this morning, his body was found. It strikes a jarring chord in this island after the death through murder of a 16-year old two months ago. Liam Aitchison was buried at Daliburgh at the end of December. The cause of death of Scott Campbell in Inverness is being held as unexplained by police.

Saturday 21 January

Tropical cyclone Ethel has passed the island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. I am not under the impression that it has caused major problems; the Mauritian news media merely state that the cyclone warning has been lifted, after winds of 80 mph occurred.

Tropical cyclone Funso is starting to move away from Mozambique, although high winds are probably still affecting the area around Quetimane. The storm will intensify to 115 knots, but once away from the Mozambique coast is not posing any further threat to land. Its effects have not yet filtered through to the newsfeeds.

Today was a decidedly cold day, with a westerly gale and occasional wintry showers. The ferry sailed to Ullapool first thing this morning, but has remained stormbound there for the rest of the day. She is expected back here tomorrow afternoon.

Friday 20 January

Seventy years ago, leading Nazi figures met at the Wannsee near Berlin to plot the Final Solution to the Jewish problem: mass extermination. As a result, six million people were killed merely because they were Jewish, had Jewish parents or more distant Jewish ancestors. Others who also did not meet the criteria, set out by the Nazis as to what qualified as a proper Aryan person, were sent to a similar fate. One and a half million died at Auschwitz-Birkenau, in present-day Poland, alone, until the camp was liberated by Soviet forces - 67 years ago next Friday. Auschwitz was but one of many camps in Germany and occupied Europe where people were sent to their deaths. The German president has referred to the Wannsee conference as a source of deep shame for Germany.

Today's weather in Stornoway was grey and overcast, with rain moving in during the afternoon. It did not feel really cold (7C / 45F), but that will change. Tomorrow, we can expect severe gales and wintry showers, making for a bitterly cold day.

People in Mauritius are worried about tropical cyclone Ethel, which is bearing down on the island of Rodrigues, 400 miles to its east. Ethel will be a category 1 hurricane as it passes over the island during the next 24 hours, with winds just above the 75 mph threshold. I am not able to access the website of the Mauritian weather service. My own TC blog has so far attracted more than 800 hits today.

Thursday 19 January

The day started well, with the postman bringing the package containing my repaired camera. Although I had the use of someone else's camera, there is nothing like your own. The weather today was not very nice, quite cold with frequent heavy and wintry showers. Rain, hail and snow, blown along on a strong wind. Snow is forecast to affect mainland Scotland tomorrow.

The hurricane season has come to life. In the southern hemisphere, that is. Tropical cyclone Ethel is threatening the small Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues, a few hundred miles east of Mauritius. It could be a nasty hit, as the storm will be at peak intensity, 90 mph. Further west, tropical cyclone Funso is running down the Mozambique Channel between the island of Madagascar and mainland Africa. This storm will not directly affect land, but in five days' time, it will be at 110 mph. And not yet at peak intensity.
As I reported on Facebook, my Tropical Cyclones blog is suddenly very popular, with 1,000 pageviews just today. I have been keeping the TC blog for five years, and this always happens when a cyclone threatens Mauritius or environs. The largest number that ever visited in one day was more than 3,000 in early 2007, when TC Gamede threatened the French island of La Reunion, west of Mauritius.

Wednesday 18 January

Good sunny spells and equally good showers of rain, hail, snow, and kitchen sinks. The Hebrides at their best. Went out for lunch at An Lanntair, and watched the ferry come in - and depart again for its customary early afternoon call. Not much traffic on it, just a lot of lorries. Our freight boat, the Muirneag, is currently off due to high winds. Over at Eoropie, 25 miles to the north, it is blowing a storm, with winds close to hurricane force. That is a slightly distorted picture, as it is a very exposed location. Stornoway Airport reported winds fully at force 7, with speeds to 40 mph. As I type this, 11.30pm, the wind has died down. Tomorrow should bring snow to the mainland, and probably a few flurries up here as well.


There is a debate raging about the referendum on Scottish independence, and I'm heartily sick of it. The current topic of conversation is: who will be eligible to vote. Common sense would dictate all voters on the electoral register for elections to the Scottish Parliament. However, there is a train of thought that says all people who are Scottish born but living elsewhere in the UK should be enfranchised as well. Let's extrapolate this straight into the realms of discrimination and disenfranchise all people in Scotland who were not born in the country.

