Saturday 23 July

A cold day, with the mercury only in the mid 50s Fahrenheit (lower teens Celsius). Nonetheless, I was able to sit outside for a while to read a book - with my coat on.

Norway continues to come to terms with the loss of more than 90 lives yesterday, in two apparently linked attacks in and near Oslo. Seven people died in a massive bomb blast near the government headquarters in the capital. 85 people, mainly teenagers, are known to have lost their lives as the culprit went to an island in a lake outside Oslo and started shooting them on sight. The total death toll is still uncertain, and there is talk of a second gunman. No motive has been established, but initial investigations seem to point to right-wing extremism. The suspect, a 32-year old man, is said to have referred to the right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders as "a good guy". Mr Wilders, to his credit, has denounced the atrocities in Norway as utterly repugnant to all decent people. I don't have a lot of time for Mr Wilders, but feel he has reacted appropriately to this revelation.

A tragedy of a different kind and scale was enacted in the Kyle of Durness yesterday. This is a river estuary some 12 miles east of Cape Wrath [the most northwesterly point of the British mainland]. Sixty-five pilot whales became stranded at low tide; the Kyle virtually runs dry as the tide ebbs. Fifteen of the animals died, the others were helped out to sea by Coastguard and Royal Navy personnel who happened to be on exercise in the area.


Kyle of Durness, 29 August 2004

Cat claws at dawn

One of my local Twitter contacts is rueing the moment they decided to step in to break up a catfight. Doing that is like having a wrestling match with a roll of barbed wire. Both cats went for either forearm, and wounds inflicted by both claws and teeth of a cat tend to get very nastily infected.


I recall having a similar experience some 25 years ago, when my sister had left her two kitties at my parents' house for a week or so. Bear in mind that at the time we had our own cat, an un-neutered tomcat called Thomas (above), in the house. Territorial was the name of his game, so when someone left a door open I found myself with Thomas to the right and the guestcat (whose name I cannot reveal on here) to the left. Thomas went into fighting mode, ears back, crouching into attack pose, whilst the guestcat ambled in, tail up and almost saying "C'mon, let's have it out then". I stepped in and put out a hand to push each cat away. Thomas thought the other cat had jumped out at him and lunged into my forearm - only to immediately recognise his mistake. He disappeared. I bundled the other cat behind the door where he should have been all along. I found Thomas sitting in the window of the nearby sitting room and he rubbed his head against my hand, almost as if to say: "Sorry about that, boss, didn't realise it was you. You could have fooled me it was another effing cat". I had a deep wound of one of his claws, but it was only a fleshwound, nothing serious.

Thomas has made me ill on one occasion, but again, not his fault. He tended to be infested with fleas, and one day I was given the job of powdering the cat. Neither of us liked it, and I used rather too much powder. Thomas looked white, rather than his normal black and within a few hours I started to feel feverish and quite unwell. Anyone who has ever dipped sheep with the old organo-phosphate sheepdips will know the feeling.

Friday 22 July

Quite a nice day, during which I completed another batch of transcriptions from the Napier Report. I am currently looking at the submissions, heard at Ullapool, on 30 July 1883. The next locations will be Poolewe, Shieldaig, Balmacara and the Ross-shire hometown of Dingwall. The Napier Report is an important document in the history of the Highlands and Islands, documenting the conditions in which crofters and cottars had to live during the latter years of the 19th century. The Commission also heard from landowners and interested parties, such as church ministers and fish curers.

I was shocked by the double attack on Norway this afternoon, with a carbomb in Oslo and a gun-attack on a youth camp in Oslo Fjord later. The city centre attack claimed 7 lives, and more than a dozen in the island attack. One man has been arrested on the island. He was dressed as a police officer. 22nd July 2011 will go down as a dark day in Norway's history, but the country's leaders have vowed that they will not be beaten down. I am posting the Norwegian flag on this blogpost as a mark of respect to the victims of this attack.

Thursday 21 July

Can't really say that today stood out in any fashion. The weather was not too bad, with bright and occasionally sunny spells. Did some work on the transcriptions of the Napier Report, finding the quote of the week: "My house would be none the worse for being better". And the Lochinver lifeboat, which was coming to Stornoway for its bi-annual refit and repainting, had to divert to the cruiseliner Crown Princess to take a sick passenger off the boat. I later saw the vessel passing in the distance, as a fata morgana, floating above the horizon.

