I just spent half an hour deleting a dozen spam comments in Chinese or Japanese on all my blogs. As a result, I'll moderating all comments on this blog prior to publication, in order to ward off this nuisance. This Blogger user goes by the Latin script username of disa. Having searched Google for an answer to this problem, I've found that they have no solution in place for it.
Posting on Atlantic Lines will resume next Wednesday 6 January.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Monday, 21 December 2009
Christmas 2009
My postings will resume on the Shell Gallery on Wednesday (23 December). My next posting on Atlantic Lines from Stornoway will take place on Wednesday 6 January 2010. From this blog, Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year (or Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ur, as they say in these parts).
Monday 21 December
This evening, at 1747 GMT (that's 1247 EST if you're in the States), we're at this year's Winter Solstice. Today, in other words, is the shortest day of the year. It is winter without a shadow of a doubt. Although the snow is thawing slowly here in the Outer Hebrides, it is an absolute shambles across the country. Flights delayed or cancelled, roads turned into icerinks and no Eurostar service. Wrong type of cold? Having checked the situation in Holland, for my journey tomorrow, the national rail operator there advises against all travel by train today. Hope the situation improves by tomorrow evening.
Fuel prices in this part of the country are among the highest you'll find. Current liter price is £1.21, which is 15 to 20p above the national average. The price is higher than that found in places like Inverness and Scrabster, which are served by the same seatanker that brings our fuel. One of the reasons is that there is only one supplier of fuel, who (therefore) holds a monopoly. The council and the MP have both complained to the Office of Fair Trading as we're basically held to ransom by a company that can charge what it likes. It bought over a competitor who had recently set up here, regaining the monopoly.
Today, PM Gordon Brown will make a speech on the climate change conference in Copenhagen last week. I don't know what there is to say about that. It was all talk and no firm commitment to action. The only positive thing was that the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, China and the USA, got some sort of deal between them, but nobody else was prepared to sign up to it. A waste of time.
Fuel prices in this part of the country are among the highest you'll find. Current liter price is £1.21, which is 15 to 20p above the national average. The price is higher than that found in places like Inverness and Scrabster, which are served by the same seatanker that brings our fuel. One of the reasons is that there is only one supplier of fuel, who (therefore) holds a monopoly. The council and the MP have both complained to the Office of Fair Trading as we're basically held to ransom by a company that can charge what it likes. It bought over a competitor who had recently set up here, regaining the monopoly.
Today, PM Gordon Brown will make a speech on the climate change conference in Copenhagen last week. I don't know what there is to say about that. It was all talk and no firm commitment to action. The only positive thing was that the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, China and the USA, got some sort of deal between them, but nobody else was prepared to sign up to it. A waste of time.
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Post 1000
This is the 1000th entry on Atlantic Lines, since it was opened in October 2008. I would also like to take the opportunity to point out that I have changed my front picture to one I took this morning, a very wintry one.
Tomorrow is the last day I'll be making entries on Atlantic Lines before New Year, as I'm departing for a family visit to Holland on Tuesday.
Tomorrow is the last day I'll be making entries on Atlantic Lines before New Year, as I'm departing for a family visit to Holland on Tuesday.
Sunday 20 December
We've had a very snowy 24 hours here in the Outer Hebrides. It started at 2pm yesterday, and through last night, there has been a steady progression of snow showers. That left us with 3 to 4 inches (up to 10 cm) of snow by midnight. Made a very pretty picture, and I'm uploading 154 pictures as I speak of yesterday's and today's harvest of images. The effect this has had on road travel can be imagined, with no gritting going on outside Stornoway.
This morning at 10.40, I went out for a walk around the Castle Grounds in order to get as many pics as possible of the snow-covered landscape. The Castle Grounds (a country park) is a very picturesque area, just outside Stornoway itself, a wooded area. It looks even better under snow. The northern part of it lies draped over some gentle hills, and youngsters were taking full advantage of the conditions in sledges. By midday, the temperatures (+4C) had turned a lot of the snow into slush.
Meanwhile, the northerly winds have prevented the ferry from sailing this afternoon, and the overnight freight service is off as well. A north wind tends to whip up a groundswell in the Minch, making conditions quite hazardous.
I shall post a small selection of snow pictures later; you can view all of them on my Flickr account.