What put a grim smile on my face today was the news that Donald Trump is seeking to withdraw from the Balmedie golf resort plan. He has built his golf course at Balmedie (6 miles north of Aberdeen), and caused huge upset in Scotland a few years ago as he bullied Aberdeenshire County Council into accepting his outrageous plans, after their planning committee rejected them. I haven't forgotten the vituperation in the Press and Journal newspaper at the time, poured out over the Council who dared to oppose a scheme that would be the salvation of Aberdeenshire, if not Scotland itself. The First Minister, Alex Salmond, did some very odd moves to get the scheme through. And now it might all fall flat on its face. The reason that The Donald has given for his possible withdrawal is the proposed windfarm off the Aberdeenshire coast, which will be within sight of his scheme. Knowing that renewable energy is a keystone of the Scottish Government's policies on the environment and the economy, we can fairly safely assume that The Donald will be withdrawing from The Dunes of Scotland in the next couple of months.

Tuesday 17 January

Although the day started in much the same vain as Sunday and Monday, the weather has taken a turn for  the worse as I type this. It is blowing a full gale and rain is lashing down on gusts to 50 mph. The weather will turn colder after the passage of the cold front, and there will be snow on the mainland hills.

We had the news that the first windfarm on Lewis will start construction in the spring. The turbines will appear along the Pentland Road, 5 miles west of Stornoway. It will destroy any vestige of wilderness in the area, where I have done a fair bit of walking in 2005. I am very displeased at this prospect, but I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done about it.

I was sad to hear that another five bodies were recovered from the wreck of the Costa Concordia off Italy today. I was disgusted to hear the translated exchanges between the liner's captain and the coastguard, which showed that the captain allegedly values his own hide higher than that of his passengers; which are his responsibility. If found guilty of any charges brought (manslaughter has been mentioned), the master of the ship could face 15 years in jail.

Monday 16 January

A fairly bright day, but feeling cold on account of the strength of the wind. The sun put in occasional appearances in between the clouds. The stargazing event, being publicised on the BBC tonight will not lead to many stars being watched in these islands - there is a cover of clouds.

I have completed the transcription of service records of Lewismen in Australian service during the First World War. I have already had positive feedback from the grand nephew of one man, originating from the Carloway area of Lewis. I am in the process of copying the summaries onto the Internet. Although I have not yet tidied up the resulting website, you can have a peep.

After the horse in the house, there was the horse in the bog. The equine in the bog was pulled out in a few hours yesterday. The horse in the house looks there to stay. Personally, I find it completely unacceptable to have a horse in any house. In this particular instance, the horse had pasture in a neighbouring village. However, the horse's owner fell out with the owner of the pasture, leading to the horse being dumped outside its owner's home. She decided to take inside, rather than enlist the offered services of the SSPCA (the Scottish equivalent of the RSPCA) and the local council.

Those reading this post from Holland may remember a song by comedian Andre van Duin in the 70s or 80s about a horse in the hallway.

Sunday 15 January

An overcast day, but with a distant promise of brightness - which never reached here. Temperature remains at around 5 to 6 degrees Celsius.

Have finished looking up the service records for the 70 servicemen from this island who served in the WW1 under the Australian banner. Eleven of them lost their lives; two deserted, never to turn up again. Their names will not be revealed by me.

Five people are now known to have died in the grounding and partial sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy. A lot of questions remain to be answered, the first one being: is there anyone left alive or dead in the wreck. The second is: how on earth could this happen? The captain has said that he hit a rock that was not charted properly. At least he went out of his way to beach his vessel in shallow water, to give everybody the best chance of survival under the circumstances.
From my perspective, going on a cruise has become too much like going on a bus. Apparently, nobody was given an emergency briefing upon embarkation - anyone who ever uses a ferry or plane will be bored by those briefings. Anyway, that's for the Italian authorities to sort out.

Saturday 14 January

It is three months away from the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, but we had a faint echo of that today. The cruiseliner Costa Concordia hit rocks and overturned off the island of Giglio, Italy, late yesterday evening. The news feeds are full of the disaster, which (so far) has claimed the lives of 3 people, with 40 missing. How could such a modern ship go so badly off course in well charted waters and in such good weather?

The weather here in Lewis was quite reasonable today, mainly overcast and about 7C / 45F. Can't expect much better at this time of year. It'll be much the same tomorrow.

