Francis Street
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Thursday 10 January
A pretty bright day, a little cooler than earlier in the week. Much high and middle-level cloud, but that did not impede the sun. The sunset was nowhere near as spectacular as yesterday. Went into town to buy stamps for postcrossing (and a family birthday). Diverted up Francis Street to check on developments by the old school, which was pulled down last autumn. They are still shifting big piles of soil around.
Francis Street
Francis Street
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Wednesday 9 January
An increasingly bright day, with phenomenal sunset colours. Went into town this afternoon for a handful of small items in the shops. Included in those were some lightbulbs, filament bulbs to be precise - not all old fittings will take the new long-life ones. Mind you, they do have special long-life ones, but they cost something like £8 each. The old-fashioned ones are only £2 each. Filament bulbs burn out quickly here, because of surges in the electricity supply. Over Christmas, there were repeated powercuts, and those tend to get preceded by a surge.
Tuesday 8 January
A fairly bright day, although not very warm. Spent most of the day catching up with things like postcards, Christmas cards, photographs, and file management on the computer. A freight ship was in port, the Nordstern, which was delivering coal or roadsalt or something like that.
It was announced that jobs are under threat in the local salmon processing industry, in the plants at Marybank (north of Stornoway) and Arnish, across the bay from the town. Economic and biological reasons are quoted, but in an economically fragile area like the Western Isles, any job losses have a larger impact than might otherwise be the case.
It was announced that jobs are under threat in the local salmon processing industry, in the plants at Marybank (north of Stornoway) and Arnish, across the bay from the town. Economic and biological reasons are quoted, but in an economically fragile area like the Western Isles, any job losses have a larger impact than might otherwise be the case.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Monday 7 January
By bus, train and two planes, I found myself back in Stornoway just after 7pm. On arrival at Inverness, at 4.20pm, the monitors showed the 6.10pm plane to Stornoway delayed by 90 minutes. Fortunately, that was reduced to 20 minutes, and we duly took off just after 6.30 - in darkness. The journey from Amsterdam was above the clouds, as the sun sank down to the horizon for sunset just after 4pm. There was shallow fog at Inverness airport, right across the runway. But even from my seat, I could make out the lights on the runway.
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Hurricane update - 1 January
Happy New Year - but it could get nasty on La Reunion in the southern Indian Ocean by Friday. Tropical cyclone Dumile is headed straight for the island from the north, and will reach a peak intensity of 100 knots upon closest approach to La Reunion. The local hurricane centre is monitoring the situation closely, and has placed the island on YELLOW alert. The last link is in French, by the way.
I am continuing to blog on the Shell Gallery.
I am continuing to blog on the Shell Gallery.
Friday, 21 December 2012
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Wednesday 19 December
Well, we lost the nice weather with a colourful prelude to sunrise - by 9 am, the sky was completely covered by grey clouds. After lunchtime, the rain started and is continuing as I type, at 6pm. Further south, it is blowing a gale, but that is not anticipate to reach this far north. We seem to have changed weather pattern to wet and windy, something that is set to continue over the next couple of days.
Locally, the community buy-out for the Pairc Estate in South Lochs has received a boost, with the news that land owner Barry Lomas's human rights were not infringed by the hostile buy-out bid. Under legislation, enacted in 2003, communities can mount a hostile bid (i.e. against the land owner's will) to take over the land. Mr Lomas has also stated that the ballot in favour of the bid, taken 3 years ago, was legally flawed. The court in Stornoway is to rule on that issue next month.
Tomorrow morning, I fly off to Amsterdam to spend Christmas and New Year in Holland. This is therefore the last post on Atlantic Lines until 8 January 2013, the day after I return to Stornoway. As of Friday 21st December, I shall resume blogging on the Shell Gallery.