Hurricane update - 21 July

There are four active tropical cyclones around the world, but none of them are directly threatening land.

The Western Pacific is hosting the decaying remains of typhoon Ma-on, with winds of no more than 30 knots (force 7), to the south of Japan.

The Eastern Pacific shows a category IV hurricane, Dora, off Cabo Corrientes in Mexico, headed for Baja California. The storm will not directly impact the peninsula, but its outliers may bring high winds, rain and high swells.

The Atlantic has two tropical storms, Bret and Cindy. Bret is located between Bermuda and the Carolinas, but poses no threat to mainland USA; Cindy is 1200 miles west of the Azores and 900 miles east of Bermuda.

Development aid

I am going to use a blogpost as a rebuttal to a Facebook post that is doing the rounds at the moment. I am very fond of my American Facebook friends, so am not prepared to offend anyone by posting this rebuttal on their Facebook wall.

This is the post I take exception to:
BREAKING NEWS: We need to send money to the following country: USA. There are many without food, shelter, and clean drinking water (...and without jobs). Residents are going without heat for the winter, health care for the sick, and proper education for children. Stop sending money overseas. We have people here that lack… basic human needs. Do you have the guts to re-post this?? I just did, AMERICA FIRST!!

How about the victims of the famine in Somalia? Would you not send aid for the more than 4 out of every 10,000 children that die every day of starvation? For the innocent that suffer because of a war that they did not want, start or willingly participate in, and because of the cruelty of mother nature who has denied them growing rains?

The US has a disgraceful record in caring for its needy. During my years in J-land, and since, I have seen dozens of examples of that. Being resident in the UK, I am privileged that I don't have to pay much for medical care. In the States, you are required to make large contributions, and even then you may not get all the services you require - without forking out an awful lot more. If you can't pay, you don't get the care. Your credit card is more important than your medical condition.

The United States of America is rich enough to provide all its citizens with the basic necessities of life. It is a disgrace if anyone goes without food, shelter, and clean drinking water. Residents are going without heat for the winter, health care for the sick, and proper education for children. Even after sorting out all those problems, there is still enough to spare to send aid to every developing country around the globe. 0.1% of its Gross Domestic Product is a colossal amount. Uncle Sam can afford it, and still look after its own people.

Don't deny the innocent the right to life, just because your own government has its priorities wrong - and has had for decades.

Wednesday 20 July

A cold day, with the mercury only up to 12C / 54F. Yes, it's a northerly wind that's blowing. I pity those in the States that are sighing under a heatwave at the moment. This afternoon, we went on a trip round the West Side of Lewis, starting out along the Pentland Road to Carloway and having lunch at the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village. The hostel there closed down last May, see previous post. Afterwards, we headed east to Shawbost to visit the beach. No, you don't go swimming in the sea here - it's even colder than the weather.


Machair flowers at Shawbost


Shawbost beach


Purple seaweed


North Shawbost




Gearrannan


Inside the museum at Gearrannan


Along the Pentland Road

Gearrannan hostel closed

I visited the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village today, but was sad to see the notice in the window, advising all that the hostel there has closed permanently. The proprietors, the Gatliff Hebridean Hostels Trust have posted the following message on their website, which I copy below. If you are asked about hostel accommodation in Lewis, please do NOT refer anyone to Gearrannan.

The Isle of Lewis has, to my knowledge, four hostels, namely at:
Stornoway (Heb Hostel and Fairhaven)
Kershader (Ravenspoint)
Galson (Galson Farm, South Galson)

Please use a search engine to find further details - I do not (as a rule) promote commercial enterprises.

STATEMENT BY GHHT
It is with regret that the Gatliff Hebridean Hostels Trust announces that the hostel at Garenin is permanently closed.  It will not reopen.

We apologise for any inconvenience and disappointment this will cause.

Our lease on the building expires on 31 March 2012 and we have to vacate the building on that date, leaving the building as it was when first leased to us.  This closure will allow us to fulfil our lease obligations.
If you should hear from any other source that the building is open, please inform us immediately so that all sources may be made aware of the correct position.

