Friday 31 May

Went on a walk round the Castle Grounds, partly covering ground I had reconnoitered on Wednesday; the path between Strawberry Hill and the Marybank Gate. This allowed me to mark out a 4½ mile walk round the Castle Grounds, from the Creed River in the south to the Water Wheel in the north.

Thursday 30 May

Today started as sunny as yesterday, but after about 2pm the haar (or seafog) rolled ashore. This was actually quite shallow, as the sun remained visible through the cloud. However, visibility was severely restricted and familiar features like the Arnish Lighthouse, the Coastguard Station and Goat Island were lost from view.

Wednesday 29 May

A brilliantly sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. We managed 15C today, 60F,not quite as good as yesterday, but still creditable. Went for a walk in the Castle Grounds today, to explore the Strawberry Hill area. I was pleased to find a new path, which links Strawberry Hill with the Marybank Gate, a distance of about a mile. This means that a circular walk can be made in the Grounds, without much use of the main roadways. I have yet to mark out this route, but it will probably amount to about 6 miles in total. The new path was completed only very recently. My route continued to the Golf Course and back to the town centre.

The nice weather was also a bonus for the passengers on the cruiseliner Marco Polo, a regular visitor during the summer months, who would have seen the island in its full glory.

Tuesday 28 May

A brilliantly sunny day, with the mercury shooting up to as much as 17C / 63F during the afternoon. Naturally took full advantage of the conditions - out in the sunshine.

Monday 27 May

The cruiseliner Serenissima paid us a visit today; the liner is shown departing at 9.30pm. She gained a degree of notoriety in Oban a few days ago, by running aground on a sandback after passing on the wrong side of a marker buoy. The vessel managed to refloat on a rising tide.

I went for a walk between 8 and 9pm this evening, one of my customary jaunts to Cuddy Point and Lews Castle. Stornoway town centre is virtually deserted after the shops close, but the buildings of the town were bathed in a mellow, almost summery, glow.

Sunday 26 May

Saturday 25 May

Overcast and increasingly wet today. The day started at 10 o'clock with the passage of the 2013 Stornoway Half Marathon at the 2-mile point, where I was positioned for the purpose of taking pics. There was a largish field of competitors. The winner completed the circuit in 1 hour 14 minutes and 58 seconds.

Friday 24 May

Quite a bright day, with lovely cloudscapes of high-level clouds - a harbinger of doom. Dread tomorrow's weather, which is forecast to be deteriorating to rain. Went into town where resurfacing work creating a mini-traffic jam on South Beach, one of the main thoroughfares. It quickly dissolved though. Our freight ferry was very late coming in: 5.30pm, as opposed to 8 am usually. And at 10pm, the supermoon rose, rather larger than normal due to its closeness to the earth.

Thursday 23 May

Wednesday 22 May

I just want to pen a few words about events in Woolwich, south London, where a man was knocked down by a car. He was then attacked by the people in the vehicle with knives and meatcleavers, leaving him decapitated in the street. The culprits then hung around, waiting for the police, who arrived 20 minutes later, only to be attacked themselves. The attackers were promptly shot and severely injured. The victim, dressed in a Help for Heroes t-shirt, is reported to have been a serving soldier. It seems to have been a terrorist attack of unprecedented brutality, not using firearms or explosives but just knives. The exact circumstances of the attack, including motivation, have yet to be elucidated, but the convening of a government committee is an indication of the severity with which the British government views this incident.

The Islamic community has issued a statement, distancing itself from the attack, saying that there is no justification in Islam for any such barbarity. Apparently, the involvement of British soldiers in the 12-year long conflict in Afghanistan is a grievance, used as pretext for the attack.

I'm deeply shocked.