Saturday 13/05/06

A very late and lazy start to the day at 11.30. A helicopter flies low over the basin, just as we sit down to breakfast. I try to wash an upstairs window, but not very successfully. Part of the glass has deteriorated. I head down to a busy supermarket. The wind is very cold today. We receive a new guest today, a lady from Australia who is going to be here for 4 nights. Mrs B has an addition to her kitchen equipment in the shape of a coffee machine which can also make espresso and cappuccino. We try it out, but it all boils down to proportions. Espresso cups, for instance, are only ¼ the size of an ordinary coffee cup. Machine makes eye-watering strong espresso. Go out for an amble at 9 pm to picture the town against the setting sun. At 1 a.m., we head out to picture the lingering light at the deepest point of the night. And yes, once at the end of Seaforth Road, there is still some light over Broadbay. On the way back, we encounter two friendly moggies.

Friday 12/05/06

Early morning rain leaves off before breakfast, and the day becomes nice if cold. Mrs B's nephew and his wife take her and me for lunch at the Woodlands Centre. I have a very nice vegetarian pasta-bake. After finishing this at 2.50, we run a few errands around the Anderson Road area before closing proceedings outside Somerfields. I walk back to mrs B's without a coat; my woollen jumper keeps me warm enough. I find in the news that a girl of 11 is due to give birth, having fallen pregnant whilst drunk. Her mother is very proud of her (WHAT??) and the boy that did it to her (aged 15) is due in court for rape. On E4, I watch Wife Swap, but switch off after 20 minutes. I'm totally disgusted. First of all, the two women concerned were dramatically opposed. One was a non-socialite who had set up home in Shawbost (here in Lewis) and had no friends. The other was - well, beyond description. I began to feel sympathetic towards the Lewis resident, but her attitude and falsehoods about Lewis destroyed that. Nearest take away is not 40 miles away; Stornoway is 18 miles from Shawbost. And you don't come here for the take-away. Next week: Big Brother 7 is due to pollute our screens. No thanks. Anyway, spectacular sunset and moonrise around the 10pm mark, see gallery. It remains light until AFTER midnight.

Thursday 11/05/06

Fog persists through the night, to lift by morning. The sun comes through hesitantly, after a few drops of drizzle around the 11 a.m. mark. Yesterday's gardening waste is shifted by mrs B's son. Her nephew and niece call in sequentially. Her niece returned to live in Lewis after a 9 year absence. Mrs B's son puts in a second appearance later in the afternoon, so it's a lively time. Three new guests from America turn up; they originate from Montreal (Canada) but currently live in Arizona. They have 'done' Lewis and Harris today and will be off to Skye, whence they came, tomorrow afternoon. The warm weather is over for now, and it will get a lot colder. Snow is forecast for the mountain tops. The captain of MV Muirneag is reprimanded by the Coastguard over his decision to sail on November 11th last year in the face of an imminent gale. He was forced to divert 60 miles off course, trailers and goods on board were damaged and one passenger injured.

Wednesday 10/05/06

Another bright and sunny day. Two of our 3 guests leave today, to be replaced later on by a chap who is here for a job. I assist Mrs B in the removal of windblown rubbish from her backyard and weeds from the front garden. Backyard needs a makeover - as shown on pictures from the last few months. We close garden proceedings by having a drink in the sunshine out the back. Somerfields was not busy, neither were the lottery tickets busy. Evening meal was spaghetti bolognese. Our new guest is late coming in as his job has overrun. At 4.30, the Eoropie webcam (http://www.eoropaidh.co.uk) shows that the sea haar [fog] has blown in. This makes its way east, and by early evening is covering the tops of the Arnish hills. The fog descends on the Inner Harbour, but does not extend to the Outer Harbour, which I overlook.

