Sunday sailings

Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (Calmac) have received 50 submissions from islanders in Lewis, asking for a ferry service on Sunday. At the moment, the ferry does not sail on a Sunday. The main reason is religious sensitivities from years gone by. In the 1960s, a minister of the church prostrated himself in front of traffic at Kyleakin in Skye to prevent a ferry sailing to Kyle of Lochalsh on the Sabbath. There is a bridge, toll-free, between Skye and the Scottish mainland now.
In April 2006, a Sunday ferry service was started between Harris and Uist, providing the first Sunday sailings out of the Long Island in history. Bearing in mind that elsewhere within the Western Isles, ferries ply their routes on a Sunday (e.g. Castlebay to Oban, Lochmaddy to Uig [Skye]) and planes fly in and out of Stornoway Airport, it is only a question of time before ferries sail on Sunday between Stornoway and Ullapool.

Bummed

I've recently spent a few hours on Amazon Mechanical Turk, looking for Steve Fossett in Nevada and doing some little things that have now gathered me a few dollars in gift certificates. When I looked on Amazon.co.uk, my balance was zero, although the correct balance did show on Amazon.com (US).

I contacted Amazon to ask if the gift certs could be transferred to Amazon UK, and the answer is no. Isn't it daft, that in this day of the supra-national internet, a quintessential Internet company like Amazon has to be so parochial that its gift certs cannot be used the world over, but instead only on the site of issuance?

So, now I have to look for stuff sold by Amazon US on Amazon UK. I have advised Amazon of my feelings, and asked them to help me find the stuff referred to in previous line.

Can I ask people to join me in registering their disappointment with Amazon? If many more people join in, we can make them turn into a truly supra-national company.

Wednesday notes

Overcast day with some sunshine and a few minor showers. Feeling cold outside, temperatures now only in single figures.

The local council have a 7-tonne headache on their hands, in the shape of a dead whale. The remains of the creature, which died of natural causes, lie on the shores of Ceann Tulabhig, southwest of Callanish. We're having high tides at the moment, so I would think that at high tide tonight, which comes in at 5.5 metres, they might be able to float it off and take it out to sea. Alternatively, it could be loaded on a low-loader and taken to the council dump, which would require a 16 mile journey to Stornoway by road. The third alternative is described in below video.
 

Hapless drunk

A man had had one too much to drink and managed to drive his van off the A830 road between Mallaig and Fort William, in the West Highlands. The driver knocked on the door of the nearest house, a B&B. When the proprietor opened the door, the van driver said: "Listen, can you give me a lift? I've had too much to drink, and I've crashed my van. Please don't tell the bobbies, OK?" The man at the B&B said he couldn't take him in his car until he had dressed properly, so he asked the driver to wait. The proprietor went upstairs and changed into his full police uniform. He then proceeded to charge the driver, put handcuffs on him and placed him in the back of his police car, which had been hidden in the darkness beside the house. After a while, police from Fort William, 40 miles away, came and took the drunk away. The van meanwhile had been reported by motorists as blocking the A830 with lights blazing and keys still in the ignition. The hapless drunk was fined £500 and banned from driving for 18 months.

Temperature warning

40 degrees- Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in Scotland sunbathe.

35 degrees- Italian cars won't start. People in Scotland drive with the windows down.

20 degrees- Floridians wear coats, gloves, and wool hats. People in Scotland throw on a T-shirt.

15 degrees- Californians begin to evacuate the state. People in Scotland go swimming.

Zero degrees- New York landlords finally turn up the heat. People in Scotland have the last bbq before it gets cold.

20 degrees below zero- Californians fly away to Mexico. People in Scotland think about a light jacket.

80 degrees below zero- Polar bears begin to evacuate the Arctic Scottish Boy Scouts postpone "Winter Survival" classes until it gets cold enough.

100 degrees below zero- Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. People in Scotland throw on their Big jumpers.

173 degrees below zero- Ethyl alcohol freezes.. People in Scotland get frustrated when they can't thaw their kegs.

460 degrees below zero- ALL atomic motion stops. People in Scotland start saying "chilly, you cald an aw?"

500 degrees below zero- Hell freezes over. Scottish people think about supporting England in World Cup!!!!

Ferry cancelled

The ferry is on its way in, but will not be going out again today. Sun is out, but conditions out in the Minch atrocious.

Updates

The whale stuck in Loch Roag is reported to have died, I am just hearing on the Highland News. It was found at Garynahine, 2 miles east of Callanish, at the very end of the loch. Further details here.



The little Chinese girl, nicknamed Pumpkin, who was abandoned at a railway station in Melbourne, Australia, has been reunited with her grandmother, who will take her back to China. The child's father is now the subject of an international arrest warrant; he apparently flew to Los Angeles after leaving his young daughter behind in Australia.

I am very concerned after hearing that a walker failed to return from a walk on Ben Nevis yesterday. The Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team is on the scene to try to locate the man, who failed to return to his accommodation on Monday. As I reported previously, the weather today is very poor. Although it is now starting to clear up here in the islands, the weather in the mountains is bound to be severe.

A BBC report, due to be aired on Radio 4 at 8pm tonight, suggests that serious mis-selling of mortgages in the UK. Borrowers were basically told to lie about their income, in order to get a mortgage that they were actually unable to afford. This is related to the sub-prime crisis in the US, which brought on the run on the Northern Rock bank last week. If mortgages were indeed sold to people whose incomes were too low, then we're sitting on a timebomb here in the UK as well.

Tuesday notes

Pretty poor weather today, with spells of heavy rain - some sunny intervals - and a force 7 wind out in the Minch. Our weekend guest departed this morning and will have caught the full force of it. It's a northerly wind, so that makes it twice as bad.

They are still looking for that whale that was trapped in Loch Roag, near Callanish, yesterday. The fact that they can't find it is probably a positive sign, in that the cetacean is likely to have made his way out to sea on the 6pm high tide last night.

If you're near the sea, please bear in mind that the equinoctial springtides are nearly upon us. Stornoway will see top high tide levels of 5.5 metres (18.3 feet) on Thursday and Friday evening. Fortunately, only light winds are expected later in the week. It will be quite cold, with a frost at night.

Too many updates?

Was advised today that one of the readers of my Tropical Cyclones blog has unsubscribed from the feed because I submit too many updates. Stupid ass, you can't get enough info about hurricanes.

Naughty chocolates

Mr Cadbury and Miss Rowntree met on a Double Decker, it was After Eight.

She was from Quality Street , he was a Fisherman's Friend.

On the way they stopped at a Yorkie Bar, he had a Rum and Butter, she had a Wine Gum.
He asked her name, 'Polo, I'm the one with the hole' she said.

'I'm the one with the nuts,' he thought! Then he touched her Milky Way.

They checked in to a hotel, and went straight to the bedroom. Mr Cadbury turned out the light for a bit of Black Magic.

It wasn't long before he slipped his hand into her Snickers and felt her Cream Egg. He fondled her Flap Jacks then he showed her his Curly Wurly and Miss Rowntree shaked her Tic Tacs for him.

Miss Rowntree wasn't keen to have any Jelly Babies, so she let him take a trip down Bourneville Boulevard via her Party Ring. He was pleased as he always fancied a bit of Fudge. It was a magic moment as she let out a scream of Turkish Delight.