Have looked up more service records for Australian servicemen, originating from this island. I have 15 left to look up, out of a total of about 70.

Friday 13 January

Friday the 13th started fairly bright, and before dawn, the moon was certainly bright enough. However, after lunch, the clouds drew in and we were back in the mid-January gloom. It's a bit colder than of late, and we had a frost last night, with the mercury down to -2C / 28F. As I type this, at nearly 10pm, the mercury is at its highest over the past 24 hours, namely 7C / 45F. The rest of the country is beginning to shiver under the first hard frost of the season. The Scottish Borders are down to -4C at the moment. This may not seem much for those of you in the States, who are used to temps to zero Fahrenheit if not below.

I'm continuing my perusal of WW1 service records, and some of them are not a credit to the soldiers involved. There is one, whose name I withhold, who was put on court martial for hitting a serving boy in a beertent over the head with a bottle, after he didn't get served fast enough. The soldier went AWOL for three years and was discharged in full disgrace in 1920. One other just disappeared after he was shipped over to the UK.

Thursday 12 January

Quite an acceptable day, after last night's heavy rain and strong winds. We had regular showers, passing over or nearby, creating a typical Hebridean cloudscape. The sun is less than 10 degrees above the horizon at this time of year, meaning it plays an active part in making for colourful tableaux - which change continually. It certainly underlines one of the many aspects that have kept me spellbound here for the past 7 years. Darkness now falls half an hour later than at the solstice, meaning that it is now still a little light at 4.30pm. We're definitely on the way back up to the long days of summer. But the thermometer has taken a tumble: 4C / 39F.

Last night, I posted about the hurricane of January 2005, which claimed the lives of five members of one family, representing three generations. The North End of South Uist has seen two other accidental deaths in recent years. Archie Steele died after apparently being struck by a car on Monday night near the village of Ardmore in South Uist, a mile or so south of the causeway to Benbecula. And Simon Macmillan was found drowned in Loch Bi, a mile or so southwest of Ardmore, after going missing in December 2008. He was a Merchant Navy cadet, who was returning home after a party at Daliburgh. It took weeks for his body to be recovered from the shallow waters of the loch.

Talking of water, there have been frequent problems with the water supplies in these islands. The visitor centre at the Callanish Stones, 18 miles from Stornoway, has had to close repeatedly last summer after the water supply dried up. This week, the residents of villages around Laxdale, just north of Stornoway, were told to boil their water after a broken waterpipe and a broken sewage pipe were found right next to each other in the district. Last autumn, some islanders in North Uist were boiling their water until they saw blue in the face while Scottish Water got a new part delivered and installed at a water treatment works - with a repeat performance this week. The water company is in the process of upgrading its water pipes all over the Western Isles.

Seven years ago today

11 January 2005 is one of those days that everybody who was in the Outer Hebrides at the time will not forget. A deep Atlantic depression moved past our islands, bringing with it winds of force 12 on the Beaufort scale, with gusts in excess of 130 mph. At the time, I was staying in Kershader, 12 miles south of Stornoway as the crow flies - more like 22 miles by road. At 6.22pm, the power went off, not to go back on again for 48 hours. The wind was already howling around the building. Blue flashing lights penetrated the darkness from across Loch Erisort - police cars were stopping traffic on the Stornoway to Tarbert road after a lorry driver reported a sheep flying past his windscreen. The driver of the South Lochs bus that night was mightily relieved to make it home in one piece, he told me later. Trees were downed, roofs taken off, vehicles crushed under trees - and hundreds of them toppled in the Castle Grounds in Stornoway. High tides lapped at the doors of people on Cromwell Street and Bayhead in the town. Boats were torn off their moorings and smashed into the ferry terminal. Slates became like missiles, and pedestrians blown off their feet. Some who sought refuge were denied entry; others were taken inside.

The next morning dawned breezy and bright. Everybody heaved a sigh of relief. That was a bad one, but it's only damage. By 9.20 am however, reports start to emerge from the Southern Isles. Five people are missing in South Uist, after they fled their home the previous evening at around 7pm. Rising tides had started to approach their home, and pebbles were hurled against walls and windows. They enter two cars and drive from their home at Eochdar towards the causeway, linking South Uist and Benbecula. A fatal decision. That road parallels the stretch of sea that separates the two islands. The southeasterly storm, combined with a springtide from the northwest pushed the waters of Loch Bi up; but on account of the floodtide they could not drain into the sea. The loch flooded a small causeway, sweeping the cars into the water. By morning, the five missing people are found dead. They include a mother and father with two young children and a grandfather. This article on the BBC News website shows their faces.

