The remains of 5 children have been recovered from the former children's home Haute de la Garenne on the Channel Island of Jersey. These include 65 milk teeth and over 100 bone fragments. The milk teeth were determined to have come out after death.
It is suggested that there is sufficient evidence to mount a case for prosecution, except that apparently steps have been taken to ensure that such a prosecution would fail - apparently to preserve reputations. An investigation will be mounted into the separation of powers (legislative, executive and legal) in Jersey, which are allegedly too intimately intertwined. The abuse could easily be proved. More on this here.
It should be borne in mind that Jersey, although part of Great Britain, has a large degree of autonomy from mainland Britain. London takes care of matters like foreign affairs and defense, but Jersey has its own laws.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Rainy evening
It's been raining all evening and it's cooled down a bit. Have posted some pictures of Monday's cruiseliners on a forum related to AIS (the ship tracking system), which elicited some positive responses. Will see if I get round to do alerts this evening, am not sure.
Wednesday 30 July
Quite a nice day, but with a steady deterioration in the weather. Mind you, it is still quite bright, but you'd have a job to find the sun. No complaints about the temperature, which is a pleasant 21C / 70F. Went to town this morning to get the newspapers. There was a European street market in Point Street and the lower part of Francis Street, selling a lot of continental-type food as well as a variety of teas (leaves), crockery and other little things. Very nice - will be here until the weekend. It is carnival weekend, so the funfair was already in place.
MV Muirneag is on its way home. The ship ran aground on Friday morning, nearly knocking over a jogger who was out for an early-morning run on the shoreline path between Cuddy Point and the Creed. Fancy having to dodge a 5,800 tonne ship coming straight at you!
MV Muirneag is on its way home. The ship ran aground on Friday morning, nearly knocking over a jogger who was out for an early-morning run on the shoreline path between Cuddy Point and the Creed. Fancy having to dodge a 5,800 tonne ship coming straight at you!
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Tuesday 29 July
First week back is over and done with, and the weather remains anything but Hebridean. Although we got a downpour at 11 am, the sun got back out and it became quite acceptable. Not been doing much today, apart from sorting out my pictures of gravestones (have more than 150). It is turning grey and overcast again as I type.
Soufrière Hills
This volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat erupted without warning during the night. Large plumes of ash and smoke are emitted by the volcano, rising to 40,000 feet in the atmosphere. Ashfalls are occurring over surrounding areas of the Caribbean. Apparently, the lava dome that had built up in the volcano collapsed, sending a so-called pyro-clastic flow out towards Plymouth, the island's capital.
Monday, 28 July 2008
Monday 28 July
The fog took until 5pm to clear, after which we had a brilliant evening. Sunset at 9.45pm, meaning we've already lost 50 minutes since the summer solstice. The normal ferry is covering for the freight ferry, which is in dry-dock in Aberdeen for repairs.
Both cruiseliners left at or before lunchtime. I only got very foggy images of both of them, a pity, as I had not previously seen them here in Stornoway before. The fog also put paid to the delivery of newspapers, which failed to appear in the shops today (as far as I know).
Both cruiseliners left at or before lunchtime. I only got very foggy images of both of them, a pity, as I had not previously seen them here in Stornoway before. The fog also put paid to the delivery of newspapers, which failed to appear in the shops today (as far as I know).
Foggy morning
It's foggy this morning, with a visibility of about 400 yards. The fog came drifting in at sunset time last night. Awoke earlier on to the dulcet tones of two ship's horns, blasting nearby. A glance at the ShipAIS site showed two cruiseliners, the Christopher Columbus and the Maasdam. The Maasdam is more than 3 times the size of the C.C.; neither of them are currently visible from my position.
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Radovan Karadzic
A reminder, if one were necessary, why the former leader of the Bosnian Serbs is sought for alleged genocide. This indictment does not make for cheerful reading. Karadzic's lawyer has lodged an appeal against his extradiction to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, an appeal that is expected to fail.
The Rook's Hawk
Your result for Which Chess Piece are You Test?...
The Rook's HawkCongrats! Only 12-16% of the population score this!
