Friday 30/06/06

Rain moves away overnight, leaving a bright day, with frontal cloud streaming in from the west. It's a breezy morning. I rake mrs B's grass from the backyard. At 1 pm, she, her friend and nephew as well as muggins head to the Woodlands Centre in the Castle Grounds for a spot of lunch. Have to wait in a queue for 20 minutes before we can place an order (it's very busy). I had a coronation chicken baguette, others had smoked salmon salad or a quiche. Very, very filling. So filling in fact, that supper just consisted of rolls. Coastguard reports that a group of archeologists had to be taken off Eilean Garbh in the Shiants (20 miles south of here, between Lewis and Skye). The isthmus to Eilean Tighe, where their camp is, had become flooded and they were marooned. As the accompanying pictures show, Eilean Garbh is a very inhospitable place. At 5.30, BBC On-line report that the Harris Tweed mill at Shawbost is due to be closed, with the loss of 30 jobs. KM Group boss Derick Murray (whose name is allegedly mud in the island) has stated that he'll try to reemploy these people at his one remaining mill in Stornoway. Local councillor says he's dismayed. He should be. The barge with the long turbine mast is towed out by a small tug at 8.15. Evening ends bright and sunny, with cloud streaming in again at 11pm.

Thursday 29/06/06

Another bright start to the day, which gradually turns cloudier. Temperatures reach 18C by mid-afternoon. Forecast temperatures for southern England are 34C by Sunday. We'll have a more palatable 18C. Mrs B takes unwell around midday, with a suspected TIA. I sit with her until it wears off; her nephew happens to call round too, and he joins me. By about 2pm, things start to improve, and she's happy to go out for a drive. First of all we go round to Arnish. Although 1 mile in a direct line, it is in fact a 6 mile drive by car. We are unable to see the barge sitting alongside the quayside from our position. We carry on a little way up the very rough track that leads to the Lighthouse. Then it's retracing our steps to the main road, and a 7 mile drive to Cameron Terrace (Leurbost). We can see rain moving over the hills from South Lochs. We continue west towards Achamor, then northeast, back to town. For the first 4 miles, the road rises steeply from the 108m above sealevel at Achamor to 149 m at Beinnabhuineadh, half way to the Pentland Road junction. This road is lined with small shieling huts. People used to go there "in the old days" in summer with family and a few animals, or to cut and collect peats. Only a few huts remain in a serviceable state. Peats are still cut, by a few, in May, and left out to dry. You'd be surprised to find how dry they become over a 4 month period. The Pentland Road is busy with drivers in a crashing hurry. We're taken round to a second-hand shop up Rigs Road, where mrs B wants to buy a grassrake and a bucket. I get the papers in, and we have a quiet evening. The rain starts early, at 4pm, and gets heavy. A guest comes off the 8pm ferry, and gets soaked on the 10 minute walk up from the terminal. It is very dark, and we put the lights on by 9 o'clock. The Swiss man missed his bus connection at Barvas. The bus from Ness to town is supposed to wait for the bus from the West Side, but didn't. I think he must have got a lift.

Wednesday 28/06/06

Awake to the sight of a large barge over at Arnish, loading a 60 m segment of pipe, which looks suspiciously like part of a windturbine tower. Very bright morning, but the clouds indicate the approach of a weatherfront from the Atlantic. Temperatures rise quickly to a maximum of 18C / 64F in the afternoon, which is very respectable for Stornoway. Clouds close in by 4pm, winds pick up and it cools down. Rain commences at 9pm. Mrs B's nephew comes to call, and he is not a happy chappy. Personal problems on top of his health ones. He takes his auntie over to the Coop for a shop, and the saying "shop until you drop" takes a different meaning there. The place bears more resemblance to a building site than a superstore, with ladders, open ceilings, trailing wires and what have you all over. Not to mention the fact that tiles are being cut with an angle-grinder (this generates dust), and there is open food like bread and meat on the shelves. This is the first week that Calmac put on 3 sailings a day on Wednesday and Friday, which will continue until September 1st. Ferry leaves at 6.15 a.m., 12.45pm and 7pm, finally to return at a quarter to one in the morning. On mrs B's behalf I welcome a gentleman from Switzerland who is here until Sunday. His luggage had gone walkabout on Monday, but he is just nipping down the airport to pick it all up. Later in the evening, he comes down for a chat and some information on his trips in the days to come. Yes, I'm turning into a bit of a tourist office here LOL. His English is not very strong, he can't follow the presenters on the weather news on BBC. They admittedly gabble. Dinner consists of a nice stirfry from the butcher's, with a caramel custard afterwards. I hop out at 8.30 pm to picture two 2-masted yachts which are coming in. In the afternoon, I went into town to buy a new notebook. Had to go through 3 shops to find what I wanted. My old one will run out in 35 pages - I'm now on page 1165.

Tuesday 27/06/06

Bright start to the day, although cloud moves across later. The wall around the bus garage in Inaclete Road has now been pulled down and new gates were being put in this morning. Mrs B is plagued by flies in the kitchen, which come in from the backyard, attracted by the ingredients for the fruitsalad. A lady arrives off the plane who is due to visit the primary school in the morning. She is pointed in the right direction. I pay a flying visit to Somerfields. I'm not venturing outside, after this morning's one hour coughing bout. Dinner tonight is sweet and sour. Mrs B was expecting a guest, who does not turn up. He had booked into a cheaper establishment, but had not bothered to cancel his first booking. Nice. He was "doing" the islands by bike. May his punctures be numerous. We've had some fun and games with cyclists this summer. Won't easily forget the wimp that buzzed off on the ferry to his wife after a wet run up from Tarbert. At least that one did cancel. Evening passes quietly.

