Lewis Lines introduction

Lewis Lines contains all the diary entries from the former AOL Northern Trip blog. This edition shows the entries for 2006. Northern Trip was discontinued on AOL in October 2008, and moved to this site on Blogger.

The diary is presented in reverse chronological order, but the first entry can be found here.

Sunday 31/12/06 - New Year's Eve

Rain and wind dominate today's weather and force the cancellation of New Year's Eve celebrations in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool and Belfast. By evening, winds gust up to 85 mph across the Central Belt, which also leads to powercuts. On the hurricane front, tropical cyclone Clovis forms in the Indian Ocean, and another system is about to materialize south of Java. A ferry has overturned to the north of that island, leaving hundreds dead. At 1pm, I join in the New Year celebrations from Sydney, by listening to a radiostation from that city and help an AOL buddy to bring in the New Year. I came across Petar [PVodogaz] as a result of my interest in tropical hurricanes. Saddam Hussein is buried, end of chapter. The last supper of 2006 consisted of steaks with chips and beans, as well as some vino. I scour the Net looking for a decent free video-editor, but don't have much luck. Our guests, a Scottish/German couple, resident in Spain, visited Leverburgh today. We quietly await the Bells, which herald the New Year.

Saturday 30/12/06

Mrs B and son go shopping for the New Year weekend, with several trips into town. I restrict myself to getting papers and lottery tickets. Have to go into the town centre for that. Cloudscapes are quite spectacular as I walk to and from the shops. The main event today took place at 8pm, in the shape of a fireworks display from the Castle Grounds. The carpark outside the Town Hall was cleared for spectators, but people are also lining Newton Street. I go out at 7.45 pm to make for Goat Island. I scramble around the fencing around the slipway to gain the jetty. With my new tripod, I set up the camera and end up taking over 100 pictures. It's quite spectacular and the display also shows on the webcam, which I had repositioned to capture the event. Otherwise, Saddam Hussein was hung today, ending a sorry chapter in Iraq's history.

Friday 29/12/06

Rain and galeforce winds dominate the morning, but the sun comes out after midday. Muirneag makes a late crossing; my ship tracking website shows her half way across the Minch at 1pm. We head out for a drive to ness in the afternoon. Rain falls on the Barvas Moor, although it tends to clear up nearer the coast. Impatient drivers overtake below blind summits. Pass through Barvas, where the new Community Centre is nearing completion, Shader, Galson before heading into South Dell. This is a tiny backwater, sporting three roads. The last house in Aird Dell stands for sale. I spoke to its last occupant in May 2005, a few months before his death. I cannot recollect his name now, but he quizzed me about my religious convictions. We park near Eoropie Beach by about 2.45. Although the swell is running high, the wind is not excessive in strength. Rabbits run riot on the Eoropie machair. There are no facilities open anywhere; the tearoom is shut for winter. No sign of any tourists at all. Next stop: Rubha Robhanais, the Butt of Lewis. When you're there, it's Next Stop: North Pole or Newfoundland. It's there that the battery in my camera ran out. We return to Eoropie and drive up the road to Port Nis via Cnoc Aird, then to Eorodale. The return journey to Stornoway is commenced along the 2½ mile long Cross Skigersta Road. The moors look dark brown, with bright green patches of grass. The sun does come out occasionally, although dark clouds hang over the spine of the island. At Dell, a car is being pulled out of the ditch by a tractor. Once you leave the roadway, you're in trouble as the verges are very soft. Return across the Barvas Moor in pouring rain. Return home at 4pm, after picking up some logs for the fire. Meal tonight is sweet & sour chicken, with added pineapple. The wind, which had abated during the afternoon, now picks up again. I find, once the camera has recharged, that I have taken 5,000 pictures with it, bringing the total of pictures taken in Lewis and Harris to 5,500.

Thursday 28/12/06

Another grey day with low cloud and high temperatures. Mrs B's son now has a car at his disposal, so after a cheese on toast, we head out for the West Side at 1.30pm. Visibility is good to start with, but the onset of a rainfront curtails that. Pass by the two windturbines on the Arnish Moor, near the Grimshader road. They stand in a hollow, at a lower level than the main road. We proceed to Cameron Terrace, where we turn off to Achmore and Loch Ganvich. The sky lowers further as we pass the lonely miles across the spine of the island. We bypass the Callanish Stones on the way north towards Carloway. Nobody stirs as the rain falls on the village of Tolsta Chaolais. Grey houses stand amongst the yellowed grass and brownish bracken. The geese, which flock the loch during spring and summer, have gone for winter. Once in Carloway, we take a peek down the Borrowston Road, which ends above Carloway Pier. We also have a look at the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village, which stands deserted. Proceed to Dalmore via Upper Carloway. The houses at Dalmore look rundown, an overwhelming stench of manure emanates from a yard, where a sorry sheep stands up to its haunches in muck. Rain falls on a cold wind as we venture out to the cemetery, which stands directly above the beach. At 2.45, we drive the few miles east to Dalbeg, where ducks and geese populate the loch, now devoid of waterlilies. Only the sand provides a splash of brightness on this dark December day. Return to Stornoway through Shawbost, Bragar and the Barvas Moor. Darkness falls as we enter town. Mrs B goes for shopping, whilst her son drives me round some of the streets, and out to Cuddy Point. Light has completely failed by then. Supper is a very nice roast with vegetables and mashed potatoes. During the evening, the wind picks up to force 7, in anticipation of much worse tomorrow. A helicopter crash yesterday off Morecambe is now known to have claimed the lives of 6 men, with a 7th still missing. The search for him has now been called off, due to the onset of darkness and bad weather.

