Monday 24/07/06

Cloudy and breezy start to the day. Mrs B's son is due to leave today, but this is postponed for 1 day. Mrs B herself is cleaning the whole house this morning. Her friend from the next village is on hand with her great-granddaughter (aged 7) to help. The cruiseliner Deutschland lies anchored behind the Arnish Lighthouse. She is swinging round on an anchor chain. Tenders ferry passengers ashore in between drizzle and sunny intervals. The drizzle gets the upper hand and hides the view by 1pm. It gets so bad that even the Arnish Yard is hidden from view, 1 mile away. Luckily enough, it clears up a bit later. Mrs B's brother-in-law, a spritely 83-year old from up the road, calls in for a visit. I head for the shop for a large load of goodies. The guests for tonight are on their way to Orkney - via the Western Isles. They have their 9 year old son in town, a lively lad. Tomorrow, they are leaving on the 7.15 am ferry to go to John o'Groats, a road journey of 170 miles from Ullapool. Supper tonight is spaghetti bolognese. The evening ends wet and dreich.