When he pulled out, his fun size Mars Bar felt a bit Crunchie.

She wanted more, but he needed a Time Out, however, he noticed her Pink Wafers looked very appetizing. He did a Twirl, had a Picnic in her Sherbet Dip and finished off by giving her a Gob Stopper!

Unfortunately, Mr Cadbury then had to go home to his wife, Caramel.

Sadly, 3 days later his Magnum lolly started to drip. It turned out Miss Rowntree had been with Bertie Basset who had Allsorts!!!

Bluetongue - 2nd case found

A second case of bluetongue has been found in a cow in Suffolk. This is bad news, and seemingly proof that the disease has now got an increasingly firm foothold in the UK. It was only a question of time before it would do so.

Injured whale trapped off Breasclete

A 40-feet northern bottled-nose whale is stuck in a sealoch off the west side of Lewis, near the villages of Breascleit and Callanish. The 7 tonne creature is badly injured, as blood was spotted coming from near its dorsal fin. It had been hoped that it would have been able to find its way out to sea on the tide, around midday, but only managed to cover a few miles before the incoming tide drove it back into shallower waters off Great Bernera, to the west.

People are advised to stay away from the whale if it runs aground, as the injuries pose a health hazard to humans.

Visit to Gearrannan

This morning, we went to the Black House Village at Gearrannan (hence the lateness of my first entry). On Saturday, we also called in there, but the place was shut. It became clear this morning that they had been having a village party in the public area, which had not been cleared up yet. Fortunately, a kind lady took out a key and showed us round the museum and the shop. She did not charge us, but we left a gratuity. Our guest bought cards and a hat.

Monday notes

Dreich day, which did start sunny earlier in the morning. In other words, it's pelting down with rain. Which is not as bad as what several towns in central England got first thing this morning. Luton, Nuneaton, Farnborough were among the places hit by tornadoes, which have since moved out into the North Sea. Damage was caused to buildings and vehicles, with tiles and in some instances entire roofs blown away. No casualties were reported, probably due to the fact that the freak weather struck between 6.30 and 7.30 am.

Iran's president, Mahmood Ahmadinejad, is visiting the United States. In speeches, he has asserted that his country is not aiming for war with America. He had wanted to lay a wreath at the site of Ground Zero in New York, but the authorities refused the request on security grounds. Iran is building a nuclear energy industry, which it claims is solely for peaceful purposes. Western nations like America and Britain accuse the Iranians of working towards a nuclear bomb, which was denied by the Iranian leader. Mr Ahmadinejad's words are met with scepticism, as he is on record with some very bellicose language towards Israel, which he wants to wipe off the map. Actions speak louder than words, in the case of this president. He is a shrewd player, as I've said before, who needs to be watched closely. Ahmadinejad speaks the words that his audience wants to hear.

An Rubha / Point

Very blustery afternoon, which saw us on a visit to Point. The main things we saw were the lighthouse at Tiumpan Head and the beach at Bayble. It was far from beach weather, with a strong southerly wind, although I'm not really complaining about the 13C / 55F. Enjoy the pics - enlarge them to fully appreciate.

Dalbeg Beach

You've seen the stills yesterday, now have a look at the video. Following the latest Firefox upgrade, I've had some difficulty uploading this video on to YouTube, but it's finally allowed me to do it.

Fast responders: give it a couple of minutes.
.

Agricultural crisis

A fourth farm has tested positive for foot and mouth in Surrey, but another disease is now stalking the land. Bluetongue, an insect borne viral infection, has been confirmed on a farm near Ipswich, Suffolk. The disease is not contagious, but can lead to a 70% mortality among sheep and lead to a significant drop in milk production in cows. Surviving animals become immune against it.

Bluetongue originates in Africa, but has migrated north with the gradual warming of the climate across Europe. Cases of the disease were reported from Holland and Belgium over the past few years, and it has now appeared in the UK. A 20 km / 12 mile exclusion zone has been established around the farm, and further tests are carried out to see if other animals or farms are affected.

If you keep livestock in the UK, it is strongly recommended you read this factsheet from DEFRA. Bluetongue is a notifiable disease, and any animals with clinical symptoms should immediately be reported.

Tags: bluetongue

Sunday notes

The overnight gale has moved away, leaving us with a windy and bright afternoon. Occasional showers do threaten. Later this afternoon, we'll be viewing the wild Atlantic near the Butt of Lewis OR the Tiumpan Head lighthouse.

I have bad news on the hurricane front: the forecasters say that three tropical cyclones could form over the next few days. The first will pop up over the northwestern Caribbean and southern Gulf of Mexico later today - I'll post an update at the end of the day. Another two are in the pipeline as they cross the Atlantic from Africa during this week.

The bleak withdrawal of a tropical cyclone formation alert for the Bay of Bengal masks the human tragedy that the storm system has left behind. Although it did not turn into a tropical cyclone, the monsoon depression concerned still blew into a gale in which 100 fishermen are feared drowned after at least a dozen boats were seen overturned. Conditions are still so severe that a rescue mission cannot be mounted. The storm system itself has moved ashore.  More here.

Drive round the West Side

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with the imagery in the above album, although the weather today made things a bit different. There is a force 6 wind blowing with some rain; a force 8 to 9 gale is expected overnight. We took the guest for a drive to Callanish (famous of the Stones), the Broch at Carloway for a fleeting visit, the Gearrannan Black House Village (closed half an hour early) and the Whalebone Arch at Bragar.

Saturday notes

You won't hear a lot of me this weekend, as mrs B has a family friend in until Tuesday, and that's going to keep us all occupied. The overseas visitors that have been here for 14 days have thankfully departed.

Here in the islands, it's a dreich day, with occasional drizzle and a lot of cloud. Not too cold though, with the mercury at 14C / 57F.

The tropical depression off the east Florida coast moved ashore yesterday evening and only exists as a flood threat due to high rainfall totals. Nothing else on the cards in the near future.

Beat a dead donkey

With thanks to Linda (WA).

Father O'Malley rose from his bed.
It was a fine spring day in his new Texas mission parish. He walked to the window of his bedroom to  get a deep breath of the beautiful day outside. He then noticed there  was a jackass lying dead in the middle of his front lawn. He promptly  called the local police station.    

The conversation went like this: "Good morning. This is Sergeant Jones. How might I help you?"   
"And the best of the day te yerself. This is Father O'Malley at St. Brigid's. There's a jackass lying dead in me front lawn. Would ye be so kind as to send a couple o' yer lads to take care of the matter?"   

Sergeant Jones, considering himself to be quite a wit, replied with a smirk, "Well now father, it was always my impression that you people took care of last rites!"   

There was dead silence on the line for a long moment. Father O'Malley then replied: "Aye, tis certainly true, but we are also obliged to notify the next of kin.

Hurricane update - 21 September

Subtropical depression 10 has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, southwest of Apalachicola, FL. This system is not expected to reach more than minor tropical storm status with winds of 45 mph (force 9 on the Beaufort scale). This is not a hurricane, and unlikely to become one.

A tropical storm warning is in force from Apalachicola to the mouth of the Mississippi River including New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Rains totalling 2 to 4 inches may fall in the area affected by this system, and tornadoes may form in the Florida Panhandle, southwestern Georgia and southeastern Alabama.