Wednesday 27/12/06

As it is the holiday week, we continue with the late starts. Read about people having a less than cheerful Christmas, some are lonely, others desperate, yet others missing those that have gone before. Go out to a fairly busy Somerfields for some food. Booze is stacked up high. Sigh. Weather is singularly uninspiring. We have microwaveable meals for supper, as the beef is not defrosted, and it's a 1.5kg lump. Mrs B watches 10 episodes of Rising Damp between 3 and 8pm, Rising Damp being a British sitcom from the 1970s and 80s with Leonard Rossiter as a cantankerous, frustrated landlord in a seedy bedsit. Also watch a documentary about ABBA, showing it's lonely at the top.

Tuesday 26/12/06 - Boxing Day

A quiet day, which we start suitably late. The ferry is running today. Shops are closed, except for Woolworths, who have their sales today, and the Coop. Mrs B is visited by some of her relatives in the afternoon. An earthquake rattles the area within 10 miles of Dumfries. A larger earthquake strikes Taiwan. Neither event causes damage or loss of life. Go to town after 5pm with Mrs B, but was not impressed. Supper was lemon chicken with rice. It's grey and dull outside, with occasional rain. Temperatures remain high, but a change is in the offing. Tropical cyclone Bondo has dissipated over Madagascar.

Monday 25/12/06 - Christmas Day

Preparations for Christmas dinner mean we don't see our beds until about 2.30 a.m. Nonetheless, we do manage to get out of bed at 11 o'clock. The weathe rtoday is grey, overcast and windy. Temperatures peak at 9C. We start the day on Buck's Fizz [champagne with orange juice] with toast. Presents are opened meanwhile, and mrs B has a fair old collection from friends and relatives. My present was unfortunately not of the correct size. We start Christmas supper after 2pm, with parmaham and melon, accompanied by a glass of Cava. Not my favourite tipple. The main dinner is honey glazed turkey, very well prepared. This is accompanied by roast and mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts and peas. A glass of red wine is spilled - into my lap, thank you. The new table cloth is inaugurated in splendid fashion. Dinner is very nice. It gets dark by the time we reach the Xmas pudding, but a candle or two help the atmosphere. Everybody is quite replete after that. We wile away the hours with the Repeat Hell that is Sky Television. One of mrs B's summerguests telephones from Australia at 7pm, where it is 6 am on Boxing Day. Also in Australia, snow has fallen in Tasmania. Across the Indian Ocean, tropical cyclone Bondo is weakening on passing down the Mozambique Channel. Spend an hour or so sorting out pictures on FlickR. The new moon is out in early evening. Later on, we have some sausage rolls and baguettes with the last of the turkey.

Sunday 24/12/06 - Christmas Eve

Cloudy day with a moderate wind, which makes it feel quite cold. Temperature 7C. Bondo is passing down the northwestern coast of Madagascar, with winds forecast at 120 mph. Brunch is bacon & eggs. Go out for a walk to the Coastguard Station and on to the Battery. We return down Rigs Road to Island Road, and from there to the filling station to see how busy that is on Sunday. Very busy. The other petrol station, on Rigs Road, is closed. On return mrs B warms up her black & blue fingers (cold!). Prepare for dinner which is served at 8pm. Start with a prawn cocktail, a lasagna as main course and a sweet after. Sit down by the fire with a coffee. Upload more than 400 pics to FlickR. Watch the Watchnight Service from Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh on BBC1, which neatly takes us into Christmas Day 2006.

Saturday 23/12/06

Today, I head out for some Christmas shopping of my own. The shops are all packed, full of Christmas cheer. NOT. The problems at the airports are being resolved, now that the fog is lifting. Down in Madagascar, tropical cyclone Bondo is weakening as it nears the island. Mrs B's sister comes to call after dark, after which the lady of the house herself goes for a final shop at Somerfields. Quite a few members of her family call in today. Supper is a microwaveable meal, and the lottery yields no result. A competitor in the associated show breaks down in tears under strain of winning £17,500. Dear me. Very quiet evening. A woman is reportedly hurt by a gun, fired from a room above her. It went off by accident. See earlier blogpost.

