Thursday 06/07/06

Day dawns misty / foggy with low cloud. A cruiseliner, the Insignia, lies anchored south of the lighthouse, and ferries passengers ashore. The lady bound for St Kilda leaves for Leverburgh on the 2.20 bus, singing my praises on her departure before I'm out of bed. Bit late in rising today, won't say how late. LOL. Since last night, all interactive features were taken off Metcheck.com, after that site nearly collapsed under its own popularity. The wind is strong today, force 5. There is a chance of the wind picking up to force 7, which does not bode well for any trips into the Atlantic. Temperature today 14C, well down on yesterday's 21C. A couple of cyclists come to stay, and I direct them by bus to Callanish and Gearrannan. One of these days I'm going to charge for all those services. The tug comes out at midday to tow the barge from Arnish to its unknown destination. Mrs B tells me that the town was full of cruise passengers. One shopkeeper was flooded with customers - the Hebridean Jewellery shop offers duty-free shopping. A small protest is being mounted against the Chinese government; god knows why they selected Stornoway. Probably because the cruiseliner was chockablock with Americans of whom some were of Chinese origin. The words Falun Gong should say enough - I'm not saying any more, as that is extremely hot potato. The research vessel James Clark Ross, which left port yesterday afternoon, had an accident on board only 7 miles out of Stornoway, when she was working at Chicken Rock (Point). A member of the crew suffered a crushed finger, and he had to be airlifted to the Western Isles Hospital. During the afternoon, cloud increases and a little rain falls. I had to go into town to collect papers and buy a new pair of trousers. The local press is full of a royal row surrounding the local Health Board. One of these days I'll write out the whole story, but it stinks to high heaven. The Medical Director of the Board is having a paper scrap with the Council representative on the Board (the Vice Convener of said council) and the MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) for the Western Isles. The West Highland Free Press publishes a cartoon, which depicts the Health Board's attitude to people - saying implicitly that the people and culture of the Western Isles stand in the way of progress. Two ladies come for a social call; they stayed with us last April, but were unable to book this time round. It turns into a breezy and at times wet evening. Rain falls around the 10.30 mark.