Flashback II - Small Isles Cruise and visit

What went before
It is 14 August 2004, day 4 of my Northern Trip. The day starts in the village of Arisaig, 37 miles west of Fort William.

Another glorious day. I head up the railline to Mallaig at 10 o'clock, at no charge. There I visit the TIC to arrange tonight's accommodation. This is done by looking it up yourself and ringing the B&B yourself, admittedly on the TIC's own phone. I end up in Glasnacardoch, at the bottom of the B8008 out of Mallaig. Having accessed the internet that annexes with the TIC, I hobble across to the Glasnacardoch Guesthouse (formerly Hotel), where I'm given a warm welcome. The lady very kindly offers to collect me at Mallaig tonight, on return from the cruise round the Small Isles which I'm planning for today. The lady has a husband and a 7-year old boy (who dominates everybody's life) as well as two rather large dogs. I return to Mallaig at midday, in time for a phonecall which I have to take in the middle of the Spar Supermarket. At 1.30 the Lochnevis sails for the Small Isles with myself on board for the round trip, 8 hours in total. Return planned for 21.30 tonight. There isn't a cloud in the sky, not a wave of swell and everybody in a sunny mood. On the way to Eigg, we see minke whales, and just off the northern tip of the island an orca leaping clean out of the water. Its white markings give its identity away. Arrival at Eigg at 2.45 pm. Some very familiar faces on the pier. Just as we pull away, a sleepy face pokes out of the cabin and asks "Is this Eigg?". Yep, this was Eigg. Italian Renata goes into a flap when she realises she, well, has forgotten to disembark. She was under the impression that she'd have to change into the wee ferryboat. Unfortunately that went out of service back in March, when the new pier was put into formal usage. Renata was to have joined as a volunteer on the island for a week, but as she cannot reach Eigg until Monday she decides to abandon the idea altogether. Sue Hollands, volunteer coordinator on Eigg, wasn't too fussed. I had asked the Carrs at Kildonan to pass the message on to her. Greg Carr, who took the call, fell about laughing on hearing the story. Anyway, on to Muck. I organised a bed for this slightly loopy girl at my own B&B. We continued on our merry way, with me spouting off knowledge regarding the Small Isles. The docking procedure was a bit complicated at Muck, and took a long time. So, it was well after 4 when we finally departed for island n° 3, Rum. By this time, a bank of cloud had started to move up from the south, but it stayed sunny right the way through our sail up the Sound of Rum. Very nice views of Glen Dibidil and the Rum Cuillins, as well as the western extremity of the Sgurr Ridge on Eigg. This slowly moves from Beannan Breaca through Beinn Tighe to Laig Bay. Cleadale looks very pretty under the dark cliffs of Beinn Buidhe. With the time approaching 6 pm, we move round to enter Loch Scresort on the eastern side of Rum. Again, no more faffing about with boats here, the Lochnevis just docks at the pier. As I'm looking straight into the sun, now due west, I'm unable to see Kinloch Castle. I know where it is supposed to be, but it's hidden in amongst the trees. Final island, Canna, is approached round the north coast of Rum, and the sun by this point begins to desert us. At 6.45, we're in the shadows and it's very still. On Canna, the midges are out, making everybody's life a misery. We head back to Mallaig at 7.15. It's now a question of spotting all those whales, there are dozens of them about. Have a Calmac bacon butty for supper. Arrive in Mallaig at 9.20, where the lady from Glasnacardoch is ready to pick up Renata and myself.

August 15th
Today, I'm going back to Eigg for a daytrip out of Arisaig. To this end, the man of the house will take me there. First though, he'll drop Renata off at Mallaig. She is going to the hotel at Duntulm, Skye, where one of her friends is staying. The Sheerwater departs at 11 a.m., and yes there is still room on board for me. For £15.00, I'll be taken there and back. Arrive at Eigg at midday, on a slightly cramped boat. Lots of folk with kids and dogs. At Eigg, there is a longish walk off the pier, which stretches from An Laimhrig southeast to nearly Lady Runciman's bathing hut. The cafeteria is open, but the rest of the centre is closed, it being Sunday. I hobble across to Kildonan, where only Greg and Amy are about. Greg tells me all about his trip to the States, and the fact that his parents are away to Edinburgh. I ask him to pass on my regards and disappear up the road to Cuagach. Maggie Fyffe's home is empty of people, so she is away as well. By this time, I have to start planning my return to the pier, as the Sheerwater is leaving at 4.30. So, I go on my merry way south again, and duly arrive on the pier, via the Lodge, in time for the ferry. The return to Arisaig is your usual deviation for whales and the like, which means that the skipper cuts the engine to allow everybody to watch. On arrival at Arisaig, I head off towards my accommodation for the night, this being the fiendishly expensive Cnoc na Faire hotel. This is located some 2 miles outside the village, near the Back of Keppoch. I am put in a room called Eigg, very acceptable. Food is good as well, but as stated before: £98 per person per night is incredibly steep in my book. The mozzies are out, so I stay in.

Cow Hill and Glen Finnan

Another flashback to 6 November 2004, when I was based at Glen Nevis, near Fort William. I went for two walks that day, one to Cow Hill (which overlooks Fort William to the east) and one to Glen Finnan, about 15 miles west of the Fort.

This morning dawned a little grey, with clouds down very low. I decided to go to Fort William for a bit of shopping, but not to take the usual route down Glen Nevis. Instead, I took a route I discovered yesterday, being the West Highland Way northbound, and at the junction of paths 1 miles west of the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre turn up the hill towards Cow Hill. This path is very steep, and it is half an hour of stiff climbing. Almost as steep as the path to Ben Nevis, but not as long. On reaching the top, the transmitter masts on the top of Cow Hill (287m) were shrouded in clouds. Therefore I didn't feel there was any point going there - you wouldn't be able to see a thing. Instead, I continued to follow the path, until within sight of the Lundavra Road. Had a cup of tea there and looked out just underneath the cloud cover. At 10.35 carried on towards Upper Achintore, the little estate just before town. Reached Fort William some 20 minutes later and bought a belt, a compass and a little thermometer. It was 12C outside, and remained that temperature all day. The train to Glen Finnan left at 12.05 and reached there at 12.30. At Glenfinnan Station, about half a mile west of the famous viaduct, there are two old railway carriages. One doubles as a restaurant, the other as a hostel. Quite cramped, according to stories I heard later. Hobbled down the road and came across a war-memorial, which had the inscription on the reverse side, not underneath the figure of the soldier. Then walked down towards, well, a settlement actually called Slatach. It has a dinky little post office and a pier for cruises on Loch Shiel. And the Glen Aladale Hotel. And a Visitor Centre that's closed till Easter 2005. Not to forget the monument for the Highlander, with a pompous inscription about Bonnie Prince Charlie, where I went "tut, tut". BPC was an overrated fool, absolutely not universally supported across the Highlands. At 2pm, having seen all there was to see in the area, I set off north up Glen Finnan. The weather was dreich, a steady drizzle falling as I went north. The clouds, as stated before, were well down, so any views were completely obscured. Reached Glen Finnan Lodge about 40 minutes after setting off, and the little bothy. One with electricity would you believe. Popped inside for a minute and boiled some water for a cuppa. A bothy is spartan. There is no running water, no toilet (yep, do it in the rushes and bury any waste), no fire (do it yourself) and no beds. Just a space a little up from the floor. There is this hole under the door of this one, to give access for bloody rats. Two guys came in a minute after me to spend a few days bonding. Good God. One chopped up some firewood and started quite an acceptable fire. I left at 3.15, in order not to miss my train. Oh well, it wasn't due to leave till 5, but it's dark at five. Sat about in the hills just before the viaduct, then proceeded to the station. Spoke to a man, a ghillie, who was waiting for his sons. One to come off the Mallaig train, the other to come off the Fort William train. Both trains cross over at Glenfinnan. The hostel carriage was full tonight. Returned to Fort William in good time at 5.30, and did the shopping in Safeways, just next to the station actually. The walk to the hostel took place in darkness, but got back there unscathed at 6.50. I keep cursing the drivers who put their foglights on, which will illuminate the road, but they badly dazzle me. One very kindly put his down for a second.