The above flower is actually on a Veronica bush outside, at the moment.

Friday 22/12/06

Very late start today. Mrs B goes out to complete her Christmas shopping. Two hours later and a good many £££ lighter she returns from the supermarket trip from hell. Each check-out had a queue of about 12 trolleys in it, I'm sure that's the same the world over. Fog continues to play havoc with planes, trains and automobiles (pun intended). Everybody is trying to get away. One family drives instead of flies to - Sweden. A journey of some 1,500 miles. It's a shambles. Mrs B is having her second son here over Christmas and the New Year, but his journey is delayed because flooding earlier this month washed the railway line away between Perth and Pitlochry. I venture into town at dusk, to take the above pictures. Dinner is a pastabake.

Thursday 21/12/06

The shortest day of the year. Fog dominates the news, as it causes the cancellation of most domestic flights within the UK. By late evening, 48-year old Stephen Wright from Ipswich is formally charged with the murder of 5 women around that town. Another suspect, who had been held since Monday, was released on police bail. A stern warning is issued to reporters not to prejudice the trial. I take delivery of Christmas flowers, which cheer up an otherwise very drab day. Strong winds overnight and in the morning delay Muirneag - the poor old tub is 6 hours late coming in. This means that supplies for the shops won't be on the shelves until late afternoon or early evening. I head for Somerfields, which has a depleted look about it. I do manage to obtain copies of the Gazette, Free Press, P&J and the Hebridean. The latter paper is being published for the last time, and will be incorporated in the Stornoway Gazette.

Wednesday 20/12/06

Cloudy day, but occasional chinks in the clouds let the sun through. Cyclone Bondo is approaching Madagascar, with its news media still not acknowledging its severity. At 2.40pm, the gastanker Sigis Lotta pulls into port. Go into Somerfields for the usual, and to Engebret's for lottery tickets. As the evening progresses, temperatures do not fall but stay at the very high 9C. Winds at the Butt of Lewis touch galeforce. Reykjavik touched +10C today, and by midnight still stands at +7C. Down in England, the dense fog causes no end of problems at Heathrow Airport. All internal flights are cancelled.

Wednesday 20/12/06

Cloud dominates the weather this morning, with occasional light showers. Another suspect is apprehended in the Suffolk murders investigation. The homes of both suspects now in police custody are subjected to a fingertip search. Weather today is cloudy but mild, we're the warmest in the country. Fog shrouds most of England, Scotland and Ireland. I monitor the progress of a category 5 tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean. Madagascar will get a brush of it, but its newsmedia are behind the times. The Seychelles do mention it. Venture out to Somerfields for food. Mrs B goes to town herself to gather in parts of her Christmas shopping. Supper is another microwaveable curry. Somerfields have changed the packaging, suggesting you cut open the plastic foil covering the food. You have to cut it open using scissors, a guarantee to burn your hand on the steam.

Monday 18/12/06

Awake to a brilliant dawn, with the mainland hills very clear - even the Lochalsh hills, south of Applecross, can be discerned just left of the Arnish Lighthouse. The Storr and Trotternish hills on Skye peep out above the hills on the Arnish Peninsula. The sun rises at 9.11 am, and 4 minutes later it appears above Holm Point. We're having the sun for 6 hours 23 minutes. At 10 o'clock, Suffolk Police announce they have arrested a man for questioning on suspicion of murdering the 5 prostitutes killed around Ipswich. During the morning, high cloud moves across from the west, but does not cover the sky. Manage to entice mrs B's nephew to drive us round to Arnish, just for a wee spin. Ice covers puddles, and it's very cold, only just above freezing. The snowclad hills on the mainland stand out clearly. Can't get over the arrested man down in Suffolk, who gave a rambling, 30 minute interview to the BBC and was also featured on the frontpage of the Sunday Mirror yesterday. Supper is chicken jalfrezi curry, out of the microwave. Spend the evening watching garbage TV by a large fire. Now, I never realised there was that much difference in quality regarding coal. One variety burns well - in a fire that's already going. The other variety gets the fire started. There is a cheap way of making firelighters: old newspapers. Roll up three sheets of newsprint, from the corners, into rolls of half an inch thick. Bend these sticks into pretzels.

Sunday 17/12/06

Starting off fairly sunny, but cloud takes over through the afternoon. Our guest has his cooked breakfast at 9.30; I have mine a wee bit later. No further news on the missing diver (post script: he turned up safe and well on board his ship). Another tropical depression develops in the Pacific. Go out for a walk at 3.15, to the Coastguard Station and round to the Battery. Large numbers of starlings congregate on the radio relay mast and the telephone wires. Go on down Miller Road and to Sandwick Cemetery. A man tends to a grave there as I walk up the hill to the top of Oliver's Brae. This 'brae' is characterized by the two huge mansions (picture below taken on 30 January 2006).