This is a repost from an entry I made on 11 January 2010.

Wednesday 11 January

The uninspiring weather continues, with more overcast skies and rain. The wind has put in an appearance, and it is currently blowing at 30 mph, that's a full force 7. It should brighten up and get colder over the next few days - but not  for very long, if my reading of the weathermaps is correct.

I am not very pleased at the moment, because my camera has developed a fault. I'm sending it off for repairs, and hope to have it back in service soon. Meanwhile, I'll continue to take pictures, using someone else's camera.

I'm still going through Australian service records from the First World War, and sometimes, the soldier's private life crops up in the correspondence. One young lady wrote to the Army to request the correct address for letters to her intended. She had despatched 30 epistles, but none had arrived, and a degree of acrimony had apparently crept in. Some 3 to 4 years later, the service file includes a transcript of a marriage certificate: to a different woman.

Last night, my researches turned up a deeply tragic turn of events in the life of one soldier. He had gone to France in 1916, but was returned home to Australia after contracting pneumonia. Although the man had recovered from his illness, it left him out of breath at the merest exertion. Six months after repatriation, he once more applied for war service - but was rejected. The army records show he had died after discharge, and I wanted to know if his death was directly attributable to his war service, which seemed likely. Not so. When I accessed the death record, with the help of fellow researcher Direcleit, it showed that our man had hanged himself, at the age of 25. We will never know why, because an inquest ruled that no indication of his state of mind had been apparent beforehand. RIP William Arthur Bawden.

Tuesday 10 January

A wet and breezy day, half an inch has fallen so far today according to local weather stations. And the rain continues to fall. It appears to be the prequel to a spell of colder weather, with wintry showers above 800 feet later this week.

The road appears to be the place not to be this week.

• An elderly man, seen walking along the road in Back (here in Lewis) was found dead only a few minutes later. His demise is thought to have been of natural causes.
  
• What happened to the 49-year old in South Uist, whose corpse was discovered along the main A865 road at Ardmore is not yet known. Just before 10 am, he was discovered along the side of the road a mile or so south of the causeway from Benbecula. As I type this (3.30pm) the road remains closed for police investigations. Northern Constabulary have appealed for information.
  
• Also closed was the C97 road in South Harris at the village of Geocrab. It appears that a crane has toppled over and is blocking the road. Diversions are in place - one look at the map shows it's a pretty lengthy one via the West Side of Harris and Leverburgh.

Independence for Scotland?

The debate on independence for Scotland has suddenly come to life. UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said any referendum should be held as soon as possible, and only consist of the question: independence, yes or no. The Scottish Government, which is led by the Scottish National Party (favouring full independence) had pledged a referendum for independence by the second half of the current parliamentary session, i.e. by 2014 or 2015. They were also planning to include a third option in the referendum question, namely "Devolution Max", which means full fiscal autonomy, but defence and foreign affairs remaining the prerogative of the Westminster administration. It would appear that a lot of political games will be enacted before any referendum is held, but it would appear to be fully on the cards.

It is my personal opinion that full independence for Scotland is not a good idea, for economical and political reasons. The bank bail-out for the Bank of Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland some 3 years ago required £50bn; the GDP for Scotland is £137bn. Had the bail-out fallen to the Scottish Government, it would have wrecked the Scottish economy. The British GDP is £2,500 bn. Furthermore, the current debate is highly polarised, placing English vs Scottish. The Czech Republic and Slovakia parted on amicable terms in 1993. If Scotland and England were to split up, I don't think it will be as amicable.

Monday 9 January

Awoke to blue skies and sunshine this morning, but through the afternoon cloud thickened and this was followed from sunset onwards by rain. It didn't really feel cold today, so I was tempted to go on an amble around town. I also looked up some more service records for Australian servicemen with roots in the Isle of Lewis.