POW and MIA recognition day

Sugar advised us that today we remember those who are Prisoners of War or Missing in Action. I think that is very important.

As an ex-military man myself (didn't know that, did you?), I am saddened by the negative press that troops get for doing their job. They are in Iraq and Afghanistan because the politicians that YOU elected sent them there. Even if you didn't vote for George W. Bush or Tony Blair (superseded by Gordon Brown) yourself, they still remain our boys. They're somebody's son, husband, daughter, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, father, mother.. need I go on? The politicians can be voted out. Again, the military goes where they're told to go. Don't blame them because you disagreed with the political decision.

When George W. and Tony decided to invade Iraq in 2003, there was a groundswell of opinion opposed to this move. However, Parliament and Congress ratified the decision, so the troops were sent out. It's now up to each and everyone of us to support those that do their duty. Support their relatives and friends when they're taken prisoner, go missing in action or in the worst instance, lose their life.

Disagree with a political decision? Use the ballot box. Don't blame the soldiers.

Follow this link

I read several blogs outside J-land, one of which is written by "Croila". This lady is based in Edinburgh, and yesterday's entry was quite powerful. Have a read, leave a comment there as well as here - if you want to of course. When commenting in Croila, please do NOT refer to me, as I use a different pseudonym for commenting and do so only very infrequently.

Friday notes

Cloudy, but with occasional glimpses of sunshine and occasional heavy showers. Feeling cold, only 10C.

Hurricane Ivo presents the forecasters with a major headache, as they don't know what this system is going to do. Baja California could be in the firing line.
Down in the Gulf of Mexico, something is brewing, and if you're on the northern Gulf Coast (or know people there), please monitor the NHC output closely. As soon as something forms, I'll let y'all know.
Typhoon Wipha claimed 5 lives in eastern China, a sad but fortunately limited toll. The storm came ashore as a category 2 - 3 typhoon, rather than a cat 4 as forecast. The rains claimed all the lives.

Lost in loo

A 77-year old great grandmother from Yorkshire, northern England, nipped into the public lavatory in Pickering on Monday evening. Very shortly afterwards, an attendant came to lock up for the night and shouted to check the building was empty. The lady did call back, but her reply went unheard and she found herself locked in. She did not have a mobile phone, neither was there any way to call for help. So, she put on 4 jumpers she had with her from a shopping trip and settled down for a night on the tiles, even managing to catch three winks of sleep. She was not liberated until 7 am the next morning, when the loos were reopened for the day. The police had meanwhile issued a nationwide missing person alert. The council has apologised profusely for the mishap, and has sent the lady a bunch of flowers.

Artsy Essay September - Deconstruction

Entry for Judith Heartsong's September Artsy Essay
Goat Island, in Stornoway harbour, is the repository of small boats at the end of their useful life. The below pictures, taken on 29 January 2007, give an impression of deconstruction.

It is a passive process, as no human hand is involved beyond leaving the craft on the shore. The black-and-white hulled craft is being renovated, but nature is in the way. Now, 8 months later, it is still in the same condition.

It is sad to watch a boat, a ship die. They do have personalities. Quite a few of the craft on Goat Island today were wrecked in a hurricane, a North Atlantic storm, in January 2005. It also claimed the lives of five members of a family, wiping out three generations. The sadness lies in that in days gone by, these vessels were the pride and joy of their owners, taking them safely across the treacherous waters around these shores. Only to end in ignominy in a forgotten corner of the harbour. The yellow boat, part submerged, has now fallen apart completely.

Hurricane update - 20 September

The National Hurricane Center in Miami has issued a special tropical disturbance statement for the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

A low pressure system, located 115 miles west southwest of St Petersburg, FL, is slowly drifting west. It could develop into a tropical depression over the next few days, and those along the northern Gulf Coast should monitor developments closely.

In the Eastern Pacific, Hurricane Ivo is moving north, and the forecasters haven't got the blindest bit of notion what it's going to do in a few days' time. That's really reassuring (not) for the folks in Baja California, which just might get Ivo on their plate for breakfast on Monday. Then again, they might not.

Principles

I read on Kellen's journal [Faith in Roman Catholicism] that on October 7th, there will be a Whiteout on journals in J-land whose writers are opposed to abortion. Read the entry for further information.

I have to make the following points very clear.

( 1 ) I relay this information for the benefit of those who are opposed to abortion, i.e. pro-life, and may want to participate in this initiative.

( 2 ) I do NOT agree with the stance taken by those behind Whiteout, and will not participate myself.

( 3 ) My personal stance on abortion is as follows. A pregnant woman should be allowed to have an abortion on medical grounds. It should never be a crude birth control measure. Abortion should be allowed when the life or health of the woman is in serious jeopardy if the pregnancy continues. Abortion should be allowed when the quality of life of the foetus will be non-existent due to malformation or other causes. I am aware that there is a grey area, where 'quality of life' is debatable.

( 4 ) I am acutely aware of the highly charged atmosphere surrounding abortion, and that is for a good reason. The stance outlined in point 3 is MY OPINION and I do not ask anyone to agree or disagree with me. I only ask readers to accept it as such. I have relayed Kellen's post as it is made out of a strongly held, genuine belief, which is something I have great respect for, even if I disagree with it.

Call for support

I believe I have raised a call for penguine4050 before (I don't know her real first name), but I need to reiterate. She recently lost her father and has the greatest of difficulty coming to terms with that. Added to that are family difficulties, meaning that she can't write everything in the journal she'd  like to write. Please call round.

This applies to both the entry linked to above, and to the preceding one.

Artsy Essay

JudithHeartsong has published the subject for the September Artsy Essay - and it's a collection of words, one or more of which you can incorporate in a journal entry, or make the subject of a photo entry. You need to check the actual blog entry to see the list of esoteric words. Be bold!

Misreading English - update

I can now report that the BBC have altered the offending headline to

US claims fall in Baghdad attacks

Misreading English

Came across this heading on the BBC newsfeed that I'm subscribing to.

US touts fall in Baghdad attacks

Now, when I first read it, I got it slightly wrong. I thought it meant that "US touts" had fallen in an attack in Baghdad. The mind boggled. What were those people touting??
Nope. I got my verbs and nouns switched round. The verb is "touts" and the associated noun is "fall". Not the other way round. Paraphrased, the sentence means that the US is boasting about a fall in attacks in Baghdad.
I've advised the BBC accordingly.

