Monday notes

The flow of sewage into the Firth of Forth has been stopped, now that a replacement for the faulty pump at the sewage works near Edinburgh has been installed. Questions are still being asked about the handling of this emergency, and advice about water safety in the Firth remains in force.

On a related point, celebrity Sheryl Crow (whoever she may be) has urged us to cut back on the use of loopaper. She reckons that one square per restroom visit should suffice. Really? Oh bum.

It's a wet and windy day (again) in the islands, and I don't see much improvement in the offing. The Coastguard were kept busy early yesterday. At 2 am on Sunday, the helicopter had to fly across to Achiltibuie, north of Ullapool, to rescue a camper who had fallen over a cliff. Two emergency calls from ships, relayed through a satellite, proved to be false alarms. However, a walker in the Cuillins hills in Skye had to be rescued at 10 am.

The Police in Stornoway were also busy this weekend, with the usual procession of blackguards out on the prowl. A car was vandalised in the town centre, and attempts to steal another vehicle in a carpark on the edge of town proved fruitless. A collision on the road to the airport left two people in hospital.