This morning at 10.40, I went out for a walk around the Castle Grounds in order to get as many pics as possible of the snow-covered landscape. The Castle Grounds (a country park) is a very picturesque area, just outside Stornoway itself, a wooded area. It looks even better under snow. The northern part of it lies draped over some gentle hills, and youngsters were taking full advantage of the conditions in sledges. By midday, the temperatures (+4C) had turned a lot of the snow into slush.
Meanwhile, the northerly winds have prevented the ferry from sailing this afternoon, and the overnight freight service is off as well. A north wind tends to whip up a groundswell in the Minch, making conditions quite hazardous.
I shall post a small selection of snow pictures later; you can view all of them on my Flickr account.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
Travel chaos
The news today was dominated by the plight of passengers on the Eurostar service, which links London to Paris and Brussels via the Channel Tunnel. Because of a difference in temperature inside the tunnel (25C / 77F) and outside (0C / 32F or lower), condensation on electrical components brought the trains to a standstill. Five trains in total, carrying 2,000 passengers. Locomotives were brought in to pull them out of the tunnel. Delays of 15 hours were reported, with no water, food, heating or anything provided. To say the passengers were unhappy is an understatement. The latest development is that another Eurostar train is at a standstill in north Kent in a similar predicament.
Roads, railways and ferries are equally struggling to cope with demand, and not just in the UK, or indeed Europe. I am getting reports of a Nor'Easter in the States, caused by a depression in the Gulf of Mexico scooting up the East Coast with a lot of tropical moisture - which is expected to turn into 2 feet of snow in Washington DC and area.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'm looking out at increasingly heavy snow; the precipitation radar showing a rash of showers in my area and 3 inches of snow outside on the ground. Gritters were out in the centre of Stornoway, but rural roads are reported to be tricky. Didn't deter me from having a nice dinner in one of the local restaurants this evening; but I did decide on a taxi rather than my own two feet, particularly as some of my companions were not that happy with the slippery conditions.
Roads, railways and ferries are equally struggling to cope with demand, and not just in the UK, or indeed Europe. I am getting reports of a Nor'Easter in the States, caused by a depression in the Gulf of Mexico scooting up the East Coast with a lot of tropical moisture - which is expected to turn into 2 feet of snow in Washington DC and area.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'm looking out at increasingly heavy snow; the precipitation radar showing a rash of showers in my area and 3 inches of snow outside on the ground. Gritters were out in the centre of Stornoway, but rural roads are reported to be tricky. Didn't deter me from having a nice dinner in one of the local restaurants this evening; but I did decide on a taxi rather than my own two feet, particularly as some of my companions were not that happy with the slippery conditions.
Saturday 19 December
Now I could start of by complaining about the bitterly cold northerly wind we're having today. However, one look at the report from the weather station, closest to my father's hometown, dissuades me. That former airforce base went down to -17C overnight (0F), and is currently (lunchtime local time) only at -10C. Here in Stornoway, we're having wintry showers with the mercury only just above freezing with winds of 30 mph, force 7 on the Beaufort scale. That does make for a windchill of -7C, so we're not far apart.
The wintry weather is causing chaos on all sorts of transport. Five Eurostar trains broke down in the Channel Tunnel, after they passed from cold air in France to warmer air in the tunnel. There is major disruption at airports in southern England, and the roads defy description. The frigidity of the weather here in the north presages the arrival of our very own, private batch of snow today and tomorrow. A bout of good ole winter.
The wintry weather is causing chaos on all sorts of transport. Five Eurostar trains broke down in the Channel Tunnel, after they passed from cold air in France to warmer air in the tunnel. There is major disruption at airports in southern England, and the roads defy description. The frigidity of the weather here in the north presages the arrival of our very own, private batch of snow today and tomorrow. A bout of good ole winter.
Friday, 18 December 2009
A jaunt around town
Cuddy Point, from the harbour quayside
Lazy Corner
Christmas wishes from primary schools
The Narrows
Hurricane update - 18 December
The Southern Hemisphere season is in full swing and throwing up quite a few surprises. Over the past few days, tropical cyclone Laurence made landfall in Western Australia, north of the town of Derby, and was given up for dead by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu. The Bureau of Meteorology in Perth, Australia, disagreed, and continued to issue warnings as Laurence, although greatly weakened, continued to track south, and veered west this morning, headed back for the coast. JTWC promptly resumed warnings this afternoon (GMT). Something tells me that this cyclone could have a nasty reincarnation. Current predictions show it at 75 knots, equivalent to a category I hurricane, upon making landfall near the town of Port Hedland after the weekend. Port Hedland is no stranger to tropical cyclones: in 2007, TC George came along and caused a fair bit of damage. One person was killed, whilst sheltering in accommodation that was not cyclone proof. It was provided by the local mining company.
