Thursday 19/01/06

Very dark and dreich this morning, with heavy rain but not much wind. Workmen are digging up the road outside. There is talk that the extreme cold in Russia could reach the UK next week. The Met Office issues a statement to the effect that this is unlikely to happen. The wind increases as the day wears on. After lunch, we're on 37 knots in gusts, force 8. Before lunch, I have a haircut and get all the papers in. This includes a feature paper about past events, including the original Stornoway Gazette article about the Iolaire disaster. It's absolutely tipping it down all day, which just gets worse and worse. At 9.15, a loud bang out in the street is accompanied by a few powerdips. Check through the house, but nothing appears to be wrong. Mrs B phones the power company, SSE, as it sounded like electricity arcing. At 11.15, SSE come to check inside and outside the house, but nothing is wrong. Two vans are parked outside, and the men have a look at the roadworks, from where the bangs could have originated.