Thursday 30/11/06

St Andrew's Day today, but with some pretty awful weather. A force 9 gale blows up overnight, with lashing rain. The wind does 40 to 50 mph, gusting up to 65. On North Rona, it's a sustained 71 mph. Still, it's better than the 150 mph over in the Philippines. Flooding is said to be a problem, as is the cancellation of virtually all ferry services up and down the west coast. By midday, I venture out to the Coastguard Station to take pictures of the conditions. The water on the wind tasts salty, and seaweed can be seen floating on the waves. Huge banks of spray fly over the causeway and I manage to capture some nice images. Rain and wind subside just after 3pm, and it brightens up. The angry crests disappear off the waves in the basin. It's not flat calm, but the gale has stopped. Nip down to Somerfields and apart from the slightly bare shelves in the perishables department, the beer department is also suffering from depletion. No, I don't regularly drink beer, just notice. The Gazette is not in the shop, as this comes on the ferry which didn't run. The regular Isle of Lewis ferry was stormbound at Ullapool overnight, but now returns at 8pm. Chicken tikka massala for supper tonight.