Friday 21/07/06

The Queen is reported as starting her hols on the isle of Islay, a lot further south. Her trip, once past S'way, will end at Castle Mey in Caithness. This used to belong to her mother. A local blogger (not me!) very scathingly reports that "an old woman comes on holiday to the Hebrides", linking to the BBC Online report about the Queens' visit. There are still some who do not think that Elizabeth II is "their" queen, they want a Scottish one. For reference, England and Scotland united in 1707 to form one state. Next year, 2007, will be the 300th anniversary of that event. It will also be the year of elections to the Scottish Parliament, in which the Scottish National Party could do well. Weather today starts overcast, but the sun comes out later. The afternoon is sunny and various people start to faff about in boats. I go into town and stumble across a book on the culture of St Kilda. The heatwave carries on down south, with temperatures in excess of 30C. Here: about 20C. Tropical depression 6 forms in the Eastern Pacific, and it heads northwest, parallel to the Mexican coast. Something to keep an eye on. Last Sunday, I reported that the ferry went out for 3 hours. It now transpires she took part in an exercise with the coastguard and the fire-service. The hottest day of the year so far, last Wednesday, saw Shetland wreathed in fog. It still is. The tanker is in again, on one of its frequent visits. The day closes on a bright and sunny note.