Locally, the community buy-out for the Pairc Estate in South Lochs has received a boost, with the news that land owner Barry Lomas's human rights were not infringed by the hostile buy-out bid. Under legislation, enacted in 2003, communities can mount a hostile bid (i.e. against the land owner's will) to take over the land. Mr Lomas has also stated that the ballot in favour of the bid, taken 3 years ago, was legally flawed. The court in Stornoway is to rule on that issue next month.
Tomorrow morning, I fly off to Amsterdam to spend Christmas and New Year in Holland. This is therefore the last post on Atlantic Lines until 8 January 2013, the day after I return to Stornoway. As of Friday 21st December, I shall resume blogging on the Shell Gallery.
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Tuesday 18 December
A beautiful day, which started very cold after an overnight low of -4C / 24F. The frost did not lift until 11 am, and was quick to return as soon as the sun set. I just checked the latest reading, and found that the temperature had jumped from -2C to +4C between 7 and 8pm, with a southeasterly breeze springing up. This heralds the transition to a wild day tomorrow, contrasting with the absolute flat calm we had today. We had 19 hours of NO WIND. Don't believe me? Look at the pics below.
Quite a lot of my internet contacts use a photo-sharing site called Instagram. As of January 16th, 2013, it will give itself the right to sell its users' photographs, without giving the users a penny (or a cent, depending where you are reading this from). Instagram was recently acquired by Facebook, a site that is none too particular about its users' interests either. Want to know more? Read this article on the BBC website.
A few nocturnal pics from last night as well
Quite a lot of my internet contacts use a photo-sharing site called Instagram. As of January 16th, 2013, it will give itself the right to sell its users' photographs, without giving the users a penny (or a cent, depending where you are reading this from). Instagram was recently acquired by Facebook, a site that is none too particular about its users' interests either. Want to know more? Read this article on the BBC website.
A few nocturnal pics from last night as well
Monday 17 December
A beautiful sunny December day, which ended in a hard frost. There was very little wind, and the sunset, at 3.35pm, was stunning. Apart from Christmas cards I have also taken delivery of a handful of postcrossing cards, from Hungary, Ukraine, Germany and Holland. I'm not sending out huge numbers of postcrossing cards, partly on account of the cost of stamps.
Today, it became known that the cost for a legal case involving Storas Uist (the community body that owns the estate encompassing South Uist) is £200,000, a sum that Storas will have to cough up. The legal costs are also those of their opponent in court. It should be born in mind that land is sacrosanct in these parts, and people are prepared to go to extremes to defend their rights - or what they perceive to be their rights. The sadness of this particular case is that it is the community that (indirectly) will be paying for this; on the other hand, £200k can easily be recouped by selling 40-50 plots of house building land, making hardly any dent in the land assets of Storas Uist. Even worse, a petition had circulated the island in 2010, pleading for the case to be settled amicably.
Today, it became known that the cost for a legal case involving Storas Uist (the community body that owns the estate encompassing South Uist) is £200,000, a sum that Storas will have to cough up. The legal costs are also those of their opponent in court. It should be born in mind that land is sacrosanct in these parts, and people are prepared to go to extremes to defend their rights - or what they perceive to be their rights. The sadness of this particular case is that it is the community that (indirectly) will be paying for this; on the other hand, £200k can easily be recouped by selling 40-50 plots of house building land, making hardly any dent in the land assets of Storas Uist. Even worse, a petition had circulated the island in 2010, pleading for the case to be settled amicably.
Sunday, 16 December 2012
Sunday 16 December
A quiet and overcast day, which saw the mercury gradually rising to 7C, which it still is as I type this at 11pm. Sunday is always quiet here, and even the ferry departure at 2.30pm went virtually unnoticed.
America is still coming to terms with the school shooting at Newtown CT. All victims were shot with 3 to 11 bullets each, and that just does not bear thinking about. However, it would appear that the culprit had a serious psychological disorder, which has highlighted that there are quite a few children around with such problems. I refer to the blog of "Anarchist Soccer Mom" for a description what form that can take - and it's not pleasant reading.