The Rook’s Hawk is like a judge. They have a great sense of right and wrong especially in their area of interest or responsibility. They are devoted to duty. They are punctual. People who set their clocks on others are typically measuring their time with the Hawk. It is common to perceive that the Hawk is cold or aloof. They frequently protect their emotions via practicality.
They work systematically to get the job done. When a new procedure is proven, they can be depended upon to carry it out. The Rook’s Hawk is deeply frustrated by the inconsistencies of others, especially when it comes to commitments. They will keep their feelings to themselves – but when asked expect truth over tact. They are quite able to make the tough call and carry it out. You will find the Rook’s Hawk at home in government, schools, military or any other organization which maintains strict hierarchy. They are the traditionalist and are perfect for balancing out the idealists of other types.
The Rook’s Hawk thrives on organization. They keep their lives and environments well-regulated. They bring painstaking attention to detail in their work and will not rest until satisfied with a job well done. They are obviously hard workers. They will sort through ideas and find the most practical ones, again revealing how common sense prevails in this type. This ‘Pawn’ is the cornerstone of an ethical working society. They are centered on dealing with the present and most practical affair. They observe life and promote consistency in society. They value loyalty and others are best to acquaint themselves with this type if they wish to gain a fruitful insight to what makes the world tick.Summer continues
It looks as if the summery conditions will continue for a few days yet, until a breakdown moves up from the south on Tuesday or Wednesday. Temperatures here in Stornoway have been pegged back a little, to 19C as opposed to the 23C seen yesterday, by a moderate northeasterly breeze. Elsewhere in the country, the mercury has sped past the 80F mark without any impediment.
Sat outside for a while around the midday mark, but just managed to add more sunburn to what I had already acquired in Holland over the past few months. The sea haar that plagued us through the night and into the early hours of the morning was quickly dispersed by that northeasterly.
Sat outside for a while around the midday mark, but just managed to add more sunburn to what I had already acquired in Holland over the past few months. The sea haar that plagued us through the night and into the early hours of the morning was quickly dispersed by that northeasterly.
Four die on A9
The A9 has seen yet another fatal accident. Yesterday afternoon, a pick-up truck collided with a Dutch registered Volvo estate at the Slochd summit, half way between Aviemore and Inverness on the A9 Inverness to Perth road. The pick-up apparently swerved across the carriageway, barely missing one vehicle before colliding head-on with the Dutch car. This burst into flames, killing a man and a baby; a woman and a girl were injured and transferred to hospital in Inverness. A man and a woman in the pick-up also lost their lives in the smash, together with 3 of their 4 dogs. The road was closed for 7 hours; the cause of the crash is being investigated.
The A9 is a 110 mile accident blackspot, notorious for its intermittent single- and dual-carriageway stretches.
The A9 is a 110 mile accident blackspot, notorious for its intermittent single- and dual-carriageway stretches.
Saturday, 26 July 2008
MV Muirneag
Our freight ferry, MV Muirneag, met with a wee bit of an accident on docking at Stornoway yesterday morning. Muirneag takes cargo vehicles across the Minch in an overnight run between Stornoway and Ullapool. Yesterday, she was preparing to dock along no 1 pier here when an apparent technical fault caused her to run aground at Priest's Island [shown on the left of this picture], off the Castle Grounds. The ship refloated half an hour later on the rising tide and docked successfully shortly afterwards. Conditions were clear with light winds. The cause of the incident is being investigated. Earlier this evening, the ship was seen leaving Stornoway, and the AIS ship monitoring site showed her passing Cape Wrath at 8pm, bound for Aberdeen.
Blogger returns
Kate went private back in March, but has gone public again and would like to welcome back any previous readers!
Fox and chickens
Dirk touched on the fraught subject of the teaching of Spanish in American schools, resulting from the number of illegal Latino migrants in the States. I could not disagree more, so I'm going to engage in an exercise of putting the fox in amongst the chickens and wait to see the feathers fly.