Please note that the SYHA hostel handbook for 2011, which states that Garenin hostel is opening from 1 April 2011, is not the current information in respect of the hostel.  (The SYHA handbook was printed before the heating issues arose.)  The SYHA is aware that the hostel is closed.

Please also note that Garenin village continues to operate normally.  Details are to be found at the Gearrannan website.

This notice was issued on Monday 23 May 2011.

Ich habe es nicht gewusst

This expression in German can be translated as "I didn't know about it". It was often used in the aftermath of the Second World War, when certain people in the former Nazi empire were held to account over the slaughter of Jews and others in concentration camps.

Rupert and James Murdoch also claimed not to know about anything, because they were not told. I have reached the conclusion that top-level management that does not know about such serious issues as blackmail, bribery, phone-hacking and corruption is unfit to be at such level. It displays a disturbingly cavalier attitude from the Murdochs, to the effect that they did not care how the stories were got as long as it generated newspaper sales. It points to a culture of complacency and indifference, which no expression of regret can exponge. It shows not an ounce of compassion with those whose lives were ruined or made hell by the actions of employees of the Murdoch empire.

It has also become clear that the Murdochs were overtly manipulating the political scene in this country, by switching their allegiance to whichever party took their fancy. And what is even worse, the leaders of the two main political parties at Westminster pandered to their game. Rupert Murdoch was invited to (enter through the backdoor) 10 Downing Street to receive the personal thanks of David Cameron when the latter became prime minister. Cameron's appointment of Andy Coulson, a former editor of the now defunct newspaper News of the World, is today reported to have alarmed senior officials at Buckingham Palace.

The motive of the Murdochs is clear: make money - which in itself is not something I will fault anybody on. But their methods were morally and legally wrong, and I hope they and their malodorous empire will go under post haste. We can all do without them. As for our politicians, they will be held accountable at the ballot box. I hope the opportunity to do so comes soon.



Maybe someone could procure a tin of this stuff for the Murdochs and our esteemed political leaders (image courtesy Flickr user Popdoctor.

Hurricane update - 20 July

Typhoon Ma-on has been downgraded to tropical storm strength as it passes just to the south of Japan. One village was deluged with 850 mm of rain (that's a puny 34 inches) in just 24 hours. The storm will move out to sea and not be a further threat to Japan.

Hurricane Dora is paralleling the Pacific coast of Mexico and will blow up into a category III storm. At present, it is more than 200 miles offshore, but its course will bring it closer to the Mexican coastline and later to Baja California. By that time, conditions will become unfavourable for the hurricane and it will weaken.

Tuesday 19 July

An overcast day with occasional drizzle. I spent the afternoon watching the Murdochs being grilled by MPs in London about the phone hacking scandal. A model of contrition and of hands-off management. "But we ain't done nothing wrong", seems to have been the buzz word, and "we didn't know what was going on in our own company". Don't know if it was a three hours well spent, and the incident with the shaving foam distracted rather than anything else.

Don't think I'll be watching that much TV again tomorrow, as I'm now having to shift a headache. Also because it was so boring. 

Monday 18 July

Today started with dense fog blanketing the harbour; I could not even see Goat Island at 10 am. The cloud lifted to an overcast, wet and misty day. It was not particularly warm when I ventured into town to buy more stamps for Postcrossing. Having suspended that for my Swiss holiday, I am now back into full swing with it. One card going to Finland, and another to Germany.There were still some ships in port who had been there for the Tall Ships event over the weekend.

The news is ruled by the ongoing phone-hacking saga, which is beginning to lap at the door of 10 Downing Street. Two senior police officers at Scotland Yard have resigned, and tomorrow, Rupert and James Murdoch face a parliamentary committee. I somehow don't see David Cameron in office by this time next year. And I hope this will be the end of tabloid journalism as we know it. I can't stomach it.

Sunday 17 July

Rain, rain and more rain today. The festival goers piled on board the two sailings to Ullapool (as opposed to the normal single one at 2.30pm) to go home. The last of the Tall Ships left port and headed for their next destination, Kirkwall in Orkney or Lerwick in Shetland. The busiest week of the year is over, although there will be a similarly busy week in October, when the Royal National Mod descends on Stornoway.