As a former J-land blogger, I cannot help but notice that several members of the community have lost their pets in recent days. One had to put their cat to sleep, two weeks after the same had to be done to another feline; another person lost their dog. As I always say in such situation, the pets will await their owners beyond the Rainbow Bridge, for them to join them again when they pass on.
America is still coming to terms with the school shooting at Newtown CT. All victims were shot with 3 to 11 bullets each, and that just does not bear thinking about. However, it would appear that the culprit had a serious psychological disorder, which has highlighted that there are quite a few children around with such problems. I refer to the blog of "Anarchist Soccer Mom" for a description what form that can take - and it's not pleasant reading.
As a former J-land blogger, I cannot help but notice that several members of the community have lost their pets in recent days. One had to put their cat to sleep, two weeks after the same had to be done to another feline; another person lost their dog. As I always say in such situation, the pets will await their owners beyond the Rainbow Bridge, for them to join them again when they pass on.
Saturday, 15 December 2012
Saturday 15 December
Today, I saw the last new moon of the year 2012 just after sunset.
It has been quite a reasonable day, following a night with wind reaching all of force 5, although Sumburgh in Shetland had to put up with a steady 45 mph, force 8-9 through the night. The day dawned fairly bright with variable amounts of mid-level cloud, leaving us with a panoply of cloudscapes.
I am still very upset following the shooting at Newtown CT yesterday. What has really made me upset is the cavalier attitude of some, who claim to support the right to bear arms. I think it says enough that your average European country sees about 10 to 40 deaths through firearms each year. The USA has more than 10,000. States that have stricter gun control laws have lower death rates than states that do. Lobbing arguments about like "it's not the alcohol that makes you drive" is infuriating and disrespectful to the dead through firearms. Limiting their availability will reduce the likelihood that a firearm will get into the hands of the likes of the shooter at Newtown CT, who appears to have suffered from a psychological disorder (according to some). Which is a feature in common with many of the culprits behind the US's many gun atrocities. So, what happens with those unfortunate citizens who do suffer from mental health and psychological problems? Well, not that much, apparently. I hope that, apart from doing some serious and substantive reviews of federal and state law regarding gun control, the USA will also take a long and hard look at its mental health care - because something is seriously wrong here.
It has been quite a reasonable day, following a night with wind reaching all of force 5, although Sumburgh in Shetland had to put up with a steady 45 mph, force 8-9 through the night. The day dawned fairly bright with variable amounts of mid-level cloud, leaving us with a panoply of cloudscapes.
I am still very upset following the shooting at Newtown CT yesterday. What has really made me upset is the cavalier attitude of some, who claim to support the right to bear arms. I think it says enough that your average European country sees about 10 to 40 deaths through firearms each year. The USA has more than 10,000. States that have stricter gun control laws have lower death rates than states that do. Lobbing arguments about like "it's not the alcohol that makes you drive" is infuriating and disrespectful to the dead through firearms. Limiting their availability will reduce the likelihood that a firearm will get into the hands of the likes of the shooter at Newtown CT, who appears to have suffered from a psychological disorder (according to some). Which is a feature in common with many of the culprits behind the US's many gun atrocities. So, what happens with those unfortunate citizens who do suffer from mental health and psychological problems? Well, not that much, apparently. I hope that, apart from doing some serious and substantive reviews of federal and state law regarding gun control, the USA will also take a long and hard look at its mental health care - because something is seriously wrong here.
From Dunblane to Newtown
In 1995, a gunman burst into a primary school in Dunblane, near Stirling in Scotland, and opened fire. Sixteen children and one adult were killed. As a result of this atrocity, private gun ownership in the UK was practically outlawed.
In 2012, a gunman burst into a primary school in Newton, Connecticut in the USA, and opened fire. Eighteen children and several adults were killed. As a result of this atrocity - no changes are likely to be made to federal or state legislation on gun ownership.
RIP little ones, we won't forget you.
In 2012, a gunman burst into a primary school in Newton, Connecticut in the USA, and opened fire. Eighteen children and several adults were killed. As a result of this atrocity - no changes are likely to be made to federal or state legislation on gun ownership.
