Friday 23/06/06

The workmen snore monumentally during the night, and require some knocking on their door to wake up. It's not until 6.50 that they drive off to the ferry, which is scheduled to depart at 7.15. Normally, you'd have to report your vehicle before 6.30, ahem. Anyway, I have breakfast a little later, as mrs B's helper comes round. There are 3 beds to be changed and 2 rooms to be cleaned. A French fishingboat calls in for a crew change at 10.15, to depart again at 12.15. Not much later, a Coastguard vehicle comes racing down from the station with blue lights flashing, to hare up Island Road. At 2pm, a Royal Navy Bomb Squad comes trundling down the Goat Island access road. A navy boat is bobbing about in Glumag Harbour. The weather is iffy today. The Coastguard report that 11 ships were detained in UK ports last months. Any ship calling into any port in the world can be inspected for technical deficiencies. If they are severe, i.e. potentially putting the crew's or passengers' safety in jeopardy, the ship can be detained. One cruiseliner, the Vistamar, was detained for 9 days with 26 deficiencies, such as unseaworthy tenders and a dirty engineroom. One ship was finally released from detention earlier this year after being held for 3 years. She was allowed out for a one-way trip to the scrapyard. Mrs B goes to the chemist to get me some decongestant nosedrops, as I'm feeling very grotty today. A box or two of Fisherman's Friend lozenges are guaranteed to blast anybody's airways clean. Dinner is chicken tikka massala. Am a bit miffed at visithebrides.com, who allow spam to sit on their board but scrub my perfectly valid messages off.