Tuesday 09/05/06

Wall to wall sunshine this morning, not a cloud in the sky. Mrs B's youngest grandson comes in for an hour or so. After he goes away, I notice that the Cuma, which has been living on the Goat Island slipway for 3 months has finally left. At 2.15 I head for town with mrs B and her nephew to go on the bus to the West Side for a spot of walking. As I wait for the bus to leave, I notice two policemen approaching someone lying in the flowerbeds under An Lanntair. They have some difficulty rousing him from his slumbers, and take him away to sober up in the cells. The bus driver and other bystanders laugh their heads off. We head out towards Callanish and Breascleit. I alight at the southern road end of Tolsta Chaolais. I'm going to mark out a walking route. It's very warm. Many sheep with their young lambs about. The walk is very scenic, T.Ch. is a nice wee place. After about 40 minutes, I've passed through the village. A few people are about, but otherwise it's very quiet. A goose lands on the village loch. Turn left at the top and find an improved path leading to the Doune Braes Hotel, the local watering hole. After that, it's a 1 km jaunt along the main road to Dun Carloway, where the renowned Broch stands. The Broch has a visitor centre, which is worth a visit to see how life is thought to have been led about 2,100 years ago. An older couple is there as well. Nice view from there. You can see Old Hill, Aird Uig and the nearby Loch an Duin. As I go down the hill again, I notice the northbound bus passing along the main road. I therefore return to town on the 5pm bus, which goes back the way I came. Arrive in Stornoway at 5.45.

Monday 08/05/06

Brilliant day today, but still a bit hazy. The Russians disappear to the West Side; I declined their offer to join them. I am advised that the first cruiseliner of the season, the Black Prince, has docked. After snapping some pictures of flowers in the garden, I go into town, and decide I can go without a coat. Pity about that cool wind. Other residents in Newton are sitting out in the sun and out of the wind. The Black Prince is moored alongside pier no 1, where the Muirneag is normally docked through the day. Muirneag herself has relocated to the far side of the ferry terminal. I return to the town centre to buy papers, including a copy of “Back in the Day”, which is a look back at events earlier in the 20th century here. Back in Newton, Mrs B receives two lady guests. The Black Prince sails at 5.30, heading for Norway. A few local people joined her this afternoon. Another ship hovers off Arnish Point, but then disappears after half an hour. A glance through the binoculars shows it’s the Dutch fishing vessel SCH 302. One of the Russian guests briefly reappears to drop off the hire car. By 7pm, the third guest turns up. He is an elderly gentleman, whose wife is in hospital here. Prospects are not good unfortunately.

Sunday 07/05/06

Grey start to the day, sun tries to poke through the clouds but doesn’t make it. Three young Russians come to stay. They want to go to a beach. Nearest one is at the Braighe, 6 miles away behind the airport. They’ll need a taxi to go there. It’s Sunday, so no buses. They are going to walk back from Melbost along the main road. How nice. Mrs B tries to organise a car for them, as they want to tour the West Side tomorrow, prior to travelling down to Tarbert. They regret stopping in Inverness for 3 days (a waste of time by anyone’s standards), as they now only have limited time before flying back to Moscow on Friday. The haze persists through the afternoon, and by 5pm mrs B starts to worry about her Russian guests. She sends her son and myself out to look for them along the Braighe road, but just as we pass the airport, she rings in to say the wanderers have returned. Yuri, Yakov and Anastasia ask me if I’ll join them on a spin up to Tolsta Beach. I say yes – something I’m going to regret. They first of all go to HS1 for a meal, but end up eating at the Balti House because HS1 was full. Jacov drives the 4 of us to Tolsta, but appears to be remarkably oblivious to the rules of the road. He doesn’t pull up at the stop stripes at traffic lights and commits a frightening mistake on the roundabout by the Coop. He has to turn right there, which in the UK means you go ¾ round the roundabout. Not our driver. He cut straight through against the flow of traffic, ending up facing a jeep head-on which stops well short of the roundabout, to allow us to disentangle us from this mess. I tell him in no uncertain terms never to do that again. He is extremely lucky that there is hardly anybody on the road, let alone police. No further mishaps as we crawl up the road to Tong at 30 mph, in an area where the limit is 60. OK, on to Garry beach, which is very quiet. Just one camper and a field of rams. They are very placid. I’ve heard stories of a car being attacked by a ram, leaving the bodywork well dented. The mist lifts as we walk onto Traigh Mhor. Return to Stornoway at 10pm, with another hairy moment on Sandwick Road, as our driver forgets to turn right.