RIP little ones, we won't forget you.
Friday, 14 December 2012
Friday 14 December
A day of changes in the weather, and as I type this (at 10pm), the mercury is higher than it was in the daytime. At present 6C, was 3C earlier in the day. The wind has picked up, but to no more than a force 5 - it is blowing a severe gale in Orkney and Shetland. These high winds will slowly migrate north, away from the northern isles. Further south, rain will once more present a threat of flooding.
Tropical cyclone Evan is moving from American Samoa to Fiji, and will affect that archipelago on Sunday. Current forecasting places the storm just north of the islands, but it will impact Fiji. It wreaked havoc in Samoa, leaving at least 2 dead and a power plant destroyed.
Once more, a shooting incident has rocked the USA. 27 people, including 20 children, 6 adults and the gunman himself, lie dead in Newtown CT. My thoughts are with the families affected, including those of the children who had to go through the ordeal. This of course poses questions about gun control and about how people with mental health issues are dealt with. However, mass shootings seem to be have assumed a saddening regularity in the States, and I could not begin to surmise what could be done to stop them.
Tropical cyclone Evan is moving from American Samoa to Fiji, and will affect that archipelago on Sunday. Current forecasting places the storm just north of the islands, but it will impact Fiji. It wreaked havoc in Samoa, leaving at least 2 dead and a power plant destroyed.
Once more, a shooting incident has rocked the USA. 27 people, including 20 children, 6 adults and the gunman himself, lie dead in Newtown CT. My thoughts are with the families affected, including those of the children who had to go through the ordeal. This of course poses questions about gun control and about how people with mental health issues are dealt with. However, mass shootings seem to be have assumed a saddening regularity in the States, and I could not begin to surmise what could be done to stop them.
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Thursday 13 December
Another cold day, with temps not above 3C / 37F. Although it started sunny, cloud moved across from the south from midday onwards, leading to rain at 5pm. The progression of clouds had me glued to the window, and I went for a wee amble round the powerstation to have a better view of it. I'm a member of the Cloud Appreciation Society as regular readers will have guessed by now.
Currently keeping an eye on tropical cyclone Evan which is on the rampage over American Samoa. The storm has strengthened to the equivalent of a category III hurricane, with winds of 115 mph, and increasing further. The system is in the process of performing a 180 degree turn, and will move off towards Fiji. I am informed that, to date, two people have died as a result of Evan. Hope there are no further casualties.
Frontal boundary over Stornoway, 2.30pm
Currently keeping an eye on tropical cyclone Evan which is on the rampage over American Samoa. The storm has strengthened to the equivalent of a category III hurricane, with winds of 115 mph, and increasing further. The system is in the process of performing a 180 degree turn, and will move off towards Fiji. I am informed that, to date, two people have died as a result of Evan. Hope there are no further casualties.
Frontal boundary over Stornoway, 2.30pm
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Wednesday 12 December
OK, today is 12-12-12. And at 12.12 pm, 51 happy couples got married at Gretna Green. Until not that long ago, couples would elope to get hitched over the blacksmith's anvil. I think the practice was discontinued in 1977.
Today was another in a long series of beautiful winter days with good sunshine, low temperatures and fantastic cloudscapes. Tomorrow will see a change to wind and rain, with perhaps a gale at times, but I don't expect the high winds to last. We managed 4C / 39F today, much better than yesterday's zero.
Talking of freezing, there has been a problem with the local ice plant. This is used by fishing boats for chilling their catches between pulling them from the sea and landing them ashore. The last plant broke down a few months ago, and is beyond repair. Rather than forcing boats to sail dozens of miles for ice from Uig, Kallin, Ullapool or Lochinver, the council has leased a machine for the use of boats.
Today was another in a long series of beautiful winter days with good sunshine, low temperatures and fantastic cloudscapes. Tomorrow will see a change to wind and rain, with perhaps a gale at times, but I don't expect the high winds to last. We managed 4C / 39F today, much better than yesterday's zero.
