Sunday 26/11/06

The day starts bright and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky. There is hardly a breath of wind. Cloud increases gradually after midday. The workmen are not working today (it's a Lewis Sunday). I head out for a walk at 1.40pm to take advantage of the good weather. Forecast for the remainder of the week is poor. After a slice or two of mrs B's fruitloaf, I walk down towards the Battery. Encounter a pussycat, sitting on top of a bin. Proceed to Sandwick Bay, which is as smooth as a mirror. A woman sits on the shinglebank, looking out across the water towards Arnish, and the blades of two windturbines, which peep over the hilltops. That is new. The Shiant Isles can be made out just left of Kebock Head; the Skye mountains loom very faintly through the haze beyond them. The Shiants are 20 miles away, Skye is 50 miles distant. The seats by the Sandwick Cemetery have been vandalised. Beyond there, I walk down the road through the village of Lower Sandwick. At the end of the road, a large ram stands in a field over looking the Minch. Children play outside the last house. When I cross over to Stoneyfields farm, it gets very boggy and wet. Jump over the gate and try not to get too scratched on the gorse. Have to cross a stream using an upturned fishbox. The path towards the Iolaire Memorial is flooded, but I manage to squelch my way past the problem. No wreath has been laid there this year. Cloud has increased considerably, and I can see rain moving up from Skye, 50 miles away. Go back the way I came, and the rain finally catches up with me on Miller Road. Return to Mrs B's at 3.15pm, 90 minutes after setting off on this 4½ mile jaunt. Darkness falls after 4pm. The sliding door has been repaired and is now sliding nicely along.