Monday 26/06/06

Cloudy and cold start to the day, but very little wind. Our cyclist has gone off on the bus to the West Side. There are some clearances in the clouds. Hardly a ripple on the basin. Slowly kicking off the last of the sinusitis, yuk. Help mrs B by cleaning windows, pulling ragwort and getting some of her shopping in. The cyclist was very grateful for suggesting the bus, he had a relaxing time. The grass is being cut by mrs B's son, who has a strimmer, goggles and all the gear. Makes a difference. Notice that I've taken 500 pictures this month, and 2,130 with this camera. Extremely clear evening.

Sunday 25/06/06

Very quiet morning. Our two guests from yesterday go out for the day, to fly home at 6pm. They were here to attend a funeral. A cyclist checks in at 2pm, after cycling up from Tarbert, 37 miles to the south. Apart from that hill at Ardhasaig (which required a 1 mile walk up), there was no problem. It is a nice day. Tomorrow he may cycle to Carloway via the Pentland Road. It's 16 miles. Lunch at 3pm consists of a salad with ham. The Norwegian supply vessel Far Fosna departs at 3.20. She was last in on May 6th. Half an hour later, I go out for a short stroll towards the bottom of Miller Road, then to return to the Coastguard Station via the foreshore. The tide is out. Big navy ship still off Holm Point. At the CGS, a few sights remain of the Open Day, yesterday. Plants and flowers now fill the old boat at the junction of Newton Street and the CGS access road. The cyclist worked at Camp Zeist in Holland at the time of the Lockerbie trials, a number of years ago. It is cool outside, with an easterly wind. Visibility is good; Skye, the Shiants, Kebock Head and Applecross all stand out clearly. Cloud retreats west, leaving a deep blue sky, of a hue I have rarely seen here before. Watch the disgraceful football match between Portugal and Holland (1-0), which is also noted for 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards. Why am I no longer watching this tournament? Eugh. A Royal Navy minesweeper, M352, heads out after fixing its problems. She signals to the larger vessel off Holm.

Saturday 24/06/06

Fairly bright start to the day, cold is a lot better thanks. Showers pop up, but nothing to worry about. As yet. There is an open day for emergency services over a thte Coastguard Station, between 1.00 and 4.30pm. This includes the Coastguard Tug, which lies moored at no 3 pier. I go out just after 1pm, on time to watch the CG helicopter land. It's getting quite busy, and I join a queue to view the helicopter inside. There are loads of kids about. Available for viewing are a fire-engine, an aireport fire tender, ambulance - and of course the kids love to set off the sirens. After a while, a yellow air ambulance comes in to land. It's surprisingly spacious - relatively speaking. The SSPCA has a stand, the police is there with the Padded Man, giving everyone who wants a chance to have a bash. One young boy breaks down in tears at the sight of someone being hit, and the policeman agrees it's not nice to hit people. I have a wee chat with the Navy bomb disposal unit. They have a bomb standing by to be exploded. Apparently at least two pieces of live ordnance are being dragged out of the sea by fishermen around Britain's coast every month. Diving gear from today and yesteryear is on show. The coastguard's garage has all its gear on show. Inside the Station, there is a room full of posters and leaflets from organisations like SEPA. Upstairs, I visit the heart of the Station: The Ops Room. Four people man consoles, which show detailed maps of the area. A warning is being broadcast on channel 16 that an explosion will occur in Stornoway Harbour in 15 minutes' time - at 2.15. The clocks inside the room all show GMT, so it's easy to think it's only just after 1pm. All shipping should avoid the area. A dinghy is out there, prepping the bomb. A five-minute charge is set on it. Meanwhile, a Coastguard explains that the operational area for Stornoway extends to 61 degrees North (we're on 58) and 15 degrees West (we're on 7). The western boundary is shared with the US and Canadian coastguards. Head out at 2.15 to witness the big bang. We are duly warned that the bang will occur in 1 minute - not quite.

BANG!!!

A spout of water jumps in the air. The coastguard boats leave their guard stations, which they had to assume to stop anyone entering the port. Next, I join the queue for a can of coke (60p). Then, it's on to the SAR exercise. Two man "have gone overboard". The lifeboat rushes to the rescue. A flare has been let off to mark their position. The two are retrieved in about 5 minutes. With the water temperature at 9C, you have 10 to 60 minutes to live. After this, I drift off to no 3 pier to view the tug. The Anglian Prince is a large vessel, with a very awkward gangway. Am allowed on to the wheelhouse. One of the crew discovers that a wee girl has managed to break the radar console. The tug escorts tankers through the narrows of the Minch, tows anything the lifeboat can't handle. The events were well attended, and Newton Street was packed with parked cars. A shuttlebus was available to go between the two sites. I miss the final flypast by a Navy Nimrod; it flies over very low, then roars away into the clouds. Meanwhile, mrs B's son has been preparing to put the wee boat in the water, which he finally does with the aid of his uncle's landrover and one of his boys and his pals. Before that, they consume a mountain of pancakes. Dinner is a large sirloin steak with sautéed potatoes, onions, broccoli and cauliflower. It's been a very good day, with plenty of sunshine and warm breezes. The evening closes with the sea as smooth as a mirror. The wee boat is pottering about around the basin and the inner harbour. The Atlantic and the Pacific are beginning to flex their muscles, with a few embryo weather systems that could grow into something nasty.