Sunday 7 July

Went out on the bike again, this time to the Landraiders' Memorial at Aignish, a return trip of 8 miles. It was brilliantly sunny and warm, with hardly any traffic - I timed my trip to coincide with the Wimbledon tennis final (won by Murray). Had a look inside the old church at Aignish, which has been partly refurbished. At least you can now safely enter the edifice.

Saturday 6 July

Wet and windy today. That is the exception to the rule of warm sunshine across the rest of the country. However, I'm not complaining about 15C / 59F on the thermometer, but am not tempted outside today. That is, until evening when the sun came out and I jumped on the bike for a run through the Castle Grounds as far as the Marybank and Creed Gates.

Friday 5 July

Had to change my t-shirt because it was reeking of the smoke of rhodondendron burning from last Monday, when it was drying outside on the line ...

It's not too cold, 15C / 59F (again), which I prefer to the temps into the 80s Fahrenheit that southern England will get this weekend. A cool breeze, which is actually stopping the freight ferry Muirneag from making its overnight crossing to Ullapool. Our freight boat has difficulty manoeuvering in a high wind. If she sails, she'll start arguing with the quay in Ullapool or here in Stornoway, and we'd be left with no boat at all.



Went out for another cycle run, this time into the Castle Grounds. However, as I passed Cuddy Point I became aware of increasing movement in the handle bars. They expressed an increasing willingness to part company with the rest of the bike - prompting me to turn round and head back. I felt I could be losing control of the cycle if I went much further. No harm done.

Thursday 4 July

A blustery west wind blowing in short sharp showers. Bright sunshine in between and relatively mild temperatures at 15C / 59F.

The on-going saga surrounding the interconnector now sees our MP intervening, calling for an end to the 'ping-pong' politics, is it going to happen or not. I couldn't agree more. But my gut feeling is that the i/c will never happen. It'll just take some time to never happen.

This evening, I was able to use a bicycle around Stornoway for the very first time during my 9 year stint in this island. I rode it through the town centre, up Macaulay Road, down Perceval Road to Plasterfield and Sandwick, to return along the shore path. The ride served to highlight that Stornoway is a very hilly town.

Wednesday 3 July

Tuesday 2 July

Rain and wind getting ... stronger as the day carries on. No change in sight. And don't talk to me about high pressure from the Azores. I don't care if it's coming in from the B-zores or the C-zores, or through saddle sores. It just propels Atlantic low pressure systems our way - and the Atlantic is boss here.

 

So, is anyone going to go to the West Side to watch the World go by? I don't need to go anywhere, I just watch the world go by. Erm, in case you're wondering what the hell I'm on about now, the World is a large cruise ship that called into Ullapool over the weekend. Isles FM reported this morning that it was going to pass to the west of the Outer Hebrides, en route to St Kilda.

 

 

Monday 1 July

A nice enough day, but marred, as shown in above pics, by the burning of rhodondendrons in the Castle Grounds. These are alien and unwanted plants, which block the sun from the ground underneath. Large swathes of the shoreline are covered in the things. When the wind is in the wrong direction, the plumes of smoke wreath the town centre in a pungent mist of smoke.

Sunday 30 June

Force 7 from the southwest, haven't had that for a while. A bullying wind, blowing the blooms off the fuchsia and any loose debris along the street. Although the rain has let off somewhat, there is still a threat of showers about. A nice 14C / 57F this afternoon. 

Saturday 29 June

Went to a nice hour's storytelling in An Lanntair with Alex Patience and Donald Macneill. Audience participation was requested and obtained, even from one of the youngest members of the audience. Subjects ranged from Eynhallow to Heisgeir, and from Canada to the Moon! 

It was a cold afternoon here, with a stiff southerly breeze and the mercury only barely in double figures. Quite a contrast with parts of the USA, which report temps close on 40C.

Friday 28 June

Liam Aitchison's murderers were sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 18 years before they can apply for parole. Justice has been done. I hope this brings some measure of closure for the family of the victim. It is not for me to comment further. 

Stornoway was windy and drizzly. Visibility down to below 1 mile at times, and temps of 13C / 55F. What I like about our weather is the gradual changes, not the crazy jumps up and down you get elsewhere.

Evening ferry
Muirneag going out at 11pm

Thursday 27 June

Curious. The cruiseship Prinsendam called into Stornoway at around 7 am, but then left again shortly afterwards, headed for Kirkwall. Spent the afternoon putting put plants into pots and tubs to brighten up the front steps. The crocuses and daffodils had all died off and gone into tubers.

It was announced that "Hebrides - Islands on the Edge" will be screened on national television. Nice imagery, but with a terrible voiceover.

Wednesday 26 June

At midday, I had to take a double take when the ferry appeared in view. Summer is here: it's Wednesday and the ferry does three sailings today (similarly on Friday). She won't finish for the day until about 2 am...
 
A French fishing boat came into Stornoway this morning for a crew change. The fresh crew are flown in from France, and the old crew go back on the return flight. The process in Stornoway harbour only takes 90 minutes.

By evening, the greyness of the sky matched the greyness of the sea - I called it a grey-out. 

Tuesday 25 June

Brisk southerly breeze, but you can safely disregard the weatherforecast that Isles FM relayed this morning. 18 degrees C, my foot. It's more like 14C, and likely to stay there. After 2pm, the rain started, so I hope that that takes the chill out of the air. The weather forecast on the evening TV news came from the bridge of the MV Hebrides, as it sailed between Uig (Skye) and Tarbert.