Saturday 27/05/06

Fairly early start today, certainly for mrs B. Her first set of guests leave at 6.45, the young lady who is running the half marathon leaves before 8. And I'm at breakfast at 9.15. The half marathon starts at 10.00. I encounter the first runners on South Beach Street at 10.10. They have covered 1½ miles in 10 minutes, pretty good going. Police close off the streets. The course leads round to Sandwick, Moss End, across to the Castle Grounds to finish at the Porter's Lodge opposite the Coop. At 11 o'clock, I accompany mrs B to a very limited car-boot sale outside the Young Man's club on Bayhead. Only 6 cars present, and not a lot to be had. Our return to town gets interrupted by a heavy shower. We shelter in the Red Cross charity shop. Some very old and tired books there - e.g. the Guinness Book of Records 1986. The postcards are nice. Return to Newton at 12.30. The athlete's luggage is returned at that hour, but the young lady herself doesn't appear until 15.30, some 3 hours after her promised return. Tut tut. Another beefy few downpours close the afternoon. I spend the evening watching police car chases from the US. I win nothing on the lottery. Oh, an Australian man comes to stay the weekend.

Friday 26/05/06

After yesterday's nice evening, we're confronted with a wet and miserable day. A fine to moderate drizzle falls throughout the day. Willie calls in during the morning, as does one of mrs B's relatives, who is helping her with the ironing. One guest cancelled his stay, after he decided to leave for the mainland straight after his bikerun up from Tarbert. The other guest does turn up. She is an American student at Oxford, up here for the Half Marathon. Her luggage was mislaid at Edinburgh. Although it is not formally lost, it is no use to her as it cannot reach Stornoway until 12.30 tomorrow afternoon. The race starts at 10 a.m.. The young lady goes off for a flying visit to the Callanish Stones (grand total of 37 minutes there). Later on, I assist her in planning her trip south to meet up with a friend. Two problems crop up. (1) It's a Bank Holiday. (2) The prospective meeting place (Fort William) is packed out with folk attending the World Championships Mountain Biking. I suggest she travel through Skye. She won't arrive there until 9.40 tomorrow evening. A German / Spanish couple take the place of the man who cancelled. They had come to Stornoway, expecting to find a ferry leaving at 7pm. Not until the end of June, folks. BBC Island Blogging is off air all day, after a fault prevents everyone from logging on. The rain stops at 6pm, leaving a cloudy but relatively mild evening. Night falls at 10.40.