Website woes

As I said a couple of days ago, I've got my new website up and running. Tried to build a new page for it, using Frontpage. Looked fantastic, text, images, links, oh wow. Uploaded it to the webhost, looked fantastic. Pulled it up in the browser, and all it showed was a blank screen, with the numerals "53" in the top left corner. Checked it through one of those W3C HTML validators (don't ask) and it was fatally flawed. Back to the drawing board, or rather to the HTML class.

Thursday notes

Fairly cloudy this morning, quite breezy although the sun is peeping through the clouds at the moment. Forecast remains autumnal, with temperatures to match: 11C / 52F right now.

I am glad Morrison's supermarkets have disappeared from Stornoway - Somerfields took over a while back. I read that a man of 72 was refused a sale of wine, because he declined to answer the question whether he was over 21. He demanded to see the manager, who backed up his employee upon which our man abandoned his shopping on the conveyor belt and asked for a complaints form.
Morrison's have not relented, saying that under the Talk21 scheme, check-out staff have to confirm customer's over-21 status upon the sale of alcohol. I have to agree though that someone in his 70s is quite obviously over 21.

Two tropical systems to watch at the moment. Hurricane Ivo will be curving towards Baja California in a day or two, but is expected to weaken before making landfall. I could add 'if it makes landfall at all'. A tropical disturbance is over Florida (if you're there, you'll be aware of it) and will move east into the Gulf of Mexico, where it could develop into a tropical depression.

If you're worried about hurricanes, I suggest to put the NHC on your RSS feedreader, which will alert you to their latest bulletins.

Talk like a pirate day

Ahoy! buckos, it's me from Stornoway wishin' you luck talkin' pirate! Arrrrrrrrrrrr!

Nearly forgotten about it, but today is September 19th and it's Talk like a Pirate Day.

Don't know how to talk pirate? Try this translator on the TLAP day website.

Peruvian mystery

An object has come down from the skies above Peru and smashed into the ground, creating a large crater. It measures 30 feet across and 20 feet deep. It is not clear whether it is a meteorite or a fireball. Following the impact, people venturing near the site have reported feeling ill. It is speculated that the pool of fetid water, which formed at the impact location, may be emitting methane and other gases formed by decomposition of organic matter.

Another cause may be a phenomenon described as Mass Sociogenic Illness. Basically, if someone reports feeling ill, others may unconsciously take over the symptoms. Feelings of anxiety and trepidation may accompany a visit to the crash site. In the case of MSI, there is no objective cause for the symptoms.

The likelihood of this latter being a major contributary factor appears low, as a bull is also reported to have fallen ill after coming close to the crater.

Wednesday notes

It would appear that Shanghai has missed the very worst of Typhoon Wipha, although inches and inches of rain will still cause problems. The storm is blowing itself out, or should I say raining itself out, over the Chinese interior. Wipha is a girl's name in Thai.

Here in the islands, it's a bright morning with occasional sunshine but not too warm - only 12C. Forecast is downhill: we're due rain and wind later in the day. Later in the autumn, Cromwell Street (the main shopping mall in Stornoway) is going to be resurfaced, and the Pyramid (a meeting point in the town centre) demolished to make way for a new creation. Things will not disrupt Christmas festivities - I try not to think they mean the pre-Christmas shopping rush.

I also try not to smirk at the news that Inverness is supposed to be carfree today. Drivers are encouraged to leave their cars at the city gates and cycle or walk into the centre to work or shop. Like they will.

Police investigating the case of the abandoned child in Australia have located a woman's body in the boot of a car, parked outside the family's home in Auckland, New Zealand. They will not confirm whether it is that of the child's mother - a post-mortem is yet to be held.

Stunned

Was watching Al-Jazeera this evening when they gleefully reported the incident where a student was tazered during a rally with former American presidential candidate John Kerry. The man had apparently overrun his allotted time and became disruptive when his microphone was cut off. Police dragged him out of the hall and tazered him in front of a video camera. He was later charged with resisting a police officer and a breach of the peace. An investigation is being conducted by the police whether the tazer was used appropriately.

A tazer administers a short burst of 50,000 volts, temporarily incapacitating a subject. It is also very painful.

Al-Jazeera is an Arabic based TV station, which recently commenced English language broadcasts on satellite TV. It offers an interestingly different viewpoint, and was a welcome break from Northern Rock, the Federal Reserve and interest rates. Doesn't mean I agree with their less than professional presentation when dealing with the above incident.

Stuck in mud

This plane is stuck in the mud at Glasgow Airport. It was due to fly to Dubai, but when it taxied down the runway it veered off centre and became bogged down in the grass. All passengers were safely disembarked and transferred to tomorrow's flight.

Traffic warning, Chinese style

China's news agency Xinhua published a picture of a graphic reminder along one of the country's roads. The sign apparently reads: "Please remember the traffic regulations and treasure your life".

Tuesday evening notes

The rain has been lashing down for the past few hours, also on the poor passengers of the cruiseship Astor. The lights are lit up on board.

I am grateful to those who went to the bother of answering my poll. Being in the UK, I am unable to get AOL Polls to work. They only work if you're in the US. Anyway, I put the question because some people of my acquaintance were left totally unmoved by the sequence I showed in that earlier post. More in the Water's Edge blog.

A very sad counterpoint to the Madeleine McCann saga is the three year old Chinese toddler, Qian Xun Xue, who was abandoned by her father at a railway station in Melbourne, Australia. Meanwhile, over in New Zealand, concerns are growing over the safety of her mother, who has not been seen for a week. There are reports of domestic violence in the family. The father was spotted on CCTV on the Southern Cross railway station in Melbourne, abandoning the little girl. Hours later, he boarded a flight bound for Los Angeles, USA. The mother's car has been found in a carpark at Auckland Airport. Qian Xun, initially named Pumpkin after she was found, is now in the care of foster parents in Australia.

Typhoon Wipha

This is typhoon Wipha, lashing Taiwan with rain and heading for China. They are now getting seriously worried, placing Shanghai on orange alert. Read the full story here. They're expecting winds up to 140 mph near the centre.

Poll

As I am unable to host polls directly on AOL, I have to do it this way. You cannot put the HTML into an AOL Journal; I had to fabricate an HTML page and upload it to Hometown. Convoluted.

Above, you'll see a number of pictures from the district of Uig, 30 miles west of Stornoway. I want you to browse the pics, full size, then click on this link and take the poll.

Call centre calls - rerun

Actual call centre conversations !!!!!

