Thursday 10/08/06

The English couple leave on the early ferry, and Catherine (archeologist) leaves for work at 7.45. Nonetheless, that's not where the busy morning ends for mrs B. An exhausted Italian couple turn up at 9.30. They spent the night in Glasgow Airport, to leave on the 6.30 flight here. They were not affected by it, but airtravel throughout, into as well as out of the UK is severely disrupted. A plot was unearthed that would have targeted 10 airliners in mid-flight between the UK and the US. Bombs, thought to have been made of simple, undetectable ingredients, hidden in plastic bottles and set off with everyday electronic devices, would have exploded, leading to a massive loss of life. Stringent security measures were introduced, leading to a virtual ban on hand luggage; only the most essential items, like passports, travel documents, medicines and baby care products are allowed into the passenger cabin. Heathrow remains closed throughout much of the morning, and the rest of the UK is not much better off. By late morning, I help the Italian lady to plan the rest of their holiday - good luck with the bus timetable. A Japanese lady arrives just before 1pm. She too is very tired, and her English is limited. Nonetheless, I help her too with the bus timetables, which are tricky if you don't know the island. During the afternoon, I pop into town to buy the weekly papers. I catch up with mrs B, who has gotten a lift to make a huge shop at Somerfields. Catherine had expected to go on the lunchtime ferry, but that did not work, so mrs B offers her a spare bed for the night. She will now leave on the 6.15 ferry tomorrow morning, to return to her home near Dundonnell by lunchtime. Weather today is decidedly unsummery; only 14C and intermittent drizzle. It is very busy in town with visitors, and I went for a haircut.