A few days ago, tropical cyclone Mick passed directly over Fiji and took two lives. This system has now disappeared from the weather charts. Over in the Indian Ocean, tropical cyclone 05S no longer meets the criteria for a cyclone, but appears to be brewing up again southwest of Diego Garcia. I don't like the look of the satellite image, which appears to show a system that is building up strength. I'm no meteorologist, but after 3 years of tracking these phenomena, I recognise the signs from the imagery.
A few days ago, tropical cyclone Mick passed directly over Fiji and took two lives. This system has now disappeared from the weather charts. Over in the Indian Ocean, tropical cyclone 05S no longer meets the criteria for a cyclone, but appears to be brewing up again southwest of Diego Garcia. I don't like the look of the satellite image, which appears to show a system that is building up strength. I'm no meteorologist, but after 3 years of tracking these phenomena, I recognise the signs from the imagery.
Friday 18 December
A very good Friday to you all as we enter the final week in the annual Christmas Countdown, which started - at the end of the last Christmas. The weather has turned suitably Christmassy a week early, and I fully anticipate a miserable, grey, wet and mild Christmas morning this time next week. When I venture into town later today and/or tomorrow, the shops will be heaving and the people overburdened with overexpensive Christmas gifts. Where have the days gone that you could get someone a prezzy for five quid and they'd be overjoyed? Here in Stornoway, and indeed elsewhere in the Hebrides, we can all shop in safety. It has just been revealed that citizens of the Western Isles of Scotland are watched over by the largest number of CCTV cameras per head of population: 8.4 per 1000. Our august capital city Edinburgh has to get by with fewer than 1 per 1000. There are other benefits associated with living in northern Scotland, you know. Up here, people know how to deal with 6 inches of snow. OK, I grant you, there are many more people in southern England than in Highland Scotland, which is home to 220,000. And snow is more of a rarety down there than up here, but still: 6 inches of snow and the entire shebang grinds to a halt. Here in the Western Isles, with its grossly overstated reputation for bad weather, we're having a quiet day with light, variable winds and the odd light shower. Granted, when the weather does get bad (statistically speaking once every 7 days), it can get really nasty. But people are prepared for it, used to it happening, and all the more grateful for the return of the sun. Even if, in December, she only appears for 6½ hours in the day. Another aspect of life in the Hebrides is that news tends to be relatively benign. Spats over the Town Hall refurbishment and the location for a centre about St Kilda assume high levels of importance, not to mention the fact that our local radiostation (Isles FM) may finally get a decent home. At present it is located in a former boatshed on the seafront at Newton Street. When there is a hailstorm (common in winter), the presenter can get drowned out. In summer, when the door is open, you can hear the binlorries going by, planes flying overhead, and people having a natter outside. In the middle of the newsbulletin. Which tends to miss all the local news that really is of importance (with the odd exception), and instead focuses on the deeds of our elected representatives to the Scottish and British parliament. Oh, they actually do something?? Must listen out. Isles FM can be heard on-line, using the link above. Well, must go for lunch.
More later.
More later.
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Mysterious
On Boxing Day last year, 21-year old Simon MacMillan went to a dance at Daliburgh in South Uist, about 90 miles south of Stornoway. At 3 a.m., he went home in a minibus, with about a dozen other young people. He was due to get off at the junction at Ardmhor, in the north of South Uist, but never reached home. Tales from other passengers, many in a state of inebriation, suggested he had instead alighted at Liniquie, 3 miles to the west, and 3 miles past his destination.
Simon was reported missing the next morning. For about a fortnight or so, searches by individual islanders, the police and other emergency services went on in the area for him. Loch Bi, which is a large tidal loch adjacent to Ardmhor and Liniquie, was searched over and over again. After the emergency services had given up, Simon's body was finally recovered from the southern shores of Loch Bi, 4 miles south of Ardmhor.
Nobody knows for certain what happened that night, and it is inappropriate for me to relay local speculation. All I can do is restate my sympathies to the MacMillan family and friends on their loss. RIP Simon MacMillan.