Customer:     "I've been ringing 0800 2100 for two days and can't get through to enquiries, can you help?".
Operator:     "Where did you get that number from, sir?".
Customer:     "It was on the door to the Travel Centre".
Operator:     "Sir, they are our opening hours".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Samsung Electronics
Caller:          "Can you give me the telephone number for Jack?"
Operator:     "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand who you are talking about".
Caller:          "On page 1, section 5, of the user guide it clearly states that I need to unplug the fax machine from the AC  wall socket and telephone Jack before cleaning. Now, can you give me the number for Jack?"
Operator:      "I think you mean the telephone point on the wall".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
RAC Motoring Services
Caller:          "Does your European Breakdown Policy cover me when I am travelling in Australia ?"
Operator:      " Doesn't the product name give you a clue?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Caller (enquiring about legal requirements while travelling in France ):
"If I register my car in France , do I have to change the steering wheel to the other side of the car?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Directory Enquiries
Caller:               "I'd like the number of the Argoed Fish Bar in Cardiff please".
Operator:          "I'm sorry, there's no listing. Is the spelling correct?"
Caller:               "Well, it used to be called the Bargoed Fish Bar but the 'B' fell off".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there was the caller who asked for a knitwear company in Woven.
Operator:        "Woven? Are you sure?"
Caller:             "Yes. That's what it says on the label; Woven in Scotland".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
On another occasion, a man making heavy breathing sounds from a phone box told a worried operator:
"I haven't got a pen, so I'm steaming up the window to write the number on".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech Support:      "I need you to right-click on the Open Desktop".
Customer:             "OK".
Tech Support:      "Did you get a pop-up menu?".
Customer:             "No".
Tech Support:      "OK. Right-Click again. Do you see a pop-up menu?"
Customer:             "No".
Tech Support:      "OK, sir. Can you tell me what you have done up until this point?".
Customer:            "Sure. You told me to write 'click' and I wrote 'click'".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech Support:          "OK. In the bottom left hand side of the screen, can you see the 'OK' button displayed?"
Customer:                 "Wow. How can you see my screen from there?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Caller:  "I deleted a file from my PC last week and I have just realised that I need it. If I turn my system clock back two weeks will I have my file back again?".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's always one. This has got to be one of the funniest things in a long time. I think this guy should have been promoted, not fired. This is a true story from the Word Perfect Helpline, which was transcribed from a recording monitoring the customer care department. Needless to say the Help Desk employee was fired; however, he/she is currently suing the Word Perfect organization for "Termination without Cause".
Actual dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee. (Now I know why they record these conversations!):

Operator:         "Ridge Hall, computer assistance; may I help you?"
Caller:              "Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect."
Operator:         "What sort of trouble??"
Caller:              "Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away."
Operator:         "Went away?"
Caller:              "They disappeared."
Operator:         "Hmm So what does your screen look like now?"
Caller:              "Nothing."
Operator:         "Nothing??"
Caller:              "It's blank; it won't accept anything when I type."
Operator:         "Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out??"
Caller:              "How do I tell?"
Operator:         "Can you see the C: prompt on the screen??"
Caller:              "What's a sea-prompt?"
Operator:         "Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?"
Caller:              "There isn't any cursor: I told you, it won't accept anything I type."
Operator:         "Does your monitor have a power indicator??"
Caller:              "What's a monitor?"
Operator:         "It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it's on??"
Caller:               "I don't know."
Operator:          "Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that??"
Caller:              "Yes, I think so."
Operator:         "Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged into the wall.
Caller:              "Yes, it is."
Operator:         "When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one??"
Caller:               "No."
Operator:          "Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable."
Caller:               "Okay, here it is."
Operator:          "Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the back of your computer."
Caller:               "I can't reach."
Operator:          "Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is??"
Caller:               "No."
Operator:          "Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over??"
Caller:               "Oh, it's not because I don't have the right angle - it's because it's dark."
Operator:          "Dark??"
Caller:               "Yes - the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window.
" Operator: "Well, turn on the office light then."
Caller:               "I can't."
Operator:          "No? Why not??"
Caller:               "Because there's a power failure."
Operator:  "A power......... A power failure? Aha, Okay, we've got it licked now.
Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in??"
Caller:               "Well, yes, I keep them in the closet."
Operator:           "Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from."
Caller:                "Really? Is it that bad?"
Operator:            "Yes, I'm afraid it is."
Caller:                 "Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them??"
Operator:            "Tell them you're too f---ing stupid to own a computer!!!!!"

Tuesday notes

After a very cold night (temps of 1C / 34F) rain has moved in from the Atlantic. Cruiseliner Astor lies anchored off Sandwick and is ferrying its 590 passengers ashore for excursions - in the rain. I went out at 9 am to take pictures. As I am typing this, the liner has inched its way into Glumag Harbour, opposite my viewpoint. I've just been reading back through the archives, and when she was last in, 230 of her passengers were left stranded ashore overnight. The weather deteriorated to galeforce winds, preventing the passengers from rejoining their ship. Today's forecast is actually similar to that of 21 May. More gales later today.

Call for support

Mary Alice [cottoncandi12306] is in need of some moral support. Her entry entitled "What is life worth now?" says it all. Please call round at This is who I am.

Nelson Mandela

With thanks to Shauneen over at Bits of me

Love this :-))....knowing Mr Mandela I'm sure he would giggle at this!!

Nelson Mandela is sitting at home watching TV and drinking a beer when he hears a knock at the door.

When he opens it, he is confronted by a little Chinese man, clutching a clip board and yelling,

"You Sign! You sign!"

Behind him is an enormous truck full of car exhausts.


Nelson is standing there in complete amazement, when the Chinese man starts to yell louder,


"You Sign! You sign!"


Nelson says to him, "Look, you've obviously got the wrong man", and shuts the door in his face.


The next day he hears a knock at the door again.


When he opens it, the little Chinese man is back with a huge truck of brake pads.


He thrusts his clipboard under Nelson's nose, yelling,


"You sign! You sign!"


Mr Mandela is getting a bit hacked off by now, so he pushes the little Chinese man back, shouting:


"Look, go away! You've got the wrong man. I don't want them!" Then he slams the door in his face again.


The following day, Nelson is resting, and late in the afternoon, he hears a knock on the door again.


On opening the door, there is the same little Chinese man thrusting a clipboard under his nose, shouting,


"You sign! You sign!"


Behind him are TWO very large trucks full of car parts.


This time Nelson loses his temper completely, he picks up the little Man by his shirt front and yells at him:


"Look, I don't want these! Do you understand? You must have the wrong name! Who do you want to give these to?"


The little Chinese man looks very puzzled, consults his clipboard, and says:



(It's a beauty)


(Wait for it)



(Get your best Chinese accent ready)






"You not Nissan Main Deala?" 
 

Monday evening

A couple of notes. There is an unusual flurry of activity around our shores these day on account of a major military exercise involving land, air and sea forces from several NATO nations. Civilian vessels are being used, and Stornoway Airport will be used for staging a mock attack upon.

The snow on Cairngorm will only be shortlived; milder air is on its way from the Atlantic, which will plague us through tomorrow with rain. Current temperature (9.20 pm): 5C / 40F.

Here in the UK, the mini-crisis surrounding savings and mortgage bank Northern Rock rumbles on. Savers have been withdrawing their deposits en masse, in spite of government assurances that in the case of the bank folding, their money will be 100% safe. Not 90% as before. This all goes back to what is euphemistically called the sub-prime crisis over in the USA. I'm not a financial expert, but as far as I understand it, mortgages were sold to people with a poor credit rating. They could either not afford them, had defaulted in the past or similar things. These mortgages had to be underwritten, and as people started to default, the gaps had to be plugged. And the mortar for plugging the gaps was suddenly nowhere to be found; nobody wanted to take on these debts. By nobody, I mean major financial institutions. There is something faintly daft about the selling of debts. You're basically plugging one hole with another, and you buy and sell air. The other problem is that house prices have skyrocketed, leading to an increase in people who are rated as 'sub-prime'. In the past they may have been able to afford a mortgage (you can afford a mortgage worth 3 times your annual salary), but not now. Locally, this situation is born out. Two decades ago, houses in Stornoway were sold for as little as £16k. Now you're paying on average £100k, and it's rising. I think this bubble is starting to burst.