Lazy Corner


North Beach


Lews Castle

Sunday 8 January

The previous post, on the man overboard, was actually post #2000 on this blog. Atlantic Lines has been in existence since October 2008, since AOL kicked its Journal users into the long grass. A successful exercise in self-destruction, which is on-going today. As a blogger, I went onto Blogger. Nothing is perfect, and I continue to find Blogger uninspiring and clunky. It has improved quite a bit, but I'm not exactly enthusiastic. However, it can be worse, so I'm muddling on with what I've got. Wordpress is very user-unfriendly (IMHO), for example.

Sunday was overcast, drizzly and thoroughly uninspiring as well. Roll on Monday.

Man overboard

This vessel is one of several French fishing vessels which put into Stornoway for a crew change. They are usually in and out of port in just over an hour. One of them was involved in a recovery operation, 50 miles northwest of the Butt of Lewis at 2 am last night, when a man had gone overboard. A search was conducted, and the fisherman was recovered from the sea, but was sadly found to have died. The vessel involved, the Jean Claude Coulon II, proceeded to Stornoway, where she was met by the appropriate authorities.

My sympathies go out to the family and friends of the deceased.

Saturday 7 January

A fairly bright day, but with a cold wind blowing. My computer mouse died last night, after more than 3½ years of faithful service, so had to nip out to the computer shop for a replacement. I know several people who are being plagued by the four-footed variety of mouse at the moment, and they'd probably be very happy if their mice just upped and died. In the centre of town, a new shop has been kitted out and is set to open in the next few weeks. It is of the variety where you select an item from a catalogue and then the staff get it from the back. Not inspiring by the least.

I am currently going through service records for Lewismen who served with the Australian forces during the First World War. There were about 60 of them.

Friday 6 January

A mainly overcast day, with the odd brighter interval. Today is the Epiphany, Twelfth Night, so Christmas trees should be taken down today. The Orthodox Christian churches (Greece, Russia &c) do not celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ until today, as they did not implement the calendar shift that Pope Gregory ordained in 1582. Because of the inaccuracies of time-keeping, the calendar was a mere 12 days out of sync so he told people to jump 12 days. Not everybody has recognised this change. At any rate, the Xmas tree and its decorations have been packed away for another 11 months. On 6 December this year, it will make another appearance.

Over the Christmas period, this island raised its eyebrows when a car was removed without its owner's consent and chased down the A858 at Bragar by police. The driver promptly lost control of his vehicle and ended up in the ditch. He was arrested. Crime-levels here are mercifully low, which explains why the murder of Liam Aitchison in November was such a shock. This poor 16-year old was buried at Daliburgh's Hallan Cemetery last week. One of his alleged assailants was released on bail to a Highland address; the other was remanded in custody.

Bob Holness RIP

Image courtesy BBC

News was announced today that TV and radio presenter Bob Holness had died in his sleep at the age of 83. Most people will know Bob as the host on Blockbusters; I knew him through the BBC World Service as the presenter of Anything Goes, a popular music request show. The popular music referred to any genre you may care to think of, and I feel much endebted to Bob and his programme for introducing me to a wide variety of music. Although classical has my preference, I am not averse to music from the 1920s to the 1950s, before the onset of pop as we know it from Elvis onwards. Victor Borge and Spike Jones are among my favourites, but also the Laughing Policeman by Charles Penrose, 1926.

Bob is the second World Service host to die in the last four years that I had regular dealings with in the 80s and 90s. Gordon Clyde passed away in 2008 at the age of 75; he hosted The Pleasure's Yours and would play regular classical music requests from me for relatives. Bob also played several of my requests, and it is with sadness I learned of his death. He had suffered a series of strokes in the last decade or so.

Thursday 5 January

Having returned from Stornoway after a 3-week absence, I found myself spending the day catching up with snailmail as well as emails, and other things related to my internet activity. It was actually quite an acceptable if cool day, with good spells of sunshine. There were also some showers of rain, later hail. Further south in the UK, another storm wreaked havoc. No such problems in the Hebrides.



I usually miss one aspect of the Hebrides when I'm not there: the big skies.

Wednesday 4 January

My journey back to Stornoway went quite smoothly. I started off by travelling to Schiphol Airport by rail, a journey of 75 minutes. You have to be at the airport 2 hours before departure time, meaning that my presence was required there by 7.30 am.

The plane took off a little after 9.30, and arrived at Gatwick just over an hour later at 9.35 (local time).