Simon was reported missing the next morning. For about a fortnight or so, searches by individual islanders, the police and other emergency services went on in the area for him. Loch Bi, which is a large tidal loch adjacent to Ardmhor and Liniquie, was searched over and over again. After the emergency services had given up, Simon's body was finally recovered from the southern shores of Loch Bi, 4 miles south of Ardmhor.
Nobody knows for certain what happened that night, and it is inappropriate for me to relay local speculation. All I can do is restate my sympathies to the MacMillan family and friends on their loss. RIP Simon MacMillan.
Strike off
The High Court in London has ruled the strike by cabin crew at British Airways, slated for December 22nd to January 2nd, illegal. That comes as a huge relief to myself, who is due to travel on the 22nd, and to about a million others, whose Christmas holidays were on the line.
Thursday 17 December
A quiet, overcast morning, but with glimpses of sunshine peeping through the clouds. By far, we have the best weather in the country. At 7C, we're doing rather better than most, it's mainly dry.
Left high and dry are the passengers that were due to travel with Flyglobespan as of today. The company has gone into administration and all flights are off. That leaves 4,000 people stranded abroad. About a quarter of those will be repatriated under the ATOL regime, which safeguards the interests of people, booked with an operator that goes bust. The others have to book flights with another operator. Fortunately for them, the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet have jumped into the breach. Flyglobespan is the second Scottish low cost carrier to go down; if memory serves, earlier this year, Zoom went down.
Here in Lewis, those in favour of and opposed to plans to refurbish Stornoway Town Hall have finally sat down round the table to talk things over. I'm always pleased to see that, as megaphone diplomacy doesn't work, it tends to lead to entrenched positions.
Left high and dry are the passengers that were due to travel with Flyglobespan as of today. The company has gone into administration and all flights are off. That leaves 4,000 people stranded abroad. About a quarter of those will be repatriated under the ATOL regime, which safeguards the interests of people, booked with an operator that goes bust. The others have to book flights with another operator. Fortunately for them, the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet have jumped into the breach. Flyglobespan is the second Scottish low cost carrier to go down; if memory serves, earlier this year, Zoom went down.
Here in Lewis, those in favour of and opposed to plans to refurbish Stornoway Town Hall have finally sat down round the table to talk things over. I'm always pleased to see that, as megaphone diplomacy doesn't work, it tends to lead to entrenched positions.
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Wednesday 16 December
Good morning from Stornoway, where the weather is dreich and drizzly. The sun does come through, giving rise to the odd rainbow or two.
A focus on roadsafety this week. Police in Scotland are given powers to impound the cars of drink drivers, where these are repeat offenders. The BBC has published a sobering map, showing road deaths across the UK. And proposals are mooted to lower the speedlimit in accident blackspots, from 60 mph to 50 mph or less. Speed tends to be a major contributing factor, but so does alcohol.
Talks are due to resume this afternoon, between British Airways management and the trades union Unite over the threatened 12-day walkout, due to start on December 22nd. The atmosphere is not very good, with accusations and counter-accusations flying back and forth. Legal action to stop the strike, based on BA's assertion that the ballot was not conducted legally, is also pursued today.
A focus on roadsafety this week. Police in Scotland are given powers to impound the cars of drink drivers, where these are repeat offenders. The BBC has published a sobering map, showing road deaths across the UK. And proposals are mooted to lower the speedlimit in accident blackspots, from 60 mph to 50 mph or less. Speed tends to be a major contributing factor, but so does alcohol.
Talks are due to resume this afternoon, between British Airways management and the trades union Unite over the threatened 12-day walkout, due to start on December 22nd. The atmosphere is not very good, with accusations and counter-accusations flying back and forth. Legal action to stop the strike, based on BA's assertion that the ballot was not conducted legally, is also pursued today.
Climate change - your contribution
Everyone should make a contribution towards the reduction in CO2. It is not just down to governments and companies to keep the earth liveable, each individual citizen has to work on a respectful relationship with the environment.
Radio and television are full of programs; book a holiday at home rather than abroad, flush the toilet using the waste water from the shower, eat vegetarian one day each week, take the bicycle rather than the car and grow ivy against the walls of your house.