Tags: northern, rock, mortgage, debt, snow, exercise, military

Snow in Scotland

We had a hailshower down here at sealevel at 1pm, but 4,000 feet up in the Cairngorms it looks like this:

World Alzheimers Day

Friday 21 September is World Alzheimers Day, a day dedicated to finding a cure for this devastating illness. My attention was drawn to this by Mary Louise who writes a blog about her sister's inexorable decline as a result of Pick's Disease. This bears a close resemblance to Alzheimer's. In the USA, ActionALZ hosts the Day on this link, with the stated aim of raising $1 million. In the UK the day is hosted on Alzheimers International.

Busy port

It's fairly buzzing with boats around here this lunchtime, have a look at AIS Stornoway:

Hurricane update - 17 September

Tropical depression Ingrid has dissipated east of the Windward Islands, and no longer poses a threat.

Typhoon Wipha will pass just north of Taiwan in the next few days, on its way to a rendez-vous with Shanghai on Wednesday. Winds will be between 120 and 140 mph near the centre, with gales extending for 150 miles from the centre. My TC-blog already had 110 visitors until 10.45 this morning, mainly from East Asia.

Monday notes

Bright and sunny morning but I see some warning signs for a shower later in the day. It was very windy last night, and the northerly wind remains strong. Temperatures only 9C / 48F at the moment and not expected to rise much above 11C.

Five people have lost their lives in a two-vehicle crash on the M4 motorway in South Wales, near Newport. Three young men were in one vehicle, and a couple died in another. There appears to have been some police involvement, so the independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating.

After the devastating hotel fire in Newquay a few weeks ago, a fire in a hotel in Blackpool, northern England, has claimed one life. The fire started in one hotel and spread to the premises nextdoors.

Customers of the Northern Rock bank continue to queue outside branches to withdraw their savings. Over the weekend, 2 billion pounds were taken out by panicking savers. Although the bank has said that it is safe, customers do not agree.

Sunday afternoon in Stornoway

Changeable afternoon here, with sunshine and short, sharp showers. Went out for an amble to the harbour for the purpose of taking pictures of ships in at the moment. I don't know the purpose of them - the Discoverer is an expedition ship, the Glomar Venture is a former fishing boat with the notice 'Guard' on it and the Nitrox is a local boat which looks like it has been transformed into a creel boat. No activity (of course), apart from cars.

Hurricane update - 16 September

Typhoon Nari has just made landfall in the extreme south of the Korean peninsula with winds of 75 knots, that's 85 mph. The storm is likely to weaken rapidly as it passes over land, and also due to adverse atmospheric conditions.

Tropical storm Wipha has formed in the Pacific and will be making a graceful arc across the ocean, south of Japan, before slamming into South Korea (possibly North Korea) in 5 days' time with winds of 100 knots or 115 mph. This is long-range forecasting from JTWC, but this storm definitely needs watching.

Tropical depression Ingrid is a few hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles, but being torn apart by winds in the upper atmosphere. It is unlikely to bother anybody but seafarers. No other system in the pipeline at the moment, although it is suggested that something might form in the Caribbean later in the week. Watch this space.

Sunday notes

Weather has improved. The wind has dropped and the rain has stopped. A pale sun is out at the moment, although temperatures are down a smidgen (13C) on yesterday. Warning to points south: expect rain and low temperatures. Tomorrow night especially will be cold and frosty.

It appears likely that rally driver Colin MacRae was killed in a helicopter crash near Lanark, southeast of Glasgow, yesterday. The aircraft was so severely damaged that it was unclear how many people had perished, but it was evident that nobody had survived the crash. Investigations are ongoing.

Another aircrash, this time at the Thai resort of Phuket, is likely to have claimed lives. An airliner tried to land in poor weather, but crashed into the runway and broke apart.

Website

My new website is up and running. It goes under the prosaic name of www.adb422006.com, and is a cleansed copy of my AOL Hometown pages. Only the webcam link remains on Hometown, as there are a handful of external links to that URL.

Northern Isles ferry

The ferry I pictured in an entry about MV Hrossey breaking down near Shetland is one of two or three plying the route between Aberdeen and Kirkwall (Orkney) and Lerwick (Shetland). The crossing, operated by Northlink Ferries, takes 7 and 14 hours respectively. The vessel carries all sorts of vehicles, including cargo. Dangerous cargo is carried on a dedicated vessel, the MV Clare. I travelled on the passenger vessel 3 years ago when relocating from Orkney to Skye on September 29th. They serve meals, have very comfortable cabins (I shelled out on a cabin all to myself), show movies and much more.

Afternoon notes

After a break of a few hours, it's once again pouring with rain. Our young guests have just left for Point (east of here), where they are likely to see, well, just about nada. I cannot even make out the lighthouse, which is only 1 mile from here. Oh, I did get a box of chocolates for my assistance on Thursday night, and mrs B a handsome plant.

Yesterday, the mortgage lender Northern Rock announced it had to borrow money from the Bank of England. Today, its customers queued for hours to withdraw their savings. The explanation for the panic is a lack of confidence. Read more here, also with links about the background to this story.

Ferry woes

The ferry from Shetland to Aberdeen broke down when sailing from Lerwick on Thursday evening. Although a tug stood by, the crew managed to start an emergency generator and the Hrossey returned to Lerwick at midnight, 5 hours after setting forth. After repairs, the vessel started for Aberdeen at 6 am, where it arrived at 3pm. 90% of the original complement of passengers joined her for the trip. Northlink ferries, who operate Hrossey, have apologised for the delay, but stated their primary aim of passenger safety, which was at no point in jeopardy.

Saturday notes

Pouring with rain (half an inch already today), blowing a hoolie, bad weather in other words.

South Korea is bracing itself for typhoon Nari, which will strike the outlying island of Cheju tomorrow, and mainland  South Korea early on Monday. Winds will vary between 80 and 90 mph. The windfield is very narrow (60 miles), but the rainfield is not. I get less detail on the Joint Typhoon Warning Center's website (which issues warnings on the Western Pacific) than on the National Hurricane Center's site. Using the info they do provide, I can give some info.

Hurricane Felix disappeared off the weathermaps nearly two weeks ago, but the aftermath of this category 5 hurricane on Nicaragua continues to rumble on. The UN have asked for £20m / $40m worth of aid to the country. More than 100 indigenous fisherman were lost, and thousands are homeless and in need of aid. Read more here.

Update

You'll be pleased to learn that our guest was discharged from hospital this afternoon with no major problems. They are therefore able to continue their holiday.

A wink from winter

I have this wee gadget in my desktop tray, next to the computer clock, which shows local temperature. It went down to 4C / 39F a minute ago, although it has now gone up to 6C / 43F. It cleared up a while ago and the wind has dropped away. More of this in months to come, I'm sure.