Bewl Water
The aircraft was put into gate 104, which leaves passengers with a 15 minute walk to the customs point. Then you have to go through the security rigmarole again before you end up in departures once more. The flight to Glasgow, from gate 55B, left nicely on time at 11.35, and delivered us in Scotland 75 minutes later. It was a wee bit bumpy, and you couldn't see a thing due to cloudcover below. Glasgow was wet and windy. An hour later, the weather had not improved as we departed for Stornoway from gate #1. I had not been looking forward to sitting in seat row 3 (which has a blanked out window), but the stewardess very kindly asked me to move to seat row 10. I didn't mind at all, as I wanted to have some view. What view?! Just white clouds all round. Upon arrival near Stornoway, the aircraft kept going north to make a turn round back south. There was a strong southwesterly wind blowing, and planes have to land into the wind. We were there at 3.15. I was very kindly offered a lift into town.

Over northern Lewis

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas and a prosperous and health 2012

I am currently blogging on The Shell Gallery, but will resume full service here on January 5th, 2012.

A case of murder

Today, a service of remembrance was held at Stornoway's Roman Catholic Church in Scotland Street. Although I'm not in the island at present, there are two developments which are significant at this time.

The family of the victim, Liam Aitchison, have accepted the apology from Channel 5 host Matthew Wright. Ofcom will investigate the incident on December 6th, when Mr Wright made some terrible jokes at the expense of the murder victim and the islanders of the Outer Hebrides. This followed a massive volume of complaints, 2,200. That is three times the number received by the regulator as a result of a programme by Jeremy Clarkson (I think).

Two suspects have now been fully committed for trial following a second court appearance, and remain in custody in Inverness at this time. They remain innocent until proven guilty.

The Wright Stuff - Channel 5 has replied

Date: 15th December 2011


Dear Correspondent

Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding The Wright Stuff.

We would like to assure you that having investigated the matter with senior producers of the programme, nobody on the programme’s panel or editorial team had any intention of causing distress to viewers or, more importantly, the family of murdered teenager Liam Aitchison with the comments that were made in the 6th December episode. They deeply regret that they have done so; as does Channel 5. The comments made by the programme’s presenter Matthew Wright and guest Charlie Baker on the programme were unfortunate, misjudged and entirely inappropriate. Having recognised this Matthew and Charlie have apologised in subsequent programmes and Matthew apologised in writing to Liam's father.

The tragic story of Liam Aitchison’s murder formed part of the daily newspaper review. The story was running in a number of newspapers that morning, and was of interest being the first murder on the Western Isles for more than 40 years. The story was always intended to be reviewed in the most sensitive manner and both Charlie and Matthew had discussed this with producers to that effect. When the story of Liam’s murder was reached, Charlie Baker introduced it by reading a headline from a newspaper and commenting that it was a sad story. At that point, Matthew Wright interjected in what we now recognise was a highly inappropriate manner, entirely unforeseen by the production team. In light of Matthew’s words, Charlie reacted in a similarly thoughtless fashion. As soon as these comments were made a senior producer of the programme acted immediately to remind them that this was a serious story, covering as it did the death of a 16-year-old, and the conversation moved on. Regrettably this was too late as the offensive comments had been made.

In an unscripted, live programme not every discussion turns out as we might wish and having reviewed the matter after the programme finished on 6th December, both Channel 5 and the producers felt an apology and explanation was necessary. The following day, 7th December, Matthew apologised during The Wright Stuff pointing out that he certainly had not intended to belittle in any way the seriousness of a tragic story or offend anyone who knew Liam Aitchison.

Once again, we can assure you that the programme never seeks to intentionally offend anyone and all personnel involved with the programme as well as Channel 5 are sorry for the offence these remarks have caused. We are grateful to you for taking the time to make us aware of your particular concerns and have logged the details of your complaint in the Viewer Enquiries Report. This is circulated throughout the company and seen by all relevant personnel.

Wednesday 14 December

Another day of very mixed fortunes in our weather, but on balance wet and cold. There was some sunshine a few times over. The forecast remains dire yet unclear - as I said yesterday, a messy winter's month.

It was announced today that a memorial service to murdered teenager Liam Aitchison is to be held in the Roman Catholic Church in Stornoway on 20 December. Liam was from South Uist, an island that is pre-dominantly RC. I don't think that will be of any issue to the people that are going to go along to remember him. No further details on the case have been revealed, and the speculation that reaches my ears informally is unsuitable for relay.