I have a proposal that has not yet been mooted: fart less and stop belching. In that context, let me explain something about horses and cows. These, and other ruminants, are the most talented belchers. One cow emits 600 litres of methane gas a day. The US national cowherd belches 50 million tons of methane into the atmosphere. The belched air of ten cows can provide all the energy of a mid-terrace house. According to the World Food Organisation, the world’s cows produce more greenhouse gases than cars. Methane gas is the main culprit, being 23 times more conducive towards global warming than CO2. Horses, donkeys and zebras are not ruminants. They too produce a lot of intestinal gases. They however are specialised in farting. This expulsion of methane and CO2 contributes to the greenhouse effect.
The average European produces 6 to 12 belches a day. After one hot meal, 3 to 4 belches are customary. We fart 12 to 25 times a day, producing 700 millilitres of gas in the process. The world’s population produces 4.2 billion liters of wind a day, of which 1 billion litres of CO2 and 800,000 litres of methane. Although people are no match to horses or cows when it comes to farting and belching, our exhaust gases do make a substantial contribution towards the climate problems.
What can be done about that? The main source of belches and farts is the formation of gas in your belly. Bacteria in the large intestine break down undigested food. This yields large amounts of gas. If you wish to make an original contribution to the aims of the Copenhagen summit, follow the advice below.
Foods that produce a lot of wind are beans, radish, cabbages, sprouts, garlic and onions. Consume these items in moderation, take frequent and small meals and chew well. Unripe fruits and fruit juices are not digested very well, and give rise to gas.
“Light” products usually contain artificial sweeteners, which end up in the large intestine, being digested into large amounts of gas. Drinking less of CO2-containing drinks, like beer and lemonades, can also decrease the amount of harmful exhaustfumes.
A team of Australian scientists has recently developed a vaccine against the bacteria that form methane in the large intestine. After two injections, the production of methane shows a marked decrease. So far, however, this has only been successful in sheep. But who knows, if it works in sheep, the jump to humans can’t be that difficult. The day may come that you can eat your sprouts and beans without warming the earth with your farts and belches.
Translated from an original newspaper article by Dr Paul van Dijk, GP in The Netherlands
Radio and television are full of programs; book a holiday at home rather than abroad, flush the toilet using the waste water from the shower, eat vegetarian one day each week, take the bicycle rather than the car and grow ivy against the walls of your house.
I have a proposal that has not yet been mooted: fart less and stop belching. In that context, let me explain something about horses and cows. These, and other ruminants, are the most talented belchers. One cow emits 600 litres of methane gas a day. The US national cowherd belches 50 million tons of methane into the atmosphere. The belched air of ten cows can provide all the energy of a mid-terrace house. According to the World Food Organisation, the world’s cows produce more greenhouse gases than cars. Methane gas is the main culprit, being 23 times more conducive towards global warming than CO2. Horses, donkeys and zebras are not ruminants. They too produce a lot of intestinal gases. They however are specialised in farting. This expulsion of methane and CO2 contributes to the greenhouse effect.
The average European produces 6 to 12 belches a day. After one hot meal, 3 to 4 belches are customary. We fart 12 to 25 times a day, producing 700 millilitres of gas in the process. The world’s population produces 4.2 billion liters of wind a day, of which 1 billion litres of CO2 and 800,000 litres of methane. Although people are no match to horses or cows when it comes to farting and belching, our exhaust gases do make a substantial contribution towards the climate problems.
What can be done about that? The main source of belches and farts is the formation of gas in your belly. Bacteria in the large intestine break down undigested food. This yields large amounts of gas. If you wish to make an original contribution to the aims of the Copenhagen summit, follow the advice below.
Foods that produce a lot of wind are beans, radish, cabbages, sprouts, garlic and onions. Consume these items in moderation, take frequent and small meals and chew well. Unripe fruits and fruit juices are not digested very well, and give rise to gas.
“Light” products usually contain artificial sweeteners, which end up in the large intestine, being digested into large amounts of gas. Drinking less of CO2-containing drinks, like beer and lemonades, can also decrease the amount of harmful exhaustfumes.
A team of Australian scientists has recently developed a vaccine against the bacteria that form methane in the large intestine. After two injections, the production of methane shows a marked decrease. So far, however, this has only been successful in sheep. But who knows, if it works in sheep, the jump to humans can’t be that difficult. The day may come that you can eat your sprouts and beans without warming the earth with your farts and belches.
Translated from an original newspaper article by Dr Paul van Dijk, GP in The Netherlands
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Tuesday 15 December
Fairly bright day, interspersed with light showers. These don't show up on the weather radar, but do get you wet when outside. It's rather windier in Australia, where tropical cyclone Laurence is skimming the northwestern coast of the continent with winds of 85 to 120 knots (100 to 135 mph).