What was also a barrel of laughs was a powercut at 6.25pm. It sounds as if the area around Stornoway was off supply; our local radio station was off air, but the BBC stations were not. They are transmitted from aerials at Achmore, 10 miles southwest of here. It took an hour for power to come back on. By that time, we had dug out all the candles and oil lamps. Fortunately, sunset is not until 8pm, so there was no real problem. The cooker runs on gas (apart from the oven).

With thanks to Connie

I'm always hesitant to include religious material on my blog, but I could not resist this little beauty from Connie:

Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was better on the computer.  They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering.

     Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT!!  I have had enough!  I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job."

     So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.
   
     They moused.

     They faxed.

     They e-mailed.

     They e-mailed with attachments.

     They downloaded.

     They did spreadsheets!

     They wrote reports.

     They created labels and cards.

     They created charts and graphs.

     They did some genealogy reports.

     They did every job known to man.

     Jesus worked with Heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

     Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went out.

     Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.

     Jesus just sighed.

     Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted his computers.  Satan started searching frantically, screaming:

     "It's gone!!  It's all GONE!!  I lost everything when the power went out!!"

     Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all His files from the past two hours of work.

     Satan observed this and became irate!

     "Wait!" he screamed, "That's not fair!  He cheated!!  How come He has all His work and I don't have any?"

     God just shrugged and said,

     "JESUS SAVES"

Foot and mouth

This saga continues to rumble. Cattle, culled at a farm near to the outbreak earlier this week at Egham near London, were found to be infected with F&M. Questions are being asked whether movement restrictions were lifted too soon, but this outbreak comes 4 or 5 weeks after the original one near Pirbright. The F&M virus can linger in the soil for weeks, it appears. In straw and hay it can stay on for 20 weeks. A tricky customer.

The farming industry is crying blue murder, this coming at the height of the livestock movement season. It's as well I haven't got anything to say on the matter, else I'd tell them to shut up. Not having movement restrictions would spread this disease nationwide in days or a few weeks, and millions of head of cattle and sheep would have to be culled, like what happened in 2001. Do we want scenes like these again? NO.

Friday notes

I'm typing this slightly cross-eyed, as I didn't really see my bed until 4 am this morning. One of our guests took ill, and had to be taken to hospital. An ambulance was not required, but I had to guide the car driver (who had come to stay with the other person) through the town. Being continental, they were unfamiliar with right-hand drive cars, driving on the left, roundabouts and the intricacies of Stornoway's roadsystem in general. The hospital is a mile and a half to the north of here, past four roundabouts if you take the shortest route.

The guest is currently in hospital, kept in overnight for observations. You'll understand that I will not go into further details, not on the Water's Edge blog either.

I walked back from the hospital, which takes me half an hour, through totally deserted streets. I encountered two cars and two pedestrians. In the daytime, people and cars fairly throng the streets of this town.

I took the pictures above on the way back, which shows Stornoway on a wet night.

Hurricane update - 14 September

South Korea and Japan are dodging a silver bullet in the shape of typhoon Nari, which is set to skim between the two nations as 115 knot (130 mph) storm. In 24 hours' time, the typhoon will rapidly weaken as it speeds through the Sea of Japan. The far west of Japan is likely to experience tropical storm conditions, as is the far south of Korea.

Tropical storm Ingrid is heading northwest, to the east of the Windward Islands, which are unlikely to see her. Because atmospheric conditions are set to worsen, Ingrid won't be more than a tropical storm with force 9 winds. No land threatened, but it's heading in that general direction in the very long term.

Suicide by chatroom

A coroner has recorded a verdict of suicide on a man who hanged himself after visiting a chatroom on Paltalk. In it, he had expressed suicidal thoughts, upon which other users encouraged him to take his own life. Kevin Whitrick did commit suicide.

As a former user of AOL chatrooms, I know only too well the verbal abuse, harassment and bullying that goes on in there. It has turned me off the phenomenon almost completely. The coroner in this sad case issued a warning against chatroom users and hosters who promoted insulting behaviour. Paltalk is alleged to have had a chatroom which did just that.

The police did investigate the incident, but found that there was insufficient evidence to file charges against any individual.

I would like to express my sympathies to Mr Whitrick's widow and children.

Hurricane notes

Hurricane Humberto, presently moving inland over Louisiana, did not exist 24 hours ago. It formed over the Gulf of Mexico at 11am EDT as a tropical depression and blew up overnight into a category 1 hurricane before making landfall at 5 am EDT. It should be a sobering thought that another 12 to 24 hours would have turned this into a major hurricane (cat 3 or more) without giving time for evacuation.

Hurricane forecasting has advanced much, but the systems themselves can still present us with nasty surprises. Humberto built into the upper levels of the atmosphere, where southerly winds changed its course to one that gave it longer time over water, allowing it to strengthen further.

Midday notes

An update: the woman missing near Glenelg was found safe and well at 10 o'clock this morning.

And a third earthquake has struck Sumatra this morning, although of a lesser magnitude than the two which hit the district yesterday. A tsunami is thought to be unlikely, and if any occurs it will be very localised.

Thursday notes

Very windy day, and the rain is just starting. As I said in an earlier entry, a gale is expected around exposed coasts today.

Sumatra has been hit by a second earthquake, 12 hours after the 8.2 magnitude tremor yesterday morning. At 2349 GMT last night, a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale hit the area, exacerbating the damage caused by the first. After the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, Indonesians are terrified by earthquakes. No major tsunami was reported in the aftermath of either quake.

Missing at Camusfearna

A 74-year old lady is missing near Glenelg, just across from the Isle of Skye, in the area where the late Gavin Maxwell had a house in the 1950s and 1960s. In his books "Ring of Bright Water", he called it Camusfearna. In real life, the area is named Sandaig.

Yesterday evening, this lady, apparently fit and well, went missing with her collie dog whilst walking downstream along the Sandaig burn, a few miles south of Glenelg. She was with a friend when they became separated. A search was carried on until 2 am this morning, and was resumed at first light, at 7 am. Weather conditions are deteriorating and a gale is expected this afternoon. Mallaig Lifeboat has been standing by all night, and the Kyle Lifeboat will take over this morning.

For reference: Kyle is off the above map, just north of Kyleakin. Mallaig is 15 miles to the south.

Hurricane update - 13 September

Louisiana and Texas are waking up to an unpleasant surprise in the shape of Hurricane Humberto. This made landfall at around 2 am local time near High Island TX with winds topping 90 mph to the north of the centre. Hurricane warnings are in force from High Island east to Cameron LA, and a tropical storm warning further east to Intracoastal City LA. These are likely to be lowered or downgraded later today as Humberto weakens on traversing land.

Heavy rains are expected across Louisiana, southeastern Arkansas and northern Mississippi, with totals between 5 and 10 inches, possibly topping 15 inches in places.

Humberto was not expected to reach hurricane strength when I last looked at the forecast yesterday evening, so I hope anyone in its path is alright.

Across the Pacific, tropical storm Nari is making for Okinawa and beyond that South Korea, with typhoon force winds within 24 hours.

See for yourself

This is the 9/11 truck that all of today's fuss is about.

Have you heard about the trucker who has painted his cab and trailer with the names of all those who lost their lives in 9/11 ? The trucker's name is John Holmgren from Shafer ,Minn. He has been "pulled over" numerous times just so the troopers can get their picture taken with the truck.