Tomorrow, I shall be travelling to Holland to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with my father and wider family. This is therefore the last post in 2011. I shall return to Stornoway on Wednesday 4 January 2012 and will resume posting on here on Thursday 5 January. I am keeping an eye on development in the Western Isles during my absence, and may post relevant updates intermittently.

As of this coming Friday, I will be blogging on a daily basis on the Shell Gallery.

On Atlantic Lines, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Tuesday 13 December

Feeling very cold, although the mercury was around 5 or 6C. However, conditions were downright atrocious in the southern Hebrides. Malin Head, the northwestern cape of Ireland, reported sustained winds of 60 mph with gusts to 80 mph at one point during the afternoon. Winter is turning very messy, as heavy snow is currently blanketing the southern Highlands. A major road traffic accident, involving 7 vehicles, closed the A9 at Drummochter Pass during the afternoon.

I was pleased to learn that Matthew Wright, of Channel 5 infamy, is to have his program The Wright Stuff investigated by media watchdog Ofcom. More than 2,200 complaints were raised with Ofcom following a program on December 6th, in which Mr Wright joked about the murder of Liam Aitchison at Steinish last month.

A gunman has killed at least people and wounded dozens more in the Belgian city of Liège by opening fire indiscriminately and lobbing grenades into a square. He then shot himself. Liège was in the news last year, when an apartment block collapsed to the ground, leading to the death of several people.

Monday 12 December

Well, today was probably the best day of this week. It was pretty chilly in the morning, but at least the sun was out. After nightfall, the rain started and the wind picked up - and it became a little milder. Tomorrow, a deep depression will scoot past our shores, bottoming out with a central pressure of 944 mbar. Last week's storm was at 960 mbar when it passed directly over Stornoway. However, the strongest winds are not expected to equal last Thursday's gale. That may occur later in the week.

Two young men have appeared in court in Inverness on a charge of murdering Liam Aitchison. One was from Stornoway, the other from Carloway, 16 miles to the west. The case continues to elicit strong emotions. Local news website Hebrides News made the mistake of publishing the portraits of the two accused - this is not legal. At present, they are only accused and innocent until proven otherwise.

Hogmanay in Stornoway

This year, the Hogmanay celebrations in Stornoway will be held in the town centre, with a massive street party. About 5,000 people are expected to flock to this big shindig - which will end at 11 pm on December 31st, 2011. The thing is that New Year’s Day 2012 is on a Sunday, and any partying extending beyond midnight would infringe the Sabbath. So, it was ordained that Hogmanay in Stornoway will end an hour before “the bells”.

I have the deepest respects for people’s religious convictions. I do not extend that to imposing said convictions on other people’s lives. If anyone feels that they should observe the Sabbath in a certain fashion, then they are at perfect liberty to do so. However, that should not mean that others should be forced to do the same.

There is another aspect to this question, which annuls the argument, put forward by the relevant authorities against extended the permit for the Stornoway Hogmanay do. Are the pubs closing at 11pm on December 31st? The answer to that is an emphatic no. You can get sozzled as much as you like well beyond midnight on Hogmanay. Again, a personal choice, with which I am fine as long as it does not impinge on other people. Unfortunately, we are all familiar with the results of over-indulgence in alcohol, whether it be anti-social behaviour or road traffic accidents, resulting in damage, injury or even death.

I find this discrepancy a case of breathtaking hypocrisy and double standards, and would call for an extension of the street party beyond midnight - or else have the pubs shut at 11pm.

No, I’m not holding my breath in expectation of that all to happen.

Sunday 11 December

Quite an acceptable day, with sunshine and distant showers. Although barometric pressure is falling slowly, down to 988 mbar at the moment, there are no major weather problems imminent. By the end of the week, we may see a repetition of the storm we had last Thursday.

My previous post was on the EU summit in Brussels on Friday, when the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, did not want any changes to EU treaties. These were designed to stabilise the euro currency, which is currently in jeopardy on account of huge debts of some of its member states. The UK does not use the euro, but half its trade is with the eurozone. Placing itself outside the club of 26 may have pleased the eurosceptics in Mr Cameron's Conservative Party, it hardly serves the interests of the United Kingdom. This should have been a non-partizan issue, but when Mr Cameron was answering questions in Parliament, there was a notable series of hesitations. Having given in to the eurosceptics in his own party will place the Tory/Lib Dem coalition under increasing strain. Outside Britain, it is seen as a move to safeguard the interests of the City of London and its investment bankers - a crooked bunch, as portrayed by the Dutch newspaper column. What many people in this country forget is that without the EU, the UK would be much worse off than at present. The double-tracking of the A859 Stornoway to Tarbert road would not have taken place, to mention but one little local example. David Cameron may well have turned the clock back 38 years last Friday.