As you know by now, I am Dutch, and was taught 4 languages at school - Dutch, English, German and French. Dutch being a minority language in greater Europe, this makes sense. I think that it is beneficial to anyone to speak more than one language, as it creates greater opportunity in the world at large. Spanish is spoken by many of the residents of the American continent (both South, Central and North), and represents a rich cultural heritage. Who has not heard of Cervantes' Don Quixote, or Picasso's Guernica?
I feel that English speakers should drop that arrogance that you only count if you can speak English, and the rest does not count. Don't forget that there are more Chinese speakers (1,200 million) for a start. If your children can speak Spanish, at least they are able to communicate with more people, who are there in the US whether you like it or not. Here in Europe, we also have problems with illegal immigration, but don't go all xenophobic over it.
Please don't forget that if you ostracise a sizeable section of your community, you start to tally up problems that will come back to haunt you in the future. It happened in Europe in the 1950s and 60s, when "temporary" migrant workers were attracted from the Mediterranean (Morocco and Turkey e.g.), who were not invited to integrate into society. The migrants are still there, 40 to 50 years later, not speaking the local languages, and a fertile breeding ground for religious extremism.
Mr Obama at least had the sense to realise that, and if the Hispanics cannot learn English (because they are ostracised from and by society), well, the English speakers will have to come the other way. As the Muslims say, if Mohammed cannot come to the mountain, the mountain will have to come to Mohammed.
As you know by now, I am Dutch, and was taught 4 languages at school - Dutch, English, German and French. Dutch being a minority language in greater Europe, this makes sense. I think that it is beneficial to anyone to speak more than one language, as it creates greater opportunity in the world at large. Spanish is spoken by many of the residents of the American continent (both South, Central and North), and represents a rich cultural heritage. Who has not heard of Cervantes' Don Quixote, or Picasso's Guernica?
I feel that English speakers should drop that arrogance that you only count if you can speak English, and the rest does not count. Don't forget that there are more Chinese speakers (1,200 million) for a start. If your children can speak Spanish, at least they are able to communicate with more people, who are there in the US whether you like it or not. Here in Europe, we also have problems with illegal immigration, but don't go all xenophobic over it.
Please don't forget that if you ostracise a sizeable section of your community, you start to tally up problems that will come back to haunt you in the future. It happened in Europe in the 1950s and 60s, when "temporary" migrant workers were attracted from the Mediterranean (Morocco and Turkey e.g.), who were not invited to integrate into society. The migrants are still there, 40 to 50 years later, not speaking the local languages, and a fertile breeding ground for religious extremism.
Mr Obama at least had the sense to realise that, and if the Hispanics cannot learn English (because they are ostracised from and by society), well, the English speakers will have to come the other way. As the Muslims say, if Mohammed cannot come to the mountain, the mountain will have to come to Mohammed.
Friday, 25 July 2008
Hurricane update - 25 July
Dolly has disappeared off the charts as a formal tropical cyclone, and its remnant is fizzling out over northern Mexico. Therefore, I swing my glance across the Pacific where tropical storm Fung Wong is winding up towards typhoon strength. Fung Wong will be making a beeline for the east coast of Taiwan, which it will strafe with winds of 85 knots, that's a mere 95 mph, on Monday.
24°C
Now that 75F may not seem much to some, but it was warm today in the Hebrides. The sun was out, and everybody mentioned how warm it was. I took myself off by bus to Ness, 25 miles north of Stornoway on an errand: to continue photographing wargraves. To this end, I went to the old and new cemeteries of Ness. The downside of the nice weather was the plague of flies which greeted me the moment I left the village of Swainbost, where I alighted from the bus. The fares had gone up, so I'm now paying £4.60 for a return (about $9) covering a 25 mile stretch.
The old cemetery is a wee bit messy, full of stones, flies and dead rabbits. I'm not blaming the bunnies for the flies (they were omnipresent), but it did not help. The gravestones in that churchyard are the hide-outs for snails, measuring almost an inch across. I found 8 gravestones in addition to the ones I had already located in April 2007 related to the Iolaire disaster. A short hike up the hill brought me to the new cemetery, where 8 military graves were found. At one point I feared I was photographing the flies rather than the stones. I beat a quick retreat and went to the beach, which lies half a mile away. Eoropie Beach is famous - see the pictures - and very busy this afternoon. Many young families taking advantage of the nice weather.