Cheques are to be phased out in the UK by 2018. Apparently, the number of cheques written by Britons has fallen by half over the past 7 years. Concerns have been expressed by the elderly and support groups, saying that many are uncomfortable using plastic and/or the Internet; also, more than a billion cheques are still being written each day.
Here in the Western Isles, concerns have been expressed for fuel prices. Scottish Fuels have reestablished their monopoly in fuel supplies, after taking over a rival, Brogan Fuels, who recently set up a fuel supply network here. Petrol prices in Stornoway are currently about £1.20 per litre ($10 per gallon), higher than on the mainland, and higher than in other areas of northern Scotland, served by the same tankerboat that brings us our petrol &c.
I have to wait for BA to confirm (or not) that my flights on December 22nd are cancelled, before I can do anything about it. With 1 million other people, both inside and outside the UK, about to be inconvenienced, it is going to be a wretched experience travelling this Xmas.
Cheques are to be phased out in the UK by 2018. Apparently, the number of cheques written by Britons has fallen by half over the past 7 years. Concerns have been expressed by the elderly and support groups, saying that many are uncomfortable using plastic and/or the Internet; also, more than a billion cheques are still being written each day.
Here in the Western Isles, concerns have been expressed for fuel prices. Scottish Fuels have reestablished their monopoly in fuel supplies, after taking over a rival, Brogan Fuels, who recently set up a fuel supply network here. Petrol prices in Stornoway are currently about £1.20 per litre ($10 per gallon), higher than on the mainland, and higher than in other areas of northern Scotland, served by the same tankerboat that brings us our petrol &c.
I have to wait for BA to confirm (or not) that my flights on December 22nd are cancelled, before I can do anything about it. With 1 million other people, both inside and outside the UK, about to be inconvenienced, it is going to be a wretched experience travelling this Xmas.
Monday, 14 December 2009
Journey from hell
Remember that quote from last February? My epic, 44 hour, journey from Holland to Stornoway? Last February, it was 7 inches of snow that caused it. I can see a repeat coming up when I fly to Holland for Christmas next week. British Airways cabin-crew are going on strike from December 22nd to January 2nd. Perfectly timed to cause the maximum of disruption, and an excellent example how to shoot yourself in the foot. Like turkeys voting for an early Christmas. "Oh we're really reluctant to strike", like hell you are. Nearly a unanimous vote in favour.
3636 days down, 17 to go
and the Noughties will be over. The BBC have compiled a set of drawings (note: PDF file, 8MB) depicting the decade which is coming to an end in a fortnight's time. What are your memories of the 2000/2009 decade?
The main one for everybody is of course 9/11.
The main one for everybody is of course 9/11.
Monday 14 December
An overcast and at times wettish day in progress here in the Western Isles. The temperature has shot up to nearly double figures, after the weekend's frosts. A blast from the east is in the offing, but located where we are (near the sea, and as far west as you can get in Britain), I'm not expecting major wintery problems.
I am getting heartily sick of the sight of former UK PM Tony Blair, pontificating on television about the almost religious justification for the war in Iraq in 2003. He'll be called to the inquiry into that war in 2010, and we'll hear a lot of spinning by that time.
Here in Scotland, a baby boy of 4 months had to be airlifted from the Isle of Rum (15 miles west of Mallaig) for treatment in hospital in Stornoway. He was transferred in the early hours of yesterday - the local news website has no further word on his condition.
I hope that the fog has lifted sufficiently to allow us our mail today; the papers were in at any rate, after nothing came through on Saturday. One contact told me that visibility near Inverness was down to 50 yards on Saturday.
I am getting heartily sick of the sight of former UK PM Tony Blair, pontificating on television about the almost religious justification for the war in Iraq in 2003. He'll be called to the inquiry into that war in 2010, and we'll hear a lot of spinning by that time.
Here in Scotland, a baby boy of 4 months had to be airlifted from the Isle of Rum (15 miles west of Mallaig) for treatment in hospital in Stornoway. He was transferred in the early hours of yesterday - the local news website has no further word on his condition.
I hope that the fog has lifted sufficiently to allow us our mail today; the papers were in at any rate, after nothing came through on Saturday. One contact told me that visibility near Inverness was down to 50 yards on Saturday.
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