The view from Oliver's Brae now incorporates the snowcapped Harris hills. Carry on down Seaforth Road, where a number of cats skulk around their front doors. One is particularly friendly, and I remember it from a late night foray (at 1 a.m.) along Seaforth Road, on a mission to see the midnight gloaming back in May. Other felines seen along Seaview Terrace, and the black cat along Newton Street. Mrs B has her grandchildren in, who are using the bathing facilities, as their own are being done up. Dinner is browned minced meat & onions, mashed potatoes and runner beans. Temperature has sunk to freezing by 6pm, but is back up to 6C at 10pm.

Saturday 16/12/06

Nice morning, if showery, after the overnight low of -2C / 28F. Rose quite late. A diver is missing in the North Sea, 143 miles east of Aberdeen. No further updates. A French fishing vessel comes in for a crew change. That's been going on for nearly a year. They call into port. The old crew goes ashore, and a new one takes over. Brief handover, and 90 minutes later they are off again. The old crew are flown back to France, saving the boat a 1,500 mile roundtrip to its homeport of Lorient. It also saves the company 25% of the normal harbour dues. This discount is awarded if a vessel, coming in to change its crew, manages to do so within 24 hours. Accompanied mrs B to Lewis Crofters to buy potatoes, flowerbulbs and compost.

The prices are ever so slightly dear, if you bother to compare with other stores in town. The bag of compost weighed 20 kg / 45 lb, and was very cumbersome to carry. Had sausage rolls for lunch, after which mrs B received a string of visitors. Her grandson (aged 15) with 2 of his pals. Mrs B's sister called round with her husband. And an old family friend closed proceedings by 6pm. Supper is chicken korma. Lottery: a waste of money. Might as well set light to a £1 banknote (still have them here in Scotland). Hailstones fall down the chimney and hiss in the fire. The windfarms continue to fan the flames of dissent in the island. The Eishken one is as unpopular as the North Lewis one.

Friday 15/12/06

Nice sunny morning, in between the downpours of rain and hail. Great cloudscapes - see pics. Otherwise, not too bad. By 12.45, another heavy shower blots out the lights, and lights have to be lit indoors as the hail clatters down. Showers diminish and the temperature dives towards freezing after dusk. Go to Somerfields for shopping, but need to divert to Engebret's for papers. Pedestrians are not a consideration around the filling station. Supper is chili con carne, for the 2nd time within a week LOL. An apple crumble closes proceedings. Watch a lot of TV through the evening, mostly police chases. A man decided to sleep off his hangover in the middle of a railroad track. No further developments in the Ipswich murders. The night is very cold, temperature by midnight stands at -1C / 30F.

Thursday 14/12/06

The pictures do not require captions, they say it all as far as the weather is concerned. Showers, some with hail, strong winds and very dreich. The ferry is 90 minutes late, and arrives amidst a severe squall at 2.15pm (pictures 6 to 8). An official report is published into the death of Princess Diana in 1997, saying there was definitely not a conspiracy to murder. Diana's lover was Dodi Fayed, also killed in the accident, and his father continues to defend the conspiracy theory. Severe flooding continues to haunt mainland Scotland. The villagers in Milnathort, Perthshire, thought they were safe behind their flood barriers. Nope. A waste of half a million pounds. Kingussie is still under water. In the Trossachs, sheep drown in the flood plains of the river Forth, west of Stirling. Went to the shop in a gale and downpour. Very cold. After lasagna for supper, we suffer a town-wide powercut at 9.30, which lasts for 10 minutes. Having located a torch, I find Mrs B in the backroom. She gets the candles and oillamps out, but by the time every room in the house is lit, the power is back on. Although I am advised the Northern Lights may put in an appearance, nothing is visible.

Wednesday 13/12/06

Pretty awful weather today: persistent rain is replaced by high winds. A galewarning cancels a lot of ferry services, including the afternoon run to Ullapool. The Small Isles ferry went out, intending to call at all four islands, but ended up only visiting Eigg. Sailings to Muck, Rum and Canna were abandoned en-route. Highland Scotland is plagued by flooding. The playground of a school at Kingussie is under several feet of water. When I go into town, at 3.30pm, the wind blows at force 7. The Harvest Caroline comes into port to shelter. Away from the shelter of buildings along South Beach, you do feel the full force of the wind. Buy the latest book by Christina Hall "The Road to Glen Spean", which I discovered in the library last week. Have a nice, long bath at 5.30, then have mrs B's soup with rolls for supper. Down in Ipswich, 5 dead bodies have now been recovered from within a 6 mile radius. They were all local prostitutes. A massive manhunt has been launched as local residents express their horror. All girls, in their 20s, had turned to prostitution to feed their heroin addiction.