Thursday 25/05/06

Have a chat with Diana over breakfast regarding her work (fundraising for community owned forestry) and windfarms. She leaves for Harris later today, after a seminar in the Town Hall here. I clean up computer files, putting things onto CD-ROM. Saves a gigabyte or two. At midday, the cruiseliner Alexander von Humboldt puts in an appearance. She was in twice last year. Although the green funnel is the same, she seems to look different. The A. von H. can take 440 passengers, measures 12,331 tonnes and has come in from Invergordon this morning. This summer she will be around north Norway, moving to the Caribbean this autumn to end up around the Antarctic in March 2007. Prices of those cruises go up to 14,000 Euros, although they last up to 6 weeks. I go over to Goat Island at 3pm to view the Orinda, on which Mrs B's brother in law Willie sails Hebridean waters in the summer. Climbing on board is a bit hairy, as she is still on the slipway, so it's a high ladder. Eek. It's a neat little boat, 36 feet long, with all necessary conveniences. Afterwards, I head into town to get the Thursday papers. These are full of NHS scandals. The latest is the death of cancer patients due to a complete breakdown in communication between hospital and GP. The discharge summary for one patient took 8 weeks to reach the GP. The recommendation for further urgent tests was ignored, which led to the patient's death within 2 months. Absolutely beyond belief. At 6.30, I report to Goat Island again, where the Orinda is due to sail for an evening's cruising. It's a nice if cool evening. Departure is delayed due to engine and battery problems. First, the battery is flat. A pair of jumpleads, supplied by Willie's second helps to put life back into it. Once the engine runs, that'll recharge the battery. But the engine doesn't run. It releases a cloud of smoke into the cabin, and it turns out that the alternator belt is slipping. That is fixed, but now it turns out that one of the ball bearings on the alternator is kaputt. The engine will run, but it's not advisable to sail miles tonight. Another boat is also being sorted. The Sgoth (a traditional fishing vessel from Ness) lies moored in the Newton Basin as well, and is being used as a resting and defaecating place for Arctic Terns. One of the local GP's is sent in to clean up the mess. No, not in a professional capacity. At 7.30, we set off into Glumag harbour, round the Arnish Lighthouse (inside the beacon, thank you) towards the Tob [Leireabhat]. As we turn east towards Holm Point, the ferry crosses our bow. She is a big ship, travelling at a rate of knots. So, we get the wake, with waves of 3 to 4 feet (1 metre) high. I am warned of this, so I can hold on. Which I blinking well have to! Willie very kindly takes me to the Beasts of Holm, on which the Iolaire foundered in 1919. The coastal cliffs are relatively low and do not seem too difficult to climb up to from the sea. But I can imagine (and have seen) that in a force 9, it would be will-nigh impossible. I spare a second for the men of the Iolaire as we pass the marker of the Beasts of Holm and the monument for the disaster. We return to Stornoway past Stoneyfield Farm, Sandwick and Battery Point. Willie drops me off on the Goat Island pier, from where I make my way back to Newton past boats that stand 'slipped'. I have to be careful not to trip over the oily slipway, or not to knock any struts over. The Alexander von Humboldt sails at 8.30. Willie and his friend stay on the Orinda to sort the engine out. I make my way back to mrs B. She has taken in two workmen, who have been working down in the powerstation, a very messy job. I find a very interesting article in BBC Online, which tells of GPS-related devices (IPAQ's) which are activated in certain positions on Uig Beach. Once activated, they reproduce songs and stories. They work on Uig Beach, 37 miles west of Stornoway. This is the place where the Lewis Chessmen were found in 1831. They were made by 12th century Norsemen. The sun sets at 22.10. We're only 25 minutes short of the longest day, in terms of sunset times.

Wednesday 24/05/06

Little change in terms of weather. Hailshowers in the distance (is this late May??) and a cold wind. Temperatures a little better than yesterday's miserable 8C; we're up to 11 C by lunchtime. The Canadian couple are at breakfast at 8.30. They head for Inverness on the 1.45 ferry, with an onward journey to the Clyde in the next few days. I am told interesting stories about life in Nunavik, the northernmost settlement in Canada. He helped to build the road to Alaska (the Mackenzie Highway). Nunavik is a fair-sized town of about 3,500. Temperatures in winter go down to minus 60C. The road had to be built on permafrost. They head into Stornoway for an hour or so before going on the ferry. A dredger moves about the Glumag after lunchtime.When I get my (useless) lottery tickets and the papers, it chucks it down. Mrs B's brother-in-law calls in to invite me for a trip in his wee boat tomorrow, after he puts it in the water for the summer. The boat is 36 ft long, provided with all mod cons. A lady comes to stay who talks to community trusts (like the Erisort Trust and the North Harris Trust) about forestry projects. She is not a forester, but mrs B's son-in-law is one, and he's happy to see the prospect of some work. Aline Forest in Kinloch is a mangy bunch of trees, as is the plantation near Gearraidh na h-Aibhne. The evening is punctuated by scattered showers and nice sunshine. A few yachts call into port.