Beyond the beach I trudged round the headlands to the Butt of Lewis lighthouse and back to Eoropie village. The bus appeared at 6.20pm to take me back to Stornoway.
Another feature that struck me today was the wealth of wild flowers that turned the area above the shoreline into a sheen of yellow. The machair is a habitat, unique to the islands. It is created when sand is blown onto peat. Peat is acidic and not conducive towards growth of many plants. However, the finely ground shells in the sand neutralise the acidity, leading to a wide variety of multi-coloured flowers.
I have uploaded the pictures, but you'll have to call back for the annotations tomorrow.
The old cemetery is a wee bit messy, full of stones, flies and dead rabbits. I'm not blaming the bunnies for the flies (they were omnipresent), but it did not help. The gravestones in that churchyard are the hide-outs for snails, measuring almost an inch across. I found 8 gravestones in addition to the ones I had already located in April 2007 related to the Iolaire disaster. A short hike up the hill brought me to the new cemetery, where 8 military graves were found. At one point I feared I was photographing the flies rather than the stones. I beat a quick retreat and went to the beach, which lies half a mile away. Eoropie Beach is famous - see the pictures - and very busy this afternoon. Many young families taking advantage of the nice weather.
Beyond the beach I trudged round the headlands to the Butt of Lewis lighthouse and back to Eoropie village. The bus appeared at 6.20pm to take me back to Stornoway.
Another feature that struck me today was the wealth of wild flowers that turned the area above the shoreline into a sheen of yellow. The machair is a habitat, unique to the islands. It is created when sand is blown onto peat. Peat is acidic and not conducive towards growth of many plants. However, the finely ground shells in the sand neutralise the acidity, leading to a wide variety of multi-coloured flowers.
I have uploaded the pictures, but you'll have to call back for the annotations tomorrow.
Friday 25 July
Another bright and fairly sunny day, which is going to be pretty warm again as well. There is a lot of high cloud about, which heralds a change in the weather. Tomorrow will probably see more in the way of showers as an Atlantic front moves up from Ireland in the night.
Major news in the UK is related to a by-election (interim election) for the UK Parliament in a constituency in Glasgow. The seat was previously held by the Labour party, currently in government, but their 13,000+ majority was overturned by the Scottish National Party. It is the latest in a series of bad election results for Labour, which is currently in government. In Scotland, the SNP has been in office since elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament in May 2007.
A plane, en route from London to Melbourne, was diverted to Manila, Philippines, after an 8 by 10 ft hole appeared in its fuselage below the wing. This was also noticeable to the passengers, because pressure was lost in the passenger cabin, the floor and ceiling collapsed and winds began to blow inside. On landing at Manila, passengers saw the hole for themselves, making some of them physically sick.
Major news in the UK is related to a by-election (interim election) for the UK Parliament in a constituency in Glasgow. The seat was previously held by the Labour party, currently in government, but their 13,000+ majority was overturned by the Scottish National Party. It is the latest in a series of bad election results for Labour, which is currently in government. In Scotland, the SNP has been in office since elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament in May 2007.
A plane, en route from London to Melbourne, was diverted to Manila, Philippines, after an 8 by 10 ft hole appeared in its fuselage below the wing. This was also noticeable to the passengers, because pressure was lost in the passenger cabin, the floor and ceiling collapsed and winds began to blow inside. On landing at Manila, passengers saw the hole for themselves, making some of them physically sick.
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Soup-resistant laptop
The Onion has announced that a laptop is on stream which is resistant to soup, poured directly into the Ethernet port.
Warm day
By Hebridean standards, any temperature of 20C or more means the day was warm if not positively hot. It was 20C this afternoon. Today started cloudy, but the sun came out at lunchtime. Went into town at 2pm, but away from the seafront it really was quite warm. Following all the building and refurbishment work, carried out during my absence, a little clearing up was done. You've got to take advantage of the nice weather.
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