Talking of freezing, there has been a problem with the local ice plant. This is used by fishing boats for chilling their catches between pulling them from the sea and landing them ashore. The last plant broke down a few months ago, and is beyond repair. Rather than forcing boats to sail dozens of miles for ice from Uig, Kallin, Ullapool or Lochinver, the council has leased a machine for the use of boats.
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Tuesday 11 December
The day started with a beautiful sunrise at 9 am, and not a breath of wind all day. Temperatures ranged between -1C and +2C, and there was ice on sheltered puddles - you had to be careful out and about on the streets.
I had some fun this morning going through my old pics from walks in remote areas of the island, which have inspired some of my recent poems. Loch Langabhat lies at the centre of Lewis, and stretches for 8 miles north to south, with Loch Coire Geurad lying within feet of its western shoreline. There is no permanent habitation within 4 miles of Langabhat, and it can only be reached after walking some very rough moorland terrain. I'm used to that; if you're not, the area can be dangerous. The interior of Lewis was in use for shielings, summer grazings.
I had some fun this morning going through my old pics from walks in remote areas of the island, which have inspired some of my recent poems. Loch Langabhat lies at the centre of Lewis, and stretches for 8 miles north to south, with Loch Coire Geurad lying within feet of its western shoreline. There is no permanent habitation within 4 miles of Langabhat, and it can only be reached after walking some very rough moorland terrain. I'm used to that; if you're not, the area can be dangerous. The interior of Lewis was in use for shielings, summer grazings.
Monday, 10 December 2012
Monday 10 December
Another day like so many in recent times: fairly bright and getting colder (3C / 37F). Went to town for a few bits and pieces, and found the shops to be fairly busy. Don't know why the electrical supplies shop was packed out and the butcher's empty, but that's the way it goes.
People from Sandwick east to Aignish were off electricity supply between 11 am and 3pm this afternoon after a high-voltage cable came down at Sandwick. The power company was soon on the scene and fixed the problem.
I am an avid follower of the TV programme Ice Road Truckers, which features truck drivers in the far north of Canada and Alaska. They negotiate ice covered roads, and roads made across frozen lakes. This inherently presents grave danger, meaning they earn a lot of money. It also claims the lives of some of their number each year, and one British driver was killed in an accident a few days ago. In the summertime, some of the ice roads are accessible to ordinary drivers, but even then it would appear you're driving a dirt track. One road, the Dalton Haul Road from Fairbanks to Deadhorse in Alaska, is 450 miles long. There is only one place of permanent habitation, a truckstop called Coldfoot. Imagine driving from London to Glasgow with no towns or cities along the entire distance... Have a look on this blog for an impression.
A few days ago, I featured a pic of the Barvas Moor road here in Lewis, which is empty for 11 miles. Multiply that by 40, remove the tarmac, and you have the Dalton.
People from Sandwick east to Aignish were off electricity supply between 11 am and 3pm this afternoon after a high-voltage cable came down at Sandwick. The power company was soon on the scene and fixed the problem.
I am an avid follower of the TV programme Ice Road Truckers, which features truck drivers in the far north of Canada and Alaska. They negotiate ice covered roads, and roads made across frozen lakes. This inherently presents grave danger, meaning they earn a lot of money. It also claims the lives of some of their number each year, and one British driver was killed in an accident a few days ago. In the summertime, some of the ice roads are accessible to ordinary drivers, but even then it would appear you're driving a dirt track. One road, the Dalton Haul Road from Fairbanks to Deadhorse in Alaska, is 450 miles long. There is only one place of permanent habitation, a truckstop called Coldfoot. Imagine driving from London to Glasgow with no towns or cities along the entire distance... Have a look on this blog for an impression.
A few days ago, I featured a pic of the Barvas Moor road here in Lewis, which is empty for 11 miles. Multiply that by 40, remove the tarmac, and you have the Dalton.
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