The party of crooks and thieves - divisions London and Moscow

I am copying a translation of an article in the Dutch national daily newspaper De Volkskrant. Thomas von der Dunk has analysed the recent events in Brussels and Moscow, and drawn some disconcerting parallels. The text remains copyright Thomas von der Dunk. 

Under pressure, everything turns to liquid. This is now also applicable in Europe, and probably soon also for the Netherlands, where Dutch PM Rutte is now caught in a terrible dilemma. However, it was only agreed in Brussels Europe should be given more powers to call 'other' countries to order but of course not us.
Transfer of sovereignty is nominally out of the question, as the prohibition is chiselled in the marble of tolerance. Europe has only been handed the means to enforce things. Whether the latter is indeed the case, remains to be seen, but it's not one without the other.

[...]
Everything liquidises under pressure - which was long taboo in Brussels is now a fact: the British are outside on their own. Would they dare to remember that old joke in London "fog in channel, continent isolated?"

Who in any case almost was isolated, was Dutch PM Rutte, who had been so foolish to promise to Cameron to look after his interests. This is an old Dutch hobby: The Hague clears up after London’s dirt.

Even when our political caste, in naive overconfidence, held a referendum on the European Constitution in 2005, several British diplomats thanked Dutch Parliament and Government: "We are so glad, you did this for us', it saved Blair a very difficult discussion at home .

Ideological allies lost
The [Dutch Liberal Party] VVD has also lost a key ideological ally: the British share with the Dutch a traditionally rigid free trade ideology, for whom Europe is little more than a market to sell our cheap waterbomb tomatoes. As cheap as possible: that is the basis for the still half nineteenth century England class society, as low-wage country always negotiates opt outs on European social legislation.

Less averse to protection
Germany and France, which are more industrial nations, are much less averse to the principle of protectionism. They are much more averse to speculation. For the Germans consists of companies that manufacture substantive things and using them to make money, the City of London runs on people who make money with money, which quickly turns into a colossal swindle.

Sarkozy has already referred to investment bankers as thieves and swindlers. Westminster refuses to accept any European measure to restrict – it is quite correct for the other twenty-six to continue without Cameron. The scammers and thieves in the City responded to Cameron’s rigidity with understandable excitement. But Labour leader Ed Miliband, however much his party is equally implicated, noted that the importance of the UK, unlike that of the British bankers, was not served with Cameron's nyet was served. The Tories have revealed themselves these days as the party of scammers and thieves.

Russian elections stolen
Im Westen nichts Neues, at least not for those who in recent decades were not befuddled by neo-liberal droning, but instead paid attention. Moreover, neither was there anything new in the East. The "party of crooks and thieves" that has long been the legitimate nickname for the party United Russia of Vladimir Putin, Russia's wealth after the weekend now again stole the Russian elections.

New was only for the first time that we could know in detail, how it's done in practice. It is also entirely a coincidence that many Russian mafia billionaires with their capital, have sought refuge in the tax haven of England, isn’t it?

Until now, Putin even without manipulation probably still a majority of Russian voters arcs, Western journalists, who usually keen on dissidents, have always tended to underrate the desire for stability and safety in the gray majority in millions of country towns. Which is often more conservative, less "worldly" (in all senses of that word) than the average protester set, which we also see in Tunisia and Egypt.

Stained by turmoil and chaos
To the Russian electorate the notion of democracy has for years been tainted on account of the turmoil, chaos, poverty and international humiliation of the Yeltsin years. After the elections in the year 2000 Putin provided a fairly safe electoral base with his promise of "Dictatorship of Law'. It was inevitable that this was increasingly more dictatorship than law, causing rising discontent in a young generation. For Putin cannot fulfil his economic promises (in return for power) either.

Is another Russian revolution in the offing? Tens of thousands of Muscovites out of a population of ten million makes that a premature conclusion.