Wednesday 02/08/06

Cloudy start to the day with a cool breeze blowing. The helicopter is out, scanning the coastline. The lifeboat comes back in at 1.30. Receive an early birthday present, consisting of a CD with music by Ennio Morricone, played on a bandoneon. That's a type of squeezebox. My birthday? Next Sunday, 6th August. I go into town for a wee walk. Take a few pictures near the James Street roundabout, then go up Kenneth Street to check some dates on an exhibition. Walk down Point Street to Amity House; no boats adorn the quayside bar one fishingboat. Walk along North Beach to Cromwell Street, then up Scotland Street to Keith Street. A house is being demolished along there. Arrive at Somerfields at 4.30. Guests tonight from Angus (eastern Scotland, north of Dundee) who arrive 3 hours before they originally told us they were due.A young Spanish couple turn up at 6.30, 90 minutes after arriving in Stornoway. The map that VisitScotland had given them suggested mrs B lives in Battery Park. The same map is issued to any visitor coming to stay in a B&B in Stornoway. Complaining doesn't help, and it costs £400 per annum to belong to V.S. Two ladies were reported swept up Plockton Bay, east of Kyle, after the engine on their dinghy failed. Coastguard requests canoeists and kayakers to advise them of their intentions, a sensible precaution for all outdoor pursuits in the wilderness, whether it be on water or on land.