Collapsed

You don't need to understand the Dutch to appreciate the dramatic scenes as this 1,000 ft high transmitter collapses to the ground. On Friday afternoon, a fire broke out in the upper reaches of the structure as rewiring work was in process. The cause of the blaze is not yet known. Together with technical problems at the main transmitter at Lopik, 120 miles to the south, this has left large areas of Holland without radio or television reception.

Hurricane update - 17 July

Typhoon Ma-on, currently some 700 miles south of Tokyo, is beginning to head towards Japan. The storm will peak at 120 knots by this time tomorrow. Ma-on will then veer northeast and slowly pass just to the south of Japan. There is considerable uncertainty over its proximity to land, and any weakening which will result from passage over land. The storm will be well above 65 knots (the lower threshold for typhoon strength), and is expected to be between 90 and 110 knots as it passes near or to the south of Honshu, Japan. Below image courtesy wunderground.com.

Saturday 16 July - picture post

South of Arnish


Mir


RNLI Lifeboat "Tom Sandersen" between Arnish and Sandwick


Outside the Keepers' Cottage, Arnish


Two replica Sgoths, traditional fishing craft


Sailing ship Prolific






Pelican of London


Coastguard tug Anglian Sovereign


Coastguard helicopter


Arnish Lighthouse

Saturday 16 July

Quite a nice, sunny and at times warm day. When I say warm, I mean that the mercury was in the high 60s. Today, the Tall Ships left Stornoway. The first, the Dar Mlodziezy sneaked out of port at 7.30 am. Her sistership, the Mir went just before five. She had been due to depart at 3.30, leaving large numbers of people waiting and waiting along the seafront in Stornoway and at Arnish Point, as well as Holm Point (on the other side of the water). It was all a bit of a damp squib, with only one other Tall Ship, the Pelican of London departing before the Mir. However, the sun was out, it was nice and warm, and I had ensconsed myself at Arnish, with another dozen people or so. The contingent at Holm Point was even larger, as that is much easier to access. Arnish Point requires a 5 mile drive from Stornoway, followed by a 15 minute walk - or a sump-bashing drive down a rough track.

I shall post the pictures tomorrow, as I am uploading them at the moment, and there are 140 of them.

Friday 15 July

Apart from the Mir, (see previous post), we also had the Pelican of London and the Lord Nelson in port - together with a collection of smaller craft. The Pelican was tied up alongside pier no 2, which is an area of the port that is normally off-limits - it is the point where oil- and gastankers are discharged. The weather, like yesterday, is not very pleasant: it is overcast, dull, with a penetrating breeze and low temperatures (for July). At the moment, we're only in the mid-teens celsius. The Hebridean Celtic Festival is also in full swing, but I am giving that a wholesale miss this year - nothing tickling my fancy.

Pelican of London

I am very pleased with developments in the phone-hacking saga. The Murdochs have conceded to giving evidence to a committee of MPs, the Americans are hopping mad at allegations that 9/11-victims' phones may have been hacked by News Corp employees, not to mention Australians and other nationals. News International CEO Rebekah Brooks has finally decided to fall onto her sword and resigned - and it just gets worse and worse. For them, that is.

On board a Tall Ship

This morning, we were greeted with the magnificent sight of the Russian tallship Mir (peace) on the near side of the ferry pier. The vessel was open for the public, so I went on board and had a walk round its decks. I am posting some pictures of that visit below.

Thursday 14 July

The day started early, with the arrival of the first of the more than a dozen Tall Ships which are due into Stornoway over the next three days. The Eendracht (a Dutch vessel, its name means Unity) passed the Arnish Lighthouse at 7.15 am, followed by the British vessel The Swan a little later. The majestic Polish three-master Dar Mlodziezy pulled in just after 10 o'clock to anchor in Glumag Harbour, right across from my position. A number of smaller vessels also arrived, but they were more difficult for me to track. I monitor shipping traffic around here on AIS, and vessels of 350 tons or less are not required to carry a transponder. In the afternoon, I went into town for a snapping spree. It was decidedly cold and at times wet, so I did not stay long. Later in the evening, it cleared up, providing me with some stunning images of the Polish vessel contrasting against dark skies.


Eendracht






Dar Mlodziezy


The Swan (R) and Alba Endeavour (L)