Monday 13/02/06

Another dreich start to the day, but the rain stops at 11 a.m.. Isles FM reports more foul play in the NHS Health Board saga, where a letter from councillors to Health Minister Andy Kerr is leaked back to the council, with the question: "Who did this?" Nobody is prepared to own up. On the buspark at Smith Avenue, a pedestrian was run down by a cardriver. A man has fallen into the Inner Harbour yesterday morning, but was fished out by local fishermen. A youth was apprehended in possession of controlled substances. Four French fishingboats from Lorient come into port at 10.30 for a crew change. At midday, a taxi arrives to take mrs B and myself to An Lanntair for the official opening by Scotland's First Minister, Jack McConnell. As we arrive, a lot of well-dressed folk go in as well. I recognise a few local councillors. Mrs B introduced me to some of her friends and relations. One of them was familiar with my work on HMS Timbertown. Another had a brother working near Nijmegen, Holland. There is also the development officer for CnES. Proceedings are due to start at 12.30, but as we sit down the film about the scenic side of the islands continues to roll, until 12.40. There are 4 speakers on the podium: Angus McCormack, who conducts proceedings; Alex MacDonald (council convener, speaking in Gaelic); Jim Tough (arts director for Scottish Arts Council) and Jack McConnell. The gist of all the speeches is that this is a good day for Lewis, a good day for Gaelic and for culture. The Gaelic Act came into force today as well, which cements Gaelic's status as a main language in Scotland. There is currently a debate about Gaelic medium education (basically: teaching kids using Gaelic). Mr McConnell also announces that islanders may see 40% off their airfares to the mainland as of this summer. You pay more for travelling to Stornoway from Glasgow than you do for going to New York. The First Minister does not touch on the vexed question of the Health Board. I take some pictures, as does the assembled press corps. After the speeches, we see a speeded-up film made of time-lapse images of the construction of the new arts centre. Most remarkable was seeing the tide rising and falling in a matter of seconds. Anna Murray and Christine Primrose, of Lewis Women, close proceedings with some Gaelic songs. We are now invited to the buffet. After a considerable delay, we finally reach the salads by 2.15. Jack McConnell has left by now. Once lunch was consumed, we had a look round an exhibition of furniture and clever woodcarvings by the late Tim Stead. One of his pieces was a chair, specially made for the Pope's visit to Scotland in 1982. At 3.30, we returned to Newton via the butcher's for eggs. Last week, one of the boxes of eggs sported an expiry date of 30 February 2006. Like you do. These are freerange eggs from Shawbost, West Side. They go like hotcakes. Supper consists of a cheese sandwich, with a jelly after. Try my hand at animating a picture, but find I've got a lot to learn. Mrs B's son calls in with one of his boys and his mates in tow. The BBC News mentions two serious medical errors. One involved a GP injecting a baby of 7 weeks with the MMR vaccine - this jab is normally given at 12 months. The other, worse, occurred in a Glasgow hospital. A lady was given medication, prescribed for the previous occupant of the bed. She died. How COULD that happen.
Tomorrow's weather will be ditto today.