Thursday 02/02/06

Cloudy day today, but with fair breaks in cloud. Discover that a link to "Stornoway Webcam" on the Shipsofcalmac website directs people to my wee cam. One blogger on Blogspot feels that the view through a rain-spattered window is strangely evocative. Others find it addictive viewing. The Shipsofcalmac site says that the Isle of Lewis and Muirneag can be seen leaving and entering port. The Isle of Lewis has left for its annual refit, months overdue. The Clansman is covering for the time being. After a bowl of soup at lunchtime, I go to the library to scan a few pages from the Roll of Honour in connection with the Iolaire Disaster, New Year's Day 1919. Mrs B's grand daughter is unfamiliar with this story, so I give her a brief outline. She's only 10, so I don't go into too much detail. Her dad calls round a few times. His wife is heading off on the ferry at lunchtime to go to London for a few days. The tide is very low at 4pm. I haven't been off the island for 15 months. Supper is my Savoy Cabbage Special. The Health Board saga continues to smoulder, with extensive reports and acerbic comments in the local press. The Chief Executive was apparently removed from a similar position in the State Mental Hospital at Carstairs (Lanarkshire), after similar problems.