Monday 29/05/06

Our Australian guest heads out for the sights on the West Side. Gave him a timetable for his staggered journey, with stops at Callanish and Gearrannan. He is set to return to town at 5pm, to join the 5.30 bus to Tarbert. The weather isn't very good; as the morning wears on, a litany of showers pass through, one or two with hail mixed in. Is this really May 29th? Temperature (9C) would suggest something more like February. On the other hand, the National Hurricane Center in Florida announces the first tropical storm of the East Pacific season: Aletta. She is not very strong, just galeforce winds (35 - 45 kts). She is situated just under 100 miles west of Acapulco, lashing the coast with rain. An RSS feed to the NHC site keeps me abreast of developments. The pen I use for the written journal finally gives out after 5 weeks of loyal service. Today, two couples come to stay. The first arrive on the badly delayed ferry (it's 2 hours late for an unknown reason). They are Swiss, and don't have much English to show for themselves. Consequently, Mrs B calls on me to help them out by talking in either French or German. My French is rusted, so I carry on in German. The other couple call in at 5.15, after I had gone into town to buy a new pen and the Monday papers. I welcome the guests, as mrs B was delayed shopping. A new promotional paper has been printed, which tells me that the Cleitir Hotel at Sildinis [Balallan] has been renamed: it's now the Erisort Inn. The Cleitir was badly battered after the January '05 hurricane, two windows blown in and a good many slates off the roof. The evening ferry arrives at 9.30. Light fades at 11.30.