Tuesday 23/05/06

Brilliant start to another cold day. The German couple leave for Skye this morning, on the 11.05 ferry from Tarbert. They had a great day in Harris yesterday, including a run down the infamous Huisinis road. On their return to Stornoway, temperatures went down to -1.5C on the open moor. Have a chat with the Canadians over breakfast at 8.45. They hail from Vancouver Island, from where the Mod choristers also came who stayed here last October. Today's visitors will be going round the West Side by bus, to see Callanish and Gearrannan. The gentleman, aged around 70, used to work in the Arctic north of Canada, in the MacKenzie delta. One of his colleagues went round a building one evening and was dragged away and killed by a polar bear. I tell the story of the Norwegians from Kirkenes whose dustbins were forever raided by bears, who came across the border from the Kola peninsula in Russia. Everybody goes their respective ways at 9.30. Mrs B's son has put his new boat in the backyard - there are now 5 boats sitting there, including a canoe. An osprey at Boat of Garten is reported to have hatched 3 chicks. Regarding the NHS here in the Western Isles, 6 out of 7 consultants now say that patient care is definitely suffering as a result of the financial and management crisis. Consultant 7, the Board's Medical Director, denies that this is the case. Write an acerbic post on the Lighthouse blog, which will be published later today. The Gress Councillor is now calling for the resignation of the Scottish Executive's Health Minister, Andy Kerr. He has allowed this situation to spiral out of control by saying it's a local matter. It cannot be locally resolved because of the culture of bullying and intimidation from the highest levels of the NHS Board. I've used the Lighthouse blog before to demand the resignation of Mr Kerr.
At 1.30, the cruiseliner Polar Star leaves port. She is a small ship, only 4,000 tonnes, which plies routes round both poles. She can carry 96 passengers, and cruises cost between £2,500 and £7,000. At least. In the afternoon, mrs B's nephew turns up. He is not too well today. He takes us into town to do a bit of shopping. I find out that the MacKenzie River in Arctic Canada is named after Sir Alexander MacKenzie, who was born in Stornoway in the 1760s. A memorial plaque is mounted on the Francis Street wall of Martin's Memorial Church. Between 2 and 3pm, it pours with rain. After 4pm, some very beefy showers turn up, leaving some fantastic cloudscapes. Mrs B's son reappears at 4.30, at the same time as I do, to work on his boat. Find several websites with live weather data, much like the Eoropie webcam. Mrs B cooks the lamb dish that is in my Recipe Book (see Journals links), but replaces the lamb with chicken. The showers relent during the evening. Find out that I have taken 2,000 pictures between April 2005 and May 2006. Sounds a lot, but I read in someone else's journal (sorry, it's a private one) that they had 11,000 pics on-line.

Monday 22/05/06

Breakfast at 8.40, with the German couple. They went to Great Bernera and Uig yesterday, all the way to Mealista (45 miles from SY). On Isles FM, the question was asked where all the sound effects came from that Kenny-there-you-go uses on his show. What sound effects? Birds singing, planes going overhead, cars driving past. Sound effects? He does his show with the backdoor open, so you hear the birds tweeting in the trees outside, binlorries going past and planes flying by. It's bitterly cold this morning. Mrs B has to go to Somerfields at 9 am and gets pelted with hail. Yep, it's May 22nd. Maximum temperature today 7 C / 45 F. It feels more like February. The two workmen return to Glasgow. Mrs B has a flood of booking requests. Two Canadians arrive from Tarbert at 5pm. They're here for 2 nights. A four-fold increase is reported in rates of MRSA colonisation at the Western Isles Hospital. The Health Board's Medical Director puts it down to increased numbers of patients passing through the hospital. The Coastguard tug is busy this afternoon. The grass is cut this evening. At 11.30 pm, it's still light.

Sunday 21/05/06

Sunny morning with the odd shower. The Germans are going to Harris today. Yesterday, they did not return until 11pm. The two workmen are staying over for the weekend. On BBC 1 Landward they discuss the South Uist community buy-out, as well as off-road biking on SSSI [Sites of Special Scientific Interest], which can land you with a £40,000 fine. It's not warm, barely above 10C. I walk out to Goat Island with no coat on, brr. There is this cold northwesterly wind. Mrs B's grandson and one of his mates go out in a dinghy, which requires continual bailing. Mrs B herself wants her grass cut, but that may have to wait. Good hay harvest though from there LOL. One of the workmen comes back from an afternoon on the town, just a wee bit the worst for wear. Mrs B has to switch his telly off, it's on at full blast.