Thursday notes

A savage day out and about, with force 9 winds nationwide. These have already caused damage and injury. Up here, thunder, lightning and hail lit up the night, but at the moment severe squalls sweep the basin. Winds blow at force 7, gusting to force 10.

My own mishap concerns the webcam, which has stopped working properly; it will not focus anymore. The reason for that is water ingress last night, which flooded the thing. Need to get myself a new one this afternoon.

It is two years ago to the day when 5 members of the same family perished on a causeway between the islands of South Uist and Benbecula, 70 miles south of here. On 11 January 2005, a hurricane was blowing with winds gusting up to 130 mph. The resulting storm surge pelted pebbles against houses along the foreshore in Iochdar, South Uist. The inhabitants, all members of the one family, decided to seek shelter with relatives in the neighbouring island of Benbecula. As their two cars crossed the causeway, a huge sea swept them off the road and into the water. All five perished. They were a grandfather, two parents and two young children. Their funeral was attended by 1,500, a huge number when compared to the Uists' population of 5,000. Promises of road improvements and escape routes have as yet not been honoured, and have led to accusations of passing-the-buck against the local council and the Scottish Executive. Work did start last week, though.