Monday 16/10/06

Late start after a cold night. Overnight low only +3C, and the fog lifts slowly. At lunchtime, smoke is rising from the side of Gallows Hill; they're probably burning wood cuttings in the Castle Grounds. I head out for the shop after catching up with emails &c, to get the list of goodies needed for the next few days. Mrs B has got nobody staying except me. A ship can be seen at anchor near the lighthouse late in the evening. With no 3 pier out of action, there is a merry-go-round every evening. The Ullapool ferry Isle of Lewis docks at 8pm alongside pier number 1. It discharges passengers, then moves into the Outer Harbour. MV Muirneag, our cargo ferry, then moves over to number 1 pier to take the place of the Isle of Lewis to load lorries for the overnight transfer. The passenger ferry sits alongside the eastern side of number 3 pier (she normally docks along the western side) until about 6 in the morning, when she transfers over to number 1 for the 7.15 sailing. Muirneag doesn't return until about 8am, so no problems there. The reason for this rigmarole? Pier number 3 is being refurbished.

Forgot to mention that I had an unexpected visit from a fellow blogger from elsewhere in the islands. Nice enough chap, we nattered for about 45 minutes, but I was a wee bit taken aback that he didn't drop me a line beforehand. I had the impression from previous correspondence that should he ever be in Stornoway, he'd let me know. Yes, I have been in touch with him before, by email and through reading mutual blogs. But using that information to guess at my location somehow didn't quite go down the right way.